Leviathan News

Leviathan News

Leviathan News is your go-to source for breaking news and insights in the DeFi space.

  1. 07/21/2025

    The Curious Case of Zelensky’s Suit, PolyMarket, UMA and the New Politics of Truth

    In this episode we untangle how a single photograph of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s black jacket became a $150-million flash-point on Polymarket, the largest crypto prediction exchange. The platform’s “optimistic oracle,” UMA, stalled three times on the question of whether Zelenskyy had “worn a suit before July,” then looked ready to rule No, even as mainstream outlets ran headlines calling the outfit a suit. We explain how UMA’s four-code voting system works, why one wallet with 1.3 million UMA tokens could swing a verdict, and how similar whale manoeuvres upended a $7 million Ukraine-minerals wager in March and forced Polymarket to over-ride its own oracle in last year’s Barron-Trump meme-coin dispute. The episode also charts Polymarket’s meteoric rise, from billions in 2024-election volume to a 2025 funding round that puts the company’s valuation above $1 billion, and asks what happens to “truth on-chain” when the incentives, the rules, and the money all point in different directions. If you find this useful, share it with a friend and leave a comment telling us which part surprised you most. 00:00 Opening – The Jacket That Launched a $150M Bet 02:15 Act 1: The Bet – A Gold Badge and a Sure Thing 12:30 Act 2: The Oracle – Why UMA Keeps Saying “Too Early” 25:00 Act 3: Precedent Problems – Whales, Flips, and Overrides 35:40 Act 4: Retail Risk – How Clear Rules Could Fix It 43:00 Credits & How to Support the Show

    40 min
  2. 06/06/2025

    Is Pump worth the hype at $4bn?

    Sam and Matt dive deep into the rumoured $1bn Pump.fun token sale at a $4bn valuation, break down the platform’s monster fee haul, and debate whether the raise signals strength or peak mania. They explore Pump.fun’s equity-versus-token dilemma, wallet-level P&L data, and the wider impact on Solana liquidity. The conversation widens into Circle’s long-awaited IPO, Tether’s new L1, and the shifting ETH-vs-SOL trade. Along the way they tackle market structure, gambling culture, and what a “next-cycle” launch timeline could look like.Timestamps00:00:00 Intro and welcome00:00:34 Sam outlines topics, introduces Matt00:01:03 Debut of the new Leviathan theme jingle00:01:29 Pump.fun sale headline and why the story matters00:02:07 Are market “cycles” dead? multi-market complexity explained00:04:52 Macro backdrop, tight liquidity, and government money printing00:05:48 Blockworks leak, $4bn valuation backlash, and public-vs-VC debate00:09:12 Pump.fun fee revenue, $622m lifetime haul, margin estimates00:13:51 Equity vs token control, vesting, and convertible warrant talk00:19:45 Hyperliquid airdrop precedent, fairness expectations00:25:14 Swap UX gaps, smart-routing complaints, competitor pressure00:32:18 Wallet P&L chart, bot dominance, airdrop eligibility hurdles00:40:47 12-month vesting vs Serum’s 7-year lockups, insider dynamics00:49:15 Gambling culture, DFS vs sports-betting, personal risk discipline00:58:26 Will the raise drain $1bn of SOL liquidity? pricing signals01:02:18 ETH/SOL breakdown, relative upside for ETH to 20 k scenario01:10:05 Circle IPO watch, Bitfinex-Tether chain, stablecoin competition01:14:49 Odds Pump launches its own chain or L2 within two years01:18:36 Closing thoughts, Lava party teaser, sign-offLike the discussion? Hit subscribe, turn on alerts, and drop your questions below for tomorrow’s live Q&A.

    1h 25m

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Leviathan News is your go-to source for breaking news and insights in the DeFi space.