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Ethereum’s long-awaited Dencun upgrade finally went live this week, and many L2s immediately saw their transaction fees fall dramatically, as was the intention. Among them was the Coinbase-incubated Base, which was created by Jesse Pollak. Pollak joined Unchained to discuss the impact Dencun was having on Base; how he thinks Layer 1s and Layer 2s will start to differ from one another and eventually spawn a multitude of specialized Layer 3s; his response to criticisms of the increasing use of Layer 2s, what he’s focusing on now, and why he supports using the word “onchain” over “crypto” or “web3.” 

Show highlights:

Previous appearances:

• The Chopping Block: All About That Base With Jesse Pollak 

Recent coverage on Unchained of the Dencun Upgrade and Base: 

CoinDesk:

• Debating Dencun: Will Ethereum's Big Update Help or Harm the Network?

Jesse’s tweets on Dencun

Blobs / Proto-danksharding

Superchain

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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 news. In this week's episode the squad asks: Is MakerDAO setting a new precedent for DeFi protocols with its emergency rate hike? How significant is the role of meme coins in the crypto market's volatility, and what does Solana's prominence tell us about the future of blockchain platforms? Can Ethereum maintain its position as the backbone of DeFi amidst the growing competition from layer 1 and layer 2 solutions? This episode delves deep into the whirlwind discussions surrounding MakerDAO's sudden monetary policy adjustments, scrutinizing the balance between stability and adaptability in DeFi's fast-paced world. We explore the fascinating, yet often speculative, universe of meme coins, highlighting their impact on network activity and public perception of cryptocurrency's value. The conversation also navigates the evolving landscape of Ethereum as it faces challenges and opportunities in scalability and functionality. Join us as we tackle these thought-provoking questions, armed with Robert Leshner's expertise, to peel back the layers of complexity surrounding DeFi strategies, the meme coin craze, and Ethereum's strategic positioning. Tune in for a captivating session aimed at decoding these trends and offering insights into their potential to redefine the contours of the crypto ecosystem.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show Highlights

🔹 MakerDAO's Monetary Strategy Shift: Exploring the implications of MakerDAO's emergency rate hike and its potential to redefine monetary policy in DeFi.

🔹 The Meme Coin Madness: Diving into the dynamics of meme coins in the crypto ecosystem, focusing on their impact on market volatility and investor behavior.

🔹 Ethereum's Position in the DeFi Ecosystem: Analyzing Ethereum's challenges and opportunities as it continues to be the backbone of decentralized finance amid rising competition.

🔹 The Crypto Evolution and Reflection: Reflecting on the progress of the crypto industry by comparing current discussions to traditional banking models, highlighting the maturation of the sector.

🔹 Solana's Influence in the Crypto Market: Investigating Solana's growing prominence for meme coin activity and what it signals about blockchain platform developments.

🔹 DeFi Protocols as Financial Antidotes: Discussing the role of DeFi protocols in offering alternatives to traditional financial systems and their potential to disrupt.

🔹 Intellectual Property Rights in a Digital Age: Speculating on the future of IP rights in the era of digital creation and AI, questioning the sustainability of current legal frameworks.

🔹 The Crypto Market's Bullish Trends: Analyzing the current bullish trends in the cryptocurrency market, including Bitcoin and Ethereum's price movements and the factors fueling optimism.

🔹 Governance and DAOs in Crypto's Future: Delving into the significance of decentralized autonomous organizations and governance models for the future of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing partner at Dragonfly 

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

⭐️Robert Leshner, Founder of Compound

Bitcoin Is Hitting All-Time Highs Around the World (CoinDesk) https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/02/29/bitcoin-is-hitting-all-time-highs-around-the-world/ 

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Sreeram Kannan, founder of EigenLayer, and Olaf Carlson-Wee, founder and CIO of Polychain Capital, an investor in EigenLayer, say that the developer ecosystem around EigenLayer is sprouting up very fast, which reminds Carlson-Wee of the developer excitement in Ethereum’s early days.

They discuss the potential of EigenLayer, which uses a restaking mechanism to allow ETH stakers to reallocate their staked ETH and Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) to bolster security for other protocols. They cover how it could turbocharge Ethereum's rollup scaling roadmap and enable Ethereum to become a stack of decentralized software as a service providers. Additionally, they discuss the potential risks associated with restaking as well as how EigenLayer could work with AI.

Read more: What Is EigenLayer? A Guide to the Decentralized ETH Restaking Protocol

• Polkadot

EigenLayer

Points

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner dive into the hot topics stirring the cryptocurrency world. Could Uniswap's fee switch revolutionize DeFi's economic model? What's the real potential of decentralized AI in blockchain, and how close are we to seeing its practical applications? And in the whirlwind of the crypto market, what makes meme coins like Jeo Boden not just viral, but influential? This episode offers a detailed analysis of Uniswap's strategic move to potentially activate fee switches, exploring its implications for liquidity providers and the broader DeFi landscape. We also navigate the promising yet challenging terrain of Crypto AI, dissecting decentralized inference and the feasibility of verifiable training. The phenomenon of meme coins, with a spotlight on Jeo Boden, is dissected for its impact on community engagement and market dynamics. Join us as we probe these intriguing questions, equipped with Robert Leshner's insights, to unravel the complexities of DeFi innovations, Crypto AI's frontier, and the unique ecosystem of meme coins. Tune in for an enlightening session that aims to demystify these trends and provide a clearer understanding of their role in shaping the future of cryptocurrency.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show Highlights

🔹 Uniswap's Fee Switch Debate: Unpacking the implications of Uniswap's potential fee switch activation and its impact on DeFi's revenue models.

🔹 The Intricacies of Crypto AI: Diving deep into the world of Crypto AI, focusing on decentralized inference and the hurdles of verifiable training.

🔹 Meme Coin Phenomenon: Analyzing the cultural and economic forces behind meme coins like Jeo Boden and their sway in the crypto community.

🔹 Regulatory Winds in Crypto: Discussing the changing regulatory landscape and what Uniswap's move might signal about the future of DeFi regulation.

🔹 Market Predictions and Speculations: Exploring expert predictions on Bitcoin and Ethereum's price movements and the factors driving market optimism.

🔹 Technological Developments and Security: Delving into the significance of memory-safe programming and the White House's surprising tech endorsement.

🔹 Attested Data in the Age of Synthetic Media: Examining the role of cryptographically signed data in ensuring content authenticity in the blockchain era.

🔹 Decentralized Platforms' Disruption Potential: Probing the capability of decentralized platforms to reshape traditional social media models.

🔹 The Economic Model of DeFi: Discussing the potential transformation in DeFi's economic landscape post-Uniswap's fee switch implementation.

🔹 Crypto Culture and Community Dynamics: Investigating the unique cultural aspects of the crypto community, especially around meme coins and their market influence.

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing partner at Dragonfly 

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

⭐️Robert Leshner, Founder of Compound

Bitcoin Is Hitting All-Time Highs Around the World (CoinDesk) https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/02/29/bitcoin-is-hitting-all-time-highs-around-the-world/

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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

In this episode, Eric Balchunas, senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, discussed the performance of Bitcoin ETFs since their launch two months ago. 

Balchunas noted that the ETFs' performance exceeded his expectations, with a faster and more intense "second wind" than anticipated. He attributed this to a combination of asset managers buying in, retail interest, and the "ETF effect" where the knowledge of incoming flows encourages non-ETF investors to buy. 

Balchunas also predicted that BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF would likely be the most successful of the nine new spot Bitcoin ETFs, while also doubting that any of the smaller issuers would bow out. 

He also discussed the potential for spot Ether ETFs, but was less optimistic about their success compared to Bitcoin ETFs.

Learn more: Bitcoin ETFs Explained: What Are They & How Do They Work?

Show highlights:

Recent coverage on Unchained of Bitcoin’s surge: 

Previous coverage on the Unchained podcast of spot Bitcoin ETFs:

Ethereum spot ETF:

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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

In this episode of Unchained, Alex Pack, managing partner at Hack VC discusses the firm's recent $150 million fundraise, the challenges of raising capital in a bear market, and the firm's focus on early-stage Web3 infrastructure. He also shares his thoughts on the intersection of crypto and AI, the future of DeFi, and the importance of security in the crypto space. Pack believes that the current infrastructure of crypto is still in its early stages and needs significant improvement before it can reach mainstream adoption. He also sees potential in the development of more secure smart contracts and the integration of AI into decentralized applications.

• Polkadot

New fund

Stablecoins:

EigenLayer ecosystem

Modular vs. monolithic approach

Crypto x AI crossover

Zuzalu

Decrypt: I Spent a Month Inside Vitalik Buterin’s Social Experiment—Here’s What It Was Really Like

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After a week in which Bitcoin nearly hit its all-time high, Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy, joins Unchained to discuss the pivotal role of ETF inflows in Bitcoin's recent price surge, the nuanced behaviors of long-term versus short-term holders, and the potential impacts of upcoming halvings and institutional involvement on the market's future trajectory. 

Alex offers deep insights into the market value to realized value Z-score, explaining its relevance in assessing Bitcoin's valuation. He also delves into the implications of major financial institutions like Merrill and Wells Fargo embracing Bitcoin ETFs for their clients. Furthermore, Thorn speculates on the timing and conditions for an "altcoin season" and shares his price predictions for Bitcoin by the end of the year.

Learn more: Bitcoin ETFs Explained: What Are They & How Do They Work?

Recent coverage on Unchained of Bitcoin’s surge: 

Others:

Previous coverage on Unchained of spot Bitcoin ETFs:

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Well-known white hat hacker and head of security at Paradigm samczsun recently took the wraps off a new security organization called the Security Alliance (SEAL) that offers a 911 hotline for immediate response to security threats, runs war games to simulate potential security incidents, and provides a safe harbor agreement to protect white hat hackers from legal liabilities.

He joined Unchained to discuss why he and his fellow white hat hackers decided to start the Security Alliance and how it operates, how the safe harbor agreement works, the measures he takes to maintain his anonymity and why, the top security measures people in crypto should take to protect themselves, and what attack areas in crypto Sam still considers “scary.”   

What is ‘White Hat Hacking’?

White hat hacking, often referred to as ethical hacking, is a cybersecurity practice where skilled computer experts use their knowledge for good, employing the same methods as malicious hackers (black hat hackers) but with a significant difference: they do so with permission and for a constructive purpose. These ethical hackers identify vulnerabilities in computer systems, networks, or applications before malicious attackers can exploit them. By detecting and resolving these security weaknesses, white hat hackers help organizations strengthen their defenses against cyber threats. 

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Fifteen years after the birth of Bitcoin, the network is now entering an era of remarkable innovation and change, according to Stacks' co-creator Muneeb Ali.

On this episode of Unchained recorded at the Bitcoin Builders conference, Muneeb explores the complexities and advancements within Bitcoin's Layer 1 and Layer 2. He shares his perspectives on what's fueling innovation in Bitcoin's Layer 1 and discusses the implications of Ordinal Inscriptions amid criticism of it by core developers. 

He delves into the various scaling solutions within Bitcoin, highlighting how trust assumptions vary among them, and how BitVM could be a 'game changer'. He goes over the advantages of integrating smart contracts on Bitcoin, and why he considers BTC the only true form of monetary asset. 

Show highlights:

Recent news:

Bitcoin L2s:

Learn more:

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Welcome to The Chopping Block, where crypto experts Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner bring you inside perspectives on critical topics in the crypto world. This week the boys dive deep into Starknet's airdrop controversies, the psychological toll of internet backlash on founders, and the groundbreaking Ethena project inspired by Arthur Hayes. This episode questions the effectiveness of airdrop strategies in user engagement, the resilience founders must muster against online criticism, and Ethena's potential to revolutionize crypto finance with its tokenized cash and carry trade. We also tackle the security threats on platforms like GitHub, the balance between egalitarian distribution versus market dynamics, and the transparency required in token economics. What legal challenges arise from token vesting schedules, and how does Ethena innovate in crypto finance inspired by traditional models? Join us for an insightful exploration of these critical topics, aiming to enrich our understanding of cryptocurrency airdrops, founder resilience, and Ethena's ambitious financial mechanisms within the evolving cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

🔹 Starknet Airdrop Controversy: Exploring the backlash and debates over its distribution mechanics.

🔹 The Psychology of Founders Facing Internet Critique: Discussing the impact of public scrutiny on creators.

🔹 Innovation in Airdrop Strategies: Highlighting the need for creativity to engage and retain users.

🔹 GitHub and Security Risks: Addressing the increase in phishing attacks and noise on developer platforms.

🔹 Efficacy of Airdrops in User Engagement: Evaluating how airdrops influence community involvement and loyalty.

🔹 Egalitarianism vs. Market Dynamics: Debating the balance between fair distribution and economic incentives.

🔹 The Complexities of Vesting Periods: Unpacking the discussions around token unlock schedules.

🔹 Legal Nuances of Crypto Vesting: Exploring the regulatory implications and challenges.

🔹 Transparency in Token Economics: The importance of clear policies for investor confidence.

🔹 The Inspiration Behind Ethena: Tracing the origins and motivations for its creation.

🔹 Cash and Carry Trade Basics: Simplifying the concept and its significance in crypto finance.

🔹 Analyzing Ethena’s Yield Mechanisms: Delving into the strategies and risks of yield generation.

🔹 Risk Mitigation in Ethena’s Protocol: Investigating novel approaches to safeguarding assets.

🔹 The Potential Ripple Effects of Ethena: Speculating on the impact of layered financial products.

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly 

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

⭐️Robert Leshner, Founder of Compound

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