Unchained

By Laura ShinNews Business News Tech News

Unchained episodes

February 22, 2023The Chopping Block: The Inside Story of How Blur Toppled NFT Giant OpenSea - Ep. 459
Welcome to “The Chopping Block” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news. This week, it’s time for a case study: Special guest Pacman, founder of Blur, explains how his upstart NFT marketplace fought OpenSea and won.

Show highlights:
what it’s like to launch a token
why Blur was created and what its strategy was for competing with OpenSea
why royalties remain a lightning rod in the NFT community
how Blur designed its liquidity mining program and the lesson learned from failed designs
the reasons why Blur succeeded in the NFT marketplace environment
Pacman’s reaction to OpenSea’s decision to not enforce royalties
why forking the Blur code won’t work for new marketplace competitors
why the NFT market remained strong in the depths of a bear market
why Pacman thinks AMMs for NFTs won’t work
whether the “death of royalties” is good or bad for the ecosystem
Hosts
Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly
Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures
Robert Leshner, founder of Compound
Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly
Guest
Pacman, founder of Blur
Twitter
DisclosuresPrevious coverage on NFT royalties:
The Chopping Block: Two on Two Debate: NFT Royalty Throwdown!
Are NFT Royalties the Way? How to Build a Sustainable Creator Economy
Links
Dune: Blur VS OpenSea
Blog post: How to earn royalties on Blur
OpenSea’s response
Unchained:
OpenSea Eliminates Marketplace Fee, Makes Creator Royalties Optional
Blur Airdrops 360M Tokens to NFT Traders

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1 hr 10 min
February 21, 2023Just a Coincidence? Coinbase and Polygon Lawyers See Bad Omens in SEC Crackdown - Ep. 458
A settlement with Kraken, a proposed custody rule, and lawsuits against Paxos and Terraform Labs. “This week has been a very long year,” said Polygon Labs Chief Policy Officer Rebecca Rettig. She joins Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal to interpret what’s going on with the SEC. Is it just one big push to cripple the crypto industry? “The fact that we’re all … trying to read tea leaves speaks to a failure in the system that relies upon one-off enforcement actions rather than a public rulemaking process,” said Grewal.

Show highlights:
how the implosion of FTX sped up regulatory actions
whether the SEC will go after other staking services
why the statement that crypto firms should just register with the SEC is “disingenuous”
what seems to be behind the decision to target the BUSD stablecoin
whether SEC enforcement actions will be detrimental to innovation in the U.S.
what features would make stablecoins securities
why the SEC is alleging that the UST stablecoin is a security
why “expansion of jurisdiction” is at the heart of the SEC’s proposed crypto custody rules
why Paul thinks that forcing crypto innovation offshore could become a national security issue for the U.S.
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
FTSE
Halborn
NYU

Guests:
Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase:
Twitter

Rebecca Rettig, Chief Policy Officer at Polygon Labs:
Twitter

Links
WIRED: Confusion Spirals in Crypto as the US Cracks Down
Unchained:
Circle Told NYDFS That Paxos-Issued BUSD Wasn’t Fully Backed
SEC Wants Tougher Rules for Crypto Custody
SEC Sues Do Kwon and Terraform Labs
WSJ:
Crypto Firm Paxos Faces SEC Lawsuit Over Binance USD Token
Regulator Orders Crypto Firm Paxos to Stop Issuing Binance Stablecoin
Bloomberg: US Crackdown Seeks to Push Crypto Back to the Fringes of Finance
SEC:
Pocketful of Quarters, Inc.
Statement on Safeguarding Advisory Client Assets Proposal
CoinDesk: SEC Proposal Could Bar Investment Advisers From Keeping Assets at Crypto Firms
Jesse Powell’s tweet

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1 hr 10 min
February 17, 2023Is Gary Gensler on a Mission to Put Crypto Down for Good? - Ep. 457
Mike Selig, counsel at Willkie Farr, has plenty to talk about this week, with a slew of actions from Gary Gensler’s SEC putting the future of crypto in the U.S. in question. From Kraken’s custodial staking settlement to action against BUSD issuer Paxos, the former CFTC law clerk voices concern that coordination among regulators could choke off the industry’s growth. Hear how Selig thinks Gensler’s SEC is working to bring crypto markets “within the regulatory perimeter.”

