Unconfirmed Laura Shin
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- News
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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. Disclosure: I'm a nocoiner.
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Girl Gone Crypto: How These Wildly Entertaining Crypto Videos Get Made
Lea Thompson, aka Girl Gone Crypto, talks about what goes into producing her popular “The Crypto Minute” vlog, what initially got her into crypto, and her recent decision to quit her day job and go full time crypto. In this episode we discuss:
what “The Crypto Minute” is all about, and all the crypto video content she produces (2:37)
how Lea comes up with creative content such as wearing a whale costume to portray Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor (5:04)
how long it actually takes to create “The Crypto Minute” (6:36)
what goes into producing “The Crypto Minute” and which family member is behind the camera (7:05)
the biggest challenges Lea faces when creating her videos and how she decides which stories make the final cut (8:56)
Lea’s favorite bloopers including, but not limited to, rug pulls, sushi, an Amazon money printer, and a few fake $100 bills (10:28)
how Girl Gone Crypto fell down the crypto rabbit hole and why her ukulele skills were instrumental to her crypto journey (12:54)
the time when JK Rowling tweeted about Bitcoin, resulting in Lea’s viral “A Muggle’s Guide to Bitcoin” video (17:31)
what type of crypto content works best on different social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok (20:00)
when Girl Gone Crypto stopped being a hobby and how it is going now that Lea is full-time crypto (21:46)
how Lea is trying to educate people about crypto in a simple and approachable way… one ninja suit at time (22:34)
Crypto News Recap (26:12)
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD
Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla
The Sun Exchange: http://thesunexchange.com/unconfirmed
Episode links:
Lea Thompson: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto
Her YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GirlGoneCrypto
Her TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@girlgone_crypto?source=h5_m
Lea's personal website: https://www.lealovescrypto.com/
Video Examples
2020 Year in Review… News Vlog Style: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1344384717466914817?s=20
A Muggle’s Guide to Bitcoin: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1261445010832015361?s=20
Hardware Wallets Explained: https://twitter.com/girlgone_crypto/status/1329580439820849153?s=20
Miscellaneous Information
Fair Use: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html
Money Printer: https://www.amazon.com/Printing-Machine-Magician-Close-Up-Accessories/dp/B07XRBDCL8
Link to the Crypto News Recap:
https://unchainedpodcast.com/a-300k-btc-by-eoy/
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Michael Moro on Tesla's BTC Buy and the New Genesis Treasury
Michael Moro, CEO of Genesis Global, discusses Tesla’s purchase of $1.5 billion in bitcoin and Genesis’s new unit: Genesis Treasury. He also talks about how demand has shaped Genesis’ bitcoin and crypto offerings over the years, which events have acted as catalysts for institutional demand, and what Genesis is expecting in 2021. In this episode Michael covers:
The significance of Tesla allocating $1.5 billion to BTC (1:08)
How Tesla’s purchase is a result of the evolution of the asset class and why this is just the beginning
How Genesis got its start as a regulated BTC trading desk in 2013 (2:56)
What new products and services Genesis has launched since 2018 to meet institutional demand (6:11)
How Genesis came to launch Genesis Treasury and what this unit does (8:00)
Understanding the idea of bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset and how the stock market is rewarding companies for getting into crypto
What the catalysts were in creating corporate demand for bitcoin and where corporate demand for bitcoin is coming from (10:52)
How corporate interest in bitcoin correlated with Microstrategy’s Bitcoin for Corporations event (13:16)
Why institutions have been interested in Bitcoin as collateral, and why that narrative is new
How the conversation with institutions interested in buying bitcoin would be different in a bear market (16:00)
How GAAP accounting rules affect the quarterly earnings reports of publicly traded companies that hold bitcoin (19:03 )
His projections for how 2021 in crypto will play out (21:44)
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
The Sun Exchange: http://thesunexchange.com/unconfirmed
Episode links:
Michael Moro: https://twitter.com/michaelmoro
Genesis: https://genesis.global/
Genesis Treasury: https://genesistrading.com/treasury/
Recent institutional purchasing news:
Tesla’s BTC purchase: https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/02/08/bitcoin-surges-above-43000-to-a-record-after-elon-musks-tesla-buys-1point5-billion.html
Twitter’s CFO considers Bitcoin: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/94459/twitter-cfo-bitcoin-btc-balance-sheet-comments
Microstrategy’s Bitcoin for Corporations event: https://www.microstrategy.com/en/bitcoin/videos/bitcoin-macro-strategy
Michael Saylor’s Unchained interview: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-bitcoin-now-michael-saylor-on-the-best-way-for-companies-to-buy-bitcoin/
Companies holding bitcoin: https://bitcointreasuries.org/
Genesis information:
Michael Moro’s presentation at Microstrategy’s event: https://www.microstrategy.com/en/bitcoin/videos/genesis
Genesis Global background: https://f.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/6024551/About%20-%20Genesis%20Global/About%20Genesis%20Global%20-%20Full%20Overview.pdf
Prime Brokerage Services: https://f.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/6024551/About%20-%20Genesis%20Prime/About%20Genesis%20Prime%20-%20Full%20Overview.pdf
Q4 market observations: https://f.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/6024551/About%20-%20Genesis%20Prime/About%20Genesis%20Prime%20-%20Full%20Overview.pdf
Miscellaneous:
Crypto and GAAP accounting : https://www.forbes.com/sites/shehanchandrasekera/2020/05/21/how-are-cryptocurrencies-classified-in-gaap-financials/?sh=40ed4f9865b2
Coin Metrics report on institutional investing: https://coinmetrics.substack.com/p/coin-metrics-state-of-the-network-330
Link to the Crypto News Recap:
https://unchainedpodcast.com/41-trillion-in-aum/ -
Why Asia Is So Important to Crypto
Mira Christanto, research analyst at Messari, recently wrote a comprehensive report on the crypto scene in Asia. In this episode, she covers cultural differences in crypto trading between East and West, plus gives us the latest on the diverse regulatory landscape within this large region. Some topics covered in this show include:
why Asia is an important geography in crypto
why Asia dominates the crypto futures trading markets
why DeFi fits better with Western culture, and centralized services are more respected in the East
the state of regulation across the region
what makes crypto regulation in Hong Kong unique
how the Chinese are approaching regulation, and how bitcoin is exchanged there
how Japan's crypto industry differs from that of other companies and why penetration is still somewhat low
why and how Korea is distinct from other crypto trading cultures
why Singapore's regulatory framework for crypto is the most sophisticated
what's happening in Southeast Asia and India
the status of crypto mining in China — and why the Western view of it is quite different from what it's like on the ground
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
Sun Exchange: http://sunexchange.com/unconfirmed
Episode links:
Mira Christanto: https://twitter.com/asiahodl
Messari: https://messari.io
Messari's Asia Crypto Landscape report: https://messari.io/asia-crypto-landscape
Link to the Crypto News Recap:
https://unchainedpodcast.com/25-billion-in-institutional-bitcoin-by-eoy/ -
Why the GameStop Insanity Is So Similar to Crypto
Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO and founder of FTX, describes what happened between the Subreddit Wall Street Bets and hedge funds around the stock of GameStop this week. In this episode, he covers:
what happened with the stock of video game retailer GameStop this week
what that says about how to value a stock
how the traditional financial establishment reacted
how the events in GameStop this week are similar to the way crypto markets operate
how a crypto financial system could affect the ability of investors to do what the hedge funds did with GameStop — shorting more shares of the stock than actually exist
what led to FTX listing for tokenized versions of GameStop, Blackberry, AMC and Nokia, as well as a tokenized index fund of Wall Street Bets stocks
how the tokenized stocks and index work on the back end
why Robinhood restricted customers from purchasing shares in GameStop on Thursday
what the inspiration was for FTX
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
The Sun Exchange: http://sunexchange.com
Episode links:
Sam Bankman-Fried: https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda
FTX: https://ftx.com
Roundups of what happened with Gamestop:
NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/business/gamestop-wall-street-bets.html
Vox: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22249458/gamestop-stock-wallstreetbets-reddit-citron
Early Wired story: https://www.wired.com/story/gamestop-stock-wall-street-bets-short-squeeze/
NYT analysis: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/technology/gamestop-stock.html
Sam on what can determine an asset’s price: https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda/status/1354790766313234432?s=20
Chamath Palihapitiya on CNBC discussing Gamestop — defending individual investors: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/chamath-palihapitiya-closes-gamestop-position-but-defends-individual-investors-right-to.html
Videos: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/01/27/investor-chamath-palihapitiya-the-gamestop-story-is-pushback-against-wall-street-establishment.html
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/01/27/billionaire-investor-chamath-palihapitiya-on-gamestop-surge-and-rise-of-retail-investors.html
Gamestop price gyrations: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/gamestop-reverses-losses-and-surges-another-30percent-in-the-premarket-to-450-as-mania-continues.html
How many shares of GME are shorted: https://isthesqueezesquoze.com
FTX lists GME for tokenized spot and futures trading: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/92756/ftx-lists-gme-stock-for-tokenized-spot-futures-trading
FTX’s Wall Street Bets tokenized index fund: https://twitter.com/SBF_Alameda/status/1354790817060143114?s=20
Robinhood customers only being able to sell, not buy GME when Robinhood’s revenue biggest revenue source is sending order flow to hedge funds: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/robinhood-interactive-brokers-restrict-trading-in-gamestop-s.html
Matt Levine of Bloomberg on GameStop: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-28/knowing-when-to-sell-gamestop-stock-at-the-top-is-impossible?sref=m9L277rN
Link to the Crypto News Recap:
https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-gamestop-is-like-crypto/ -
Is Tether a Fraud? Its Bank Says It's Not
Gregory Pepin, deputy CEO of Deltec Bank and Trust, responds to allegations in a blog post by the pseudonymous Crypto Anonymous, that Tether is a "highly probably fraud." In this episode, he covers:
how Deltec accounts for its reserves, and why they didn't show up on Crypto Anonymous's blog post
where the dollars backing Tethers are held
how Tethers get created
where Tether Ltd. keeps its cash equivalents
why there's more demand for trading with USDT than with USD partially because of the arbitrage opportunity between East and West
how Tethers get created using Deltec
why USDT gets minted in very round numbers as opposed to very specific numbers that USDC is minted in
where the cash equivalents backing Tethers are held
what type of due diligence Deltec conducted when it took on Tether Ltd. as a customer
why the perception that Tether is unregulated compared to other stablecoins is false
what Deltec thinks about the New York Attorney General office's investigation in to Tether
why Deltec has a "large position in bitcoin"
Thank you to our sponsor!
Crypto.com: http://crypto.com
Episode links:
Gregory Pepin: https://twitter.com/dzrgreg
Deltec Bank: https://www.deltecbank.com/?locale=en
Crypto Anonymous’s Medium post: https://crypto-anonymous-2021.medium.com/the-bit-short-inside-cryptos-doomsday-machine-f8dcf78a64d3
Deltec having large position in bitcoin: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/91353/deltec-bitcoin-position-tether
Original video in which Deltec mentions its “large position in bitcoin”: https://www.deltecbank.com/2021/01/14/a-covid-year-in-review/
Deltec banking Tether: https://www.coindesk.com/deltec-chairman-says-tether-letter-on-bank-relationship-is-authentic
Tether not audited: https://www.coindesk.com/tether-review-claims-crypto-asset-fully-backed-theres-catch
Tether says it is fully backed: https://www.coindesk.com/tether-says-its-stablecoin-is-fully-backed-again
Tether current balances: https://wallet.tether.to/transparency?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=c035d054dd287020b16d6dbb4b70398ca7a99dcb-1611253376-0-AcOsT0Zqpd8Muzw5gnkSz6KKmTrN3WAssxGX8K-p_PkeZ2SUfW9EsAr-a2EkIojYzm5-3RA_1DHxpoK579d0YgtnxMYevlVRSS7RIAKh0sgk-ORzOZUDNgg_AvZjugdrxWVjTA9dCBf1hX4X83oU3-RTjQYn_qYukdRFJUq9a89BXyyDovL3bu4ohxSSVdworOR-cdxEiPURe4ZJrGIvuW3Ej2qJLJt3RDXfX6BfDANdpkVrU6O2KB4V0Or-HJjItS0uAu-L7KrTomXNv9anUv34_An8cH3VHYfB_OD-iyIvkgOh7RHd-Xafe-SJwPnUYg
What Tether is backed by: https://wallet.tether.to/transparency?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=c035d054dd287020b16d6dbb4b70398ca7a99dcb-1611253376-0-AcOsT0Zqpd8Muzw5gnkSz6KKmTrN3WAssxGX8K-p_PkeZ2SUfW9EsAr-a2EkIojYzm5-3RA_1DHxpoK579d0YgtnxMYevlVRSS7RIAKh0sgk-ORzOZUDNgg_AvZjugdrxWVjTA9dCBf1hX4X83oU3-RTjQYn_qYukdRFJUq9a89BXyyDovL3bu4ohxSSVdworOR-cdxEiPURe4ZJrGIvuW3Ej2qJLJt3RDXfX6BfDANdpkVrU6O2KB4V0Or-HJjItS0uAu-L7KrTomXNv9anUv34_An8cH3VHYfB_OD-iyIvkgOh7RHd-Xafe-SJwPnUYg
New York Attorney General’s office press release on investigation into iFinex: https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2019/attorney-general-james-announces-court-order-against-crypto-currency-company
CoinDesk on NYAG investigation: https://www.coindesk.com/bitfinex-ny-prosecutors-tether-850-million-allege
Link to the Crypto News Recap:
https://unchainedpodcast.com/what-8-trillion-could-do-in-bitcoin/
Customer Reviews
Great podcast!
Great podcast and brilliant host! It is amazing to listen to all the valuable conversations and concepts discussed during this podcast
Laura does her homework
I’ve listened to Laura since her early days and the one that always stands out to me is her preparation on the topic at hand. Crypto is a very wide net and covers so much of it. I prefer the focus on Bitcoin, but I do learn from even the more esoteric projects. Quite a talented and hard working lady. Highly recommended!
Great information every time
Laura does a great job not only of interviewing, but also asking the questions that make the topics understandable. So many of us are passionate about crypto , but are still newbies. She does a great job of asking the simple question “What does that mean” or “explain that in more detail.”