Unchained

Kevin Zhou, co-founder of Galois Capital, discusses a crazy week in the world of algorithmic stablecoins that saw USDN de-peg from the dollar and Terra unveil plans to create a new liquidity pool on Curve to strengthen UST. Show highlights:

• how USDN and Waves works
• what made USD de-peg
• why Kevin thinks algorithmic stablecoins fail so often
• what Kevin thinks about backing UST with BTC
• how 4pool works in the context of Curve Finance, 3pool, UST, Frax Finance, and Redacted Cartel
• why Kevin believes Anchor is the reason UST could de-peg
• what might happen to Terra and the crypto market writ large if UST were to de-peg
• why lowering yields on Anchor could depress LUNA’s price by 8x
• how UST and LUNA redemptions work

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Episode Links

Kevin Zhou

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-zhou-82938324/ 

• Galois Capital: https://twitter.com/Galois_Capital 

UST

• Proposal

• https://agora.terra.money/t/ust-goes-interchain-the-4pool-and-redacted-cartel/5648

• Why Terra would want to implement 4pool (in the context of the curve wars)

USDN

• Recap of Waves x Alameda Drama

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Welcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest news in the digital asset industry. Show topics:

• how social engineering was used in the $600 million+ Ronin bridge hack
• what bridge infrastructure needs to be built (note: if someone wants to build a cross-chain Etherscan, it sounds like Tarun would fund it)
• why the Inverse Finance hack impressed Tom
• how Open Zeppelin found and patched a $15 billion vulnerability for Convex Finance
• why transitioning to token governance might be an issue for Convex
• what made USDN de-peg
• why Tarun think algorithmic stablecoin creators are a little crazy
• the elegance of the Bitcoin whitepaper
• what their biggest takeaways from Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter are
• why Tarun thinks FTX investing in IEX is actually a huge deal

Hosts

• Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital
• • https://twitter.com/hosseeb
• Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly Capital
• • https://twitter.com/tomhschmidt
• Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures

Topics Covered

• Ronin hack
• • https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-29/hackers-steal-590-million-from-ronin-in-latest-bridge-attack
  • https://decrypt.co/96811/nearly-7m-hacked-ronin-funds-sent-privacy-mixer-tornado-cash
  • https://roninblockchain.substack.com/p/community-alert-ronin-validators?s=w
• More hacks: Inverse Finance, Convex Rugpull disclosure
• • https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2022/04/02/defi-lender-inverse-finance-exploited-for-156-million/
  • https://twitter.com/bertcmiller/status/1510284763332071427
  • https://blog.openzeppelin.com/15-billion-rugpull-vulnerability-in-convex-finance-protocol-uncovered-and-resolved/
• USDN Peg broken, drama ensues
• • ​​https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/140475/drama-erupts-around-the-waves-blockchain-project-and-trading-firm-alameda 
  • https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/neutrino-usd
• Why is Elon taking a stake in Twitter?
• • https://decrypt.co/96809/dogecoin-cheerleader-elon-musk-takes-9-2-stake-in-twitter
  • https://www.wsj.com/articles/twitter-to-name-elon-musk-to-its-board-of-directors-11649162614?mod=article_inline
• FTX purchasing a stake in IEX
• • https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ftx-us-and-iex-join-forces-to-help-shape-market-structure-for-digital-assets-301517550.html
• Lightning Labs' $70 million raise

• https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-quant-firm-gauntlet-valued-at-1b-following-series-b

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Mike Brock, general manager of TBD at Block, discusses how TBD’s yet-to-be-released DEX is structured, explains why he thinks decentralized solutions do not necessarily need blockchains, and tells the humorous story about how Jack Dorsey convinced him to start working on a Bitcoin project. Show highlights:

• what TBD is and what its relation to Block (formerly Square) is
• how TBD differs from Spiral, another Block-based Bitcoin firm
• how tbDEX works and why building on-ramps and off-ramps to crypto is so important
• who will be supplying the liquidity for tbDEX
• why Mike is passionate about creating digital identity infrastructure
• how tbDEX will incorporate digital identity tooling into its protocol
• what Mike thinks about Vitalik Buterin’s misgivings concerning tbDEX’s design
• why Mike fell down the rabbit hole (thanks Jack Dorsey)
• what lessons Mike learned at CashApp that he is using at TBD
• which stablecoin TBD will be working with
• why Mike is not a believer in DeFi
• why tbDEX (or, seemingly, other TBD products) will not utilize tokens

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Episode Links

Mike Brock

• Twitter; https://twitter.com/brockm 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-brock-9030813/ 
• Introduction to TBD: https://twitter.com/brockm/status/1415795490914856961 

TBD

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/tbd54566975?lang=en 
• GitHub: https://github.com/TBD54566975/tbdex-whitepaper 
• Whitepaper

Other Topics

• Spiral (lightning development). Brock helped set up Spiral. 
• • Twitter: https://twitter.com/spiralbtc 
  • Website: https://spiral.xyz/ 
• CashApp
• • Impressive BTC revenue: https://decrypt.co/93793/block-bitcoin-earnings-cash-app-hit-nearly-2-billion-q4 
  • Lightning network: https://blockworks.co/cash-app-integrates-lightning-network-for-bitcoin-payments/

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Arjun Bhuptani, founder of Connext and bridging expert, breaks down the Ronin bridge exploit that led to a hacker stealing $600 million+ and discusses different bridge designs that could limit future attacks. Show highlights:

• how a hacker was able to drain more than $600 million from Ronin bridge
• the difference between DeFi hacks and the Ronin bridge exploit, which was a social-engineering based attack
• why multisig bridges are susceptible to social engineering attacks
• why Arjun believes the Ronin hacker is a sophisticated entity
• whether Sky Mavis will be able to reimburse users
• the different attack vectors for cross-chain bridges
• what Arjun thinks about different bridge designs

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021    

Coinchange: https://coinchange.io   

OnJuno: https://onjuno.com/ 

Episode Links

Arjun Bhuptani

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

Ronin Hack

• Latest update from Ronin

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Do Kwon is the CEO of Terraform Labs and a director at Luna Foundation Guard. On Unchained, he explains why LFG is spearheading a plan to partially back Terra’s $15 billion stablecoin UST with Bitcoin. He also dives into another project idea that would transform developer salaries into financial assets that, as far as I can tell, he has not yet spoken about publicly.

Part 1: Everything you need to know about Terra, UST, and BTC.

• how Terra works and why Do thinks UST will soon be the third-largest stablecoin
• why Do and LFG decided to back UST with bitcoin
• why Do thinks LUNA’s price will continue to appreciate despite UST’s new dependence on bitcoin
• how UST might perform if the price of a bitcoin were to crash
• why diversifying UST with different types of collateral could help Terra politically
• how LFG plans to use bridges, smart contracts, and an AMM reserve pool to secure its bitcoin
• why Do thinks Terra is now a Layer 2 project for Bitcoin
• who is deciding to purchase bitcoin and who determines what other assets to purchase as collateral for UST
• how a bitcoin reserve pool would help UST not de-peg from the dollar
• whether Do thinks Anchor’s 19%+ yield is sustainable and why Anchor is moving to other chains

Part 2: Do, the self-described “toymaker” of DeFi.

• why Do is fascinated with creating a fungible labor market
• how developer working hours could become a token traded on an AMM and used to take out loans
• why Do thinks developer salaries in crypto should be cyclical
• how on-chain identity and history will be similar to credit scores
• why Do is a personal fan of Thorchain – but is reticent to use it as a bridge for LFG
• why Do is interested in Prism Protocol
• what Do thinks the impact of a pro-crypto president will have on South Korea

Book events

Keep up on all the latest events here! 

https://www.laurashin.com/book/#tour-dates

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021           

Beefy Finance: https://beefy.finance    

Cross River Bank: https://crossriver.com/crypto

Upcoming Book Events

Wednesday, March 30: I’ll be speaking (remotely) with Six Senses about The Cryptopians at 2 pm ET. Be sure to save your spot soon – space is limited!

