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Lea Thompson, aka Girl Gone Crypto, talks about what goes into producing her popular “The Crypto Minute” vlog, what initially got her into crypto, and her recent decision to quit her day job and go full time crypto. In this episode we discuss:
  what “The Crypto Minute” is all about, and all the crypto video content she produces (2:37)
 how Lea comes up with creative content such as wearing a whale costume to portray Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor (5:04)
 how long it actually takes to create “The Crypto Minute” (6:36)
 what goes into producing “The Crypto Minute” and which family member is behind the camera (7:05)
 the biggest challenges Lea faces when creating her videos and how she decides which stories make the final cut (8:56)
 Lea’s favorite bloopers including, but not limited to, rug pulls, sushi, an Amazon money printer, and a few fake $100 bills (10:28)
 how Girl Gone Crypto fell down the crypto rabbit hole and why her ukulele skills were instrumental to her crypto journey (12:54)
 the time when JK Rowling tweeted about Bitcoin, resulting in Lea’s viral “A Muggle’s Guide to Bitcoin” video (17:31)
 what type of crypto content works best on different social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok  (20:00)
 when Girl Gone Crypto stopped being a hobby and how it is going now that Lea is full-time crypto (21:46)
 how Lea is trying to educate people about crypto in a simple and approachable way… one ninja suit at time (22:34)
 Crypto News Recap (26:12)
   
 Thank you to our sponsors!
 Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD
 Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla
 The Sun Exchange: http://thesunexchange.com/unconfirmed
  
 Episode links:
 Lea Thompson: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto
 Her YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GirlGoneCrypto
 Her TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@girlgone_crypto?source=h5_m
 Lea's personal website: https://www.lealovescrypto.com/
  
 Video Examples
 2020 Year in Review… News Vlog Style:  https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1344384717466914817?s=20 
 A Muggle’s Guide to Bitcoin:  https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1261445010832015361?s=20
 Hardware Wallets Explained:  https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1329580439820849153?s=20
  
 Miscellaneous Information
 Fair Use: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html
 Money Printer:  https://www.amazon.com/Printing-Machine-Magician-Close-Up-Accessories/dp/B07XRBDCL8
  
 Link to the Crypto News Recap:
 https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-300k-btc-by-eoy/
  

Girl Gone Crypto: How These Wildly Entertaining Crypto Videos Get Made - Ep.165

Michael Moro, CEO of Genesis Global, discusses Tesla’s purchase of $1.5 billion in bitcoin and Genesis’s new unit: Genesis Treasury. He also talks about how demand has shaped Genesis’ bitcoin and crypto offerings over the years, which events have acted as catalysts for institutional demand, and what Genesis is expecting in 2021. In this episode Michael covers:
  The significance of Tesla allocating $1.5 billion to BTC (1:08)
   How Tesla’s purchase is a result of the evolution of the asset class and why this is just the beginning
  
 How Genesis got its start as a regulated BTC trading desk in 2013 (2:56)
 What new products and services Genesis has launched since 2018 to meet institutional demand (6:11)
 How Genesis came to launch Genesis Treasury and what this unit does (8:00)
   Understanding the idea of bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset and how the stock market is rewarding companies for getting into crypto
  
 What the catalysts were in creating corporate demand for bitcoin and where corporate demand for bitcoin is coming from (10:52)
 How corporate interest in bitcoin correlated with Microstrategy’s Bitcoin for Corporations event (13:16)
   Why institutions have been interested in Bitcoin as collateral, and why that narrative is new
  
 How the conversation with institutions interested in buying bitcoin would be different in a bear market (16:00)
 How GAAP accounting rules affect the quarterly earnings reports of publicly traded companies that hold bitcoin (19:03 )
 His projections for how 2021 in crypto will play out (21:44)
   
 Thank you to our sponsors!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
 The Sun Exchange: http://thesunexchange.com/unconfirmed
  
 Episode links:
 Michael Moro: https://twitter.com/michaelmoro  
 Genesis: https://genesis.global/ 
 Genesis Treasury: https://genesistrading.com/treasury/
  
 Recent institutional purchasing news:
  Tesla’s BTC purchase:  https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/02/08/bitcoin-surges-above-43000-to-a-record-after-elon-musks-tesla-buys-1point5-billion.html

 Twitter’s CFO considers Bitcoin:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/94459/twitter-cfo-bitcoin-btc-balance-sheet-comments 
 Microstrategy’s Bitcoin for Corporations event:  https://www.microstrategy.com/en/bitcoin/videos/bitcoin-macro-strategy 
 Michael Saylor’s Unchained interview:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-michael-saylor-on-the-best-way-for-companies-to-buy-bitcoin/

 Companies holding bitcoin: https://bitcointreasuries.org/ 
  Genesis information:
  Michael Moro’s presentation at Microstrategy’s event:  https://www.microstrategy.com/en/bitcoin/videos/genesis 
 Genesis Global background:  https://f.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/6024551/About%20-%20Genesis%20Global/About%20Genesis%20Global%20-%20Full%20Overview.pdf 
 Prime Brokerage Services:  https://f.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/6024551/About%20-%20Genesis%20Prime/About%20Genesis%20Prime%20-%20Full%20Overview.pdf 
 Q4 market observations:

