Unchained

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 deep into the FDIC’s alleged vendetta against crypto, whistleblower revelations, and the evolving dynamics of token distribution on platforms like Echo. Plus, we analyze the rise of crowdsales, explore the intersection of policy and crypto innovation, and reflect on our 2024 podcast stats with some friendly competition.  Show highlights 🔹 FDIC Scandal Unveiled: The panel discusses the whistleblower claims against the FDIC, allegations of a vendetta against the crypto industry, and the fallout from newly unredacted FOIA documents. 🔹 Echo Crowdsale Platform: A deep dive into Echo’s rise as a preferred crowdsale platform, its competition with CoinList, and its innovative token distribution model. 🔹 Regulators Under Scrutiny: Insights into systemic issues within regulatory agencies like the FDIC and parallels drawn with other organizations like the FTC. 🔹 VC Sentiment and Crowdsales: The crew explores the tension between venture capitalists and crowdsale platforms, examining fairness, community building, and strategic distribution. 🔹 KOL Rounds vs. Community Fairness: A comparison of KOL rounds and Echo’s syndicate model in balancing fairness and hype in token distribution. 🔹 Token Distribution Dynamics: Analysis of how platforms like Echo incentivize participation and create new avenues for community engagement. 🔹 2024 Podcast Stats Recap: Fun insights into which hosts spoke the most, used the most filler words, and referenced Ethereum, Solana, or Bitcoin the most in 2024. 🔹 Predictions in Review: Early check-ins on 2025 predictions and how trends like DeSci and crowdsales are already shaping the year. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 mark, only to slump back down on Tuesday, sparking debates about what’s next for the crypto markets. In this episode, James Seyffart and Alex Kruger are joined by Charles Edwards of quant fund Capriole Investments to break down the macro trends shaping Bitcoin’s trajectory. From Trump’s inauguration to the Fed’s looming decisions on quantitative tightening, they analyze the key factors influencing risk assets. Plus, they unpack the premium on MicroStrategy’s BTC holdings, the future of AI agents in crypto and whether AI agent swarms might someday hire humans, and their bold predictions —supercycle? SOL ETFs?—for 2025. Show highlights: 01:54 Why bitcoin broke the $100K level again 07:28 How the markets will react to the inauguration of Donald Trump as President 19:09 What factors will affect the Fed’s next decision on rates 26:38 What the premium of MSTR to its BTC holdings should be 34:37 Why they all hate the current version of AI agents 43:19 Why Charles likes Ethena and ENA 45:49 Alex’s and Charles’ thoughts on what to expect in 2025: supercycle incoming? 50:01 Alex’s analysis on the market corrections and what they teach us 57:34 Whether James believes the spot Solana ETF will be approved this year Hosts: James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard Guest: Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments  Links Capriole Investments | Update #58 MicroStrategy just bought another $100m in Bitcoin on path to $2bn spree – DL News With AI Agents Now Trading Crypto, What Does Their Future Look Like? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ethereum, once the undisputed leader in the smart contract ecosystem, is facing intense competition from Solana, which has outpaced Ethereum on key metrics such as developer growth. Meanwhile, debates rage within Ethereum’s community over governance, scalability, and the Ethereum Foundation’s leadership. Adding to the disruption, AI agents are rapidly reshaping DeFi and token launches, reducing barriers to entry and creating new opportunities—and risks—for founders and investors. Is this the next big leap for crypto or just the latest bubble? In this episode, Marc Zeller of Aave Chan Initiative and Kain Warwick of Infinex discuss Ethereum’s future, the role of AI in DeFi, and whether Solana’s momentum will continue. They also share bold predictions for crypto in 2025 and debate whether Ethereum’s fragmented ecosystem can still deliver on its promise. Show highlights: 03:35 Why 2024 became a turning point for the crypto ecosystem 07:02 How AI agents could reshape onchain innovation and public discourse in 2025 14:47 Whether AI agents might soon compete with VCs 22:10 Why fundamentals-driven crypto projects will gradually dominate the market, according to Marc 26:05 Whether Solana will continue to steal Ethereum’s thunder 37:56 Is Base cannibalistic to Ethereum? Can Base or Ethereum compete with Solana? 42:53 Where the ETH ecosystem is headed and whether it can overcome issues of fragmentation, lack or interoperability, so many L2 tokens detracting from the ETH price 52:30 Whether Coinbase's deep commitment to Ethereum is causing it to discriminate against Solana 1:00:10 How Ethereum's reputation rises and falls with its price action, not its fundamentals, per Kain 1:08:43 What the purpose is of the Ethereum Foundation and whether it should change its approach 1:24:57 Why Kain doesn’t think the native rollups proposal is tenable  1:31:12 Whether Ethena is depressing the price of ETH 1:34:00 What Kain and Marc think about crypto-specific phones, especially the Solana Seeker 1:42:07 Kain’s and Marc’s predictions for 2025 Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Stellar Build Better  Robinhood & Arbitrum Kelp DAO Polkadot Guests: Marc Zeller, founder of Aave Chan Initiative Kain Warwick, founder of Infinex Links Unchained: Why Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev Is Betting Big on Crypto and Stablecoins Unchained: 2024 Was Solana's Best Year Yet. Can It Sustain the Momentum in 2025? Unchained: What's the Best Way for Ethereum to Grow? Two Ethereans Debate The Block: Long-running Ethereum newsletter shutting down, cites lack of funding Unchained: How Solana Beat Out Ethereum to Nab New Crypto Developers in 2024 Evan Van Ness’ tweet on the newsletter shutdown  EF’s Josh Stark’s reply to Van Ness Unchained: Vitalik Has Gone 'Founder Mode.' Is This Just What Ethereum Needs? Marc’s proposal about the EF  0xMawuko’s tweet on ETH governance  Unchained: Are Layer 2s Failing Ethereum? A New Proposal Advocates for Native L2s Ben Lilly’s tweet on Ethena possibly suppressing the price of ETH Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 is joined by special guest Jansen, co-founder of Virtuals, the leading AI agent launchpad. Together, they dive into the $5 billion Virtuals craze, explore the explosive rise of tokenized AI agents like AIXBT, and debate how AI is reshaping DeFi and blockchain. From the clash between scarcity and abundance to the emergence of agentic societies and decentralized economies, this episode unpacks the key trends driving the next phase of crypto innovation. Show highlights 🔹 AI and Crypto Convergence: The panel explores how AI agents are revolutionizing blockchain, tokenomics, and decentralized finance (DeFi). 🔹 Virtuals AI Launchpad: Jansen discusses Virtuals, a platform for tokenizing and crowdfunding AI-driven blockchain agents. 🔹 Autonomous AI Evolution: The rise of AI agents from basic chatbots to self-improving tools for crypto and DeFi applications. 🔹 Tokenized AI Agents: How agents like AIXBT generate revenue through trading, attention, and blockchain commerce. 🔹 Managing AI Risks: Insights into policy-based wallets and infrastructure to mitigate risks in autonomous crypto agents. 🔹 Decentralized Agent Societies: A vision for specialized AI agents collaborating in blockchain ecosystems. 🔹 Scarcity vs. Abundance in Crypto: Contrasting crypto’s scarcity-driven models with AI’s abundance and economic disruption. 🔹 AI Agent Backlash: Predictions of anti-AI sentiment as agents dominate Crypto Twitter and online communities. 🔹 Blockchain Verifiability: The role of cryptographic proofs in ensuring trust and security in AI-driven tokenized economies. 🔹 Future of AI in Crypto: Debates on sustainable applications for AI agents in trading, DeFi, and digital economies. Hosts ⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly  ⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly  ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures Special Guest ⭐️Jansen Teng, Co-Founder and CEO of Virtuals Protocol Disclosures Timestamps  00:00 Intro 02:19 What Are AI Agents? 07:23 AI Agents in Crypto 13:04 AI-Driven Societies Emerge 15:53 Challenges of AI Agents 24:47 Tokenizing AI Revenue Models 35:13 AI Crypto Predictions 43:26 AI Influencers and Trust 53:54 Perception of AI Content 01:04:44 Humans vs. AI Roles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices