Quantum computing risk, USDC vs. Tether drama after the Drift hack, and World Liberty Financial’s governance circus take center stage as Haseeb, Tom, Tarun, and special guest Joshua Lim dissect market signals, institutional FUD, Trumpcoin shenanigans, and ask: is crypto VC dead or just getting started? 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, the crew is joined by special ...
Apr 19, 2026•1 hr 20 min
Debanked 12 times. Walked through an airport in handcuffs. Every charge eventually gone. Nader Al-Naji on the defense strategy that convinced both agencies to back off. ======================================================== Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at http://nexo.com/unchained ============================...
Apr 18, 2026•1 hr 21 min
A Bitcoin developer just proposed freezing wallets that don't upgrade for quantum resistance. Including Satoshi's. Thank you to our sponsors! Nexo Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at http://nexo.com/unchained Multichain Advisors MultiChain Advisors is an emerging technology growth firm that has helped cre...
Apr 18, 2026•1 hr 17 min
Can a private company be trusted to decide which 40 firms get access to the world’s most dangerous AI model? And separately — is the SEC’s new Reg Crypto finally the framework the industry has been waiting for since 2020? Thanks to our sponsors! * As Bitcoin's application layer, Citrea gives you access to the first trust-minimized BTC on a fully programmable platform and a native stablecoin for Bitcoin, ctUSD. You can now participate in Bitcoin capital markets with lending, privacy, payments, B...
Apr 17, 2026•52 min
The US Naval blockade is live, markets are holding, and Ram thinks the bottom is in. Austin and Chris are not so sure. --- Thank you to our sponsors: Citrea As Bitcoin's application layer, Citrea gives you access to the first trust-minimized BTC on a fully programmable platform and a native stablecoin for Bitcoin, ctUSD. You can now participate in Bitcoin capital markets with lending, privacy, payments, Bitcoin yield, trading and predictions. You get expanded Bitcoin utility without sacrificing ...
Apr 14, 2026•1 hr 4 min
The basis trade paid 15–30% near risk-free for years. Options couldn't compete. Then 10/10 happened. ======================================================== As Bitcoin's application layer, Citrea gives you access to the first trust-minimized BTC on a fully programmable platform and a native stablecoin for Bitcoin, ctUSD. You can now participate in Bitcoin capital markets with lending, privacy, payments, Bitcoin yield, trading and predictions. You get expanded Bitcoin utility without sacrificing...
Apr 14, 2026•55 min
Why ETH outperformed Bitcoin this past week, what's really behind the prediction market activity during the Iran situation, and what comes next for institutional crypto adoption. --- Thank you to our sponsors! Ether.fi — 15% cash back on food and rideshare apps, 3% on everything else, borrow at 4% or less Citrea — Trust minimized BTC, native stablecoin CT-USD, Bitcoin capital markets --- A tenuous Iran ceasefire sent oil prices tumbling this past week, and crypto responded before any other asset...
Apr 14, 2026•45 min
James Seyffart didn't expect Morgan Stanley to do this. Now he's watching to see if BlackRock blinks. Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at http://nexo.com/unchained Ether.fi is giving Unchained listeners 15% cashback on food and ride apps — and that's on top of the 3% you get on everything else. Your bank is chargin...
Apr 10, 2026•31 min
Bitcoin’s Satoshi drama heats up again as a major journalistic “reveal” drops, just as the crypto industry gets rocked by a quantum computing breakthrough that pulls up security timelines—and AI-powered exploits are suddenly real. We break down Satoshi theories, Blockstream PR whispers, the new quantum risk landscape, Ethereum vs. Bitcoin migration pain, and why your favorite protocols might not be ready for North Korea or superintelligent bug finders. Welcome to The Chopping Block — where crypt...
Apr 10, 2026•1 hr 1 min
Anthropic's new model is too dangerous to release publicly. It's already found 20 zero-days. Kain, Taylor, and Austin want to know when it finds the first one in a smart contract. Thank you to our sponsors! MultiChain Advisors is an emerging technology growth firm that has helped create over $50 billion in enterprise value for more than 80 clients, like Pyth, Moonpay Commerce, and Wormhole. They’re the partner you want when you’re navigating markets and trying to break out from the noise...
