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 episode opens with the Aave DAO civil war: a CoWSwap integration that allegedly routed swap fees to Aave Labs/Avara instead of the DAO, igniting “stealth privatization” claims, a “poison pill” push to seize Aave IP/brand, and a bigger fight over who really owns Aave.com and the protocol’s front door.
Next, the crew unpacks the Flow hack (a $3.9M mint exploit) and the wild rollback talk that followed — plus why forks and bridges make rollbacks dangerous, turning bridges into accidental custodians and breaking old security assumptions.
Finally, they break down Coinbase’s System Update and the “Everything Exchange” strategy — stocks, tokenization, perps, prediction markets, stablecoin rails — and whether this approach can win against Robinhood. DAO wars, chain chaos, and super-app ambition — let’s get into it.
Show highlights
🔹 Aave DAO civil war erupts — CoWSwap fees reportedly route to Aave Labs/Avara, not the DAO, fueling “stealth privatization” claims.
🔹 “Poison pill” proposal — DAO demands Aave IP/brand and Aave.com control, turning governance into a DevCo vs DAO showdown.
🔹 No foundation, messy ownership — Aave’s pre-foundation setup exposes off-chain IP risk, jurisdiction questions, and untested legal theory.
🔹 Christmas vote drama — 41% abstain signals a redo; OG/Asia backlash pits “property rights” vs “commons” narratives.
🔹 Flow hacked for $3.9M — chain pause + rollback idea sparks outrage (and wouldn’t even stop the attacker).
🔹 Rollbacks meet bridges — forked history can wipe innocent bridgers; bridges become custodians when chains reorg or rewind.
🔹 Interconnected chains break security — old models crumble, and small chains “die twice” when bridges/oracles unplug.
🔹 Coinbase goes “Everything Exchange” — stocks/ETFs, tokenization, perps, prediction markets; can Coinbase beat Robinhood’s funnel?
Hosts:
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Robert Leshner [MIA], CEO & Co-founder of Superstate
⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
Links:
Aave Cowswap Integration- Tokenholder Questions (aave discussion)
https://governance.aave.com/t/aave-cowswap-integration-tokenholder-questions/23530?u=ignas
Aave Will Win: 2026 Master Plan by Stani Kulechov
https://x.com/StaniKulechov/status/2001036446098919461
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:51 Aave Civil War Erupts
06:37 CoWSwap Fees Spark Aave IP Debate
10:20 Can a DAO Own IP?
15:25 Aave’s Pre-Foundation Legal Quirk
28:20 Flow Hacked: $3.9M Mint Attack
33:50 Small Chains Die When Bridges Leave
34:33 App Chains Boom Is Over
36:32 The Hidden $20M L1 Tax
43:29 Coinbase System Update: Everything Exchange
57:43 Coinbase vs Robinhood: Build vs Buy
Disclosures
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