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An anti-MEV activist spent weeks building 66 fake contracts to trap the sandwich bot jaredfromsubway.eth. Then jared's operators did the one thing nobody expected. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsors! Cape: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at https://cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). ======================================================== A new R&D lab called Ethlabs has split from the Ethereum Foundation, backed by Bitmine and Joe Lubin. Its first stated goal is solving a '15 minute finality problem' that none of the hosts can quite explain the point of. Kain Warwick, Taylor Monahan, and Luca Netz ask whether a breakaway staffed largely by ex-EF people can really escape the EF's habits, or just rebuild a smaller version of them. Then the conversation turns to fomo's $75M raise from non-crypto VCs, and why a trading app that never calls itself a wallet may have cracked the onboarding flow the rest of crypto keeps getting wrong. The hosts also trace a CryptoPunks judge ordering a self-represented plaintiff to handwrite filings to stop the AI slop, the anti-MEV activist who trapped sandwich bot jaredfromsubway.eth with 66 fake contracts, and the WSJ's claim that Polymarket paid creators to stage fake winning bets. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Timestamps
Claude Fable 5 refuses security work, Kain Warwick pulls $5,000 of compute from a $200 plan, and Humanity Protocol loses its bridge, token, and treasury to one infected device. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsors! Multichain Advisors: Get help navigating TGEs, go‑to‑market, BD and partnerships, capital markets advisory, PR, media placements, KOL activations and more at https://multichainadv.com. ======================================================== Anthropic promised Mythos and shipped Claude Fable 5 instead. The model found a four-year-old bug in Zcash's shielded pool that survived multiple expert audits. But when Anthropic shipped the model days later, it was no longer willing to audit smart contracts, bailing the moment a prompt smells like security work.Jailbreakers are already turning a jailbroken Opus 4.8 against it, while white hats sit locked out. Kain Warwick, Taylor Monahan, and Luca Netz weigh the defender's dilemma: builders cannot point the model at their own code, but nobody can prove black hats have not jailbroken their way in — and, the hosts warn,North Korean threat actors have spent more than six months harvesting AI API keys. Then Kain runs the numbers on the subsidy: roughly 200 million tokens in four hours on a $200 plan, about $5,000 at API rates, and on the 22nd Fable goes API only as the first unsubsidized frontier model. Plus Pump.fun's bounty marketplace and the Humanity Protocol hack, which left the hosts asking why a 3-of-6 multisig existed at all. When the subsidies stop, who still gets the frontier? Host: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Timestamps
Claude Fable 5 refuses security work, Kain Warwick pulls $5,000 of compute from a $200 plan, and Humanity Protocol loses its bridge, token, and treasury to one infected device. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsors! Multichain Advisors: Get help navigating TGEs, go‑to‑market, BD and partnerships, capital markets advisory, PR, media placements, KOL activations and more at https://multichainadv.com. ======================================================== Anthropic promised Mythos and shipped Claude Fable 5 instead. The model found a four-year-old bug in Zcash's shielded pool that survived multiple expert audits. But when Anthropic shipped the model days later, it was no longer willing to audit smart contracts, bailing the moment a prompt smells like security work.Jailbreakers are already turning a jailbroken Opus 4.8 against it, while white hats sit locked out. Kain Warwick, Taylor Monahan, and Luca Netz weigh the defender's dilemma: builders cannot point the model at their own code, but nobody can prove black hats have not jailbroken their way in — and, the hosts warn,North Korean threat actors have spent more than six months harvesting AI API keys. Then Kain runs the numbers on the subsidy: roughly 200 million tokens in four hours on a $200 plan, about $5,000 at API rates, and on the 22nd Fable goes API only as the first unsubsidized frontier model. Plus Pump.fun's bounty marketplace and the Humanity Protocol hack, which left the hosts asking why a 3-of-6 multisig existed at all. When the subsidies stop, who still gets the frontier? Host: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Timestamps
Circle froze $12M in a DeFi pool on a Friday court order, trapping users who had nothing to do with the dispute. . Polymarket couldn't resolve a Strategy market. And MegaETH's apps are defecting. Nothing is simple. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsors! Multichain Advisors: Get help navigating TGEs, go‑to‑market, BD and partnerships, capital markets advisory, PR, media placements, KOL activations and more at https://multichainadv.com. ======================================================== Strategy sold 32 Bitcoin before the May 31 deadline. It just didn't disclose it until June 1 — and that one-day gap is why a $50M Polymarket market resolved "no," even though Strategy's own 8-K shows the sale happened inside the window.Kain Warwick, Luca Netz, and Taylor Monahan trace why Polymarket keeps writing resolution criteria that break under edge cases, and why handing oracle duties to UMA is a liability for a $20 billion platform. They also get into the third proposal to cut Solana's staking inflation, and what it would take to spark an "ultrasound money" moment for SOL. The most consequential story is Circle. A Friday-afternoon ex-parte court order froze a $12M commingled USDC pool all weekend, trapping innocent users' funds inside the Zama privacy protocol. Taylor's warning: Circle's policy of complying with any court order without retaining a final say creates a replicable attack template for any pool with USDC exposure. The episode closes on MegaETH and Monad: Kain on whether the "Mega Mafia" approach was adverse selection from the start, and Luca on what chains actually owe their builders. Host: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Circle froze $12M in a DeFi pool on a Friday court order, trapping users who had nothing to do with the dispute. . Polymarket couldn't resolve a Strategy market. And MegaETH's apps are defecting. Nothing is simple. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsors! Multichain Advisors: Get help navigating TGEs, go‑to‑market, BD and partnerships, capital markets advisory, PR, media placements, KOL activations and more at https://multichainadv.com. ======================================================== Strategy sold 32 Bitcoin before the May 31 deadline. It just didn't disclose it until June 1 — and that one-day gap is why a $50M Polymarket market resolved "no," even though Strategy's own 8-K shows the sale happened inside the window.Kain Warwick, Luca Netz, and Taylor Monahan trace why Polymarket keeps writing resolution criteria that break under edge cases, and why handing oracle duties to UMA is a liability for a $20 billion platform. They also get into the third proposal to cut Solana's staking inflation, and what it would take to spark an "ultrasound money" moment for SOL. The most consequential story is Circle. A Friday-afternoon ex-parte court order froze a $12M commingled USDC pool all weekend, trapping innocent users' funds inside the Zama privacy protocol. Taylor's warning: Circle's policy of complying with any court order without retaining a final say creates a replicable attack template for any pool with USDC exposure. The episode closes on MegaETH and Monad: Kain on whether the "Mega Mafia" approach was adverse selection from the start, and Luca on what chains actually owe their builders. Host: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Timestamps
Pump.fun set fire to $370 million in tokens. Luca lays out the airdrop math that says they should have done the opposite. Thank you to our sponsors! MultiChain Advisors is an emerging technology growth firm that has helped create $50B+ in enterprise value for 80+ clients over the past 4 years. They're the partner to help navigate markets. Build real traction today at multichainadv.com Pump.fun had a choice with $370 million worth of its own tokens. It burned them. On this week's Uneasy Money, Luca Netz argues that was the worst option on the table. He lays out the “people's champ” math that, in his view, could have turned Pump.fun into a $5 billion-a-year business if Alon Cohen had launched the biggest airdrop crypto has ever seen—and bought the tokens back at the bottom. Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan also dig into the 137,000 ETH community effort to plug the KelpDAO hole, why Tay thinks Aave—not Layer Zero or KelpDAO—is the key player in DeFi's latest blowup, and Luca's blunt new take on whether DeFi yield is even worth the risk right now. Plus: Meta paying creators in USDC, the ghost of Libra, and OpenAI's leaked AI-native phone. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Pump.fun set fire to $370 million in tokens. Luca lays out the airdrop math that says they should have done the opposite. Thank you to our sponsors! MultiChain Advisors is an emerging technology growth firm that has helped create $50B+ in enterprise value for 80+ clients over the past 4 years. They're the partner to help navigate markets. Build real traction today at multichainadv.com Pump.fun had a choice with $370 million worth of its own tokens. It burned them. On this week's Uneasy Money, Luca Netz argues that was the worst option on the table. He lays out the “people's champ” math that, in his view, could have turned Pump.fun into a $5 billion-a-year business if Alon Cohen had launched the biggest airdrop crypto has ever seen—and bought the tokens back at the bottom. Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan also dig into the 137,000 ETH community effort to plug the KelpDAO hole, why Tay thinks Aave—not Layer Zero or KelpDAO—is the key player in DeFi's latest blowup, and Luca's blunt new take on whether DeFi yield is even worth the risk right now. Plus: Meta paying creators in USDC, the ghost of Libra, and OpenAI's leaked AI-native phone. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The $300M KelpDAO exploit became a watershed moment for DeFi, and the Arbitrum Security Council voted froze $70M worth of stolen funds. Is this a slippery slope or learning from history? Thank you to our sponsors! MultiChain Advisors is an emerging technology growth firm that has helped create $50B+ in enterprise value for 80+ clients over the past 4 years. They're the partner to help navigate markets. Build real traction today at multichainadv.com The largest DeFi hack of 2026 starts with an RPC node. Not a smart contract bug. Not a stolen key. A spoofed node and a forged transaction. And North Korea drained $300 million from Kelp DAO through LayerZero's bridge in a single block. Then the attacker went to Aave, borrowed against assets that didn't exist, and created a bad debt crisis that locked Kain out of his own position. That was Friday. By Sunday, North Korea had started laundering. By Tuesday, Arbitrum's security council had done something no L2 has ever done: frozen $70 million of funds had stolen by upgrading a bridge contract mid-hack. Kain Warwick, Taylor Monahan, and Luca Netz, with guest Odysseas Lamtzidis, take apart every layer: the DVN architecture flaw, the Aave contagion, the circuit breaker debate, and why the ‘code is law' era may have just quietly ended. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Guest: Odysseas Lamtzidis, Founder & CEO of Phylax Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The $300M KelpDAO exploit became a watershed moment for DeFi, and the Arbitrum Security Council voted froze $70M worth of stolen funds. Is this a slippery slope or learning from history? Thank you to our sponsors! MultiChain Advisors is an emerging technology growth firm that has helped create $50B+ in enterprise value for 80+ clients over the past 4 years. They're the partner to help navigate markets. Build real traction today at multichainadv.com The largest DeFi hack of 2026 starts with an RPC node. Not a smart contract bug. Not a stolen key. A spoofed node and a forged transaction. And North Korea drained $300 million from Kelp DAO through LayerZero's bridge in a single block. Then the attacker went to Aave, borrowed against assets that didn't exist, and created a bad debt crisis that locked Kain out of his own position. That was Friday. By Sunday, North Korea had started laundering. By Tuesday, Arbitrum's security council had done something no L2 has ever done: frozen $70 million of funds had stolen by upgrading a bridge contract mid-hack. Kain Warwick, Taylor Monahan, and Luca Netz, with guest Odysseas Lamtzidis, take apart every layer: the DVN architecture flaw, the Aave contagion, the circuit breaker debate, and why the ‘code is law' era may have just quietly ended. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Guest: Odysseas Lamtzidis, Founder & CEO of Phylax Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A Bitcoin developer just proposed freezing wallets that don't upgrade for quantum resistance. Including Satoshi's. Thank you to our sponsors! Nexo Nexo is the premier digital wealth platform. Receive interest on your crypto, borrow against it without selling, and trade a range of assets. Now available in the U.S with 30 days of exclusive privileges. Get started at http://nexo.com/unchained Multichain Advisors MultiChain Advisors is an emerging technology growth firm that has helped create $50B+ in enterprise value for 80+ clients over the past 4 years. They're the partner to help navigate markets. Build real traction today at multichainadv.com Citrea Bitcoin's application layer, Citrea, launched its mainnet, expanding Bitcoin's utility to privacy, lending, BTC yields, and more. Citrea enables: cBTC: The first trust-minimized Bitcoin on a fully programmable platform. ctUSD: A native stablecoin for Bitcoin, allowing for unified liquidity. Bitcoin Capital Markets bringing demand, and utility to the Bitcoin Network. Explore the Citrea Ecosystem. A Bitcoin developer just proposed the unthinkable: freeze every wallet that does not upgrade for quantum resistance, including Satoshi's. Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan are here to reckon with BIP-361, the quantum threat to early Bitcoin addresses, and what it means that this proposal exists at all. They also work through who actually wrote Bitcoin — Hal Finney, Adam Back, and Dave Kleiman — and a trail that runs through the Epstein files. Plus: Justin Sun's frozen World Liberty Financial tokens expose why token holders have no legal rights, EtherFi's exit from Scroll turns into a live platform risk case study, and Circle's decision not to freeze known stolen USDC raises the question of what stablecoin issuers owe to the ecosystem. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Anthropic's new model is too dangerous to release publicly. It's already found 20 zero-days. Kain, Taylor, and Austin want to know when it finds the first one in a smart contract. Thank you to our sponsors! MultiChain Advisors is an emerging technology growth firm that has helped create over $50 billion in enterprise value for more than 80 clients, like Pyth, Moonpay Commerce, and Wormhole. They're the partner you want when you're navigating markets and trying to break out from the noise. They help navigate TGEs, go‑to‑market, BD and partnerships, capital markets advisory, PR, media placements, KOL activations and more, driving execution from launch to scale. Visit multichainadv.com. Bitcoin's application layer, Citrea, launched its mainnet, expanding Bitcoin's utility to privacy, lending, BTC yields, and more. Citrea enables: cBTC: The first trust-minimized Bitcoin on a fully programmable platform. ctUSD: A native stablecoin for Bitcoin, allowing for unified liquidity. Bitcoin Capital Markets bringing demand, and utility to the Bitcoin Network. Explore the Citrea Ecosystem. Ether.fi is giving Unchained listeners 15% cashback on food and ride apps — and that's on top of the 3% you get on everything else. Your bank is charging you to use your own money. Laura switched and loves her card! Go to ether.fi/unchained to claim your offer. Anthropic's Mythos model is so capable that the company restricted access to 12 partners and a $100 million compute budget rather than releasing it publicly. It has already identified 20 zero-day vulnerabilities in decades-old software. Now the question over DeFi: if Mythos turns its attention to smart contracts, what survives? The Balancer V2 hack rattled assumptions about immutability as a security guarantee. Kain Warwick, Taylor Monahan, and Austin Griffith of the Ethereum Foundation work through what autonomous AI hacking means for protocols built to be unhackable, why skill files are the sleeper development in the agent stack, how a degen farming bot locked funds in an Aerodrome gauge through a single wrong NFT transfer, and what Anthropic's 89% uptime tells you about the infrastructure running the most powerful AI on earth. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Guest: Austin Griffith, Ethereum Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Anthropic's new model is too dangerous to release publicly. It's already found 20 zero-days. Kain, Taylor, and Austin want to know when it finds the first one in a smart contract. Thank you to our sponsors! MultiChain Advisors is an emerging technology growth firm that has helped create over $50 billion in enterprise value for more than 80 clients, like Pyth, Moonpay Commerce, and Wormhole. They're the partner you want when you're navigating markets and trying to break out from the noise. They help navigate TGEs, go‑to‑market, BD and partnerships, capital markets advisory, PR, media placements, KOL activations and more, driving execution from launch to scale. Visit multichainadv.com. Bitcoin's application layer, Citrea, launched its mainnet, expanding Bitcoin's utility to privacy, lending, BTC yields, and more. Citrea enables: cBTC: The first trust-minimized Bitcoin on a fully programmable platform. ctUSD: A native stablecoin for Bitcoin, allowing for unified liquidity. Bitcoin Capital Markets bringing demand, and utility to the Bitcoin Network. Explore the Citrea Ecosystem. Ether.fi is giving Unchained listeners 15% cashback on food and ride apps — and that's on top of the 3% you get on everything else. Your bank is charging you to use your own money. Laura switched and loves her card! Go to ether.fi/unchained to claim your offer. Anthropic's Mythos model is so capable that the company restricted access to 12 partners and a $100 million compute budget rather than releasing it publicly. It has already identified 20 zero-day vulnerabilities in decades-old software. Now the question over DeFi: if Mythos turns its attention to smart contracts, what survives? The Balancer V2 hack rattled assumptions about immutability as a security guarantee. Kain Warwick, Taylor Monahan, and Austin Griffith of the Ethereum Foundation work through what autonomous AI hacking means for protocols built to be unhackable, why skill files are the sleeper development in the agent stack, how a degen farming bot locked funds in an Aerodrome gauge through a single wrong NFT transfer, and what Anthropic's 89% uptime tells you about the infrastructure running the most powerful AI on earth. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Guest: Austin Griffith, Ethereum Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chaos Labs' Omer Goldberg joins the crew to dig into the Resolv Labs exploit. Why was the USR minting function controlled by a single key? And how did audits miss it? Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need Crypto Tax Girl $25 million extracted and millions more in bad debt across lending protocols. Chaos Labs founder Omer Goldberg joins Uneasy Money hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monahan to unpack the Resolv exploit. They dive into how the exploit reveals DeFi's basic OpSec and risk judgement failings. Omer highlights the various ways it could have been prevented as Tay says protocol audits have become “security theater.” Kain questions Morpho's curator model after its pools were hit hard as the contagion spread. He also highlights markers that suggest the exploit may have been executed in panic. Beyond the Resolv exploit, the crew highlights that Aave v4 has made it out of governance, discussing the motivations behind the upgrade and whether the hub and spoke model will impact listing standards. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Guest: Omer Goldberg, Founder and CEO of Chaos Labs Links: Unchained: Aave V4 Clears First Governance Vote with 100% Support After Months of Internal Conflict Stani Kulechov on Why Aave Labs Is Putting Itself at the Mercy of the DAO How Aave Labs and the DAO Should Split Ownership of the Brand – Uneasy Money Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chaos Labs' Omer Goldberg joins the crew to dig into the Resolv Labs exploit. Why was the USR minting function controlled by a single key? And how did audits miss it? Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need Crypto Tax Girl $25 million extracted and millions more in bad debt across lending protocols. Chaos Labs founder Omer Goldberg joins Uneasy Money hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monahan to unpack the Resolv exploit. They dive into how the exploit reveals DeFi's basic OpSec and risk judgement failings. Omer highlights the various ways it could have been prevented as Tay says protocol audits have become “security theater.” Kain questions Morpho's curator model after its pools were hit hard as the contagion spread. He also highlights markers that suggest the exploit may have been executed in panic. Beyond the Resolv exploit, the crew highlights that Aave v4 has made it out of governance, discussing the motivations behind the upgrade and whether the hub and spoke model will impact listing standards. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Guest: Omer Goldberg, Founder and CEO of Chaos Labs Links: Unchained: Aave V4 Clears First Governance Vote with 100% Support After Months of Internal Conflict Stani Kulechov on Why Aave Labs Is Putting Itself at the Mercy of the DAO How Aave Labs and the DAO Should Split Ownership of the Brand – Uneasy Money Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The crew unpacks the significance of the Trade[XYZ] S&P 500 license, why Vanity Fair's recent crypto piece is so controversial and whether the EF is returning to “communism.” Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need Trade[XYZ] has obtained a license from the S&P Dow Jones Indices to offer S&P 500 perps on Hyperliquid. A crypto trader lost $50 million in a single Aave swap. A Vanity Fair crypto shoot and article is sparking backlash. And the Ethereum Foundation has unveiled a “new” mandate. Uneasy Money hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monahan dig into what the S&P license means for crypto with Kain saying it is not priced in yet. They also debate whether DeFi frontends should block high slippage swaps after the recent Aave swap gone wrong. Plus, did Vanity Fair intend to mock crypto? Luca shares how he dodged the bullet. Tay explains why OpenSea founder Devin Finzer and his wife got the most heat. Kain lets slip how he found himself on the New York Times for buying Trump's memecoin. And why Kain does not think the Ethereum Foundation's new mandate matters in the long-run. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Links: Unchained: S&P 500 Gets First Officially Licensed Onchain Perpetual, Landing on Hyperliquid Dueling Post-Mortems Reveal How a $50 Million DeFi Swap Went From Bad to Catastrophic Ethereum Foundation Codifies Its Own Obsolescence in New Mandate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The crew unpacks the significance of the Trade[XYZ] S&P 500 license, why Vanity Fair's recent crypto piece is so controversial and whether the EF is returning to “communism.” Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need Trade[XYZ] has obtained a license from the S&P Dow Jones Indices to offer S&P 500 perps on Hyperliquid. A crypto trader lost $50 million in a single Aave swap. A Vanity Fair crypto shoot and article is sparking backlash. And the Ethereum Foundation has unveiled a “new” mandate. Uneasy Money hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monahan dig into what the S&P license means for crypto with Kain saying it is not priced in yet. They also debate whether DeFi frontends should block high slippage swaps after the recent Aave swap gone wrong. Plus, did Vanity Fair intend to mock crypto? Luca shares how he dodged the bullet. Tay explains why OpenSea founder Devin Finzer and his wife got the most heat. Kain lets slip how he found himself on the New York Times for buying Trump's memecoin. And why Kain does not think the Ethereum Foundation's new mandate matters in the long-run. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Links: Unchained: S&P 500 Gets First Officially Licensed Onchain Perpetual, Landing on Hyperliquid Dueling Post-Mortems Reveal How a $50 Million DeFi Swap Went From Bad to Catastrophic Ethereum Foundation Codifies Its Own Obsolescence in New Mandate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The crew digs into Hyperliquid's phenomenal rise. How did the perp DEX become TradFi's 24/7 casino? Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need Hyperliquid is having its mainstream moment like Polymarket in 2024 and OpenSea in 2021. Amid the U.S.'s war on Iran, the platform has become a popular venue for speculators to express their market opinions. Uneasy Money hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monahan dig into choices that have allowed Hyperliquid to succeed where many others before it have failed. In a single sentence: not putting ideology over the product's goals. Kain says the protocol may become unassailable in the future even as Luca says HYPE is bound to be a top five crypto by market cap. The crew also discusses Pudgy Penguin's new open world game Pudgy World. Luca says “crypto rails have to be a tech stack not a hook” explaining why the game relegated crypto to the background. Plus, how Across Protocol's move to pivot to only equity highlights the broken nature of tokens. Has Luca cracked the problem? Listen to find out! Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Links: Unchained: Oil Becomes the Hottest Trade on Hyperliquid Hyperliquid Launches $29 Million Policy Push in Washington Uneasy Money: Hyperliquid's Dilemma After 10/10: Protect Itself or Its Users? The Aave DAO Is Collapsing. Is the Token Still a Good Investment? Uneasy Money: Why the AI Singularity May Already Be Out of Our Hands Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The crew digs into Hyperliquid's phenomenal rise. How did the perp DEX become TradFi's 24/7 casino? Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need Hyperliquid is having its mainstream moment like Polymarket in 2024 and OpenSea in 2021. Amid the U.S.'s war on Iran, the platform has become a popular venue for speculators to express their market opinions. Uneasy Money hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monahan dig into choices that have allowed Hyperliquid to succeed where many others before it have failed. In a single sentence: not putting ideology over the product's goals. Kain says the protocol may become unassailable in the future even as Luca says HYPE is bound to be a top five crypto by market cap. The crew also discusses Pudgy Penguin's new open world game Pudgy World. Luca says “crypto rails have to be a tech stack not a hook” explaining why the game relegated crypto to the background. Plus, how Across Protocol's move to pivot to only equity highlights the broken nature of tokens. Has Luca cracked the problem? Listen to find out! Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Links: Unchained: Oil Becomes the Hottest Trade on Hyperliquid Hyperliquid Launches $29 Million Policy Push in Washington Uneasy Money: Hyperliquid's Dilemma After 10/10: Protect Itself or Its Users? The Aave DAO Is Collapsing. Is the Token Still a Good Investment? Uneasy Money: Why the AI Singularity May Already Be Out of Our Hands Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Aave DAO collapsed — but might that be good for Aave? (But bad for the token?) Plus, how the feud between the U.S. government and Anthropic helped the AI company. Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need The Aave civil war appears to be at an end with key members of the DAO rage quitting and leaving Aave Labs standing as the sole protocol contributor. Uneasy Money hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz, and Taylor Monahan explain why the Aave DAO's messy collapse is a death knell for the DAO system. Ironically, they wonder — could this be good for Aave, but bad for the token? The crew also wades into ZachXBT's recent Axiom investigation and how the on-chain detective has become “a vigilante for hire.” They also cover all the insider trading claims and fights around prediction markets involving the Iran War and Mr. Beast, and “Kalshi jail.” Kain suspects another reason for the U.S. government's rift with Anthropic. Luca, an Anthropic investor, says he wished Dario had taken the government's deal, but that Sam Altman needs to “take the Zuck playbook.” Meanwhile, is Anthropic nerfing OpenClaw? Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Links: Unchained: Aave Governance Fight Escalates Ahead of $51 Million Funding Vote Uneasy Money: Why the AI Singularity May Already Be Out of Our Hands How Aave Labs and the DAO Should Split Ownership of the Brand – Uneasy Money ZachXBT Alleges Axiom Employee Misused Internal Data Uneasy Money: Why Peter Steinberger and Non-Crypto People Hate the Crypto Mob Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Aave DAO collapsed — but might that be good for Aave? (But bad for the token?) Plus, how the feud between the U.S. government and Anthropic helped the AI company. Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need The Aave civil war appears to be at an end with key members of the DAO rage quitting and leaving Aave Labs standing as the sole protocol contributor. Uneasy Money hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz, and Taylor Monahan explain why the Aave DAO's messy collapse is a death knell for the DAO system. Ironically, they wonder — could this be good for Aave, but bad for the token? The crew also wades into ZachXBT's recent Axiom investigation and how the on-chain detective has become “a vigilante for hire.” They also cover all the insider trading claims and fights around prediction markets involving the Iran War and Mr. Beast, and “Kalshi jail.” Kain suspects another reason for the U.S. government's rift with Anthropic. Luca, an Anthropic investor, says he wished Dario had taken the government's deal, but that Sam Altman needs to “take the Zuck playbook.” Meanwhile, is Anthropic nerfing OpenClaw? Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Links: Unchained: Aave Governance Fight Escalates Ahead of $51 Million Funding Vote Uneasy Money: Why the AI Singularity May Already Be Out of Our Hands How Aave Labs and the DAO Should Split Ownership of the Brand – Uneasy Money ZachXBT Alleges Axiom Employee Misused Internal Data Uneasy Money: Why Peter Steinberger and Non-Crypto People Hate the Crypto Mob Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
MegaETH's Namik Muduroglu joins the Uneasy Money crew to discuss how the industry can fix token incentives, the continued escalation of the Aave civil war and more. Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need Crypto Tax Girl An article from Boost CEO Brian Flynn sparks conversation about whether tokens are dead. The Aave civil war continues to escalate. China is trying to reverse engineer Claude even as Anthropic faces off against the U.S. government. In this episode of Uneasy Money, hosts Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan are joined by MegaETH founding team member Namik Muduroglu to discuss how to fix token incentives, whether there is a happy ending in sight for Aave. They also discuss the geopolitical risks that come with AI and the technology's rapid rate of advancement. Is the Singularity already out of our hands? Plus, ZachXBT's teased announcement and Ethereum's “strawmap.” Don't miss Kain's plan to fuse Claude with his Unitree dog and why Namik is a closet AI doomer. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Guest: Namik Muduroglu, CSO & Founding Team at MegaETH Links: Unchained: Uneasy Money: Why Token Holders Have No Rights & Why Every DAO ‘Has Failed' Why MegaETH Is Delaying Its Token and Rejecting Credible Neutrality Aave Governance Fight Escalates Ahead of $51 Million Funding Vote How Aave Labs and the DAO Should Split Ownership of the Brand – Uneasy Money Uneasy Money: Why Peter Steinberger and Non-Crypto People Hate the Crypto Mob Ethereum Researchers Outline Seven Forks Through 2029 in New “Strawmap” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
MegaETH's Namik Muduroglu joins the Uneasy Money crew to discuss how the industry can fix token incentives, the continued escalation of the Aave civil war and more. Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need Crypto Tax Girl An article from Boost CEO Brian Flynn sparks conversation about whether tokens are dead. The Aave civil war continues to escalate. China is trying to reverse engineer Claude even as Anthropic faces off against the U.S. government. In this episode of Uneasy Money, hosts Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan are joined by MegaETH founding team member Namik Muduroglu to discuss how to fix token incentives, whether there is a happy ending in sight for Aave. They also discuss the geopolitical risks that come with AI and the technology's rapid rate of advancement. Is the Singularity already out of our hands? Plus, ZachXBT's teased announcement and Ethereum's “strawmap.” Don't miss Kain's plan to fuse Claude with his Unitree dog and why Namik is a closet AI doomer. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Guest: Namik Muduroglu, CSO & Founding Team at MegaETH Links: Unchained: Uneasy Money: Why Token Holders Have No Rights & Why Every DAO ‘Has Failed' Why MegaETH Is Delaying Its Token and Rejecting Credible Neutrality Aave Governance Fight Escalates Ahead of $51 Million Funding Vote How Aave Labs and the DAO Should Split Ownership of the Brand – Uneasy Money Uneasy Money: Why Peter Steinberger and Non-Crypto People Hate the Crypto Mob Ethereum Researchers Outline Seven Forks Through 2029 in New “Strawmap” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
LayerZero's Bryan Pellegrino joins to unpack Base's decision to leave the OP Stack, Zora's migration to Solana and more. Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need Coinbase's Base is making a shock move away from Optimism's OP Stack. In this Uneasy Money episode, LayerZero Labs CEO Bryan Pellegrino joins hosts Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan to unpack whether this is the right move for Base and what it could mean for Optimism. Beyond Base's big move, the trio also discuss Zora's Solana migration, whether Coinbase was wrong to initially pursue a super app strategy with Base App, Peter Steinberger joining OpenAI, the launch of Zero blockchain and OpenAI's EVMbench. Will OpenAI's acqui-hiring of Peter prove to be a “generational fumble” for Anthropic? And can crypto fix its brand problem? Also, learn why the rise of AI agents have Kain and Tay confident that open source will win in the end. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Guest: Bryan Pellegrino, CEO of LayerZero Labs Links: Unchained: Zora Shocks Base Community With Solana Pivot BlackRock Just Chose Uniswap. The Market Didn't Care. Here's Why. LayerZero Launches ‘Zero' Layer 1 as Citadel, ARK Buy ZRO How Zero Blockchain Cracked 2 Million TPS and Is Still Decentralized Uneasy Money: Are Institutions Creating a New Crypto Meta? Uneasy Money: How the Increasingly Better AI Agents Are Being Used OnchainVitalik Rethinks Ethereum's L2 Playbook, Calls for Shift Toward Native Rollups Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
LayerZero's Bryan Pellegrino joins to unpack Base's decision to leave the OP Stack, Zora's migration to Solana and more. Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network – Shift your energy use and earn rewards. MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need Coinbase's Base is making a shock move away from Optimism's OP Stack. In this Uneasy Money episode, LayerZero Labs CEO Bryan Pellegrino joins hosts Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan to unpack whether this is the right move for Base and what it could mean for Optimism. Beyond Base's big move, the trio also discuss Zora's Solana migration, whether Coinbase was wrong to initially pursue a super app strategy with Base App, Peter Steinberger joining OpenAI, the launch of Zero blockchain and OpenAI's EVMbench. Will OpenAI's acqui-hiring of Peter prove to be a “generational fumble” for Anthropic? And can crypto fix its brand problem? Also, learn why the rise of AI agents have Kain and Tay confident that open source will win in the end. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert Guest: Bryan Pellegrino, CEO of LayerZero Labs Links: Unchained: Zora Shocks Base Community With Solana Pivot BlackRock Just Chose Uniswap. The Market Didn't Care. Here's Why. LayerZero Launches ‘Zero' Layer 1 as Citadel, ARK Buy ZRO How Zero Blockchain Cracked 2 Million TPS and Is Still Decentralized Uneasy Money: Are Institutions Creating a New Crypto Meta? Uneasy Money: How the Increasingly Better AI Agents Are Being Used OnchainVitalik Rethinks Ethereum's L2 Playbook, Calls for Shift Toward Native Rollups Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network MultiChain Advisors Vitalik Buterin just dropped a bombshell: the L2 vision no longer makes sense. Meanwhile, AI coding agents are going parabolic. In this monster episode of Uneasy Money, Ethereum Foundation Head of Developer Growth Austin Griffith and Optimism co-founder Karl Floersch join hosts Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan to unpack the reasoning behind Vitalik's remarks and debate whether Ethereum needs L2s to pull institutions. They also take a deep dive into the OpenClaw and Moltbook craze and Austin shares how he has different agents running on different machines, including one that texts his wife good morning everyday. Is “AI the new UI?” Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert, Metamask Guests: Austin Griffith, AI Lead at Ethereum Foundation Karl Floersh, CTO of OP Labs Links: Vitalik Rethinks Ethereum's L2 Playbook, Calls for Shift Toward Native Rollups How the x402 Standard Is Enabling AI Agents to Pay Each Other Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network MultiChain Advisors Vitalik Buterin just dropped a bombshell: the L2 vision no longer makes sense. Meanwhile, AI coding agents are going parabolic. In this monster episode of Uneasy Money, Ethereum Foundation Head of Developer Growth Austin Griffith and Optimism co-founder Karl Floersch join hosts Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan to unpack the reasoning behind Vitalik's remarks and debate whether Ethereum needs L2s to pull institutions. They also take a deep dive into the OpenClaw and Moltbook craze and Austin shares how he has different agents running on different machines, including one that texts his wife good morning everyday. Is “AI the new UI?” Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security Expert, Metamask Guests: Austin Griffith, AI Lead at Ethereum Foundation Karl Floersh, CTO of OP Labs Links: Vitalik Rethinks Ethereum's L2 Playbook, Calls for Shift Toward Native Rollups How the x402 Standard Is Enabling AI Agents to Pay Each Other Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Thank you to our sponsors, Fuse: The Energy Network and MultiChain Advisors! What is the Moltbot buzz about? In this episode of Uneasy Money, hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monahan delve into why Moltbot, the new AI agent hogging the internet spotlight, is so exciting as well as the memecoin drama that has followed. They also discuss how the son of a U.S. government contractor was allegedly caught flexing stolen Bitcoin in an online contest, analyzing how scammers can be so dumb. Plus, why Ethereum's quantum computing initiative is so bullish in contrast to Bitcoin's nonchalance. Also, are memecoins back? Don't miss out on what Kain says is the real AI agent opportunity and Luca's tales of flipping Instagram handles for millions of dollars. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Taylor Monahan, Security at MetaMask Links: 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 Ilya Lichtenstein Pleads Guilty to 2016 Bitfinex Hack of Billions in Bitcoin Ethereum and Optimism Lay the Groundwork for a Post-Quantum Future Q-Day Is Imminent. Can Bitcoin Survive the Quantum Threat? PUMP Drops Below ICO Price as Private Sale Investors Send $160 Million to Exchanges Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Kain Warwick—DeFi OG and founder of Synthetix and Infinex—is back on The Defiant Podcast with Camila Russo for a no-BS conversation at a pivotal moment: Infinex just ran its INX token sale and is heading into its TGE.We get into:Why Kain believes DeFi's biggest bottleneck isn't “more decentralization,” but UX + distributionThe hard lesson OG DeFi learned: users won't “learn to love complexity”—the product has to be holistically betterThe INX sale controversy: $2,500 cap → cap removed, one-year lockup stays, and why he says the sale “didn't need to happen” (but still closed)What he'd do differently: market-driven pricing for locked vs. liquid tokens (and why he thinks the liquidity premium is brutal right now)Kaito / InfoFi: how incentives turned crypto Twitter into slop—and why he thinks it “blew up the public square”What INX actually does: early access, fee discounts, governance—and what demand looks like from power usersInfinex's product roadmap: Safe support, hardware wallets, integrating “competitors” like Hyperliquid, and the real metric he watches—share of walletThe bigger vision: a one-stop, non-custodial front-end that can serve both whales and newcomers (and why that's the only way DeFi competes with fintech)Subscribe for more founder interviews and deep dives from The Defiant.
Thank you to our sponsors, Fuse: The Energy Network and MultiChain Advisors! What is the Moltbot buzz about? In this episode of Uneasy Money, hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monahan delve into why Moltbot, the new AI agent hogging the internet spotlight, is so exciting as well as the memecoin drama that has followed. They also discuss how the son of a U.S. government contractor was allegedly caught flexing stolen Bitcoin in an online contest, analyzing how scammers can be so dumb. Plus, why Ethereum's quantum computing initiative is so bullish in contrast to Bitcoin's nonchalance. Also, are memecoins back? Don't miss out on what Kain says is the real AI agent opportunity and Luca's tales of flipping Instagram handles for millions of dollars. Hosts: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Taylor Monahan, Security at MetaMask Links: 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 Ilya Lichtenstein Pleads Guilty to 2016 Bitfinex Hack of Billions in Bitcoin Ethereum and Optimism Lay the Groundwork for a Post-Quantum Future Q-Day Is Imminent. Can Bitcoin Survive the Quantum Threat? PUMP Drops Below ICO Price as Private Sale Investors Send $160 Million to Exchanges Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Thank you to our sponsors! Fuse: The Energy Network MultiChain Advisors Trove Markets crashed at launch after a hyped ICO. X has pulled the plug on the InfoFi meta. Farcaster has been absorbed. In this packed Uneasy Money episode, hosts Luca Netz, Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan delve into how Trove's crash suggests that crypto's ICO struggles persist. Kain suggests X's move to block out InfoFi applications is “bullish” for the platform and the crew explores what's next for decentralized social media along with the takeaways from Farcaster's run. They also discuss the pervasiveness of wallet poisoning scams, why Cosmos is struggling despite its good tech and why Paradex's rollback suggests that crypto's “code is law” ethos may be dying out. Don't miss out on how Luca nearly got wrapped up in the Trove drama and Tay's tips to spot suspicious projects. Plus, why Kain thinks two people building with AI could succeed where Farcaster failed. Hosts: Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security at MetaMask Links: Uneasy Money: ICOs Are Back and Why Airdrops Are Instantly Dumped X Bans Incentivized Posting Apps, Prompting Shakeup in Crypto Engagement Platforms Linda Xie on How Mini-Apps Are Helping Farcaster Take on Web2 Social Media Ethereum Sets New Activity Record as Network Upgrades Pay Off Paradex Rollback Raises Hard Questions After Pricing Glitch Triggers Liquidations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Thank you to our sponsor, MultiChain Advisors! Privacy is back on the radar as Monero gets compared to silver. Meanwhile, Vitalik wants Ethereum to ossify, former New York City Mayor Eric Adams' NYC token rugs and X's algorithm has crypto Twitter up in arms. In this episode of Uneasy Money, hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monahan unpack: Monero's sudden surge, Vitalik's “walkaway test,” why blatant scams like Adams' NYC token continue to succeed and whether X has been suppressing crypto content. Don't miss Kain's story on how he lost nearly $250K in a wild vibe coding experiment. Plus, Is Vitalik's “walkaway test” too “aspirational?” And could X cashtags usher in the next altseason? Hosts: Luca Netz Kain Warwick Taylor Monahan Links: Why the Privacy Coins Mania Is Much More Than Price Action Eric Adams' NYC Token Crashes Amid Liquidity Concerns Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin Says Blockchain Trilemma ‘Has Been Solved' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Thank you to our sponsors, Multichain Advisors and Mantle! Aave DAO on Christmas Day lost the vote to take control of Aave brand assets, but the fight is likely not over. In this Uneasy Money episode Aave Chan Initiative (ACI) founder Marc Zeller takes hosts Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan inside the fight over one of DeFi's biggest names, teasing a “phase two” of the fight. Plus, why is Infinex's ICO getting so much flak and are claims of insider trading on Polymarket misguided? Hosts: Kain Warwick Taylor Monahan Guests: Marc Zeller, Founder of the Aave Chan Initiative (ACI) Links: Uneasy Money: Why Token Holders Have No Rights & Why Every DAO ‘Has Failed' Aave Labs Proposes Off-Protocol Revenue Sharing With Token Holders Aave's Rushed Governance Vote Draws Backlash Infinex Changes INX Token Sale Terms After Low Demand MegaETH Just Had Its Public Sale. Can It Succeed in Building a Web2-Like Experience? Polymarket Introduces Taker Fees in 15-Minute Markets Polymarket Resolves Issues After Polygon Network Disruption How to Trade Prediction Markets Without an Opinion on the Event Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin Says Blockchain Trilemma ‘Has Been Solved' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Thank you to our sponsor, Multichain Advisors!What rights do token holders have? Is everyone getting rugged? In this episode of Uneasy Money, Ethena founder Guy Young joins hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monahan to interrogate the lack of clarity around token expectations and rights as Aave DAO goes against Aave Labs and Circle acquires the Axelar team. Do centralized exchanges hold the solution? Plus, does MOVE's Rushi Manche deserve a second chance? And how can you stay safe from the fake Zoom scam? Hosts: Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security at MetaMask Guest: Guy Young, CEO & Founder of Ethena Labs Links: Unchained: AAVE Holders Question if DAO Quietly Redirected Revenue Away From Treasury SEC Ends Four-Year Probe Into Aave ‘Poison Pill' Proposal Calls for Aave DAO to Take Over Aave Labs Jump Crypto's Firedancer Goes Live on Solana Mainnet How to Trade Prediction Markets Without an Opinion on the Event MetaMask Adds Native Bitcoin Support Timestamps:
Thank you to our sponsor, MultiChain Advisors!The beef between Solana dapps Jupiter and Kamino has taken a new dimension as Kamino has accused Jupiter of lying about contagion risks. In this episode of Uneasy Money, hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monahan dive into whether Jupiter misled users and raise questions about Kamino's response. Plus, after Tarun Chitra's paper on Hyperliquid's ADL, they dig deep into the exchange's design: did they cause unnecessary liquidations on Oct. 10? At the same time, they break down Lighter's 0% fees model. Does it resemble Robinhood? And how smart is it actually? Plus, what Farcaster's big pivot means for the future of Web3 social, and what Taylor says it would take to crack it. Hosts: Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security at MetaMask Links: Unchained: Jupiter COO Says Vault's ‘Zero Contagion' Claim Was Not Fully Accurate Uneasy Money: Did Solana Dapp Kamino Break the Golden Rule of DeFi? Uneasy Money: Hyperliquid's Dilemma After 10/10: Protect Itself or Its Users? Linda Xie on How Mini-Apps Are Helping Farcaster Take on Web2 Social Media Timestamps:
Thank you to our Sponsor, Uniswap! Ethereum Fusaka is live, Infinex has embarked on its token sale, Hyperliquid is bolstering its HIP-3 markets and there is drama in Solana's DeFi land. In this episode of Uneasy Money, hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monahan delve into the significance and implications of the Fusaka upgrade and the controversy surrounding Infinex's token sale. They also take a look at the promise and risks of Hyperliquid's buzzing perp futures markets on tokenized equities and Kamino's controversial response to competition from Jupiter. In addition, they touch on Anthropic's smart contract study and the recent Yearn Finance exploit. Hosts: Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security at MetaMask Links: Unchained: Cheaper Fees and No More Free Lunch for Layer 2s? Inside Ethereum's Fusaka Upgrade Ethereum's Layer 1 Lacks a Perp DEX. Synthetix Intends to Change That HIP-3 Records $500 Million in Daily Volume Uneasy Money: Hyperliquid's Dilemma After 10/10: Protect Itself or Its Users? Uneasy Money: ICOs Are Back and Why Airdrops Are Instantly Dumped Timestamps:
Thank you to our sponsor Uniswap! In this episode of Uneasy Money, hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monahan discuss Monad's mainnet launch performance and how its ICO strategy may have proven solid in the end. They also delve into MegaETH's botched TVL campaign with Kain explaining why scrambling is bad for projects. In addition, they dissect Polymarket's CFTC greenlight, Klarna's stablecoin launch, Cardano's chain split and Berachain's secret Brevan Howard deal. Hosts: Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security at MetaMask Links: Unchained: Monad Co-Founder Defends Token Sale After Slow Uptake MegaETH Aborts $1B Cap Raise After Multisig Error Triggers Chaos Polymarket Gets CFTC Green Light to Operate in the US Klarna Launches Stablecoin Built on Stripe's Tempo Chain Cardano Founder Contacts FBI After Dev's ‘Careless' Test Splits Chain Uneasy Money: ICOs Are Back and Why Airdrops Are Instantly Dumped Timestamps:
In this episode of Uneasy Money, hosts Kain Warwick, Luca Netz and Taylor Monohan explore how the recent ICO boom compares with the 2017 era. They share stories of some of the big names from the past, including Kain's struggles after raising 30,000 ETH at the cycle top. Plus Luca shares what it takes for founders to thrive in crypto. They also unpack the “FUD” surrounding Hyperliquid following the infamous Oct. 10 crypto crash. Moreover, they discussed what Multicoin's investment in Ethena revealed about Kyle Samani, and potential black swan risks facing the project. Hosts: Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security at MetaMask Links: Unchained: Monad ICO on Coinbase Fizzles 12 Hours After Launch Uneasy Money: ICOs Are Back and Why Airdrops Are Instantly Dumped The Chopping Block: Tokenomics Reset — ICOs Rise, UNI Turns On Fees, MEV Goes to Court Hyperliquid Founder Denies Claims That DEX Prioritizes Revenue Over Traders The Chopping Block: Inside the $19B+ Perp Crash, ADL Explained, Binance's USDe/Staked-Token Depeg, and the Hyperliquid Whale Debate Ethena Labs Expands to Support Two New Products Timestamps:
In today's video, we take you through everything you'd want to know about Infinex token launch, airdrop mechanics, Sonar sale, and more explained by founder Kain Warwick.Andy, Robbie and Kain also cover:- Why 95% of Airdrop Recipients Instantly Dump- The "Crate Run" Voucher System Explained- How Patron NFTs Evolved Into INX Token- Building a Crypto Super App That Actually Works- Sonar Sale Plans & TGE Timeline- The CT Mafia's "Blood Money" ProblemTimestamps:00:00 Intro00:45 Infinex Platform Evolution06:08 Haliday Ad, InfiniFi Ad, Kalshi Ad06:50 The Super App Thesis11:15 Why Patron NFTs Failed to Scale19:10 Crates vs Airdrops: The Psychology19:28 Relay Ad, Yeet Ad23:37 Trezor Ad, Hibachi Ad23:55 Maximizing Your Crate Strategy29:50 Q4 Timeline & TGE Plans30:30 Building Infinex as an Anon Team31:54 The Boys Are Back in TownWebsite: https://therollup.co/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd...Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcastFollow us on X: https://www.x.com/therollupcoFollow Rob on X: https://www.x.com/robbie_rollupFollow Andy on X: https://www.x.com/ayyyeandyJoin our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZhThe Rollup Disclosures: https://therollup.co/the-rollup-discl
In this first episode of Uneasy Money, hosts Luca Netz, Kain Warwick, and Taylor Monahan dig into the Balancer hack, Berachain's centralized response, the sudden return of ICO-style distribution, and why some new drops give away so little. Luca explains why he thinks generous airdrops are essential for building a real “army,” Taylor breaks down MetaMask's own thinking on token incentives, and Kain questions whether any of these models still make sense in a sentiment-driven market. Plus, Uniswap's fee switch proposal and the tea on Velodrome and Aerodrome. Hosts: Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Taylor Monahan, Security at MetaMask Timestamps:
This week, Kain Warwick joins the show to discuss building Infinex and the march towards TGE. We deep dive into Kain's experience building in crypto, the next stage for Infinex, taking down CEXs, running a startup, dealing with drug addiction & more. Enjoy! -- Follow Kain: https://x.com/kaiynne Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod -- Join the Empire Telegram: https://t.me/+CaCYvTOB4Eg1OWJh -- Zcash is encrypted Bitcoin. Your digital bill of rights securing your freedom for the 21st century. Buy, store and spend ZEC privately using Zashi Wallet download today: https://electriccoin.co/zashi/ -- Katana is a DeFi-first chain built for deep liquidity and high yield. No empty emissions, just real yield and sequencer fees routed back to DeFi users. Pre-deposit now: Earn high APRs with Turtle Club [https://app.turtle.club/campaigns/katana] or spin the wheel with Katana Krates [https://app.katana.network/krates] -- GEODNET is the world's largest RTK network, delivering real-time, centimeter-level precision for drones, robots, farmers, and first responders. Recognized by the U.S. Congress, this blockchain-powered network supports mission-critical applications across a wide range of industries. Discover how GEODNET is changing the world: [https://geodnet.com] -- (00:00) Intro (05:36) Investing vs Building In Crypto (13:11) The Opportunity For Prediction Markets (17:51) Ads (Zcash, Katana) (18:48) What's Next For Infinex? (21:39) Taking Down Centralized Exchanges (30:52) Why Infinex Is Launching A Token (38:38) Ads (Zcash, Katana) (39:50) The Problem with Airdrops (52:10) Most Influential Accounts on CT (56:42) Ads (Goednet) (57:27) Surviving in Crypto (01:00:50) Dealing with Drug Addiction (01:07:10) Running A Startup (01:08:57) Where Are We in The Cycle? -- Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix and Infinex, is returning to Ethereum Layer 1 with a bold new experiment: a perpetuals DEX built directly on mainnet. In this episode, he joins Laura to explain why Synthetix is taking this contrarian step, how its hybrid “optimistic order book” can run efficiently on Ethereum's slower block times, and why he believes the future of trading will move fully on-chain. Warwick also discusses the tradeoffs behind using USDT, what it will take to match centralized exchange performance, and his “super app” vision for how DeFi platforms could finally outcompete CEXs. Thank you to our sponsor, Binance! Guest: Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix Links: The Superapp Thesis by Kain Warwick Blockwork's Dan Smith on Spreads for ETH-USD Timestamps:
Web3 Academy: Exploring Utility In NFTs, DAOs, Crypto & The Metaverse
On today's episode, Jay Hamilton returns with market chaos, Trump's tariff plot twist, and a bold prediction: DeFi could be the next big runner when the bulls return. But what happens if the bulls don't come back right away? Is DeFi entering a “lost era”? Is TradFi actually going to use decentralized finance or just build their own walled gardens?~~~~~
As DeFi continues to evolve, the challenge of finding a balance between decentralization and protection from all manner of exploits persists. The founder of Infinex, Kain Warwick, joined the show to talk about: How crypto market makers have at times veered into “all-out crime” What market making looks like today Playing chart games with token allocations What Kain looks at when evaluating tokens Why Binance kicked a MOVE market maker off its platform The $JELLY attack on Hyperliquid and the problem of centralization in DeFi What problems in crypto Kain is attempting to solve with Infinex Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Bitwise Guest: Kain Warwick, founder of Infinex App and Synthetix Previous appearances on Unchained: 2025 Will Be a Year of Crypto Competition. Can Ethereum Make a Comeback? Links: Crypto Market Making Kain Warwick: Discussion about market makers Binance: What happened with MOVE on Binance Coindesk: Binance Offboards Market Maker That It Said Made $38M Profit on MOVE Listing Bloomberg: Citadel Securities Plots Jump Into Crypto Trading After Trump's Embrace Hyperliquid Unchained: Hyperliquid Saved Itself a $15 Million Loss, but Sparked Criticism Infinex The Block: Synthetix founder Kain Warwick launches Infinex The Block: Peter Thiel's Founders Fund invests in Infinex's Patron NFT sale as total amount raised hits $67.7 million Timestamps:
This week's Weekly Rollup, David and Kain Warwick dive into Argentine President Milei's LIBRA fiasco and Strategy's bold $2B Bitcoin play, while we check out the new Kaito airdrop making waves. We also explore Ethereum's biggest upgrade yet—Pectra—plus Monad's high‐speed L1 testnet launch. Finally, we dig into the SEC's fresh “CETU” cyber unit and what the brand‐new Infinex platform means for DeFi. Tune in for all the drama and alpha happening in the third week of February! ------
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
DeFi tokens have lagged in this cycle. Is that trend over? Investors Arthur Cheong and Jordi Alexander say yes.DeFi tokens have faced significant challenges in recent years. However, are we now on the verge of a new bull market?Arthur Cheong, founder and CIO of DeFiance Capital, and Jordi Alexander, founder of Selini Capital and chief alchemist at Mantle, join the show to discuss why they believe DeFi is poised for growth. They dive into how DeFi's security and user experience have improved, the impact of Layer 2 solutions on Ethereum, and whether Ethereum or Solana will drive the next bull run. Plus, they discuss whether interest in memecoins takes attention from DeFi, and why sustainable tokenomics matters when it comes to valuing coins. Are DeFi tokens finally ready to shine again?Show highlights:Why they believe that DeFi is poised for a bull cycle How DeFi's security and UX have improvedWhether DeFi activity can be sustained in the long termWhy Jordi thinks that Layer 2s are not parasitic to ETH but Arthur thinks they areWhether the DeFi bull case is stronger on Ethereum, Solana or other chainsWhether the Ethereum Foundation and Vitalik Buterin should be more proactive in supporting DeFiHow memecoins reflect a broader societal problem The importance of tokens that don't have big unlocksHow the lack of solid frameworks for valuing tokens might be causing capital misallocation in cryptoWhether a liquid venture investing approach is better for cryptoWhy Jordi says that there's a lot of “potential to unlock” with the overlap of Bitcoin and DeFiVisit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.comThank you to our sponsors!PolkadotMantleGuests:Arthur Cheong, founder and CIO of DeFiance CapitalAave, the Core Pillar of Decentralized Finance and Onchain EconomyLiquid Venture Investing in CryptoJordi Alexander, Chief Alchemist at Mantle, Founder of Selini CapitalLinksPrevious coverage of Unchained on this cycle & DeFi: Has Decentralized Finance Hit Bottom?Kain Warwick's tweet on Vitalik being anti-DeFiCointelegraph: Vitalik Buterin responds to criticism that Ethereum ‘doesn't care' about DeFiThe great return of DeFi, by @tradetheflow_Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC. Distributed by CoinDesk.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
DeFi tokens have faced significant challenges in recent years. However, are we now on the verge of a new bull market? Arthur Cheong, founder and CIO of DeFiance Capital, and Jordi Alexander, founder of Selini Capital and chief alchemist at Mantle, join the show to discuss why they believe DeFi is poised for growth. They dive into how DeFi's security and user experience have improved, the impact of Layer 2 solutions on Ethereum, and whether Ethereum or Solana will drive the next bull run. Plus, they discuss whether interest in memecoins takes attention from DeFi, and why sustainable tokenomics matters when it comes to valuing coins. Are DeFi tokens finally ready to shine again? Show highlights: Why they believe that DeFi is poised for a bull cycle How DeFi's security and UX have improved Whether DeFi activity can be sustained in the long term Why Jordi thinks that Layer 2s are not parasitic to ETH but Arthur thinks they are Whether the DeFi bull case is stronger on Ethereum, Solana or other chains Whether the Ethereum Foundation and Vitalik Buterin should be more proactive in supporting DeFi How memecoins reflect a broader societal problem The importance of tokens that don't have big unlocks How the lack of solid frameworks for valuing tokens might be causing capital misallocation in crypto Whether a liquid venture investing approach is better for crypto Why Jordi says that there's a lot of “potential to unlock” with the overlap of Bitcoin and DeFi Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Polkadot Mantle Guests: Arthur Cheong, founder and CIO of DeFiance Capital Aave, the Core Pillar of Decentralized Finance and Onchain Economy Liquid Venture Investing in Crypto Jordi Alexander, Chief Alchemist at Mantle, Founder of Selini Capital Links Previous coverage of Unchained on this cycle & DeFi :Has Decentralized Finance Hit Bottom? Kain Warwick's tweet on Vitalik being anti-DeFi Cointelegraph: Vitalik Buterin responds to criticism that Ethereum ‘doesn't care' about DeFi The great return of DeFi, by @tradetheflow Bitcoin DeFi Bitcoin Layer 2s Aim to Attract Ethereum-Like Dapps. Will They Succeed? Bitcoin Is Worth Over $1 Trillion. How Much Will Coinbase's New cbBTC Grab? L2s and ETH: ETH Is Down Bad, While Layer 2s Are Ripping. Are L2s Parasitic to Ethereum? Are L2s ‘Parasitic'? Analysis Shows Ethereum Only Gets a Tiny Percentage of Fees Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Joining us today is Kain Warwick. Not to fight, but to talk about his exciting new project called Infinex. Infinex aims to replace crypto's centralized exchange experience and bring it all onchian. It's ambitious, but if it works, could change the way we think about DeFi and navigate across chains forever. ------
This Weekly Rollup was recorded IRL at Permissionless III. We discuss HBO revealing the identity of Bitcoin's creator, Uniswap's Unichain announcement, the new FBI token and David Hoffman vs. Kain Warwick upcoming fight. ------