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 breaks down the return of the ICO — but with a twist. Pump.fun’s $500 million token sale sells out in 12 minutes, sparking a heated debate about forward markets, new market structure design, and whether we’ve entered a smarter, more institutionalized fundraising era—or just rebranded 2017 chaos. Hyperliquid becomes the surprise king of pre-launch liquidity, exchanges buckle under demand, and a new class of crypto treasury vehicles raises eyebrows (and capital). Meanwhile, Trump declares “Crypto Week” as Congress moves forward with the most sweeping legislation the industry’s seen in years. Is crypto finally growing up—or just getting better at dumping on retail? The gang dissects the narratives, the numbers, and the fallout.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights
🔹 Pump.fun’s ICO Raises $500M in 12 Minutes – The largest token sale in recent memory, with 25,000+ KYC’d participants and CEX/DEX syndication.
🔹 Forward Markets & Hedging Games – Kraken and Bybit face issues as sophisticated traders attempt to arb between ICO allocations and perps.
🔹 New Market Design – Pump introduces a novel multi-venue, API-synced launch structure; future ICOs may follow suit.
🔹 CT Has Negative Alpha – Crypto Twitter sentiment was wildly bearish… right before the most oversubscribed sale in years.
🔹 Hyperliquid Hits $11.5B OI – Becomes the dominant venue for pump trading, eclipsing even CEXs; pre-launch volume milestone.
🔹 Treasury Vehicle Controversy – $888M raised for hype via a new structure; Tarun questions whether it’s a liquidity gateway or retail dump machine.
🔹 Trump Declares Crypto Week – Genius Act (stablecoins), Clarity Act (market structure), and Anti-CBDC Act all hit the House floor.
🔹 Polymarket Vindicated – DOJ and CFTC drop their probe into Shane Coplan’s prediction market platform.
🔹 Altcoin Momentum Returns – $PENGU +270%, $SUI +60%, $UNI +43%; narrative shifts from “revenue meta” to “meme meta.”
🔹 Solana vs. Hyperliquid – Hype replaces SOL as the go-to high-beta asset? The team debates competing ecosystems.
⭐️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
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:18 Pump ICO Breakdown
06:54 Pump's Unique Market Design
10:57 Future of ICOs and Market Trends
21:36 Hyperliquid's Role in Pump Launch
32:26 Crypto Week and Legislative Updates
41:23 Polymarket Investigation Dropped
47:29 Altcoin Rally and Market Sentiment
Disclosures
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