Welcome to Chain Reaction, where we unpack and explain the latest in crypto news, drama and trends, breaking things down block by block for the crypto curious.

For our Thursday episode focused on major news topics this week, Anita and Lucas unpacked the good, the bad and the downright confusing as they relate to the long-awaited Ethereum network upgrade -- The Merge -- starting this month. Jacquie has been out on vacation, so we're sure she'll be returning with lots to say next week.

We also covered:

• Meta's announcement that it will allow users to post their NFTs on Facebook and Instagram, and how the tech giant is positioned compared to competitors like Reddit in the NFT space -- as well as what this means for the mainstream embrace of crypto

Tune in on Tuesday for an interview with James Zhang, founder and CEO of Concept Art House, an NFT and web3 gaming-focused art and design studio.

Join us at TechCrunch Disrupt this October to hear from speakers including a16z’s Chris Dixon and Solana Labs’ Anatoly Yakovenko — use the promo code REACT for 15% off, excluding online and expo.

We’ll also be hosting our first crypto event in Miami this November with plenty of web3 experts — you can get 2 passes for the price of 1 if you buy them before September 7th at techcrunch.com/tccrypto.

And even if you can’t join us in person, you can use the promo code REACT for 25% on an annual pass for our TechCrunch+ membership service.

Chain Reaction comes out every Tuesday and Thursday at 12:00 p.m. PT, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.