Unchained

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. In this episode, the crew is joined by special guest Joe Weisenthal, co-host of Bloombergs Odd Lots podcast, for a wide-ranging, unfiltered conversation. They dive into whether Bitcoin is becoming digital gold, why Ethereums value might be leaking away, and how stablecoins are quietly reshaping global finance. Joe challenges the panel on NFTs, DePIN, and whether any of cryptos big promises have actually delivered. Plus, they debate the rise of MicroStrategy copycats, the failure of crypto social apps, and why Worldcoins orb-pilled vision might actually make sense.

Show highlights Bitcoin = Safe Haven? Why BTC is acting like gold in a crisis while ETH and altcoins are tanking Ethereums Value Leak Joe questions why ETH hasnt captured any upside from stablecoins or NFTs The MicroStrategy Clone Wars Solana copycats are trying the Saylor playbook but will it work? Worldcoins Creepy Appeal Joe is orb-pilled: privacy is dead, but proof-of-personhood might just work The Freeport Theory of Bitcoin Could BTC be the decentralized answer to offshore gold storage? Are Stablecoins the Eurodollars of Crypto? Haseeb lays out how stables quietly rewrote the financial system Ethereums L2 Gamble The panel debates if Ethereums scaling strategy caused value to bleed out The DePIN Dilemma Is decentralized infrastructure a dead-end or just early? Joe wants receipts Crypto Social Media? Joes skeptical: why decentralized comms hasnt clicked yet Utopia or Bust? If cryptos gonna be this expensive, Joe says it better deliver a better world Hosts Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly

Guest Joe Weisenthal, Editor at Bloomberg

Disclosures

Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:57 Bitcoin's Market Behavior 06:53 Bitcoin as a Safe Haven 15:56 Economic Value in Crypto 19:51 Stablecoins, NFTs, and Worldcoin 36:00 Blockchain's Value in Social Networks 41:20 Reality of Crypto Utopias 49:19 The Future of Stablecoins and Regulation 54:54 MicroStrategy and Bitcoin Investments

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An independent Federal Reserve has long been the cornerstone of U.S. economic stability, but what happens when that foundation is shaken? In this weeks episode of Bits + Bips, the panel digs into one of the most dramatic threats yet to financial markets: Donald Trumps suggestion that he could fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Its not just political theater, its a potential major blow to the credibility of the U.S. dollar and the independence of the worlds most important central bank. Joining the panel is Zach Pandl, Head of Research at Grayscale, who explores why a rotation away from U.S. dollar assets might already be happening and what that means for bitcoin. Plus:

Why the Feds independence is so crucial

The telltale signs of a structural capital rotation out of the U.S.

Whether bitcoin has officially decoupled from equities

How young crypto HODLers will react to their first bear market

And why this moment may look more like Argentina than America

Show highlights: Sponsors: Bitwise Hosts:

Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard

Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

Steven Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained

Guest:

Zach Pandl, Head of Research at Grayscale

Links Trump Threatening Powell

New York Times: Risk of Financial Panic Tempers Trump on Firing Powell

Barrons: Trump Calls Powell a Major Loser. 3 Ways He Could Sideline the Fed Chair



Inconsistencies in Hard v. Soft Data

Wall Street Journal: Trump Is Everywhere Except in the Economic Data

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia: Carefully Balancing Both Hard and Soft Data in Policy Discussions



Dropping Dollar

CNBC: U.S. Dollar Falls to Three-Year Low as Trumps Powell Threats Further Dent Investor Confidence

New York Times: The Dollar Keeps Falling as Its Safe Haven Status Is Questioned



Bitcoin Decoupling

CNBC: Bitcoin Retakes $90,000 as Investors See It as Alternative to Diving Dollar and Turbulent Stocks

