LayerZero Fought the Sybils and Airdropped Its Token. Did the Team Win?
LayerZero’s token claims went live on Thursday, and as with every recent airdrop, there was plenty of controversy. In this episode, Bryan Pellegrino, cofounder and CEO of LayerZero Labs, joined to discuss their ambitious anti-Sybil campaign and the subsequent token distribution. He delved into the challenges of ensuring genuine user participation, the decision to offer a self-report option for Sybil attackers, and the complexities imposed by industrial-grade farmers. Bryan shared what he would have done differently and why a mandatory donation to Protocol Guild was imposed. Also, are airdrops dead? How can the industry improve this not-so-effective distribution method?
The SEC Ends Its Ethereum 2.0 Investigation, but Staking Isn't in the Clear
Last week, Consensys revealed that the SEC had concluded an investigation into Ethereum 2.0, referring to when Ethereum transitioned from a proof-of-work consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake one. In this episode, Laura Brookover, senior counsel & head of litigation and investigations at Consensys, and Sam Enzer, partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, explore the implications of this decision on Ether’s status as a commodity versus a security, and why the SEC dropped the pursuit, including whether the shifting political winds played a role. For instance, how much of the decision was influenced by the ETH ETF approvals, Democrats crossing party lines to vote for FIT21 and the repeal of SAB 121, and/or SEC crypto enforcement chief David Hirsch’s resignation? In this discussion, they also explained why the closure doesn’t necessarily mean that staking, or restaking, is safe from the SEC. Plus, what’s the impact of this closure on the other big crypto cases, such as Coinbase, Kraken, Uniswap, and Ripple?
Why the Mt. Gox Repayments May Not Hurt the Bitcoin Price Much
Ten and a half years after filing for bankruptcy, Mt. Gox is finally set to disburse 142,000 Bitcoin worth nearly $9 billion to creditors between July and October. Market concern has been growing over the potential impact on Bitcoin prices, but Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy, explains why only a small fraction of those bitcoins will be sold. He also discusses the implications of this redistribution on the market, the potential success of Ethereum ETFs, and the chances of a Solana ETF approval.
Bits + Bips: Ethereum and Solana ETFs and Why Crypto Is Poised for a Breakout
Are Solana ETFs on the brink of approval? How might political outcomes influence this decision? Join hosts James Seyffart, Alex Kruger, and Joe McCann as they delve into the latest buzz around Solana’s potential spot ETFs, dissect the SEC's puzzling delay on Ethereum ETFs, and debate why Bitcoin’s recent performance has diverged from the NASDAQ. They also discuss the U.S. presidential election, the event that Alex says was the “second most bizarre thing” he’s seen in his life, what the bond market seems to indicate about expectations for a Trump presidency, and how upcoming nonfarm payroll reports and potential rate might affect the markets.
Biden's Odds, Prediction Markets, & Supreme Court Ruling - The Chopping Block
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Robert Leshner, and Tarun Chitra explore the latest trends in the crypto world. In this episode, special guest Laura Shin is sitting in for Tom and to discuss the impact of prediction markets on politics and crypto. They explore how prediction markets like Polymarket affect public perception during the presidential election, contrasting their reliability against traditional journalism. The conversation also touches on the implications of prediction markets on insider trading, market manipulation, and the role of expert information. Additionally, they discuss the Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine and its potential impact on regulatory shifts in the crypto industry. The episode provides an insightful analysis into how prediction markets could revolutionize journalism and the evolving landscape of crypto regulation.
How Crypto Prediction Market Polymarket Signaled Early That Biden Might Drop Out
Prediction markets are gaining mainstream traction, particularly with the upcoming US elections. In this episode, Nick Tomaino, founder of 1confirmation, which is an investor in Polymarket, explores how platforms like Polymarket identified the possibility that President Biden might drop out of the campaign before the mainstream media did. He talks about the journey of Polymarket, the challenges it faced, and how it overcame them to provide a credible platform for betting on political outcomes. Finally, Nick explains why prediction markets are currently illegal in the U.S., the implications of the Supreme Court striking down Chevron deference, and what the future holds for prediction markets in the U.S.
Why the SEC Lawsuit Against Consensys May Hold Little Ground
In this episode, crypto lawyers Kayvan Sadeghi and Sam Enzer delve into the SEC's lawsuit against Consensys, which focuses on MetaMask's swaps and staking services, and explore the implications of the SEC's stance on MetaMask acting as a broker-dealer, and the classification of its staking product as a security. They discuss how recent rulings on Coinbase and Binance challenge the SEC's claims, and whether differing judicial opinions could lead to the Supreme Court. Also, they talk about the potential impact of the Supreme Court striking down Chevron deference for crypto regulation.
How Satoshi Nakamoto and Vitalik Buterin Inspired Key Parts of Celestia
Mustafa Al-Bassam was a teenage hacktivist who outsmarted a US government contractor, shamed the Westboro Baptist Church, hacked Sony a record number of times, and eventually got arrested—though his 80 transgressions got halved for a funny reason. At the Modular Summit in Brussels, Laura had a fireside chat with Mustafa to discuss how he went from his teenage years as the head of LulzSec and member of Anonymous to founding Celestia, a project aiming to solve key issues in blockchain scalability by going with a modular approach. He also discussed data availability sampling, why he believes Celestia has achieved significant product-market fit since its launch, and the three key components of Celestia’s road map.
Onchain record labels with Coop Records
The inaugural episode of the Coop Records Podcast featuring the core team - Cooper, Ramie, Jake and Cece. We cover the origins of Coop Records and everything you need to know about running an onchain record label in 2024.
Music on Farcaster with Sonata
We’re joined by Sebas and Sweetman to chat about the first FC music client - Sonata. We cover the history of onchain music, the role of decentralized channels, why open source matters and much more.
The Origin of DEGEN with Jacek
We're joined by Jacek - the founder of DEGEN to unpack his journey launching the biggest token on Farcaster. We dive into the vision for Degen Chain, the new season of tip allowances, RainDrops and what its like to be a token founder in 2024.
Hybersub V2 with nonlinear.eth
We're joined by nonlinear.eth to debut the launch of Hypersub V2. We dive into all the new protocol upgrades and the future of onchain subscriptions. Be on the lookout for a couple exciting updates from Coop Records Club using these new features to reward our subscribers! Learn more about Hypersub V2: https://blog.withfabric.xyz/stpv2?referrer=0xb6f6dce6000ca88cc936b450cedb16a5c15f157f
Skin in the Game with Nick Tomaino
We're joined by Nick Tomaino - GP of 1Confirmation to talk about the evolution of crypto art and onchain culture. We chat through their investment in DEGEN and why Music NFTs haven't clicked.
Onchain Summer 2024 with Jesse Pollak
Onchain Summer 2024 is here. We’re joined by Jesse Pollak to chat about all things Base - from their strategy to bring the world onchain to the Smart Wallet and resetting the price of a free mint. 25 minutes of onchain energy!
Rainbow Rewards with Mike Demarais
Rainbow wallet just debuted their first ETH rewards to top users of the hottest growing crypto mobile wallet. We sat down with the founder to chat through Rainbow’s journey launching a points system and building a compelling mobile-first experience for crypto-natives and beginners alike. We dive into onchain social discovery, celebrity coins and much more!