Inside Web3

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has continuously chosen "Regulation through Enforcement," as opposed to providing clear guidelines for all things Web3. This week, the SEC settled a case against Kim Kardashian over a paid Instagram post that promoted a cryptocurrency. Emily Parker from Coindesk joins the show to tell us why she thinks this enforcement will be good for the space long-term. 

And as one case was closed, another one was opened. The SEC is launching an investigation into Yuga Labs, creators of one of the most popular NFT Projects - The Bored Ape Yacht Club. Details are still unknown, but any are speculating it is over the cryptocurrency "Apecoin" that was created to support the BAYC ecosystem. Andrew Hayward from Decrypt breaks down the history and controversy surrounding BAYC. 

Lastly - renowned artist Damien Hurst made history this week when he burned Millions of dollars worth of physical art, in the name of NFT's. Nick Fontova known as Mr.Pink - CMO of house of firsts is an avid fan of Damien Hurst and collecting NFT's. He joins us to break down Damiens project, and why he thinks this will go down in art history.

00:01 - Welcome

00:40 - Weekly Headlines

5:00 - Emily Parker writer at Coindesk - SEC vs Kim K, why this is good for Web3

12:00 - Andrew Hayward from Decrypt- SEC vs Yuga Labs

20:33 - @Mr.Pink aka Nick Fontova - Damien Hurst's art burn

This week we're celebrating International Day of The Girl (Oct.11th!) with some of the women trailblazing through Web3 and using the power of blockchain tech to foster opportunity and safety for other girls. 

Alona Shevchenko helped create UKRAINE DAO earlier this year to help aid in the fight against Russian tyranny. Now, this same model is being used to help the protestors fighting in Iran, after 22 year old Mahsa Amini was arrested for not wearing a Hijab and later killed in custody. Maral Pourkazemi is making her blockchain debut with the IRANIAN DAO to give a microphone to women on the ground and help fund change. 

Juliette Blake joins the show to share why she's taking her Web2 brand Miss O and Friends and bringing it to Web3. Miss O Cool Girls is working to lower the barrier to entry for young girls through education and inclusion. They're building educational platforms and creating safe spaces for girls to witness and participate the future of the web. 

My BFF cofounder Jaime Schmidt to learn about how she formed this network of powerful women to learn and grow in Web3 through collaboration and camaraderie. 

Honeybadges is an NFT project with a purpose. G.D Anderson was disheartened to see how much money in charity work gets lost in red tape and fees. The blockchain is cutting out the middlemen and stretching donations further. Honeybadges give you an emblem that represents you while supporting a certain cause. It creates an avenue for communities to form around similar values, and brings more structured transparency to funding charity causes. 

00:01 - Welcome

00:40 - Weekly Headlines

5:00 - Alona Shevchenko and Maral Pourkamezemi of Ukraine DAO + Iranian DAO - Funding the Fight for Civil Rights

12:00 - Juliette Blake Miss O - Closing the Gender Gap with a new generation of Girls 

16:25 - Jaime Schmidt MyBFF NFT's - A Community of Change-Makers

20:33 - G.D Anderson Honeybadges NFT's - Creating a Community Owned Media Platform 

Skeptical investors and even Governments have been drawn to a sub-class of Cryptocurrencies, called Stablecoins. Last year China banned Crypto altogether, and then launched their own Stablecoin called CNHC earlier this year. Another coin, UST became one of the biggest Stablecoins last year before it tanked within days this year, collapsing the entire market with it. What makes Stablecoins different from Bitcoin and Ethereum, how do they work, and are they THAT stable? Dan Roberts from Decrypt joins Shira to help break it all down. 

Plus, while many senior citizens have barely made their way into Web2 by creating social media profiles and reconnecting with loved ones, 61-year-old Sandra Abrams is already bringing Seniors into Web3 through her platform called OnBoard60. Sandra shares her journey into Web3, and how she's able to bring others with her. 

Last but not least, Zack Guzman made headlines this summer when he secured an interview with Do Kwon, creator of the Stablecoin UST, who had been silent for months after his coin destroyed the life savings of many. Now, Zack is launching a Web3 media platform called Trustless - a co-op owned media property that is run by the same community it's designed for. The community decides on the content, and will share in the rewards as the media property grows. 

00:01 - Welcome

00:40 - Weekly Headlines

5:00 - Sandra Abrams Onboard60 - Web3 benefits for Senior Citizens

12:00 - Dan Roberts Decrypt Media - What are Stablecoins, and can they be trusted?? 

20:33 - Zack Guzman Coinage + Trustless Media - Creating a Community Owned Media Platform 

Autograph.IO was cofounded by Tom Brady in August 2021, and quickly partnered with sports legends like Simone Biles, Derek Jeter, Tony Hawk, and Tiger Woods.  Their mission is to take fandom to a new level - creating new avenues for fans to engage with their heroes and each other. We're joined by Autograph's co-founder and CEO Dillon Rosenblatt to learn more about the company, their latest partnership with PGA, and future plans.

Plus, it's climate week in NYC and one item on the conference's agenda is the global impact Web3 has on the environment. Sophia Li joins us from NY to expand on this nuanced topic, and some of the exciting innovations tackling the issue head on. 

Finally, the US Securities and Exchange Commission continues to push legal actions without clear regulatory guidelines, and is now claiming that the US has full legal oversight of Ethereum after the merge. Brian McGleenon of Yahoo Finance shares the latest coming from the SEC and how it may dictate the future of Crypto. 

00:01 - Welcome

00:40 - Weekly Headlines

5:00 - Sophia Li Journalist - Web3 and the fight against climate change

12:00 - Dillon Rosenblatt CEO and Co-Founder of Autograph.io - Fandom in Web3

20:30 - Brian McGleenon Writer at Yahoo Finance - SEC, Regulations, and the future of Crypto

The merge from ETH to ETH2 is complete! Shira is joined by Sander Lutz of Decrypt media to discuss what the merge means, how it went, if it's being deemed as a success, and what this means for the future of Crypto and NFT's. 

"Doodles" NFT's are among the top Blue Chip NFT projects out there, with some of the characters selling for up to over $1 Million. The project as a whole has a trading volume of over $133 Million. KC Ifeanyi from FastCompany joins the show to tell us about the history of Doodles, what makes them so valuable, and what's known about the future plans for the brand. 

Finally, Starbucks has unveiled their new Rewards Program, which will live on the blockchain. Steve Kaczynski of NFTBark joins the show to tell us more, plus his future predictions for the space. 

00:01 - Welcome

00:40 - Weekly Headlines

5:00 - Sander Lutz Decrypt Media - The merge to ETH2

12:00 - KC Ifeanyi Fast Compnay - Doodles NFTs

20:30 - Steve Kaczynzki NFTBark - Starbucks Rewards NFT's

"The Ethereum Merge" is said to be the biggest Crypto event since Bitcoin. The two week process is underway, so this week we take a deep dive into the Ethereum blockchain to understand its origins, how it became the second largest Cryptocurrency, and what this merge actually means in simple terms.

We're joined by Vinay Gupta CEO of Mattereum, the Release Coordinator of the 2015 Ethereum launch, to hear about the earliest days of ETH. Laura Shin, Host of the Unchained podcast and author of Cryptopians, chronicles the evolution of ETH into what it is today. Margaux Nijkerk, Eth Protocols Reporter at Coindesk, breaks down "The Merge" and it's importance. 

Lastly, NFL is BACK, and this season NFT's are getting in the game. We meet Jamie Jackson, CCO of Mythical - who's using NFT's to further gamify fantasy football with fans. 

00:01 - Welcome

00:40 - Weekly Headlines

5:00 - Vinay Gupta and Laura Shin - The History of Ehtereum

12:00 - Margaux Nijkerk journalist at Coindesk - Why is ETH merging to ETH2?

20:30 - Jamie Jackson Chief Creative Officer at Mythical - NFT's + the NFL

The main thing that Web3 advocates are working towards is decentralization - shifting industry ownership to the creatives and consumers, instead of the wealthy elite. 

This week, we're joined by some of the pioneers in "Film3" - the next evolution in film making. The goal of Film3 is to get fans engaged in the film making process, helping to make decisions through the filming process and lending their creative skillsets to the project. Melissa Rowley of Warrior Love Productions and Brett Claywell of Solis join to tell Shira how they're moving Film3 forward. 

Plus, Animoca Brands was recently called the "Crypto Winter King" by Bloomberg. While many have struggled through the bear market, Animoca Brands has expanded their portfolio to include over 340 Web3 companies, including Opensea, Axie Infinity, and The Sandbox. We speak with Evan Auyang, Group President at Animoca to learn how the company chooses which Web3 companies are worth investing in, and whether Web3 enthusiasts should fear such a large company owning so many Web3 leading companies. 

Lastly, Snoop and Eminem made a big splash las week at the MTV Video Music Awards when they performed their new song live from the Metaverse. Snoop's Agent, Nick Adler, joins the show to share why Snoop is so bullish on NFT's, what it was like to pull off this show at the VMA's, and how NFT's are reshaping music. 

00:01 - Welcome

00:45- Weekly Headlines

4:58 - Melissa Rowley CEO of Warrior Love Productions - What is Film3? 

