Nik De, managing editor for global policy and regulation at CoinDesk, stops by Unconfirmed to discuss the current state of crypto regulation, including recent comments by SEC Chair Gary Gensler on stablecoins and why Coinbase decided to sideline its Lend product. Highlights:

• Nik’s biggest takeaway from Gary Gensler’s interview with the Washington Post 
• why Nik thinks Gensler has escalated his rhetoric regarding stablecoins and DeFi 
• how crypto exchanges are currently regulated and how that might change
• what it would take to convince crypto exchanges to register with the SEC
• whether the SEC has the purview to regulate stablecoins
• Nik’s thoughts on Coinbase’s Lend product and the SEC’s stance on lending products
• what the overall picture of crypto lending is in the US
• whether the SEC will go after DeFi protocols
• what to expect from the SEC going forward, especially with the end of its fiscal year coming up next week

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Episode Links

Nikhilesh De

• CoinDesk articles: https://www.coindesk.com/author/nikde/

Content

• Coinbase blogs regarding Lend

• SEC Chair Gary Gensler Washington Post Q&A
• • https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2021/09/21/transcript-path-forward-cryptocurrency-with-gary-gensler/
• Brian Armstrong tweet storm
• • https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1435439291715358721
• BlockFi and Celsius overview

Read my latest Medium post, “The Reason Crypto Regulation Is Turning Out to Be So Difficult,” which takes take a deeper dive into some of the topics addressed in this pod :)

• https://medium.com/@laurashin/the-reason-crypto-regulation-is-turning-out-to-be-so-difficult-788cc134958d

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Rhea Myers, artist, hacker, writer, and senior smart contract developer at Dapper Labs, has been making crypto art before NFTs were a thing. Check out this episode to learn about Rhea’s work as an OG crypto artist, why she believes concerns over NFT energy consumption are overblown, and how NFTs are changing the art world. Show highlights

• Rhea’s experience entering the crypto space
• what inspired her to make Bitcoin-based transaction art
• what blockchain art she was creating in 2014
• how she helped Coin Artist create crypto puzzles
• what Rhea thinks about Cadence, the programming language for Flow
• what conceptual art and blockchain art have in common
• how Rhea minted her soul on a Dogecoin fork
• how Rhea came up with the idea of Secret Artwork (Content), which was recently sold at a Sotheby’s auction
• what cryptographic elements influenced Secret Artwork (Content)
• why Rhea was wrong about how the NFT industry would evolve
• why Rhea believes concerns over NFT energy usage are overblown
• how NFTs are changing the art world 
• what Rhea thinks about the NFT DAO movement
• what about NFTs make them so fascinating, in a legal sense, to Rhea

Read the sidebar — and see Rhea's artwork!

If you'd like to see the art discussed in the show, be sure to check out the sidebar I wrote on Medium: 

https://medium.com/@laurashin/how-rhea-myers-made-blockchain-art-before-nfts-were-a-thing-e6ac52d3abf9

Thank you to our sponsors!

Ledger: ​https://www.ledger.com/start-your-crypto-journey/?utm_source=Unchained&utm_medium=Partnership_Podcast&utm_campaign=14-09-Ledger-US-Brand-Paid&utm_content=subj_Global__msg_brand_convenience__targ_Crypto

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Digital Asset Research: https://www.digitalassetresearch.com/   

Episode Links

Rhea Myers

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/rheaplex

Example Art

• Secret Artwork (Content)

• MYSOUL

Other

• Artists Rethinking the Blockchain (book)

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Aidan Mott, research analyst at Messari, discusses Solana’s network restart that resulted in the blockchain going dark for 17 hours earlier this week. Show highlights:

• when Solana validators noticed something was wrong and how they responded
• what initial dex offering (IDO) caused the network to be flooded with transactions
• how a surge in bot transactions pushed validators to decide to restart the network
• how Solana’s outage compares to similar incidents on other chains
• why the Solana community was most likely not surprised by the 17-hour restart
• how Solana validators and the Solana Foundation coordinated the network restart
• how Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko communicated with the community during the outage
• whether Solana is still vulnerable to a similar flood of transactions
• what the network restart means in terms of Solana’s centralization
• why Solana validators running the same client could be an issue

Check Out the Related Article In addition to the analysis from Aidan, I did an interview with a Solana validator about his experience of the outage, and his concerns for the network going forward. Check out "The Experience of One Validator: What Happened During Solana's 17-Hour Outage?" in my Facebook Bulletin newsletter here -- and subscribe today! https://laurashin.bulletin.com/178076467796725

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Episode Links

Aidan Mott

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KidKrypt0

Messari

• https://messari.io/

Solana Outage

• The Block’s coverage
• • https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/117711/solana-blockchain-validators-restart-network-after-transaction-stoppage
  • https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/117624/solana-experiences-transaction-stoppage-as-developers-report-intermittent-instability
• CoinDesk coverage

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Once the block reward diminishes greatly, can Bitcoin be secured only by transaction fees? On Unchained, Bitcoin writer Vijay Boyapati and Ethereum Foundation’s Justin Drake debate the merits of Bitcoin’s security model, which Drake says will largely rely on transaction fees as soon as within 20-30 years, not in 100+ years. Highlights:

• Justin’s and Vijay’s professional backgrounds
• why Justin thinks Bitcoin cannot survive solely on fees
• how Bitcoin is currently secured
• what makes Bitcoin’s security subjective rather than binary
• how much it would cost in dollars to 51% attack Bitcoin
• what the Bitcoin network could do in response to a 51% attack
• how to calculate Bitcoin’s security budget
• why Bitcoin's price can’t go exponential forever
• whether a “nuclear option” for Bitcoin miners could protect against a 51% attack
• why nation-states could be either pro or anti-Bitcoin
• why a Bitcoin Standard could be similar to the Gold Standard
• how Bitcoin will change going forward, and why Vijay thinks transaction fees will increase
• why Justin does not think transaction fees will increase enough to secure Bitcoin’s base layer
• how Justin would fix Bitcoin’s security model -- and why he thinks the 21 million hard cap is a meme
• why Vijay does not think Bitcoin’s security model will ever change -- especially the 21 million hard cap
• what Justin thinks Ethereum is doing better than Bitcoin
• why Vijay thinks Ethereum will fail

Take the annual Unchained survey! 

Hey all, the Unchained survey is out now, and we'd so appreciate it if you could give us your thoughts on how Unchained is doing and what we could do better. Plus, we've got some questions for you about Laura's upcoming book launch and the articles that she's already starting to write! Two lucky survey respondents will receive a BTC candle, which is scented with "satoshiwood, musk musk, tulip bulbs and finite minerals." 

Head to surveymonkey.com/r/unchained2021 to fill out the survey today! 

Subscribe to my Facebook Bulletin Newsletter!  

Hey all, I'm excited to announce that I'll be writing a Facebook Bulletin newsletter , joining the likes of Malcolm Gladwell, Malala Yousafzai and Adam Grant, among others. My first post is already up.

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Episode Links

Justin Drake

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/drakefjustin

Vijay Boyapati

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/real_vijay

Bitcoin’s Security Model

• Hasu
• • https://ark-invest.com/podcast/bitcoins-security-model-with-hasu/
• Dan Held

Basic Info

• How BTC fees work
• • https://river.com/learn/how-bitcoin-fees-work/

Bitcoin Fees

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Ephrat Livni, a DealBook business and policy reporter at the New York Times, discusses Coinbase’s fight with the SEC over its Lend product and El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender. Show highlights:

• why Coinbase is unhappy with what it calls the SEC’s “sketchy” behavior
• how Coinbase’s Lend product is structured and why it might be a security
• why Ephrat considers Coinbase’s reaction to the SEC’s decision on Lend to be “trolling”
• what we can learn from SEC chair Gary Gensler’s letters with Senator Elizabeth Warren
• what legal precedence the SEC is leaning on in its decision about Lend
• how to explain the SEC’s choice to not meet with Coinbase in Washington
• why Ephrat thinks Brian Armstrong sounds entitled
• Why even pro-Bitcoin groups in the US take issue with El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender
• why Ephrat thinks Bitcoin is not a practical payment mechanism for El Salvadorans
• how El Salvadorans have reacted to the law
• why Ephrat believes El Salvador’s mandate to accept BTC is philosophically problematic for Bitcoiners

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Episode Links

Ephrat Livni

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/el72champs 
• New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/by/ephrat-livni 

Coinbase

• Brian Armstrong tweet thread: https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1409555338836078592

Bitcoin and El Salvador

• CoinDesk coverage:

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Audius, a blockchain native music streaming platform, hit six million monthly active users in August and announced a partnership with TikTok. Roneil Rumburg, co-founder and CEO of Audius, talks about how Audius works, AUDIO tokenomics, the give and take of decentralization, and more. Show highlights:

• what problems Audius is solving for creators
• how artists are utilizing crypto to connect with fans
• how the crypto components of Audius fit together
• what three utilities AUDIO, the native token of Audius, offers holders
• why Audius requires over $500K in AUDIO tokens to run a node
• why AUDIO’s inflation rate is higher than other popular tokens like Ethereum or Bitcoin
• which portions of Audius are centralized versus decentralized
• where the majority of Audius’s listens come from (hint: it’s not the app)
• how Audius has created a “password” system to make blockchain technology easier to use for non-crypto natives
• why Audius uses both Solana and Ethereum
• how big-name artists like Diplo found their way onto Audius
• how Audius makes it easier to upload music to TikTok
• what’s next for Audius

Take the annual Unchained survey! 

Hey all, the Unchained survey is out now, and we'd so appreciate it if you could give us your thoughts on how Unchained is doing and what we could do better. Plus, we've got some questions for you about Laura's upcoming book launch and the articles that she's already starting to write! Two lucky survey respondents will receive a BTC candle, which is scented with "satoshiwood, musk musk, tulip bulbs and finite minerals." 

Head to surveymonkey.com/r/unchained2021 to fill out the survey today! 

Follow Laura on Medium! 

Hey everyone, some news: I've begun writing news and features again. I’m now a Medium Partner, one of a group of writers I have long admired, such as Susan Orlean, Cory Doctorow, James Surowiecki and Will Leitch, among others. You can already check out my first post, which is on my career trajectory and why I still love covering crypto six years in. To find all my writing on Medium, please follow me at Medium.com/@laurashin. 

Thank you to our sponsors!

Digital Asset Research: https://www.digitalassetresearch.com/

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Episode Links

Roneil Rumburg

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/roneilr 

Audius

• Website: https://audius.co/ 
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AudiusProject 
• Whitepaper: https://whitepaper.audius.co/AudiusWhitepaper.pdf 
• Discord: https://discord.com/channels/557662127305785361/806017242734395413 

What is Audius?

• Decrypt: https://decrypt.co/resources/what-is-audius-the-decentralized-music-sharing-and-streaming-service

TikTok + Audius Coverage

• Audius: https://twitter.com/AudiusProject/status/1427299274325323779 
• Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/tiktok-sounds-streaming-crypto-blockchain-nfts-audius-1211699/

General Coverage

• 6M monthly users
• • https://twitter.com/AudiusProject/status/1433248161443684356

• Moving to Solana (Oct 2020):
• • https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2020/10/29/audius-the-decentralized-spotify-is-moving-part-of-its-service-to-solana-blockchain/
• 5M monthly users (Aug 5):

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Steven Ehrlich, director of research for digital assets at Forbes, discusses the FTX.US-LedgerX merger, what to expect from FTX going forward, DeFi regulation, and more. Show highlights:

• why the FTX.US acquisition of derivatives platform LedgerX is significant
• how FTX.US stacks up against other US cryptocurrency exchanges
• who should use crypto derivative products
• how regulators might handle FTX.US and crypto derivative ETFs
• what to expect from FTX going forward
• how long FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried spends talking to regulators every day
• why Steven thinks crypto mergers and acquisitions will be a trend going forward
• what Steven learned from his conversations with Polygon and Hermez
• how Fereshteh Forough, a woman living in Afghanistan, is using crypto to help teach women to build dapps, smart contracts, and use crypto

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Episode Links

Steven Ehrlich

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/?sh=fb976542ce44

FTX.US Merger

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/08/31/us-bitcoin-exchange-backed-by-billionaire-sam-bankman-fried-moves-into-crypto-derivatives/

M&A Trend

Interview with Sam Bankman-Fried

Polygon-Hermez Deal

Fereshteh Forough Coverage

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/08/17/taliban-resurgence-could-threaten-afghan-school-teaching-women-to-code-and-build-ethereum-apps

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Pplpleasr, the artist behind Fortune magazine’s recent crypto cover and Uniswap’s V3 announcement animation, talks about her crypto journey and how NFTs are changing the game for creators. Show highlights:

• how not getting a job at Apple changed her life forever
• how the Pplpleasr-Uniswap collaboration came about
• what goes into her creative process
• how Pplpleasr got hired for the Fortune magazine cover
• why she chose to represent anon-avatars on the Fortune cover
• why Pplpleasr was surprised by Fortune’s response to her artwork (and crypto in general)
• what sort of crypto personas are represented on the Fortune cover and why
• how NFTs are changing the paradigm of monetization for creators compared to the traditional art world
• what pplpleasr is looking forward to in future NFT smart contracts
• why NFTs are still limited right now
• why institutions, like Budweiser and Visa, are suddenly interested in NFTs
• what Fortune is doing to grow its NFT collection
• how DAOs are changing art curation and collecting
• why Pplpleasr was surprised that a DAO (bearing her name) purchased the Uniswap V3 animation
• where Pplpleasr thinks the NFT space will go in the next year or so

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Episode Links:

Pplpleasr

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/pplpleasr1

Pplpleasr Content:

• Fortune op-ed on crypto
• • https://fortune.com/2021/08/06/nft-art-pplpleasr-fortune-cover-ethereum-defihow-crypto-changed-my-life/
• Her previous work for DeFi protocols
• • https://pplplsr.com/Crypto
• Fortune cover

Miscellaneous Links

• PleasrDAO
• •  https://pleasr.org/ 

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Nick Johnson, lead developer at the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), talks about making Ethereum human-readable, why Budweiser purchased an NFT, how purchasing an ENS works, and more. Show highlights:

• what ENS does and why it is important
• why Budweiser bought “beer.eth”
• how ENS names can be used to make Ethereum easier to use
• what business use cases ENS names make possible
• what made Nick want to create a naming service on Ethereum
• how people are using their ENS names
• why people are purchasing ENS names
• what privacy issues arise from people attaching their name to an ETH address
• what happens when Ethereum addresses get spammed with unwanted tokens
• how to buy an ENS name and how much it costs
• how ENS handles squatters
• what happens when you lose access to an address holding an ENS name
• how ENS is integrating normal domains (ex: “.com”) to Ethereum
• what ENS has planned for L2 launches

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Episode Links: 

Nick Johnson

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicksdjohnson

Ethereum Domain Service

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ensdomains

Miscellaneous links

• Budweiser ENS purchase: https://decrypt.co/79397/from-visa-to-budweiser-big-brands-are-taking-nfts-seriously

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BitGo CEO Mike Belshe and COO Jeff Horowitz talk about one of the hottest topics facing the crypto industry today: regulation. They discuss...

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Episode links

Mike Belshe -- CEO BitGo

Jeff Horowitz -- CCO BitGo

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-horowitz-3381977

BitGo

Infrastructure bill and its implications for crypto

FATF and the travel rule

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