Bell Curve

Silvergate, crypto's primary bank, is closing shop. Silicon Valley Bank, tech's primary bank, is in a downward spiral. Two bank runs caused by low-interest rates, duration mismatches and FUD. How did this all start? What do these two banks have in common? And is this a systemic risk to the financial system? We answer all of these questions and more!If you make it to the deep end (the last ~20 min), we also explore Coinbase's new WaaS offering, Coinbase's business outlook, Voyager's big win and bullish news for GBTC.- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:33) Bank Runs: Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank(54:14) ETH Denver Narratives(57:00) Coinbase’s Wallet-as-a-Service & Strategy(1:07:01) Voyager’s Win, GBTC Update and Politics- -Follow Vance: https://twitter.com/pythianismFollow Michael: https://twitter.com/im_mandersonFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Bell Curve: https://twitter.com/thebellcurvepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Resources:How Banks Failhttps://jaustincampbell.substack.com/p/how-banks-fail- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

In this episode of Bell Curve, we explore how shared security will ignite the AppChain revolution. David Tse, Javed Khan and Aidan Salzmann discuss how AppChains require sovereignty, interoperability and security; Cosmos has solved sovereignty and interoperability, but security is still a moving target. Could Bitcoin be the security solution for Cosmos and the AppChain future? Tune in to find out!- -Follow Myles: https://twitter.com/MylesOneilFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow David: https://twitter.com/dntseFollow Javid: https://twitter.com/tuxcanflyFollow Aidan: https://twitter.com/aidan0xSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Resources:Rollkithttps://rollkit.dev/https://twitter.com/RollkitDevBabylonhttps://www.babylonchain.io/Stridehttps://stride.zone/https://twitter.com/stride_zone- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Crypto goes bankless. Silvergate - the beleaguered crypto bank - failed to file its 10K, was just ditched by Coinbase (and friends) for Signature bank, and its stock plunged 50% in the last 24 hours. We explain everything and debate what's next for crypto's off-chain payment rails!We also explore Noble (the Cosmos USDC issuance chain) ditching ICS, Jumps counter-exploit, Bitcoin's new narrative and why we're bullish Web3 gaming!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(02:11) Silvergate Crashes: We’re Going Bankless(18:45) Jump Exploits $300M Wormhole Exploiter(28:26) Noble Ditches ICS & the AppChain Debate(38:36) Bitcoin’s New Move(42:53) Unity Embraces Web3 Gaming & Predictions- -Follow Vance: https://twitter.com/pythianismFollow Michael: https://twitter.com/im_mandersonFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Bell Curve: https://twitter.com/thebellcurvepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Resources:Jump Executes Counter Exploit Against Wormhole Exploiterhttps://www.blockworksresearch.com/research/we-do-a-little-counter-exploit- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Season 3 | Episode 6In this episode of Bell Curve, Myles and Mike dive deep into today’s most innovative blockspace scaling techniques. They begin by discussing Optimism's recent "Superchain" rebrand and the similarities between the OP Stack and Cosmos SDK.We also discuss Coinbase's new L2, exploring its potential impact on general-purpose L2s and user demand. This leads to our ongoing thesis that the roadmaps for Cosmos and Ethereum are merging, an intriguing development that we unpack in detail.- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:48) The Superchain (17:07) Cross-Chain Messaging and Shared Sequencers(20:37) The Role of General-Purpose Chains(24:24) The Cosmos SDK vs OP Stack(32:12) Communication Hubs and Value Accrual(39:05) SDK Network Effects(46:04) What’s Left to Build(51:19) How Ethereum has Influenced Cosmos- -Follow Myles: https://twitter.com/MylesOneilFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Resources:The Inevitability of UNIchainhttps://medium.com/nascent-xyz/the-inevitability-of-unichain-bc600c92c5c4Optimism's Superchainhttps://stack.optimism.io/docs/understand/explainer/- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

This episode covers Coinbase's Base L2 announcement. We discuss why Base could be a game changer, how Coinbase will monetize Base, how Base impacts competing L2s and more! On-chain creativity for Coinbase and the ecosystem is at an all-time high - feeling bullish.We also explore the liquid staking token narrative, how the SEC's qualified custodian proposal impacts institutional adoption, OpenSea's precarious future, why every project is launching a stablecoin and MakerDAO's end game- -Follow Vance: https://twitter.com/pythianismFollow Michael: https://twitter.com/im_mandersonFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Bell Curve: https://twitter.com/thebellcurvepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -ResourcesEmpire's Base (Coinbase) episodehttps://spoti.fi/3ZkTshq- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Season 3 | Episode 5In this episode of Bell Curve, Kalman Lajko and Preston Evans explain their thesis behind the optimal Rollapp stack. We start with the similarities and key differences between the Slush and Sovereign design thesis and how developers choose the optimal stack for their product. We then explore how Rollapp infrastructure projects can monetize, winner-take-all dynamics, the importance of BD and developer tooling and more!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Intro: Pre-Interview(02:02) The Internet of Rollups(04:26) Slush vs Sovereign(28:06) Business models and monetization(30:20) A winner-take-all market?(34:45) Attracting developers(36:51) Infrastructure and developer tooling(39:09) Recap: Post-Interview- -Follow Myles: https://twitter.com/MylesOneilFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Preston: https://twitter.com/prestonevans__Follow Kalman: https://twitter.com/kalmanlajkoSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Resources:Sovereignhttps://www.sovereign.xyz/https://twitter.com/sovereign_labsSlushhttps://slush.dev/https://twitter.com/SlushSDK- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

