In this episode of The Big Brain Podcast, Eli Ben-Sasson – co-founder of Zcash and Starknet – joins The Block President Larry Cermak and MegaETH CSO Namik Muduroglu. The conversation delves into the challenges of ensuring integrity in privacy payments on decentralized public blockchains, highlighting the role of ZK proofs in validating computations without compromising sensitive information. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 03:48 From Academia to Crypto 08:52 Zcash Privacy Overview 13:06 Monero vs. Zcash 15:05 The Future of Privacy 16:50 Quantum Threats 24:13 Zcash's Evolution 28:23 Starknet & BTCFi 33:13 Bitcoin's Future 41:08 Why Privacy Matters 43:14 The Future of Starknet Guest links: Eli Ben-Sasson - https://x.com/YZiLabs Starknet BTCFi - https://www.starknet.io/blog/starknet-x-bitcoin-the-next-step-btcfi-on-starknet/ Show links: Larry - https://x.com/lawmaster Namik - https://x.com/NamikMuduroglu

In this episode of the Big Brain Podcast, Larry and Namik are joined by Wintermute Founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy to discuss the recent historic crypto crash, explaining how extreme leverage, exchange failures, and forced ADL liquidations led to market chaos and liquidity breakdowns across the ecosystem. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 00:45 What Happened? 04:46 Understanding ADL 12:25 Transparency and Privacy on Hyperliquid  16:35 Circuit Breakers 19:16 Occam’s Razor 21:25 Assessing the Damage 25:24 Lessons learned 28:39 Looking Ahead 30:21 A Maturing Market 32:13 Dealing with Extreme Volatility  35:19 Impact on DeFi 37:28 Wintermute as the Crypto Villain 41:47 What else does Wintermute do? 44:11 Conclusion GUEST LINKS https://x.com/evgenygaevoy https://x.com/wintermute_t This episode of the Big Brain Podcast is brought to you by our sponsor, Canton Network. Are you hiring in crypto? Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test.Faster hiring, stronger teams. Sign up for a trial today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠theblock.co/campus⁠

In this episode of the Big Brain Podcast, Larry and Namik are joined by Dragonfly's Tom Schmidt Alok Vasudev of Standard Crypto. They dive into current trends in venture capital within the crypto space, touching on how market conditions have evolved since 2021, the role of treasury companies, and the evolving regulatory landscape. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 01:06 Alok's Background 04:45 Tom's Background 06:21 Cap Table Competition 07:53 Crypto 'Metas' 13:09 Copycat Crypto Projects 15:26 Brand Positioning 17:45 Web3 Moats 19:29 Crypto Treasury Companies 27:28 Regulatory Tailwinds 30:38 Consumer Adoption GUEST LINKS https://x.com/tomhschmidt https://x.com/AlokVasudev Are you hiring in crypto? Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test.Faster hiring, stronger teams. Sign up for a trial today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠theblock.co/campus⁠

Jack Mallers recounts his bitcoin journey, and explains how the US government could expunge its debt by dumping USD into gold and bitcoin. OUTLINE: 00:00 Introduction 06:55 Mallers Family Office 09:50 Founding Strike 14:53 Orange-Pilling El Salvador 22:23 Bitcoin & Tether 26:18 International Bitcoin Policies 32:39 US Bitcoin Policy 53:30 Twenty One

In this episode, Paolo Ardoino delves into the factors that contributed to Tether’s USDT becoming the world’s largest stablecoin. Additionally, Ardoino discusses Tether’s strategic investment in AI, energy, biotech, and other industries, showcasing their long-term vision. OUTLINE: 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Paolo's Background 1:21 Tether's Path to Success 04:04 Stablecoin Policy 07:23 USDT Adoption in Emerging Markets 12:15 Tether Gold 16:30 Tether & US Hegemony 21:25 Responsible Crypto Education 22:54 Tether Wallet Development Kit 25:00 Chain Preferences 28:52 Tether's Investment Strategy 45:13 Infinite Money Glitch SHOW LINKS: Apple: https://apple.co/43F3vmq Spotify: https://spoti.fi/44NT1lZ Larry: https://x.com/lawmaster Namik: https://x.com/NamikMuduroglu The Block Podcasts: https://x.com/TheBlockPods GUEST LINKS: Paolo: https://x.com/paoloardoino Tether: https://tether.io/ Tether USDT: https://tether.to/ Tether Gold: https://gold.tether.to/ Holepunch: https://holepunch.to/ Keet: https://keet.io/ Wallet Development Kit: https://wallet.tether.io/

In this episode, Guy Young & Rune Christensen discuss the evolution of DeFi, noting how it has become more grounded in reality and sustainable business models, moving away from the early hype and ideological claims. OUTLINE: 00:00 Introduction 01:23 DeFi Ain't What it Used To Be 08:27 Ethena's Success 13:01 Get $HYPE(D) 15:08 HL L1 16:38 'Ecosystem Protocols' 19:32 DeFi User Capture 21:42 DeFi Endgame 22:05 Hyper-rational Users Onchain 24:53 Compressing DeFi Rates 27:16 Stealing  from the Rich 28:43Onchain KYC 30:57 Forking DeFi 33:57 The Future of Finance 37:50 'MicroStrategy Playbook" for Alts 42:19 Bitcoin DeFi? 43:57 F.A.F.O. Onchain SHOW LINKS: - Apple: https://apple.co/43F3vmq - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/44NT1lZ - Larry: https://x.com/lawmaster - Namik: https://x.com/NamikMuduroglu - The Block Podcasts: https://x.com/TheBlockPods GUEST LINKS: - Rune: @RuneKek - Guy: @gdog97_ - Sky: https://sky.money/ - Ethena: https://ethena.fi/

The Big Brain Podcast is co-hosted by The Block CEO Larry Cermak and MegaETH CSO Namik Muduroglu. In this episode, Haseeb Qureshi & Jordi Alexander discuss the similarities between poker and crypto, the economics of bitcoin's endgame, the intersection of AI and crypto, and more. OUTLINE: 00:00 Introduction 02:25 Similarities between Poker & Crypto 06:33 Maintaining Crypto Conviction 12:40 Surviving the FTX Fallout 17:55 FTX Marketing Spend 24:05 The Trump Era of Crypto 26:34 Bitcoin Endgame Economics 34:32 Crypto & AGI 43:07 Analysts vs. LLMs 47:47 Market Making & AI 51:52 F.A.F.O. Onchain SHOW LINKS: - Apple: https://apple.co/43F3vmq - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/44NT1lZ - Larry: https://x.com/lawmaster - Namik: https://x.com/NamikMuduroglu - The Block Podcasts: https://x.com/TheBlockPods GUEST LINKS: - Haseeb: https://x.com/hosseeb - Jordi: https://x.com/gametheorizing EPISODE LINKS: - AI 2027: https://ai-2027.com/ - Noise: https://www.noise.xyz/ - Dave White Thread: https://x.com/_Dave__White_/status/1866497496773804434

It's gonna be a big show.