The Scoop

In this episode, veteran crypto journalist Brady Dale unpacks his new book, SBF: How The FTX Bankruptcy Unwound Crypto's Very Bad Good Guy.The book explores Bankman-Fried's worldview and his quest to make FTX the number one crypto exchange in the world, no matter the cost.Despite FTX's bankruptcy last year, Dale believes the exchange was not necessarily doomed to fail and that Bankman-Fried's need for absolute control was a critical factor.This episode is brought to you by our sponsor CleanSpark.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Ray Youssef is the co-founder and former CEO of Paxful — a once-prominent peer-to-peer ('P2P') Bitcoin marketplace that shut down in April after operating globally for nearly a decade.Shortly after Paxful closed shop, Youssef released the Civ Kit white paper outlining a P2P electronic market system combining Nostr architecture and Bitcoin's Lightning Network to resist censorship and promote permissionless trading.In this episode, Youssef lays out his ambitions for how the Civ Kit will lead to thousands of plug-and-play P2P marketplaces around the world, and how decentralized identity tech developed by Jack Dorsey's company TBD plays an important part in the process.This episode is brought to you by our sponsor CleanSpark.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Ethereum's transition to proof of stake brought significant changes to the network, including a more predictable yield for investors. Unlike proof of work, which relies on miners to validate transactions and secure the network, proof of stake involves validators holding a stake in the network and earning yield in ether for their support.CoinFund, a crypto investment firm, is attempting to standardize the yield model to create a new benchmark yield rate for Web3.In this episode, CoinFund President Chris Perkins explains how CoinFund's new Composite Ethereum Staking Rate ('CESR') aims to provide investors with a clear and comparable metric that can serve as the foundation for new financial products for the crypto space such as basis swaps and the development of a forward curve tied to Ethereum's interest rate.This episode is brought to you by our sponsor CleanSpark.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

NFT floor prices and trading volume are in decline. However, for NFT projects with strong communities, now is the time to stand out from the pack, according to Floor co-founders Christine Brown and Chris Maddern. Floor, which aims to be an 'everything app' for NFTs, raised $8 million from a Series A funding round in June of 2022.In this episode, Brown and Maddern discuss how increased liquidity in NFT markets is accelerating price discovery and where value is accumulating in this new paradigm of NFT market structure.This episode is brought to you by our sponsor CleanSpark.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Usman Ahmad is the CEO of Zodia Markets, a crypto trading firm that partners with institutions and corporations. Zodia Markets is already registered by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and is in late stage conversations with the central bank of Ireland, which with new EU regulation means a passport to Europe. But given demand from the U.S., the firm has accelerated its strategy.In this episode, Ahmad talks about Zodia, its evolution and the division of custody.During this episode, Chaparro, and Ahmad also discuss: Zodia's risk management strategy How to develop a diverse crypto business Potential catalysts in the months ahead This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Circle and CleanSpark.About CircleCircle is a global financial technology company helping money move at internet speed. Our mission is to raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value. Visit circle.com/Scoop to learn more.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Despite Argentina grappling with an annual inflation rate surpassing 100% and enduring strict capital controls, many citizens still opt to trade currency via illicit "cuevas" and maintain bundles of near-worthless cash, rather than embracing the potential benefits of cryptocurrencies.In this episode, The Block's Nathan Crooks breaks down his research into why crypto adoption in Argentina is not more pervasive, and The Block editor and Argentinian resident Christiana Sciaudone shares her local perspective on the Argentinian currency crisis.During this episode, Chaparro, Crooks, and Sciaudone also discuss: Why Argentina has multiple exchange rates for U.S. dollars How locals think about different cryptocurrencies Crypto businesses building in Argentina This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Circle and CleanSpark.About CircleCircle is a global financial technology company helping money move at internet speed. Our mission is to raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value. Visit circle.com/Scoop to learn more.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge Capital, an alternative asset manager with more than $2.2 billion in AUM, including $800 million in digital asset-related investments.In this episode, Scaramucci explains how Elizabeth Warren's 2020 endorsement of Joe Biden positioned her as "de facto president for financial services and banking," and why he believes her "sidekick," SEC Chair Gary Gensler, is an "ambitious, single-minded politician, not focused on serving the people."SkyBridge and FTXFTX took a 30% stake in SkyBridge just two months before the exchange declared bankruptcy. Scaramucci has expressed interest in repurchasing FTX's stake in SkyBridge, as well as skepticism regarding the possibility of an FTX reboot later this year.During this episode, Chaparro, Murray and Scaramucci also discuss: Regulation outside the U.S. Crypto's bipartisan support The global decline of the U.S. dollar This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Circle and CleanSpark.About CircleCircle is a global financial technology company helping money move at internet speed. Our mission is to raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value. Visit circle.com/Scoop to learn more.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Web3 development team Coral raised $20 million in a round co-led by FTX Ventures just weeks before the exchange's collapse. Coral developers hunkered down and continued building.In this episode, Coral co-founder Armani Ferrante tells the story of how the fallout from FTX forced Coral into "cockroach mode"' and how the startup has managed to stay afloat despite being forced to cut costs.Backpack & xNFTsCoral's first product, Backpack, is a web3 wallet that lets users store and access xNFTs — a new standard developed for tokenizing code and controlling its execution. In practice, Armani says Backpack and xNFTs give users direct access to a "secure, heavily curated app store."Unlike popular browser extensions such as Metamask which interact with web3 platforms by connecting to each website individually, Backpack is designed so that users never have to leave the curated web3 experiences that live directly within the wallet.During this episode, Chaparro and Ferrante also discuss: The Donald Trump, Starbucks, and Nike NFT collections Why NFT projects depend on community How Coral's Backpack product supports 'xNFTs' This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Circle and CleanSpark.About CircleCircle is a global financial technology company helping money move at internet speed. Our mission is to raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value. Visit circle.com/Scoop to learn more.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

Adam Moskowitz is the managing partner of Moskowitz Law Firm and one of the attorneys spearheading a class action lawsuit against 16 different FTX celebrity ambassadors.In this episode, Moskowitz breaks down the legal argument underpinning the class action lawsuit and explains why he thinks FTX's various celebrity ambassadors could be on the hook for billions of dollars.During this episode, Chaparro, Murrary and Moskowitz also discuss: Trying to serve Shaquille O'Neal How Taylor Swift did due diligence Ambassadors versus influencers This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Circle and CleanSpark.About CircleCircle is a global financial technology company helping money move at internet speed. Our mission is to raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value. Visit circle.com/Scoop to learn more.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.

In this episode, The Block's Tim Copeland explains how protocol changes introduced during Ethereum's recent Shapella upgrade are leading to a more liquid and harmonious Ethereum.During this episode, Chaparro and Copeland also discuss: What's next for Ethereum The convergence of AI and journalism Rethinking DeFi bug bounties This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Circle and CleanSpark.About CircleCircle is a global financial technology company helping money move at internet speed. Our mission is to raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value. Visit circle.com/Scoop to learn more.About CleanSparkCleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) is America’s Bitcoin Miner™. Visit cleanspark.com/theblock to learn more about the CleanSpark way.