Episode 35 of The Starting Block, hosted by The Block's Gareth Jenkinson, was broadcasted live with Mysten Labs Co-Founder Kostas Chalkias.

Mysten Labs Co-Founder Kostas Chalkias joins Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block to discuss AI as a growing threat to cryptographic security, the case for continuous automated auditing of blockchain code, and how Walrus Memory enables decentralized AI data portability across LLMs.

OUTLINE
00:11 - Show Open & Markets
02:43 - The Block Briefing
08:00 - Hot Seat: AI vs. Cryptography
12:54 - Cold Card & Continuous Auditing
17:24 - Hardware Wallets & Multi-Sig
24:37 - Sam Blackshear & Anthropic
29:29 - Walrus Memory & LLM Portability
37:57 - Decentralized AI: Can It Scale?

Guest links:
Kostas Chalkias - https://x.com/kostascrypto
Mysten Labs - https://x.com/Mysten_Labs

Host links:
Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenks
The Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo
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Episode 34 of The Starting Block, hosted by The Block's Gareth Jenkinson, was broadcasted live with Aptos Co-Founder & CEO Avery Ching.

Aptos Co-Founder & CEO Avery Ching joins Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block to discuss the intersection of AI and blockchain technology, Aptos's Decibel DEX and how it compares to Hyperliquid, the Open USD stablecoin consortium, and overall quantum readiness in the crypto industry.

OUTLINE
00:08 - Intro
01:57 - The Block Briefing: Markets Rally
07:09 - Avery Ching Hot Seat Begins
08:53 - AI & Blockchain Convergence
12:25 - Aptos's $50M AI Investment
16:53 - Decibel vs. Hyperliquid
20:16 - OUSD & Stablecoin Competition
25:15 - AI-Powered Security at Aptos
28:58 - Quantum Readiness & Privacy

Guest links:
Avery Ching - https://x.com/AveryChing
Aptos - https://x.com/AptosLabs

Host links:
Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenks
The Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo
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Episode 33 of The Starting Block, hosted by The Block's Gareth Jenkinson, was broadcasted live with Flying Tulip Founder Andre Cronje.

Flying Tulip Founder Andre Cronje joins Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block to discuss the origins of his DeFi career in crypto code reviews, the capital efficiency innovations behind Flying Tulip and its total return swap differentiator, and how AI coding tools have transformed his development process.

OUTLINE
00:08 - Show Intro & Wyoming
01:23 - Block Briefing Headlines
05:14 - Meet Andre Cronje
06:48 - Cronje's Crypto Origin Story
11:09 - From Yearn to Velodrome
14:40 - Flying Tulip Explained
21:19 - Total Return Swaps & Liquidations
26:35 - DeFi's Future Outlook
30:36 - FTUSD & Regulatory Clarity
35:14 - Why Build in the US
41:03 - Growing Slowly & Safely
46:48 - AI Tools in Development

Guest links:
Andre Cronje - https://x.com/AndreCronjeTech
Flying Tulip - https://x.com/flyingtulip_

Host links:
Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenks
The Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo
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Sam Callahan, OranjeBTC's Director of Bitcoin Strategy & Research, joins Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block where the duo discussed the launch of Digi11 – Brazil's first Bitcoin preferred equity ETF Digi11. They also touched on Strategy's STRC capital structure and Bitcoin accumulation goals, and the investor appetite for Bitcoin-backed income products in Brazil.

OUTLINE
00:06 - Show Open & Recap
01:31 - Block Briefing Headlines
02:06 - Bitmine's ETH Treasury
03:08 - Iren & Microsoft AI Deal
03:47 - Harmony Network Rollback
04:25 - Genius Act Rulemaking
05:36 - Ripple Expands in Asia
06:31 - Introducing Sam Callahan
06:49 - Digi11 ETF Explained
09:51 - Building the Index
11:56 - Strategy's STRC & MSTR
17:21 - Brazilian Market Appetite

Guest links:
Sam Callahan - https://x.com/samcallah
OranjeBTC - https://x.com/ORANJEBTC

Host links:
Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenks
The Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo
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GSR's Chief Legal and Strategy Officer Joshua Riezman joins Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block to discuss the Clarity Act being pushed to September, the political hurdles blocking its passage, and what crypto market volatility and TradFi convergence signal for the industry's future.

OUTLINE
00:06 - Welcome & Show Intro
01:47 - Block Briefing: Top Headlines
04:00 - Hive Digital's AI Pivot
04:47 - Strategy's Bitcoin Update
05:52 - Clarity Act: September Window
08:31 - Political Hurdles to Passage
13:55 - Ethics Compromise Debate
16:50 - Is Clarity Act Good for Crypto?
19:52 - Token Design & Bear Market
22:53 - Market Outlook & Price Action
28:28 - TradFi Meets Crypto
31:09 - Prediction Markets Legal Battle

Guest links:
Joshua Riezman - https://x.com/JoshR_GSR
GSR - https://x.com/GSR_io

Host links:
Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenks
The Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo
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DoubleZero Co-Founder Austin Federa joins Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block to discuss the DoubleZero recently announced integration with Kalshi and how multicast fiber networks are supercharging prediction market data feeds.

OUTLINE
00:06 - Show Open & Headlines
01:33 - Tether's KPMG Audit
02:52 - Gemini Q2 Earnings
03:53 - Bullish Exchange Results
04:41 - Kalshi Regulatory Battles
06:05 - Crypto Phishing Warning
07:03 - Hot Seat: Austin Federa
07:44 - DoubleZero x Kalshi Deal
10:07 - Prediction Markets Maturing
14:50 - What Is DoubleZero?
17:43 - DoubleZero vs. Oracles
19:33 - AI Agents & Trading Edge

Guest links:
Austin Federa - https://x.com/Austin_Federa
DoubleZero - https://x.com/doublezero

Host links:
Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenks
The Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo
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Plan B Forum Director Giacomo Zucco joins Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block to discuss the BIP 110 activation and chain stall over the weekend, the Cold Card firmware exploit and Bitcoin security vulnerabilities, and the future relevance of Bitcoin Core as a reference implementation.

OUTLINE
00:08 - Show Introduction
01:47 - Harmony Exploit
02:49 - SEC Crypto Regime Proposal
03:11 - 21 Capital Q2 Losses
04:06 - Robinhood Chain Numbers
04:44 - Cold Card Firmware Bug
07:46 - Giacomo Zucco Hot Seat
08:00 - BIP 110 Weekend Drama
13:22 - Bitcoin Governance Debates
19:45 - The Fork Attempt
25:16 - Luke Removed as BIP Editor
29:48 - Bitcoin Core's Future Role

Guest links:
Giacomo Zucco - https://x.com/giacomozucco
Plan B Network - https://x.com/planb_network

Host links:
Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenks
The Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo
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ITC Founder & CEO Benjamin Cowen joins Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block to discuss why Bitcoin's current cycle mirrors 2018, the likelihood of an October cycle bottom, and why institutional narratives like ETFs and strategic reserves have acted as headwinds rather than tailwinds for crypto.

OUTLINE
00:07 - Welcome & Show Intro
01:06 - Block Briefing Headlines
05:18 - Benjamin Cowen's Background
08:16 - Bitcoin's State Right Now
09:29 - Cycle Timing & October Bottom
15:50 - Institutional Impact on Bitcoin
19:18 - When Does Retail Return?
31:05 - AI Trade vs. Crypto
35:57 - Meme Coins & Industry Damage
40:11 - Bitcoin & Politics
43:32 - Outlook & AI Pivot
45:26 - Wrap-Up & CZ Teaser

Guest links:
Benjamin Cowen - https://x.com/benjamincowen

Host links:
Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenks
The Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo
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OKX General Manager Lennix Lai joined Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block to discuss the impact of institutional ETF flows on crypto markets, the rise of RWA tokenization and tokenized equities on OKX, AI-driven trading agents and compliance tools, and the outlook for retail trading through the end of 2026.

OUTLINE
00:08 - Welcome & BIP 110 Recap
02:10 - World Liberty Financial Scrutiny
03:09 - Robinhood Enters UK Crypto
03:47 - North Korea's AI Hacking Threat
05:01 - Brazil's Withdrawal Delay Rule
05:40 - BIP 110 Fork: Post-Mortem
07:42 - Market Pulse: Lennix Lai
09:29 - Institutional ETF Impact
11:14 - RWA Tokenization Demand
14:02 - AI Agents & Compliance at OKX
16:01 - Prediction Markets: OKX's Approach
27:42 - Outro

Guest links:
Lennix Lai - https://x.com/LennixOKX
OKX - https://x.com/OKX

Host links:
Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenks
The Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo
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Blockaid Co-Founder & CEO Ido Ben-Natan joins Gareth Jenkinson on The Starting Block to discuss the record-breaking surge in crypto hack incidents in 2026, how AI is supercharging attackers and shifting the primary vector from smart contract exploits to operational security breaches, and the lessons that can be gleaned from the Coldcard exploit.

OUTLINE
00:04 - Week in Review
01:22 - Block Briefing: Clarity Act Delay
02:09 - Coinbase Prediction Markets Ruling
02:49 - Wintermute Broker-Dealer Move
03:33 - Miners' Tough Quarter
04:17 - Trump Crypto Divestiture Twist
05:39 - Ido Ben-Natan Hot Seat
06:07 - H1 2026 Hack Report
07:58 - DPRK Hackers Dominate
10:30 - AI as Attack Vector
16:56 - Coldcard Exploit Fallout
22:17 - Crypto vs. TradFi Targeting

Guest links:
Ido Ben-Natan - https://x.com/idobn
Blockaid - https://x.com/blockaid_

Host links:
Gareth Jenkinson - https://x.com/gazza_jenks
The Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo
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