Unchained

Unchained

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.

Episodes

Why Phantom Is Launching Perps + Why Bit Digital Ditched BTC for ETH - Ep. 866

July 11, 2025 • 73 mins
In the first half of this dual episode, Phantom co-founder Brandon Millman joins Unchained to break down why his Solana-first wallet is launching perpetual swaps, and why it chose to integrate with Hyperliquid over any Solana-native option. Then, Bit Digital’s Sam Tabar explains why the public company ditched its profitable Bitcoin mining business, went all-in on ETH, and what happened when he told Michael Saylor. FalconX ...
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Bits + Bips: DATs Are Crypto's Biggest Trend. So Why Aren't They Boosting Markets? - Ep. 865

July 9, 2025 • 80 mins
In this episode of Bits + Bips, we examine how rising global trade tensions could impact macro conditions, the Fed’s next move, and market stability. We also explore how investors should position themselves with inflation cooling and an uncertain policy path at the Fed. We then look at what’s happening on the crypto side: volume shifting to tokenized public equities, the growing number of corporate stablecoin plans, and whether th...
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Coinbase and Robinhood Are Converging, but Who Wins the Onchain Fintech War? - Ep. 864

July 8, 2025 • 85 mins
The race to bring users onchain is heating up, but the competitors couldn’t be more different. Coinbase, a crypto-native giant with deep infrastructure and institutional partnerships, is going head-to-head with Robinhood, a retail-focused fintech now making aggressive moves into tokenized assets and blockchain rails. Their visions overlap (tokenized stocks, perpetuals, custom chains) but the strategies, philosophies, and user bas...
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Why Arbitrum Won Over Robinhood + A $59 Million Polymarket Controversy - Ep. 863

July 4, 2025 • 74 mins
Today, we’ve got two very different stories in one episode. First, Steven Goldfeder, co-founder of Offchain Labs, joins Unchained to explain why Robinhood is rebuilding its product on the Arbitrum tech stack, what it says about crypto’s evolution, and how this could finally bridge Web2 and Web3. Then, Calvin Hamilton breaks down the bizarre $59 million bet on whether President Zelensky wore a suit — and why vague rules, a fateful...
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The Chopping Block: Robinhood’s Tokenized-Stock Gambit, Solana’s ETF Splash & the Proof-of-Stake Reality Check - Ep. 862

July 3, 2025 • 72 mins
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we’re joined by Jon Charbonneau and Ryan Watkins to unpack the bombshell news of Robinhood Chain—an Arbitrum-based network debuting tokenized U.S. stocks, 3× crypto perps, and that head-scratching $500 K liquidity cap. From riffing on whether proof-of-stake yields are ...
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Bits + Bips: Why Crypto's Next Step Is Perps, Tokenized Stocks and Altcoin ETFs - Ep. 861

July 2, 2025 • 76 mins
Crypto is bleeding into traditional finance faster than anyone expected. In this episode of Bits + Bips, the hosts dig into Robinhood’s move into tokenized stocks and perps, what’s actually holding back tokenized equities, and why perps might “eat the world.”  Plus, they talk crypto ETFs, altcoin summer, and whether staking in ETFs is the next big unlock. Sponsors: Bitwise Hosts: James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloom...
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Does Lido's Dual Governance Now Make It the Safest Place to Stake ETH? - Ep. 860

July 1, 2025 • 57 mins
Fill out our short Unchained survey and earn a chance to win a FREE one-year subscription to Bits + Bips Premium 😏 ------------------------------------------------- Lido just rolled out one of the most ambitious governance overhauls in DeFi: a dual governance system designed to give power back to stakers—and make it harder for malicious proposals to pass. But what does it actually do? And could it make Lido the safest place to...
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How Texas Got Bipartisan Support to Buy $10 Million Worth of Bitcoin - Ep. 859

June 27, 2025 • 55 mins
Win a free one-year subscription to Bits + Bips Premium by completing our survey!  The state of Texas just passed a law that creates a $10 million strategic Bitcoin reserve. Laura talks to Lee Bratcher, president of the Texas Blockchain Council, who helped drive this new law. He explains how bipartisan support made it possible, why this might be the start of a broader trend, and what’s next for public Bitcoin ownership in the U.S...
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CLOB Battles, Disclosure Fights, and the Meme-ification of Circle – The Chopping Block - Ep. 858

June 26, 2025 • 51 mins
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we’re joined by Vlad, the leverage legend behind Lighter, a zk-powered DEX taking aim at Hyperliquid in the rising CLOB wars. We unpack the new Token Transparency Framework from Blockworks and whether self-regulation can fix crypto’s disclosure problem. Should VC walle...
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Bits + Bips: Bitcoin Brushes Off Another War & Will Powell Relent on Rates? - Ep. 857

June 25, 2025 • 65 mins
As tensions flare between Iran and Israel, investors are watching oil, gold, and, of course, crypto. In this episode of Bits + Bips, the panel digs into the market response to war risk, the chances the Fed will actually cut rates, and how Circle’s IPO is being treated more like a meme stock than a fintech play. Plus: Why Scaramucci says we’re all living in a surveillance state  Whether stablecoins are being kneecapped b...
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Crypto and Fintech Are Colliding. Who Wins, and How? - Ep. 856

June 24, 2025 • 78 mins
Take the Unchained 2025 survey! unchainedcrypto.com/survey ------- Cross-border payments. Mobile money. Stablecoins. Crypto. Elizabeth Rossiello has lived through every cycle, not from a trading desk, but the front lines of African markets. Now, the founder of AZA Finance is selling her company to global fintech giant dLocal, a signal that the line between crypto and traditional finance is blurring fast. In this episode, she ...
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Why JPMorgan and Shopify Are Rolling Out New Products on Ethereum Layer 2 Base - Ep. 855

June 20, 2025 • 44 mins
On Tuesday, JPMorgan announced that its blockchain unit is launching JPMD, a USD deposit token for institutional clients, on Base. That’s right: the world’s biggest bank by assets and the 12th largest company by market cap is putting real dollars onchain. JPMD isn’t quite a stablecoin, but it’s close. It represents actual dollar deposits at JPMorgan and will be used by institutional clients for blockchain-based transactions. The b...
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Toxic Flow, Cancel Wars, and the Unstoppable Rise of Onchain Perps – The Chopping Block - Ep. 854

June 20, 2025 • 68 mins
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we’re joined by Hyperliquid founder Jeff Yan, the quiet powerhouse behind DeFi’s fastest-growing exchange. With 75% of onchain perp volume, no VC money, and a $1B airdrop, Hyperliquid is rewriting what crypto protocols can be. We dive into Jeff’s minimalist strategy, t...
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Bits + Bips: Why Tron’s IPO Matters & How Crypto Exchanges Will Win - Ep. 853

June 18, 2025 • 68 mins
In this week’s episode of Bits + Bips, the panel digs into why Tron’s rumored IPO is more than a headline, what Wall Street’s quiet shift into stablecoins signals, and how exchanges are racing to control token flow, even as regulation hangs in the balance. They also explore: What the Israel–Iran conflict means for global markets, oil prices, and crypto positioning Whether banks can adopt stablecoins without threatening ...
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Arthur Hayes and Hanson Birringer on Hyperliquid’s Success (And What Could Stop It) - Ep. 852

June 17, 2025 • 80 mins
Hyperliquid is one of the most talked-about platforms in crypto right now. It’s an onchain perpetuals exchange that sidestepped VCs, built a deeply loyal user base, and launched with transparency most rivals avoid. But it’s also staring down some massive challenges—from incoming competitors like Coinbase and Robinhood, to the technical hurdles of decentralizing its core exchange engine. Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstrom and one of c...
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A Soon-to-Be $2 Trillion Stablecoin Market? Stripe, Shopify and Banks Want In - Ep. 851

June 13, 2025 • 48 mins
Stablecoins are having a moment. From Stripe’s acquisition of crypto wallet startup Privy, to Shopify integrating USDC, to Plasma raising $500 million for its stablecoin-optimized sidechain, stablecoins are having a moment. And at the center of it all is Circle, which had one of the most successful IPOs in decades. But what’s really happening under the surface? And who’s best positioned as stablecoins go mainstream? Vicky Fu, co...
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The Rise of Public Crypto, ICOs Make a Comeback, and Coinbase Wins Again – The Chopping Block - Ep. 850

June 12, 2025 • 55 mins
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we’re joined by a special guest: Laura Shin, host of Unchained! The crew unpacks Circle’s explosive IPO, Tether’s threat to exit the U.S., and the meme-stock logic powering the rise of “crypto treasury companies.” From Coinbase’s grip on USDC to Wall Street’s sudden en...
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Bits + Bips: Elon vs. Trump, Bitcoin Supply Shock Brewing, Circle’s Wild Valuation - Ep. 849

June 11, 2025 • 68 mins
This week on Bits + Bips, the panel tackles the biggest themes driving crypto: Circle’s triumphant IPO, ETH’s institutional tailwinds, and the fast-shrinking Bitcoin supply on exchanges. Plus, what Gemini’s IPO ambitions tell us about the state of exchanges, and whether Ram’s call for a BTC breakout is about to hit. Also on the docket: Is Circle really worth its sky-high valuation? Why exchange fees are stuck in the 197...
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Jeff Park on Why Owning 1 Bitcoin Is Young People's American Dream - Ep. 848

June 10, 2025 • 70 mins
In part 2 of Jeff Park’s interview with Unchained, he describes ways that both everyday investors and the U.S. government can use various crypto assets to come out on top as old models and strategies become outdated.  He reveals the three personal stories that led him to develop his radical portfolio theory, puts himself in the shoes of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and explains why Japan is the linchpin in the transition to t...
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Pump.fun’s $1 Billion ICO Has Caused Controversy. Can It Succeed? - Ep. 847

June 6, 2025 • 57 mins
On Tuesday, a pseudonymous X account claimed that Pump.fun, Solana’s breakout memecoin launchpad, would raise $1 billion via an ICO at a $4 billion valuation. The potential deal? Multiple CEX listings, a 10% community airdrop, and maybe even a launch by the end of the month. The community reaction? Not great. In this episode, Syncracy Capital’s Ryan Watkins joins to break down the backlash, whether the raise makes sense, and what...
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