It’s been said that DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) in their current form are neither decentralized nor autonomous. Instead, they’re human lead organizations that are still figuring out how to operate under a brand new paradigm. In this conversation with Orca Protocol’s Julia Rosenberg, we dive into the hardest problems facing decentralizing governance and how they can be solved. We also get into real world examples including Synthetix and the recent drama out of ENS. Today's conve...
Feb 16, 2022•35 min•Ep. 15
In a vampire attack reminiscent of SushiSwap vs Uniswap in 2020, NFT marketplace LooksRare found a clever way to coax users away from market leader OpenSea. The result? LooksRare did nearly double OpenSea’s volume in January. The catch? Due to incentives offered by LooksRare, these totals are heavily skewed by wash trading. In this conversation, we examine the launch of LooksRare and its long term sustainability. Today's conversation is for informational purposes only and does not constitute leg...
Feb 09, 2022•32 min•Ep. 14
Elias Simos is a protocol specialist for Coinbase Cloud who put together a mega-viral yearend thread titled, “The 69 most interesting charts in crypto for 2021.” In this conversation, we discuss some of the most interesting data points from the year, including the rise of application specific blockchains, NFT’s monster year, memecoins, the ENS airdrop, and what it all means for the future. Today's conversation is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or investment advice....
Feb 02, 2022•35 min•Ep. 13
Electric Capital’s Annual Developer report offers key insights into developer activity across various crypto ecosystems. In this episode, we discuss the report with author and EC partner Maria Shen and she reveals which ecosystems are growing the fastest and why less developers than you might think maintain Bitcoin and DeFi. Today's conversation is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or investment advice. Actual results may vary materially from any forward-looking state...
Jan 26, 2022•32 min•Ep. 12
In this conversation with Reddit co-founder and current founder of venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, we get to the heart of what has Alexis Ohanian excited about Web3. Alexis defines what Web3 means to him, what gravitated him to crypto, and why it reminds him about the early days of Reddit. We also dive into the importance of communities in Web3, how to spot healthy ones, and why women are poised to play a dominant role in the future. Today's conversation is for informational purposes onl...
Jan 19, 2022•35 min•Ep. 11
In this special bonus episode of the Around The Block podcast, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong chats with Messari CEO Ryan Selkis on the heels of Messari’s massive year-end report: Crypto Theses for 2022. They discuss the current state of the industry, the political climate in Washington, the Web3 landscape, layer 1 competition, layer 2 scaling, DAOs, and more. Today's conversation is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or investment advice. Actual results may vary materia...
Jan 12, 2022•33 min•Ep. 10
Since its inception, Bitcoin has grown and evolved tremendously, along with the rest of the crypto industry. But where does Bitcoin fit in within the growing world of Web 3 technologies and smart contract platforms? And what else can we do with Bitcoin? Justin and Katherine sit down with Stacks co-founder Muneeb Ali, who’s dedicated to building smart contracts on Bitcoin, to discuss the OG cryptocurrency’s present and future. Today's conversation is for informational purposes only and does not c...
Dec 29, 2021•33 min•Ep. 9
Cryptosecurity can be a little scary. What does it mean to “own” crypto and where should you hold your crypto? What are some common pitfalls to watch out for? Justin and Katherine get into crypto safety and security with Mark Nesbitt, the engineering manager on the blockchain security team at Coinbase. Today's conversation is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or investment advice. Actual results may vary materially from any forward-looking statements made and are subj...
Dec 22, 2021•32 min•Ep. 8
What is the current state of privacy in crypto, and what will it look like in the future with continued breakthrough in Zero Knowledge Proofs. In this conversation with Jill Gunter, we discuss the issues surrounding the completely transparent nature of blockchains and how ZK proofs can open up the design space for a host of new applications for DAOs, NFTs, and more. Today's conversation is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or investment advice. Actual results may vary...
Dec 15, 2021•34 min•Ep. 7
In 2021, DAOs have taken off, ranging from multi-billion dollar protocol DAOs to smaller investment, service, and social DAOs. But what are the realities of working for a DAO? What are the limitations, how do DAOs coordinate, what infrastructure is still needed, and how can people get started with their first DAO? We dive into those questions with Blockchain Capital’s Kinjal Shah, who has first hand experience as a founding member of investment DAO, Komorebi Collective. Today's conversation is f...
Dec 08, 2021•33 min•Ep. 6
There is a whole lot of buzz around DAOs - decentralized autonomous organizations. But what exactly are they and what’s all the hype about? How can DAOs forever change how humans organize and connect communities and capital? To kick off the first half of this discussion, Justin & Katherine are joined by Jesse Pollak, the Senior Director of Engineering at Coinbase currently focused on DAOs. Today's conversation is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or investment adv...
Dec 01, 2021•34 min•Ep. 5
While it’s easy to get into crypto, understanding the technology, tools and protocols behind the ecosystem involves a lot of buzzwords and questions, like why are there so many different blockchains and what is the blockchain scaling trilemma? This week, Justin & Katherine attempt to peel back the layers of the multichain world. Today's conversation is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or investment advice. Actual results may vary materially from any forward-looki...
Nov 24, 2021•35 min•Ep. 4
How can Coinbase continue to evolve in a decentralized world and what exciting developments are in store for the future? Justin and Katherine welcome Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong to the podcast for a candid conversation to share his thoughts on how far crypto has come and where he hopes to see it grow from here. Today's conversation is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or investment advice. Actual results may vary materially from any forward-looking sta...
Nov 17, 2021•34 min•Ep. 3
When two of the biggest and most passionate communities in the world collide you get crypto gaming. Just how big can crypto gaming become? Justin and Katherine talk to investor and partner at Lightspeed Ventures Amy Wu about what’s driving the growth in crypto gaming, why Axie Infinity has so successfully led the way, and what the next 12-18 months might look like for blockchain gaming. Today's conversation is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or investment advice. Ac...
Nov 10, 2021•29 min•Ep. 2
In the premiere episode of AROUND THE BLOCK from Coinbase, Justin and Katherine dive deep into one of the biggest shifts in the crypto landscape - the ever-growing world of NFTs. NFT collector and expert gmoney joins to discuss CryptoPunks, why NFTs are so popular and appealing to creators and collectors, and why this is just the beginning. Be sure to join the waitlist to get early access to the Coinbase NFT marketplace - https://www.coinbase.com/nft/announce Today's conversation is for informat...
Nov 03, 2021•35 min•Ep. 1
