Unchained

Why Bitcoin Could Hit $150,000 Soon. Plus ‘Code Is Law’ Film - Ep. 931

This special two-part episode brings together two very different conversations. In part one, investment manager Lawrence Lepard lays out why he believes the fiat monetary system is structurally unsustainable, what role inflation plays in that system, and how Bitcoin could be the exit ramp, not just from fiat, but from war, debt, and economic manipulation. He discusses gold, stocks, silver, the real estate market, and why he’s betting heavily on Bitcoin. In part two, I speak with filmmaker James Craig, director of the new documentary Code Is Law, which traces the evolution of the phrase from a meme into a legal defense for some of the most infamous smart contract exploits in crypto. From the DAO to Indexed Finance, Mango Markets and KyberSwap, the film explores whether exploiting code is legitimate — or just theft with better PR. Thank you to our sponsor, ⁠Binance⁠ [https://binance.onelink.me/y874/Unchained]! Guests: * Lawrence Lepard [https://x.com/lawrencelepard], Investment Manager at Equity Management Associates, LLC * James Craig [https://x.com/jamescraig1111], Founder, Director and Producer at Encrypted Films Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

How Crypto Neobanks Make It Easier to Earn Passive Income - Ep. 930

Neobanks changed how fintech thinks about money. Now, crypto builders want to do the same, without custody. In this episode, Itamar Lesuisse, CEO of Ready, and Mike Silagadze, CEO of EtherFi, argue the real shift isn't about "crypto cards," it's about who controls your assets. EtherFi’s and Ready’s self-custodial apps merge saving, spending, and investing. The result: faster settlement, lower fees, and more transparency, but also new challenges around compliance, credit, and security. Itamar Lesuisse and Mike Silagadze explain how layer 2 networks made crypto cards economically viable after years of failed attempts and how Africa’s FX markets could become the breakthrough use case for crypto banking. Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! * Mantle [https://www.mantle.xyz/] * Binance [https://binance.onelink.me/y874/Unchained] Guests: * Itamar Lesuisse [https://x.com/itamarl], Co-founder and CEO of Ready (formerly Argent) * Mike Silagadze [https://x.com/MikeSilagadze?], Founder and CEO of EtherFi, and Founder of Top Hat Links: * The Block: Best crypto cards with token rewards in 2025 [https://www.theblock.co/ratings/best-crypto-cards-with-token-rewards-in-2025-372126] * Bitcoin Starknet Staking Post [https://x.com/ready_co/status/1978473224154321182] by Ready (Formerly Argent)  Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Intro 💳 1:57 What crypto neobanks are, and why they’re suddenly booming ⚖️ 6:19 Custody as the real divide between traditional and crypto banking 🏦 8:07 From Argent to Ready, turning wallets into full neobanks 💳 10:05 Why early crypto cards failed, and how L2 settlement fixed them 💰 18:49 Credit without credit scores: the rise of collateralized cards 🔒 32:52 How smart accounts and recovery improve wallet security 🌍 44:29 Onchain FX and the next profit frontier for crypto banks 🚀 55:36 How self-custody could reach mass adoption 🔚 58:19 Closing thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

The Chopping Block: Zcash +400%, Tempo’s $500M Shock, EF Pay Firestorm & AWS/Base Meltdown feat. Mert - Ep. 929

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. This week, Helius’s Mert returns to defend Zcash’s ~400% run and the “encrypted Bitcoin” framing, digging into anonymity sets, privacy UX, and why Bitcoiners are so riled up. We then tackle the Tempo bombshell — a ~$500M raise at a ~$5B pre, Stripe/Paradigm ties, Dankrad’s move from the EF — alongside Péter Szilágyi’s letter on EF culture and compensation: public goods priesthood vs. market incentives. Next up: Mert’s “USD Manlet” rethink (why coordinating Solana around one stable is hard, and why pushing USDT to compete with USDC may be the sharper play) plus a gripe-fueled tour of today’s DeFi trading UX. Finally, an AWS-outage autopsy: Coinbase downtime, Base sequencer hiccups, Infura/MetaMask ripple effects, and the case for multi-region/multi-cloud redundancy when real money — and sometimes safety — are on the line. And no, despite the memes, Mert is not launching a DEX. For more links and Show Hilights - https://unchainedcrypto.com/podcast-chopping-block/the-chopping-block-zcash-400-tempos-500m-shock-ef-pay-firestorm-aws-base-meltdown-feat-mert/ ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi [https://twitter.com/hosseeb], Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner [https://twitter.com/Rleshner], CEO & Co-founder of Superstate ⭐️Tom Schmidt [https://twitter.com/tomhschmidt], General Partner at Dragonfly  Guest ⭐️ Mert [https://x.com/0xMert_], Co-founder & CEO at Helius Hosts ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi [https://twitter.com/hosseeb], Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Robert Leshner [https://twitter.com/Rleshner], CEO & Co-founder of Superstate⭐️Tom Schmidt [https://twitter.com/tomhschmidt], General Partner at Dragonfly  Guest ⭐️ Mert [https://x.com/0xMert_], Co-founder & CEO at Helius “One Long Memo” [A Letter To The EF] by Péter Szilágyi https://gist.github.com/karalabe/a2bc53436f29e0711fe680d59e180f6c [https://gist.github.com/karalabe/a2bc53436f29e0711fe680d59e180f6c]  Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:22 Mert a Madman of Solana and now Zcash 05:20 Bitcoin vs. Zcash: A Philosophical Clash 14:35 Tempo Fundraise and Ethereum's Talent Exodus 33:05 Ethereum's Social Layer & Public Goods 34:45 The Importance of Religious Priesthood in Crypto 41:01 The USD Manlet Proposal & Stablecoin Coordination 49:32 AWS Outage & Its Impact on Crypto Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Could BTC Outperform Gold? Plus, Ethereum's Big Advantage: Bits + Bips - Ep. 928

In this episode of Bits + Bips, hosts Austin Campbell, Ram Ahluwalia, and Chris Perkins tackle a packed agenda: from the fairness of Binance’s listing fees to the ways in which DeFi didn’t perform well during the “Black Friday” crash, why Tempo’s $500 million raise might have been a political ploy, and the growing war over stablecoin dominance. The trio debates whether Bitcoin is undervalued compared to gold, why Ethereum’s 10-year track record gives it an edge, and whether today’s Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) are just froth, or the permanent backbone of institutional crypto. Plus: Austin makes a bold prediction about the stablecoin that will dominate by 2040. Sponsors: * Mantle [https://www.mantle.xyz/] Hosts: * Ram Ahluwalia [https://x.com/ramahluwalia], CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida * Austin Campbell [https://x.com/CampbellJAustin], NYU Stern professor and founder and managing partner of Zero Knowledge Consulting * Christopher Perkins [https://x.com/perkinscr97], Managing Partner and President of CoinFund Links: Binance Listing Fee Drama * Unchained:  * Binance Listing Fee Fight: What’s a Fair Price to List on the Top Crypto Exchange? [https://unchainedcrypto.com/binance-listing-fee-fight-whats-a-fair-price-to-list-on-the-top-crypto-exchange/] * Binance Claims It Does Not Profit From Token Listings [https://unchainedcrypto.com/binance-claims-it-does-not-profit-from-token-listings/] * Jesse Pollak (Base) chimes [https://x.com/jessepollak/status/1976739673512067569] in Tempo & Dankrad * Fortune: Exclusive: Stripe-backed blockchain startup Tempo raises $500 million round led by Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital and Greenoaks [https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/10/17/stripe-paradigm-tempo-series-a-5-billion-thrive-capital-greenoaks-joshua-kushner/] * Ethereum core dev Dankrad Feist joins [https://www.theblock.co/post/375126/prominent-ethereum-developer-dankrad-feist-departs-ef-to-join-stablecoin-focused-layer-1-tempo?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss] Tempo * Reactions: * Ryan [https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1979287482203279636] Adams (Bankless): Tempo will optimize for itself, not ETH. * Nick [https://x.com/DrNickA/status/1979492079194546448] Almond: Not a death sentence for ETH * Breadguy [https://x.com/0xBreadguy/status/1979186891049308574]: Big loss. Dankrad was a major L1 scaling advocate. Black Friday * Dan Wilson [https://x.com/drwconvexity/status/1979211257933693236]: 3 big lessons post-crash Gold vs. BTC * GOLD/BTC up [https://www.etoro.com/markets/goldbtc] ‎23.5% in past month * Bitcoin Is Undervalued vs. Gold [https://open.substack.com/pub/onchainmind/p/bitcoin-is-undervalued-vs-gold?r=3nu6r0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false] DATs * Bloomberg: Huobi Founder Li Lin Set To Launch $1 Billion Ether Accumulator - Bloomberg [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-17/huobi-founder-li-lin-set-to-launch-1-billion-ether-accumulator] * CoinDesk: Ripple Set to Enter Corporate Treasury Business With $1B Acquisition of GTreasury [https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/10/16/ripple-set-to-enter-corporate-treasury-business-with-usd1b-acquisition-of-gtreasury] Timestamps: * 🎬 0:00 Intro * 💸 3:39 Binance listing fees — fair price for distribution or pay-to-play? * 🏛️ 10:19 What is the best way to go public? * ⚔️ 11:57 How exchanges really compete behind the scenes * 💥 15:00 “Black Friday”: why Chris calls it catastrophic — but with a silver lining * 🧱 24:52 What the industry must fix to prevent another meltdown * 💵 30:15 How Tempo’s $500M raise represents peak frothiness * 🚨 39:12 Is Dankrad’s exit from the Ethereum Foundation a red alarm for ETH? * 🔮 43:07 Austin’s bold prediction: which stablecoin wins by 2040 * 🥇 46:17 Is Bitcoin undervalued compared to gold? * 🏗️ 52:21 Why DATs are here to stay despite the market carnage Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Aptos Is Betting Big on Transparency After Crypto’s Black Friday, Says CEO - Ep. 927

