Is gold the ultimate hedge against inflation and sovereign risk? Or are stocks the better long-term wealth builder thanks to innovation and earnings growth? In this heated and highly entertaining episode, Ram Ahluwalia (Lumida Wealth) and Vinny Lingham (Praxos Capital) dive deep into the macro landscape to debate the relative merits of gold vs. the S&P 500. Along the way, they explore: Gold’s decentralization vs. Bitcoin Why share buybacks might be distorting wealth creation The role of infl...
Oct 03, 2025•59 min•Ep. 916
Perp DEXs are on fire, with volumes topping $1 trillion a month for the first time. Aster, backed by YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs), has suddenly vaulted to the top of volume charts, but is its rise organic, or manufactured? But while everyone frames the battle as Aster vs. Hyperliquid, Syncracy’s Ryan Watkins and Sunny Shi argue the real fight is much bigger: decentralized exchanges versus centralized giants like Binance. Plus: what role Solana will play in the next chapter in the perps DEX w...
Oct 02, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 915
DoubleZero just launched its mainnet-beta, offering a new type of high-performance fiber network for blockchains, live across 5 continents and already adopted by 20%+ of Solana stake. Co-founder Austin Federa joins Unchained to walk through: How DoubleZero creates a dedicated internet for crypto Who contributes fiber and why they earn the 2Z token What the SEC’s no-action letter means for crypto and DePIN specifically And what this could unlock for L2s, onchain trading, and more Thank you to our...
Oct 02, 2025•36 min•Ep. 914
This week on Unchained, we’ve got a double-header. First, Zach Abrams, CEO of Bridge (acquired by Stripe), unveils Open Issuance, a platform designed to let any company launch its own stablecoin. He explains why the stablecoin duopoly is ending, why fragmentation won’t slow adoption, and how stablecoins could pair with AI to reshape global money movement. Then, Kenny Li, co-founder of Manta Network, joins to reveal why Manta is pivoting away from being just another L2. He argues that the scaling...
Oct 01, 2025•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 912
Crypto’s bull run may be far from over, but the battleground is shifting. On this week’s Bits + Bips, Bill Barhydt of Abra and Robert Leshner of Superstate join Ram Ahluwalia and Steven Ehrlich to debate: The current state of the markets with a looming government shutdown SWIFT’s move to build on Linea, an Ethereum layer 2 Hyperliquid vs Aster The future of perps vs. spot Why some DATs are starting to look like grifts Whether DeFi billionaires will ultimately eclipse their CeFi predecessors Plus...
Oct 01, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 913
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we’re joined by Farooq Malik, co-founder and CEO of Rain, as two parallel wars erupt across crypto: the Perp DEX war between Hyperliquid and the CZ-backed Aster, and the deepening battle for stablecoin dominance. As Aster rockets to $30B in daily volume, we debate whether it’s real adoption or points-fueled froth — and what it means...
Sep 26, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 911
How do stablecoin-first blockchains win distribution? Does TVL actually map to value? And why speculation may become the default language of online culture. In this 3-part episode, we explore three different important stories. Segment 1: CoinFund’s Seth Ginns explains how newly launched stablecoin chain Plasma aims to compete, plus why the “stablecoin race” with Circle and Stripe is just beginning. Segment 2: Solana Foundation president Lily Liu lays out why revenue—not TVL—should be crypto’s no...
Sep 26, 2025•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 910
Crypto investors love to throw around “FDV” as if it’s the ultimate measure of value. But what if that number is more misleading than helpful? In this episode, DBA’s Jon Charbonneau explains his proposal to cut Hyperliquid’s supply by nearly half, why he believes FDV overstates real valuations, and how outdated tokenomics are holding projects back. We also cover whether the Hyperliquid team should take smaller allocations if they cut the token supply and what Jon thinks of Arthur Hayes’ HYPE sal...
Sep 24, 2025•37 min•Ep. 909
Markets had a flood of liquidations on Monday, and traders lost over $1.5 billion in positions. So, why are liquidations spiking? Is this a warning or a blip? Also, could a flood of DAT issuance be setting the stage for not just a crypto winter, but a crypto “nuclear” winter? If so, hedge funds and market structure could accelerate the pain. This week on Bits + Bips, Steven Ehrlich, Ram Ahluwalia, Austin Campbell, and Vinny Lingham talk about why mNAVs could compress and whether even MicroStrate...
Sep 23, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 908
In this episode, Cyber Capital’s Justin Bons and Codex’s Haonan Li challenge the new orthodoxy: whether payments chains should be alt L1s or Ethereum L2s, how “neutrality” and finality matter for real-world transactions, and why fragmentation could make or break onchain dollars. We dig into Stripe’s Tempo (and its permissioned start), what it would take for L2s to reach true decentralization, and whether stablechains undercut general-purpose chains. Plus: the trade-offs of sequencers, paying gas...