Show highlights:
whether regulators are using the FTX case to go against crypto as a whole
what likely caused the NYDFS action against Paxos for BUSD
whether there’s a coordinated effort to undermine the crypto markets
how issuers could argue that stablecoins aren’t securities
why there are limited implications for staking as a whole after Kraken’s SEC settlement
how the regulators are “discouraging access and participation in crypto markets at the banking level”
the differences between Gary Gensler’s SEC and that of his predecessor, Jay Clayton
how the Gensler administration is skeptical of governance and DAOs
why the SEC’s crypto custody rule proposal is refreshing, albeit not perfect
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com

Guest
Mike Selig, counsel at Willkie Farr
Twitter

Links
Unchained:
Circle Told NYDFS That Paxos-Issued BUSD Wasn’t Fully Backed
SEC Wants Tougher Rules for Crypto Custody
CoinDesk: SEC Proposal Could Bar Investment Advisers From Keeping Assets at Crypto Firms
WSJ: Crypto Firm Paxos Faces SEC Lawsuit Over Binance USD Token
Regulator Orders Crypto Firm Paxos to Stop Issuing Binance Stablecoin - WSJ
The Block: SEC action against Paxos paints regulatory target on stablecoins
Tom Wan on the ramifications of Paxos being ordered to stop issuing BUSD
Bloomberg: US Crackdown Seeks to Push Crypto Back to the Fringes of Finance

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49 min
February 15, 2023The Chopping Block: The SEC Is Attacking Crypto – Will Gary Gensler Succeed? - Ep. 456
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news. This week, Polygon Chief Legal Officer Marc Boiron joins the show to examine the SEC’s recent enforcement ramp-up.
why Marc thinks NYDFS coming after Paxos is the most interesting thing to analyze in the SEC-BUSD spat
whether the SEC and NYDFS actions against Paxos were coordinated
whether a stablecoin is a security and why the SEC might be inclined to go after Paxos
how a stablecoin could resemble a money market fund
whether the SEC action against BUSD consolidates Tether's dominance
why Robert is nervous about the ramifications of the Paxos situation for all of crypto
the unique characteristics of Kraken's staking services that led to settlement with the SEC
the meaning of the settlement for other custodial staking services and staking in general
why Robert voted in favor of the Uniswap governance proposal
why Haseeb is fine with how a16z voted in the proposal
how on-chain governance should be approached
Hosts
Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital
Robert Leshner, founder of Compound
Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly Capital
Guest
Marc Boiron, chief legal officer at Polygon

Links

Disclosures

BUSD shutdown
WSJ:
Crypto Firm Paxos Faces SEC Lawsuit Over Binance USD Token
Regulator Orders Crypto Firm Paxos to Stop Issuing Binance Stablecoin
The Block: Gensler: SEC has been 'clear' on cryptocurrencies
Unchained: Circle Told NYDFS That Paxos-Issued BUSD Wasn’t Fully Backed
SEC vs. Staking
Ethereum ETH Staking Deposits
Kraken to Discontinue Unregistered Offer and Sale of Crypto Asset Staking-As-A-Service Program and Pay $30 Million to Settle SEC Charges
Coinbase’s staking services are not securities. And here's why. - Blog
Uniswap governance drama
Unchained episode on the topic: Chris Blec on Why He Believes a16z’s Uniswap Vote Exposes DeFi as a Farce - Ep. 454
Wormhole vs. LayerZero posts
Wormhole
LayerZero
Explanation video from Unchained

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1 hr 18 min
February 14, 2023How This Prosecutor Is Spearheading the Fight Against Crypto ‘Pig Butchering’ Scams - Ep. 455
Erin West, Deputy District Attorney of California’s Santa Clara County, has heard firsthand tales of scammers preying on victims for hundreds of thousands of dollars. She joins the show to explain the scamming technique known as “pig butchering,” how it is estimated to have raked in tens of billions worldwide, and why it has led to suicide in some cases. West makes the case for why victims need empathy and how law enforcement is working with exchanges to claw back scammed funds.

Show highlights:
Erin’s background and how she started investigating crypto crimes
what exactly the “pig butchering” method entails — and why it’s called that
what kind of people scammers are targeting
the devastating stories that have arisen from these crypto scams
fresh intel on where the fraudsters are located
whether the scammers may be connected to foreign governments
how the victims are often turned away by U.S. law enforcement agencies
how Erin’s agency was able to return almost $1 million to victims late last year
what local agencies can do to address these problems
how law enforcement agencies around the U.S. are lacking crypto education
the workshops Erin has been leading to help such agencies get educated
the relatively low number of NFT-related scams her agency has dealt with so far
what Erin recommends for victims of “pig butchering” scams
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
FTSE
Halborn
NYU
Links

SIM Swaps and Pig Butchering scams:

Forbes: Hackers Have Stolen Millions Of Dollars In Bitcoin -- Using Only Phone Numbers
WIRED: What Is a Pig Butchering Scam?

Podcast on Indian telemarketing scams: Chameleon: Scam Likely — Campside Media

Guests:
Erin:
LinkedIn

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1 hr 1 min
February 10, 2023Chris Blec on Why He Believes a16z’s Uniswap Vote Exposes DeFi as a Farce - Ep. 454
Chris Blec, DeFi researcher and founder of the Blec Report, explains why he believes the involvement of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) in a contentious Uniswap governance proposal flies in the face of crypto’s core value: decentralization. He argues that the venture capital firm’s ability to potentially sway the vote in favor of a portfolio company undermines claims that DeFi is “people-powered.” The vote, which is not yet concluded, is the latest venue for people to debate the merits of DeFi governance and whether one token really should equal one vote.

Show highlights:
why a16z decided to vote against a key section of the Uniswap governance proposal
the problem Chris sees with the current design of DAOs
whether there is a parallel to be drawn between TradFi and DAO governance
why Chris says people are mistaken when they think about the goals of crypto VC
whether the fact that some VCs control so much voting power goes against the ethos of decentralization
how Chris thinks VCs are funding lobbyist groups to push for their interests, not those of crypto as a whole
why Chris believes the "one token, one vote" system doesn't work
some alternatives that could be pursued to help the issue of whale token voting
whether regulators will come after DAOs and especially the ones that are using current governance mechanisms
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com

Guest
Chris Blec, DeFi researcher and founder of the Blec Report
Twitter
Tweet about token voting
Tweet about engaging with a16z
Links
Unchained: Does a16z Control Uniswap?
CoinDesk: Contentious Uniswap Vote Highlights the Opaqueness of Decentralized Governance
Related Twitter threads:
From Eddy Lazzarin
From Defi Ignas
From Abdullah Umar
From Philipp Zentner
From Macro Mate
From Adam Cochran

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37 min
February 07, 2023Everything You Need to Know About Filing Your 2022 Crypto Taxes - Ep. 453
Lawrence Zlatkin, VP of Tax at Coinbase, and Shehan Chandrasekera, Head of Tax Strategy at CoinTracker, give a full accounting of everything U.S. crypto traders should be aware of as we inch closer to April 18. The two tax experts discuss the latest on how the IRS is approaching crypto taxation, going deep on everything from staking rewards to NFT royalties. Just a heads up: This interview is meant for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or tax advice.

Show highlights:
what’s new this year when it comes to reporting crypto transactions
why staking is now firmly on the IRS’s radar
how capital gains tax works for crypto
the types of crypto transactions that are taxable as income
the five situations where a crypto user incurs a taxable event
the types of crypto activity that are not taxable
what crypto holders can do to make tax time easier
the IRS forms you need for various types of crypto transactions
typical mistakes that crypto users make when it comes to filing their taxes
why there’s not much you can do if you have assets stuck in Voyager, Celsius or other bankrupt crypto firms
why you might consider arguing a “theft loss deduction”
what to know about the Ethereum Merge as it relates to taxes
things NFT creators should be aware of during tax time
how the U.S. tax system can or cannot be applied to DeFi
what tax forms you can expect to receive if you’re a Coinbase customer
how corporations holding crypto may soon see favorable changes to current accounting rules
why $5,000 is a key threshold for crypto donations
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
FTSE
Halborn
NYU

Links

Previous coverage of crypto taxes on Unchained:
Your 2021 Crypto Taxes: How to Handle NFTs, DAOs, Airdrops and More
Everything You Need to Know About Your 2020 Crypto Taxes
Why You Shouldn't Trust Crypto Exchange Reports for Your Taxes
The IRS Is Cracking Down on Crypto Taxes: What You Need to Know
Guests:
Shehan:
Twitter
CoinTracker
Lawrence:
Twitter

Links:
Digital Assets | Internal Revenue Service
IRS CCA 202302012 (Crypto charitable donations)
IRS CCA 202302011 (Coins which have substantially lost in value. Ex: Luna)
MiCA – Overview of the New EU Crypto-Asset Regulatory Framework (Part 1) | HUB | K&L Gates
CNBC: President Joe Biden to sign the bipartisan infrastructure bill⁠ into law—here's how crypto investors will be impacted
S&P Global: What the US infrastructure bill means for cryptocurrency brokers and owners

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1 hr 13 min
February 04, 2023The Chopping Block: Why Canto, Up Nearly 500% This Month, Has Its Haters - Ep. 452
Welcome to “The Chopping Block!” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news. This week, they cover:
why Bitcoin maximalists are mad about Bitcoin NFTs
why Robert thinks Bitcoin is not a good blockchain on which to build things
why Canto, a layer 1 blockchain, surged in price and activity and why Haseeb is anti-Canto
how Ethereum will have multi-dimensional fee structures
what the role of applications in generalized blockchains should be and why they think they shouldn't be enforced at the base layer
the accusations against the LayerZero team and their response
the battle to provide the bridging services to Uniswap
Hosts
Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital
Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures
Robert Leshner, founder of Compound
Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly Capital
Links
Disclosures

Bitcoin NFTs:
The Block: What are Bitcoin NFTs Ordinals and how do they work?
BTC: Core On-chain - Glassnode Studio
Bitcoin - The Overview
Ordinals
Canto:
The Block: Layer 1 blockchain Canto sees surge in trading activity
Canto - Lending
LayerZero controversy:
James Prestwich’s tweet
Bryan Pellegrino’s response
Explanation of the situation by Bartek

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1 hr
February 03, 2023Why the Celsius Examiner Report Shows 'a Complete Disaster in Almost Every Way' - Ep. 451
Following the release of Celsius' examiner report, Kadhim Shubber, an investigative reporter at The Financial Times, dives into the controversial business practices of the lender, how the company inflated the CEL token, the use of customers' money, and much more.

Show highlights:
how Celsius used investors’ money to prop up the price of CEL
the reasons why Celsius inflated the CEL token
where the money to pay rewards to investors came from
blatant misstatements from Alex Mashinsky and how his team tried to cover him
how the company leveraged Bitcoin to fill the hole in its balance sheet
who was responsible for Celsius' shady business practices
Celsius' poor investment decisions
whether Mashinsky is at risk of facing criminal charges
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com

Guest
Kadhim:
Twitter

Links
Final report of Shoba Pillay, examiner
Financial Times: Crypto lender Celsius misused customer funds for years, examiner finds
Unchained: 7 Revelations From Celsius’ Examiner Report
CoinDesk: Celsius Used New Customer Funds to Pay for Withdrawals: Independent Examiner
The Block: Tether denies it borrowed $2B from Celsius, as described in court report
Blockchain News: Celsius' Official Creditor Committee Denies Rejected Bids
Ram Ahluwalia’s take on the Celsius bankruptcy examiner report

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37 min
January 31, 2023Did FTX Ruin Crypto’s Image on Capitol Hill? Two DC Insiders Discuss - Ep. 450
Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, and Miller Whitehouse-Levine, Policy Director of the DeFi Education Fund, offer insider takes on how lawmakers and regulators are viewing crypto after FTX’s catastrophic failure. Both expect heightened activity in the U.S. from what they’re calling the “Crypto Congress.” Will this be the year for stablecoin regulation? Is DeFi still in the crosshairs? What about Ripple’s fight with the SEC? The two crypto policy experts look to the U.S. and beyond for what regulatory battles lie ahead in 2023.

Show highlights:
why the current environment in Washington makes it difficult to pass new legislation
whether the opinion of members of Congress on crypto has changed in the aftermath of FTX’s alleged fraud
how Elizabeth Warren and others are using the FTX collapse to prove their anti-crypto stance
whether it’s possible to prevent a fallout like FTX from ever happening again
why Miller believes that this year Congress will be “absolutely obsessed” with crypto
what stablecoin legislation would look like, and why stablecoins are more likely to be regulated sooner
why Sheila thinks Ripple could win its case against the SEC
why they believe the SEC’s failure to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF is a logical inconsistency
why they think it’s not possible to apply TradFi rules to DeFi technology
how more policymaker education needs to be done
how OFAC sanctioning Tornado Cash sparked many conversations among researchers and policymakers
the role of the government in preserving national security
how MiCA took an appropriately slow approach to imposing DeFi regulations
the impact of China and India adopting digital currencies
why Miller thinks China’s digital yuan is “the apotheosis of a totalitarian technology”
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
FTSE

Links

Previous coverage of Unchained on crypto legislation:
Why Bitcoin Now: Michael Casey and Niall Ferguson on How Bitcoin Fits in the History of Money
Kristin Smith on Why Crypto Legislation Could Be Passed by Year's End
Why Senator Pat Toomey Thinks SEC Chair Gary Gensler Is Wrong About Crypto
Guests:
Sheila:
Twitter
Miller:
LinkedIn

FTX
CoinDesk:
After FTX: How Congress Is Gearing Up to Regulate Crypto
Congress' FTX Problem: 1 in 3 Members Got Cash From Crypto Exchange's Bosses
After FTX: How Congress Is Gearing Up to Regulate Crypto
CNBC: House Republicans move to regulate crypto industry with a new subcommittee
MiCA
CoinDesk:
Analyzing What's Next for Europe's Markets in Crypto Assets Law
EU’s MiCA Crypto Law Would Have Stopped FTX's Malpractice, Officials Say
Others
Project Hamilton - Building a Hypothetical Central Bank Digital Currency
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Notorious Virtual Currency Mixer Tornado Cash
Tornado Cash is no “golem.” It’s a tool for privacy and free speech. - Coin Center

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1 hr 14 min

About Unchained

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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…

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Unchained episodes

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