Tuesday, April 5: I will be doing a reading and signing hosted by the City of Miami Beach and Future Perfect Ventures at Sky Yard from 6-8 pm. Jalak Jobanputra, CEO of Future Perfect Ventures will be interviewing me. You need to RSVP by April 1 to [email protected].  

Saturday, April 9: I will be on a panel at the Annapolis Book Festival at 11 am. 

Tuesday, April 12: I will be at StartupGrind’s global event in Redwood City, which is focused this year on Web3 (time → TBD). 

May 4-7: I will be in conversation with author Jimmy Soni at the PBS Seattle Crosscut Festival, which takes place from May 4-7. 

May 23-25: I will be at the Oslo Freedom Forum which takes place from May 23 to 25. Details on these events are TBD. 

Episode Links

Do Kwon

• https://twitter.com/stablekwon
• Previous Unchained appearance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=683fXfedOZY 

Terra

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/terra_money 
• Luna Foundation Guard: https://lfg.org/team/

LFG Purchases

• Pomp – the $10B Bitcoin Bet on Stablecoins
• • https://pomp.substack.com/p/the-10-billion-bitcoin-bet-on-stablecoins?s=w
• 3/10 BTC purchase

Terraform Labs proposal to make Terra inter-chain

Jump’s BTC reserve proposal

Recent worries about Anchor APY being sustainable 

• Do said Anchor yield shouldn't be sustainable (marketing scheme)

• Arca + Polychain proposal: https://twitter.com/jdorman81/status/1502024302526304262 

South Korea’s new President

SEC subpoena

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Andy Beal, head of ecosystem development at Forta and author of the 30,000 Feet newsletter, discusses the dramatic governance proposal on Juno Network, a Cosmos-based project, where Juno holders are voting to confiscate millions of dollars in tokens from a whale who allegedly gamed the Juno airdrop. Show topics:

• how the Juno airdrop worked 
• how the whale was able to amass more JUNO tokens than the team wanted
• why the Juno Network community feels threatened by an entity holding so many JUNO tokens
• what the whale did to invoke the ire of the Juno Network community
• the community’s vote on whether to confiscate up to 98.5% of the whale’s tokens
• what three courses of action the community is considering to confiscate the whale’s JUNO
• what Andy’s biggest takeaways are from the dramatic governance moment

Come to an Event on Laura's Book Tour!

https://www.laurashin.com/book/#tour-dates

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021    

Coinchange: https://coinchange.io   

OnJuno: https://onjuno.com/ 

Episode Links

Andy Beal

Juno Network drama

• Andy’s write-up

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Welcome to The Chopping Block! Crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest news in the digital asset industry. On this week’s episode, Do Kwon, founder of Terraform Labs, also dropped by. Show topics:

• why Do decided to make millions of dollars in bets that LUNA will appreciate in value next year
• what Robert and Do, as crypto/DeFi founders, think about Crypto Twitter
• how the difficulty of building payment systems led to Do launching Terra
• Gauntlet’s recent funding round (and what it does)
• takeaways from Yuga Labs purchasing CryptoPunk and Meebits IP, ApeCoin, Otherside, and more
• how NFTs could change the game for publishing and content IP industries
• whether an NFT collection’s cultural relevance is similar to an L1’s TVL
• Bored Ape Yacht Club as the first NFT franchise
• why Haseeb is so disappointed with Axie Infinity, VCs, and other P2E games
• what Facebook’s foray into NFTs might look like

Hosts

• Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital
• • https://twitter.com/hosseeb
• Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly Capital
• • https://twitter.com/tomhschmidt
• Robert Leshner, founder of Compound 

Guest

• Do Kwon, founder of Terra

Episode Topics

• Gauntlet raises $23.8M led by Ribbit, now a Unicorn - congrats Tarun!
• • https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-quant-firm-gauntlet-valued-at-1b-following-series-b
• Do Kwon on a Terra betting spree ($1M, then $10M)
• • https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/137832/terraform-labs-ceo-do-kwon-seals-10-million-bet-over-luna-price

• Yuga Labs launches Apecoin, Apes buy Punks, teases metaverse, plans land sales, closes $450M raise led by a16z
• • https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2022/03/18/what-is-apecoin-and-who-is-behind-it/
  • https://twitter.com/yugalabs/status/1505014986556551172
  • https://twitter.com/yugalabs/status/1502420714527334406?s=11

• NFTs coming to Instagram? Minting + PFPs?
• • https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/03/15/mark-zuckerberg-says-nfts-are-coming-soon-to-instagram/
• Info on Axie Infinity

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Illia Polosukhin, co-founder NEAR Protocol, and George Kikvadze, executive vice chairman at BitFury Group, both of whom have called Ukraine “home” at one point in their lives, discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the role crypto is playing in the war, and the various avenues crypto users can donate to. Show topics:

• George and Illia’s background in crypto
• George and Ilia’s connection to Ukraine
• why crypto is so popular in Ukraine
• what supplies are being purchased with donated crypto
• how to donate crypto to Ukraine
• why Patreon blocked donations to Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian NGO
• George and Illia’s estimation of the amount of crypto donations received by Ukraine
• what department of Ukraine’s government spearheaded its adoption of crypto
• what happened with the canceled airdrop 
• the different organizations accepting crypto donations in Ukraine

Upcoming Book Events

Friday, March 25: I’ll be on the Harvard campus at HBS Aldrich 011 from 4 pm ET - 5 pm ET. This is *not* open to the general public, but we have a few spots we can give away, first come, first serve. Email [email protected], subject line "Harvard reading."

Wednesday, March 30: I’ll be speaking (remotely) with Six Senses about The Cryptopians at 2 pm ET. Be sure to save your spot soon – space is limited!

Tuesday, April 5: I will be doing a reading and signing hosted by the City of Miami Beach and Future Perfect Ventures at Sky Yard from 6-8 pm. Jalak Jobanputra, CEO of Future Perfect Ventures will be interviewing me. You need to RSVP by April 1 to [email protected].  

Saturday, April 9: I will be on a panel at the Annapolis Book Festival at 11 am. 

Tuesday, April 12: I will be at StartupGrind’s global event in Redwood City, which is focused this year on Web3 (time → TBD). 

May 4-7: I will be at the PBS Seattle Crosscut Festival, which takes place from May 4-7. 

May 23-25: I will be at the Oslo Freedom Forum which takes place from May 23 to 25. Details on these events are TBD. 

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021           

Beefy Finance: https://beefy.finance    

Cross River Bank: https://crossriver.com/crypto

Episode Links

George Kikvadze, executive vice chairman at BitFury Group

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

Illia Polosukhin, co-founder NEAR Protocol

• Twitter: ​https://twitter.com/ilblackdragon 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/illia-polosukhin-77b6538/ 
• Raising $ for Ukraine via Unchain Fund

Unchain Fund: https://unchain.fund/ 

Come Back Alive: https://www.comebackalive.in.ua/

Government Website for Crypto Donations: ​​https://donate.thedigital.gov.ua/ 

Ukraine x Crypto

• Ukraine purchasing supplies

Unchained Coverage

• https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-ukraine-is-leveraging-crypto-in-its-fight-against-russia/

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In his first podcast appearance ever, Punk6529, known for writing massive threads on Crypto Twitter, discusses the cultural and historical significance of Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs purchasing the intellectual property rights to CryptoPunks and Meebits from Larva Labs. Topics:

• how CryptoPunks set the industry standard for PFP projects
• how Bored Ape Yacht Club distinguished itself from CryptoPunks – and other NFT projects
• why 6529 is bullish on the utility of intellectual property rights and commercial use being granted to NFT holders by Yuga Labs
• why 6529 believes Yuga Labs will be good stewards of CryptoPunks
• how NFTs (and Bitcoin) are leveraging memes and social construction to go mainstream 
• what 6529 thinks Larva Labs’ legacy will be in the NFT space
• how royalty revenue streams led to the Yuga Labs purchase of Meebits and CryptoPunk IP
• why 6529 is unsure about the significance of metaverse real estate
• what 6529 thinks about ApeCoin

Thank you to our sponsors!

