Unchained

The market structure bill introduces a "control" test for DeFi protocols. The problem: nobody agrees on what control means.

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Peter Van Valkenburgh of Coin Center sits down with Jessi Brooks and Vy Le to confront a question that will determine which DeFi projects can operate in the United States and which ones can't. 

The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act creates a carve-out for non-custodial developers, codifying the principle that if you never hold customer funds, you shouldn't need a money transmitter license. Simple enough on paper. 

But Vy presses on the hard cases: what about an admin key, an upgradeable vault, or a pause function built for security? Where exactly does "non-custodial" end and "control" begin? 

Meanwhile, Jessi raises the tension the industry rarely wants to discuss. The DOJ just charged cartel brokers moving money through crypto, yet simultaneously dismantled its own enforcement teams. 

If Congress clears developers, who pursues the actual criminals? The answer matters for every builder, investor, and victim watching this play out.

Hosts:


Jessi Brooks, General Counsel at Ribbit Capital


TuongVy Le, General Counsel at Veda

Guest:


⁠Peter Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of Coin Center

Links:

⁠​​Crypto Market Structure Bill Clears Senate Committee — But the Hard Part Is Still Ahead⁠

⁠Senators Move to Curb Passive Stablecoin Yields in Market Structure Push⁠

⁠Mastercard in Talks to Buy Zerohash for $2 Billion: Report⁠

⁠How the GENIUS Act Creates a Built-In Advantage for Banks and Deposit Tokens⁠

⁠How Nansen’s New Trading Agent Makes It Easier to Follow the Smart Money Onchain⁠

⁠How the x402 Standard Is Enabling AI Agents to Pay Each Other⁠

⁠Reading is Fundamental⁠

⁠Stablecoin for Babies

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Namik Muduroglu and Amir Almaimani walk through MegaETH's launch strategy and why they are delaying the TGE.

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Months after its oversubscribed initial coin offering, MegaETH's mainnet is live. But the project is not launching its token just yet. 

In this Unchained podcast episode, MegaETH strategy chief Namik Muduroglu and Head of Ecosystem Amir Almaimani break down the Ethereum Layer 2 chain’s launch strategy, including its decision to delay TGE.

They also explain how the MegaETH is navigating the current market slump and how it is positioning USDM as its long term moat. Plus, why they believe credible neutrality is a “losing strategy.”

Guests:


Namik Muduroglu, CSO & Founding Team at MegaETH


Amir Almaimani, Head of Ecosystem of MegaETH


Previous appearances on Unchained:


MegaETH Just Had Its Public Sale. Can It Succeed in Building a Web2-Like Experience?

Links:


Unchained:


Ethereum Lets Go of the Rollup Story. Here Are the 6 Tokens That Benefit


MegaETH Plans Return of All Pre-Deposit Funds


MegaETH Just Had Its Public Sale. Can It Succeed in Building a Web2-Like Experience?

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Crypto Tax Girl

Are bitcoiners underestimating the quantum threat to Bitcoin? That's the question Castle Island Ventures Partner Nic Carter has posed with some recent posts gauging the views of several leading Bitcoin developers on quantum computing.

To help answer the question, Unchained reached out to Ethereum Foundation Researcher Justin Drake and Michigan University Professor Chris Peikert. In this episode, Justin and Chris, who is one of the foremost experts on lattice cryptography, break down the quantum computing threat to crypto and the potential timelines.

Justin theorizes that Bitcoin developers may not be incentivized to talk about the quantum computing risk while still saying that a number of smart people are already taking it seriously and that may be enough.

Conversely, Chris highlights the constraints that come with uncertainty around risks and timelines.

Listen to find out what they conclude. Plus, could AI do crypto in before quantum computers?

Guests:


Justin Drake, Researcher at the Ethereum Foundation


Chris Peikert, Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University of Michigan

Links:

Ethereum and Optimism Lay the Groundwork for a Post-Quantum Future

Q-Day Is Imminent. Can Bitcoin Survive the Quantum Threat?

Solana Deploys Post-Quantum Signatures on Testnet

Cracking Bitcoin Encryption Is Getting Much Easier, Google Says

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What happened to Bitcoin on Feb. 5? And why does the apex crypto continue to underperform?

DeFi Development Corp investment chief Parker White has some theories. In this Unchained podcast episode, Parker walks Laura Shin through them as they gain traction on X.

At the center of it all is non-crypto Hong Kong fund and another fund that may be executing a ‘Big Short’-style trade using derivatives.

Listen to find out why Parker is so convinced.

Guest:


Parker White, COO/Chief Investment Officer at DeFi Development Corp

Links:

Bitcoin Mining Gets a Rare Reset as Weaker Players Drop Out

Why Bitcoin Is Down, Plus the Rare Bright Spot in Crypto: Hyperliquid

Crypto Sentiment Is Down Bad. The Reality Is Far Different, Says Ryan Watkins

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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Figure is giving away $25,000 in USDC. Deposit into Democratized Prime, earn ~9% APY hourly—and every $1 you keep in for 25 days is 1 entry.

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Bitcoin slid toward $60,000 on Feb. 5 in a brutal, cross-asset selloff that hit gold, equities, and crypto alike. With leverage unwinding and basis trades breaking, long-time bitcoin holders are distributing to institutional buyers who, by 13F data, are mostly underwater. The mood across digital assets is bleak.

Against that backdrop, Nic Carter of Castle Island Ventures argues that key Bitcoin narratives have quietly failed—and warns that developers’ inaction on quantum risk could open the door to institutional control. If devs don’t act, Carter says ETF giants like BlackRock will.

The panel then widens the lens: declaring the token-centric VC model dead, debating whether AI now rivals the industrial revolution, and stress-testing it all across topics ranging from Solana vs. Hyperliquid to Japan’s political shift and MrBeast’s fintech play.

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Hosts:


Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida


Austin Campbell, NYU Stern professor and founder and managing partner of Zero Knowledge Consulting


Christopher Perkins, Managing Partner and President of CoinFund

Guest:

Nic Carter, Founding Partner at Castle Island Ventures

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