This episode of Bell Curve explores Blur's airdrop and attack on OpenSea's market share. We discuss Blur's business strategy, BLUR token incentives, OpenSea's precarious position and more!We also cover the recent market rally, the SEC's qualified custodian proposal, tech's transition from growth to value and Flashbots' new MEV-Share product. Check out the Timestamps below for a full breakdown!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(02:34) Why are markets ripping?(05:10) The SEC’s qualified custodian proposal(12:16) Tech’s transition from growth to value(23:08) Blur, OpenSea’s fall, royalties & ETH burn(33:27) Scaling tech and new applications(37:34) Flashbots MEV-Share, PFOF and best execution(52:09) Max Pain- -Follow Vance: https://twitter.com/pythianismFollow Michael: https://twitter.com/im_mandersonFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Bell Curve: https://twitter.com/thebellcurvepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -ResourcesFlasbots MEV-Share articlehttp://bit.ly/3S7g9TO- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

In this episode of Bell Curve, we are joined by Nitesh Nath, Xave Meegan and Maghnus Mareneck to discuss the economic driver of blockchains: MEV. Miner Extractable Value (MEV) is often called the most exciting and complex industry within crypto. Listen to this episode, and you'll catch the fever! In this episode, we discuss how AppChains can optimize MEV, payment for order flow (PFOF), MEV value accrual, cross-chain MEV, the role of wallets and more! You won't want to miss this one.- -Timestamps(00:00) Intro: Pre-Interview(01:15) The MEV Value Chain(08:35) How AppChains Can Optimize MEV(16:24) MEV in Solana and General Purpose Chains(25:18) Osmosis’ ProtoRev Module(29:00) AppChains vs General Purpose Chains(30:41) What Should Protocols Prioritize?(37:15) Rollup MEV and Shared Sequencers(46:30) The Value Prop for Users and Wallets(48:06) Complexities of Cross-Chain MEV(52:30) Wallets: The Role of Middleware(56:44) Debating What is Good vs Bad MEV(1:04:30) Recap: Post-Interview- -Follow Myles: https://twitter.com/MylesOneilFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Nitesh: https://twitter.com/niteshnathFollow Maghnus: https://twitter.com/0xMagmarFollow Xave: https://twitter.com/0xaveSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Resources:Chorus Onehttps://chorus.one/https://twitter.com/ChorusOneDFlowhttps://dflow.net/https://twitter.com/DFlowProtocolSkip Protocolhttps://skip.money/https://twitter.com/skipprotocol- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

This episode of Bell Curve explores the implications of the SEC shutting down Kraken's US staking operations. Is the SEC coming for Coinbase next? What will be the next domino to fall? How will this impact DeFi? We discuss it all here.We also cover Genesis' bankruptcy agreement, Uniswap's governance drama, the rise of super apps, Google's $100B mistake and more!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(01:17) Operation Choke Point: Kraken's Staking Service Shutters(26:01) Genesis Reaches Agreement With DCG and Key Creditors(31:55) Uniswap Governance Whale Games(46:02) Stargate ReIssues Their Token Supply(52:57) Super Apps and What’s Never Coming Back(1:08:34) Infinity Pools, Google’s $100B Mistake and AI Value Accrual- -Follow Vance: https://twitter.com/pythianismFollow Michael: https://twitter.com/im_mandersonFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Bell Curve: https://twitter.com/thebellcurvepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Resources:Brian Armstrong's tweet on potential staking banhttps://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1623459203150131201- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Season 3 | Episode 3In this episode of Bell Curve, Nick White and Dev Ojha join us to debate the pros and cons of applications owning the full tech stack vs leveraging a modular architecture. Applications that own their full tech stack can fully customize their chain (how they process MEV, encryption, etc) but is the overhead and cost worth it? In contrast, the modular ideology supports outsourcing all non-core functions to other providers (similar to how websites outsource payments to Stripe). We cover this debate, Celestia, the role of sequencers, security tradeoffs, the idea of the "minimum viable stack" and more!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Intro: Pre-Interview(02:25) Guest Backgrounds(04:13) Application Design Philosophies(10:01) Sequencers: Their Role and Security Tradeoffs(27:00) Tradeoffs: Focus vs Control(33:38) Mesh Security, ICS and Restaking(45:51) SDK Network Effects & the “Minimum Viable Stack”(55:13) Building Credibly Neutral Software(1:00:41) How Applications Should Approach MEV(1:04:02) The Path Ahead(1:06:19) Recap: Post-Interview- -Follow Myles: https://twitter.com/MylesOneilFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Nick: https://twitter.com/nickwh8teFollow Dev: https://twitter.com/valardragonSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Resources:Celestiahttps://celestia.org/Osmosishttps://osmosis.zone/- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.