Ep 192 - ETH Invades The White House
In this episode, the hosts traverse an eclectic mix of topics, blending personal stories with broader societal issues. They start with anecdotes about travel and delve into wellness practices such as mouth taping and psyllium husk use. The discussion then navigates the shifting political landscape, focusing on U.S. political sentiment towards cryptocurrency and single-issue voting. They debate the reemergence of Trump as a viable choice for some voters and explore the concept of political neutrality. The hosts also share their personal experiences with burnout, questioning its legitimacy and discussing the importance of alignment and passion in pursuing goals. As a teaser, they hint at a future debate on the role of luck versus hard work in achieving success. Throughout, the episode is infused with humor, thought-provoking analysis, and insights into tackling modern challenges. Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction and Casual Banter (4:51) Podcast Introduction and Housekeeping (9:41) Travel Stories: Burgundy and Beyond (23:11) Wellness Tips and Mouth Tape Discussion (36:22) Legal Precedents in Voice Impersonation (39:10) SEC's Sudden Shift on Crypto ETFs (50:11) Trump's Popularity and Political Dynamics (59:12) Economic Policies and Voter Sentiment (1:20:10) Beer and Biden: A Lighthearted Start (1:30:10) Defining Burnout: Personal Perspectives (1:52:23) Reevaluating Life: Aligning Head, Heart, and Gut
After the Bitcoin Halving, Will the Runes Protocol Live Up to the Hype?
Not only will April 20 (or 19, depending on which part of the world you are) mark the fourth Bitcoin halving, but also the launch of a new primitive on Bitcoin called Runes Protocol. Charlie Spears, co-founder of Blackspace Media, joined Unchained to talk about all things Runes, which is a messaging protocol that allows for the creation of fungible tokens on Bitcoin. It is designed to fix some of the issues with the BRC-20 token standard, such as inefficiency and proliferation of unspent transaction outputs. Charlie believes that the launch of Runes will increase demand for Bitcoin's blockspace and potentially lead to higher transaction fees. He also discusses the potential for Runes to interact with Bitcoin covenants and layer two solutions.
Polygon’s AggLayer Wants to Be a Hub for Ethereum Layer 2s. Can It Succeed?
Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron and co-founder Brendan Farmer discussed everything about the AggLayer, a decentralized protocol built by Polygon that enables fast, secure cross-chain interactions and allows different chains to use the same native bridge. This allows users to seamlessly move assets across chains in the AggLayer ecosystem. The AggLayer aims to unify blockspace so that it feels like a single chain, improving user experience. Boiron and Farmer also discussed the potential for Layer 2 solutions to scale Ethereum, the benefits of zero-knowledge technology, and the future of Polygon's proof-of-stake chain.
Look Touch Own ft. Oona
Oona is an anonymous conceptual artist, who explores the intersections of technology, finance, gender, and identity through her moving images and performance art. She has exhibited globally, earning critical acclaim and attention from collectors and curators. She was awarded the prestigious Playboy & Sevens Foundation grant for the "Art of Gender & Sexuality." ✍️ Subscribe to Kaloh's Newsletter: https://www.kaloh.xyz/ 🎙Kaloh's YouTube: www.youtube.com/@kaloh_podcast Connect with me: Farcaster 👉 https://warpcast.com/kaloh X 👉 https://www.x.com/kaloh_nft Instagram 👉 https://www.twitter.com/kaloh_art In today’s episode, we discuss: Oona's message and evolution (00:00:49) Oona's evolution as an anonymous conceptual artist and the message behind her art. Entering the crypto art world (00:02:17) Oona's introduction to the world of crypto art and her goal to expand knowledge through her art. Challenges and opportunities in performance art (00:04:41) Oona's experiences and challenges in gatecrashing events and the significance of performance art in the crypto art world. Integration of blockchain technology with performance art (00:07:31) Oona's excitement about integrating blockchain technology with performance art and her first experience of minting NFTs. Collectors and the significance of Oona's art (00:09:12) The relationship between Oona's collectors and her performance art, including the impact of her art on the audience. Oona's grant from Playboy and the reaction of collectors (00:10:06) Oona's grant from Playboy, the reaction of her collectors, and the humorous situation with some of her first collectors. The concept and process of "Look Touch Own" (00:15:43) The concept and process of Oona's performance piece "Look Touch Own," including the message behind it and the audience's varied reactions. Cultural Reactions to Performance (00:19:20) Oona shares the diverse reactions to her performance in different cities, highlighting the cultural differences in response. Extreme Reactions in Paris (00:20:44) Oona describes the extreme range of reactions she experienced during her performance in Paris, including crying, nudity, and unexpected interactions. Data Tracking and Consent (00:23:53) Oona explains the process of obtaining consent and tracking interactions during her performance, emphasizing the use of non-disclosure agreements and data collection. Creating Digital Artwork from Interactions (00:25:51) Oona discusses the creation of unique digital artwork based on interactions and preserving participants' anonymity. Organic Sales Approach (00:30:15) Oona explains how the sales approach aligns with the collaborative nature of her performance, emphasizing the organic and performative aspects of the sales process. Dealing with Censorship and Algorithms (00:35:15) Oona discusses the challenges of showcasing her art, which explores gender and sexuality, on social media platforms due to censorship and algorithm biases. The Significance of Anonymity and the Mask (00:40:26) Oona explains why she chooses to remain anonymous and wear a mask, highlighting its role in broadening the conversation about the female body and identity. Until next time, - Kaloh Mentioned: Art Basel, Playboy, Look Touch Own, NFC, Valie Export, Violet Bond, Dolly Parton
#167 - LUCAS CAMPBELL
Lucas is the founder of Pods — a platform for onchain podcasts. Pods launched in private beta in Q4 2023 and since then, has onboarded over 30 podcasts and over 250 episodes on the platform. Prior to Pods, Lucas was the first employee at Bankless, where he led the newsletter for 3 years and launched Bankless Collectibles — the first instantiation of podcast NFTs. Follow Lucas on Farcaster @0xl. I'm excited to partner with Pods to release this as our first episode onchain on Base. For more episodes, go to podofjake.com. Previous guests include Mark Cuban, Vitalik Buterin, Brian Armstrong, Balaji Srinivasan, Keith Rabois, Ali Spagnola, Anthony Pompliano, Raoul Pal, Julia Galef, Jack Butcher, Tim Draper, and over 100 others alike. Learn from founders and CEOs of companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Solana, Polygon, AngelList, Oura, and Replit, and investors from Founders Fund, a16z, Union Square Ventures, and many more. I appreciate your support and hope you enjoy. Thanks to Chase Devens for the show notes and Yiction for the music. Lastly, I love hearing from fans of the pod. Feel free to email me any time at jake@blogofjake.com. Thank you!
Modular March EP 5: Value Accrual in The Modular Thesis with Tarun Chitra
The value accrual model in the modular stack is akin to that of the rise of the early internet. According to Tarun, founder of Gauntlet and a prominent angel investor, we will see more and more specialized usecases for applications which are highly expressive. As a result of this, the need for a modular stack becomes more and more apparent. We really enjoyed this conversation which drew inspiration from the evolution of the internet and computing to paint a clearer picture of the modular future. We’ve been quite deep in the technical weeds during Modular March (exactly where we want to be), so it was refreshing to host a discussion that goes beyond technicalities and instead touches on the practical application layer of modular blockchains. Hope you enjoy and feel free share with your friends who are trying to answer the question “why modularity?” & “where does the value accrue in the modular stack?” for the future of blockchain scaling.
How Decentralized Social Network Farcaster Hopes to Eventually Get to One Billion Users
In the two weeks since Farcaster introduced its Frames feature that allows developers to easily add mini apps to users’ posts, the decentralized social network has become the talk of Twitter, now X, and increased its user base by ten times, according to co-founder Dan Romero. Romero joins Unchained to discuss why Frames has become so popular, the philosophy behind Farcaster and its client Warpcast, why the crypto component behind Farcaster is being kept to a minimum, how Apple’s new Vision Pro could lead to the creation of a 3D social network on Farcaster, how he and his fellow co-founder’s background at Coinbase helped shape their decisions about building Farcaster, and his vision for eventually getting Farcaster to a billion-plus users.