Sep 19, 2025•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 907
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we’re joined by Gordon Liao, Chief Economist at Circle, to dissect the Stablecoin Wars. From Circle’s Arc and Stripe + Paradigm’s Tempo, to Solana’s native stablecoin push and Hyperliquid’s deal, we unpack why everyone suddenly wants their own chain or branded stablecoin. Is this the future of crypto’s monetary layer — or just a fra...
Sep 18, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 906
This week on Bits + Bips, hosts Steve Ehrlich and Ram Ahluwalia speak with Blockchain.com’s Nic Cary and Franklin Templeton’s Max Gokhman. We talk about how the potential Base token would alter the L2 landscape, and who should capture the value if Coinbase becomes the backbone for DeFi. Also, whether Web2 and TradFi giants will buy their way onchain, why privacy infrastructure is overdue, and how TON’s superapp strategy could pressure social platforms to follow suit. Plus: how Franklin Templeton...
Sep 17, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 905
Base just crossed its own Rubicon. After months of saying “no token,” Jesse Pollak now says Base must decentralize and is “exploring” a token. What changed? On this episode, Proof of Play’s ICO Beast and former Coinbase Ventures investor Ryan Yi unpack why “exploring” is the operative word, how policy (the Clarity Act) could shape the rollout, and what a points-driven airdrop might look like. We dig into governance realism (what Coinbase will and won’t give up), token utility and valuation math,...
Sep 16, 2025•50 min•Ep. 904
Hyperliquid’s USDH ticker set off the most dramatic “RFP” in recent memory. The crew breaks down why Native Markets ran away with validator support, whether the process was theater or strategy, and how the Bake-off became a marketing masterstroke—and potential leverage on Circle. We dig into Polymarket odds, the last‑minute Paxos bribery allegation (denied), and what this means for future “native” stables on Solana, app chains, and beyond. Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Ha...
Sep 13, 2025•57 min•Ep. 903
Stablecoins are supposed to be boring, but the fight for the USDH ticker on Hyperliquid has turned into one of the most dramatic battles in crypto. From Ethena suddenly pulling out, to Paxos revamping its bid, to whispers of favoritism, the contest has put protocol-native stablecoins in the spotlight. In this episode, MegaETH co-founder Shuyao Kong, who just announced their own stablecoin USDm, speaks about why they chose Ethena as a partner, and why alignment with Hyperliquid matters more than ...
Sep 12, 2025•32 min•Ep. 902
Pump.fun rocketed to revenue, ran a blockbuster token sale, and then hit turbulence: rivals took share, the token slid, bots spammed launches, and critics cried “casino.” Now the team is fighting back with a dynamic creator-fee model, a liquidity foundation for cult communities, and an unapologetic push into live streaming and mobile. In this episode, co-founder Noah Tweedale lays out how Project Ascend aims to align creators and communities, why buybacks aren’t a long-term business model, what ...
Sep 11, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 901
The fight for Hyperliquid’s USDH stablecoin is more than a ticker battle—it’s a referendum on how crypto distribution, governance, and incentives will shape the next trillion-dollar market. In this episode of Bits + Bips, Steve Ehrlich sits down with Delta Blockchain Fund’s Kavita Gupta, Galaxy Digital’s Alex Thorn, and Frax founder Sam Kazemian to dig into the big questions: Who will win the USDH war, and why does distribution matter more than design? Are DATs fulfilling their promises—or raisi...
Sep 10, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 900
The battle for Hyperliquid’s USDH ticker is a referendum on what crypto wants to be: a community-first public good, or a globally scaled, institution-ready product. With the clock ticking toward the proposal and voting deadlines, Agora’s Nick van Eck and Paxos Labs’ Bhau Kotecha lay out their cases—100% revenue back to users vs. 95% with enterprise distribution, “Hyperliquid alignment” versus “bring it to the masses,” and what each would build on day one if they win. We also dig into liquidity, ...
Sep 09, 2025•49 min•Ep. 899
Pokémon cards are no longer just collectibles stuffed in a binder. They’re becoming liquid, tradable assets onchain. In this episode, Collector Crypt CEO Tuom Holmberg and Bitwise’s Danny Nelson explain how the project is reimagining the $100 billion trading card industry. From slashing eBay’s 13% fees to near-zero, to solving decades-old authentication problems with vaulting and NFTs, to launching a token that surged 700% in weeks, Collector Crypt is pushing trading cards into crypto rails. We ...
Sep 05, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 898
DATs aren’t done. They may just be getting started. In this episode, CoinFund’s Chris Perkins and Upexi’s Brian Rudick join Ram Ahluwalia and Steven Ehrlich to dissect why some DATs could outcompete ETFs for certain investors, the bullish accretion math behind premiums, and what makes a winning vehicle. We also dig into whether this is altcoin season or a head fake, why Galaxy’s tokenized-share move matters, and the one market unlock Perkins says could change everything. Use this episode to pres...
Sep 04, 2025•55 min•Ep. 897
Altcoin froth meets political theater. The team dissects World Liberty Financial’s explosive debut: a $22B token backed by the Trump family, a disputed Aave partnership, insider buybacks, and a “gold paper” instead of a whitepaper. We break down Justin Sun’s role, why critics call it crypto’s “garbage moat,” and how WLFi could become the Thanksgiving dinner debate of 2025. Plus: Gavin Newsom’s meme coin tease, GDP data going on-chain, and the CFTC reopening U.S. markets to global exchanges. Welc...
Sep 04, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 896
Behind some of the biggest token launches of the past year — from Trump’s $TRUMP coin to the recent Kanye West’s $YZY, to the collapse of $LIBRA and this week’s launch of $WLFI — the same insider names keep popping up. In this episode, Bubblemaps CEO Nicolas Vaiman explains how figures like Hayden Davis of Kelsier Ventures, celebrity promoter Sahil Arora, Naseem, and even Justin Sun have profited from chaotic launches. We dig into the mechanics of insider “snipes,” one-sided LPs that hide sellin...
Sep 03, 2025•58 min•Ep. 895
Subscribe to the new Bits + Bips channels! 📺 YouTube 🎧 Podcast → Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocket Casts , Fountain 🐦 X / Twitter Coinbase’s L2 Base is quickly becoming the most powerful distribution funnel in crypto — and two builders are betting everything on it. In this episode, Aerodrome’s Alex Cutler and Moonwell’s Luke Youngblood explain why they aligned early with Base, how Coinbase’s strategy could transform token launches by offering “one-click distribution” to 100M+ users, and why t...
Aug 29, 2025•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 894
DAT mania meets market reality. Tom Lee becomes the face of ETH as BitMine amasses 1.5% of supply and mNAV premiums start to collapse. We break down Japan’s MetaPlanet tax arbitrage, SharpLink’s buyback tactics, and the coming wave of DAT M&A. Plus: Robinhood launches tokenized stocks in Europe using Arbitrum, the WFE fires a warning shot, and Stylus lets fintech devs go Rust-first onchain. Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and R...
Aug 28, 2025•58 min•Ep. 893
Subscribe to the new Bits + Bips channels! 📺 YouTube 🎧 Podcast → Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocket Casts , Fountain 🐦 X / Twitter Is crypto no longer moving in predictable four-year waves? From the rise of DATs and stablecoin-specific chains, to Hyperliquid challenging Binance itself, the industry is fracturing into segments with winners and losers. In this episode, Hack VC’s Peter Hans and DBA’s Jon Charbonneau debate whether Solana is next in line for a TradFi pump, why ETH suddenly flipped...
Aug 27, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 892
Altcoin froth meets real-asset rails. Vlad explains why Robinhood built an L2, how tokenized stocks—and even private shares like OpenAI/SpaceX—could trade on-chain, and what that means for accreditation, access, and the public/private wall. Plus: DATs, DTCC in a tokenized world, and AI that formally proves smart contracts. Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, Robinhood...
Aug 22, 2025•57 min•Ep. 891
The drama is heating up in crypto M&A. LayerZero, the omnichain interoperability protocol, shocked the market with a $110 million bid to acquire Stargate DAO — the very bridge it originally launched. Then Wormhole jumped in, asking the DAO to pause the vote so it could make a counter-offer. This episode unpacks the first-ever so-called onchain bidding war: how to value DAOs like real businesses, why LayerZero and Wormhole are fighting over Stargate, and whether this deal marks the beginning ...
Aug 22, 2025•52 min•Ep. 890
Subscribe to the new Bits + Bips channels! 📺 YouTube 🎧 Podcast → Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocket Casts , Fountain 🐦 X / Twitter Crypto is moving past speculation — and into the battle for mass adoption. In this episode, Phantom CEO Brandon Millman and Pudgy Penguins CEO Luca Netz join Unchained to debate who will own the next hundred million users. Will it be product-led startups, Web2 giants like X and Meta, or crypto-native apps like Phantom? From payments to trading wars to the “everythi...
Aug 21, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 889
Stablecoin-focused blockchains are popping up everywhere. Stripe, Circle, and more are betting they can dominate payments. But are these chains even needed? And will Ethereum ever be ready for real-world assets? Austin Campbell, NYU professor and founder of Zero Knowledge Consulting, joins Unchained to cut through the hype. From why “the market eventually eats you” to how consumers, not companies, could be the real winners, Campbell unpacks the competitive landscape and warns that the ultimate c...
Aug 15, 2025•51 min•Ep. 888
Altcoin season meets corporate blockchains as Circle and Stripe launch their own L1s, Monero suffers the biggest 51% attack in history (powered by an AI named “Garth”), and the crew debates whether the DAT boom is heading toward equilibrium or mania. Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, the crew dives into the surprising altcoin rally and asks whether ETH still c...
Aug 14, 2025•52 min•Ep. 887
