Crypto Pump & Dumps Have Become the Ugly Norm. Can They Be Stopped? - Ep. 834
The Movement Labs scandal exposed more than just one bad deal – it pulled back the curtain on a widespread problem in crypto: how some market makers, founders, and VCs play games to make money — whether the project succeeds or not.
In this episode, Laura speaks with José Macedo of Delphi Labs, Omar Shakeeb of SecondLane, and Taran Sabharwal of STIX to explain:
How market makers are supposed to work, and how they operate in crypto
Why insider selling is more common than you think
How projects like Movement, Mantra, and others exploit launch day hype
Whether VCs often enable this behavior with side deals that retail never hears about
And what the industry needs to do to fix this broken system
Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
Bitwise
José Macedo, founder at Delphi Labs
Omar Shakeeb, cofounder of SecondLane
Taran Sabharwal, founder and CEO of STIX.
Movement Labs:
Unchained: How MOVE’s Contracts Put a Pump and Dump Into a Legal Agreement
CoinDesk: Inside Movement’s Token-Dump Scandal: Secret Contracts, Shadow Advisers and Hidden Middlemen
Market making:
The Chopping Block: Can Crypto Clean Itself Up? Market Structure, Trust, and Regulation
Mantra Founder Is Burning 150 Million Tokens. Would He Try to Get Them Returned?
ZachXBT Ties REEF Founders to OM Token Crash
Timestamps:
👋 0:00 Intro
🤝 1:51 What Omar’s and Taran’s companies do
🎭 3:40 How market making works and how crypto twists the model
⚠️ 9:35 Why crypto’s market maker incentives are broken by design
🛠️ 16:25 What it would take to fix shady market maker behavior
🚩 26:20 How some founders exploit launch day hype to dump on retail
🧠 38:11 Did Mantra’s JP pull off a “genius” move or manipulate the market?
🔍 42:22 Whether crypto traders do any research before apeing in
💸 52:48 How founders are incentivized to dump their own tokens
🏦 59:09 Why VCs may be fueling this problem with insider deals
📉 1:02:37 What crypto needs to learn from traditional finance
✅ 1:06:13 The biggest fixes the industry must prioritize to stop these scams
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RERUN: How to Figure Out Whether a Crypto Token Is Worth Its Trading Price - Ep. 756
Low float and high fully diluted valuation (FDV) coins have been a hot topic in crypto this year. Yet, understanding these coins' unrealized gains is critical for truly grasping their pricing.
In this episode, Jose Macedo of Delphi Digital and Ari Paul of BlockTower Capital dive deep into metrics that help assess a coin’s true value. They discuss why upcoming token unlocks may put downward pressure on the market, how token unlocks could be better structured for long-term success, and whether VCs are extracting more value than they contribute.
Show highlights:
Why upcoming token unlock events are creating anxiety in the crypto market
The role unrealized gains play in token price volatility
How certain projects manipulate circulating supply metrics to influence perceptions
Tips for everyday investors to uncover accurate token information
The impact of secondary market trading on anticipated token unlock events
Why short-term token strategies often prevail over those focused on sustained success
Jose’s insights into why simple, time-based unlock models may outperform complex systems
Ari’s thoughts on the SEC’s investigations into VCs and their parallels to pump-and-dump schemes
Why many crypto projects face a bearish outlook due to pending token unlocks
How the intersection of memecoins and VC involvement could shape the next market cycle
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:
Jose Macedo, founder at Delphi Labs
Ari Paul, CIO of BlockTower Capital
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Ari Paul on Why Bitcoin Is a Good Value Buy
Ari Paul of BlockTower Capital on the Crypto Downturn and Why It Could Change Direction
Links
High FDV and unlocks:
Unchained:
How ‘Fully Diluted Valuation’ Can Be a Very Dangerous Metric for Crypto Markets to Rely On
Who’s to Blame for the Underperformance of Low Float, High FDV Tokens?
80% of Tokens on Binance Are Down Since Listing Date: SwissBorg Researcher
Cobie newsletter: New launches (part 1) - private capture, phantom pricing
Rocknblock: Token vesting explainer
CoinDesk: 'Liquid Vesting' Is Oxymoronic Blockchain Feature That Lets Early Investors Sell Without Waiting
Jose’s thread that inspired the episode
Ari’s post responding to Jose’s thread
Token.unlocks.app: Token vesting tracker
Solutions:
Hack VC: Potential Solutions to Crypto's Unlock Problem
Colony Lab: Early-Stage Program & Liquid Vesting
Imran Khan’s tweet on Blast https://x.com/lmrankhan/status/1806040646433522149
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:46 Token unlocks creating market concerns
11:06 Unrealized gains to market cap ratio impact
13:06 Token supply manipulation tactics
21:11 How investors can verify token projects
24:21 Secondary market trading and unlock impacts
35:36 Current token launch strategy persistence
41:46 Short-term vs long-term project decisions
47:21 Time-based vs metric-based token unlocks
53:51 SEC investigations into VC practices
59:56 Bearish outlook for upcoming token unlocks
1:06:36 Investor risks in current cycle
1:13:11 Future of VCs in crypto and memecoins
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How to Figure Out Whether a Crypto Token Is Worth Its Trading Price - Ep. 667
The problem of low float, high fully diluted valuation (FDV) coins is one that is frequently discussed in crypto. But there’s another wrinkle: investors need to understand the unrealized gains of these coins to really understand the price.
In this episode, Jose Macedo of Delphi Digital and Ari Paul of Blocktower Capital explain the various metrics that reveal what a coin is really worth, why a wave of token unlocks that will be hitting the crypto markets in the next few years are not bullish, and whether there is a better way to design token unlocks for teams and insiders.
Plus, they cover whether venture capitalists are extractive to crypto, whether these games with circulating supply and FDV have caused investors to turn to memecoins, and why they believe the ICO era was better for retail investors.
Show highlights:
00:00 Intro
01:58 Why upcoming token unlocks are creating market jitters
10:22 How the ratio of unrealized gains to market cap influences token price movements
12:22 How some token projects manipulate their reported circulating supply
20:24 Whether and how everyday investors can uncover the truth about token projects
23:37 What secondary market trading says about the potential impact of upcoming token unlocks
34:50 Why Jose believes that the current token launch strategy, despite its flaws, is still favored by insiders and unlikely to change soon
41:02 Why some projects favor decisions that are more likely to result in short-term gains over long-term success
46:36 Why Jose believes that simple time-based token unlocks often work better than complex metrics, and how projects can balance funding with realistic success metrics
53:04 Why Ari believes the SEC's investigations into VCs for acting as securities dealers might be justified, and how these practices resemble pump-and-dump schemes
59:11 With numerous token unlocks looming, why the outlook is bearish for many projects, and what challenges they face in mitigating potential sell-offs
1:05:52 Why many crypto investors might end up holding the bag in the current cycle, despite plans to sell early and avoid losses
1:12:27 What the future role of VCs is in crypto, and how the influx of token unlocks and the rise of memecoins could shape the bull cycle
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:
Jose Macedo, founder at Delphi Labs
Ari Paul, CIO of Blocktower Capital
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Ari Paul on Why Bitcoin Is a Good Value Buy
Ari Paul of BlockTower Capital on the Crypto Downturn and Why It Could Change Direction
Links
High FDV and unlocks:
Unchained:
How ‘Fully Diluted Valuation’ Can Be a Very Dangerous Metric for Crypto Markets to Rely On
Who’s to Blame for the Underperformance of Low Float, High FDV Tokens?
80% of Tokens on Binance Are Down Since Listing Date: SwissBorg Researcher
Cobie newsletter: New launches (part 1) - private capture, phantom pricing
Rocknblock: Token vesting explainer
CoinDesk: 'Liquid Vesting' Is Oxymoronic Blockchain Feature That Lets Early Investors Sell Without Waiting
Jose’s thread that inspired the episode
Ari’s post responding to Jose’s thread
Token.unlocks.app: Token vesting tracker
Solutions:
Hack VC: Potential Solutions to Crypto's Unlock Problem
Colony Lab: Early-Stage Program & Liquid Vesting
Imran Khan’s tweet on Blast https://x.com/lmrankhan/status/1806040646433522149
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