Welcome to The Chopping Block, where crypto experts Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner bring you inside perspectives on critical topics in the crypto world. This episode delves into the complexities and market impact of crypto ETFs: Are they a game-changer for investors? The team also examines the controversies surrounding Tether, exploring its stability and the implications of recent scandals. They then shift focus to the burgeoning world of asset-backed securities and crypto casinos: What potential and challenges do they present? NFTs and their evolving role beyond digital art are scrutinized, along with the integration of crypto technology in devices like the Solana phone. Tune in for a thought-provoking discussion on these critical developments shaping the future of cryptocurrency.


Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show highlights: 



The Chopping Block: When Will the ETF Hype End? - Ep. 596

Crypto assets and blockchain technology are about to transform every trust-based interaction of our lives, from financial services to identity to the Internet of Things. In this podcast, host Laura Shin, an independent journalist covering all things crypto, talks with industry pioneers about how crypto assets and blockchains will change the way we earn, spend and invest our money. Tune in to find out how Web 3.0, the decentralized web, will revolutionize our world. Disclosure: I'm a nocoiner.

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In this episode, Evan Zinaman, founder and principal at Trailbreak, delves into the first-of-its-kind case of the Bueno brothers, who face Department of Justice charges for exploiting Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) in a cryptocurrency scheme. Accused of manipulating transaction ordering to create an arbitrage opportunity, the brothers are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud as well as wire fraud itself. 
Zinaman explores the broader implications of MEV exploitation, addresses critics who say that the MEV exploiters just got a taste of their own medicine, and the need for block building participants to consider their legal and compliance responsibilities.
Show highlights:

What the charges against the Bueno brothers are about

How block building works on Ethereum and how the relay was manipulated by the Bueno brothers

The different types of MEV and which ones are acceptable 

Why these charges could be seen as a "vanilla fraud," according to Evan

Whether the benefits of MEV outweigh the cons of it

The lack of terms of service in the MEV space

How the regulators' attention to the space has changed over time

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
First Bits + Bips episode: Bits + Bips: Does Macroeconomics Point to a Potential Crypto Supercycle?
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Guest


Evan Zinaman, Founder & Principal at Trailbreak


Where the Rubber Meets the Road: A MEV-Aware, Functionalist Review of OFAC Risk "on the Base Layer"

Links

Previous coverage on Unchained of MEV:

Why MEV Will Always Be Controversial

The Chopping Block: Why the Once-Taboo MEV Is Now a Core Part of Ethereum

The Mango Markets Attacker on Whether His 'Trade' Was Ethical or Not

The Chopping Block: ‘Code Is Law’ Is ‘Obviously Not How Anything Works Ever’

The Case:
Unchained: DOJ Alleges Two Brothers Stole $25 Million From MEV Bots Last Year

Research:

Blockchain Transaction Ordering as Market Manipulation by Mikolaj et al
Learn more: 

What Are Sandwich Attacks in Crypto? A Beginner's Guide

What Is MEV in Crypto?


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Why the DOJ Doesn’t Want These MEV Exploiters to Get Away With It - Ep. 647

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Robert Leshner, and special guest Laura Shin explore the latest trends in the crypto world. In this episode, we touch on how Donald Trump's pro-crypto statements influence voter behavior in the upcoming U.S. elections. We ask ourselves, is voting based solely on crypto policy a legitimate strategy? What are the implications of the Biden administration's stance on crypto regulations for future electoral outcomes? Following the political discussion, we unpack the recent GameStop and AMC pump and dissect the viability of their business models. We bring to light the broader implications for memestocks and whether the increased capital really saves these companies. Tune in for a detailed exploration of these critical questions affecting the interplay of politics, finance, and cryptocurrency.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights


The Chopping Block: Crypto in US Politics & Roaring Kitty is back! - Ep. 646

Erik Voorhees, a crypto OG, has launched Venice, a private, uncensorable, open-source competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude, powered by a decentralized crypto network. 
In the episode, Erik and Venice’s COO Teana Baker-Taylor delve into the problems with censorship and data in current AI agents, including how they create honeypots of information about users’ search history for hackers, or that they can be absurdly politically correct, such as refusing to create images of Caucasian people. As they point out, there’s also the risk that the companies managing them could be censoring the models to please the Chinese government, in order to access the market in that country. They talk about their plan for Venice to gain market share, considering that DuckDuckGo, a privacy-preserving competitor to Google, has a much smaller market share. And they explain why they intend for Venice to eventually use the compute of Morpheus, or other decentralized crypto-powered compute networks. 
They also critique the SEC’s current regulatory approach to crypto, calling it “a joke.” Additionally, they explore the concept of AI agents using cryptocurrencies as their primary currency.
Show highlights:

Why Erik decided to move into artificial intelligence and merge it with crypto

What problems decentralized AI would solve and why it's hard to solve sexist and racist views in LLMs

The differences between ChatGPT and other similar products and Venice AI

Why privacy is so important for users, according to Erik, and how Venice doesn't store the users' information

How central governments could manipulate information to their own benefit and how to avoid it

Whether people will shift from using search engines to LLMs

What Morpheus is and its goal to provide decentralized computation for AI

How Erik and Teana believe crypto and AI will continue to work together 

Erik's and Teana's thoughts on some of the recent government actions against founders of crypto privacy services such as Samourai Wallet andTornado Cash

Why Erik believes that the SEC has become a joke


Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
First Bits + Bips episode: Bits + Bips: Does Macroeconomics Point to a Potential Crypto Supercycle?
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Guests:


Erik Voorhees, Founder and CEO of Venice AI

Previous appearances on Unchained:

Erik Voorhees and Cobie on Why FTX Loaned Out Customers’ Assets

Why ShapeShift’s Erik Voorhees Thinks Toxic Bitcoin Maximalism Is Bullshit

Shapeshift’s Erik Voorhees on How Crypto Will Separate Money and State


Teana Baker-Taylor, COO at Venice AI

Links
Previous coverage on Unchained of crypto/AI:

When AI and Blockchain Meet, How Can Each Technology Benefit?

The Chopping Block: Why AI Will Change the Course of History in Crypto

5 Use Cases of AI in Blockchain

A Beginner's Guide to AI Tokens


Venice AI:

Erik’s thread announcing Venice 

The Separation of Mind and State

Architecture:

About Morpheus.Network

Messari: What is Akash Network?


LLMs:

MIT Technology Review: LLMs become more covertly racist with human intervention


China Talk: Censorship’s Impact on China’s Chatbots - by Nicholas Welch


Recent cases on privacy:

CoinDesk: Samourai Wallet Founders Arrested and Charged With Money Laundering


Cointelegraph: DOJ’s Tornado Cash arguments show ‘obvious disdain for privacy’ — Lawyer


CNBC: North Korea crypto hacking activity soars to record high in 2023, new report shows


Reuters: Exclusive: UN experts investigate 58 cyberattacks worth $3 bln by North Korea


Erik’s post on the right to have privacy


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Erik Voorhees' New Venture: Why AI Desperately Needs Privacy and Uncensorability - Ep. 645

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and special guest Avichal Garg from Electric Capital dissect the latest trends in the crypto world. This episode dives deep into the buzz around EigenLayer’s airdrop: What sparked the controversy and how did EigenLayer respond to community backlash? We then explore LayerZero’s unique self-reporting strategy to combat Sybil farmers and analyze Friend.Tech’s bold, no-VC token launch. The discussion heats up with a look at ConsenSys’ proactive lawsuit against the SEC, setting the stage for a showdown over regulatory clarity. We also delve into Robinhood’s decision to challenge the SEC’s Wells Notice amidst soaring earnings, and tackle the ongoing debate between VC-backed tokens and memecoins: Which is captivating the market? Finally, we predict the future of SocialFi and its potential to revolutionize the crypto landscape. Join us for an insightful exploration of these pivotal topics shaping the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Show highlights


The Chopping Block: EigenLayer Airdrop, LayerZero's Sybil Strategy, and Robinhood vs. SEC – What’s Shaping Crypto’s Future? - Ep. 644

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Thomas Braziel, managing partner at 117 Partners, dives into the draft FTX bankruptcy plan, which was praised for paying out at more than 100% in dollar terms, but has a number of intricacies that are drawing criticisms from creditors—including a group that is urging creditors to vote not. 
The episode delves into the nuances of the proposed payout, explaining how the estate was able to pay back more than 100% than the dollar value of the claims, why some creditors are being pitted against each other, and why it might get approved even “over the kicking and screaming” of some creditors. 
Braziel gives his insights into the the rapid formation of this plan, the controversial role of Sullivan and Cromwell, and the logistical challenges posed by what may end up being paper check payouts. 

Show highlights:

Why the plan that was filed this week is such big news

How it was never even possible for creditors to be made whole in crypto asset terms

How the majority of depositors actually had stablecoins on the FTX platform

Why there are “inter-creditor” disputes

What a "cramdown" is and why it's significant in this case

Criticisms of the plan, and why larger investors, especially with crypto holdings, are having their gains socialized

Whether the FTX estate made mistakes by selling some of its positions before they 10x’ed

Why FTX didn't reboot its platform 

What conflicts of interest might arise from law firm Sullivan and Cromwell

The tax implications for creditors who are non-US taxpayers

How the claims are going to be distributed

Whether the creditors will favor the proposal and the next steps 

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Guest


Thomas Braziel, Managing Partner at 117 Partners


Previous appearances on Unchained:

Why FTX Might Try to Claw Back Funds From Retail Customers

Will FTX Reboot? Here’s John Ray’s Internal Deadline for Making a Decision

Will FTX Customers Ever Recover Their Assets? Two Insolvency Experts Weigh In

Will Celsius Survive the Bankruptcy Process?

How Crypto Bankruptcy Claims Buyers Will Profit From the Collapse of FTX

Links

Previous coverage on Unchained of the FTX bankruptcy:

Jesse Powell and Kevin Zhou on How FTX and Alameda Lost $10 Billion

Did the Bahamian Government Direct SBF and Gary Wang to Hack FTX?

The Chopping Block: Why Lenders Didn’t Liquidate Alameda When It Was Underwater 

Erik Voorhees and Cobie on Why FTX Loaned Out Customers’ Assets

The Chopping Block: FTX: The Biggest Collapse in the History of Crypto?


Creditors plan:

Unchained: 98% of FTX Creditors to Receive 118% Claims Payout


Thomas’ summary of the plan


Dollarization: 
Unchained: Is it Fair That Crypto Bankruptcies Are Denominated in Dollars? Here’s a Solution to Dollarization

Criticism of the plan:

Nicholas Hall’s thread 

Sunil Kavuri’s opinion on X

Zach Guzman on the sale of Anthropic


Taxes:

Thomas’ thread on the taxes for creditors


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The Chopping Block: When Will the ETF Hype End? - Ep. 596

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