Decrypt: Bitcoin Decoupling? BTC Rises as Equity Markets Swoon



Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 3:44 Could Trump really fire Powell? And what would that mean for the Feds credibility 13:01 Why the Fed is seeing conflicting signals from the economy 20:07 If Trump keeps Powell for now, how will the market react? 24:49 Why capital is rotating out of the U.S. and how it is such a big moment for bitcoin. 31:37 How much further the dollar could fall in this cycle? 42:43 Has bitcoin finally decoupled, and could it become a global reserve currency? 50:11 How the young age of crypto holders could reshape market dynamics 1:04:26 What specific things Ram, Alex, and Zach are watching now across macro and crypto Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. is rattled by tariffs, economic uncertainty, and political U-turns on crypto. But across Asia, the response has been different. In this episode of Unchained, we check in with two of the sharpest observers of Asias crypto landscape: Emily Parker, China and Japan advisor of the Global Blockchain Business Council, and Yat Siu, chairman of Animoca Brands. They unpack how Asia views the Trump crypto pivot, whats actually happening inside China, why Hong Kong may be the most important jurisdiction in crypto right now, and how Japan and Korea are quietly shaping the future of regulation, stablecoins, and DeFi. Plus:

Is crypto really banned in China?

Why Korea is lifting its shadow ban

Why crypto gaming is thriving in Asia

And what the West can learn from it all

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Bitwise Guests:

Emily Parker, China and Japan Advisor at the Global Blockchain Business Council

Yat Siu, Chairman of Animoca Brands

Links WSJ: Crypto Is Illegal in China. Binance Does $90 Billion of Business There Anyway.

Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 5:43 Why Chinese sentiment around tariffs is calmer than in the U.S. 8:24 What crypto conversations are really about in China right now 11:28 How Asia reacted to the U.S. crypto U-turn under Trump 20:13 Are Asian nations quietly building up bitcoin reserves? 23:19 How Asia has more regulatory clarity than the U.S. 25:13 Why crypto adoption in Asia is outpacing that of other regions 30:22 Why DeFi hasnt taken off yet in South Korea Dont miss this! 38:05 The potential rise of non-USD stablecoins in Asia 43:52 Is crypto actually banned in China? 55:51 Whether the digital yuan is being adopted 1:00:28 Korea potentially lifting its shadow ban on institutional crypto investment? 1:05:15 Why some Asian companies choose to IPO in the U.S. and whether more are coming 1:10:21 Whats really happening with Web3 gaming in Asia right now Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Unchained: two big stories, one episode. First, Jesse Pollak, head of Coinbase’s L2 Base, joins to unpack the chaos behind the viral “Coined It” memecoin moment, a tweet-turned-token that hit $17M in an hour, crashed, then rebounded, igniting a firestorm on Crypto Twitter. Was it a media experiment or a botched launch? Was there insider trading? And why does Jesse think coins are the future of creator monetization? Then, we dive into Converge, the recently announced chain backed by Ethena and Securitize, aiming to bridge TradFi and DeFi. Carlos Domingo and Guy Young explain what makes Converge technically novel, why they’re building on Arbitrum and Celestia, and how it could reshape the onchain landscape for institutions. Also in this episode:

Whether Jesse regrets greenlighting the Base post

The future of creator coins and tokenized assets

How Converge plans to prevent hacks and improve UX

And why Converge isn’t just about migrating existing assets, but “expanding the pie”

Thank you to our sponsors!

Bitkey: Use code UNCHAINED for 20% off

FalconX

Mantle

Part 1 Jesse Pollak, Head of Base and Coinbase Wallet

On Wednesday, Coinbase’s layer 2 network Base posted a tweet that read: “Base is for everyone,” followed by a tweet: “Coined it.” That second tweet linked to a page where the post had already been turned into a coin. Within an hour, the coin hit a $17 million market cap, then dropped to under $2 million, then went back up to over $13 million. Crypto Twitter exploded. Some called it a rug. Others accused insiders of sniping the launch. Coinbase later issued a statement saying that Zora auto-tokenizes content, but Jesse Pollak, head of Base, tweeted that he personally greenlit the post. So what really happened? In this episode, Jesse sits down with Laura to discuss:

Whether this was a memecoin launch or a media experiment

Why he thinks the crypto community overreacted

Whether insider trading occurred

And why he believes coins, not NFTs, are the future of creator monetization

Plus, he explains why he’s okay being the “punching bag.”

Part 2 A month ago, Converge was announced as the new chain backed by Ethena and Securitize, aiming to become a home for tokenized assets and institutional capital. On Thursday, the teams behind it released the full technical specs. From validator-triggered circuit breakers to 100ms block times and support for yield-generating private credit, Converge is pitching itself as the chain for both TradFi and DeFi. In this episode, Securitize’s Carlos Domingo and Ethena’s Guy Young join Unchained to explain what’s actually novel in this architecture, why they chose Arbitrum and Celestia, and what it will take for institutions to get comfortable onchain. Plus: 

What Converge means for Ethereum and other L2s

Whether gas tokens like USDe and USDtb solve real UX problems

How they plan to prevent bridge-based hacks

And why this isn’t just about migrating existing assets, but “expanding the pie”

Guest

Carlos Domingo, co-founder and CEO of Securitize

Guy Young, founder of Ethena Labs

Links

Previous coverage of Unchained on Ethena:

After an Incredible 2024 for USDe, Ethena Plans to Supercharge Growth

Ethena’s USDe Grew to $2 Billion in 7 Weeks. Is It Safe?

How Ethena’s USDe Challenges Traditional Stablecoin Models

Unchained: 

Tokenized T-Bills Grow Despite Trump Tariffs Causing U.S. Treasuries Sell-off

Tokenized Treasuries Grow 20X Faster Than Stablecoins as Crypto Market Languishes

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, the crew dives into the drama surrounding the OM token crash, the murky world of fake market caps, and Binance’s role in fueling questionable projects. They unpack Trump’s tariff chaos and whether Bitcoin could emerge as the real winner in a broken economic order. Plus, Vitalik stirs the pot by calling out “bad apps” like Pump.fun—igniting a moral war over what crypto should be building.

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

Show highlights 🔹 OM Token Implodes – How a top-25 token collapsed 90% in 90 minutes and why it exposed deeper issues with fake float 🔹 Market Cap Manipulation – Haseeb breaks down how teams game CoinGecko, and why circulating supply might be mostly fiction 🔹 Binance Listings = Domain Squatting? – The crew explores how projects “reverse-merge” into dead tokens to skip the line 🔹 Coffeezilla Strikes Again – The panel reacts to OM founder’s bizarre interview and what it reveals about crypto’s accountability gap 🔹 Should Exchanges Demand Disclosures? – A fiery debate on whether market making agreements should be public 🔹 Tarun Goes Full Macro – Why Trump’s tariffs could actually boost Bitcoin—and what capital flight means for crypto 🔹 Vitalik’s App Morality Test – Did he go too far calling Pump.fun a “bad” app? The panel isn’t so sure 🔹 Ethereum’s Vibe Crisis – Solana and Base push back as Vitalik gets philosophical about the soul of crypto 🔹 Is Railgun the Real Hero? – Tarun questions Vitalik’s taste in apps and whether ideological projects matter if no one uses them 🔹 Regulation Without Regulators – Can the industry police itself, or is it time for a new kind of crypto SRO?

Hosts ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Disclosures Links Use Code CHOPINNOVATE, for tickets to the U.S. Innovation in Crypto conference at Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island (NYC): cbc25.eventbrite.com

Timestamps  00:00 Intro 02:47 Trump's Tariff Turmoil 15:48 Mantra's OM Token Controversy 29:42 Crypto Disclosures & Market Making Agreements 31:49 Debate on Exchange Incentives & Market Maker Costs 33:57 The Role of Self-Regulation in Crypto Exchanges 44:15 Vitalik's Views on Blockchain Ethics 56:33 Upcoming Live Event Announcement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices