This Week on Unchained: Solana's Outage, DeFi Regulation, 'Crypto: The Game,' and More!
Don't miss this week's interviews with Jito Labs' Lucas Bruder, Rebecca Rettig and Michael Mosier. Plus, new episode of Unchained on 'Crypto: The Game' released today!
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On Tuesday, Solana suffered a network outage, just shy of a year since its last shutdown. The blockchain had to quickly get a new version out and notify its validators to upgrade to it and restart their systems before blocks could be produced again, resulting in downtime of roughly five hours. While Solana has struggled with outages in the past, this issue seemed to have largely been addressed over the past year.
Lucas Bruder, the CEO of Jito Labs, a Solana infrastructure provider that staged a successful airdrop last year which played a part in rejuvenating the blockchain, joined Unchained to discuss what caused the outage, whether it’s something that builders on Solana should be concerned about for the future, recent improvements Solana has made to its technology, whether the implementation of Firedancer would have prevented this incident, and the promise of the Solana phone.
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.
Crypto: The Game captivated a large swath of the crypto community this past week. The game, modeled after “Survivor,” was the brainchild of Dylan Abruscato, Tyler Cagle and Bryan Lee. The intention of the game, which was played virtually but also unfolded in real life, was to ruthlessly vote people off to determine a single winner. Throughout, multiple psy-ops operations created chaos. Despite all that, the competition ended up fostering numerous friendships (including for Unchained reporter Sage Young, whose coverage is below) and resulted in a shocking, but heartwarming ending.
On Friday afternoon, after the winner was announced, we hosted a Spaces with Dylan, the winner, and some of the more notable players, which we’re releasing here. In the discussion, we cover the inspiration for the game, some of the behind-the-scenes surprises, who was causing chaos for various teams and how, and why the winner may be one of the winning-est contestants ever.
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.
Trying to regulate DeFi is a huge challenge because in a truly decentralized system, there should be no centralized actors to make and enforce rules for. This could make combating illicit finance challenging since traditionally, regulation has been targeted at centralized intermediaries. Yet Rebecca Rettig, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at Polygon Labs; Michael Mosier, the co-founder of boutique law firm Arktouros; and Katja Gilman, senior lead for public policy at Polygon Labs, published a paper last week that proposes to do just that.
Rebecca and Michael join Unchained to discuss what prompted them to write the paper, what the difference is between “onchain CeFi” and “genuine DeFi,” how targeting high-risk wallets can be one part of the solution, how critical communications transmitters (CCTs) are another piece of the puzzle, and what next steps they are pursuing.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.
The Chopping Block: Is Farcaster the Web3 Social Layer?
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest news and with special guest, and Farcaster aficionado Ted! This episode zooms in on Farcaster Frames: How are they revolutionizing the platform? We examine Farcaster’s transformation and its impact on the future of social media: Can Farcaster redefine decentralized communication? Delving into its user base, we ask: What makes Farcaster’s community unique? How do airdrop strategies and global hub distribution shape its ecosystem? And what’s next for decentralized social networks like Farcaster? Join us for an insightful discussion on these pivotal questions impacting the crypto sphere.
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.
In Case You Missed It 👀
Here are some of the most important news of this week:
There Are Now 11 Spot Bitcoin ETFs. Here’s the One That’s Best for You
Are you a hodler, trader, or true believer? Here are Unchained’s recommendations for the best spot bitcoin ETF based on what type of investor you are.
Former Terraform Developer Testifies Against Do Kwon: Report
A former Terraform Labs developer has testified that the firm’s co-founders Do Kwon and Shin Hyun-seung knew they were in violation of local securities laws when they promoted the TerraUSD stablecoin as a payment option.
Multicoin Capital Looking to Sell $100 Million FTX Bankruptcy Claim: Report
Crypto investment firm Multicoin Capital is reportedly in talks to sell its $100 million FTX bankruptcy claim. Multicoin had 10% of its funds stuck on the crypto exchange when it collapsed and significant exposure to FTT, SOL and SRM.
Genesis Settles NYAG Fraud Lawsuit: Report
Bankrupt crypto lender Genesis has settled a lawsuit brought by the New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James. The settlement is structured to pay back Gemini Earn customers and other creditors with funds that would have otherwise gone to the authorities.
Dymension’s DYM Rallies Despite Centralization Concerns About Big Brain Staking
The largest validator securing Dymension, a recently launched modular blockchain, has the name “Big Brain Staking,” and it controls 35.6 million DYM, which is 18.5% of the total voting power.
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