Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, and Tom Schmidt chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we're joined by special guest Peter Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of Coin Center, to tackle one of the most pivotal moments in crypto policy. In this episode, we dive into the groundbreaking Fifth Circuit ruling on Tornado Cash, unpack its implications for blockchain privacy, and discuss the challenges noncustodial developers like Roman Storm are facing. We also break down Trump’s crypto executive order, the SEC’s new direction under Hester Peirce, and speculate on what a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve might mean for the future.

Show highlights

🔹 Crypto as a Public Good: Why open, permissionless technologies need protection—and how Coin Center defends them.

🔹 Tornado Cash Ruling: The Fifth Circuit overturns OFAC sanctions—what this means for blockchain privacy and freedoms.

🔹 Roman Storm Case: DOJ’s controversial crackdown on noncustodial developers and its implications for innovation.

🔹 Trump’s Crypto EO: Breaking down the ban on CBDCs and the push for U.S. leadership in digital assets.

🔹 SEC’s New Direction: Hester Peirce’s crypto task force and the future of enforcement and regulation.

🔹 CFTC vs. SEC: Will Congress resolve the jurisdiction battle over crypto markets?

🔹 Senate Banking’s Subcommittee: How Senator Lummis could lead a new era of crypto-friendly policy.

🔹 Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: Speculating on what a U.S. Bitcoin reserve might look like.

🔹 2025 Regulatory Outlook: How shifting policies could redefine crypto’s future.

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Guest:

⭐️Peter Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of Coin Center

Timestamps - 

00:00 Intro 

01:34 Coin Center & Crypto as a Public Good

05:04 Crypto Policy Shifts & Trump's Executive Order

16:11 Senate Banking Digital Assets Subcommittee

20:20 SEC Crypto Task Force

32:10 Hester Peirce's Safe Harbor Proposal

35:43 Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: Expectations and Realities

41:12 Tornado Cash & OFAC Sanctions

45:28 Legal Implications for Noncustodial Developers

57:51 Future of Crypto Regulation & Coin Center's Role

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Ethereum has had a tough year, losing ground to Solana in price performance, developer activity and as the home to the latest crypto trends. Yet, Vivek Raman, founder and CEO of Etherealize, is doubling down on Ethereum’s future.

In this episode, Vivek explains how Etherealize, a “marketing arm for the ETH ecosystem,” was in the works long before the current criticisms of the Ethereum Foundation’s marketing, and how it got funding from Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin and the foundation. He discusses why he believes layer 2 solutions make Ethereum a better fit for Wall Street than Solana.

Plus, Vivek shares his thoughts on Ethereum’s value accrual, the state of its ecosystem, and how Etherealize plans to bridge the gap between Wall Street and Web3.

Show highlights:

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, we dive into one of the wildest weeks in crypto history, unpacking the unprecedented launch of Trump’s memecoin and its explosive $70 billion valuation. We discuss how it broke every record imaginable, the fallout from Melania’s token, and the chaos it unleashed across the Solana network. From the ethics of a sitting president launching a coin to the implications for retail investors and the future of memecoins, we’re covering it all. Plus, we debate whether this marks a new chapter for crypto adoption or a troubling precedent for political grift. Stay tuned for this jam-packed emergency episode!

Show highlights

🔹 Trump’s Memecoin Craze: Breaking down the historic launch of $Trump, its unprecedented $70B valuation, and how it shattered every record in crypto history.

🔹 Melania’s Memecoin Fallout: What went wrong with the $Melania token launch? Exploring its disastrous impact on the market and $Trump coin’s rapid crash.

🔹 DeFi’s Ultimate Stress Test: How Solana infrastructure held up against unprecedented volumes, Moonshot’s rise to the top, and why this reshaped the memecoin landscape.

🔹 Retail FOMO vs. Institutional Doubts: Examining retail’s overwhelming rush to $Trump coin and why some insiders remain skeptical of its long-term implications.

🔹 Crypto Meets Politics: The ethics and implications of a sitting president launching a memecoin—and how it could distort the future of crypto regulation and perception.

🔹 The Memecoin Economy Evolves: Could Trump and Melania coins signify the end—or a new era—of memecoins? A debate on the future of speculative tokens.

🔹 Solana’s Big Moment: Why Trump coin positioned Solana as the go-to chain for memecoins, and how it outperformed competitors during this chaos.

🔹 On-Chain Innovation or Grift? Is this a turning point for crypto adoption, or just the latest example of right-wing opportunism? The crew debates the broader implications.

🔹 Adversarial Predictions: What happens when other world leaders witness Trump’s success? The panel speculates on who could be next in the memecoin race.

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Timestamps - 

00:00 Intro 

02:23 The Crypto Ball

07:11 Trump's Memecoin: $TRUMP

13:21 Market Reactions & Infrastructure Challenges

26:25 Melania Token: $MELANIA

38:52 Solana's User Surge, Start of Ethereum Civil War?

45:12 Speculation: Crypto's Killer Use Case

49:59 Partisan Divide in Crypto

54:22 Trump's Crypto Strategy

01:07:32 Crypto's Social and Political Implications

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This week, Trump’s memecoin launch had everyone talking—and scrambling for Phantom wallets. But was it a strategic masterstroke or just another speculative frenzy?

On this episode of Bits + Bips, the hosts unpack the wild moments of the Crypto Ball, where $TRUMP made its surprise debut. They discuss how Bitcoin maxis were forced to embrace Solana wallets, why Multicoin Capital emerged as the biggest winner, and whether the memecoin launch signals a local market top.

Plus, they debate whether Trump’s crypto-friendly stance could shape policy in 2025, why Litecoin might beat Solana to a spot ETF, and what Trump’s inauguration speech reveals about his crypto game plan.

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The crypto world was shaken this weekend when Donald Trump and Melania Trump launched their own memecoins, ahead of Trump’s inauguration as president. 

Financial analyst Lyn Alden joins Laura to explain why she’s not a fan of memecoins, neutral on a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve, and doubtful the U.S. can disrupt itself even as Bitcoin, crypto and blockchain technology hold the possibilities of upending the geopolitical world order.

Discussing everything from rising tariffs to reshoring strategies, Lyn offers a sharp analysis of the U.S. fiscal and monetary outlook and explains why she believes fiscal policy now overshadows monetary policy. Plus, hear her take on the TikTok ban debate, her skepticism that Bitcoin’s future security could be at risk as the block subsidy decreases, and her Bitcoin projection for 2025.

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

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This week, Sony launched the mainnet for Soneium, its Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain built on the OP Stack from Optimism. Soneium is designed to support creators, developers, and fans through tools like Sony’s NFT-based Fan Marketing Platform and Soneium Spark.

However, Soneium’s launch has sparked controversy. Its decision to blacklist some memecoins—over intellectual property concerns—has raised questions about the balance between decentralization and protecting creators’ rights. Even Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin weighed in, highlighting the tradeoffs businesses face in Web3.

Sota Watanabe, CEO at Startale, took a quick interview to clear up the misunderstanding about IP infringement. He also explains the vision for the platform and what’s next for Soneium in entertainment and finance.

Plus, at the end of the episode, Laura speaks to Ari Gore, head of communications at Zengo Wallet, about protecting your private keys and your cryptocurrencies from natural disasters.

Show highlights:

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, we’re joined by Guy Young, CEO and founder of Ethena Labs, to break down the hard truths behind DeFi’s most recent chaos. We dive into the USD0++ depeg and its ripple effects across the ecosystem, exploring what went wrong and the critical lessons for the future of stable assets. Plus, we discuss Ethena’s meteoric rise, Guy’s vision for synthetic dollars, and how innovative yield strategies are reshaping DeFi. Stay tuned as we debate, analyze, and uncover the hidden forces shaping crypto today.

Show highlights

🔹 USD0++ Depeg Drama: A deep dive into what caused the USD0++ depeg, the mechanics behind the chaos, and the broader implications for DeFi.

🔹 Lessons on Risk Transparency: Why sudden rule changes eroded trust and how protocols can improve communication to avoid similar fallout.

🔹 Ethena’s Rise and Vision: Guy Young shares the story of Ethena’s explosive growth, its innovative synthetic dollar model, and its role in DeFi’s evolution.

🔹 The Yield Dilemma: Exploring how Ethena’s yield model works, its appeal, and the risks it carries for users and the ecosystem.

🔹 DeFi’s Distribution Problem: Why centralized exchanges remain the key to scaling synthetic assets and stablecoins like Ethena’s USD.

🔹 Transparency vs. Overconfidence: Drawing lessons from Luna’s downfall and how Ethena’s approach to clear communication sets a new standard.

🔹 Athena’s 2025 Roadmap: From DeFi integrations to TradFi adoption, what’s next for Ethena as it scales synthetic dollars globally.

🔹 Reflections on Building in DeFi: Guy Young opens up about the challenges, surprises, and rewards of leading one of DeFi’s fastest-growing projects.

🔹 2025 Predictions: The crew debates who might become this year’s “main character” in crypto and what that could mean for the market.

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Guest

⭐️Guy Young, CEO & Founder of Ethena Labs

Timestamps 

00:00 Intro

01:30 Changes to Usual Money’s Protocol

06:05 Reactions & Analysis

09:12 Lessons from USD0 

18:35 Transparency vs. Miscommunication

22:42 Ethena: A DeFi Success Story

32:12 Demand for Stablecoins & Yield

36:40 Custody & Market Structure Post-FTX

43:58 Handling Negative Yields and Market Corrections

48:22 Ethena's Roadmap and Future Plans

55:53 Reflections on Building Ethena

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This week, Bloomberg’s James Seyffart, Lumida’s Ram Ahluwalia, and guest Tom Dunleavy explore whether the “Fed pivot” is officially dead, how AI will impact the job market, and what Tether’s move to El Salvador means for U.S. stablecoin policy.

They also debate whether bitcoin could ever be a risk-off asset, how sovereign nations might already be accumulating BTC, and what the Coinbase legal win against the SEC signals for the future.

Plus, why volatility is still king in crypto and what lies ahead for the global markets.

Sponsors:

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In October, the crypto industry saw a jaw-dropping acquisition: Bridge, a stablecoin-focused company, was bought by Web2 payments giant Stripe for $1.1 billion.

Now, three months later, Bridge co-founder Zach Abrams opens up about the wild journey that led to this moment, from navigating collapses like Terra’s UST and USDC’s depegging, to securing compliance and fraud prevention as core priorities.

Zach also delves into his vision for the future of stablecoins, whether the U.S. dollar will continue to dominate, and why global financial infrastructure needs an upgrade.

Plus, he recounts how timing and resilience helped Bridge stand out amidst massive industry challenges.

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

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It’s been a tough week for the markets, with bitcoin gyrating from $102,400 to $92,000. 

Travis Kling, CIO of Ikigai Asset Management, shares his thoughts on the selloff, whether this market dip is a cause for alarm, and how macro factors like the Fed’s rate policy and ETF dynamics are shaping the landscape. 

Plus, he dives into the explosive growth of AI agents and why crypto investors should start paying attention to this new frontier. Could AI agents revolutionize crypto, or are we witnessing another bubble?

Show highlights:

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

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