Tempo Mainnet: The Race to Agentic Commerce
Tempo Mainnet is live, but this episode isn’t really about just another chain launch. It’s about a bigger claim: that AI agents are about to need native money, and that the internet may need a new payment layer to support them. Georgios Konstantopoulos and Brendan Ryan join Bankless to unpack why Tempo launched with agentic payments front and center, what MPP actually is, how it compares to x402, and why they think machine-to-machine commerce could reshape everything from paid APIs to the business model of the web itself.
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---
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Tempo Mainnet goes live
1:18 Why the launch is focused on agents
3:58 What MPP actually is
6:30 MPP vs x402
15:28 Why agentic commerce matters
20:08 The “original sin” of the internet
26:04 MCP, NLWeb, and the emerging agent stack
34:07 The onboarding flow: wallets for agents
37:11 How Tempo’s wallet security works
40:11 Tempo chain design and specs
51:13 Why build an L1 instead of an Ethereum L2?
56:10 The Ethereum tension
1:05:01 Agent identity, reputation, and ERC-8004
1:06:53 TIP20, stablecoins, and what can be built on Tempo
1:12:36 Builder opportunity in the agentic web
---
RESOURCES
Georgios Konstantopoulos
https://x.com/gakonst
Brendan Ryan
https://brendanjryan.com
---
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
How Lido is Redefining Ethereum Staking: Dual Governance, Liquid Staking, and the V3 Upgrade
In this episode of The Defiant Podcast, we sit down with Hasu, strategic advisor to Lido, to explore their cutting-edge developments in Ethereum staking. From the introduction of dual governance to the game-changing Lido V3 upgrade, Hasu breaks down how Lido is enhancing decentralization, liquidity, and security for stakers. We also dive into the evolving role of Ethereum in DeFi, the future of staking for institutions, and the broader implications of programmable money.
Chapters
00:07 Introduction
01:22 Introduction to Lido and Its Importance
02:49 Governance Changes in Lido
06:03 Understanding Dual Governance
08:51 Participation and Engagement in Governance
11:46 Systemic Risks of Centralized Staking
14:37 Decentralization and Node Operators
17:50 The Future of Lido and Ethereum
20:39 Becoming a Node Operator in Lido
23:46 Distributed Validator Technology (DVT)
29:32 Understanding DVT and Its Impact on Ethereum
31:54 The Debate on Staking Caps for Ethereum
39:50 Ethereum's Role in DeFi and Beyond
47:40 Introducing Lido V3: A New Era of Staking
55:38 Future Integrations and Growth of Lido
DC Crypto Week Takeaways With Rebecca Rettig & Alexander Grieve
Gm! This week, Rebecca Rettig and Alexander Grieve join Jason to unpack the successful crypto week and the 3 pieces of legislation that have passed and will now impact the way stablecoins and crypto move forward in the US landscape.
--
Start your day with crypto news, analysis and data from Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire?utm_source=podcasts
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Follow Alex: https://x.com/AlexanderGrieve
Follow Rebecca: https://x.com/RebeccaRettig1
Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz
Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod
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Join the Empire Telegram: https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh
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SKALE is the next evolution in Layer 1 blockchains with a gas-free invisible user experience, instant finality, high speed, and robust security. SKALE is built different as it allows for limitless scalability and has already saved its 50 Million users over $11 Billion in gas fees. SKALE is high-performance and cost-effective, making it ideal for compute-intensive applications like AI, gaming, and consumer-facing dApps. Learn more at https://skale.space and stay up to date with the gas-free invisible blockchain on X at @skalenetwork
--
Katana is a DeFi-first chain built for deep liquidity and high yield. No empty emissions, just real yield and sequencer fees routed back to DeFi users. Pre-deposit now: Earn high APRs with Turtle Club [https://app.turtle.club/campaigns/katana] or spin the wheel with Katana Krates [https://app.katana.network/krates]
--
Mantle is building the financial infrastructure for a tokenised future—bridging traditional finance and on-chain innovation through six integrated product pillars: Mantle Network, mETH Protocol, Function BTC, and the upcoming launches of MantleX, Mantle Banking, and the Mantle Index Four (MI4) Fund. Anchored by one of the largest community-governed treasuries in the industry, valued at over $4 billion, Mantle is delivering institutional-grade products designed for global capital markets.Follow Mantle on X: https://x.com/Mantle_Official
--
Zenrock is a permissionless, decentralized custody network backed by 1RoundTable Partners, 10T, Maven11, and Spartan. Live on Jupiter, $ROCK is the native token for transactions within the Zenrock ecosystem and secures Zenrock’s decentralized custody network.The first application launching on Zenrock is zenBTC – yield-bearing Bitcoin on Solana. zenBTC is now live.
--
Ledn is the leading platform for Bitcoin-backed loans, offering a secure and transparent way to unlock liquidity without selling your Bitcoin. Ledn has issued over $9 billion in loans since 2018 and has never lost a single satoshi of client assets, earning a reputation as the name you can trust in the crypto space.Visit https://www.ledn.io to learn more.
—
Chapters:
(01:55) Crypto Week Breakdown
(06:04) GENIUS Act
(26:04) Ads (Skale, Katana)
(27:51) CLARITY Act
(38:31) CLARITY Act + ICOs
(42:42) Ads (Skale, Katana)
(44:29) CLARITY Act + DeFi
(55:11) Ads (Mantle, Zenrock, ,LEDN)
(57:41) ANTI-CBDC Act
(01:01:13) Impacts Of These Bills
(01:04:21) Biggest Debates On Bills
—
Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Does Lido's Dual Governance Now Make It the Safest Place to Stake ETH? - Ep. 860
Fill out our short Unchained survey and earn a chance to win a FREE one-year subscription to Bits + Bips Premium 😏
-------------------------------------------------
Lido just rolled out one of the most ambitious governance overhauls in DeFi: a dual governance system designed to give power back to stakers—and make it harder for malicious proposals to pass.
But what does it actually do?
And could it make Lido the safest place to stake ETH?
Hasu, a strategic advisor at Lido, and Lido co-founder Vasiliy Shapovalov join Unchained to break it all down.
How the dual governance model works
Whether this dilutes LDO token value
What this means for DeFi, and if others will follow
Whether this might get institutions off the sidelines
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:
Hasu, Strategic advisor to Lido and Strategy lead at Flashbots.
Vasiliy Shapovalov, Co-founder of Lido
Unchained: Lido DAO Enables Dual Governance, stETH Holders Can Trigger ‘Rage-Quit’ Mode
Learn more about the topics discussed:
How Liquid Staking Works
What Are Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) in Ethereum?
What Is Multi-Party Computation (MPC) and How Does It Work on Blockchains?
What Is Distributed Validator Technology?
