Unconfirmed: Insights And Analysis From The Top Minds In Crypto

Arianna Simpson, managing partner of investment firm Autonomous Partners, discusses this week's news that Cambridge Analytica had used data from Facebook to perhaps manipulate the 2016 election and whether that could create an opening for blockchain-based decentralized social networks. We also cover the announcement that Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures and top individual investors invested $12 million in Cryptokitties and why Simpson thinks the area of digital collectibles could take off. The Facebook/Cambridge Analytica story: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-trump-campaign.html Cryptokitties: https://www.coindesk.com/a16z-leads-12-million-funding-for-ethereum-app-cryptokitties/ Why Arianna isn't worried about the downturn: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-smart-money-isnt-worried-about-the-bitcoin-selloff-2018-03-19?siteid=rss Thank you to the sponsors of today's episode: Preciate: ​​​​https://preciate.org/ and https://preciate.org/recognize/ Quants

Wyoming now has five blockchain-specific laws. Caitlin Long, cofounder of the Wyoming Blockchain Coalition, describes what these laws are, what they mean, and how our least populous state became a crypto leader. The former chairman and president of Symbiont explains what this could mean for any project that aims to launch a utility token, whether or not ICOs held in Wyoming would only be available to Wyoming residents, and what big issue she thinks remains for the SEC to address. Caitlin Long: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlin-long-/ To read the laws: https://legiscan.com/WY/bill/HB0070/2018 An op-ed Caitlin co-authored with WY House Rep. Tyler Lindholm: https://www.coindesk.com/haven-blockchain-case-wyoming/ Thank you to our sponsors, Onramp http://www.thinkonramp.com/ and Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com/

Amber Baldet, JPMorgan Chase blockchain program lead, talks about what she was discussing at SXSW with Hyperledger executive director Brian Behlendorf and what themes she heard at the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris. She talks about privacy in financial transactions, how "immutable" blockchains might conflict with a new EU privacy law granting people the "right to be forgotten." And we briefly touch on her work with Jalak Jobanputra's new diversity-focused group Collective Future.  Privacy on Ethereum: https://www.coindesk.com/progress-hot-ethereum-privacy-projects-cooling-off/ The Collective Future: https://www.wired.com/story/for-women-in-cryptocurrency-a-new-effort-to-grow-their-ranks/ https://iapp.org/news/a/blockchain-technology-is-on-a-collision-course-with-eu-privacy-law/ Thank you to our sponsors: Preciate https://preciate.org/ which is seeking suggestions for who to appreciate at https://preciate.org/recognize/ and Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com/ 

As a former government official, current board member of Coinbase and professor at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Kathryn Haun has a unique and varied view of the crypto space. She doesn't necessarily see the SEC subpoenas as a reason to be alarmed and compares it to her work as a federal prosecutor. We also discuss the FinCen letter and why her take is different from the fear we've seen in the marketplace. SEC issues 80 subpoeast: https://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-launches-cryptocurrency-probe-1519856266?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1 The FinCen letter: https://coincenter.org/link/fincen-raises-major-licensing-problem-for-icos-in-new-letter-to-congress Thank you to our sponsors: Preciate https://preciate.org/ which is seeking suggestions for who to appreciate at https://preciate.org/recognize/ and Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com/ 

Spencer Bogart, partner at Blockchain Capital, discusses why he think Bitcoin's growing pains are a sign of success, how the SEC regulatory gloom could affect the development of crypto and how a liquidity crunch could affect crypto hedge funds. We also take a peek at the coming platform wars. Blockchain Capital: http://blockchain.capital/ New crypto hedge funds: https://hackernoon.com/the-fate-of-crypto-hedge-funds-ca5850e8421c

Future Perfect Ventures' founder and managing partner Jalak Jobanputra and I discuss the New York Times article earlier this week about how few women there are in crypto. We discuss some of the surprising comments we saw from women in the space who wish the story hadn't been written and Jobanputra's new effort to increase diversity in crypto, The Collective Future. The New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/25/business/cryptocurrency-women-blockchain-bros.html Jutta Steiner's tweet: https://twitter.com/jutta_steiner/status/968158503096471553 Meltem Dermirors' tweet: https://twitter.com/Melt_Dem/status/967983438945968130 Elizabeth Stark's tweet: https://twitter.com/starkness/status/968307972597272576 Wired article about The Collective Future: https://www.wired.com/story/for-women-in-cryptocurrency-a-new-effort-to-grow-their-ranks/

Brian Kelly of BKCM talks about token-curated registries, such as the proposal for Messari, by Ryan Selkis, formerly of Digital Currency Group and CoinDesk, and why such TCRs are probably a good idea, but what pitfalls they may face. We also discuss the highly anticipated launch of crypto trading on Robinhood and look behind the scenes at Venezuela's new crypto offering, the petro. Token curated registries: Proposal for Messari: https://medium.com/@twobitidiot/a-token-to-self-regulate-tokens-but-really-a61da77e6a7b TCRs generally: https://medium.com/@ilovebagels/token-curated-registries-1-0-61a232f8dac7 A curated list of resources on TCRs: https://medium.com/@tokencuratedregistry/the-token-curated-registry-whitepaper-bd2fb29299d6 Robinhood launches crypto trading: http://blog.robinhood.com/news/2018/2/21/robinhood-crypto-trading-is-here https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/22/free-crypto-trading/ Petro: A good tweet storm on some of the issues surrounding the petro's launch: https://twitter.com/alemac

The founder and CEO of Polychain Capital discusses why an Ethereum core developer is stepping down, how blockchains should be governed and whether speculators and users have equal weight in crypto communities. We also discuss an op-ed that suggests a new crypto-specific regulatory body, and whether or not it's safe for Salon.com to be asking its readers who use ad-blockers to give computer power so Salon.com can mine Monero. Governance issue: https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/pull/867#issuecomment-365800936 https://twitter.com/5chdn/status/963730276743548928 NYT op-ed suggesting a new crypto-specific regulatory body: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/14/business/dealbook/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-regulation.html Salon.com mining Monero https://www.salon.com/about/faq-what-happens-when-i-choose-to-suppress-ads-on-salon/ Polychain Capital http://polychain.capital/

Subscribe now - first episode coming Friday! Weekly Insights and Analysis From the Top Minds in Crypto.  Events in crypto take place at warp speed. This weekly crypto podcast reveals how the marquee names in crypto are reacting to the week’s top headlines. With host Laura Shin, the guests also discuss what they’re thinking about these days and reveal what they believe is on the horizon in crypto. Host Laura Shin - Independent journalist covering crypto (crypto assets, Bitcoin, Ethereum, ICOs, tokens), and host of the podcasts Unchained and Unconfirmed.