Chain Reaction

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Scott Dykstra, CTO and co-founder of Space and Time. Before diving into web3, Scott spent almost 8 years at the cloud analytics and data platform Teradata and throughout the years he held roles of senior architect, director of cloud solutions and worked his way up to VP of the firm's global cloud.As for Space and Time, the company aims to be a verifiable compute layer for web3 that scales zero-knowledge proofs, or ZK proofs, on a decentralized data warehouse. Zero-knowledge proofs are a cryptographic action used to prove something about a piece of data, without revealing the origin data itself. Space and Time has indexed data both off-chain and on-chain from Ethereum, Bitcoin, Polygon, Sui, Avalanche, Sei and Aptos and is adding support for more chains to power the future of AI x blockchain. This episode is wrapping up Chain Reaction's monthly series diving into different topics and themes in crypto. This month's focused on blockchain and AI integrations.Jacquelyn and Scott discuss Space and Time's origin story, how data warehouses work in Web2.0 vs web3 and the importance of data transparency.They also dive into: Blockchain and AI potentialIts OpenAI and blockchain data developments Future use cases for data and on-chain AIAdvice throughout the bull and bear markets Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Tegan Kline, the CEO and co-founder of Edge & Node. The company is focused on creating and supporting decentralized applications, or dApps, and protocols. It was also the initial team behind The Graph, an indexing and query protocol, or what some have referred to as the Google of Web3, which aims to organize open blockchain data and make open data a public good.Tegan began her career in investment banking before shifting to work as an executive VP of a patent marketplace powered by blockchain and analyzed by AI. This kickstarted her career in web3, data and AI solutions. Before co-founding Edge & Node, Tegan worked as an international business development manager for Orchid, an a16z and Sequoia VC-backed VPN.This episode is a part of Chain Reaction's monthly series diving into different topics and themes in crypto. This month's focused on blockchain and AI integrations.Jacquelyn and Tegan talk about The Graph network, indexing data and its broader use case for the internet as well as its “New Era roadmap” that came out in November 2023. They also discuss: The Graph implementing AI solutions What dApps will unlock in the long term for AI Why AI doesn't care about cryptoTaking a career jump into web3  Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Melody Hildebrandt, CTO of Fox Corporation and Mike Blank, COO at Polygon Labs.Why these two companies? Well, Polygon Labs, the layer-2 blockchain focused on scaling Ethereum, and Fox Corporation, the well-known media conglomerate, joined forces in January to tackle deepfakes as artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent. Fox released Verify, an open source technical protocol for media companies to register content and grant usage rights to AI platforms, while also allowing consumers to verify content through Polygon's tech. This episode is a part of Chain Reaction's monthly series diving into different topics and themes in crypto. This month we're focusing on blockchain and AI integrations.They discuss: The Fox and Polygon partnershipProtecting content from misuseWhat role blockchain technology can play with verifying newsHow deepfakes can affect the U.S. 2024 election(0:00) Introduction(1:58) Safeguards against AI-created content(3:33) Blockchain could protect content creators(9:13) Improving AI trust and transparency(12:42) Validating and protecting intellectual property(16:03) Verifying content authenticity on the blockchain(25:21) Combatting misinformation(31:25) How blockchain could help larg companies verify their content Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Dee Goens, the co-founder of Zora.Zora is a platform and protocol that helps developers and creators bring their ideas on chain and on Ethereum through an open and shared environment. The platform has minted over 4 million NFTs, has over $300 million in secondary sales and about 1 million unique collectors, according to its website. Dee previously worked at Coinbase for 2.5 years doing risk management, operations and brand partnerships. Before that, he analyzed emerging technologies' risk with a focus in blockchains at KPMG.Chain Reaction is doing monthly series diving into different topics and themes in crypto. This month we're focusing on blockchain and AI integrations.As we just wrapped up our NFT series for February, Dee is the perfect guest to transition from that topic to AI and blockchains given Zora's focus on bringing AI on-chain. In a first for Chain Reaction, we also minted this podcast on Zora's platform, which you can check out here. Jacquelyn and Dee discuss how Zora envisions blockchains and AI working together, the roles they can play for NFT creators and what the platform's developers and community members want more of. Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, we're resharing a conversation I had in June 2023 with Jack Lu, CEO and co-founder of Magic Eden. When we recorded this episode, NFT sales were down around $640 million at the beginning of the month, compared to today where February 2023 NFT sales volume hit $1 billion, for the first time since February 2023.Looking back on this conversation, we decided this episode was a great addition to the NFT series to add some context for what a crazy year it has been, how much things have changed (and some things stayed the same) especially for people building in the NFT space.Magic Eden originally began as a Solana-based NFT trading platform, but has expanded its support to other blockchain networks like Polygon, Ethereum and Bitcoin. In June 2022, Magic Eden raised $130 million in a Series B round that granted it unicorn status.We discussed why the NFT marketplace expanded its support to other blockchains, its BRC-20 token support and how the company plans on staying competitive in the constantly changing market.We also talked about: NFT market volatilityRoyalty feesWeb3 gaming expansionAdvice for NFT community(0:00) Introduction(2:46) Bitcoin ecosystems and new technology standards(7:30) Magic Eden's place within NFT marketplaces(19:05) Royalties and creator monetization(24:42) NFT's staying power Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Steve Kaczynski, co-author of the book “The Everything Token,” and co-host of a web3 morning show Coffee with Captain.He also co-authored the first Harvard Business Review article about NFTs and outside of that, he consults with agencies and brands about building their web3 strategies including his role with Starbucks where he is a community lead for its NFT-focused loyalty program, Starbucks Odyssey. Before getting into the web3 world, Steve worked in communications and marketing roles at places for over 15 years.  Jacquelyn and Steve discuss what got him interested in NFTs, how important it is to build understanding for the sector and why communities matter more than floor prices. They also dive into: Future adoption for Bored Ape Yacht ClubGrowing Starbucks's NFT-based loyalty programWhat agencies and brands need to know about web3How to get started in the NFT space(0:00) Introduction(4:23) NFT value creation(11:41) NFT and community building(18:14) Bored Ape community building(20:42) Web3 gaming and community(23:13) Starbucks Odyssey program and its engagement with web3(31:30) What's next for NFTs Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands. Yat co-founded Animoca in 2014 and since then it has invested in over 400 web3 projects across a range of sectors like DeFi, education, infrastructure, blockchain gaming and the metaverse.Animoca also has its own NFT collections, blockchain products and games like its web3 NFT-based community Mocaverse, the blockchain game and NFT collection REVV Racing, and The Sandbox, a decentralized virtual world with over 40 million mobile installs. The company has also worked with other well known brands and personalities like Disney, WWE, Power Rangers, The Walking Dead, Formula E and Snoop Dogg.Jacquelyn and Yat discuss the importance of digital property rights, growing NFT communities and what makes a project stand out from others. They also dive into: Evolution of NFT's IP Building brand familiarity Asia embracing web3 and NFTsThe global race for adoption  Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

This year, Chain Reaction is doing monthly series diving into different topics and themes in crypto. To start things off, this month we're focusing on NFTs. For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Devin Finzer, the CEO of NFT marketplace OpenSea.He co-founded OpenSea in 2017 and it quickly climbed to become one of the most well known – and well funded – NFT marketplaces. Two years ago, it raised $300 million in a Series C round at a $13.3 billion post-money valuation, bringing its total capital raised to over $400 million. Some of its investors include firms Andreessen Horowitz and Paradigm as well as celebrities like Kevin Durant and Ashton Kutcher. Despite the NFT market's trading volume falling from all time highs in late 2021 early 2022, OpenSea is still pushing forward even though other NFT marketplaces have popped up and challenged their dominance.Jacquelyn and Devin discuss the importance of web3 games integrating NFTs, Web2.0 firms launching their own digital collectibles and challenges the marketplace faces.They also dive into: Big use cases for NFTsCompany's future mission Retaining community membersGaining market share and trading volume(0:00) Welcome to Chain Reaction(3:36) Launching OpenSea before NFTs took off(7:55) Expanding NFTs core product categories(9:44) NFT games to drive adoption(11:39) Post NFT-boom industry atmosphere(14:37) Keeping Retail investors engaged in NFTs (19:30) Staying competitive in the NFT marketplace space(20:24) Rapid Fire(27:01) NFT use cases in 2024(28:20) OpenSea's core mission(30:15) Advice for people in the crypto industry  Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

This week we have a bonus episode with Hester Peirce, commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Jacquelyn moderated a fireside chat with Commissioner Peirce at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business alongside Eddie Cullen, a former candidate for New York City Mayor in 2021 and co-founder and CEO of Crescite Innovation Corporation.They discussed a number of timely topics including the SEC's spot bitcoin ETF approval, policy making to keep crypto innovation alive in the U.S. and the commissioner's Token Safe Harbor Proposal 2.0 and whether she's considering a new one. Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Chris Dixon, general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).Chris has been at the firm since 2012 and founded and leads a16z's crypto team, which invests in the web3 world through four mega-funds with over $7 billion under management. He's also an author of the recently released book Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet. Prior to a16z, Chris co-founded two startups, SiteAdvisor and Hunch, both were acquired by McAfee in 2006 and eBay in 2011, respectively. He also attended Columbia University for his bachelor of arts degree and masters in philosophy and has an MBA from Harvard University. In this episode, they discuss the new book, how crypto's perception has changed and what purpose blockchains can ultimately bring to the world. They also dove into: Big Tech vs. cryptoImportance of decentralizationa16z web3 investmentsBlockchain gamingEmbracing the future(0:00) intro(0:50) Founders are the most interesting people in crypto(2:02) Why write Read, Write Own(4:50) the technical side of crypto(11:46) Big Tech vs Crypto(14:50) Crypto's value to the world(19:20) Digital ownership and take rates(25:19) Crypto's adoption phase(30:30) Rapid fire(37:57) What's next for crypto(40:50) The path to mainstream adoption(42:07) Advice for people starting out in crypto Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

This is a bonus episode, where Jacquelyn interviewed Alex Blania, CEO and co-founder of Tools for Humanity, in a fireside chat at a StrictlyVC event in San Francisco. The startup was co-founded by Alex, OpenAI's Sam Altman and Max Novendstern. To date, it has raised about $250 million from investors like a16z, Bain Capital Crypto and others. It is also the entity that created a crypto-focused project called Worldcoin. The startup is well-known across the venture capital, AI and crypto spaces for its futuristic-looking Orb device, which scans peoples' irises then assigns them a “World ID” that lets users access Worldcoin's application and a digital passport. The verification process aims to prove individuals' identities and stop anyone from making multiple accounts.They discussed how Alex got involved in Tools for Humanity over four years ago, how World ID could help improve digital verification during the rise of AI and more. Jacquelyn and Alex also talked about: Worldcoin's plans to generate revenue How World ID could help with elections A new “more friendly” Orb model AI's effect on society When Worldcoin will have a “ChatGPT moment” Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs, the technology company that aims to help grow the ecosystem for the layer-1 blockchain Solana.The conversation focused on Solana Mobile and its flagship web3 Android smartphone, Saga, which sold out in mid-December, as well as its new phone, Chapter 2 – which was announced last week. Within its first 30 hours Chapter 2 had over 30,000 preorders – signaling a lot of demand for the next generation Android-based phone. At the time of recording, Anatoly shared there were over 40,000 preorders.Anatoly and Jacquelyn discussed the long road to selling out Saga, how important rewards and developers are and the nitty gritty details for Chapter 2. They also dove into the company's strategy and long-term mission of going up against Google and Apple app stores and how long it may take for Solana Mobile to breakeven.If you need a refresher on Solana Mobile's Saga phone, we've got you covered:Buying frenzy for Solana Mobile's second phone drives preorders sky-highRing ring, Solana's web3-focused Saga phone is callingSolana's web3 phone is an ‘opportunity' against Google and Apple, co-founder says(0:00) Solana mobile background information(1:51) Launching Solana Mobile(6:17) Benefits of building on the DApp sotre(8:14) Saga phone and developer revenue(12:46) Reward models for adoption(15:07) Launching Chapter 2(23:28) Solana's Mobile Strategy(24:35) Crypto and digital self custody25:52) What's next for Solana Mobile   Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Monica Long, the president of Ripple, a blockchain-based digital payment network and protocol. Monica has spent the last 10 years at Ripple, working her way up from the director of communications to now, president. Ripple has been around since 2012 and is one of the oldest crypto entities. In recent years, it was in a legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from December 2020 until summer of 2023, over whether or not its token, XRP, should be registered as a security. Then, this past July, Ripple scored a victory against the SEC after a US federal judge ruled that secondary XRP sales, or sales to retail investors, aren't investment contracts or securities. But when it comes to sales with institutional clients, it could be treated as one. In the meantime, Ripple had been doubling down on global transactions and payments, among other elements. We talked about Monica's career growth, cross-border payments, traditional finance and the need for regulatory clarity.We also dove into: Ripple's suit with the SECThe XRP LedgerIts focus for 2024Advice for the community Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's bonus episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Michael Sonnenshein, the CEO at Grayscale Investments.Grayscale is a digital asset investment firm that aims to provide products and services to institutional and individual investors, it is well known for its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and now, its new bitcoin spot ETF product. The company was founded in 2014 and is one of the world's largest digital asset currency managers. The GBTC fund holds over 3% of the outstanding bitcoin supply, worth tens of billions of dollars.The firm and its executives have made headlines in the past for their tenacious efforts to get their bitcoin spot ETF approved after it was originally denied by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in June 2022 and later the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of it. And now, Grayscale's bitcoin spot ETF was approved. We dive into what a spot bitcoin ETF approval means for GBTC and market demand. We also discussed competition between issuers, fee structures and why regulated bitcoin exposure matters as well as what a spot bitcoin ETF could mean for the crypto space. Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's news episode, Jacquelyn dove back into the latest developments on spot bitcoin ETF applications in the U.S. as anticipation builds. Fred Thiel, the CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings, a digital asset technology company and largest publicly traded bitcoin mining firm, joined to help break down the latest developments on spot bitcoin ETFs. As it stands, there's 14 asset management firms including BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale and VanEck, hoping to individually win approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for their spot bitcoin ETFs. And some reports are now saying it might happen soon given the frequent meetings and updated filings in recent weeks. We also discussed what a spot bitcoin ETF could mean for investors, institutions and miners, as well as bitcoin's price.  Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to a re-released episode of of Chain Reaction, a podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's episode,  we're remixing an episode from earlier this year. Jacquelyn interviewed Deana Burke and Natasha Hoskins, the co-founders of Boys Club.Boys Club is a social decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) for the “crypto curious,” originally designed to get women and non-binary people into the web3 world, it now aims to be an open space for anyone looking to get into the space. Although it's a social DAO, Boys Club has a handful of other ventures like their newsletter and podcast, which I was a guest on, as well as events like crypto conference parties and trivia nights. Before Boys Club, Deana and Natasha were co-founders of a recently acquired travel platform Allcall. Deana was also a communications partner for the blockchain-based Celo Foundation and Natasha previously worked at Fora Travel as a general manager. We discussed the origin story for Boys Club, what trends Deana and Natasha are following and how they've seen the industry evolve since launching their group. We also talked about: EthCC 2023 vibe checkInclusivity in web3Diversifying the industryAdvice for the crypto newbies Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Staci Warden, the CEO of the Algorand Foundation, the organization behind the layer-1 blockchain Algorand. Previously, Warden worked at the Milken Institute and oversaw initiatives relating to capital market development, FinTech financial inclusion, cryptocurrencies and blockchain.Before that she was at JPMorgan, where she was an executive director leading public sector coverage. She also worked at Nasdaq and the U.S. Treasury. Warden sits on the advisory boards for the United Nations Capital Development Fund, the European Parliament's Science and Technology Options Assessment, and the U.S. Financial Technology Association. As for Algorand, it's a Singapore-based blockchain that aims to be fast, secure, decentralized and “the greenest” with its carbon-negative network. It had about 615,000 active addresses at the time of recording. We discussed Algorand's ecosystem, decentralization and real use cases being built during the bear market. We also talked about: Tokenization of assets Foundations behind blockchainsChallenges of expanding in the U.S.Algorand's plans for 2024  Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Johann Kerbrat, the general manager of crypto at Robinhood. Johann is leading the application's effort to expand its crypto exchange business and make digital assets more accessible to retail investors. Before joining Robinhood, Johann was an engineer at Airbnb and was the head of engineering at Uber and VP of engineering at Iron Fish, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency startup. We discussed Robinhood's expansion outside of the U.S., how the platform restricted holding and trading of certain crypto assets in June and where it stands today. We also talked about: Appealing to mainstream audiencesGrowing crypto on its platform    Regulatory concerns Robinhood's 2024 objectivesChain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed David Pakman, managing partner and head of venture investments at CoinFund.Before CoinFund, David spent 14 years at the venture capital firm Venrock. He also led the Series A and B rounds at Dollar Shave Club which was acquired by Unilever for $1 billion. And in 1991, David co-created Apple Music when he was a part of Apple's system software product marketing groupWe discussed the state of the crypto VC environment, areas he's focusing on for investments and what he thinks investors are missing. We also talked about: AI compared to crypto Future of NFTs Regulatory impact on investors 2024 outlookAdvice for startupsChain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify  or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.Connect with us:TwitterTikTokNewsletter

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Optimism's CEO and co-founder Jing Wang and chief growth officer Ryan Wyatt.Optimism is an Ethereum-focused layer-2 blockchain that focuses on scaling and speed, while also lowering costs for users. It helps users interact with Ethereum for about 10x cheaper through its blockchain and provides developers the ability to build decentralized applications (dApps) in a faster, scalable way. Before taking on this new role at Optimism, Ryan had a little bit of a break but was the president of Polygon Labs (he came on the podcast at the beginning of the year to talk about it) and before that, he was Youtube's Head of Gaming.Jing co-founded Optimism in 2018 and before that she founded Plasma Group, a research firm focused on addressing challenges related to scaling Ethereum. She also previously managed blockchain projects at companies like Zcash and Nasdaq.  We discussed how layer-2 blockchains like Optimism are trying to solve scalability issues on Ethereum and where Jing and Ryan see growth opportunities right now.We also talked about: Base building with Optimism's tech Competition between Ethereum and other blockchains Long term adoption Web3 gaming Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, we're re-sharing Jacquelyn's conversation with Tiago Sada, head of product for Tools for Humanity and core contributor to Worldcoin, at TechCrunch's Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco. The saga behind Sam Altman's departure from OpenAI has been a whirlwind, but his involvement in his crypto project Tools for Humanity, the team building Worldcoin, is uninterrupted, a source close to the matter told TechCrunch. Given that OpenAI is the talk of the town this week — we thought it would be a great idea to resurface this episode to give listeners a refresher on Worldcoin. In this conversation we cover we talk about Tools for Humanity, which is the team building Worldcoin, raised $115 million in a Series C round back in May with investors like Blockchain Capital, a16z, Bain Capital Crypto and Distributed Global. In March 2022, Worldcoin raised $100 million at a $3 billion valuation.The project was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman with a three part mission to create a global ID, a global currency and an app that enables payments, purchases and transfers with its token. Worldcoin has been on a world tour since April, hitting major cities like Tokyo, Miami, New York City and San Francisco. It has also set up shop in major cities in countries like Kenya, India and China. We dive into why someone would scan their eyes, alternate options and privacy concerns some skeptics have about the project. We also talked about: Global adoption of WorldcoinKenya 'indefinitely'' pausing Worldcoin iris scansProjects' biggest challenges for growthHow AI can fit into WorldcoinFuture opportunities and roadmapsChain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Stani Kulechov, the founder of Avara, formerly known as Aave Companies. The company is probably best known for Aave protocol, its platform-focused stablecoin GHO and its social network protocol Lens.The web3-focused software technology company announced exclusively on our podcast their rebranding as well as a strategic acquisition of an Ethereum-based crypto wallet. The name Aave will still exist, but through Aave Protocol and Aave Labs, two organizations' under Avara's umbrella brand. We discussed the rebrand, acquisition, changes to projects under the Avara umbrella and content creator monetization on decentralized social media platforms and what it can look like.We also talked about: Lens transitioning out of beta phaseDecentralized versus mainstream social media The future of social networksWhat's next for Avara  Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Brendan Quigley, partner at Baker Botts law firm. Quigley is a former U.S. Marine, now attorney who represents clients on matters related to white-collar government investigations and commercial disputes. Previously, he was a former federal prosecutor as an Assistant U.S Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, which we call SDNY. If that rings a bell it's because one of our other guests, Josh Naftalis also had that role. Brendan has tried over 12 cases that were brought to verdicts and was a senior member of the Office's Securities and Commodities Fraud Unit. We talked about SBF's verdict and future sentencing as well as how his March 2024 trial for additional charges will pan out. Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn is joined by TechCrunch+ Editor in Chief, Alex Wilhelm, to discuss the end of the trial for Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, who is facing seven charges related to fraud and money laundering. They talked about:SBF's testimonyThe prosecution's closing arguments The defense's closing arguments Key points in the case What's next for the trial Keep up to date with Jacquie's coverage at techcrunch.comHere are some articles to keep you up to date: SBF's prosecutors emphasize the case is not about crypto: ‘It's about lies. It's about stealing, greed.'SBF said nothing and everything in his testimony, all at the same timeSBF's defense puts forth a 35-minute last-ditch effort to show his goodwillSam Bankman-Fried says he didn't defraud FTX customers or take their fundsChain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on  Apple Podcasts, Spotif  or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this bonus episode of Chain Reaction, Jacquie is joined by TechCrunch+ Editor in Chief, Alex Wilhelm, go over the FTX/Sam Bankman-Fried trial before getting into his testimony from Thursday and Friday. They talked about:Why the judge had the jury leave the courthouse for SBF's testimony ThursdayThe general feeling of the courthouse on the fourth week of the trialA possible timeline for next week and what to look out for as the prosecution gets a chance to cross-examine SBFJoin us next week for another trial recapKeep up to date with Jacquie's coverage at techcrunch.comJoin us next week for another trial recap.Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Josh Naftalis, partner at law firm Pallas Partners.He's a long time attorney who represents companies, boards and executives in cases for white collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement matters, internal investigations, crisis management and more.Prior to Pallas Partners, Josh was a federal prosecutor and served over a decade as assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. While at the SDNY he led a number of government white collar prosecutions and trials and as a senior member of SDNY's Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Josh handled situations ranging from cryptocurrency to inside trading and market manipulation to corporate and accounting fraud. His work also involved coordination with other agencies like the SEC, CFTC, and FBI. While at the SDNY, Josh secured convictions in every federal criminal trial that he led as an assistant U.S. attorney. So we saw him as the perfect person to dive into the eye grabbing trial of Sam Bankman-Fried who is fighting seven charges related to money laundering and fraud. SBF's trial is also taking place at SDNY where Josh worked. We talked about all the nitty gritty details of SBF's trial: the prosecution's strategy, the defense's strategy, how this case compares to ones that Josh previously led and how likely it is that jurors will reach a guilty verdict.  We also talked about: How many years SBF could faceImportance of jurorsBest witness testimonies so farSentencing for other FTX execsWhy he thinks SBF will testify Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Katherine Dowling, the general counsel and chief compliance officer at Bitwise Asset Management. Bitwise is a crypto asset manager that is known for creating the world's largest crypto index fund. The firm also filed for a bitcoin spot ETF in the U.S., making it one of a number of firms whose applications are pending after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed its decisions.Katherine previously has worked in compliance at True Capital Management and Luminate Capital Partners. Before that, she spent a decade as assistant U.S. attorney, most recently in the economic crimes unit of the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of California. We talked about the status of Bitwise's bitcoin spot ETF application and how recent developments with other firms' similar applications may bring on the momentum needed for the financial vehicle to be approved. We also talked about: How regulatory legal procedures affect legislationEasiest places to start for crypto regulation Key factors for crypto companies' complianceFTX trial being ‘baked in' for regulators Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

This week, we have a bonus mini episode where Jacquelyn talks with TechCrunch+ editor-in-chief Alex Wilhelm to dive back into the Sam Bankman-Fried trial and what has transpired in its second week. Major witnesses who were involved in the downfall of FTX and its sister company Alameda testified like Gary Wang, CTO and cofounder of FTX, and Caroline Ellison, CEO of Alameda. The two of them plead guilty to a number of charges and could face maximum sentences of 50 to 110 years, respectively. It's also worth noting Wang and Ellison testified as part of a cooperation agreement for pleading guilty. Jacquelyn and Alex talk about key points from the trial, anecdotes that you can't read on a transcript and what she anticipates from both the prosecutors and defense going forward. Want more? Here's the latest on the SBF trial: Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison explains how FTX hid losses, sandbagged lendersAlameda Research allegedly paid Chinese officials around $150M to regain $1B worth of exchange accountsAlameda Research's ex-CEO Caroline Ellison testifies, claims SBF directed her to commit crimesAlameda had a $65B line of credit and ‘unlimited withdrawals'As SBF's trial heads into its second week, here's what we know so farChain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Grace Torrellas, Polygon Labs' VP of product and zkEVM product lead and co-founder and executive director of Blockchain for Humanity, at TechCrunch's Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco.Blockchain for Humanity aims to use Bitcoin and blockchain technology to help social impact projects. Separately, Polygon Labs is focused on the Ethereum blockchain through its own scaling protocols to make the web3 ecosystem more “affordable, secure and sustainable.” The chain also aims to grow the zero-knowledge ethereum virtual machine (zkEVM) space. Breaking it down for you: zkEVM is just fancy jargon for scalable smart contracts that are compatible with Ethereum and supports a type of computation known as “zero-knowledge proofs,” that verify each transaction. Polygon Labs has over 2.9 billion total transactions since inception in 2017. The Polygon network works with web3 organizations like Aave, Uniswap and OpenSea as well as big name brands like Disney and Starbucks. We talked about her work at both Polygon and Blockchain for humanity and how humanitarian work can be advanced in the web3 space. We also discussed: Scaling businesses with blockchain tech‘Aha' moments in web3 Opportunities in social impact Polygon's ecosystem growth Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Chain Reaction (and Jacquelyn) did a crossover episode with Alex Wilhelm, editor in chief of TechCrunch+ and co-host of Equity, TechCrunch's podcast focused on the business of startups.The highly anticipated criminal trial for Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, started on Tuesday to determine whether he's guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. Jacquelyn has been on the ground at the Southern District of New York court house, listening in to the trial in the same room as Bankman-Fried, so there was lots to talk about. We dove deep into what transpired the first two days of Bankman-Fried's trial, as well as who the jurors are, the first two witnesses and who else is expected to speak. We also got into the nitty gritty details, which you can't read about on a transcript.Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

This week, we have a bonus episode where Jacquelyn and TechCrunch+ Editor in Chief Alex Wilhelm interviewed Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins.Pudgy Penguins, originally known for its flagship collection of 8,888 NFTs that began in 2021 has expanded beyond that into a “IP and brand development company” after Luca bought the project for $2.5 million and took over as CEO in April 2022.For context, Pudgy Penguins digital collectibles have generated over $400 million in transaction volume since release. That early success in the NFT market has now been parlayed into the creation of an open-world digital player experience called Pudgy World, which integrates blockchain technology from Ethereum and zkSync Era, and through its toy line, Pudgy Toys, that launched back in May.We discussed with Luca how those toys launched in 2,000 Walmart stores across the U.S. and Smyths, one of the biggest toy stores in the United Kingdom; in addition to prior launches in Five Below, Amazon, Hot Topic and others stores. We also talked about: Economics of toys Monetizing NFTs long termDemand for Pudgy ToysBringing web3 to the real worldFuture plans for its digital world Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Tiago Sada, head of product for Tools for Humanity and core contributor to Worldcoin, at TechCrunch's Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco.Tools for Humanity, which is the team building Worldcoin, raised $115 million in a Series C round back in May with investors like Blockchain Capital, a16z, Bain Capital Crypto and Distributed Global. In March 2022, Worldcoin raised $100 million at a $3 billion valuation.The project was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman with a three part mission to create a global ID, a global currency and an app that enables payments, purchases and transfers with its token. Worldcoin has been on a world tour since April, hitting major cities like Tokyo, Miami, New York City and San Francisco. It has also set up shop in major cities in countries like Kenya, India and China. We dive into why someone would scan their eyes, alternate options and privacy concerns some skeptics have about the project. We also talked about: Global adoption of Worldcoin Kenya 'indefinitely'' pausing Worldcoin iris scansProjects' biggest challenges for growth How AI can fit into Worldcoin Future opportunities and roadmaps Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week's episode, Jacquelyn did a live interview with Chris Lehane, chief strategy officer at Haun Ventures, at TechCrunch's Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco.Prior to joining the firm, Chris was an executive at Airbnb. He also co-founded a strategic consultancy firm, Fabiani & Lehane, that advised political, corporate, technology, entertainment and professional sports clients. In the 1990s, Chris held various government roles like press secretary to Vice President Al Gore and was special assistant counsel to President Bill Clinton.After a number of decades working across different industries, Chris landed in the world of crypto at Haun Ventures, a web3-focused venture capital firm that has two investment vehicles: a $500 million early stage fund and a $1 billion acceleration fund. Aside from Haun, he is also a member of Coinbase's Global Advisory Council.We discussed Haun's investment strategy amid U.S. and global regulatory challenges, how the firm advises portfolio companies to navigate the ever changing environment and whether Chris find's the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's regulation tactics productive, among other things. Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's episode, Jacquelyn is sharing a panel she moderated live at Avalanche House, while she was in Seoul, South Korea for Korea Blockchain Week. The panel focused on the biggest opportunities and challenges facing web3 enterprise and included the following speakers:Dan Sun, startup success manager for web3 APAC lead at Google Cloud Gagan Mac, head of product and senior director of web3 services at Circle Johann Eid, chief business officer at ChainlinkLihan Lee, co-CEO and founder of XangleWe discussed the state of web3 enterprise adoption today compared to past quarters and years and dove into the ripple effects that catastrophic events from 2022 had on the space. We also talked about: Regulatory scrutiny Next wave of enterprise adoption New web3 enterprise use cases Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotif,  or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Charlie Shrem, founder of the Bitcoin Foundation, general partner at Druid Ventures and host of the Charlie Shrem show.Before all that, he was the co-founder and CEO of BitInstant which was a bitcoin payment processor that started in 2011. Shortly after founding the company, he was charged with operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and for allegedly attempting to launder over $1 million through the now defunct dark web marketplace Silk Road. He spent a little over a year in a low-security prison as a result. Now, Charlie is a vocal advocate for clearer crypto regulation, he's a crypto investor, podcaster, and even a movie producer.We discussed how the bitcoin and crypto ecosystem have changed (and stayed the same) over the past decade as well as how his incarceration shaped his view on the industry. We also talked about: Need for regulatory clarity in U.S. Crypto projects and sectors he's followingHow the bitcoin ecosystem is growing Friend.techAdvice for listenersChain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's news episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Craig Salm, chief legal officer at Grayscale Investments.Grayscale is a digital asset investment firm that aims to provide products and services, like its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), to institutional and individual investors. The company was founded in 2014 and is one of the world's largest digital asset currency managers. It currently owns 3.4% of outstanding bitcoin, “worth tens of billions of dollars,” according to a recent legal filing. The firm was making headlines this week after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Grayscale in a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the matter of a bitcoin ETF. This ruling is in response to the SEC denying Grayscale's application to convert its GBTC product into a bitcoin spot ETF in June 2022. We discussed why the ruling matters for Grayscale and its GBTC investment vehicle; as well as what it could mean for the crypto ecosystem and other firms like BlackRock, Citadel and Fidelity that also filed applications for bitcoin spot ETFs. We also talked about the SEC's argued difference between bitcoin futures ETFs, which have been approved by the agency, and bitcoin spot ETFs, which have not been approved by the agency. Not quite caught up on bitcoin ETFs? Here's some TechCrunch coverage:The SEC rejected bitcoin spot ETFs again. Now what?A bitcoin spot ETF could open the floodgates for wider crypto demandAs appeals court rules in favor of Grayscale, a bitcoin spot ETF could be on the horizonChain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

A podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Erik Svenson, co-founder, president and chief financial officer at Blockstream, a bitcoin and blockchain-focused infrastructure firm.  The company was founded in 2014 and has its own sidechain technology, Liquid Network, as well as bitcoin mining operations and hardware wallets for Bitcoin and other assets. It most recently raised $125 million in January and has raised over $400 million to date. Erik previously worked on Wall Street as a former VP for AIG investments and was a co-founder and consultant of other startups. His last startup he co-founded before Blockstream was Dan's Plan, a health tech company. We discussed how the current macroenvironment is impacting Bitcoin-focused businesses and where Erik sees the most opportunities for startups today. We also talked about: Blockstream's mining operationsSurviving a bear marketTransitioning from TradFi to cryptoAdvice for startupsChain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

A podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's news episode, Jacquelyn talks with Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, alongside TechCrunch+ editor-in-chief Alex Wilhelm.Balchunas is the author of The Institutional ETF Toolbox and The Bogle Effect. He also co-hosts Bloomberg's Trillions podcast and ETF IQ show. Spot bitcoin exchange traded funds, or ETFs, have been a hot topic in the crypto community for many years, but have recently gotten more attention due to Jacobi Asset Management listing Europe's first bitcoin spot ETF, almost two years after its initial approval. Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently delayed deadlines for bitcoin spot ETF applications. We dive into what's going on with the bitcoin spot ETFs in the U.S., why it matters and the odds of the SEC approving one in the near future. We also talk about Europe's first bitcoin spot ETF, how these investment vehicles in general could impact crypto exchanges' trading volumes and what else is in store for them. Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Robbie Ferguson, co-founder and president of Immutable. Immutable is a web3 company consisting of two entities: Immutable Platform, a developer platform for building and scaling Ethereum-based web3 games, and Immutable Games, a web3 game developer and publisher. Some traditional gaming studios and IP holders are also building on its platform like GameStop, TikTok, Illuvium and NFT marketplace OpenSea, to name a few. In March 2022, Immutable raised $200 million at a $2.5 billion valuation and last June it launched a $500 million developer and venture investment fund, which TechCrunch covered exclusively. We discussed the web3 gaming market and how it's grown in the past year and where it's going in the future.We also talked about: Creating value in games Mobile gaming vs web3 gamingGlobal adoption Advice for developersChain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's news episode, Jacquelyn sits down with Jesse Pollak, lead for Base and head of protocols at Coinbase. You might remember him from an interview we did with him back in April. Coinbase, which is the second largest crypto exchange by trading volume, launched Base, an Ethereum-focused layer-2 (L2) blockchain, in February. The platform was in testnet, which is a test phase of the blockchain network, until mid-July when it launched its mainnet, the fully live version of a blockchain on the main network (hence the name: mainnet), to developers. Next week, Base is officially launching its mainnet to the public on August 9th, alongside its “Onchain Summer” initiative. We dive into what's going on, why it matters, where Pollak sees Base going in the future and why he's keeping an eye on the bigger layer-2 ecosystem.Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

A podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Deana Burke and Natasha Hoskins, the co-founders of Boys Club.Boys Club is a social decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) for the “crypto curious,” originally designed to get women and non-binary people into the web3 world, it now aims to be an open space for anyone looking to get into the space. Although it's a social DAO, Boys Club has a handful of other ventures like their newsletter and podcast, which I was a guest on, as well as events like crypto conference parties and trivia nights. Before Boys Club, Deana and Natasha were co-founders of a recently acquired travel platform Allcall. Deana was also a communications partner for the blockchain-based Celo Foundation and Natasha previously worked at Fora Travel as a general manager. We discussed the origin story for Boys Club, what trends Deana and Natasha are following and how they've seen the industry evolve since launching their group. We also talked about: EthCC 2023 vibe checkInclusivity in web3 Diversifying the industry Advice for the crypto newbiesChain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious. This week we have a bonus episode. Jacquelyn interviewed Stu Alderoty, chief legal officer of Ripple Labs. Stu spent most of his career working for traditional financial institutions in legal roles at firms like CIT Group, American Express and HSBC and left that world in 2019 to join Ripple.Ripple has been around since 2012, but has been making headlines lately for the recent federal court ruling that stated the XRP token, which is linked to Ripple, is not a security when sold to the general public but can be treated as a security for past XRP sales to institutional clients. We broke down the nitty gritty details of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York federal court ruling for Ripple and what it means for the company, XRP token and crypto ecosystem. We also talked about: Securities vs. commodities Ripple's SEC lawsuit Future regulation and clarity Advice for other startups Need to catch up before you listen? Read these for a quick overview:Federal court rules Ripple's XRP token can be treated as a security… sometimesRipple's XRP case ‘underscores the need for regulatory clarity'Chain Reaction comes out every other Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Maria Shen, a general partner on the investment team at Electric Capital, an early stage venture firm focused on crypto, blockchain, fintech and marketplaces. Before Electric Capital, Maria was the CTO and co-founder of a startup Bambify that helped small to medium-sized businesses create more efficient supply chains with manufacturers globally. Prior to that, she worked at Microsoft. In March 2022, the firm announced that it closed $1 billion for a pair of crypto funds – a $400 million vehicle for making equity investments in startups and a $600 million fund intended to invest directly in crypto tokens. Its website currently showcases a portfolio with about 75 investments with crypto startups like Magic Eden, ConsenSys and Bitwise, to name a few. More recently, Electric Capital put out a report that showed the number of blockchain developers in the U.S. has declined every year since 2017, dropping to 29% last year from 40% in 2017. We dove into what that report really means and how it will affect the growth of developers domestically and internationally. We discussed what crypto sectors Maria is watching for investments, why she's betting big on NFTs and the general venture capital market sentiment. We also talked about: U.S. regulatory impact on investments The bear market Trends she's following Advice for founders Chain Reaction comes out every other Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Jack Lu, co-founder and CEO of NFT marketplace Magic Eden. This is his second time on Chain Reaction, but the market has evolved a lot since the last time he came on in August 2022, so we're excited to have him back! Before co-founding Magic Eden in 2021, Lu worked as a product manager at Google and a consultant for Boston Consulting Group. Magic Eden originally began as a Solana-based NFT trading platform, but has expanded its support to other blockchain networks like Polygon, Ethereum and Bitcoin. Today, it has grown into one of the largest NFT marketplaces with over 8,000 collections, about $3 billion in NFT transactions and 22 million unique monthly visitors. In June 2022, Magic Eden raised $130 million in a Series B round that granted it unicorn status.We discussed why Magic Eden expanded its support to other blockchains, adding BRC-20 token support to its secondary platform and how the company plans on staying competitive in the constantly changing market. We also talked about: NFT market volatilityRoyalty feesWeb3 gaming expansionAdvice for NFT communityNeed to catch up before you listen? Read these for a quick overview:August 2022 episode: Magic Eden threatens OpenSea's NFT dominance (w/ Jack Lu)Magic Eden raises $130M, hitting unicorn status at $1.6B valuationNFT marketplace Magic Eden integrates with Polygon to grow blockchain gamingMagic Eden exec sees NFT gaming like the ‘early days of mobile gaming'Magic Eden launches Bitcoin marketplace as Ordinal inscriptions continue to growChain Reaction comes out every other Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A show that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news with some of the biggest names in crypto breaking things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Patrick Kaminski, the director of digital innovation for web3 and metaverse at L'Oreal, and Manon Cardiel, head of strategic planning and partnerships within web3 and metaverse at L'Oreal. Patrick is the leader behind NYX Professional Makeup's GORJS DAO, which launched in mid-January with hopes of combining the NFT world and the beauty industry in the metaverse. While Manon worked on the GORJS project, she also helped launch NFT collections for companies like Mugler and Yves Saint Laurent. L'Oreal is best known for its beauty products, but the over 100 year old company is also home to a plethora of brands that many of us use and own like Maybelline, Yves Saint Laurent, Armani, Kiehls, Valentino, Prada, CeraVe and more. We discussed why L'Oreal wanted to get into the web3 ecosystem, what it's like incorporating a DAO into a traditional brand and how other brands and companies are – or aren't – getting into the cryptosphere. We also dove into: Growing brand loyalty  Consumer demand and feedbackBrands skepticism of NFTs, metaverse Advice to brands looking to get into web3Chain Reaction comes out every other Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

This week, we have a bonus episode! Jacquelyn interviewed Paul Grewal, chief legal officer at Coinbase. Grewal has been at Coinbase, the second largest crypto exchange globally, for almost three years. Previously he was the vice president and deputy general counsel at Facebook, among other roles. This week, Grewal has been busy testifying before Congress and addressing recent legal ramifications Coinbase faced.On Tuesday, the SEC sued Coinbase for securities laws violations, just one day after the agency sued Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange. Separately, on Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit gave the SEC a deadline to respond to Coinbase to clarify its stance on a rulemaking petition that the exchange asked for in July 2022. Jacquelyn sat down with Grewal to dive into the company's operations going forward, how it plans to deal with the legal process, its level of confidence amid the crackdown, and plans for best and worst case scenarios.We also discussed: Potential crypto legislation from CongressU.S. agencies sentiment toward digital assetsFuture of assets listed on its exchangeBinance's SEC caseNeed to catch up before you listen? Related articles are here: Coinbase chief legal officer expects new crypto laws to come in wake of SEC lawsuitsSEC Chair Gensler lambasts crypto industry after agency charges Binance, CoinbaseAfter Binance, US SEC sues Coinbase for securities laws violationsChain Reaction comes out every other Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A show that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news with some of the biggest names in crypto breaking things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Gary Vaynerchuk, better known as Gary Vee. He is the chairman of VaynerX and CEO of VaynerMedia and NFT collection VeeFriends. He's a five-time New York Times bestselling author and previously created Wine Library, one of the first e-commerce platforms for alcohol in the early 2000s. In 2009, he co-founded VaynerMedia with his younger brother AJ and fast forward today the company services clients like PepsiCo, GE, Johnson and Johnson, Chase and others. Gary Vee is a “die hard” New York Jets fan (and wants to buy the team one day), as well as an investor in a handful of major companies like Twitter, Venmo and Facebook – which we talk about in the episode. We dove into a handful of topics surrounding the NFT ecosystem, how Gary Vee got into the space and gained traction for his collection and where he sees the sector going long term. We also talked about: VeeFriends origin storyImportance of intellectual property Mainstream adoptionWhat NFT collections are getting wrong Advice for NFT projects Chain Reaction comes out every other Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

A show that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news with some of the biggest names in crypto breaking things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, a protocol that provides an oracle network to power smart contracts. Chainlink is also known as a web3 services platform that connects people, businesses and data with the world of web3. And for good reason - it has enabled over $7 trillion in transaction volume across DeFi, gaming, NFTs and other major industries. Prior to co-founding Chainlink, Nazarov co-founded four other businesses, most recently SmartContract - which focused on smart contracts. We discussed a number of things surrounding smart contracts, technological guarantees, cross-chain interoperability, and Nazarov's long-term vision for Chainlink.We also dove into:  Unexpected smart contract use casesCryptographic guaranteesHow traditional companies can tokenize assets AI and blockchain technology CCIP updates Chain Reaction comes out every other Thursday at 12:00 p.m. PT, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A show that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news with some of the biggest names in crypto breaking things down block by block for the crypto curious. This week we have a bonus episode from a fireside chat Jacquelyn did with Nadya Tolokonnikova, the creator of the protest art collective Pussy Riot, at NFT NYC in April. Tolokonnikova was sentenced to two years of imprisonment in 2012 after being found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred,” but was released early under amnesty. Fast forward to 2023 and Tolokonnikova has continued to use the Pussy Riot name to fight  in favor of women and LGBTQ people's rights and against Russia's control under President Vladimir Putin.  As of March, Tolokonnikova was added to Russia's most wanted criminals list. Tolokonnikova has also spoken before the U.S. Congress, British Parliament, European Parliament and has also appeared on TV shows like House of Cards. We dove into a deep conversation surrounding Tolokonnikova's mission, how she uses NFTs as a form of activism and how she got into the space. We also discussed:  How others can use NFTs for activismFuture visions for NFT utility Advice for projects in the space Chain Reaction comes out every other Thursday at 12:00 p.m. PT, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A show that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news with some of the biggest names in crypto breaking things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Jake Chervinsky, the chief policy officer at Blockchain Association, a non-profit organization focused on promoting “pro-innovation” policy for the digital asset world. He is also a board member of the DeFi education fund and advisor for a web3 seed stage fund Variant.Prior to his work with the Blockchain association, Chervinsky began his attorney career in private practice with a focus on anti-money laundering and anti-corruption compliance and investigations, financial services litigation and government enforcement defense. He spends a lot of time in DC, testifying at hearings to help provide clarity on the crypto industry in hopes to guide it in the right direction. We dove deep into conversations about all things regulation from how Chervinsky views the current regulatory landscape to whether or not we're in a “crackdown” era as people call it. We also discussed:  Regulators views changingAmerican crypto companies Are cryptocurrencies commodities or securities  Stablecoin legislationFuture legal frameworks and guidelines Chain Reaction comes out every other Thursday at 12:00 p.m. PT, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A show that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news with some of the biggest names in crypto breaking things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week's episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Jesse Pollak, the lead for Base and head of protocols at Coinbase. Base is an Ethereum-focused layer 2 blockchain launched by Coinbase in February of this year. Pollak previously led all retail engineering at Coinbase, including building Coinbase, Coinbase Pro, and Coinbase Wallet. In a past life, Pollak started Clef, a 2FA mobile app and was an engineer at BuzzFeed. A number of crypto businesses, platforms, marketplaces and infrastructure firms have committed to building on Base. Those that plan to be involved include Blockdaemon, Chainlink, Etherscan, Quicknode, Aave, Animoca Brands, Dune, Nansen, Magic Eden, Pyth, Rainbow Wallet, Ribbon Finance, The Graph, Wormhole and Gelato, to name a handful.Of course, we talked a lot about Base and where it's headed in the future, as well as how regulation could affect the blockchain and the timeline for its Mainnet launch; Pollak shared it's aiming for 2023.We also dove into: Decentralizing BaseBlockchain inspirationCoinbase's role in BaseAdvice for developersChain Reaction comes out every other Thursday at 12:00 p.m. PT, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.The TechCrunch Podcast Network has been nominated for two Webbys in the Best Technology Podcast category. You can help TechCrunch win by voting for Chain Reaction, which digs into the wild world of crypto. Or Found which brings you the stories behind the startups by sitting down with the founders themselves. Please take a few moments to vote here. Voting closes April 20. (Obviously, I host Chain Reaction, so vote for my show!)Mentioned in the show: https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/23/coinbase-launches-blockchain-base-to-help-developers-build-dapps-on-chain/