Michael Moro on Tesla's BTC Buy and the New Genesis Treasury - Ep.164

Mira Christanto, research analyst at Messari, recently wrote a comprehensive report on the crypto scene in Asia. In this episode, she covers cultural differences in crypto trading between East and West, plus gives us the latest on the diverse regulatory landscape within this large region. Some topics covered in this show include:
  why Asia is an important geography in crypto
 why Asia dominates the crypto futures trading markets
 why DeFi fits better with Western culture, and centralized services are more respected in the East
 the state of regulation across the region
 what makes crypto regulation in Hong Kong unique
 how the Chinese are approaching regulation, and how bitcoin is exchanged there
 how Japan's crypto industry differs from that of other companies and why penetration is still somewhat low
 why and how Korea is distinct from other crypto trading cultures
 why Singapore's regulatory framework for crypto is the most sophisticated
 what's happening in Southeast Asia and India 
 the status of crypto mining in China — and why the Western view of it is quite different from what it's like on the ground
   
 Thank you to our sponsors!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
 Sun Exchange: http://sunexchange.com/unconfirmed
  
 Episode links:
 Mira Christanto: https://twitter.com/asiahodl
 Messari: https://messari.io
  
 Messari's Asia Crypto Landscape report: https://messari.io/asia-crypto-landscape
  
 Link to the Crypto News Recap:
 https://unchainedpodcast.com/25-billion-in-institutional-bitcoin-by-eoy/

Why Asia Is So Important to Crypto - Ep.163

Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO and founder of FTX, describes what happened between the Subreddit Wall Street Bets and hedge funds around the stock of GameStop this week. In this episode, he covers:
  what happened with the stock of video game retailer GameStop this week
 what that says about how to value a stock
 how the traditional financial establishment reacted
 how the events in GameStop this week are similar to the way crypto markets operate
 how a crypto financial system could affect the ability of investors to do what the hedge funds did with GameStop — shorting more shares of the stock than actually exist
 what led to FTX listing for tokenized versions of GameStop, Blackberry, AMC and Nokia, as well as a tokenized index fund of Wall Street Bets stocks
 how the tokenized stocks and index work on the back end
 why Robinhood restricted customers from purchasing shares in GameStop on Thursday
 what the inspiration was for FTX
   
 Thank you to our sponsors!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
 The Sun Exchange: http://sunexchange.com
  
 Episode links:
 Sam Bankman-Fried: https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda
 FTX: https://ftx.com
  
 Roundups of what happened with Gamestop: 
 NYT:  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/business/gamestop-wall-street-bets.html
 Vox:  https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22249458/gamestop-stock-wallstreetbets-reddit-citron
 Early Wired story:  https://www.wired.com/story/gamestop-stock-wall-street-bets-short-squeeze/
 NYT analysis:  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/technology/gamestop-stock.html
  
 Sam on what can determine an asset’s price:  https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda/status/1354790766313234432?s=20
  
 Chamath Palihapitiya on CNBC discussing Gamestop — defending individual investors:  https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/chamath-palihapitiya-closes-gamestop-position-but-defends-individual-investors-right-to.html
 Videos:  https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/01/27/investor-chamath-palihapitiya-the-gamestop-story-is-pushback-against-wall-street-establishment.html
  https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/01/27/billionaire-investor-chamath-palihapitiya-on-gamestop-surge-and-rise-of-retail-investors.html
  
 Gamestop price gyrations:  https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/gamestop-reverses-losses-and-surges-another-30percent-in-the-premarket-to-450-as-mania-continues.html 
  
 How many shares of GME are shorted: https://isthesqueezesquoze.com
  
 FTX lists GME for tokenized spot and futures trading:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/92756/ftx-lists-gme-stock-for-tokenized-spot-futures-trading
  
 FTX’s Wall Street Bets tokenized index fund:  https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda/status/1354790817060143114?s=20
  
 Robinhood customers only being able to sell, not buy GME when Robinhood’s revenue biggest revenue source is sending order flow to hedge funds:  https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/robinhood-interactive-brokers-restrict-trading-in-gamestop-s.html
  
 Matt Levine of Bloomberg on GameStop:  https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/article

Why the GameStop Insanity Is So Similar to Crypto - Ep.162

Gregory Pepin, deputy CEO of Deltec Bank and Trust, responds to allegations in a blog post by the pseudonymous Crypto Anonymous, that Tether is a &quot;highly probably fraud.&quot; In this episode, he covers:
  how Deltec accounts for its reserves, and why they didn&#39;t show up on Crypto Anonymous&#39;s blog post
 where the dollars backing Tethers are held
 how Tethers get created
 where Tether Ltd. keeps its cash equivalents
 why there&#39;s more demand for trading with USDT than with USD partially because of the arbitrage opportunity between East and West 
 how Tethers get created using Deltec
 why USDT gets minted in very round numbers as opposed to very specific numbers that USDC is minted in
 where the cash equivalents backing Tethers are held
 what type of due diligence Deltec conducted when it took on Tether Ltd. as a customer
 why the perception that Tether is unregulated compared to other stablecoins is false
 what Deltec thinks about the New York Attorney General office&#39;s investigation in to Tether
 why Deltec has a &quot;large position in bitcoin&quot;
   
 Thank you to our sponsor!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
  
 Episode links:
 Gregory Pepin: https://twitter.com/dzrgreg
 Deltec Bank: https://www.deltecbank.com/?locale=en
  
 Crypto Anonymous’s Medium post:  https://crypto-anonymous-2021.medium.com/the-bit-short-inside-cryptos-doomsday-machine-f8dcf78a64d3
  
 Deltec having large position in bitcoin:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/91353/deltec-bitcoin-position-tether
  
 Original video in which Deltec mentions its “large position in bitcoin”:  https://www.deltecbank.com/2021/01/14/a-covid-year-in-review/
  
 Deltec banking Tether:  https://www.coindesk.com/deltec-chairman-says-tether-letter-on-bank-relationship-is-authentic
  
 Tether not audited:  https://www.coindesk.com/tether-review-claims-crypto-asset-fully-backed-theres-catch
  
 Tether says it is fully backed:  https://www.coindesk.com/tether-says-its-stablecoin-is-fully-backed-again
  
 Tether current balances:  https://wallet.tether.to/transparency?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=c035d054dd287020b16d6dbb4b70398ca7a99dcb-1611253376-0-AcOsT0Zqpd8Muzw5gnkSz6KKmTrN3WAssxGX8K-p_PkeZ2SUfW9EsAr-a2EkIojYzm5-3RA_1DHxpoK579d0YgtnxMYevlVRSS7RIAKh0sgk-ORzOZUDNgg_AvZjugdrxWVjTA9dCBf1hX4X83oU3-RTjQYn_qYukdRFJUq9a89BXyyDovL3bu4ohxSSVdworOR-cdxEiPURe4ZJrGIvuW3Ej2qJLJt3RDXfX6BfDANdpkVrU6O2KB4V0Or-HJjItS0uAu-L7KrTomXNv9anUv34_An8cH3VHYfB_OD-iyIvkgOh7RHd-Xafe-SJwPnUYg
  
 What Tether is backed by:  https://wallet.tether.to/transparency?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=c035d054dd287020b16d6dbb4b70398ca7a99dcb-1611253376-0-AcOsT0Zqpd8Muzw5gnkSz6KKmTrN3WAssxGX8K-p_PkeZ2SUfW9EsAr-a2EkIojYzm5-3RA_1DHxpoK579d0YgtnxMYevlVRSS7RIAKh0sgk-ORzOZUDNgg_AvZjugdrxWVjTA9dCBf1hX4X83oU3-RTjQYn_qYukdRFJUq9a89BXyyDovL3bu4ohxSSVdworOR-cdxEiPURe4ZJrGIvuW3Ej2qJLJt3RDXfX6BfDANdpkVrU6O2KB4V0Or-HJjItS0uAu-L7KrTomXNv9anUv34_An8cH3VHYfB_OD-iyIvkgOh7RHd-Xafe-SJwPnUYg
  
 New York Attorney General’s office press

Is Tether a Fraud? Its Bank Says It's Not - Ep.161

Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at Coinshares, and Nic Carter, general partner at Castle Island Ventures, join me at the Stacks conference to discuss Bitcoin layer 2s. In this episode, they cover: 
  why layers 2s exist
 how layer 2s, such as payment channels like Lightning, work
 what kind of throughput layer 2s have 
 how moving Bitcoin to layer 2 affects the price
 why people having moved $5 billion worth of Bitcoin to Ethereum
 how Bitcoin moving to Ethereum affects the price
 the most popular Bitcoin layer 2s
  Thank you to our sponsor!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
  
 Episode links:
 Meltem Demirors: https://twitter.com/Melt_Dem
 Nic Carter: https://twitter.com/nic__carter
 Stacks: https://twitter.com/Stacks
  
 Total value locked in Lightning: https://www.defipulse.com/lightning-network
  
 Bitcoin on Ethereum: https://www.defipulse.com/btc
  
 Stats on Lightning: https://bitcoinvisuals.com/lightning
  
 What layer 2s mean for altcoins and base chain assets like Bitcoin: https://www.coindesk.com/rise-of-layer-2s-altcoins-like-ethereum
  
 Sovryn: https://sovryn.app
 RSK: https://www.rsk.co
 Liquid network: https://blockstream.com/liquid/
  
 Link to the Crypto News Recap:
 https://unchainedpodcast.com/stupid-bitcoin-rich/

What You Need to Know About Bitcoin Layer 2s - Ep.160

Frank Chaparro, director of news at The Block, gives his predictions for what will happen in crypto in 2021. In this episode, we discuss:
  the big stories in crypto in 2020
 how the market has changed in 2020
 how the market differs from the 2017-2018 bubble
 what big traditional financial services firms and investment banks will do in crypto in 2021
 how crypto exchanges will experiment with their fee structures
 how regulatory actions, such as the lawsuit against Ripple, will affect exchanges
 what might happen to privacy coins as regulators become more active
 what he expects to see from the upcoming Coinbase IPO and how that will affect the broader market
   
 Thank you to our sponsors!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
 Blocknative: http://blocknative.com/unconfirmed
  
 Episode links:
 Frank Chaparro: https://twitter.com/fintechfrank
 The Block: https://www.theblockcrypto.com
  
 The Block's 2020 year in review:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/promotions/2020-in-review/
  
 Predictions from The Block's analysts:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/89788/2021-predictions-from-the-blocks-analysts
  
 Unchained interview with Raoul Pal and Michael Novogratz:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-mike-novogratz-and-raoul-pal-on-the-single-greatest-brand-of-the-last-10-years/
  
 Bittrex delisting privacy coins:  https://twitter.com/BittrexExchange/status/1345056010981892096?s=20
  
 Link to the Crypto News Recap:
 https://unchainedpodcast.com/1t-40k-1200/

2021 in Crypto: What to Expect in the Year Ahead - Ep.159

For the holidays, I'm doing two AMAs. In the second of two, I cover:
  privacy blockchains
 my thoughts on the STABLE Act
 whether or not Facebook's Diem will have a positive or negative impact on crypto
 what I miss from pre-COVID about the crypto community
 how we can use blockchain and crypto to weed our propaganda and fake news
 the best pick and shovel plays in crypto
 what distinguishes a journalist from an entertainer
 my thoughts on the state of media and journalism in the US
   
 Thank you to our sponsors!
 Blocknative: http://blocknative.com/unconfirmed
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
  
 Episode links:
 Meltem Demirors on privacy in 2021:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-meltem-demirors-and-lyn-alden-on-the-perfect-conditions-for-bitcoin/
 Jessie Liu episode:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-dojs-cryptocurrency-enforcement-framework/
 Brian Brooks episode:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/acting-comptroller-of-the-currency-brian-brooks-on-crypto-banks/
 STABLE Act episode:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-rohan-grey-believes-stablecoin-issuers-need-to-be-banks/
 Episodes on Coinbase:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/will-coinbase-do-a-token-offering-when-it-goes-public/
  https://unchainedpodcast.com/coinbase-in-turmoil-why-employees-walked-out/
 Episode with Chad Cascarilla of Paxos:
  https://unchainedpodcast.com/chad-cascarilla-on-paxoss-partnership-with-paypal/

Laura's New Year's 2021 AMA: Your Questions About Privacy, the STABLE Act, Diem and More - Ep.158

For the holidays, I'm doing two AMAs. In this first of two, I cover:
  how my book is going
 tips for aspiring podcasters
 what it's like being an independent journalist
 how I spent my time outside crypto
 if I send bitcoin to North Korea
 whether I own any crypto
 if I expect bitcoin will lose its weirdness as it becomes more widely adopted
 how much blockchain technology can disintermediate banks
 what black swans I see on the horizon for 2021
 what trends I see for 2021
   
 Thank you to our sponsors!
 Blocknative: http://blocknative.com/unconfirmed
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
  
 Links:
  
 My previous AMA:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/ama-with-laura-the-greatest-innovation-in-the-industry-right-now/
 Whether North Koreans can benefit from bitcoin:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/yeonmi-park-on-why-doing-business-with-north-korea-is-like-buying-a-ticket-to-a-concentration-camp/
 Why North Korea is interested in cryptocurrency:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-north-korea-is-interested-in-cryptocurrency/
 Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/alex-gladstein-on-a-world-without-bitcoin/
 DeFi hacks:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/defi-security-with-so-many-hacks-will-it-ever-be-safe/
 Why yield farming is risky:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/defi-yield-farming-why-its-all-the-rage-but-risky/
 Regulation:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-looming-battle-over-privacy-in-crypto/
  https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-the-travel-rule-is-one-of-the-most-significant-regulations-in-crypto/
  
 Link to the Crypto News Recap:
 https://unchainedpodcast.com/laura-eoy-ama-pt-1/
  

Laura's Christmas 2020 AMA: Your Questions About Crypto Media and More - Ep.157

Mike Winkelmann, the digital artist also known as Beeple who has made an artwork every day for over 13 years, talks about the NFT auctions he held last weekend, after learning about crypto two months ago. In the show, he discusses:
  how he got into crypto two months ago, and made $3.5 million in NFT auctions last weekend
 how the objects on sale were more than just jpegs and what physical objects came with the NFTs
 what types of auctions he had, and why some pieces were available for $1 apiece
 how he previously made money as a digital artist
 how he believes digital artists will be able to make money in the future
 why people would pay to own an NFT if they can just get a digital file of the art
 why he incorporated physical objects into his sale
 whether or not this model would work for artists with smaller followings than he has, with his 1.7 million Instagram followers
 what his relationship was with the collector who paid $777,777 for the final piece sold in the auction
 why he chose Nifty Gateway among all the NFT sites
 how NFTs could also change business models for other types of creators besides visual artists
   
 Thank you to our sponsors!
 Blocknative: Blocknative.com/unconfirmed 
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
  
 Episode links:
 Mike Winkelmann: https://twitter.com/beeple
 Video for auction:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CIlNe6MAwVX/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
 Instagram video showing the digital art displays:  https://www.instagram.com/tv/CIrMctwgfJ1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
  
 Coverage of auctions: 
  https://www.delphidigital.io/reports/beeple-shatters-crypto-art-records-across-the-board/
  
  https://cryptobriefing.com/digital-art-auction-raises-record-million/
  
 https://decrypt.co/51270/beeple-nft-sale
  
  https://twitter.com/niftygateway/status/1338268375156482050?s=20
  
 Rapper Lil Yachty's NFT sale:  https://www.coindesk.com/lil-yachty-collectible-fetches-16k-in-latest-string-of-high-profile-nft-auctions
  
 Link to the Crypto News Recap:
 https://unchainedpodcast.com/3-btc-price-targets/
  

Beeple on How and Why He Raked In $3.5 Million - Ep.156

Rohan Grey, assistant professor at Willamette Law, talks about the STABLE Act, which would require stable coin issuers to obtain a banking charter, require approval from the Federal Reserve and require issuers to have FDIC insurance. In this episode, Grey, an advisor to the bill, discusses:
  how the past history of financial innovation and events that have posed systemic risks necessitates the STABLE Act
 how he, not being a staff member of Congress, became involved in the bill 
 how the bill would prevent stablecoin issuers from committing crimes that banks have perpetrated by requiring them to become banks
 why he believes open source smart contracts enforcing rules and public audit-able blockchains are not a fundamentally new way to prevent the type of events that pose systemic risks that the STABLE Act aims to prevent
 why existing regulatory and licensing regimes are insufficient
 how he would answer people from countries like Argentina who have had their currency devalued by their government the STABLE Act, and who might say this bill exposes them to a different type of risk
 how much the rollout of Facebook's Diem, as opposed to existing stablecoins such as Tether, USDC or Dai, was a motivation for this bill
 whether, by focusing narrowly on systemic risk, this bill could squash crypto and fintech innovation that could help the un- and under-banked
 whether he sees any path forward for this bill to be passed
   
 Thank you to our sponsors!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
 Blocknative: https://www.blocknative.com/unconfirmed
  
 Episode links:
 Rohan Grey: https://twitter.com/rohangrey
 STABLE Act:  https://tlaib.house.gov/media/press-releases/tlaib-garcia-and-lynch-stableact 
  
 Introduction of bill: 
  https://www.coindesk.com/us-lawmakers-introduce-bill-that-would-require-stablecoin-issuers-to-obtain-bank-charters
  
 Implications of the bill for running an Ethereum node:
  https://www.coindesk.com/stable-act-ethereum-node-illegal
  
  https://www.coincenter.org/the-unintended-consequences-of-the-stable-act/
  
  https://www.coindesk.com/stable-act-ethereum-node-illegal
  
 Rohan Grey and Jeremy Allaire interviews on The Block Live: https://www.pscp.tv/w/1OwxWVgmqyMJQ
  
 Unchained interview with acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/acting-comptroller-of-the-currency-brian-brooks-on-crypto-banks/
  
 Link to the Crypto News Recap:
  https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-mass-mutuals-btc-buy-is-so-significant/
  

Why Rohan Grey Believes Stablecoin Issuers Need to Be Banks - Ep.155

James Slazas, founder and CEO of LiquidStake and DARMA Capital, describes their retail and institutional offerings for customers who want to stake on Ethereum 2.0 but still access the locked-up capital. In this episode, we discuss: 
  what problem LiquidStake solves and how 
 what happens if the dollar value of someone’s stake drops below the amount that they’ve borrowed
 who keeps the ETH in a liquidation 
 how LiquidStake makes money 
 how they determine the price of ETH to make the loan and what it does in the event of a flash crash on an exchange
 how LiquidStake and DARMA Capital are also serving institutional clients
 how total return swap agreements with DARMA work 
 why they offer more tax and regulatory clarity
 why LiquidStake currently offers USDC for its stablecoin
 the pros and cons of a centralized loans on staked ETH 2 over decentralized ones 
 the other crypto systems LiquidStake is partnering with
 how LiquidStake and DARMA Capital are able to make these loans from a regulatory perspective
   
 Thank you to our sponsor!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com/
  
 Episode links:
 James Slazas: https://twitter.com/DARMA_Slazas
 Liquidstake: https://liquidstake.com
 DARMA Capital: https://darma.capital
  
 LiquidStake announcements:  https://www.coindesk.com/ethereum-heavyweights-launch-liquidstake-loans-to-ease-eth-2-0-lockup
  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/84277/eth2-liquidstake-borrow-eth-validators
  
 LiquidStake blog post: https://liquidstake.com/blog/1
  
 Link to the Crypto News Recap:
 https://unchainedpodcast.com/this-is-pushing-up-the-price-of-bitcoin/

How to Get Your ETH2 Yield and Take Out a Loan on It - Ep.154

This episode is a discussion from Stellar's Meridian conference, in which I moderated the panel, Crypto on Every Corner: Driving Adoption, featuring Jeremy Allaire, cofounder, chairman and CEO of Circle, and Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at CoinShares. In this discussion, we cover:
  what adoption means and looks like 
 why cryptocurrency is at a particularly interesting inflection point
 how central bank digital currencies could affect that
 how blockchains will recede into the background
 how existing fintech payment apps will use blockchains and/or crypto
 where on the road to adoption the industry currently is 
 the significance of Crypto Twitter as a marketing tool
 what the crypto industry needs to do in the next year to grow the industry
 why it would have been easier to start a bank than a crypto business
 why the separation of money and state is one of the most interesting experiments in history 
 how we'll see new corporate-like organizations without any connections to any existing legal or financial systems driven by tokens
 what their favorite crypto adoption success story is
  Thank you to our sponsors!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
  
 Episode links:
 Jeremy Allaire: https://twitter.com/jerallaire
 Circle: https://www.circle.com/en/
 Meltem Demirors: https://twitter.com/Melt_Dem
 Coinshares: https://coinshares.com
  
 PayPal offering crypto:  https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/12/paypal-says-all-users-in-u-s-can-now-buy-hold-and-sell-cryptocurrencies/
  
 Revolut offering crypto:  https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/15/revolut-partners-with-paxos-to-bring-cryptocurrency-trading-to-the-us/

Crypto on Every Corner: Driving Adoption With Jeremy Allaire and Meltem Demirors - Ep.153

Nic Carter, general partner at Castle Island Ventures, and cofounder and chairman of Coin Metrics, explains  why the Bitcoin price has been rising without the retail bubble seen in 2017-2018. In this episode he covers:
  how this Bitcoin rally differs from the ones in 2017-2018 and why the market is much more mature
 how much the pandemic and other macro forces this year have helped propel Bitcoin
 what it says that the number of Bitcoin addresses with $10 or more worth of bitcoin are is at 18 million now, compared to 2014 in the 2017-2018 bubble
 the significance of realized cap, and why there's less pressure to sell now since the current cost basis of all bitcoins is much higher than in the bubble
 the significance of the fact that open interest in CME Bitcoin futures hit $1 billion this week — and why, even though they're cash-settled, they do impact the Bitcoin price
 what the appreciation of the Bitcoin price in other countries' currencies such as Turkish lira means
 what it means that the stablecoin free float has grown from $1.5 billion in the last bubble to $23 billion during this rally
 what he makes of the theory that Chinese miners are having difficulty to sell their BTC being a driver of the price rise
   
 Thank you to our sponsor!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
  
 Episode links:
 Nic Carter: https://twitter.com/nic__carter
 Castle Island VC: https://www.castleisland.vc
 Coin Metrics: https://coinmetrics.io 
  
 Nic’s post:  https://medium.com/@nic__carter/nine-bitcoin-charts-already-at-all-time-highs-78abbfe82804
  
 Chinese miners unable to sell BTC:  https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoins-rally-supply-crunch-in-china 
 Dispute with this report:  https://twitter.com/WuBlockchain/status/1328893579515682816?s=20
  
 CME Bitcoin open futures surpasses $1 billion:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/85045/cme-bitcoin-futures-1-billion-open-interest
  
 Link to the Crypto News Recap:
  https://unchainedpodcast.com/what-info-will-come-out-in-the-binance-lawsuit/

9 Ways Bitcoin Is at an All-Time High - Ep.152

Paxos CEO and cofounder Chad Cascarilla discusses his company&#39;s partnership with PayPal, which just opened up its crypto purchase and selling product to all its US customers. In this episode, he covers:
  how Paxos enables PayPal&#39;s crypto product
 the regulatory steps Paxos took to make this happen
 why $200 billion company like PayPal would partner with a small company like Paxos
 how Paxos Crypto Brokerage works 
 how Paxos provides the regulatory cover that PayPal needs for this offering, along with custodial and liquidity services
 why this product sources its coins on Paxos&#39;s ItBit exchange
 how the four crypto assets available on PayPal — bitcoin, ether, litecoin and bitcoin cash — were chosen
 what other tokens one might expect to be offered through Paxos Crypto Brokerage, and possibly by extension by PayPal
 how PayPal gets around the scaling issues on Bitcoin and Ethereum
 whether Paxos&#39;s stablecoin business might be used by PayPal
 if PayPal does acquire BitGo, what that would mean for Paxos offering custody for PayPal through its brokerage
 how Paxos&#39;s equity settlement platform is going, and where it could go over time
 how and why Paxos is applying to the SEC to become one of three clearing agents 
   
 Thank you to our sponsor!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
  
 Episode links:
 Chad Cascarilla: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlescascarilla/
  
 Paxos: https://www.paxos.com
  
 PayPal now offers crypto purchases to all its customers:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/84398/paypal-opening-up-app-crypto-users
  
 Original announcements about PayPal offering crypto purchases with Paxos:  https://www.coindesk.com/paypal-new-york-conditional-bitlicense-paxos-cryptocurrency 
  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/81794/paypal-to-enable-crypto-purchases-with-the-help-of-paxos
 Paxos announcement:  https://www.paxos.com/paypal-paxos-bring-crypto-to-millions-of-users/
  
 Paxos Crypto Brokerage:  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/paxos-introduces-paxos-crypto-brokerage-service-to-power-digital-asset-buying-and-selling-in-any-product-301093761.html
  
 PayPal approved for conditional BitLicense:  https://www.dfs.ny.gov/reports_and_publications/press_releases/pr202010211
  
 Paxos’s stablecoin business:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/54254/a-deep-dive-into-the-paxos-stablecoin-ecosystem
  
 PayPal rumored to be in talks to acquire BitGo:  https://www.coindesk.com/paypal-said-to-be-in-talks-to-buy-crypto-firms-including-bitgo-bloomberg
  
 Paxos working with Revolut:  https://www.coindesk.com/uk-fintech-firm-revolut-brings-bitcoin-ether-trading-to-us-customers
  
 Paxos equity settlement business:  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/56494/paxos-equity-settlement-business-goes-live-with-credit-suisse-and-nomuras-instinet-as-first-clients
  
  https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/44901/paxos-looking-to-upend-a-massive-corner-of-wall-street-credit-suisse-on-board-for-pilot
  
 Link to

Chad Cascarilla on Paxos's Partnership With PayPal - Ep.151

Kristin Smith, executive director of the Blockchain Association and a board member of HODLpac, discusses how advocating for crypto will change under what is likely to be a new presidential administration. In this episode she talks about:
  what crypto advocacy typically entails
 how the approach will change under a Biden administration compared to what it was under Trump
 what appointments by Biden could most affect the crypto industry
 which issues are at the top of the agendas for both the Blockchain Association and HODLpac
 why regulators are particularly interested in stablecoins
 how a potentially Democratic-controlled Senate under a Biden administration might affect crypto
 what she's watching for from Cynthia Lummis, a Bitcoiner who won her Wyoming Senate race
 how anti-trust sentiment in Congress could affect crypto, and whether legislators see Web3 as an antidote to monopoly problems
 the divisions within the crypto industry around how to approach regulators, and how to resolve them
 the potential for a de minimus tax exemption, in light of PayPal integrating cryptocurrencies
 and how HODLpac used quadratic voting to decide which candidates to support
   
 Thank you to our sponsor!
 Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/
  
 Episode links:
 Kristin Smith: https://twitter.com/KMSmithDC
 Blockchain Association: https://theblockchainassociation.org
 HODLpac: https://www.hodlpac.org
  
 Interview with acting Comptroller of the Currency, Brian Brooks:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/acting-comptroller-of-the-currency-brian-brooks-on-crypto-banks/
  
 Likely second runoff election in Georgia to determine control of Senate:  https://twitter.com/bluestein/status/1324360112190951424?s=20
  
 Cynthia Lummis to become first US Senator who is also a Bitcoiner  https://fortune.com/2020/11/04/wyoming-bitcoin-cynthia-lummis-u-s-senate/
  
 Brad Sherman wanting to ban cryptocurrency:  https://www.coindesk.com/congressmans-call-for-crypto-ban-sparks-social-uproar
  
 Leaked Binance doc about whether Binance.US is a decoy:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2020/10/29/leaked-tai-chi-document-reveals-binances-elaborate-scheme-to-evade-bitcoin-regulators/?sh=1d759bd2a926
  
 More on quadratic voting:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-blockchains-can-help-create-little-democracies-everywhere/
  
 Link to the Crypto News Recap:
  https://unchainedpodcast.com/what-a-potential-biden-administration-could-mean-for-crypto/
  

What the Crypto Industry Could See Under a Biden Administration - Ep.150

Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of Bitwise Asset Management, discusses a milestone Bitwise reached this week -- hitting $100 million in assets under management. He also covered

what has been driving interest in Bitwise products

the two types of customers who have been especially interested in purchasing crypto assets this year and why

what this says about the maturation of the industry compared to during the 2017 bubble

how conversations with Bitwise customers have changed since then

what impact this week's bullish JPMorgan research note about Bitcoin could have on investors and why it was so significant

what the significance will be of the integration of bitcoin, ether and other cryptocurrencies by PayPal next year 

how Microstrategy and Square putting Bitcoin on their balance sheets will pave the way for other corporations to do so

how the new Fed policy of targeting an average 2% inflation rate could affect Bitcoin

how recent regulatory actions, such as with BitMEX, affect the likelihood of a Bitcoin ETF being approved in the next few years

how a company like Bitwise, which interfaces with traditional investors, creates viable investment vehicles around DeFi for its clientele

what a Trump win vs. a Biden win could mean for the crypto industry

 
Thank you to our sponsor!
Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
 
Episode links:
Matt Hougan: https://twitter.com/Matt_Hougan
Bitwise: https://www.bitwiseinvestments.com
 
Bitwise reaches $100 million in AUM:  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bitwise-surpasses-100-million-in-assets-under-management-due-to-rising-demand-for-crypto-from-hedge-funds-and-financial-advisors-301161317.html?tc=eml_cleartime
 
JPMorgan research note on Bitcoin:  https://fortune.com/2020/10/26/jp-morgan-chase-bitcoin-predictions-analyst-jpm-cryptocurrency/
 https://twitter.com/DTAPCAP/status/1319703750450302980?s=20
 
Matt's piece on the significance of the OCC letter giving banks the authority to custody crypto assets:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthougan/2020/07/27/the-occs-notice-on-crypto-is-a-really-big-deal/
 
Matt's essay on how the Fed's new approach to inflation could affect Bitcoin:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthougan/2020/09/22/this-new-fed-policy-could-be-a-game-changer-for-bitcoin/
 
Matt's post on DeFi:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthougan/2020/07/13/why-ethereum-has-valuethe--opportunity-in-programmable-money--defi/#67e88a364818
 
News Recap:
https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-binance-decoy-for-us-regulators/

The 2 Types of Investors Driving Interest in Crypto - Ep.149

Willy Woo, on-chain Bitcoin analyst and writer of “The Bitcoin Forecast,” a market intelligence newsletter, discusses how the Bitcoin markets have been changing amidst what may be a forthcoming ebbing of derivatives exchanges and a revival of the importance of spot exchanges. In this episode, he covers:
  what the PayPal news means when there are currently only 23.4 million holders on chain, and only 101 million active unique accounts at centralized exchanges
 why "old hands" in Bitcoin have been changing their behaviors recently, selling at bottoms, rather than tops
 how derivatives exchanges have influenced Bitcoin price action 
 why price moves in Bitcoin are likely to be less volatile going forward
 how he's detecting the purchase of Bitcoin off spot exchanges by whales and corporate treasuries
 how these shifts are affecting crypto infrastructure players
 how the price of Bitcoin moves for every dollar invested and what his projection is based on that
 why, as the price of BTC rises, he's currently seeing HODLers holding tighter than ever
 by when he believes we'll see sovereign wealth funds investing in Bitcoin
 by when he says we'll see a $50,000 Bitcoin
 why the Bitcoin NVT ratio indicates it's an "extremely great time to buy Bitcoin"
 why he doesn't focus much on ether, how he thinks it will perform under Ethereum 2.0 and why things could change if Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1559 is implemented and transaction fees end up being burned
   
 Thank you to our sponsor!
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
  
 Episode links:
 Willy Woo: https://twitter.com/woonomic
 The Bitcoin Forecast: https://willywoo.substack.com
 His charts and models: http://charts.woobull.com
  
 PayPal news:  https://www.reuters.com/article/paypal-cryptocurrency/update-1-paypal-to-open-up-network-to-cryptocurrencies-idUSL1N2HC0PL
  
 Willy's tweet about dormancy:  https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1318154088635224065
  
 Willy on how coins on spot exchanges are dropping:  https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1313798080236380160?s=20
  
 Willy on NVT ratio:  https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1315839269148086272
  Willy on ETH:  https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1313099814041653248?s=20

Willy Woo on Why It's 'an Extremely Great Time to Buy Bitcoin' - Ep.148

Jessie Liu, partner at Skadden and the former US attorney for the District of Columbia, headed up the team that has prosecuted what some believe is the greatest number of cryptocurrency crimes worldwide — Welcome to Video, Dark Scandals, Helix, North Korea, Hamas/Al Qaeda and ISIS. In this episode, she discusses:
  how she came to create a Threat Finance Unit that focuses on the intersection of cybercrime that threatened national security
 what the DOJ's new cryptocurrency enforcement framework means and what the significance is of the framework 
 what parts of the framework crypto startups should pay attention to
 whether the DOJ will continue to act in concert with other agencies, as it did recently with its indictment of four executives at cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX in conjunction with an enforcement action by the CFTC against the same exchange
 how DOJ can claim jurisdiction over exchanges located outside the US, on a practical level, go after entities located outside 
 how the FATF global standards will affect enforcement in the US
 the DOJ's stance toward "anonymity-enhanced" cryptocurrencies, or privacy-preserving coins
 the DOJ's disagreement that EU's privacy law, GDPR, can be used by some crypto exchanges to keep the DOJ from obtaining data from those exchanges
 how willing foreign countries are to coordinate with US law enforcement and whether cryptocurrency criminals could engage in jurisdictional arbitrage
   
 Thank you to our sponsor! 
 Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
  
 Episode links: 
 Jessie Liu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessie-k-liu/
 Skadden bio: https://www.skadden.com/professionals/l/liu-jessie
 Press release about cryptocurrency enforcement framework:  https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-william-p-barr-announces-publication-cryptocurrency-enforcement-framework
 Cryptocurrency enforcement framework:  https://www.justice.gov/ag/page/file/1326061/download
  
 Unchained podcast about FATF rules:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-the-travel-rule-is-one-of-the-most-significant-regulations-in-crypto/
  
 CoinDesk on how the enforcement framework is a warning shot to offshore exchanges:  https://www.coindesk.com/doj-crypto-framework-warning
  
 Links from news recap:
  https://unchainedpodcast.com/bitcoin-whale-rocket-chart

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