Jaynti Kanani, cofounder and CEO of Polygon, discusses why the layer 2 solution has seen so much success during a down crypto market. Show highlights: what factors have led to Polygon’s and MATIC's impressive performance YTD how Polygon is scaling Ethereum what types of projects are taking off on Polygon how Polygon is attempting to address the issue of layer 2 composability how Polygon plans to use its latest funding why Jaynti is confident Polygon will still be necessary after ETH 2.0 launches...
Jun 18, 2021•36 min•Ep. 247
To celebrate the 5th anniversary of Unchained, I answer some questions submitted to me by the audience. In this episode, I cover: what I think about the relationship between psychedelics and crypto the most entertaining guest I’ve interviewed on Unchained why Coinbase founders may have a more impactful future on crypto than Ethereum founders which show has been the most impactful why I am a “nocoiner” where I believe DAOs fit into the future of crypto who my favorite guests have been over the ye...
Jun 15, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 246
ForUsAll recently announced a new product that will allow cryptocurrency investments to be made inside 401(k) retirement accounts. Jeff Schulte, CEO of ForUsAll, discusses why putting crypto in a 401(k) is such a game changer, how this differs from Bitcoin IRAs, and more! Show highlights: how bringing crypto into a 401(k) with ForUsAll will work what “guardrails” ForUsAll is placing on investors who choose to invest in crypto the tax advantages of purchasing crypto within a 401(k) whether ForUsA...
Jun 11, 2021•39 min•Ep. 245
Willy Woo, on-chain Bitcoin analyst and writer of the Bitcoin Forecast, a market intelligence newsletter, and Rafael Schultze-Kraft, co-founder and CTO of Glassnode, discuss Bitcoin and what the on-chain metrics tell us about the price. Here to discuss is. Episode highlights: what factors pushed the price of BTC down in May why Elon’s Twitter account hold so much sway over the market why Willy believes Bitcoin is good for renewable energy who sold during the last month which type of BTC investor...
Jun 08, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 244
Jeremy Rubin, a Bitcoin Core contributor and founder of Judica, a Bitcoin R&D Lab, joins Unchained from the Miami Bitcoin Conference (2021) to discuss all things Taproot. Show highlights: a general update on the Miami Bitcoin Conference what Taproot will do for the Bitcoin network how Taproot will make Bitcoin transactions more private what effect Taproot might have on on-chain analytics companies what parts of Bitcoin transactions will be public if/when Taproot goes live what new wallet fea...
Jun 04, 2021•43 min•Ep. 243
Nick Tomaino, general partner of 1confirmation, discusses his firm’s recently announced third fund of $125 million and gives his perspective on many hot crypto topics, such as NFTs, Layer 2 solutions, Polkadot, DAOs, and more. Show highlights: why Nick became interested in crypto and his background what drives 1confirmation’s investment thesis why he Nick believes NFTs have taken off in popularity this year why NFTs are currently in a bubble what we might do with NFTs in the future how competiti...
Jun 01, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 242
House Representative Tom Emmer, of Minnesota, is one of the most active voice for crypto and blockchain in the US government. In this episode, he discusses: what book made Tom fall down the crypto rabbit hole why Tom believes the Financial Accounting Standards Board needs to set clear accounting standards for cryptocurrencies why the current way of accounting for Bitcoin on balance sheets may be a detriment to companies in the future how he feels about the acting head of the OCC putting together...
May 28, 2021•39 min•Ep. 241
Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix, and Kyle Samani, managing partner at Multicoin Capital, debate the merits of Ethereum, Solana, and Binance Smart Chain. In this episode, they discuss: why Ethereum is losing market share to Solana and BSC whether decentralization matters and at what point decentralization becomes redundant why they think Solana and Binance Smart Chain need to be taken seriously as competitors to EThereum whether BSC or Solana is the bigger long-term threat to Ethereum the bigg...
May 25, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 240
Mike Novogratz, founder, CEO, and chairman of Galaxy Digital, digs into the drivers behind this week’s market selloff. Show highlights: the five factors Mike believes led to this week’s dip what Mike thinks about the environmental concerns surrounding Bitcoin how Ethereum will perform in 2021 whether centralized blockchains will survive regulatory scrutiny why Galaxy Digital made its $1 billion acquisition of BitGo what sort of projects Galaxy Digital is mulling in the DeFi space when Mike think...
May 21, 2021•41 min•Ep. 239
Last week, Tesla announced they will no longer accept Bitcoin as payment for vehicles. In a timely episode, Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation, and James McGinniss, CEO and co-founder of David Energy, come onto the show to discuss Bitcoin, the petrodollar, and how to contextualize the energy usage of the first cryptocurrency (BTC) versus the leading fiat currency (USD). Show highlights: their backgrounds and how they became interested in the intersection of cur...
May 18, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 238
Jeff Dorman, the chief investment officer at Arca, comes on the show to give a macro perspective on the crypto environment. In this episode, he discusses: how economic data and real-world events have affected digital assets how Jeff classifies the different types of assets within crypto what market forces have pushed ETH to new all-time highs above $4k whether EIP 1559 will have the same effect on ether price as the Bitcoin halving has on BTC price what is happening with Dogecoin and other meme-...
May 14, 2021•39 min•Ep. 237
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 3 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•50 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 9 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•36 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 7 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 7 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 Ethe...
Mar 12, 2021•40 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 11 min•Ep. 218