Last Friday, billions evaporated in a liquidation cascade—and nobody knows exactly what happened because centralized exchanges won't share the data. In this sponsored episode recorded at Aptos' NYC event, Aptos CEO Avery Ching says if their Decibel perpetual exchange had been live, traders would have seen every order, every spread change, every liquidation in real-time onchain. But while critics argue existing perp DEXs like Hyperliquid are already decentralized, Ching says most still match orders off-chain in black boxes. Avery explains why Decibel (launching Q1 2026) will be different, how 500 million Indian users are coming to crypto through Reliance Jio's Jiocoin, and why Aptos partnered with World Liberty Financial despite VCs calling it "garbage in your living room." Guest: * Avery Ching [https://x.com/AveryChing], CEO & Co-Founder, Aptos Links:  * The Composable Global Exchange Engine [https://x.com/AveryChing/status/1952747177853571493], by Avery Ching, CEO Aptos Aptos Post: The fully onchain trading engine built by Decibel Foundation [https://x.com/Aptos/status/1978498647886352678] * Previous coverage of Unchained on Black Friday: Crypto’s Black Friday Was Its Largest Liquidation Ever. What the Hell Happened? [https://unchainedcrypto.com/cryptos-black-friday-was-its-largest-liquidation-ever-what-the-hell-happened/] Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Intro 🧭 0:33 How Aptos evolved from Meta’s Libra/Diem project 💡 2:27 Aptos’ vision for global trading engine and everyday crypto use 💾 10:11 What Shelby is and how it supports AI, creators, and enterprise use. 🎥 12:22 Aptos’ new media partnership with NBCUniversal ⚡ 14:46 Avery’s vision for a future when blockchains are widely used  🧩 16:10 What Decibel is and how it aims to bring perps fully onchain 🔎 17:58 What would have changed if Friday’s crash was onchain 💵 24:12 Why Aptos partnered with World Liberty Financial on USD1 🇮🇳  28:46 How the Reliance Jio deal expands Aptos’ reach in India 🌏 30:46 How Aptos is building enterprise adoption across Asia 🏦 32:59 Why Aave launched its first non-EVM deployment on Aptos 🛡️ 36:42 What Aptos learned from recent market turmoil 🔚 42:18 Closing thoughts and Avery’s vision for onchain transparency Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]