Unchained

Unchained

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Unchained episodes

  • Why All 10,000 OnChainMonkey NFTs Will Move From Ethereum to Bitcoin - Ep. 548

    Bitcoin Ordinals have exploded in popularity since their launch by developer Casey Rodarmor in January, changing the NFT game with millions of inscriptions to date. But what comes next for Bitcoin-based digital artifacts? Danny Yang and Bill Tai, cofounders of Metagood and creators of NFT collection OnChainMonkey, discuss why they will move OnChainMonkey from Ethereum to Bitcoin, Rodarmor’s proposal to change the Ordinals inscription numbering system, and why they believe more creators should consider moving to Bitcoin.


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

    Show highlights:
    • How the idea for Metagood came up
    • What is give-to-earn and how it is used to reward OnChainMonkey holders
    • The differences between Ethereum versus Bitcoin when it comes to digital assets
    • The creative potential of Bitcoin Ordinals 
    • Why OnChainMonkey will move from Ethereum to Bitcoin
    • Thoughts on Casey Rodarmor’s Bitcoin Ordinals proposal to change the inscription numbering system
    • What are recursive inscriptions
    • How to convince NFT creators to leave other blockchains for Bitcoin

    • Thank you to our sponsors!
      • Crypto.com
      • Arbitrum Foundation
      • LayerZero
      • Toku
      • Guest:
        • Bill Tai, cofounder of Metagood and creator of OnChainMonkey
        • Previous appearances on Unchained:
        • https://unchainedcrypto.com/maitai-globals-bill-tai-on-why-blockchain-is-the-6th-wave-of-technology/ 
        • Danny Yang,  cofounder of Metagood and creator of OnChainMonkey
          Links
          • Unchained: 
          • MaiTai Global’s Bill Tai On Why Blockchain Is The 6th Wave Of Technology 
          • Bitcoin Ordinals Creators Propose Changing Inscriptions Numbering 
          • What Are BRC-20 Tokens? A Brief Introduction
          • Was Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Pro-NFTs?
          • Bitcoin Ordinals Inscriptions Surge Past 2.7 Million 
          • How to Create a Bitcoin Ordinal 


            • Elsewhere: 
            • Bitcoin Ordinals Trading Is Down Bad—But Just How Bad?
            • A New Frontier for Bitcoin? Recursive Inscriptions Explained
            • ‘NFTs will win on Bitcoin’ — OnChainMonkey NFT collection ditches Ethereum
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              1 hr 7 min
            • Why FTX Might Try to Claw Back Funds From Retail Customers- Ep. 547

              As lawsuits continue to pile up in the FTX saga, FTX chief John Ray III is focused on clawing back funds from former affiliates to pay back creditors. But how might that play out in court? Founder of 117 Partners Thomas Braziel, who specializes in the trading of bankruptcy claims, explains the different paths Ray may choose to go down and the potential outcomes of these cases.


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

              Show highlights:

              • The chances of FTX winning in court against Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents
              • The case against Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman 
              • Whether civil cases could turn into criminal ones
              • Whether bankruptcy proceedings and the criminal case against Sam Bankman-Fried are a coordinated effort 
              • What retail clawbacks are and the likelihood that FTX will pursue them
              • Thank you to our sponsors!
                • Crypto.com
                • Arbitrum Foundation
                • Thales DAO
                • Toku
                • Guest
                  • Thomas Braziel, founder of 117 Partners
                  • Previous appearances on Unchained:
                  • Will FTX Reboot? Here’s John Ray’s Internal Deadline for Making a Decision
                  • Will FTX Customers Ever Recover Their Assets? Two Insolvency Experts Weigh In
                  • Will Celsius Survive the Bankruptcy Process?
                  • How Crypto Bankruptcy Claims Buyers Will Profit From the Collapse of FTX
                  • Links
                    • Previous coverage of Unchained on Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX:
                    • The Chopping Block: Was FTX a Scam From the Very Beginning? 
                    • How Much Prison Time Is FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried Facing? 
                    • Why the Legal Process for FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried Could Take Years
                    • The Chopping Block: SBF Wants to Win in the Court of Public Opinion. Will He?
                    • Jesse Powell and Kevin Zhou on How FTX and Alameda Lost $10 Billion
                    • Is the Collapse of Crypto Lending Over, or Is It Just Starting?
                    • Did the Bahamian Government Direct SBF and Gary Wang to Hack FTX?
                    • The Chopping Block: Why Lenders Didn’t Liquidate Alameda When It Was Underwater 
                    • Erik Voorhees and Cobie on Why FTX Loaned Out Customers’ Assets
                    • The Chopping Block: FTX: The Biggest Collapse in the History of Crypto?
                    • Sam Bankman-Fried on How to Prevent the Next Terra and 3AC
                    • Unchained: 
                    • New Suit Claims That FTX Kept Its Fraud All in the Family
                    • Stanford University Will Return $5.5 Million to FTX
                    • FTX Sues SBF’s Parents to Claw Back Misappropriated Funds: Report
                    • Full text of the FTX lawsuit against Bankman and Fried
                    • CoinDesk: Sam Bankman-Fried’s Dad Thought His Son Wasn’t Paying Him Enough, So He Got Mom Involved
                    • Bloomberg: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Elite Parents Enabled His Crypto Empire
                    • The Verge: The best stuff Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents bought using FTX money
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                      47 min
                    • The Chopping Block: Will Warren of 0x on Its Settlement With the CFTC - Ep. 546

                      Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders chop it up about the latest news. This week, Haseeb Qureshi and Tom Schmidt speak to Will Warren, cofounder of 0x Labs, to discuss why the CFTC issued them a Wells Notice, how they responded to regulatory scrutiny, and how other countries may offer a blueprint for crypto regulation.


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


                      Show highlights: 

                      • why the CFTC issued a Wells Notice to 0x
                      • how a decentralized application addresses the issue of geolocalization of users
                      • how the team at 0x worked together with the CFTC to avoid violating the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) again
                      • what are the implications of the settlement and who's liable for offering services 
                      • why it's so hard for crypto projects to follow the rules without clear regulatory guidance
                      • why Haseeb says that the SEC wants this industry to “not exist”
                      • how lack of regulatory clarity may be stunting US innovation
                      • whether there's a conflict of interest between the companies building protocols and the protocols themselves
                      • Hosts
                        • Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly 
                        • Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly 
                          Guest
                          Will Warren, cofounder of 0x Labs DisclosuresLinks
                          • Unchained: 
                          • UniswapX Launches With MEV Protection and Gas Free Swaps
                          • CFTC Charges Three DeFi Protocols With Violating AML Rules, Operating Without Licenses
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                            58 min
                          • Zeke Faux's Crypto Adventures and His Relationship With Former FTX CEO SBF - Ep. 545

                            Zeke Faux, author of 'Number Go Up,' shares his findings after making a deep dive into the world of crypto. From skepticism to a full-blown investigation, Faux recounts his journey that led him to the heart of crypto, meeting some of the most eccentric characters in the industry. As a Bloomberg investigative reporter, Faux brings a critical eye to the crypto sphere, unearthing the bizarre, the risky, and the downright astonishing facets of what the crypto community calls a financial revolution.


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

                            Show highlights:
                            • what the book 'Number Go Up' is about
                            • Zeke's background as an investigative reporter for Bloomberg
                            • whether Zeke is skeptical about crypto 
                            • why Zeke thought it was a big deal to investigate Tether, the issuer of USDT
                            • whether he had a conclusion on the fact that he couldn't find anything big about Tether
                            • why Zeke says that Sam Bankman-Fried had a sloppy approach to risk management
                            • why Zeke believes that SBF did not give so much money to charity even though he's an effective altruist
                            • how projects like STEPN and Axie Infinity are 'clearly not the future of finance,' according to Zeke
                            • how SBF had such an open relationship with the media that helped him when the FTX collapse happened
                            • what Zeke found out investigating pig butchering scams in Cambodia
                            • how Zeke’s attempt to buy a Mutant Ape to get into an Ape Fest in New York City taught him about crypto’s bad user experience

                            • Thank you to our sponsors!
                              • Crypto.com
                              • Arbitrum Foundation
                              • Toku
                              • LayerZero
                              • Guest:
                                Zeke Faux, author of ‘Number Go Up’

                                Bloomberg: 11 Hours With Sam Bankman-Fried: Inside the Bahamian Penthouse After FTX’s Fall

                                Links

                                Tether

                                • Unchained: 
                                • Is Tether a Fraud? Its Bank Says It's Not 
                                • Tether, the Multibillion-Dollar Stablecoin at the Heart of the Crypto Ecosystem
                                • Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX

                                  • Unchained: 
                                  • Sam Bankman-Fried on How to Prevent the Next Terra and 3AC
                                  • SBF Behind Bars: Why Revoked Bail Is a Big Deal for Crypto’s Biggest Trial
                                  • Pig butchering scams

                                    • Unchained: How This Prosecutor Is Spearheading the Fight Against Crypto ‘Pig Butchering’ Scams

                                    Crypto in developing countries

                                    • Bitcoin in El Salvador: Why Would Cypherpunks Support Government-Mandated Bitcoin Adoption?
                                    • Anita Posch on Why ‘Bitcoin Is a Tool for Freedom’ – Especially in Africa
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                                      1 hr 15 min
                                    • With Execs Leaving and Market Share Declining, Can Binance Survive? - Ep. 544

                                      In the wake of FTX’s collapse, Binance – already the biggest exchange in the world by a large margin – has continued to grow. But a series of challenges, including billions of dollars worth of customer outflows, the winding down of its stablecoin BUSD and the SEC and CFTC lawsuits related to its U.S. operations have challenged its market dominance. Steven Ehrlich, director of research at Forbes Crypto, joins the show to discuss how Binance has been dealing with a deluge of bad news and how it plans to forge a path forward. 


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

                                      Show highlights:

                                      • how the collapse of FTX impacted Binance and its market dominance
                                      • how Binance has been losing market share over the past few months
                                      • why Steven believes that Binance.US is in a "very tenuous situation"
                                      • whether Binance is feeling stronger now that the SEC experienced a partial loss in the Ripple case
                                      • the consequences of consumers losing trust in Binance, according to Steven
                                      • the speculation around the recently filed sealed motion filed by the SEC
                                      • whether the theory that Binance is the next FTX has some merits
                                      • how Binance.US needs to recuperate some market volume to increase its revenue
                                      • Thank you to our sponsors!
                                        • Crypto.com
                                        • Arbitrum Foundation
                                        • Thales DAO
                                        • Toku
                                        • Guest
                                          Steven Ehrlich, director of research at Forbes CryptoLinks
                                          • WSJ: 
                                          • Binance, the Biggest Player in Crypto, Is Facing Legal Risks Over Russia
                                          • More Binance Executives Leave, Including Some Overseeing Russia
                                          • How the Binance CEO Operates: Weigh the Risk, Calculate the Reward
                                          • What Is Happening With Binance?
                                          • Binance Lays Off Over 1,000 Employees
                                          • Some Binance.US Crypto Trading Was a Mirage, the SEC Alleges
                                          • Binance.US Legal, Risk Executives Leave the Crypto Exchange
                                          • Reuters: 
                                          • Crypto exchange Binance hit by executive exodus
                                          • Paxos receives U.S. SEC notice over Binance's stablecoin 'BUSD'
                                          • Binance CEO's trading firm received $11 billion via client deposit company, SEC says
                                          • The Block:
                                          • Binance.US can't grow until CZ sells stake, fixes regulatory issues: sources
                                          • Binance to end support for BUSD, encourages conversion to FDUSD
                                          • Mastercard, Binance end crypto card partnership in four countries
                                          • Binance withdraws crypto license application in Germany 
                                          • CoinDesk: SEC's Secret Binance Court Filing Has Observers Bracing for Bad News
                                          • John Reed Stark’s post on X 
                                          • CFTC: CFTC Charges Binance and Its Founder, Changpeng Zhao, with Willful Evasion of Federal Law and Operating an Illegal Digital Asset Derivatives Exchange
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                                            45 min
                                          • Jeremy Allaire on Circle's ‘Multi-Decade’ Strategy and Where Stablecoin Regulation Is Headed - Ep. 543

                                            It’s been a busy year for USDC issuer Circle, with several new product launches and partnerships, a crypto banking crisis to contend with, the entry of PayPal into the stablecoin business, and plenty of new global regulatory developments, including a bill in the U.S. now making its way through Congress. Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire joins Unchained for an in-depth discussion on the reasons behind Coinbase’s investment in Circle, how Circle has emerged stronger from the banking crisis, what he thinks of PYUSD, what he likes and doesn’t like about the current U.S. stablecoin bill, and his thoughts on what the final bill will look like. 

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

                                            Show highlights:
                                            • why Circle and Coinbase created the Center Consortium and why Coinbase acquired a stake in Circle
                                            • whether Circle is aiming to be acquired or become a public company, and why Jeremy is pursuing a "multi-decade" strategy
                                            • why Circle partnered with MercadoLibre and the stablecoin usage in Latin America [may need to cut if embargo does not stick]
                                            • how the company has been supporting developers to build applications
                                            • why Circle is launching native USDC on so many new blockchains 
                                            • what the purpose of cross-chain transfer protocol (CCTP) is and what the big problems with bridges are
                                            • how Circle responded to Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse and why the world began to feel that "it's not safe to be exposed to the US"
                                            • Jeremy's thoughts on the launch of PayPal's stablecoin, PYUSD
                                            • why having stablecoin legislation is a "national priority," according to Jeremy
                                            • why Jeremy is a proponent of a fully reserved banking system
                                            • why he thinks the US needs to "aggressively" take action to preserve the global reserve currency status of the US dollar
                                            • how China’s national digital currency is likely to develop
                                            • how crypto can provide a better way of providing identity without giving up privacy
                                            • why blockchain technology is much more than just a financial regulatory matter

                                            • Thank you to our sponsors!
                                              • Crypto.com
                                              • Arbitrum Foundation
                                              • Toku
                                              • LayerZero
                                              • Guest:
                                                • Jeremy Allaire, cofounder, Chairman and CEO of Circle
                                                • Previous appearances of Jeremy on Unchained: 
                                                • Crypto on Every Corner: Driving Adoption With Jeremy Allaire and Meltem Demirors
                                                • Circle’s Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville on Why Crypto Will Be Bigger Than the Web
                                                • Jeremy Allaire on Why the US Government Needs a New Category for Digital Assets
                                                • Links
                                                  • Unchained: 
                                                  • Coinbase Acquires Equity Stake in Circle Amid USDC Updates and Market Challenges
                                                  • Will PayPal’s PYUSD Steal Market Share From Tether and Circle?
                                                  • The Fall of SVB: What Happened and How It Affects Crypto

                                                  • CoinDesk: 
                                                  • U.S. Stablecoin Bill Takes Big Step Despite Fight From Democrats, White House 
                                                  • Circle Seeks to Make Crypto Payments Easier With New 'Programmable Wallets'
                                                  • Written Statement of Jeremy Allaire Before the United States House Committee on Financial Services, “The Future of Digital Assets: Providing Clarity for the Digital Asset Ecosystem”
                                                  • South China Morning Post: Head of crypto firm Circle accepts ban in mainland China, but sees role for yuan-backed stablecoins 
                                                  • TechCrunch: Solana Pay integrates plug-in with Shopify for USDC payments 
                                                  • Decrypt: News Explorer — Circle Partners With Mercado Libre to Bring USDC to Chile 
                                                  • Jeremy’s comments on the launch of PYUSD


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                                                    1 hr 18 min
                                                  • Could This Vitalik-Backed Protocol Bring Privacy to a Regulated Crypto World? - Ep. 542

                                                    Earlier this week, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and four co-authors published a paper describing a smart contract protocol called privacy pools that would enable crypto users to associate their funds with those being used for legitimate purposes versus those being used in criminal activity such as hacks or money laundering. The protocol addresses one of the main shortcomings of coin mixer Tornado Cash, which has been sanctioned by the U.S. government. 

                                                    Chainalysis chief scientist Jacob Illum, one of those co-authors, discusses the impetus for the paper, the technology behind privacy pools and how they would work in practice, who would provide some of the necessary organization to operate the pools, and some of the early criticisms of the paper.


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

                                                    Show highlights:

                                                    • what the current state of crypto privacy is and what the motivation was to write this paper
                                                    • what privacy pools are and how they work
                                                    • how zero-knowledge proofs are the key technology behind privacy pools
                                                    • what the role of association set providers is in making this new technology work
                                                    • what would happen in different potential scenarios, such as a "bad address" being discovered after a transaction has been made
                                                    • how the protocol would protect the privacy and identity of the users
                                                    • how law enforcement, credit score agencies and other organizations could have "special viewing privileges" of transactions, according to Jacob
                                                    • how the community has been reacting to the recently published paper
                                                    • Jacob’s response to criticisms the paper has received from industry players
                                                    • why Chainalysis participated in the paper given that many people see them as 'anti-privacy'
                                                    • Thank you to our sponsors!
                                                      • Crypto.com
                                                      • Arbitrum Foundation
                                                      • Thales DAO
                                                      • Toku
                                                      • Guest
                                                        Jacob Illum, chief scientist at ChainalysisLinks
                                                        • Unchained: Tornado Cash Cofounder Arrested, Another Sanctioned by U.S. Government
                                                        • CoinDesk: Crypto-Mixing Service Tornado Cash Blacklisted by US Treasury
                                                        • Blockchain Privacy and Regulatory Compliance: Towards a Practical Equilibrium
                                                        • Matt Corallo’s tweet
                                                        • Crypto lawyer Preston Byrne’s tweet
                                                        • Previous coverage of Unchained on Tornado Cash:
                                                        • The Chopping Block: 'Code Is Law' Is 'Obviously Not How Anything Works Ever'
                                                        • The Chopping Block: Why DeFi May Be Over-Complying With Tornado Cash Sanctions
                                                        • Preston Van Loon on Ethereum’s Merge and His Lawsuit Against TreasuryGiven the Sanctions on Tornado Cash, Is Ethereum Censorship Resistant?
                                                        • The Chopping Block: Did OFAC Overstep by Sanctioning Tornado Cash?
                                                        • Tornado Cash Sanctioned. Did the Government Overstep Its Bounds?
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                                                          39 min
                                                        • The Chopping Block: Why Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire Is So Optimistic About Stablecoins' Future - Ep. 541

                                                          Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest news. This week, the group sits down with Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire to discuss how the USDC stablecoin issuer responded to the banking crisis that started at the end of 2022, what PayPal’s new stablecoin offering means for Circle and the rest of the industry, and whether central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) represent real competition for stablecoins. 


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


                                                          Show highlights: 
                                                          • how the collapse of FTX and other companies led to a de-banking crisis for the industry
                                                          • what the Circle Reserve Fund is
                                                          • how the banking crisis in early 2023 caused a "flight from safety"
                                                          • how regulatory clarity has improved in the aftermath of the banking crisis
                                                          • why Jeremy actually hopes PayPal's recently launched PYUSD is successful
                                                          • why Tarun believes Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are one of the most "boring concepts" within the industry
                                                          • whether CBDCs pose a threat to businesses that issue stablecoins such as Circle
                                                          • Whether the status quo on stablecoins in the U.S. of knowing-your-customer on redemption and minting, but not on holding, is likely to continue. 

                                                          • Hosts:
                                                            • Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly 
                                                            • Robert Leshner, founder of Compound
                                                            • Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures

                                                              Guest:

                                                              Jeremy Allaire, CEO of CircleDisclosuresLinks
                                                              • The Chopping Block: Was Crypto Just Debanked?
                                                              • Will PayPal's PYUSD Steal Market Share From Tether and Circle?
                                                              • The Fall of SVB: What Happened and How It Affects Crypto
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                                                                53 min
                                                              • Friend.tech: The Legal and Tax Ins and Outs of This Year’s Hottest Crypto App - Ep. 540

                                                                Friend.tech, a decentralized social media platform in which you can buy and sell “keys” in your friends on X (formerly known as Twitter) whose value can go up and down, has become a viral sensation, racking up as many as 100,000 users since launching on August 10. Should keys be considered securities and thus regulated by the SEC? How should gains and losses be taxed? And how private should users assume their communications and transactions on the platform are? Securities and banking law professor at George Mason Law School JW Verret, and tax partner and co-head of the Digital Assets and Blockchain Practice at Fried Frank Jason Schwartz, share their thoughts. 


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

                                                                Show highlights:
                                                                • how Friend.tech works and how the price of keys is determined
                                                                • how Friend.tech is different from many other past attempts at creating a decentralized social media platform
                                                                • whether the keys offered by Friend.tech could be deemed securities by the SEC
                                                                • what wrapped Friend.tech tokens are and whether these could be considered securities
                                                                • why the traditional approach to crypto taxation is bad for most Friend.tech taxpayers
                                                                • what the tax implications of Friend.tech airdrops are
                                                                • what Friend.tech users should assume about their privacy on the app
                                                                • what the future holds for Friend.tech

                                                                • Thank you to our sponsors!
                                                                  • Crypto.com
                                                                  • Arbitrum Foundation
                                                                  • Toku
                                                                  • Guests:
                                                                    • J.W. Verret, Associate Professor of Law at George Mason Law School
                                                                    • Previous appearance on Unchained: Coinbase's Legal Action Against the SEC: How It Will Likely Unfold
                                                                    • Jason Schwartz, tax partner and co-head of the Digital Assets and Blockchain Practice at Fried, Frank
                                                                    • Friend.Tech Shows How Complicated Taxing Crypto Transactions Can Be by Jason Schwartz
                                                                      Links
                                                                      • Unchained: 
                                                                      • Friend.tech Threatens to Penalize Users That Move to Copies or Forks
                                                                      • Friend.tech Clarifies That Database of 100,000 Users Was Not Leaked
                                                                      • What Is SocialFi? A Beginner’s Guide
                                                                      • The ‘Howey Test’ and the Debate Over Crypto's Legal Status - Crypto Security vs Commodity
                                                                      • CoinDesk: Friend.tech Attracted NBA Influencers. So Why Does Everyone Think Crypto’s Latest Trend Will Die?
                                                                      • Decrypt: Friend.tech Renames Its Token—But Is It Even Legal?

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                                                                        59 min
                                                                      • Does Grayscale’s Win Against the SEC Mean a Spot Bitcoin ETF Will Be Approved? - Ep. 539

                                                                        This week’s emphatic ruling in favor of Grayscale in its suit against the SEC to convert its massive bitcoin trust into an ETF generated plenty of hopium among the bitcoin faithful that a spot bitcoin ETF will get approved soon and open a flood of investment in bitcoin. What are the odds of that truly happening now, though, and if it did, how much additional money could wind up being invested in bitcoin as a result? Also, which companies’ applications would get approved first and how would the various products compete with one other? Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas separates the hype from the reality in answering these questions and more.

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

                                                                        Show highlights:

                                                                        • why Bloomberg increased the likelihood of a Bitcoin ETF being approved this year from 50% to 75%
                                                                        • how the ruling exceeded the expectations of the legal analysts at Bloomberg
                                                                        • why it's important that the ruling was a bipartisan decision
                                                                        • whether, from a legal perspective, it's "weird" to deny a spot ETF but approve a futures one
                                                                        • how a spot Bitcoin ETF would act as a bridge for Baby boomers to invest in crypto
                                                                        • what the two most likely SEC responses to the ruling are
                                                                        • what the likely timelines for an SEC spot Bitcoin ETF approval or disapproval would be
                                                                        • whether Gary Gensler's agency will approve Ethereum futures ETFs in the U.S.
                                                                        • why BlackRock's and Fidelity's ETFs are more likely to be approved first, according to Eric
                                                                        • how the different ETFs would compete in the market
                                                                        • why spot Bitcoin ETFs pose a serious threat to crypto exchanges' businesses
                                                                        • Eric's estimate of how much additional money would pour into Bitcoin if a spot Bitcoin ETF is approved
                                                                        • Thank you to our sponsors!
                                                                          • Crypto.com
                                                                          • Arbitrum Foundation
                                                                          • Thales DAO
                                                                          • Toku
                                                                          • Guest
                                                                            Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg IntelligenceLinks
                                                                            • Previous coverage of Unchained on Grayscale and ETFs:
                                                                            • Why Grayscale Is Suing the SEC Over Its Denial of a Bitcoin ETF
                                                                            • Bitwise’s Latest Plans to Get a Bitcoin ETF Approved
                                                                            • DCG’s Dilemma: Should It Sell Its GBTC Holdings to Repay Gemini?
                                                                            • Gemini vs. DCG Is Heating Up. Could Gemini Force Genesis Into Bankruptcy?
                                                                            • ‘The Last Big Whale’: Why the Crypto Contagion of 2022 Eventually Hit Genesis
                                                                            • Unchained: 
                                                                            • Grayscale Wins Lawsuit Against SEC Over Denial of Bid to Convert GBTC Into a Bitcoin ETF
                                                                            • Bitcoin ETFs Explained: What Are They & How Do They Work?
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                                                                              48 min

                                                                            About Unchained

                                                                            From the publisher's feed

                                                                            Crypto assets and blockchain technology are about to transform every trust-based interaction of our lives, from financial services to identity to the Internet of Things. In this podcast, host Laura…