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. This week the squad is live from Token2049 in Singapore and joined by special guests Mo Shaikh, CEO and Co-Founder of Aptos Labs, and Arthur Hayes, CIO at Maelstrom. In this episode, they tackle the buzz around Trump’s DeFi projects, the challenges of hosting Token2049 during F1, and the controversy surrounding Iggy Azalea’s cancelled debate. The conversation also covers the macro impact of potential Fed rate cuts, the role of celebrity coins, and the future of global crypto adoption. Don't miss this insightful live discussion in front of the Token2049 audience!

Show highlights

🔹 Token2049 Event: Token2049 faced logistical challenges due to Singapore’s F1 weekend, resulting in heavy traffic and delays for attendees.

🔹 Canceled Celebrity Coin Debate: Iggy Azalea’s debate with Eric Wall about celebrity coins was canceled due to conflicts with Singaporean regulations, which prevented her planned on-stage stunts.

🔹 World Liberty Financial Overview: The Trump family’s DeFi project, World Liberty Financial, is scrutinized for its lack of clear direction and concerns over the 70% insider token pre-allocation.

🔹 Fed Rate Cuts and Market Implications: Potential Fed rate cuts and their impact on the dollar-yen exchange rate could lead to liquidity crises and increased market volatility.

🔹 Celebrity Coins and Memecoins: A look into celebrity coins and memecoins raises questions about their value, considering whether they bring meaningful attention to crypto or are merely speculative distractions.

🔹 Korea vs. Japan in Crypto: Korea’s active crypto trading culture and crypto-friendly policies contrast with Japan’s more cautious, restrictive approach, reflecting different market dynamics.

🔹 Global Crypto Adoption Rankings: Skepticism is expressed regarding India’s top spot in Chainalysis’ Global Crypto Adoption Index, with a case made for Korea ranking higher than 19th.

🔹 Aptos and Mainstream Adoption: Aptos is pushing for mainstream adoption through partnerships in Korea and innovations like the Aptos card, offering integrated cold storage and new financial products.

Hosts

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly 

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

Guest

⭐️ Mo Shaikh, CEO and Co-Founder of Aptos Labs

⭐️ Arthur Hayes, CIO at Maelstrom

Disclosures

Links

The 2024 Global Adoption Index: Central & Southern Asia and Oceania (CSAO) Region Leads the World in Terms of Global Cryptocurrency Adoption: https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/2024-global-crypto-adoption-index/ 

Timestamps 

• 0:00 Intro
• 00:49 TOKEN2049 
• 06:20 $10 Billion FDV? World Liberty Financial
• 16:10 Allure of Memecoins & Celebcoins
• 19:06 Beyond Memecoin Adoption
• 20:27 Global Crypto Adoption Ranking
• 24:43 Korea vs. Japan's Crypto Scenes
• 29:19 Macro Trends and Fed's Impact
• 35:26 Crypto's Resilience Against Regulation
• 40:00 The Future of Crypto and Decentralization

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