Unchained

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Post-quantum era focused blockchain builder Project Eleven has just raised $20 million from the industry's heavy hitters as concerns over Bitcoin's quantum readiness grow.

In this Unchained podcast episode, Project Eleven CEO Alex Pruden delves into the urgency of the quantum threat to Bitcoin while highlighting which other blockchains are most at risk. He also shares what Project Eleven is focused on to help crypto prepare and the potential outcomes.

Listen to learn why Pruden believes implementing post-quantum cryptography would be the most significant upgrade blockchains have ever undergone and why a Bitcoin chain split is likely.

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Privacy is back on the radar as Monero gets compared to silver. Meanwhile, Vitalik wants Ethereum to ossify, former New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ NYC token rugs and X's algorithm has crypto Twitter up in arms.

In this episode of Uneasy Money, hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monahan unpack: Monero's sudden surge, Vitalik's “walkaway test,” why blatant scams like Adams’ NYC token continue to succeed and whether X has been suppressing crypto content.

Don’t miss Kain’s story on how he lost nearly $250K in a wild vibe coding experiment.

Plus, Is Vitalik's “walkaway test” too “aspirational?” And could X cashtags usher in the next altseason?

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Ethereum scaling network Polygon is charting a new course. Polygon on Jan. 13 announced that it was becoming a “regulated U.S. payments platform” following the acquisition of Web3 services companies Coinme and Sequence.

In this Unchained episode, Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron reveals the motivations behind the pivot and what it means for the network and its native token POL. He says that despite the pivot, Polygon is not becoming an application chain.

Can Polygon thrive in the stablecoin dominated space? And will POL benefit?

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As tensions between the Trump administration and the Federal Reserve rise, gold and silver have surged to record highs. Bitcoin, meanwhile, has struggled to keep pace, raising uncomfortable questions about its “digital gold” narrative.

In this back-to-back Unchained episode, Vinny Lingham, cofounder of Xash, and Eric Fine, portfolio manager at VanEck, offer two distinct but complementary perspectives on what’s happening beneath the surface of global markets.

Vinny explains why gold’s liquidity, trust, and central-bank adoption still dwarf Bitcoin’s, and why that gap led him to design a gold-backed, reward-bearing stablecoin, USDX.

Eric walks through VanEck’s provocative analysis showing gold could reach $39,000 or even $184,000 if the dollar were to lose its reserve-currency dominance and gold had to back the money supply. He also dives into why some developed markets may be more fragile than investors assume.

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Thank you to our sponsor, Figure!

As tensions between the Trump administration and the Federal Reserve rise, gold and silver have surged to record highs. Bitcoin, meanwhile, has struggled to keep pace, raising uncomfortable questions about its “digital gold” narrative.

In this back-to-back Unchained episode, Vinny Lingham, cofounder of Xash, and Eric Fine, portfolio manager at VanEck, offer two distinct but complementary perspectives on what’s happening beneath the surface of global markets.

Vinny explains why gold’s liquidity, trust, and central-bank adoption still dwarf Bitcoin’s, and why that gap led him to design a gold-backed, reward-bearing stablecoin, USDX. Eric walks through VanEck’s provocative analysis showing gold could reach $39,000 or even $184,000 if the dollar were to lose its reserve-currency dominance and gold had to back the money supply. He also dives into why some developed markets may be more fragile than investors assume.

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Thank you to our sponsor, Uniswap!

If trust in central banks erodes, what replaces it? This week’s Bits + Bips connects AI, energy, inflation, and Bitcoin.

In this episode of Bits + Bips, hosts Austin Campbell, Ram Ahluwalia, and Chris Perkins are joined by Daniel Ives, one of Wall Street’s most closely followed technology analysts, to break down how AI is colliding with macroeconomics.

They debate whether AI will ultimately be inflationary or deflationary, why energy may become the binding constraint on technological growth, and how rising productivity could force the Federal Reserve into uncomfortable trade-offs.

The conversation also covers pressure on central bank independence, the fragility of trust in fiat systems, and why Bitcoin increasingly enters the conversation when that trust erodes.

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After months of anticipation, U.S. Senators have unveiled draft crypto market structure legislation.

In this episode of DEX in the City, hosts Jessi Brooks, Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos and Vy Le are joined by Blockchain Association CEO and former CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger to unpack all the provisions that stand out.

These include the bill's attempt to draw a line between centralized and decentralized platforms, the amended stance on stablecoin yield and exemptions for assets with ETFs.

Would the bill “sweep up all of DeFi?” Has crypto lost the fight over stablecoin yield? And is Trump playing interference for crypto?

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The Chopping Block breaks down the Kontigo Venezuela sanctions scandal, poly market insider trading drama around Maduro's capture, and the explosive Zcash governance crisis that has the entire Electric Coin Company team quitting to launch CashZ amid foundation versus for-profit wallet debate.

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. This week, the crew dives deep into Venezuela's unexpected crypto connections following Maduro's capture, unpacking how the YC-backed fintech Kontigo allegedly used stablecoins to arbitrage sanctions and capital controls.

They debate the moral complexities of banking the unbanked versus violating US sanctions, and whether stablecoins are fulfilling their promise of financial freedom or enabling bad actors. The conversation then shifts to prediction markets drama, as a mysterious trader made $400k betting on Maduro's downfall just hours before it happened — sparking calls for insider trading laws in political betting markets.

Finally, they tackle the governance chaos in Zcash land, where the entire Electric Coin Company team quit en masse over disagreements with the nonprofit board, launching a new for-profit venture called CashZ. The hosts debate whether this signals the end of the foundation era in crypto, or just growing pains for protocols trying to build killer products.

Hosts:

• Haseeb Qureshi

• Robert Leshner

• Tarun Chitra

• Tom Schmidt

Links:

• FinTech Business Weekly - Kontigo: Y Combinator's Venezuelan Sanctions Evasion Startup
• Wall Street Journal - A Mystery Trader Made $400,000 Betting on Maduro’s Downfall

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Amid several years of economic challenges, Venezuela boasts a long and intriguing relationship with crypto. Following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro by the U.S. government, these crypto ties have again been brought into focus.

In this Unchained podcast episode, Ledn cofounder Mauricio Di Bartolomeo and Economic Inclusion Group President Jorge Jraissati join Laura Shin to unpack this history, including the plausibility of the Latin American country sitting on a $60 billion Bitcoin stash.

Mauricio details how the hums of Bitcoin mining rigs became the sound of freedom for Venezuelans. Jorge says post-Maduro Venezuela will “demand” a crypto powered economy.

Will the crypto industry shape the future of Venezuela? And what does such a future look like?

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Thank you to our sponsor, Mantle!

Canton's in bed with Nasdaq, a Google DeepMind's paper talks up the role of blockchain in an agentic economy and an alleged insider cashes in on Maduro's capture.

In this DEX in the City episode, hosts Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, Jessi Brooks and Vy Le dive into the implications of Canton's Nasdaq deal, why DeepMind's study matters for crypto and the legality of insider trading on prediction markets.

Vy highlights what Canton's Nasdaq deal signals about the priorities of institutions adopting blockchain technology. Katherine and Jessi engage in what happens when the machines take over. Plus, should federal officials be banned from using prediction markets?

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