This Week on Unchained: Ethereum Clients, Investment Thesis, Data Availability, and More!
Don't miss this week's content with Lefteris Karapetsas and Olaf Carlson-Wee. Plus, The Chopping Block gang discusses data availability.
This week a major potential risk to Ethereum was highlighted by a bug that surfaced in Nethermind, a minority execution client. While the bug was fixed quickly, it raised the question of what would happen to the blockchain if Geth, which is used by more than two-thirds of validators and so is considered a “supermajority client,” had a bug. The situation could potentially result in a catastrophic fork of Ethereum.
Ethereum developer Lefteris Karapetsas joined Unchained to discuss the different scenarios of what could happen, the potential impact of a supermajority client issue on staking services such as Lido, why he feels the incentive system is poorly designed, and what other solutions are out there to address the lack of client diversity.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.
Polychain Capital founder and CIO Olaf Carlson-Wee has been through every single bubble in crypto history, from Bitcoin’s rise past the single digits in 2012 to the ICO craze of 2017 to 2021’s NFT mania, and he says his main thesis about crypto has remained consistent since the beginning. That is, that crypto constitutes an “incentive vortex” that will replace the world’s preoccupation with country-backed currencies.
Carlson-Wee, who was the first employee at Coinbase, joins Unchained to discuss the significance of the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs, how he successfully navigated all the industry blow-ups in 2022, the challenges of balancing incentives for early adopters versus new users, why EigenLayer is so significant, why Worldcoin’s distribution strategy is a “disaster,” and the strange places that the intersection between crypto and AI could take us.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
This week kicks off with a crucial question: Are the latest trends in crypto ETFs signaling a major shift in the investment landscape? We delve into the market’s nuanced response to these ETFs and what it means for investors. How important is client diversity for Ethereum’s stability and future growth? The squad engages in a lively debate on this topic. With the advent of Proto-Danksharding, how might Ethereum’s scalability be impacted, and what are the implications for the blockchain ecosystem? We further examine the user experience across blockchain platforms, particularly comparing Solana and Ethereum in terms of their user interfaces and transaction dynamics. Looking to the future, what breakthroughs and challenges can we anticipate in blockchain technology?
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.
In Case You Missed It 👀
Here are some of the most important news of this week:
Avalanche Foundation Releases Eligibility Criteria for Meme Coin Purchases
Following an announcement late last year that it would invest in meme coins, the foundation disclosed the eligibility criteria for evaluating tokens its $100 million Culture Catalyst program may purchase.
Ethereum Developers Discuss Post-Dencun Proposals, Including Increasing Maximum Stake From 32 to 2,048 ETH
Even as developers are observing Dencun in trials, they have also begun evaluating and prioritizing Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) for Electra, the next upgrade on the consensus layer.
Top 5 Crypto Bets by Volume on Predictions Market Polymarket
Traders are gambling on outcomes related to Bitcoin’s price, stablecoin provider Tether’s solvency, the bridge for unfinished layer-2 Blast, and airdrops on Solana.
SEC Delays Decision on BlackRock’s Spot Ethereum ETF
The SEC has pushed its decision on BlackRock’s spot Ethereum ETF to March, with Chair Gary Gensler saying on Wednesday not to read too much into the agency’s approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF earlier this month.
Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval Has Become a ‘Sell-The-News’ Event: Glassnode
Bitcoin has lost 18% of its value since spot ETFs for the digital asset were approved, meaning the market timed the event to near perfection, say analysts at Glassnode. They zoom out to assess what’s next for the crypto market.
FTX Estate Responsible for $1B of GBTC Outflows: Report
If almost half of the outflows from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF is from the beleaguered crypto exchange’s estate, the market may calm its fears that investors are fleeing Bitcoin.
Judge in Binance Case Pushes SEC Attorneys to Say Which Tokens Aren’t Securities
A court in Washington, DC heard arguments in the SEC’s case against beleaguered crypto exchange Binance on Monday.
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