Unchained

• Bits + Bips: Trump’s Tariffs Are Causing Mayhem, But Will They Revive U.S. Manufacturing? - Ep. 811

  After President Donald Trump’s proud announcement of ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, markets worldwide took a tumble.  Shortly after Trump’s Rose Garden announcement concluded, James Seyffart, Steven Ehrlich, Ram Ahluwalia, and guest Quinn Thompson discussed: How markets reacted Whether tariffs can bring middle-class jobs back to America Who will end up paying the most Future possibilities of war, recession and stagflation How it all affects crypto Sponsors: Bitwise Hosts: James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Guests: Steven Ehrlich, High Scribe of the Unchained Kingdom Quinn Thompson, Master of Macro at Lekker Capital Links Trump Tariffs Shake Markets New York Times: A Stunned World Reckons With Economic Fallout From Trump’s Tariffs Wall Street Journal: U.S. Stock Futures, Dollar Tumble on Trump Tariff Plans New York Times: A Timeline of Trump’s On-Again, Off-Again Tariffs US Tariff History CATO Institute: The Problem of the Tariff in American Economic History, 1787–1934 Brookings: Did Trump’s tariffs benefit American workers and national security? Impact on Bitcoin and Crypto Unchained: Why Trump-Induced Stagflation Could Finally Make Bitcoin a Safe Haven Unchained: How a Radical Proposal in Trump’s World Could Hurt Stablecoins, but Boost Bitcoin The Concerned Consumer and CEO CBS: Consumer confidence slumps to 12-year low as Americans fret over their financial prospects NPR: Why CEOs are calm about tariffs in public — but 'very discouraged' in private 🤝 00:00 Introductions + Quinn’s background 📕 4:09 Trump’s take on U.S. tariff history 📉 6:11 The market’s tumultuous reaction 🏭 11:13 Will tariffs bring manufacturing back to America? ▶️◀️ 12:47 The contradictions in Trump’s policies and the threat of stagflation ⏳ 18:53 Why Trump doesn’t have as much time as he thinks 🥵 24:12 Will American consumers bear the burden? 💥 26:05 Taking a wrecking ball to market psychology ❓ 28:02 Whether Trump inherited a healthy or faltering economy 🫸 32:00 Why CEOs are hesitating and how to persuade them to invest in manufacturing ❌ 35:11 “This is not the way you go do it.” 🇹🇼 40:44 Another contradiction: Trump willing to defend Taiwan while being isolationist? 🪖 47:55 Why the current geopolitical climate is especially dangerous 😱 55:51 Is America heading for a recession? 🤔 01:02:00 How will this affect Bitcoin? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• The Chopping Block: Hester Peirce on Freedom, Fraud, & Fixing the SEC - Ep. 810

  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. In this episode, the crew is joined by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce—aka “CryptoMom”—for a rare, candid conversation. They unpack the SEC’s vibe shift, why airdrops might be doomed, and whether memecoins are just collectibles or cleverly disguised securities. Plus, Hester dishes on Paul Atkins’ potential leadership, the SEC’s new crypto task force, and what real regulatory clarity might finally look like. Show highlights 🔹 Hester Peirce Unfiltered – The SEC’s “CryptoMom” on vibes vs. law, the Gensler era, and why the U.S. needs a freedom-first approach 🔹 “Come In and Talk to Us” – Why the SEC wants founders to re-engage—but can trust be rebuilt after years of legal whiplash? 🔹 Memecoins ≠ Securities? – How the new SEC is redefining meme coin oversight and why “collectibles” might be the new loophole 🔹 Airdrops Are Kinda Pointless – Haseeb argues most airdrops fail to deliver value or decentralization; the panel debates 🔹 Self-Regulation in Crypto – Hester’s surprising praise for proof-of-reserves and why industry norms might beat new rules 🔹 The Howey Test Is Broken – How forcing orange grove law onto crypto led an entire industry to play armchair lawyer 🔹 Will the New SEC Last? – If the White House flips, could the next Chair bring back the enforcement hammer? 🔹 Tarun’s TradFi Feedback Loop – Why TradFi may start borrowing more from crypto playbooks than the other way around 🔹 Regulation by Meme – The SEC embraces facts and circumstances—but is “Ghibli meme policy” scalable? 🔹 What Should Founders Do Now? – The panel pushes Hester on timelines, clarity, and whether the U.S. is safe to build in again Hosts ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly  Guest ⭐️ Hester Peirce, SEC Commissioner Disclosures Links Miles To Go: Remarks before The Digital Chamber's 8th Annual DC Blockchain Summit by Hester Peirce: https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-remarks-dc-blockchain-summit-032625  Timestamps 00:00 Intro 05:35 The Role of Regulation in Innovation 09:54 Crypto Task Force & Future Plans 18:47 Global Perspectives on Crypto Regulation 23:26 Self-Regulation in the Crypto Industry 27:27 SEC's Role & Potential Adjustments 35:04 Evaluating Memecoins & Their Regulatory Status 36:48 The Howey Test & Its Application to Crypto 43:55 Future of Crypto Regulation & SEC's Approach 47:10 Insights on SEC Leadership & Regulatory Philosophy 51:35 Advice for Aspiring Securities Lawyers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• At What Price Freedom? Stopping ‘All-Out Crime’ in Crypto Market Making - Ep. 809

  As DeFi continues to evolve, the challenge of finding a balance between decentralization and protection from all manner of exploits persists. The founder of Infinex, Kain Warwick, joined the show to talk about: How crypto market makers have at times veered into “all-out crime” What market making looks like today Playing chart games with token allocations What Kain looks at when evaluating tokens Why Binance kicked a MOVE market maker off its platform The $JELLY attack on Hyperliquid and the problem of centralization in DeFi What problems in crypto Kain is attempting to solve with Infinex Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Bitwise Guest: Kain Warwick, founder of Infinex App and Synthetix Previous appearances on Unchained: 2025 Will Be a Year of Crypto Competition. Can Ethereum Make a Comeback? Links: Crypto Market Making Kain Warwick: Discussion about market makers Binance: What happened with MOVE on Binance Coindesk: Binance Offboards Market Maker That It Said Made $38M Profit on MOVE Listing Bloomberg: Citadel Securities Plots Jump Into Crypto Trading After Trump’s Embrace Hyperliquid Unchained: Hyperliquid Saved Itself a $15 Million Loss, but Sparked Criticism Infinex The Block: Synthetix founder Kain Warwick launches Infinex The Block: Peter Thiel's Founders Fund invests in Infinex's Patron NFT sale as total amount raised hits $67.7 million Timestamps: 👋 0:00 Intro  💭 03:30 Thoughts on crypto market makers 🙊 05:54 ICO-era market makers engaging in ‘all-out crime’ 🦹 09:33 Extracting value in an inefficient market 💸 11:28 How crypto market making has evolved in recent years 😨 16:53 The low float meta problem 📊 19:49 Why Kain evaluates tokens on FDV rather than market cap ⁉️ 25:06 What happened with MOVE on Binance 😱 31:14 Citadel as a market maker? 🥷 35:48 The $JELLY attack on Hyperliquid and the problem of centralization 🔧 44:59 The problems Kain is trying to solve with Infinex 🌎 54:13 Building a web vs. mobile app 👂 56:17 Echo group integration with Infinex Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• The Chopping Block: Hyperliquid’s Not-So-DeFi Moment, 23andMe, & STABLE Act - Ep. 808

  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. In this episode, the crew dives into the Hyperliquid controversy and what it reveals about decentralization theater in DeFi. Then, things get weirder: the Say Foundation wants to buy 23andMe and put your genetic data onchain. We break down the backlash and privacy concerns. Finally, we look at the new Stable Act making its way through Congress and whether stablecoin regulation is headed toward bank-only control. Show highlights 🔹 Hyperliquid’s JELLYJELLY Debacle – How a DeFi darling nuked its credibility by bailing out its own vault at a fake oracle price 🔹 The Exchange Wars Heat Up – Why Binance and OKX listing JELLYJELLY perps looked like an assassination attempt on Hyperliquid 🔹 Are DEXes Just CEXes in Disguise? – What the Hyperliquid saga reveals about decentralization theater and validator capture 🔹 23andMe on the Blockchain – Say Foundation wants to token-gate your DNA; is this privacy-preserving or dystopian? 🔹 The Great DeSci Grift – Tarun revisits his war on DeSci and why putting genetics onchain is worse than memecoins 🔹 Stablecoin Regulation Showdown – The Stable Act vs. The Genius Act and who’s really winning in D.C. 🔹 Stablecoins as Narrow Banks – How crypto may finally force the Fed to accept a 20-year-old idea they’ve long resisted 🔹 Red Bull & Ratio Bets – The hosts make a real-money wager on whether HLP deposits will rise or fall after the meltdown 🔹 Memecoins and the Return of Olympus – Are the robbers now just quietly collecting rent from their broken treasuries? 🔹 Tarun’s Aesthetic Death Rankings – Why JELLYJELLY is a worse way to die than MobileCoin, but at least it’s on brand Hosts ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly  Disclosures Links Kevin Zhou (Galois Capital) Tweet: https://x.com/Galois_Capital/status/1904942458666094932  Steil and Hill Introduce STABLE Act Press Release: https://steil.house.gov/media/press-releases/steil-and-hill-introduce-stable-act  Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:29 Hyperliquid Drama Unfolds 10:49 Debating the Bailout Decision 18:28 OKX & Binance Join  23:05 An FTX Moment? 31:45 Future of 23andMe & SEI 44:20 Stablecoin Legislation: Genius Act vs. Stable Act 51:45 Are Stablecoins the Trojan Horse? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Hyperliquid Saved Itself a $15 Million Loss, but Sparked Criticism - Ep. 807

  Perpetual swap DEX Hyperliquid suffered a whale attack and was on the brink of losing $15 million. It promptly responded in a way that generated a fair amount of controversy. The founder and CEO of Ambient Finance Doug Colkitt joined the show to explain: How perp swaps work How a whale used the low-liquidity memecoin $JELLY to attack Hyperliquid’s vault How Hyperliquid’s response broke DeFi taboos around decentralization, oracles, etc. Criticisms of and justifications for the team’s decisions What can be done to prevent similar attacks in the future Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! BitKey: Use code UNCHAINED for 20% off FalconX Mantle Guest Doug Colkitt, Founder and CEO of Ambient Finance Links  Accounts of the $JELLY whale attack on Hyperliquid and its response  X: The story X: Nuking the vault X: How Hyperliquid responded Arguments for and against Hyperliquid’s solution: ZachXBT: ZachXBT calls out alleged hypocrisy Jordi Alexander: Shorting on a perp is not robust Jose Maria Macedo: How do they override the oracle price?  Doug: Closing positions at an arbitrary price Gracy Chen: Casting doubts on integrity Steven.hl: In defense of HL Kam: Of course quorum was reached easily What precedent Hyperliquid’s actions set Kevin Zhou: Binance and OKX set a precedent Timestamps: 👋 0:00 Intro 🤔 02:59 What is Hyperliquid? 🐳 05:16 How a whale used $JELLY to attack ⛔ 09:19 How Hyperliquid responded 📈 11:59 Why did Binance and OKX suddenly list the memecoin? 🤔 16:32 How did Hyperliquid ‘change the rules’ to protect themselves? ⚖️ 19:25 ‘Losses for thee, but not for me’: Hyperliquid’s hypocrisy? 💡 24:39 Doug’s ‘cleaner’ solution 👀 28:35 Will this have positive or negative knock-on effects? 🧹 31:20 Tidying up illiquid markets 📰 32:46 Crypto News Recap Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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