Crypto assets and blockchain technology are about to transform every trust-based interaction of our lives, from financial services to identity to the Internet o...
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?
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1:02:00
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
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43:37
Bits + Bips: Why Traders Are Sanguine Before Trump’s Big Tariff Day - Ep. 806
Investors are still licking their wounds from this month’s corrections. But just as Trump’s tariffs are about to move into full-force, our experts are seeing silver linings and causes for optimism.
With conflicting signals coming from all corners of the map, hosts Noelle Acheson, Ram Ahluwalia, Alex Kruger, and Felix Jauvin break down:
What to expect from Trump on April 2nd
Takeaways from last week’s FOMC meeting
If the White House and Powell are actually on the same page
Why tech stocks are taking off again
Why BlackRock is bullish on bitcoin during bear markets
If ether is about to get its groove back
Sponsors:
Bitwise
Hosts:
Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard
Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida
Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter
Felix Jauvin, Director and Host - Forward Guidance
Links
Incoming Trump Tariffs
Bloomberg: Trump Plans His Tariff ‘Liberation Day’ With More Targeted Push
WSJ: White House Narrows April 2 Tariffs
FOMC Meeting
Unchained: Bitcoin Drops as Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged, as Expected
NYTimes: Citing Tariffs and Uncertainty, Fed Sees Higher Inflation and Lower Growth
Animal Spirits Return
Barron’s: Don’t Count Out the Mag 7. They Could Lead a U.S. Stock Comeback.
CNBC: ‘Magnificent 7’ has a notable up day after struggling for 3 months
BlackRock
Decrypt: BlackRock Digital Assets Head Criticizes Narrative of Bitcoin as a Risk-On Asset
Bloomberg: BlackRock to List Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Product in Europe
Fidelity Tokenization
CoinDesk: Fidelity Files for Onchain U.S. Treasury Fund, Joining the Asset Tokenization Race
Timestamps:
👋 0:00 Intro
📉 2:16 Why investors are nervous about April 2nd
🌎 4:40 Two ways to think about tariffs
☯️ 6:56 The difference between retail and professional traders
🏦 8:44 Why the Fed is predicting a worst-case scenario
📈 12:08 Why the correction is largely done
💰 19:20 How the Mag7 got its groove back
🏛️ 20:42 Are Bessent and Powell more aligned than thought?
🚀 22:54 BlackRock says a recession is good for bitcoin?
🥇 24:54 Altcoin ETF race about to start?
🎌 28:41 Why Japan is irrelevant right now
🐂 30:42 Why animal spirits are back
⛓️ 35:03 The great financial unshackling
📈 38:02 Is ether ready for a comeback?
✅ 42:09 Why Fidelity is tokenizing on Ethereum
📈📉 44:32 Are pump and dumps over?
🇪🇺 49:32 Dumb money coming to Europe?
🐙 52:35 Why Kraken made a smart buy this week
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57:19
How Ethereum's Sprawling Pectra Upgrade Will Boost Its Ability to Compete - Ep. 805
As Ethereum deploys Pectra, it faces stiff competition and community criticism. Ethereum Foundation Research co-leads Alex Stokes and Barnabe Monnot map out the chain’s direction.
Ethereum is well on its way to some major upgrades, with Pectra and Fusaka introducing a number of performance improvements in the near future. But will it be enough to stay ahead of the competition?
Ethereum Foundation Research co-leads Alex Stokes and Barnabe Monnot join the show to discuss:
How Pectra and Fusaka will improve Ethereum’s performance
What it means that its launch on two testnets failed
Ethereum’s “north star” — decentralization
Whether Ethereum can retain its top spot in the smart contract space
As Ethereum adopts native rollups and data availability, does it create competition with existing L2s and DA providers?
The new direction for the Ethereum Foundation leaders and whether Etherealize can bring Wall Street
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:
Alex Stokes, Co-Lead, Ethereum Foundation Research
Barnabe Monnot, Co-Lead, Ethereum Foundation Research
Previous appearances on Unchained:
5 Things to Know About Coinbase’s 2021
Links
Previous coverage on Unchained of:
Etherealize advocates for Ethereum
Why Ethereum’s New Marketing Arm Is Convinced Wall Street Will Adopt ETH
Ethereum Foundation contemplates comeback
Ethereum Is Lagging. Here’s How It Could Finally Shake Off Rival Solana
2025 Will Be a Year of Crypto Competition. Can Ethereum Make a Comeback?
What Ethena means for Ethereum
Ethena’s L1 Shows Fat Apps Are on the Rise. Can They Beat Fat Protocols?
The Chopping Block w/ Guy Young: Lessons from USD0, Ethena’s Bold Vision, and DeFi’s Future
The Pectra Upgrade
Ethereum.org: Pectra Testnet Announcement | Ethereum Foundation Blog
tim.mirror.xyz: AllCoreDevs Update 17
Ethereum.org: EIP-7691: Blob throughput increase
Ethereum.org: Holesky and Hoodi Testnet Updates | Ethereum Foundation Blog
Coindesk: Hello, Hoodi: Ethereum Welcomes a New Testnet
Fusaka on the horizon
Github: EIP-7805 proposed for Fusaka
Native rollups versus non-native rollups
Youtube: The Future of Ethereum Scaling: Native Rollups Explained
Reddit: Native rollup debates
L1 and L2 debates
Vitalik.eth.limo: Reasons to have higher L1 gas limits even in an L2-heavy Ethereum
Vitalik.eth.limo: Scaling Ethereum L1 and L2s in 2025 and beyond
Ethereum Foundation Leadership changes
X: Barnabe Monnot and Alex Stokes announcement
X: New EF titles
X: Fixing the Core Dev process
Ethena’s Converge news
John Wang’s tweet
Camila Russo’s comment
Timestamps:
👋 0:00 Intro
🪝 2:05 How Barnabe and Alex got hooked on Ethereum development
⚙️ 6:37 How Pectra will change Ethereum
🪴 10:35 How does increasing blobs boost Ethereum?
🪲 13:22 Pectra fork bugs on Holeski testnet
🔮 18:38 What’s in the upcoming Fusaka upgrade?
🤯 22:42 How decisions get made in Ethereum and which groups are involved
📈 30:34 Can Ethereum keep up with the competition?
🏁 39:16 Can Ethereum compete by scaling the L1?
🤓 44:02 What are native roll-ups and how do they help Ethereum compete?
🤺 49:26 Native rollups and expanded data availability on Ethereum vs. non-native options
⚰️ 52:22 Is Ethena building its own blockchain the “nail in the coffin” for Ethereum?
👬 1:00:05 Shaking up the EF’s leadership
🤔 1:06:14 Will Etherealize fix Ethereum’s problems?
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1:12:32
Ethena's L1 Shows Fat Apps Are on the Rise. Can They Beat Fat Protocols? - Ep. 804
Blockchains were supposed to capture the majority of the value in crypto. But what if that’s wrong?
For years, the Fat Protocols Thesis argued that blockchains would be the biggest winners. But new data suggests that apps like Uniswap, Ethena, and others are now out-earning many networks.
Are we watching the rise of “Fat Apps” instead?
On this episode, Ryan Watkins, Co-founder at Syncracy Capital, talks about:
Why the biggest apps are generating more revenue than many layer 1s
Why Ethena is launching its own blockchain
What this means for Ethereum, Solana & other L1s
How blockchains can compete on value capture
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
Ryan Watkins, Co-founder at Syncracy Capital
Links
Unchained: Ethena Labs and Securitize to Launch New EVM Blockchain for DeFi
Syncracy Capital: Applications Capture Fees, Blockchains Store Value
Hansolar’s tweet
Pump.fun launches its own DEX
Timestamps:
👋0:00 Intro
💰 2:12 Why apps are out-earning the blockchains they run on
🔗 5:44 Ethena’s move: why it’s launching its own chain
📈 8:33 The rise of “Fat Apps” and what it means for crypto
🚀 12:50 How today’s crypto founders think differently from past builders
🏆 15:51 The blockchain architectures that will dominate
⚖️ 22:32 Whether L1s can compete in this new environment
📊 241:27 How blockchains accrue value and why MEV isn’t the best metric
📰 31:00 News Recap
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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. Disclosure: I'm a nocoiner.