Apr 10, 2026•1 hr 10 min
Will SEC guidance stick around if the administration changes? Commissioner Peirce and Sumeera Younis of the Crypto Task Force answer. Thanks to our sponsors! * Citrea — Bitcoin changed how money works. Citrea changes how Bitcoin scales. Trust-minimized BTC on a fully programmable platform with native stablecoin CTUSD. Get started at citrea.xyz/unchained * Ether.fi — 15% cash back on groceries, restaurants, and rideshares. 3% on everything else. Borrow against holdings at 4% or less. Earn up to 8...
Apr 08, 2026•54 min
The Drift hack wasn't a one-off exploit. It was a patient operation spanning months, with nation-state actors working the conference circuit. Then Circle let the hackers take the money. Bitcoin’s application layer, Citrea, launched its mainnet, expanding Bitcoin’s utility to privacy, lending, BTC yields, and more. Citrea enables: cBTC: The first trust-minimized Bitcoin on a fully programmable platform. ctUSD: A native stablecoin for Bitcoin, allowing for unified liquidity. Bitcoin Capital Market...
Apr 08, 2026•1 hr 10 min
A nation state hacked a startup and won. The hosts debate who's liable, what's fixable, and what isn't. --- Thank you to our sponsors: Bitcoin’s application layer, Citrea, launched its mainnet, expanding Bitcoin’s utility to privacy, lending, BTC yields, and more. Citrea enables: cBTC: The first trust-minimized Bitcoin on a fully programmable platform. ctUSD: A native stablecoin for Bitcoin, allowing for unified liquidity. Bitcoin Capital Markets bringing demand, and utility to the Bitcoin Netwo...
Apr 07, 2026•1 hr
Charles Schwab’s chief crypto strategist breaks down why traditional finance valuation frameworks, not narratives, are finally taking hold in digital assets. --- Multichain Advisors is an emerging technology growth firm that has helped create over $50 billion in enterprise value for 80+ clients. Services include TGE support, go-to-market strategy, BD, partnerships, capital markets advisory, PR, media placements, and KOL activations. Visit https://www.multichainadv.com/ --- Charles Schwab r...
Apr 06, 2026•46 min
The Drift Protocol is down $285 million and Circle has the power to freeze the funds — but won’t. Kain, Taylor, and Luca explain why. Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need The Drift Protocol hack was still unfolding when Kain, Taylor, and Luca went live. Within hours of a suspected admin key compromise, over $285 million had been drained acro...
Apr 06, 2026•1 hr 17 min
The Chopping Block crew and Wintermute’s Evgeny Gaevoy debate whether Canton is truly permissionless, if Ethereum Foundation should double down on cypherpunk ideals or embrace institutions, and how AI-driven attacks are forcing everyone in crypto and open source to rethink security models. 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’ve got Evgeny Gaevoy, Founder of Wintermu...
Apr 05, 2026•57 min
When do oil prices force a ceasefire? Why is crypto holding firm while equities crack? And does Canton or Ethereum win the institutional race? --- Thank you to our sponsor: Nexo — the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your digital assets, borrow against them without selling, and trade a wide range of cryptocurrencies all in one place. Now available in the US with 30 days of exclusive privileges for new clients. Get started at nexo.com/unchained . ---- Bond market t...
Apr 05, 2026•1 hr 5 min
Charles Schwab’s chief crypto strategist breaks down why traditional finance valuation frameworks, not narratives, are finally taking hold in digital assets. --- Multichain Advisors is an emerging technology growth firm that has helped create over $50 billion in enterprise value for 80+ clients. Services include TGE support, go-to-market strategy, BD, partnerships, capital markets advisory, PR, media placements, and KOL activations. Visit https://www.multichainadv.com/ --- Charles Schwab recen...
Apr 05, 2026•46 min
Chaos Labs' Omer Goldberg unpacks the $285 million Drift Protocol exploit. Did the perp DEX fail to implement best practices? Sponsored by Nexo : A crypto lending and borrowing platform that lets users earn interest on digital assets and access credit against their holdings. Now available in the US with exclusive privileges for new clients. Get started today: http://nexo.com/unchained Solana's biggest perp DEX Drift Protocol was exploited for $285 million on April Fool's Day in a compromise...
