Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy joins The Chopping Block to discuss market making in quiet crypto markets. They also cover Base's early success and the impact of bank fraud in the AI era.

Educator Anita Posch has spent months on the ground in Africa onboarding new users into the world of Bitcoin. In the West, bitcoin may seem extraneous; but in her telling, bitcoin in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and other African countries is essential. “Bitcoin can be one of the solutions for people who are disempowered, who are outlawed, the misfits,” says Posch. “Bitcoin is for them because no one can take it away from you.”Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.Show highlights: what Anita does for Bitcoin education and why she was inspired to do this how people in developing countries are constantly getting scammed how the Central Bank of Zimbabwe acts as an intermediary in business operations whether people in these countries use BTC or stablecoins for their day to day expenses what the differences are between the several Bitcoin communities around the world how in Zimbabwe people could get arrested for transacting in Bitcoin why Bitcoin is essential to human rights, according to Anita whether Bitcoin can help to tackle the issue of discrimination against women, particularly in finance why Anita is “very sad” about the launch of Worldcoin why she was against Bitcoin Ordinals in the first place and whether she has changed her mind what Anita’s new Bitcoin learning program aims to accomplish  Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com Arbitrum Foundation TOKEN2049 Guest: Anita Posch, founder of Bitcoin for Fairness, author of (L)earn Bitcoin, and host of the Anita Posch show. Online Learning and Scholarship Program  Website 45min Documentary: How Bitcoin Enforces Human Rights  13 min Keynote: Bitcoin empowers Africa and Africans empower Bitcoin Links Previous coverage of Unchained mentioned in the episode: Orb Outrage: Worldcoin Cofounder Defends Project Amid Backlash Why CoinFund Believes Worldcoin Could Become More Popular Than Bitcoin Bitcoin’s BRC-20 Mania: Is It Sustainable? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A major player has entered the stablecoin wars. PayPal went deeper down the crypto rabbithole this week with the launch of its Ethereum-based PYUSD. The dollar-backed stablecoin now puts PayPal in competition with the likes of Tether and Circle for quickly sending value around the world on-chain. José Fernández da Ponte, PayPal’s crypto SVP, joins the show to unpack how the fintech giant is building a long-term strategy around blockchain-based payments.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.Show highlights: why PayPal decided to launch a stablecoin how long it will take for stablecoins to reach mainstream adoption and what the advantages of stablecoins are how PYUSD will differentiate from other giants in the stablecoin space such as USDT and USDC whether the U.S. stablecoin bill influenced the launch of PYUSD why stablecoins should be regulated at the state level whether PayPal plans to launch stablecoins pegged to other fiat currencies how Paxos will provide attestation reports for PYUSD why Jose thinks gaming is a huge opportunity for stablecoin payments what the rationale was for launching an ERC-20 on Ethereum how PayPal plans to monetize the stablecoin why PayPal’s expectations for PYUSD in the short-term are “moderate” Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com Arbitrum Foundation Thales DAO Guest José Fernández da Ponte, SVP of Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currencies at PayPalLinks Unchained: PayPal Launches PYUSD Stablecoin Built on Ethereum CoinDesk:  PayPal’s Real Stablecoin Strategy: It Wants to Earn Interest on Your Deposits Congresswoman Maxine Waters Says She’s ‘Deeply Concerned’ About PayPal’s New Stablecoin U.S. Stablecoin Bill Takes Big Step Despite Fight From Democrats, White House Paxos Has Other 'White Label' Stablecoin Opportunities in the Works in Addition to PayPal USD Blockworks: PayPal’s new stablecoin stirs centralization criticism  CNBC: PayPal is trying to drag its 435 million users into the $120 billion stablecoin market — here's why Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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, a quiet conclusion to that Curve thing everyone was animated about. Plus, major developments from Web2 giant PayPal as it continues its journey down the crypto rabbithole. Also, is Maker’s juiced DAI Savings Rate the new Anchor? The gang discusses.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:  how The Chopping Block got that sweet, sweet Red Bull money what to make of the Curve hacker’s message after they returned the funds does Curve trying to dox the hacker proves that Arkham’s model is right? the lessons from the Curve situation and whether DeFi needs to change how DeFi protocols could prevent situations where a single entity holds a significant percentage of a token’s total supply how the enhanced DAI Savings Rate triggered PTSD from other stablecoins (ahem, Anchor) what the consequences are of increasing the DSR the gang’s prediction on how much PYUSD will be minted by the end of 2023 Hosts Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly  Robert Leshner, founder of Compound Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly  Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures DisclosuresLinks Unchained:  $52 Million Drained in Curve Finance Pools Exploit Curve Founder’s Liquidation Could Trigger Chaos for DeFi Curve Exploit Results in Largest MEV Block Rewards in Ethereum’s History PayPal Launches PYUSD Stablecoin Built on Ethereum MakerDAO’s Spark Protocol Blocks VPN Users Curve Opens $1.85 Million Bounty to Identify Hacker      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Worldcoin is getting hit from all sides. Following a popular launch in late July, critics from the crypto community and public sector alike are coming out in droves with concerns about privacy, data protection, and tokenomics. Worldcoin co-founder Alex Blania joins the show to address the recent criticism and reiterate the project’s lofty goals. “It sounds crazy,” he said, “so you really need to understand the technology to understand why it’s not concerning. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.Show highlights: why Worldcoin believes in the idea of a universal basic income (UBI) how World ID actually works, from the initial “orb” scan to actually using the app Alex’s comments on the rise of a black market for World IDs whether Worldcoin is storing people’s biometric data how people don’t really understand the nuances of getting their irises scanned and why it’s fine that the “average person will not understand how crypto works,” according to Alex whether Worldcoin took into consideration the various regulations around the world what the purpose of the WLD token is why the project decided to launch the token with a low float  how Alex got convinced to join Worldcoin and become one of its leaders why Alex believes that Worldcoin will become a “very powerful technology” that will be the main project for onboarding people to crypto Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com Arbitrum Foundation TOKEN2049 Guest: Alex Blania, cofounder of Worldcoin Previous appearances on Unchained: Is Sam Altman's Worldcoin the End of People's Privacy? Links Previous coverage of Unchained on Worldcoin: Why CoinFund Believes Worldcoin Could Become More Popular Than Bitcoin Unchained:  Worldcoin Can Be More ‘Widely Distributed’ Than Bitcoin, CoinFund Executives Say Worldcoin Launches Token on Mainnet, Plans to Deploy 1,500 Eyeball Scanning Orbs Is Sam Altman's Worldcoin the End of People's Privacy? CoinDesk:  Worldcoin Could Enable Wider Distribution of Crypto Than Even Bitcoin, Says CoinFund  Worldcoin Releases Tokenomics, Report Geofenced for Some Countries   The Block: German authorities probe Worldcoin project over privacy: Reuters Reuters: Kenyan government suspends activities of Worldcoin in country Rest of World: Why are people lining up for Worldcoin eyeball scans? “Easy $50,”  What do I think about biometric proof of personhood? By Vitalik Buterin MIT Technology Review: Deception, exploited workers, and cash handouts: How Worldcoin recruited its first half a million test users Ouriel Ohayon’s video Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While it’s now mostly contained, the Curve crisis has exposed some of the systemic risks in the world of DeFi. Sam Kazemian, founder of Frax Finance, joins the show to discuss what DeFi needs to do to get better – and what builders should learn from a novel attack that was ultimately about much more than $50 million in drained funds.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.Show highlights: how the Curve exploit occurred and why this hack is different  how the attack triggered a crisis in major lending platforms like Aave, Fraxlend, and Abracadabra what Curve founder Michael Egorov’s solution was to the potential liquidation of his several loans whether this situation proves that DeFi is not as good as promised what can be done to prevent these kinds of issues in the future, particularly with large loans in DeFi that could potentially bring down the ecosystem Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com Railgun DAO Arbitrum Foundation Thales DAO Guest Sam Kazemian, founder of Frax FinanceLinks Previous coverage on the Curve hack: The Chopping Block: Who’s to Blame for the Curve Hack? Unchained:  $52 Million Drained in Curve Finance Pools Exploit Curve Founder’s Liquidation Could Trigger Chaos for DeFi Curve Exploit Results in Largest MEV Block Rewards in Ethereum’s History CoinDesk:  Curve Founder Deploys New Liquidity Pool to Address FRAX Debt Situation Spooked by Curve Liquidation Threat, DeFi Protocols Shore Up Defenses Aave Should Block Curve Token Borrowing, Risk Management Firm Proposes After the Curve Attack: What's Next for DeFi?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to “The Chopping Block” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news. This week, Laurence Day, smart-contract sleuth and co-founder of Wildcat Finance, joins the show to discuss the ramifications of the Curve Finance exploit that has the DeFi world talking.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: how Curve Finance, one of the most prominent DeFi protocols, got hacked why maintaining different coding languages and clients is so hard whether developers are responsible for this kind of attack whether Curve founder Michael Egorov’s loans in Aave and Fraxlend have put DeFi at risk how the loan in Fraxlend impacted the liquidation price of the Aave loan Tarun’s reaction to the situation, given that his firm Gauntlet has tried to mitigate these risks in the past how people in the community worked together to keep DeFi safe and resilient why Tarun got canceled on LinkedIn what happened with the BALD meme coin mania on Base Hosts Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures Guest: Laurence Day, co-founder of Wildcat FinanceDisclosures  Links Unchained: BALD Token Falls 90% Amid Rug Pull Allegations $60 Million in ETH Bridged to Coinbase Layer 2 Base Curve Founder’s Liquidation Could Trigger Chaos for DeFi $52 Million Drained in Curve Finance Pools Exploit Curve Exploit Results in Largest MEV Block Rewards in Ethereum’s History CoinDesk: Curve Founder Deploys New Liquidity Pool to Address FRAX Debt Situation Spooked by Curve Liquidation Threat, DeFi Protocols Shore Up Defenses Aave Should Block Curve Token Borrowing, Risk Management Firm Proposes After the Curve Attack: What's Next for DeFi? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CoinFund’s Jake Brukhman and Chris Perkins join Unchained to dissect their recent $158 million seed round and the transformation of the investment landscape following the 2022 crypto carnage. As backers of Worldcoin, they confront criticisms about the project's approach of distributing money to individuals who may not fully comprehend the underlying technology. They also delve into why the Coinbase lawsuit could potentially boost the industry, share their perspectives on current crypto legislation, and explore the intersection of AI and crypto.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.Show highlights: how the fundraising crypto environment changed this past year after the 2022 carnage what the impact of FTX’s alleged fraud has been  why Chris and Jake believe that the SEC’s lawsuit against Coinbase is bullish for the industry why Jake believes there's no massive consumer application in web3 yet how institutions have been building during the bear market whether Worldcoin solves the sybil resistance problem in crypto and whether it could become more decentralized than Bitcoin Jake's response to the criticism surrounding the centralization and privacy issues in Worldcoin the ethical implications of giving free money to people who may not fully understand how their biometric data is being used what the Composite Ether Staking Rate (CESR) is and what are its two main applications how the foundational web3 + AI intersection is happening in the compute area why Chris believes that the crypto market structure bill is not perfect whether creating proper stablecoin legislation is a very important opportunity for the US how DeFi should be regulated to ensure that privacy gets protected Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com Arbitrum Foundation TOKEN2049 Guests: Chris Perkins, President of CoinFund Jake Brukhman, Founder and CEO of CoinFund Links Unchained:  Worldcoin Launches Token on Mainnet, Plans to Deploy 1,500 Eyeball Scanning Orbs Is Sam Altman's Worldcoin the End of People's Privacy? CoinDesk:  Worldcoin Could Enable Wider Distribution of Crypto Than Even Bitcoin, Says CoinFund,  Worldcoin Releases Tokenomics, Report Geofenced for Some Countries   The Block: What exactly is CoinFund's new Composite Ethereum Staking Rate What do I think about biometric proof of personhood? By Vitalik Buterin CoinDesk Indices and CoinFund Announce CESR, the Benchmark Rate for Staking on Ethereum CoinFund Reinforces Commitment to Web3 Technology with the Close of $158M Seed IV Fund Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crypto markets are under the gun from SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s ‘regulation by enforcement’ policy. Meanwhile, a divided political landscape creates gridlock on Capitol Hill. Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres (NY-15) claims regulators have overstepped their bounds, while generational divide in the Democratic party slows appropriate regulatory legislation from passing.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.Show highlights: Why stablecoins are less dangerous than fractional reserve banking How the current system fails to protect retail investors Why Democrats and Republicans have flipped traditional stances on regulation Increased skepticism after the FTX meltdown Regulation by enforcement an abuse of power If and when a digital asset is an investment contract What he views as Prometheum’s planned political stunt Resolving crypto’s long term problems responsibly  Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com Railgun DAO Ondo Finance Arbitrum Foundation Guest  Ritchie Torres, U.S. representative Links Fortune: Ritchie Torres went from crypto ‘newbie’ to key ally in Washington. Now he could shape the industry’s post-FTX future NY Daily: A liberal case for cryptocurrency CoinDesk: Rep. Ritchie Torres: We've Seen a 'Weaponization of the SEC' From Gensler Against Crypto Industry U.S. Financial Service Committee: McHenry, Thompson, Hill, Johnson Release Digital Asset Market Structure Proposal Bloomberg Law: McHenry Says White House Torpedoed Bipartisan Stablecoin Deal NBC: Sen. Cynthia Lummis: Crypto regulation bill could prevent another FTX-style crisis Rep. Torres’s open letter to Gensler following the Ripple decision Rep. Torres’ speech  Previously on Unchained Why the SEC Doesn’t Want the Ripple Case to Go to the Supreme Court New Order in SEC vs. Ripple Over XRP Is a Win for Crypto: What Happens Now? Why the SEC vs. Ripple Order Is Now About 2 Things: Coinbase and Congress Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 debate whether infrastructure is being over-invested in, explore the potential of UniswapX and the controversial launch of Worldcoin’s token, and dive into the curious world of hamster racing in crypto. 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:  why Tarun thinks EthCC Paris was much better than ETH Denver whether VCs are overinvesting in infrastructure why Haseeb believes that founders should focus on building applications rather than infrastructure whether the WRLD token is a new “Sam coin” what everyone thinks about Worldoin and the need to develop proof of personhood in crypto what is going on with hamster racing and whether this is the reason "normies hate crypto" UniswapX and its benefits (and tradeoffs)  whether there is a shift toward intents-based trading Hosts Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly  Robert Leshner, founder of Compound Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly  Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures Disclosures Links Unchained:  Worldcoin Launches Token on Mainnet, Plans to Deploy 1,500 Eyeball Scanning Orbs UniswapX Launches With MEV Protection and Gas Free Swaps Is Sam Altman's Worldcoin the End of People's Privacy? Decrypt: You Can Now Bet Crypto on Hamster Races. What Could Go Wrong? What do I think about biometric proof of personhood? By Vitalik Buterin Paradigm: Intent-Based Architectures and Their Risks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices