In this discussion I moderated for Paxos, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev and Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla discuss GameStop, the broken traditional financial infrastructure, and how blockchain technology may change the future of settlements. Show highlights: why Robinhood stopped trading on GameStop and AMC stock earlier this year what both Charles and Vlad think the feasibility of T+0 settlements versus Citadel’s and the DTCC’s aim of T+1 settlements how the GameStop scenario would have been different...
May 11, 2021•51 min•Ep. 236
Reshma Patel, a Democratic candidate for New York City’s Comptroller position, talks about her “future proof” plan for the city, which centers on investing in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. In this episode, she discusses: what duties the New York City Controller performs how Reshma thinks crypto and blockchain tech can help New York City, which she calls her “future proof” plan how a city comptroller would go about investing 1%-3% of the city’s pension funds into crypto what type of...
May 07, 2021•33 min•Ep. 235
Crypto sits at the intersection of two male-dominated industries: tech and finance. I was asked to moderate a panel for the Amber Group with four leading women in crypto to discuss the role of gender in the crypto industry and what can be done to bring more women into the space. Panelists include Mia Deng, partner at Dragonfly Capital; Amy Zhang, vice president of sales at Fireblocks; Alexis Gauba, cofounder at Opyn; and Annabelle Huang, partner at Amber Group. Show highlights: how each panelist...
May 04, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 234
Dan Finlay, co-founder of MetaMask, talks about the meteoric growth of monthly active users of the crypto wallet, which has quintupled in the past seven months. In this episode, he discusses: which crypto use case drove MetaMask’s active user base to grow 5x in under a year what types of scaling solutions are drawing users to MetaMask how MetaMask works what kind of customers are using MetaMask how MetaMask has grown without targeted marketing whether the type of crypto usage in developing natio...
Apr 30, 2021•39 min•Ep. 233
Devin Finzer, co-founder and CEO of NFT marketplace OpenSea, talks all things non-fungible. Check out the whole show to hear Devin answer the following questions: First Half: Breaking Down NFTs Why did he become so interested in NFTs ? What is an NFT? Why have NFTs become so popular recently? Who is creating NFTs? Who is purchasing NFTs? Are we in an NFT bubble? How is the NFT ecosystem going to evolve over the next few years? What are people purchasing when they buy an NFT? Second Half: OpenSea...
Apr 27, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 232
Robbie Ferguson, co-founder and president of Immutable, talks about how Immutable is transforming the NFT industry through its layer 2 solution, Immutable X, which just launched April 8. In this episode, he discusses: what sort of problems Immutable is solving by creating a layer 2 solution (1:21) why scalability is especially an issue for NFTs in gaming (1:59) how Immutable X, built with partner Starkware, addresses the problems with scaling NFTs (3:28) how Immutable is scaling Ethereum and the...
Apr 23, 2021•39 min•Ep. 231
In a fun change of pace, I was interviewed by the On Deck Podcaster Fellowship about the origins of Unchained pod, how my background as a journalist prepared me for podcasting, and tips for aspiring creators. Episode highlights: why I believe the Unchained podcast has been successful and how my penchant for asking tough questions came about (1:48) how my background in journalism prepared me for hosting a podcast (6:35) how I choose guests for the show and how they feel about being asked difficul...
Apr 20, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 230
Gil Luria, director of research at D.A. Davidson, talks about Coinbase’s performance on its first day as a public company. In this episode, Gil discusses: the significance of Coinbase going public (1:05) why doing a direct listing was a risky move (1:31) why he revised his price target for COIN from $440 to $650 (3:17) how investing in COIN as a “pure play” crypto company compares to buying stock in companies like MicroStrategy and Square (5:06) why some people are disrupting Coinbase’s actual m...
Apr 16, 2021•35 min•Ep. 229
In an interview I moderated at Real Vision’s “Crypto Gathering,” Peter L Brandt, veteran trader and publisher of the Factor Report, and Willy Woo, prominent on-chain Bitcoin analyst and author of the “The Bitcoin Forecast,” a market intelligence newsletter, discuss Bitcoin charts, trading, and how Bitcoin is evolving as an asset. They cover: why Peter believes that, with Bitcoin, we are watching history in the making and what a “parabolic advance” has to do with that belief (2:02) the difference...
Apr 13, 2021•51 min•Ep. 228
Larry Cermak, director of research at The Block, discusses the upcoming Coinbase direct listing in light of the exchange’s recently released Q1 revenue hitting an impressive $1.8 billion. In this episode, Larry talks about: significant takeaways from Coinbase’s Q1 results (1:04) how Coinbase was able to increase its non-transaction revenue in Q1 and why he thinks the exchange gets away with charging higher fees than its competitors (4:14) why retail consumers are investing in crypto at such a hi...
