It's never a dull week in crypto, folks.

First up, Hunter Biden is launching a memecoin called LAPTOP — aimed squarely at people who've lost money on the Trump memecoin. And the timing is pretty extraordinary, because memecoin trading is roaring back, with Robinhood Chain posting record volumes.

Then, Bitcoin miners are quitting Bitcoin for AI. Some of the biggest players in the industry are shutting down mining operations and turning their power-hungry warehouses over to AI — because apparently GPUs are now a better business than Bitcoin.

And finally, El Salvador's Bitcoin mystery deepens. The IMF says the country's Bitcoin stash has continued growing thanks to private donations... from donors who, so far, nobody seems willing to name.

Let's get into it 🚀

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TIMESTAMPS

3:04 Sleepy Joe's son is launching a memecoin called LAPTOP

8:09 Hyperscale Data is quitting Bitcoin for AI

11:27 El Salvador mystery deepens

14:14 Short, sharp news bites

****

Show notes:

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If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

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*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we've got a very special guest joining us for this week's crypto news — Peter Stanhope, General Manager Australia at Nexo.

Peter has spent almost a decade at IG Australia, co-founded superannuation startup GigSuper, ran Capital.com's Australian operations, jumped the fence into crypto with Banxa, and now heads up Nexo here in Australia — just as they've launched regulated crypto-backed credit lines Down Under.

Welcome, Peter!

So what have we got for you this week?

First up, we're going inside Nexo with Peter to find out how a crypto platform went from a 2018 startup to more than 7 million customers — and what regulated crypto-backed lending actually looks like for Australians.

Then, California has had enough of politician memecoins. Its legislature has unanimously voted to ban public officials from launching their own coins — because apparently this is a problem we now need laws for.

And finally, we've got 4,000 goats, an insane wage law and a prediction market. A California goat-herding company has literally hedged the risk of a $240,000 wage bill by betting on whether the government will fix the law.

Let's get into it. 🚀

****

TIMESTAMPS

1:28 Nexo's story

10:48 California bans memecoins from politicians

14:00 Goat herders make a stand on Kalshi

18;20 Short, sharp news bites

****

Show notes:

Nexo | Linkedin | X

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If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

Follow the Crypto Curious Instagram here.

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*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm Blake, and Tracey is taking a break this week, but you're not stuck with just me. We've got two great co-hosts joining us.

First, a returning favourite, seasoned digital asset investor Ben Ritchie is back on the show. And making his debut behind the mic, James Brannan.

And before we get into it, a quick favour: we'd love you to take our two-minute listener survey. Your feedback genuinely helps us make the show better, and there's a link in the show notes.

Now, Ben and James, you've picked quite a week to jump behind the mic.

Bitcoin has absolutely ripped. After months of grinding sideways and down, it jumped 22% in a single week, going from around $64,000 to almost $80,000 — its best week since 2023.

And this wasn't just one thing.

The US Treasury started pumping more liquidity into the market. Trump invited one of crypto's biggest offshore exchanges to come into America. And the SEC just proposed its first crypto-specific fundraising framework in 90 years.

So, what's actually going on? Let's get into it 🚀

****

Show notes:

2-minute survey

Curious about our app? Try out the new Bamboo demo mode.

OR try our new Micro-Investment Calculator

Have you subscribed to the Crypto Curious Newsletter?

****

If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

Follow the Crypto Curious Instagram here.

Join the Crypto Curious Facebook Group here.

*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Crypto Curious, we're fresh off our 1 million download celebration - and what a week to get back to the news desk. Thank you again for all the love on the reunion episode; now the crypto world has served up one of the wildest news weeks of the year.

👉🏼 First, XRP has fallen below $1 for the first time in almost 2 years - and the trigger was a hack that took just 97 minutes. We unpack how a flaw in a little-known bridge let attackers drain almost every coin it held, and why such a small exploit managed to rattle an already nervous market.

👉🏼 Then, a story with a genuine constitutional twist. New York has sued prediction market Kalshi for a staggering $36 billion, claiming it's running an unlicensed gambling operation - while the federal regulator has fired back with an emergency order telling Kalshi to keep operating anyway. One company, 2 governments, completely opposite instructions. The courts now have to decide who's actually in charge.

👉🏼 And finally, a sentence that would have sounded like satire not long ago: the Trump family's crypto firm is on its way to becoming a bank. World Liberty Financial has won conditional approval for a federal trust bank charter - we explain what that actually means, why critics are calling it "the most brazen act of self-dealing" in financial history, and why crypto firms everywhere are queuing up for banking licenses.

Plus, the short sharp news bites, including the US state where running a Bitcoin ATM can now land you in jail.

Let's get into it 🚀

****

Show notes:

Curious about our app? Try out the new Bamboo demo mode.

OR try our new Micro-Investment Calculator

Have you subscribed to the Crypto Curious Newsletter?

****

If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

Follow the Crypto Curious Instagram here.

Join the Crypto Curious Facebook Group here.

*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is not a normal week...Because Crypto Curious has just hit 1 million downloads — and you can't have a celebration like that without getting the gang back together.

So joining us this week is the one and only Craig Jackson, our original partner in crypto, who was here for more than half of the almost five years we've been making this show.

👉🏼 We launched Crypto Curious in November 2021, right as Bitcoin hit its then all-time high of $69,000. Then came Terra Luna, Celsius, FTX, the NFT boom and bust, Bitcoin ETFs, two halvings, Trump Coin, the $1.5 billion Bybit hack... and somehow, through all of it, you lot kept downloading the show...1 million times.

So before we get into this week's news, we're going to take a moment to look back at the wild ride that got us here — and then, naturally, get stuck straight back into the madness.

👉🏼 Because this week we've got a $6.4 billion crypto deal falling apart, Bybit taking North Korea to court over the biggest crypto hack in history, and Tether moving into Saudi Arabian real estate.

Not bad for a comeback episode.

Let's get into it 🚀

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TIMESTAMPS

3:15 At the 'tippity top' of the market we launched!!

8:45 Trump Media breaks up with crypto

11:38 Bybit sues North Korea

14:57 Tether moves into Saudi Arabian real estate

18:53 Short, sharp news bites

****

Show notes:

Curious about our app? Try out the new Bamboo demo mode.

OR try our new Micro-Investment Calculator

Have you subscribed to the Crypto Curious Newsletter?

****

If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

Follow the Crypto Curious Instagram here.

Join the Crypto Curious Facebook Group here.

*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Crypto Curious, we're also celebrating a milestone that's just around the corner. Next week's episode marks 1 million podcast downloads, and to celebrate we're bringing back our original co-host Craig for a special reunion episode. If you've been with us since the early days—or you're only just discovering the show—you won't want to miss it.

But first, there's plenty happening this week.

👉🏼 We're unpacking one of the biggest Bitcoin security stories in years after a hidden flaw in a trusted hardware wallet allowed more than $144 million worth of Bitcoin to be stolen from users who thought their funds were safely locked away. It's a timely reminder that even the strongest security systems can have unexpected weaknesses.

👉🏼 Then we turn to a story that feels more like a Hollywood script than real life. A US Special Forces soldier is accused of using classified military intelligence to place winning bets on a prediction market—and his legal defence is arguing that what he did wasn't actually against the law.

👉🏼 And finally, Robinhood's blockchain experiment takes another strange turn. What launched as a platform for tokenised stocks is now seeing memecoins tied to companies like Nvidia and Apple, raising fascinating questions about where investing, speculation and blockchain are all headed.

Let's get into it 🚀

****

TIMESTAMPS

2:08 The middle of night Bitcoin hack

5:34 Classified intel used to place bets on Polymarket

8:40 Robinhood's meme coins trading against the big guns??

11:30 Short, sharp news bites

****

Show notes:

Curious about our app? Try out the new Bamboo demo mode.

OR try our new Micro-Investment Calculator

Have you subscribed to the Crypto Curious Newsletter?

****

If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

Follow the Crypto Curious Instagram here.

Join the Crypto Curious Facebook Group here.

*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week feels less like a crypto podcast... and more like the script of a Netflix crime series.

👉🏽 A night out in Bali ends with an Australian tourist allegedly losing $14,000 in crypto after handing over his unlocked phone to add someone on Instagram. But the story takes an extraordinary twist when it turns out the victim himself has been accused of some of crypto's most notorious scams.

👉🏽 Then we farewell one of the industry's true pioneers. BitMEX, the exchange that invented perpetual futures, changed crypto trading forever, survived regulators, billion-dollar lawsuits and presidential pardons... is finally shutting its doors after 11 remarkable years.

👉🏽 And finally, North Korea has done something nobody saw coming. The regime has reportedly arrested its own former military hackers after they allegedly stole from North Korea's own banks and laundered the money through cryptocurrency.

Let's get into it 🚀

****

TIMESTAMPS

1:58 Bali, beach club and a drained crypto wallet!

5:20 BitMEX closes its doors

10:20 North Korea plot twist

12:30 Short, sharp news bites

****

Show notes:

Curious about our app? Try out the new Bamboo demo mode.

OR try our new Micro-Investment Calculator

Have you subscribed to the Crypto Curious Newsletter?

****

If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

Follow the Crypto Curious Instagram here.

Join the Crypto Curious Facebook Group here.

*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Crypto Curious. Joining us in the studio this week is a very special guest, James Coombes, Chief Commercial Officer at Block Earner. James has helped lead one of Australia's biggest crypto success stories, with Block Earner launching Bitcoin-backed home loans, securing its Australian Credit Licence and taking home the 2026 Finnies Award for Excellence in Consumer Lending.

👉🏽 On the show today, we start by going behind the scenes at Block Earner to explore how Bitcoin-backed home loans actually work, what they've learnt navigating Australia's regulatory landscape, and why more Australians are choosing to put their crypto to work rather than sell it.

👉🏽 Then we unpack a rare moment of humility in crypto, as the creator of Coinbase's Base network publicly admits he got a major strategy wrong, before handing the reins to one of the industry's most respected and influential voices, Cobie.

👉🏽 And finally, remember Robinhood's new blockchain we spoke about last week? Well, the memecoin frenzy has already descended into fake wallet leaks, rug pulls and a spectacular collapse that raises some uncomfortable questions about where the industry still has work to do.

It's a fascinating conversation that spans everything from regulated lending to crypto culture, and where this industry is really heading next.

Let’s get into it 🚀

TIMESTAMPS

1:46 Block Earner turns 5!

5:38 Will CGT changes incentivise more people to borrow against their crypto?

7:00 Jesse Pollak falls short...and admits it publicly!

12:12 Robinhood's cash cat?? What?

16:00 Short, sharp news bites

****

Show notes:

James Coombes

Block Earner

Curious about our app? Try out the new Bamboo demo mode.

OR try our new Micro-Investment Calculator

Have you subscribed to the Crypto Curious Newsletter?

****

If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

Follow the Crypto Curious Instagram here.

Join the Crypto Curious Facebook Group here.

*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're looking at three stories that all ask the same question: who really controls the money?

👉🏼 First, a crypto attacker walked away with $20 million from BonkDAO without hacking a single line of code. He simply bought enough voting power to pass a proposal that transferred the treasury to himself.

👉🏼 Then we head to Washington, where America's Strategic Bitcoin Reserve has stalled because two government departments are fighting over who gets to hold roughly $21 billion worth of Bitcoin.

👉🏼 And finally, Interpol has uncovered a $122 million romance-scam laundering network linked to a 20-year-old crypto wallet, highlighting how blockchain investigators are becoming increasingly effective at tracing money across multiple chains.

Let's get into it 🚀

****

TIMESTAMPS

2:01 Bonk DAO's treasury gets hacked for $20m via vote stacking

6:10 The March 2025 big promise locked in a turf war

8:32 Interpol wraps Operation First Light 2026 - what even is it?

11:13 Short, sharp news bites

****

Show notes:

Curious about our app? Try out the new Bamboo demo mode.

OR try our new Micro-Investment Calculator

Have you subscribed to the Crypto Curious Newsletter?

****

If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

Follow the Crypto Curious Instagram here.

Join the Crypto Curious Facebook Group here.

*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The crypto industry has matured rapidly over the past few years, but what's next?

This week on Crypto Curious, we sat down with Tamas Szabo, Group CEO of Pepperstone Crypto, to discuss the evolution of digital assets, where the market is heading, and what it will take for crypto to become part of everyday finance.

Whether you're new to crypto or have been following the industry for years, this conversation offers a thoughtful perspective on where we're headed next.

Let's get into it 🚀

****

TIMESTAMPS

1:32 An introduction from Tamas & Pepperstone

4:10 What's a CFD?

5:32 From CFD's to spot exchange...

9:00 What makes Pepperstone Crypto different from the competition?

10:50 Crypto regulation - where is it going?

12:41 What are crypto traders getting that FX traders aren't?

15:00 Let's talk pricing

16:12 Custody best practice

17:00 Tamas's past experience in the crypto ecosystem

****

Social handles:

Pepperstone Crypto is offering 0% commission trading on all crypto for the month of July!

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Instagram

Facebook

****

If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

Follow the Crypto Curious Instagram here.

Join the Crypto Curious Facebook Group here.

*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.