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021   

Coinchange: https://coinchange.io  

OnJuno: https://onjuno.com/

Upcoming Book Events

Friday, March 26: I’ll be on the Harvard campus at HBS Aldrich 011 from 4 pm ET - 5 pm ET. I’ll be interviewed about my book by NF Castle’s Michelle Choi and will also do a signing. 

Saturday, March 27: I’ll be moderating a panel at the Harvard Blockchain conference from 3-3:45 pm. The panel will include NFT artist Pplpleasr, NF Castle’s Will Lobkowicz and Michele Choi, and Nifty Gateway COO Patrick McLaren. 

Wednesday, March 30: I’ll be speaking (remotely) with Six Senses about The Cryptopians at 2 pm ET. Be sure to save your spot soon – space is limited!

Tuesday, April 5: I will be doing a reading and signing hosted by the City of Miami Beach and Future Perfect Ventures at Sky Yard from 6-8 pm. Jalak Jobanputra, CEO of Future Perfect Ventures will be interviewing me. You need to RSVP by April 1 to [email protected].  

Saturday, April 9: I will be on a panel at the Annapolis Book Festival at 11 am. 

Tuesday, April 12: I will be at StartupGrind’s global event in Redwood City, which is focused this year on Web3 (time → TBD). 

May 4-7: I will be at the PBS Seattle Crosscut Festival, which takes place from May 4-7. 

May 23-25: I will be at the Oslo Freedom Forum which takes place from May 23 to 25. Details on these events are TBD. 

Episode Links

6529

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/punk6529 
• Threads: https://threadreaderapp.com/user/punk6529

Miscellaneous

• Yuga Labs purchase of Larva Labs IP: https://decrypt.co/94898/bored-ape-yacht-club-yuga-labs-cryptopunks-larva-labs 
• Yuga Labs metaverse land plans: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/137829/bored-ape-yacht-club-yuga-labs-virtual-land-sales-metaverse

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Jack of all metaverse-trades Chase Chapman discusses her experience working for DAOs, how DAO tooling and governance can improve, and drops a hot take about Discord. Chase brings a unique perspective to Unchained as a co-founder and advisor at Decentology, host of On the Other Side podcast, and active DAO contributor at Orca, Index Coop, and Rabbit Hole. Show topics:

• how Chase got into crypto
• new avenues for bringing more women into crypto
• how DAOs change the nature of work
• how Chase gets paid – and why her accountants might start ducking her calls
• why Chase is passionate about DAOs having a core set of values
• why Chase thinks terms like “permissionless” and “decentralized” should not be used to describe DAOs
• what DAOs can learn from corporate structures
• why Chase is coming around to the idea that DAOs might not need a single HR department
• how DAOs are dealing with inactive whale token holders versus DAO contributors (who own smaller amounts of token)
• what suggestions Chase has for some of the recent big DAO controversies involving Ethereum Name Service and SushiSwap
• the role of anonymity in DAOs
• which DAO tools Chase is impressed with and what SnapShot has in common with Wikipedia
• why Discord is not that bad for DAO management
• how Chase envisions DAOs and NFTs intersecting in the future
• what DAO trends Chase is looking forward to in the coming months

Sponsors

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021

Beefy Finance: https://beefy.finance    

Cross River Bank: https://crossriver.com/crypto

Episode Links

Chase Chapman

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

Interesting tweets/blogs/podcasts from Chase on DAOs

• https://twitter.com/chaserchapman/status/1460257486888448003

Miscellaneous Mentions

• she256: https://twitter.com/she_256 
• Snapshot: https://twitter.com/SnapshotLabs 
• Brantly Millegan is staying at ENS Foundation: https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/03/07/brantly-millegan-remains-a-director-of-ens-foundation-after-failed-attempt-to-boot-him/ 
• SushiSwap leadership drama: https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2021/12/08/sushi-cto-joseph-delong-resigns-after-reports-of-project-infighting/ 
• Wonderland drama: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/131931/avalanche-defi-wonderland-time-0xsifu-quadrigacx-patryn 
• Coordinape: https://coordinape.com/ 

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