8:00 - Brett Claywell Director, Actor, and Cofounder of SOLIS - Building and funding a new community of film talent 

12:00 - Evan Auyang Group President at Animoca Brands - The Long Term Goals of being a Web3 Conglomerate 

20:30 - Nick Adler of Cashmere Agency (Snoop Dogg) - Bringing a Metaverse Performance to the MTV Video Music Awards

Michael Bay has announced a partnership with the gaming studio, Jadu. Using Augmented Reality, they're working to make the world around you the latest arena for mobile gaming. Soon you and an AR robot, co-designed by Michael Bay, will star in an adventure that brings characters and quests to the world around you. Asad Malik, CEO and Founder of Jadu, joins us to lay out the companies vision in detail. 

Plus, did you know you can take out a loan against your most valuable NFT? Well, you can... and this business model nearly tanked the NFT market thanks to the company BendDAO. Kate Irwin from Decrypt media joins the show to tell us what BendDAO was doing, and how with quick action they were able to save their company... and possibly the entire NFT market.

Lastly, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a Cease and Desist letter to a handful of crypto exchanges (including industry leader, FTX) over misconstrued claims that investors funds were federally insured. Nikhilesh De from Coindesk shares the full story, as well as his predictions for the week ahead. 

00:01 - Welcome

00:30 - Weekly Headlines

5:00 - Kate Irwin Writer at Decrypt - BendDAO liquidity crisis

12:00 - Asad Malik CEO + Founder of Jadu - Augmented Reality meets Michael Bay

16:50 - Elise Swopes NFT Artist - Why are artist royalties important, and what does this disruption in Web3 mean for her?

20:30 - Nik De writer at Coindesk - FDIC issues Cease and Desist letters to FTX + more

One of the biggest benefits of Web3 and blockchain tech is that Artists can be compensated for their work long after the initial sale. The benefit of selling your work on the blockchain is that royalty terms are baked into an underlying Smart Contract tied to the artists work. But some platforms are creating ways to circumvent these rules and undercut the agreements. This week sparked a huge debate on twitter over Artist Royalties in Web3, so we sit down with Andrew Hayward of Decrypt Media to break it all down. Plus Web3 artist SWOPES joins Shira to give her take. 

After months of anticipation, the Fed has issued guidelines for banks looking to get into Crypto trading. We're joined by Hannah Lang, writer at Reuters, to try and understand what rules have been laid out and what this means for regulators. 

Lastly, there's a new Blockchain on the rise: Tezos. While most Cyrpto has struggled in recent months, Tezos seems to be seeing steady growth through the bear market. Langston Thomas of NFT Now tells us everything we need to know abut this growing ecosystem, whats behind it's success, and where the coin could be headed next.  

00:01 - Welcome

00:45- Weekly Headlines

4:58 - Hannah Lang Writer at Reuters - Fed Regulations for Banks + Crypto

11:57 - Andrew Hayward Culture Editor at Decrypt Media - Overview of Artist Royalties in the NFT Space

16:50 - Elise Swopes NFT Artist - Why are artist royalties important, and what does this disruption in Web3 mean for her?

20:30 - Langston Thomas of NFT Now - What is "Tezos" crypto and why is it rising in the bear market? 

Despite the struggling NFT market, brands we know and love continue to launch NFT projects and many have begun moving their Loyalty Rewards programs to the blockchain. Imagine being able to wrack up airline miles and then sell them to someone else, or buying a music festival ticket that lets you vote on the lineup. We speak with Riley De Leon from CNBC to learn about the shifting structure of Loyalty Rewards programs, as well as Matt Smolin from Hang.XYZ to learn how he's helping big brands make the switch. 

Moonbirds is a "Blue Chip" NFT project that had originally promised it's community that they would have full IP rights to their NFT's, similar to other popular projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club. This week they changed the rights to all their NFT's to CC0's, making the images open to the public and enraging investors. Shira held a Twitter Spaces on the subject and was joined by Kevin Rose, founder of Moonbirds, to try and understand why the sudden change. 

Lastly, Tornado Cash is the latest Crypto company to come under the attack from regulators. The company allows investors to obscure their transaction data from being traced, but has been used by nefarious groups like The Lazorous Group from North Korea. Now, users are trolling regulators by sending small amounts of Crypto to celebrities. We speak with Matt Leising to learn more about the situation, and how hard it will be for regulators to enforce. 

00:01 - Welcome

00:40- Weekly Headlines

4:48 - Riley De Leon Writer at CNBC - Loyalty Rewards programs and the blockchain

9:00 - Matt Smolin Founder of Hang.xyz - How Web3 can foster a more personal relationship with brands

11:50 - Twitter Spaces Live (Kevin Rose Founder of Moonbirds NFT) - The shift to CC0 Intellectual Property Rights

20:27 - Matt Leising of Decential.io - What is Tornado Cash and why was it just banned in the US