Apr 09, 2021•36 min•Ep. 227
Mark Cuban -- billionaire investor, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and Shark Tank “shark” -- shares his thoughts on the Ethereum vs. BTC debate, issues with DeFi, and how NFTs could change content distribution. Tune in to hear Mark talk about... why ETH is a better store of value than BTC (1:08) why bitcoin as an inflation hedge is a bananas narrative 6:29) his opinion on EIP-1159 and the idea of proof of stake mining (9:06) why minting an NFT was a crypto-lightbulb moment for him (11:36) how hi...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 226
Dave Jevans, CEO of Cipher Trace, talks about what the new draft guidance from the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) means for DeFi, NFTs, and crypto in general. In this show, he breaks down: the six main areas the draft guidance covers, including the expansion of KYC regulatory standards into DeFi (1:07) how a dex like Uniswap would operate under the proposed draft guidance, and which types of companies or services providers would have to take identifying customer information (3:54) why DeFi a...
Apr 02, 2021•38 min•Ep. 225
Olta Andoni, fintech and IP Attorney at Zlatkin Wong and adjunct professor at Chicago Kent College of Law, Tonya Evans, visiting Full Professor of Law at Penn State Dickinson Law School and host of the podcast Tech Intersect, and Stuart Levi, co-head of the Intellectual Property and Technology practice at Skadden Arps and coordinator of the firm's Blockchain and Digital Asset practice, break down the legal issues surrounding NFTs. In this episode, they discuss: how the law looks at non-fungible ...
Mar 30, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 224
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez talks about how Miami plans to be the crypto capital of the world. In this show, he discusses: what Miami is doing to become the crypto capital of the world (1:40) why he feels so strongly about bringing crypto to Miami (3:09) the relationship between cryptocurrencies and government (4:08) why he believes that, in the future, governments will transaction in crypto, not fiat currency (5:26) his feelings about the FTX sponsorship proposal and how he convinced city offici...
Mar 26, 2021•32 min•Ep. 223
Ric Edelman, founder of Edelman Financial Engines, and Matthew Kolesky, president at Arbor Capital, discuss the state of Bitcoin adoption amongst financial advisors, who control $5 trillion in investor wealth. In this episode, they talk about: their background and why they got into crypto (1:25) how most RIAs (registered investment advisors) view digital assets and the hassle of buying crypto on a client’s behalf (8:59) what percentage of financial advisors have already invested in bitcoin and h...
Mar 23, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 222
MetaKovan, the pseudonymous buyer of Beeple’s Everydays NFT and founder of MetaPurse, talks about his recent $69 million purchase. In this episode, he discusses: why he bought Everydays: The First 5000 Days for $69 million (1:57) Beeple’s 13-year “proof of effort” process of creating art and why Beeple has the potential to become a generational artist (4:38) why he believes NFTs are “10x” better than physical art (9:40) his vision of the metaverse (13:57) the reasons for hiding his identity behi...
Mar 19, 2021•40 min•Ep. 221
Jamie Burke, CEO of Outlier Ventures, and Mason Nystrom, a research analyst at Messari, discuss the NFT craze that has enveloped the crypto world over the past few weeks. In this episode, they talk about: their backgrounds, and how they became involved in crypto (1:19) the major catalysts -- specifically Beeple and NBA Top Shot -- that have brought NFTs into the mainstream (5:29) why NFTs are a “megatrend” and not just another ICO-like bubble (13:35) how to explain non-fungible tokens to normies...
Mar 16, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 220
Brendan McGill, co-founder of Offsetra and Carbon.fyi, a company focused on reducing carbon emissions, talks about the environmental impact of NFTs. In this episode, Brendan discusses: his career as an environmentalist and how his sites intersect with crypto (1:07) why online art platform ArtStation canceled its plans to create an NFT program (3:21) what the environmental impact of NFTs actually is and why minting and transacting with NFTs has a greater environmental impact than for normal Ether...
Mar 12, 2021•42 min•Ep. 219
Antonio Juliano, founder of the decentralized exchange dYdX, and Eli Ben-Sasson, cofounder of StarkWare, discuss the recent launch of dYdX on Ethereum layer 2 using StarkWare’s scaling technology. In this episode, they cover: what cross-margin perpetual trading is and why dYdX chose StarkWare to be its scaling partner (1:13) ZK rollups and how they contrast with optimistic rollups (8:49) how many transactions per second StarkWare can handle through its layer 2 solution (16:57) lessons learned an...
Mar 09, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 218
Gil Luria, director of research at D.A. Davidson, talks about the upcoming Coinbase direct listing and his recent research note, “Introducing Crypto’s Amazon Moment.” In this episode, Gil discusses: his crypto background, including his experience as the first Wall Street analyst to cover Bitcoin back in 2013 (1:27) why the Coinbase IPO is going to be an inflection point for the crypto industry (3:02) why he gave Coinbase's upcoming stock a “buy” rating (4:14) who Coinbase's biggest competitors a...
Mar 05, 2021•36 min•Ep. 217
Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Avanti Financial Group, talks about the issues plaguing the current state of technology in traditional finance and how her background as a 22-year Wall Street veteran, gubernatorial appointee to the Wyoming Blockchain Task Force, and crypto pioneer is helping her shape Avanti into a bridge between conventional banking and crypto. Tune in to hear Caitlin discuss: the current state of crypto adoption on Wall Street (1:09) how her entrepreneurial spirit galvanized a...
Mar 02, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 216
Jeff Roberts, executive editor at Decrypt and author of “King of Crypto: One Startup’s Quest to take Cryptocurrency Out of Silicon Valley and Onto Wall Street” talks about Coinbase going public. In this episode we discuss: Jeff's biggest takeaways from Coinbase’s S-1 filing (0:56) why institutions are choosing Coinbase (2:42) how Coinbase going public feels like validation for bitcoiners (4:37) issues Coinbase may face as a business that currently generates 96% of revenue through transaction fee...
Feb 26, 2021•37 min•Ep. 215
In this episode of Unchained, Charles Cascarilla, CEO and cofounder of Paxos, explains how the 2008 financial crisis led him to crypto, what financial plumbing has to do with GameStop, and how Paxos is leveraging blockchain technology to change financial services. In this episode Charles discusses: his work experience prior to Paxos and how the financial crisis in 2008 opened his eyes to Bitcoin and blockchain (01:07) what it was like to work in Bitcoin during the early days compared to now (4:0...
Feb 23, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 214
Lea Thompson, aka Girl Gone Crypto, talks about what goes into producing her popular “The Crypto Minute” vlog, what initially got her into crypto, and her recent decision to quit her day job and go full time crypto. In this episode we discuss: what “The Crypto Minute” is all about, and all the crypto video content she produces (2:37) how Lea comes up with creative content such as wearing a whale costume to portray Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor (5:04) how long it actually takes to create “The ...
Feb 19, 2021•41 min•Ep. 213
Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave, comes onto the show to discuss the lending protocol and second-biggest DeFi project by total value locked. Here are some of the highlights: How Stani’s background studying law and his passion for fintech led him to the world of smart contracts (1:53) Why he decided to transition ETHLend to Aave, and how that eliminated the “meme” narrative (5:55) How Stani would explain Aave to a five-year-old, or your normie friend (9:04) What new features were released ...
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 212
Lyn Alden, CEO and founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategies, and Raoul Pal, CEO & cofounder of Real Vision Group & Global Macro Investor, explain their thinking about Ethereum and its native token, and talk about their perspective on GameStop. In this episode, we discuss: why Raoul views ether as similar to bitcoin at a macro level (1:25) why Lyn decided ETH was not currently investable (5:06) an analysis of utility protocols (John Pfeffer’s paper) (6:55) counterarguments to John Pfeffer’s pap...
Feb 09, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 211
In this episode, Shehan Chandrasekara, head of strategy at CoinTracker, and Dan Hannum COO at Zen Ledger, take a deep dive into the world of crypto taxes. Over an hour and fifteen minutes they tackle a bevy of topics ranging from why the IRS is asking about your crypto history to explaining the proper way of reporting yield farming income. Shehan and Dan give up their hard-earned tax secrets and tips learned through building their respective cutting-edge crypto tax software. Here is a list of ta...
Feb 02, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 210
Michael Saylor, CEO and founder of Microstrategy, explains how he decided the publicly traded business data firm needed to put its excess cash in bitcoin and what happened afterward. In this episode, we discuss: why Microstrategy decided to buy Bitcoin, and how the pandemic spurred that whether his previous experience with Microstrategy stock imploding after accounting irregularities were revealed had any bearing on the company's decision to buy bitcoin the reactions of the officers and board me...
Jan 26, 2021•2 hr 42 min•Ep. 209
Stephen Palley, partner at Anderson Kill. and Gabriel Shapiro, partner at BSV Law, discuss the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple and two executives, Chris Larsen and Bard Garlinghouse. In this episode, they explain: what was so "egregious" that the SEC went after two executives, Chris Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse, were charged why their sales showed an information asymmetry, and why that matters why the complaint comes close to being a fraud case, but why the SEC didn't charge them with fraud why the...
Jan 19, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 208
Willy Woo, a prominent on-chain Bitcoin analyst and author of the “The Bitcoin Forecast,” a market intelligence newsletter, explains the parabolic activity of Bitcoin in the past month. We cover: why he thinks Bitcoin has more than doubled in the last month what the "double pump" market is and why Bitcoin may see two rallies this cycle what stage of the Bitcoin bull market we are currently in who is buying, and how they've differed from previous investors who still is yet to buy this cycle why B...
Jan 12, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 207