Timestamps:
🎬 0:00 Intro
🧩 2:07 What problem Lido’s new governance model is actually solving
⚙️ 7:33 How dual governance works—and why it’s such a big shift
🚀 15:32 Why Hasu says this changes everything for Lido
🧠 22:20 What the team had to weigh when designing the system
🛡️ 30:26 How Lido built in resistance to attacks
📉 32:02 Whether this system weakens the value of the LDO token
🗳️ 38:58 How they’re thinking about fixing DeFi’s voter apathy problem
🏦 45:29 Whether institutions will see this as a positive sign and embrace stETH
🌐 48:01 How this compares to Sky’s “emergency shutdown”—and whether DeFi will follow suit
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
66% of Wall Street is Already in DeFi | Paradigm’s 2025 Survey with Dan Robinson & Justin Slaughter
In this episode, we unpack Paradigm’s groundbreaking 2025 report, “TradFi Tomorrow: DeFi and the Rise of Extensible Finance,” with Paradigm’s Dan Robinson and Justin Slaughter.
We explore the stunning stat that 66% of traditional financial institutions are actively engaged with DeFi—and what that really means. From tokenization and stablecoins to regulatory clarity and decentralized exchanges, this conversation dives deep into how Wall Street is already integrating with crypto.
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------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
7:10 What Constitutes a TradFi Firm
10:13 TradFi Firms with Defi
12:16 What's Exciting about this Report?
13:53 Stablecoins, Tokenization & More
18:54 Public Blockchains & TradFi?
21:05 “Tokenize The World” Moment?
27:47 TradFi’s Long-Term Outlook
33:19 The Formal Rejection of Private Blockchains
38:31 What’s Left for Regulation &Compliance
45:04 DeFi vs TradFi
48:07 User Value
50:55 Closing & Disclaimers
------
RESOURCES
Paradigm Report
https://www.paradigm.xyz/2025/03/tradfi-tomorrow-defi-and-the-rise-of-extensible-finance
Dan Robinson
https://x.com/danrobinson
Justin Slaughter
https://x.com/JBSDC
Paradigm
https://x.com/paradigm
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Matt Huang - Investing At The Frontier - [Invest Like the Best, EP.420]
My guest today is Matt Huang, co-founder of Paradigm, a leading crypto investment firm with over $12 billion in assets under management. Before launching Paradigm in 2018 with Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, Matt was a partner at Sequoia Capital, where he led many of the firm's crypto investments. It’s widely reported that Michael Moritz called Matt “the only regrettable loss in Sequoia’s history.”
In our conversation, Matt shares his framework for navigating the often illegible frontier of crypto, how his early investment in ByteDance (now worth 10,000x his initial capital) shaped his approach to identifying exceptional founders, and why he believes so deeply in crypto’s long-term potential. His firm, Paradigm, not only invests in many of the leading companies in the industry, it also builds open-source tools used by most of crypto.
Matt has a rare blend of IQ and EQ that allows him to understand technical complexity, bring together unique talents, and ride out crypto’s notorious volatility. Whether you're crypto-curious or crypto-skeptical, I think you'll find his perspective valuable. Please enjoy my great conversation with Matt Huang.
Matt Huang's Profile in Colossus Review.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
-----
This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp’s mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus.
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This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster.
-----
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).
Show Notes:
(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best
(00:06:15) Matt Huang's College Years and Early Career
(00:12:27) The Failed Startup and Lessons Learned
(00:16:51) Matt's Pivotal Trip to China and ByteDance Investment
(00:25:58) Sequoia's Culture of High Standards
(00:32:51) Discovering Bitcoin and Crypto
(00:39:33) Founding Paradigm
(00:45:40) Building a Unique Investment Team
(00:48:03) Challenges and Volatility in Crypto
(00:53:10) The Relationship Between Legibility and Investing
(00:58:40) Crypto as a New Financial System
(01:05:19) The Importance of Stablecoins
(01:09:54) AI and Crypto: The Next Frontier
(01:16:19) Personal Motivations and Important Crypto Use Cases
(01:29:23) The State of Regulation in Crypto
(01:32:27) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Matt
Why Stablecoins Are Crypto's Biggest Opportunity | Charlie Noyes & Bam Azizi
Gm! This week we're joined by Charlie Noyes & Bam Azizi to discuss Meshs's $82M Series B raise. We deep dive into the Mesh origin story, how to unlock crypto payments, why the world needs stablecoins, crypto's multichain future & the biggest opportunity in 2025. Enjoy!
--
Start your day with crypto news, analysis and data from Katherine Ross.
Subscribe to the Empire newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire?utm_source=podcasts
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Follow Charlie: https://x.com/_charlienoyes
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Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/
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ZKsync is the pioneering zero-knowledge technology powering the next generation of builders with limitless scale. Secured by math and designed for native interoperability, ZKsync enables an elastic, ever-expanding network of customizable chains.
Deeply rooted in its mission to advance personal freedom for all, the ZKsync technology makes digital self-ownership universally available.
To learn more about ZKsync, visit http://www.zksync.io
--
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Get up to speed on the biggest stories in crypto each week. In five minutes.
Get the Bitwise Weekly CIO Memo delivered directly to your inbox at bitwiseinvestments.com/ciomemo/empire
--
Mantle is evolving into the premier on-chain financial hub, supercharging the ecosystem that bridges blockchain with banking. The 2025 roadmap introduces three transformative products:
- Enhanced Index Fund (launching Q1) offering optimized crypto exposure to BTC, ETH, SOL and USD with built-in yield optimization - targeting $1B AUM
- Mantle Banking for seamless financial services
- MantleX for AI-powered innovation
Backed by a $4.5B treasury, Mantle is building the future of on-chain finance – accessible for everyone.
Learn more: https://x.com/Mantle_Official/status/1882017058680086805
--
Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction
(06:47) The Mesh Origin Story
(14:12) Ads (ZKSync)
(15:17) How To Unlock Crypto Payments
(19:39) The Stablecoin Thesis
(25:52) Ads (ZKSync)
(26:57) What’s Next For Stablecoins?
(31:55) Will Tether Continue To Dominate?
(36:18) Ads (Falcon x, Bitwise, Mantle)
(38:50) Why The World Needs Stablecoins
(44:50) Crypto’s Multichain Future
(47:23) Stablecoin Adoption In 2025
(49:16) Crypto’s Biggest Opportunity In 2025
--
Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Paradigms VP of Regulatory Affairs breaks down why Harris lost - and what Trump's win means for crypto
Justin Slaughter is the vice president of regulatory affairs at Paradigm.
In this episode, Slaughter and Chaparro discuss the Democratic Party's performance leading up to and during the recent election, particularly in relation to the crypto industry.
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
03:19 2024 Election Recap
04:47 Harris Campaign
07:50 Single-Issue Crypto Voters
11:13 Democratic Party Policy
22:48 Policy Flip-Flopping
26:49 Split Ticket Voters
36:37 New SEC Regime
43:01 Pro-Crypto Democrats
45:06 Predictions & Closing Thoughts
This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Polkadot
Polkadot is the blockspace ecosystem for boundless innovation. To discover more, head to polkadot.network
The Block Community
The Block is launching a new community experience for fans of The Scoop! Follow us on Lens to stay in the loop: hey.xyz/u/theblockcommunity
The Block Newsletters
The Block's newsletters bring you the latest news and analysis of the fast-moving crypto and DeFi markets. To subscribe, visit theblock.co/newsletters
It’s Not Just the Presidency. Congressional Races Matter a Lot for Crypto - Ep. 726
Subscribe to Unchained’s new regulatory newsletter Unregulated.
With the presidential race in the spotlight, it’s easy to overlook the powerful role that Congress could play in shaping crypto policy in the coming years. From committee chairs to legislative allies, crypto advocates are keenly focused on the outcome of key Congressional races. Kristin Smith of the Blockchain Association and Alex Grieve of Paradigm join us today to break down which races and committees are critical for crypto, why the industry is more visible in Washington than ever, and what the chances are for lame duck legislation this year.
Read more: How Congressional Committee Leadership Could Shake Out for Crypto This Election
Show highlights:
Why this election is “incredibly important” for crypto
How the presence of Fairshake is increasingly noticed by Washington
Why some committees are more important than others for the industry
Why the Senate Banking Committee is key
Whether Alex and Kristin are concerned about Sen. Warren becoming chair of the Senate Banking Committee
What could happen to the House Financial Services Committee
Who is likely to take on both of the Agricultural Committees, which is in charge of the CFTC
How the Senate Commerce affects the crypto industry
How the members of the House Energy Committee don’t have a strong stance on crypto
What the stance of the Finance Committee on crypto is
Why there is an opportunity in the House Ways and Means Committee
Whether crypto tax legislation is in the works
Who could be the SEC Chair under a Trump or Harris presidency
Who could be the next Chair of the CFTC
Whether Yellen will be replaced on Treasury, with many pro-crypto options on tap
Why the Federal Reserve matters much more if they get to regulate stablecoins
What the odds are for crypto legislation being passed this year
Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
Thank you to our sponsors!
Polkadot
Mantle
Robinhood & Arbitrum
Guests:
Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association
Kristin’s Op-ed on Unchained: In the Ongoing SAB 121 Fight, Here’s How Crypto Can Move Forward With Bipartisan Support
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Kristin Smith on Why Crypto Legislation Could Be Passed by Year's End
Can Crypto Be a Force in the Midterms? Yes, Say Kristin Smith and Jake Chervinsky
What the Crypto Industry Could See Under a Biden Administration
Alexander Grieve, VP of Government Affairs at Paradigm
Links
Previous coverage of Unchained on the elections:
With Rate Cuts and Upcoming Elections, What’s the Best Play in Crypto?
Why Congressman Ro Khanna Is Hopeful the Democratic Party Will Embrace Crypto
Why Gary Gensler Will Likely Be Out as SEC Chair No Matter Who Wins the Election
Congressman French Hill on Crypto and His Top Pick for the Next SEC Chair
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:55 Why this election is pivotal for crypto
04:50 How Fairshake’s presence is catching Washington’s eye
16:39 Which committees matter most for crypto?
22:49 Why the Senate Banking Committee is crucial
28:54 Concerns about Sen. Warren as potential chair?
38:15 Possible shifts in the House Financial Services Committee
41:47 Who could control the Agricultural Committees and CFTC oversight?
47:35 How the Senate Commerce Committee impacts crypto
51:04 House Energy Committee’s stance on crypto
53:21 Finance Committee’s crypto perspective
55:03 Opportunities in the House Ways and Means Committee
57:28 Is crypto tax legislation in the works?
1:01:23 Potential SEC Chairs under Trump or Harris
1:03:57 Who could be the next CFTC Chair?
1:05:46 Will Yellen be replaced with a pro-crypto Treasury option?
1:08:06 Why the Fed’s role could be pivotal for stablecoin regulation
1:10:46 Odds of crypto legislation passing this year
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Multi-Proposers & The Future Of Ethereum
In this special early access episode we're joined by Paradigm's Georgios Konstantopoulos and Charlie Noyes, along with Max Resnick from Special Mechanisms Group to discuss a possible change in direction for one part of the Ethereum Roadmap.
This is a deeply technical episode that covers the history of MEV and new innovations that plan to change it all from the comfort of David's apartment studio, enjoy.
------
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⚖️ ARBITRUM | SCALING ETHEREUM https://bankless.cc/Arbitrum
🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🌐 OBOL | STAKE ON DVs, SCALE ETHEREUM https://bankless.cc/obol
🗣️TOKU | CRYPTO EMPLOYMENT https://bankless.cc/toku
------ TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Start 00:05:14 Intro To Our Guests 00:09:21 Proposer Builder Seperation 00:12:39 Stepping Forward vs Patching 00:19:35 Getting Rid Of MEV? 00:26:35 Inclusion Lists 00:40:14 What is Braid? 00:50:43 The Bear Case 01:06:37 Vitalik's Take 01:10:53 The Benefits of Braid 01:20:28 L2 Centric Roadmap Changes? 01:36:26 How's Rust Going? 01:44:49 Other Exciting Roadmap Updates 01:57:52 Call To Action
------ RESOURCES
Georgios: https://x.com/gakonst
Max: https://x.com/MaxResnick1
Charlie: https://x.com/_charlienoyes
------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Why Gary Gensler Will Likely Be Out as SEC Chair No Matter Who Wins the Election - Ep. 680
As the 2024 elections approach, crypto voters are a real bloc that could be a deciding factor in what looks to be a tight race.
In this episode, Sheila Warren of the Crypto Council for Innovation and Justin Slaughter from Paradigm discuss the significance of Trump appearing at Bitcoin 2024, promising the crypto community pretty much everything on its bucket list, the Democrats’ seeming pro-crypto shift behind the scenes, and the game theory around Gary Gensler’s future (likely not at the SEC).
Plus, they cover the significance (and likelihood of passing) of the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Bill proposed and to be introduced by Sen. Cynthia Lummis, what would it take for Kamala Harris to show that she truly is a crypto-friendly candidate, and what the Democrats would have to do to undo the damage done by Gensler and win some of the crypto vote.
Lastly, they explore the potential impact on the SEC of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Chevron doctrine.
Show highlights:
00:00 Intro
02:08 The significance of a US Presidential candidate, Trump, embracing Bitcoin
04:59 What Justin’s and Sheila’s takes are on the Democrats' sudden shift towards embracing a pro-crypto agenda and whether they can catch up
15:03 The key factor in Trump's shift from giving crypto platitudes to making substantive promises that top the crypto community’s wish list
20:21 How significant crypto could be in influencing the election, particularly in swing states
23:52 Whether Trump would even be able to fire Gary Gensler as SEC Chair, as he has promised
33:23 How the dynamics between Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris differ from the relationship Warren has with Biden
42:48 What could happen with the SEC Commissioner if Harris wins the presidency
50:34 The meaning of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in the US
57:55 How JD Vance's status as a Bitcoin owner could influence crypto voters and whether Harris could pick a pro-crypto VP
1:05:43 The chances the Democratic Party adopts a crypto plank, and what it might include
1:09:9 Whether there’s a chance a crypto bill could be passed this year
1:14:49 How the Supreme Court's recent decision to limit agency power by overturning the Chevron doctrine could impact the SEC's approach to crypto regulation
1:20:45 How Harris can establish a new stance on crypto while distancing herself from Biden's administration, without appearing disloyal
Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
Thank you to our sponsors!
Polkadot
Guests:
Sheila Warren, CEO of Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI)
Justin Slaughter, Policy Director at Paradigm
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chevron Deference: 40-Year Decision Reversed & Explained | Justin Slaughter
Is the Chevron Deference case good for crypto? Is it good for the U.S.? Or is this a giant tradeoff that will lead to bad outcomes?
Crypto enthusiasts, pro-tech individuals, and those on the right say this will stop regulators from making random rules.
Non-crypto sources, mainstream media, and those on the left say it will lead to chaos, unchecked corporations, and poor governance.
So, what’s the truth? That’s what we’re here to find out. Our guest today is Justin Slaughter, current policy director at Paradigm and previous senior adviser of the SEC and chief policy adviser of the CFTC.
------ ✨ Mint the episode on Zora ✨ https://zora.co/collect/zora:0x0c294913a7596b427add7dcbd6d7bbfc7338d53f/25
------ 📣 SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium
------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:
🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://k.xyz/bankless-pod-q2
🦄UNISWAP | BROWSER EXTENSION https://bankless.cc/uniswap
⚡️CARTESI | LINUX-POWERED ROLLUPS https://bankless.cc/CartesiGovernance
🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle ⚖️ARBITRUM | SCALING ETHEREUM https://bankless.cc/Arbitrum
🗣️TOKU | CRYPTO EMPLOYMENT https://bankless.cc/toku
------ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro 3:51 Slaughter 4:14 Ex-SEC & Ex-CFTC 6:52 Is D.C. Out to Get Us? 7:50 (Loper Bright) Chevron Deference 22:56 Arbitrary & Capricious 26:00 Impact of Shift in Power 32:04 Summary So Far 37:57 Different Framing Argument 41:12 Congress Not Doing Their Job? 47:46 Good For The Left? 51:06 Crypto Implications 55:04 Enforcement Action 56:53 The New Power Fight 58:18 Closing & Disclaimers ------ RESOURCES
Justin Slaughter https://x.com/JBSDC
------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Famed White Hat Hacker Samczsun on How to Improve Crypto Security - Ep. 613
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Well-known white hat hacker and head of security at Paradigm samczsun recently took the wraps off a new security organization called the Security Alliance (SEAL) that offers a 911 hotline for immediate response to security threats, runs war games to simulate potential security incidents, and provides a safe harbor agreement to protect white hat hackers from legal liabilities.
He joined Unchained to discuss why he and his fellow white hat hackers decided to start the Security Alliance and how it operates, how the safe harbor agreement works, the measures he takes to maintain his anonymity and why, the top security measures people in crypto should take to protect themselves, and what attack areas in crypto Sam still considers “scary.”
Show highlights:
How samczsun got into white hat hacking
The most memorable saves and rescues sam was able to perform
Whether there's a reason why sam is so good at noticing bugs in crypto
The origin of his samczsun handle
What the Security Alliance is and why it was formed
How SEAL would approach a bug or a hack
Whether black hat hackers are trying to exploit open groups
Why the work in the group is volunteered, not paid, and whether that's sustainable
How the SEAL War Games help in training on how to respond to an incident in Web3
What the Safe Harbor Agreement is and what it aims to accomplish for white hat hackers
How sam protects his identity and whether his coworkers know what he looks like
The top security measures people working in crypto should take
How projects should approach the audit for their smart contracts given it's an expensive endeavor
What attack vectors still scare sam
What is ‘White Hat Hacking’?
White hat hacking, often referred to as ethical hacking, is a cybersecurity practice where skilled computer experts use their knowledge for good, employing the same methods as malicious hackers (black hat hackers) but with a significant difference: they do so with permission and for a constructive purpose. These ethical hackers identify vulnerabilities in computer systems, networks, or applications before malicious attackers can exploit them. By detecting and resolving these security weaknesses, white hat hackers help organizations strengthen their defenses against cyber threats.
Thank you to our sponsors!
Popcorn Network
Polkadot
Guest:
Samczsun, CEO of Security Alliance (SEAL) and Head of Security at Paradigm
Previous appearances on Unchained: The Chopping Block: Top White Hat Hacker Samczsun Discusses the State of Crypto Security
Links
Introducing the Security Alliance
Bloomberg: Paradigm’s Famed ‘White-Hat’ Hacker Unites Peers Against Crypto Attacks,
White Hat Safe Harbor [Github]
Chainalysis: Funds Stolen from Crypto Platforms Fall More Than 50% in 2023, but Hacking Remains a Significant Threat as Number of Incidents Rises
sam’s tweet on security practices
Halborn: Explained: The Nomad Hack (August 2022)
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Hasu & Hart on Oval & The Recapturing of Billions in DeFi Liquidations
Today on the show, we’re talking about Oval, a new DeFi primitive that Hart Lambur from UMA is introducing to the world of DeFi’s biggest lending markets. Billions of dollars have been liquidated from protocols like Aave, Compound, and MakerDAO over the years, and these liquidations have been extremely inefficiently priced, due to reasons! Reasons that we will discuss here on the show today.
Hasu also joins us on this conversation today to discuss the way that MEV share from Flashbots is a part of this conversation, and he helps illuminate what this means for DeFi going forward as a whole.
------ ⛓️ Visit dydx.exchange to learn about dYdX Chain https://dydx.zone/3SfJTP7
------ 🎧 Listen On Your Favorite Podcast Player: https://bankless.cc/Podcast
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💸 CRYPTO TAX CALCULATOR | USE CODE BANK30 https://bankless.cc/CTC
🦄UNISWAP | ON-CHAIN MARKETPLACE https://bankless.cc/uniswap
------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 7:15 MEV & Oracle Foundations 11:19 Why Solving MEV is Important 21:16 High-Level Patterns 28:19 The Oval Mechanism 42:23 MEV Share Parameters 48:36 Decentralization of the MEV Share 54:30 Auction Length 56:08 Oval B/D Adoption 58:05 Uniswap v4 1:02:31 Oval Cut Upside 1:05:45 Future Questions to be Answered 1:08:42 Closing & Disclaimers
------ RESOURCES
What is SUAVE? FlashBots Phil Daian and Andrew Miller explain https://youtu.be/j3ZM2ZdUWXU
Oval https://uma.xyz/ https://twitter.com/UMAprotocol
Hart https://twitter.com/hal2001
Hasu https://twitter.com/hasufl
------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
205 - The State Of Ethereum L2s
We're thrilled to be joined today by Paradigm CTO, Georgios Konstantopoulos and founder of Conduit, Andrew Huang who are on the show today to deliver a masterclass on the state of Ethereum Layer 2s, how they're going, and where they're headed.