Apr 04, 2026•39 min
Former FTX General Counsel Ryne Miller joins the DEX in the City crew to unpack the CFTC's crypto moves. Does the agency have the staffing to achieve its “aggressive” agenda? Thanks to our sponsor, Nexo , the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your digital assets. Borrow against them without selling. Trade a variety of cryptocurrencies. All in one platform . Now available in the U.S. Get started today at nexo.com/unchained . The Commodity Futures Trading Commission under Chair ...
Apr 03, 2026•42 min
Google just set a deadline. Quantum computers could break Bitcoin's encryption by 2029. Are blockchains ready? Sponsored by Nexo Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at http://nexo.com/unchained Google and Oratomic published quantum computing research on the same day, and together they redraw the timeline for when bl...
Apr 03, 2026•1 hr 9 min
Oil above $100, Qatar's LNG infrastructure in ruins, and a 150-year-old grid buckling under AI-era demand: Sean Murray breaks down why energy has an L1 problem and how Fuse is building the crypto-native fix. --- Multichain Advisors is an emerging technology growth firm that has helped create over $50 billion in enterprise value for 80+ clients. Services include TGE support, go-to-market strategy, BD, partnerships, capital markets advisory, PR, media placements, and KOL activations. Visit https:/...
Mar 28, 2026•46 min
Will AI agents use cards or stablecoins? Here’s how two crypto VCs see the agentic future shaping up. Sponsored by Nexo : A crypto lending and borrowing platform that lets users earn interest on digital assets and access credit against their holdings. Now available in the US with exclusive privileges for new clients. Get started today: http://nexo.com/unchained What happens when merchants are code instead of storefronts? Noah Levine and Robbie Petersen debate whether stablecoins or cards win in ...
Mar 27, 2026•39 min
Chaos Labs’ Omer Goldberg joins the crew to dig into the Resolv Labs exploit. Why was the USR minting function controlled by a single key? And how did audits miss it? Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need Crypto Tax Girl $25 million extracted and millions more in bad debt across lending protocols. Chaos Labs founder Omer Goldberg joins Une...
Mar 27, 2026•1 hr 24 min
Trump pulled off a five-day ceasefire nobody expected. Ram calls it the greatest TACO of his career. --- Thank you to our sponsor: Nexo — the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your digital assets, borrow against them without selling, and trade a wide range of cryptocurrencies all in one place. Now available in the US with 30 days of exclusive privileges for new clients. Get started at nexo.com/unchained . ---- Trump announced a five-day pause on strikes against Iranian energy ...
Mar 25, 2026•1 hr 2 min
Bitcoin dropped under $69K even as the SEC and CFTC create more clarity for crypto, and agentic commerce looks like it will reshape the sector. --- Thank you to our sponsor, MultiChain Advisors --- Bitcoin dropped under $69K after the Fed, ECB, and Bank of England all held rates steady this week, while Australia hiked. Kaiko's Laurens Fraussen joins to explain what's actually happening beneath the surface, from collapsing liquidity to a quiet geographic shift in who's buying. He also makes the c...
Mar 23, 2026•43 min
Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder and CPO of Mysten Labs, walks through how Hashi works and how it differs from the competition. Can it succeed where others have failed? Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at nexo.com/unchained Mysten Labs has announced Hashi, a protocol designed to unlock several financial applications f...
Mar 20, 2026•30 min
The crew unpacks the significance of the Trade[XYZ] S&P 500 license, why Vanity Fair's recent crypto piece is so controversial and whether the EF is returning to “communism.” Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need Trade[XYZ] has obtained a license from the S&P Dow Jones Indices to offer S&P 500 perps on Hyperliquid. A crypto trader lost $5...
Mar 20, 2026•1 hr 15 min
The crew unpacks the Binance case against the Wall Street Journal. Is the lawsuit just for optics? Plus, why crypto can't turn a blind eye to one Aave user's $50 million loss. Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at nexo.com/unchained Binance has sued the Wall Street Journal for defamation over a report that money has ...
Mar 19, 2026•52 min
Across Protocol wants to retire its token in exchange for equity. Is the DAO model structurally broken? Thank you to our sponsor! Adaptive Security With Across Protocol proposing to retire its ACX token in favor of equity, a long-simmering question in crypto governance is finally breaking into the open: do token holders actually have meaningful ownership, or just the illusion of it? As the regulatory environment under the new U.S. administration shifts dramatically from the Gensler era, the stru...
Mar 19, 2026•1 hr 8 min
