Crypto assets and blockchain technology are about to transform every trust-based interaction of our lives, from financial services to identity to the Internet of Things. In this podcast, host Laura Shin, an independent journalist covering all things crypto, talks with industry pioneers about how crypto assets and blockchains will change the way we earn, spend and invest our money. Tune in to find out how Web 3.0, the decentralized web, will revolutionize our world.
MicroStrategy’s financial engineering, particularly its variable rate perpetual preferred stock (STRC), creates significant, often misunderstood risks for retail investors. While marketed as a high-yield, bank-account-like instrument, these securities are unrated, perpetual, unsecured equity with discretionary dividend...
Ethereum faces a critical juncture as the ecosystem navigates market volatility, security vulnerabilities, and evolving governance structures. While Bitcoin’s market movements exert pressure on broader crypto sentiment, Ethereum’s long-term viability hinges on transitioning toward a more decentralized, multi-node stewa...
Ethereum faces a significant identity crisis as early proponents, including David Hoffman and Max Resnick, reevaluate their commitment to the ecosystem. The discussion centers on whether the Ethereum Foundation’s focus on maintaining core values and "impressive technology" hinders its ability to compete as a growth-ori...
The current regulatory landscape for the cryptocurrency industry remains in flux as the CLARITY Act faces legislative hurdles, particularly regarding stablecoin yield structures and ethics provisions for elected officials. While the industry pushes for future-proofing through clear rulemaking, the path toward implement...
Secondary markets for pre-IPO shares like Anthropic and OpenAI face significant instability due to the prevalence of fraudulent SPVs and synthetic trading vehicles. These markets, often operating via informal channels, create reputational and financial risks that force companies to consider nullifying unauthorized trad...
The new draft of the CLARITY Act represents a pivotal moment for crypto market structure, aiming to provide essential regulatory guidelines for the industry. While the bill introduces critical protections for developers—specifically a "specific intent" requirement for criminal charges—its path to passage remains comple...
Geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and the resilience of U.S. markets dominate the current economic landscape. While Iran’s ceasefire remains fragile, the U.S. maintains a physical and financial blockade, pressuring Iranian assets and influencing global energy markets. Meanwhile, the semiconductor sector, dr...
The Iran-US conflict serves as a primary catalyst for global inflation and a structural shift away from US dollar hegemony. As nations prioritize commodity stockpiling and supply chain security, the demand for US Treasuries weakens, forcing central banks to increase liquidity to sustain asset prices. While AI promises ...
The $71 million court order involving Arbitrum and potential North Korean hackers highlights the complex legal risks facing decentralized protocols when they intervene in security incidents. Kelsie Nabben, Research Fellow at RMIT and author of Decentralised Digital Security, Code Community Crisis, joins the panel to ex...
The Clarity Act represents a pivotal legislative effort to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for the U.S. crypto sector, specifically addressing the contentious issue of stablecoin rewards. Faryar Shirzad, Chief Policy Officer at Coinbase, explains that while banking lobbies initially sought to restrict st...
Liability in AI development faces a critical shift as courts evaluate whether software constitutes a defective product, particularly in cases involving foreseeable misuse like the recent OpenAI litigation. Simultaneously, the cryptocurrency sector confronts an unprecedented surge in security breaches, with April markin...
The launch of a16z crypto’s $2.2 billion fifth fund signals a shift toward mainstream adoption, driven by matured infrastructure capable of supporting billions of users and increasing regulatory clarity for stablecoins and broader crypto assets. Investment strategies now prioritize the intersection of crypto with finte...
Geopolitical instability in the Strait of Hormuz is currently reshaping global markets, driving significant volatility in energy prices while digital assets demonstrate unexpected resilience. This divergence suggests a fundamental shift in how investors perceive Bitcoin as a store of value against traditional equities....
Decentralized AI infrastructure requires a horizontal scaling shift to move beyond the limitations of centralized, vertically-scaled data centers. By leveraging blockchain-based consensus, platforms like Gensyn enable the verification of machine learning tasks across distributed, commoditized hardware. This approach cr...
DeFi lending requires a more rigorous risk-pricing framework to address the unique vulnerabilities of decentralized finance, which has seen $606 million in recent exploits. Traditional finance models, based on probability of default and loss given default, must be adapted to account for DeFi-specific risks like oracle ...
DeFi protocols face significant challenges regarding tail risk and the lack of structured accountability during security breaches, as evidenced by the recent KelpDAO hack. While donation drives provide temporary relief, they highlight a systemic failure to properly price risk, leaving end users exposed to unforeseen vu...
The DeFi United initiative marks a significant shift in industry crisis management, as community-led donations successfully unfroze assets following the KelpDAO hack. This collective intervention raises critical questions regarding moral hazard and the long-term repeatability of such voluntary bailouts. Concurrently, t...
The global market outlook remains constructive despite geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, as earnings growth accelerates and corporate capital expenditure on AI infrastructure surges. While Iran’s recent de-escalation offer signals a potential move toward stasis, the broader economic environment benefits fr...
The restructuring of the OpenAI and Microsoft partnership through 2032 positions Microsoft as the primary beneficiary of the revised terms. Under the new agreement, Microsoft retains access to OpenAI’s intellectual property and will receive revenue share payments through 2030, regardless of technical milestones, while ...
The rsETH exploit highlights systemic vulnerabilities across the DeFi stack, stemming from Kelp’s insecure one-of-one signer configuration, LayerZero’s compromised RPC infrastructure, and Aave’s failure to flag these risks during collateral listing. Aave v3’s monolithic design socializes risk by pooling all assets, whi...
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