There's nobody better to take us through this technical and very educational episode on the state of L2s.
-----
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------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:
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🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle
⚖️ARBITRUM | SCALING ETHEREUM https://bankless.cc/Arbitrum
🔗CELO | CEL2 COMING SOON https://bankless.cc/Celo
🗣️TOKU | CRYPTO EMPLOYMENT SOLUTION https://bankless.cc/Toku
------
TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 Intro 00:05:59 L2 Vibes, How Are We Doing? 00:08:43 L2 Obstacles 00:11:47 Building Conduit 00:14:19 Strengths of L2 00:17:30 Few Rollups or Many Rollups? 00:21:29 Market Demands 00:24:47 The Evolution Of Superchains 00:30:47 Shared Sequencing 00:34:02 Universal Composability 00:35:57 Evolution and Benefits 00:38:35 Unionized vs Independant L2s 00:45:42 Benefits Of Staying in The Ecosystem 00:50:05 The Modular Conversation 00:52:02 Cheaper DA 00:56:13 RAAS Business Model 01:01:26 Scaling Out The Business Model 01:04:23 L2 Security 01:11:27 Modification 01:16:15 Dealing with Growth 01:17:56 What Comes Next 01:20:01 RETH
------ RESOURCES
Andrew Huang https://twitter.com/KAndrewHuang
Georgios Konstantopoulos https://twitter.com/gakonst
------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
How Paradigm Is Shifting The Crypto Policy Landscape | Policy Lab's Brendan Malone
Paradigm announces the launch of the Paradigm Policy Lab, a collaborative space for academics, policy experts, lawyers, and technologists in the crypto sector.
The lab, a first in the field, focuses on research and analytical thinking applied to policy in the crypto world. Over the last year, Paradigm has become a policy leader, involved in legal battles, hosting discussions, and publishing research.
The Policy Lab, guided by three principles, aims to impact the crypto policy landscape through evidence-based advocacy, interdisciplinary research with technical depth, and a commitment to humility, iteration, and crypto expertise.
The Chopping Block: Top White Hat Hacker Samczsun Discusses the State of Crypto Security - Ep. 579
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest news. This week, they are joined by Samczsun, an anonymous security researcher at Paradigm, who delves into the intricacies of crypto security, ethical hacking and the shifting landscape of smart contract vulnerabilities. He also discusses his strong feelings about the “Code Is Law” philosophy and gives tips on how people in crypto can best protect their online security.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights:
what led Sam to a career in crypto security and his current role at Paradigm
how Sam uncovered one of crypto's most legendary vulnerabilities
why security experts like Sam choose the path of white hat hackers over black hats
The craziness of the KyberSwap hacker's proposal
parallels that Robert draws between this case and Avi Eisenberg's Mango Markets exploit
what advice Sam has for the KyberSwap hacker
whether Sam, as a security expert, trusts storing his money on-chain
how the Platypus hack ruling by a French judge challenges the 'Code Is Law' philosophy
what the Security Alliance aims to achieve and its impact on the industry
how Sam suggests individuals should practice personal crypto security, including the importance of using password managers and hardware wallets, and avoiding SMS two-factor authentication
Hosts
Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly
Robert Leshner, founder of Compound and Superstate
Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly
Disclosures
Guest:
Samczsun, security researcher at Paradigm
Links
Hacks
Episode with Ogle: The Chopping Block: How This DeFi Hack Negotiator Gets Hackers to Return Stolen Money
Unchained: $48 Million Drained from KyberSwap in Hack
Kyberswap hacker's latest message
Cointelegraph:
KyberSwap hacker offers $4.6M bounty for return of $46M loot
Platypus exploiters walk free after claiming to be ‘ethical hackers’
Code is law:
The Chopping Block: ‘Code Is Law’ Is ‘Obviously Not How Anything Works Ever’
Unchained: The Mango Markets Attacker on Whether His 'Trade' Was Ethical or Not
Thread by Gabriel Shapiro on the topic and Vy Le’s response
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US crypto regulation is likely 'in a holding pattern' until after the 2024 election: Paradigm Policy Director
Justin Slaughter is the Policy Director at Paradigm.
In this episode, Slaughter explains why crypto regulation in the U.S. is likely stuck "in a holding pattern" until after the 2024 election cycle, and how policymakers on both sides of the aisle are beginning to see past crypto's volatility to appreciate the underlying technological innovation.
OUTLINE:
00:00 - Introduction
07:16 - Crypto Policy Overview
11:04 - Political Perceptions of Crypto
15:52 - Bipartisan Crypto Support
19:37 - FIT Act & Stablecoins Bill
23:02 - Global Crypto Regulation
25:29 - US Regulatory Uncertainty
28:01 - BlackRock’s Impact on Crypto
30:58 - 2024 Policy Outlook
37:30 - Paradigm’s Policy Priorities
This episode is brought to you by our sponsor, PayPal.
Make your crypto move with PayPal. Get started today at PayPal.com/crypto
182 - In Defense of Lido, w/ Hasu
Lido has over 30% ETH staked. Should we be alarmed? Joining us is Hasu to shed some light on this question.
In this wide ranging interview we discuss the State of Staking, the state of Lido, Idealist vs Pragmatics and asking the question - is Lido's reputation unfair?
------ ✨ DEBRIEF | Unpacking the episode: https://www.bankless.com/debrief-hasu ----- 🚀Join Ryan & David at Permissionless II in September. https://bankless.cc/GoToPermissionless ------ 📣 STADER LABS | ETHX LIQUID STAKING https://bankless.cc/Stader ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:
🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://k.xyz/bankless-pod-q2
🦊METAMASK PORTFOLIO | MANAGE YOUR WEB3 EVERYTHING https://bankless.cc/MetaMask
⚖️ ARBITRUM | SCALING ETHEREUM https://bankless.cc/Arbitrum
🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle
👾POLYGON | VALUE LAYER OF THE INTERNET https://polygon.technology/roadmap
🗣️TOKU | CRYPTO EMPLOYMENT SOLUTION https://bankless.cc/Toku ----- TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro 4:34 Is Lido's Perception Unfair? 9:08 Is Lido Too Big To Fail? 15:57 What Can An Entity Do With 33%? 21:27 TLDR Recap and Overview 24:11 When Does Lido Risk Become Systemic 32:54 Lido Is Not One Entity 36:40 Node Operators vs DAO 41:19 LDO Governance 49:39 Is Lido Forkable? 52:37 The Path To 5,000 Operators 58:46 Distributed Validator Technololgy 1:08:16 Addressing The Critics 1:17:31 The Staking Social Layer 1:24:40 Is Lido Treated Unfairly? 1:26:47 Can We Keep Ethereum Decentralized? 1:30:07 Risks and Disclaimers ----- Resources
Hasu on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hasufl Uncommon Core v2: https://www.ucc2.xyz/ Hasu last on Bankless: https://youtu.be/1qqkoGatPdE
----- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
The New DeFi Meta with Paradigm’s Head of Research, Dan Robinson
Dan Robinson is GP and Head of Research at Paradigm. He, over the years, has done a lot of deep thinking about markets, auctions, and liquidity in DeFi, with a particular focus on Uniswap and Uniswap V3. Recently, Uniswap Labs released UniswapX, a new dutch auction mechanism, that Dan thinks changes the meta for swapping assets in DeFi, MEV, chain interoperability, and much more.
The last time Dan was on Bankless was September 2020…almost 3 years ago! If you have ever heard Ryan or I say the phrase “Ethereum is a dark forest”...it came from that episode.
------ 🚀Join Ryan & David at Permissionless II in September. https://bankless.cc/GoToPermissionless
------ 📣 STADER LABS | ETHX LIQUID STAKING https://bankless.cc/Stader
------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:
🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://k.xyz/bankless-pod-q2
🦊METAMASK PORTFOLIO | MANAGE YOUR WEB3 EVERYTHING https://bankless.cc/MetaMask
⚖️ ARBITRUM | SCALING ETHEREUM https://bankless.cc/Arbitrum
🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle
👾POLYGON | VALUE LAYER OF THE INTERNET https://polygon.technology/roadmap
🗣️TOKU | CRYPTO EMPLOYMENT SOLUTION https://bankless.cc/Toku
------ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro 6:00 Why UniswapX is Needed 11:09 What’s New About UniswapX? 14:00 Intents 16:25 The Magic Behind MEV Reduction 20:00 Order Flow Auctions 26:25 It’s Still Early 33:05 Who Are the Nanobots? 37:42 How Rollups Will Change 42:22 How Bridges Will Change 49:55 UniswapX Complements Uniswap v4 53:30 What Uniswap v4 Do for LPs? 59:15 LPing with Uniswap v4 vs. v3 1:04:11 Uniswap’s App Layer & Yields 1:06:05 Why Be Excited About Suave 1:09:55 Closing & Disclaimers
------ RESOURCES
Dan Robinson https://twitter.com/danrobinson https://twitter.com/danrobinson/status/1681061703818305536
------ Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
The Reboot | Uncommon Core 2.0 with Hasu and Jon Charbonneau
Uncommon Core - one of my favorite podcasts of all time - is back! This reboot is hosted by Hasu and Jon Charbonneau, two of the brightest minds in crypto. We are dropping their first episode here to share the news and because you’ll want to add this show to your podcast lineup!
__
In this episode, we explore Jon’s journey into crypto and our mutual passion for research and the writing process. We then give an overview of the key areas of crypto infrastructure today. Finally, we zoom into rollup decentralization roadmaps, and Jon shares a controversial new thesis about sequencer decentralization.
__
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(02:42) Interview start
(03:44) Jon's work week
(08:04) ChatGPT & writing
(10:57) Jon's start in crypto
(14:45) How to pick things to work on
(17:08) Outsider's perspective on crypto
(19:05) Jon's research process
(22:00) Jon's proudest moment in crypto
(23:06) Crypto Infrastructure overview
(29:58) Why crypto infrastructure is interesting
(35:57) Rollup decentralization overview
(42:44) Challenges decentralizing the sequencer
(47:46) Ethereum vs Cosmos approach to governance & decentralization
(53:35) User ability to opt out
(56:37) Staking vs. governance deciding sequencers
(01:08:31) L3s
(01:13:34) Superchain
(01:16:38) Summary of rollup decentralization
(01:21:08) Outro
__
Hasu - https://twitter.com/hasufl
Jon Charbonneau - https://twitter.com/jon_charb
UCC2 - https://twitter.com/UCC2_xyz
Website - https://ucc2.xyz
__
Disclaimer: The material and information presented in this podcast is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speakers and are not the views of any entity or other person with whom the speaker is affiliated, including, without limitation, DBA Crypto, LLC. The “DBA Crypto” name and all forms thereof are the sole property of its owner, and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.
Prometheum and Paradigm in Debate: Can the Status Quo Work for Crypto? - Ep. 511
Aaron Kaplan, co-CEO of Prometheum, the trading platform that recently acquired a special-purpose broker dealer license for digital asset securities, has become a major lightning rod in the crypto community. Does the firm represent, as Kaplan has argued, a compliant path forward for crypto in the United States? Or, as Paradigm Special Counsel Rodrigo Seira maintains, does it only demonstrate that the SEC’s crypto regime is simply unworkable? The two join the show to debate the specifics – and it certainly gets heated.
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:
whether it is even possible to compliantly register a crypto exchange in the U.S. following SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s recent public statements
which tokens Prometheum can list, if any
why Rodrigo and Aaron disagree over what constitutes a security
whether the Howey Test applies in secondary market transactions for tokens sold pursuant to a SAFT
why Aaron says that Paradigm should reassess its entire thesis and that the status quo benefits venture capital firms like Paradigm
why Rodrigo says Prometheum has a license, but not a business
who would be responsible for providing required disclosures for a decentralized network like Ethereum
how many tokens Aaron expects to list on the Prometheum platform
whether Aaron and Prometheum had specific discussions with the SEC about what tokens are securities
Aaron’s response to allegations that the Chinese Communist Party is infiltrating the U.S. financial system through Prometheum
whether Aaron had previewed the questions he was asked by representatives in his Congressional hearing
what they believe should be included in disclosures about tokens if federal securities laws didn’t exist and guidelines for disclosures were written from scratch
what Aaron has to say about the Blockchain Association’s recent FOIA request
whether Prometheum is open to being acquired by other entity
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
TOKEN2049
OKX
Guest:
Aaron Kaplan, co-CEO and co-founder of Prometheum.
Previous appearance on Unchained:
These 2 Crypto Trading Platforms Agree With SEC Chair Gary Gensler
Aaron’s written testimony
Rodrigo Seira, special counsel at Paradigm.
Rodrigo’s thread on Prometheum
Links
Unchained:
Crypto Community Unearths Questionable History of SEC-Aligned Prometheum
Former SEC Cyber Chief Calls the Agency’s Way of Labeling Tokens Securities ‘Not Fair’
Investopedia: Schwab and Fidelity-Backed Crypto Exchange EDX Goes Live, Adds More Backers
CoinDesk:
Gary Gensler’s Catch-22 Vision of ‘Regulated’ Crypto Brokers
Key Takeaways From House Hearing on Future of Digital Assets
The Crypto Basic: Prometheum Founder Says SEC Will Win Ripple Lawsuit, XRP Community Reacts
Digital Asset Investor’s video on SEC setting up a Chinese back door into crypto
Thread from Blockchain Association’s Marisa Coppel
Adam Cochran points out a slew of details that call Prometheum into question.
Matt Walsh questions how Kaplan can be called a securities expert since the law school he earned his degree from is now unaccredited by the American Bar Association.
A clip from Aaron’s exchange with U.S. Rep Mike Flood
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176 - What is Money in the Digital Age? with Brendan Malone
Today’s guest is Brendan Malone. He currently works at Paradigm’s Policy Department. But before that, he focused on crypto policy issues at no other than the Federal Reserve. In this episode, we get deep into answering one, if not the most Bankless questions. What is Money? And what does the answer look like in the Digital Age?
------ ✨ DEBRIEF | Unpacking the episode: https://www.bankless.com/debrief-brendan-malone
------ 🚀 Unlock $1,000+ in Perks with Bankless Citizenship 🚀 https://bankless.cc/GetThePerks
------ 📣 CYFRIN | Smart Contract Audits & Solidity Course https://bankless.cc/cyfrin
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⚖️ ARBITRUM | SCALING ETHEREUM https://bankless.cc/Arbitrum
🧠 AMBIRE | SMART CONTRACT WALLET https://bankless.cc/Ambire
🦄UNISWAP | ON-CHAIN MARKETPLACE https://bankless.cc/uniswap
🎮IMMUTABLE | GAMING ECOSYSTEM https://bankless.cc/Immutable
🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle
----- Topics Covered
0:00 Intro 5:40 What is Money? 10:34 The Moneyness Spectrum 16:59 How do Current Forms of Money Rank? 21:03 How Much is a Dollar Worth? 29:16 The Difference between Money and Credit 38:30 Losing Trust in the Dollar 48:29 The Role of a Central Bank 54:14 The Future of Money 1:04:26 Why Now? 1:07:14 New Technology Implications 1:10:40 The Case for Crypto 1:18:55 Closing and Disclaimers
----- Resources:
Brendan Twitter https://twitter.com/brendanpmalone
Read Moneyness In The Digital Age https://policy.paradigm.xyz/writing/moneyness-in-the-digital-age
----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
SaaStr 663: 9 Things I Wish I Would Have Told My 2013 Self: Lessons Learned from 9 Years with Heap's Former CTO, Dan Robinson
You'll never truly understand how to lead a SaaS company until you've done it firsthand. But it always helps to get advice from someone with experience.
Dan Robinson, current Advisor and former CTO at Heap, shares nine essential learnings from nearly a decade of building a SaaS business.
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/FXdPe6tGE3A
*****
SaaStr Annual will officially be back in 2023. Join 12,500 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue leaders, and investors. Annual 2023 will take place September 6-8, 2023 in the SF Bay Area. Podcast listeners can use code FAVE100 to save 100 off tickets. Use FAVE100 when you buy your tickets at saastrannual2023.com
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Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the 🌎largest community for B2B software.
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J.P. Morgan's First Republic Deal, Twitter v. Bluesky, and Friend of Pivot Joelle Emerson
Kara and Scott discuss the recent warnings from one of the “Godfathers of AI,” as well as the potential writers' strike. Then, J.P Morgan keeps getting bigger with its latest acquisition: First Republic. Elon Musk says Twitter will let media publishers charge for articles. Also, does anybody have a Bluesky referral code? And we’re joined by Friend of Pivot, Joelle Emerson, to break down how recent layoffs have affected corporate diversity.
You can find Joelle at @joelle_emerson on Twitter.
Send us your questions! Call 855-51-PIVOT or go to nymag.com/pivot.
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The Chopping Block: How to Manage MakerDAO, With Hasu and Rune - Ep. 383
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. In this episode, Hasu, the gourmand of governance and Rune Christensen, chief mischief maker at MKR, discuss how to manage a DAO, their respective visions for MakerDAO, and much more.
Show topics:
What MakerDAO is, how DAI works and whether it is the “central bank” of DeFi
How the visions for MakerDAO of Hasu and Rune differ
Whether Maker should only hold highly liquid collateral assets
Hasu’s mental model of DAI as eurodollars
The role of real-world assets in backing DAI
What the purpose of a DAO is and how it differs from a legal entity
Whether people behave in their purest form within a DAO
How DAI can create positive externalities and make a better world
How crypto holders are not only in it for the money but also for the philosophy
What the “decentralized stablecoin trilemma” is
Whether there’s a need for dollar-denominated collateral for DAI to work
What “clean money” is according to Rune
Why Rune thinks having a single council is not viable due to the political risks and whether the solution is to have multiple councils
How to keep the principal-agent problem in check, according to Hasu
Why Hasu believes council members wouldn’t pursue their own interests and go against the benefit of MKR token holders
Whether a council would be corruptible and the dangers that it entails
What kind of interests should be represented in the council
Whether Maker can create more synthetic assets
The iron law bureaucracy and how it relates to governance
How to design the DAO to be steered in alignment with the token holders
Whether ossification is a feature to be pursued, and where innovation happens
How complexity is very expensive for an organization
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
https://twitter.com/rleshner
Hasu
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hasufl
Rune Christensen
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuneKek
Episode Links
MakerDAO
Hasu’s governance proposal: https://vote.makerdao.com/address/0xafaff1a605c373b43727136c995d21a7fcd08989#delegate-credentials
Rune’s proposal - the endgame: https://forum.makerdao.com/t/the-endgame-plan-parts-1-2/15456
Proposal to add a lending oversight core unit: https://forum.makerdao.com/t/mip39c2-sp33-adding-lending-oversight-core-unit-love-001/15098
Previous Coverage of Unchained:
Rune Christensen of MakerDAO Part 1: How to Keep a Crypto-Collateralized Stablecoin Afloat: https://unchainedpodcast.com/rune-christensen-of-makerdao-part-1-how-to-keep-a-crypto-collateralized-stablecoin-afloat/
Rune Christensen of MakerDAO Part 2: How Dai Stayed at $1 While ETH Crashed From $1,400 to $85: https://unchainedpodcast.com/rune-christensen-of-makerdao-part-2-how-dai-stayed-at-1-while-eth-crashed-from-1400-to-85/
The Rise of MakerDAO: A Personal Journey: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-rise-of-makerdao-a-personal-journey/
Real World Assets:
Huntingdon Valley Bank (“HVB”) proposal: https://forum.makerdao.com/t/huntingdon-valley-bank-hvb-rwa-collateral-onboarding-risk-assessment/15828
$500 million allocation proposal: https://forum.makerdao.com/t/signal-request-asset-allocation-of-mip65-clydesdale/15922
The stablecoin trilemma: https://fluid.ch/stablecoin-trilemma/#:~:text=A%20deeper%20dive%20into%20the,decide%20on%20the%20stablecoin%20supply.
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130 - How to Fix DeFi Tokens | Hasu
✨ DEBRIEF ✨ | Ryan & David's Unfiltered Thoughts on the Episode: https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/debrief-how-to-fix-defi-tokens
This is Hasu’s 5th appearance on Bankless and this might be his best one yet. If you’re unfamiliar, Hasu is a crypto-economic researcher at Paradigm, strategist at Flashbots solving MEV, host of Uncommon Core, and more recently, a Governor delegate for MakerDAO and overall DAO governance thinker.
In this episode, we’re going to reorg your brain about what it means to be a DAO. Hear what’s broken about DAOs, the potential solutions, what regulation could do to help, and so much more.
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------ Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro 6:10 DeFi Token Brokenness 12:36 Treasury Management 15:29 Uniswap Token & Fees 27:09 Uniswap’s Strategy 29:58 DAO Governance & Business 33:06 DAOs vs. Digital Organizations 41:55 Regulation vs. DAO Governance 44:53 Founder & Protocol Alignment 50:09 Regulatory Clarity 1:00:16 Regulation’s Bull Case 1:03:58 Game Theory & Gov. Adoption 1:08:05 DAO Constitutions 1:13:13 The Value Prop of DeFi 1:21:03 SubDAOs & Voting 1:28:00 DAO Costs 1:31:04 Summary & Action Items 1:34:09 Why Be Optimistic of DeFi 1:40:53 Closing & Disclaimers
------ Resources:
Hasu https://twitter.com/hasufl
Fake Dao vs Real Daos by Gabriel Shapiro https://lexnode.substack.com/p/defining-real-and-fake-daos
The Market for Promises by Anthony Lee Zhang https://anthonyleezhang.substack.com/p/the-market-for-promises
A Stupid Simple Governance Framework by Andrew Beal https://30000feet.substack.com/p/issue-72-a-stupid-simple-governance
Hasu’s Recent Maker Governance Post https://vote.makerdao.com/address/0xafaff1a605c373b43727136c995d21a7fcd08989#delegate-credentials
----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
In the Recent Crypto Market Meltdown, What Role Did Lido's stETH Play? - Ep. 370
Hasu, strategic advisor to Lido, and Tarun Chitra, founder of Gauntlet, explain everything about staked ETH, aka stETH, how it should be priced, Lido’s market dominance, and much more. Show highlights:
the role of Lido, what stETH is, and what its benefits are
whether Ethereum’s lack of delegated proof of stake contributes to the need for stETH
why stETH is not mispriced and why it doesn’t necessarily have to be worth 1 ETH
the inherent risks associated with stETH
how there was not enough liquidity to handle all the liquidations, especially in automated vaults on, for instance, Instadapp
how automated market makers work and what Curve’s amplification factor is
whether 3AC and Celsius had a significant impact on the stETH/ETH “de-peg”
how does the Merge affect the liquidity of stETH
Hasu’s and Tarun’s level of confidence that the Merge will happen this year and whether it will be a success
what will happen to the price of stETH after the redemptions are enabled
why Lido has achieved such a level of dominance
how Lido decreases the cost of staking and helps improve the security of the Ethereum blockchain
whether there is going to be a “winner take all” in the liquid staking derivatives market
how liquidity fragmentation can cause the system to blow up
why LDO tokenholders might not have the same incentives as ETH tokenholders
what is Lido’s new dual governance model and what is it trying to achieve
whether Lido should self limit its market dominance
how Lido coordinates validators and the role of the LDO token in this coordination
what are the lessons to be learned from the stETH situation
how governance is a liability to DeFi protocols
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021
Ava Labs: https://www.avax.network/
Oasis: https://oasisprotocol.org/grant-programs?utm_source=unchained&utm_medium=partnership&utm_campaign=podcast-oasis-grants-program
EPISODE LINKS
Hasu:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hasufl
Uncommon Core Podcast: http://uncommoncore.co/podcast/
Tarun:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tarunchitra
stETH
Lido’s explanation: https://twitter.com/LidoFinance/status/1535184472546889735?s=20&t=oQeB1uj7HG7Y4he-0gbcLg
Lido’s explanation #2: https://twitter.com/LidoFinance/status/1536756933054676992?s=20&t=oQeB1uj7HG7Y4he-0gbcLg
Hasu’s thread #1: https://twitter.com/hasufl/status/1524717773959700481?s=20&t=oQeB1uj7HG7Y4he-0gbcLg
Hasu’s thread #2: https://twitter.com/hasufl/status/1525427069198508033?s=20&t=oQeB1uj7HG7Y4he-0gbcLg
Tarun’s take: https://twitter.com/tarunchitra/status/1538775828573609985?s=20&t=oQeB1uj7HG7Y4he-0gbcLg
Tarun’s paper: Why Stake when you can borrow: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3629988
Lido
Self-limit?: https://twitter.com/LidoFinance/status/1540258690942615555?s=20&t=sJU5C5xo5litEJrZZDaWNQ
Hasu on Lido’s dual governance proposal: https://twitter.com/hasufl/status/1540652075352313857?s=20&t=sJU5C5xo5litEJrZZDaWNQ
Lido’s two phase voting scheme :https://blog.lido.fi/moving-to-two-phase-voting/
Previous Unchained Coverage on DAO governance: Solend and Bancor Drama: Did These DAOs Violate the Ethos of Crypto?: https://unchainedpodcast.com/solend-and-bancor-drama-did-these-daos-violate-the-ethos-of-crypto-ep-366/
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Hasu: Lido's Staked ETH Poses No Systemic Risk to DeFi
This week on The Defiant Podcast we speak with Hasu, strategic advisor at Lido, strategy lead at Flashbots, MakerDAO delegate, researcher at Paradigm and host of the Uncommon Core Podcast. That’s a lot of titles and it goes to show just how deeply plugged into DeFi and crypto this anon researcher is. In this episode, we’ll focus on Lido, as it’s become a crucial piece of infrastructure for Ethereum.
Thanking our podcast sponsors:
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Paradigm’s Matt Huang on the Biggest Crypto Fund Ever Raised
Money continues to pour into the crypto space at a rapid clip. Institutions, VCs, private investors all seem to have gotten the bug over the last year. But, of course, the big gains have come to those who have been in the space for a while. One of the leading investing institutions in crypto is Paradigm, which was founded during 2018's crypto winter. The firm just announced a new $2.5 billion fund, which is heretofore the biggest crypto fund ever raised. We speak with the firm's co-founder Matt Huang about Paradigm's unique structure, its vision for crypto, and what it plans to do with the money.
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