This Week on Unchained: MakerDAO's Endgame, Base, Tornado Cash, and More!
Don't miss this week's content!
On Wednesday, the U.S. Government indicted Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Roman Semenov for three counts of conspiracy involving a staggeringly large number: $1 billion in criminal proceeds. The U.S. Department of Justice attached North Korean hackers to a large portion of this sum, alleging that Tornado’s privacy tech enabled nefarious deeds.
Amanda Tuminelli, chief legal officer of the DeFi Education Fund, joins the show to assess whether the U.S. Government got it right or is merely misguided in its understanding of how blockchain technology works.
Should Tornado Cash devs be held to account for the criminal use of their software?
The height of the last bull run was when MakerDAO cofounder Rune Christensen felt most disillusioned by DeFi and DAOs. “I didn’t even see how Maker was going to survive,” Christensen tells Laura Shin in the latest episode of Unchained. Now Christensen is leading an effort to help DAOs escape their trough of disillusionment. He says the ambitious “Endgame Plan” for MakerDAO seeks to overcome “the central issue of voter apathy.” Will it work or are DAOs doomed to fail?
This week, Coinbase’s Jesse Pollak talks about the ambitious goals of Base, the new Optimism–based blockchain from the publicly traded crypto giant. With the viral success of Base-based friend.tech, Jesse discusses the Base team’s ambitious goals to onboard “a million builders, a billion users.” Is this the long-heralded path to scaling Ethereum?
In Case You Missed It 👀
Balancer Users Withdraw $200 Million Amid Critical Vulnerability Threat
by Samyuktha Sriram
The DeFi protocol warned users of a critical vulnerability affecting V2 pools, urging them to withdraw funds from affected pools immediately.
Ex-OpenSea Manager Sentenced for NFT Insider Trading
by Juan Aranovich
Nate Chastain’s three-month prison sentence marks the first-ever conviction for digital asset insider trading.
Coinbase Acquires Equity Stake in Circle Amid USDC Updates and Market Challenges
by Juan Aranovich
Coinbase acquires a stake in Circle, aligning with key updates to USDC and navigating a fluctuating market landscape.
SEC Files Motion for Interlocutory Appeal in Ongoing Dispute with Ripple Labs
by Juan Aranovich
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s request to appeal a ruling on Ripple’s XRP token could set a precedent for the classification of cryptocurrencies.
🤓 Learn With Unchained
What Is SocialFi? A Beginner’s Guide
Discover the power of SocialFi, how it works, and why it is important to the world of social media in this guide.
What Are Zero-Knowledge Proofs?
Learn about Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) and why they are important in ensuring privacy and security in web3.
How Spot Trading Works in Crypto
Learn how spot trading works in crypto in this beginner's guide for new digital asset trading and investors.
What Are Crypto Derivatives? A Beginner's Guide
Discover what crypto derivatives are, how they work, and the pros and cons associated with these advanced financial instruments.
⛓ Join Unchained Premium to get access to:
Behind-the-scenes interviews, in which Laura talks with crypto experts and entrepreneurs to learn all about the latest developments in the industry.
A subscriber-only chat group, where you can talk with the other members of the Unchained community, build a network in crypto, and talk directly with Laura and the Unchained team!
Transcripts of all the shows, for subscribers only.
👯♀️ Refer Unchained and earn a Premium subscription!
If You Like What You Read:
👍 follow Laura on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Mastodon and/or LinkedIn
🎧 subscribe to Unchained on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora or wherever you get your podcasts
and/or 📚buy my book, The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze