🎙️ METACAST: Top Crypto Podcasts of January 2024

Paradigm

Published in

Paradigm

13 min readJan 30, 2024

Greetings, everyone!

Take a swift glimpse at the highlights of what we’ve been tuning into this month!

TL;DR

Bitwise’s Matt Hougan and VanEck’s Matthew Sigel discuss the first days of Bitcoin ETF trading.
The significance of the SEC’s case against Coinbase with Attorney Sam Enzer.
Brian Armstrong of Coinbase on using crypto to improve science.
Robert Breedlove’s perspective on Bitcoin.
Anthony Sassano, Mike Ippolito, and Jordi Alexander’s insights into Ethereum’s 2024 outlook.
Isidoros Passadis talks about staking decentralization for Ethereum.
Anatoly Yakovenko, Nick White, and Chris Burniske discuss modular vs. monolithic blockchains.
David Schwartz of Ripple shares insights on the SEC Ripple XRP ruling, crypto disruption in traditional finance, and emerging use cases on the XRP Ledger.
Cathie Wood, ARK Invest’s CEO, talks about the Bitcoin ETF launch, its impact, price predictions, central banks holding Bitcoin, and the next industrial revolution.
John Palmer, President of Cboe, Digital discusses new Bitcoin & Ethereum futures, ETF dynamics, and the 2024–2025 crypto market outlook.
Mark Yusko of Morgan Creek Capital Management, discusses the impact of Bitcoin ETFs, Jamie Dimon’s anti-Bitcoin stance, and Ethereum Spot ETF predictions.
Sunny Lu on VeChain’s web3 & sustainability plans.
Stuart Buck of the Social Science Research Council and the Good Science Project discusses challenges in science funding and research.
Brian Magierski of Cerebrum DAO explores advancing research in brain health through decentralized science.
Illia Polosukhin shares Near Protocol’s journey.
Prabal Banerjee explains Avail’s approach to Data Availability.
Howard Wu and Alex Pruden discuss the evolution of Aleo.
Discussions on decentralized P2P file sharing and FHE-powered Ethereum L2 with Fileverse.
Hugo Philion of Flare, talks about Google Cloud’s role, FAssets, Flare staking, AI integration, and SEC Ripple XRP ruling.
Jason Bailey shares stories and solutions from the NFT space.
Blockcrunch episode featuring Jay Jog discussing Sei Network, the first parallelized EVM chain.
Glen Weyl and Vitalik Buterin explore the Taiwanese plural experience at TempoX Accelerator space.
And more!

Unchained

Three Crypto Pioneers on Crypto’s Monolithic vs. Modular Debate: In this episode of Unchained, Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs, Nick White, COO at Celestia, and Chris Burniske, partner at VC firm Placeholder discuss the differences between modular and monolithic, or integrated, blockchains, with Solana epitomizing the monolithic approach and Celestia the modular one. They all agree that both approaches have their merits and will likely coexist, but argue each lends itself to specific use cases and developer preferences. They also discuss what will drive the next crypto bull cycle, and each gives their best predictions for a specific development in the crypto industry in the next few years.

How Small Bitcoin ETF Issuers Will Compete With the Likes of BlackRock: Bitwise’s Matt Hougan and VanEck’s Matthew Sigel delve into the details of the first two days of trading and what each company tried to focus on with its offering.
Why the SEC’s Case Against Coinbase Is So Significant for Crypto: Attorney Sam Enzer explains how the case that’s currently being heard could impact the SEC’s entire enforcement regime against crypto.

Why Some Brokerage Firms Are Blocking Access to Spot Bitcoin ETFs: Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably heard that spot Bitcoin ETFs were finally approved by the SEC this month. That set the stage for 11 such offerings from the likes of BlackRock, Fidelity, and ARK 21Shares to begin trading on Thursday. On this episode of Unchained, Nate Geraci, president of the ETF Store; Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence; and James Seyffart, research analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence discussed the initial record trading volumes, the mechanics of how the funds work, the botched roll-out process, the pointed commentary from SEC commissioners, the potential for future Ethereum spot ETFs and predictions for total inflows. Plus, they explain why brokerage firms like Vanguard, Merrill, and others were blocking customer access to the ETFs.

The 4 Factors That Will Determine Which Spot Bitcoin ETFs Win Market Share: Venture capitalist Spencer Bogart gives his take on the ETF news.

The Chopping Block:

Bankless

The State Of Ethereum L2s: the hosts are joined by Paradigm CTO, Georgios Konstantopoulos and founder of Conduit, Andrew Huang who is on the show to deliver a masterclass on the state of Ethereum Layer 2s, how they’re going, and where they’re headed.

Why We’re Bullish L2s: Are L2 tokens worthless governance coins? Will they accrue value? Are L2 tokens bullish? Ryan and David dive into the details in this episode of Bankless Takes.
Decentralized Science | Brian Armstrong & Patrick Joyce: Science is a consensus technology. So is crypto. How can we use crypto to fix science? The hosts have Brian Armstrong from Coinbase to talk about this. Hi is joined by scientist Patrick Joyce. In this episode, they explore the history of science, the pitfalls of TradFi, and how we can use crypto technology to build better incentive mechanisms for a more enlightened future.

What is Bitcoin? with Robert Breedlove: Robert Breedlove is a freedom maximalist and Bitcoin philosopher. Robert is known amongst Bitcoiners to produce content that draws from ancient wisdom, and brings it forward into the modern times, with Bitcoin as the context.

Crypto Investment Themes: 6 Predictions for the major investment themes ahead for 2024. What are going to be the trends that define 2024? What do you need to know to stay ahead of the game?
ETH in 2024: 2023 wasn’t great for Ethereum… from a price perspective. But it was fantastic from a building perspective. Where does Ethereum go from here? What does 2024 have in store for ETH the asset and Ethereum the network? Anthony Sassano, Mike Ippolito, and Jordi Alexander join the show to give a high-level overview of the Ethereum ecosystem.

Tensor — Solana’s NFT Marketplace | Ilja & Richard Wu: In this episode, David is joined by Co-Founder and CEO of Tensor, Ilja Moisejevs, and CTO of Tensor, Richard Wu. The three cover: How do the different properties and foundations of Solana impact the product decisions that Richard and Ilja have made at Tensor? What are the first things that someone would notice that’s different about Tensor, versus the NFT marketplaces on Ethereum? How did the $JITO airdrop impact the Tensor ecosystem?
BTC ETF Approval with Eric Balchunas: The Bitcoin ETF was approved in January. What happens next? How does this change everything? Which ETF can crypto expect next? When? Answers to these questions and so much more!

Rollups:

Zero Knowledge

Episode 308: Avail’s Approach to DA with Prabal Banerjee: In this episode, Anna catches up with Prabal Banerjee, co-founder of Avail. They deep dive into Prabal’s career, starting with his work in academia, his move to Polygon, and his spinning out the Avail project. They discuss how the project was built, tech decisions and the motivations behind them as well as their use of KZG, validity proofs, and their position within the Ethereum and wider blockchain ecosystem. They go on to revisit Data Availability and the interaction with different parts of the modular blockchain stack, comparing Avail to competing systems and covering edge-cases and their impact in a DA-secured stack.

Episode 307: The Evolution of Aleo with Howard Wu & Alex Pruden: Anna caught up on all things Aleo with Howard Wu co-founder of the Aleo Network & Alex Pruden executive director of the Aleo Foundation. Howard was last on the show back in 2020 when Aleo was in its infancy, so the group dive into how the project has evolved over the last 4 years, covering lessons learned along the way as well as technical decisions, detours, breakthroughs and reflecting on initial goals as they built out the system.
Episode 306: Predictions: ZK in 2024: In this episode, Anna and cohosts Guillermo, Kobi, Nico and Tarun share their predictions, hopes (and worries) for ZK in 2024. They cover emerging ideas in ZK, research predictions, dream applications, the best case for ZK in 2024, the worst case for ZK, possible ‘Black Swans’, and more.

Epicenter

David Minarsch: Autonolas — Autonomous AI Agents: The hosts were joined by David Minarsch, co-founder of Valory & Autonolas, to discuss the ever-changing landscape of AI agents and how they can be used to automate crypto applications.

Andreas Tsamados & Vijay Krishnavanshi: Fileverse — Decentralised P2P File Sharing: The hosts were joined by Andreas Tsamados & Vijay Krishnavanshi, co-founders of Fileverse, to discuss their decentralized file sharing solution and how they plan to disrupt the Web2 quasi-monopoly.
Guy Itzhaki & Guy Zyskind: Fhenix — FHE-powered End-to-End Encrypted Ethereum L2: The hosts were joined by Guy Itzhaki & Guy Zyskind, to discuss fully homomorphic encryption and how Fhenix plans to leverage it to build an end-to-end encrypted Ethereum L2 with compliant privacy.

Illia Polosukhin: Near Protocol — From AI to High-Throughput Blockchain: The hosts were joined by Illia Poloshukhin, co-founder of Near Protocol, to discuss Near’s journey, from AI company to high-throughput L1 blockchain, and how LLM training influenced the modular design choice

Isidoros Passadis: Lido DAO — Staking Decentralisation for Ethereum and LSTs in DeFi: The hosts were joined by Isidoros Passadis, Master of Validators at Lido DAO, to discuss Ethereum’s current staking landscape, Lido’s governance model and what steps it takes to ensure decentralization.

The Defiant

The Real Impact of Bitcoin ETFs on Markets: Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan: Matt Hougan is the CIO of Bitwise, which is a crypto index fund manager and one of the issuers of Bitcoin ETFs. Hougan is a renowned figure in the financial sector, known for his expertise in cryptocurrency and ETFs. In this conversation the hosts get into Matt’s initial reaction to the BTC ETF launch, the expected inflows for 2024, and the often underestimated impacts of these developments. They also discuss Unique Vanguard’s stance, the evolution of Bitcoin ETFs, why Bitwise maintains the lowest fees, Matt Hougan’s background, the possibility of Ethereum ETFs, and the growing understanding of Ethereum in traditional finance. Finally, they touch upon the centralization risks of Bitcoin, the future of Bitcoin ETFs, and the Bitcoin price forecast.

What is NEAR Protocol? | A Comprehensive Overview & Future Prospects: Illia Polosukhin is the Co-Founder of NEAR Protocol, which is a sharded, proof-of-stake, Layer 1 blockchain. Originally conceived as an Artificial Intelligence endeavor, NEAR underwent a transformation, pivoting its focus to become a crypto project. They begin by exploring NEAR’s shift into crypto and gain deeper insight into NEAR’s core principles, underlying technology, the users, and builders, as well as anticipated new features.

Accidentally Airdropping $300 Million: NFT OG Jason Bailey: The hosts were joined by Jason Bailey, Co-Founder and CEO of ClubNFT. ClubNFT provides solutions to help collectors analyze, monitor, and protect their NFT collections. Jason is an O.G. in the NFT space and he shares many stories from back in the day. He was an early collector on SuperRare. He created the first NFT IRL drop at Christie’s art event back in 2018. He’d been Red Pilling traditional art collectors before the term NFT was even coined. In this conversation they get into Jason’s background in both art and tech, his views on generative art, as well as a deep dive into ClubNFT and the solutions they help solve.

Thinking Crypto Podcast

Mark Yusko Interview — The Bitcoin ETFs Will Drive Crypto To New All Time Highs: Mark Yusko is the CEO & CIO of Morgan Creek Capital Management. He discusses:

Bitcoin Spot ETF launch and inflows
Jamie Dimon, Vanguard, & Merril anti Bitcoin Stance
Ethereum Spot ETF approval chances
Will the Fed cut rates and start the money printer this year
Bitcoin can quickly break six figures this year
Can Bitcoin overtake Gold’s ETF AUM this cycle?

David Schwartz Interview — New Use Cases are Coming to the XRP Ledger: David Schwartz who is CTO at Ripple. He discusses:

SEC Ripple XRP Ruling
Crypto disruption of money and Governments reaction
Ripple Metaco & HSBC
Are Banks more open to Crypto and blockchain now?
XRPL AMM
CBDC and Stablecoin Pilots on XRPL
New XRP Ledger use cases
PolySign

Cathie Wood Interview — Bitcoin & Crypto Are Part of the Next Industrial Revolution: Cathie Wood is the Founder, CEO and CIO at ARK Invest. In this interview they discuss:

ARK’s Bitcoin ETF Launch
Bitcoin ETF impact on Crypto Adoption
Cathie’s Bitcoin price prediction
Central Banks will hold Bitcoin
Will an Ethereum Spot ETF be approved in 2024?
SEC Ripple XRP Ruling
Gary Gensler will not be SEC chair after the Presidential election
CBDCs vs Stablecoins
The Next Industrial Revolution and Tech Disruptions
Outlook on the Fed decisions and markets in 2024

John Palmer Interview — Cboe Digital’s New Bitcoin & Ethereum Futures Products: John Palmer is the President of Cboe Digital. He discusses:

Cboe Digital launching margined BTC and ETF futures
Bitcoin Spot ETF launch and trading
Bitcoin ETF Marketing
Vanguard and Merrill not listing the ETFs
Will an Ethereum Spot ETF be approved in 2024?
Outlook for the crypto market in 2024 and 2025

Matt Hougan Interview — Will we see a Bitcoin ETF Super Bowl Ad?: Matt Hougan is the CIO at Bitwise. He discusses:

Bitwise’s Bitcoin Spot ETF Launch $BITB
Bitwise’s ETF Ad with The Most Interesting Man in the World
How Bitwise is able to have the lowest fees amongst all ETF issuers
BTC ETF launch and overall volumes
Impact of the Bitcoin ETF launches on the crypto market
Ethereum & XRP Spot ETF this year?
Will we see a Bitcoin ETF Super Bowl ad
Outlook for the crypto market in 2024 and 2025

Hugo Philion Interview — Google Cloud Becomes a Validator & Data provider on Flare: Hugo Philion is the co-founder and CEO of Flare. In this interview, they discuss:

Google Cloud Validator & Data provider on Flare
FAssets Update
Flare Staking
API portal and LayerCake
AI Integration plans & new use cases
Crypto Regulations
SEC Ripple XRP ruling & Bitcoin Spot ETF
SongBird & FLR Token distribution

Sunny Lu Interview — VeChain’s Big Web3 & Sustainability Plans: Sunny Lu is the Co-Founder and CEO of VeChain. They discuss:

What’s new with VeChain
Boston Consulting Group Partnership
VET & VeThor token updates
Web3 Sustainability plans
Marketplace launch in the Node Rewards Program
Bitcoin Spot ETF approval and EU Mica regulations

The DeSci Podcast

Challenging the Status Quo: Stuart Buck on Science Funding & Research: Stuart Buck serves as a Senior Advisor at the Social Science Research Council and is the Executive Director of the Good Science Project — an organization dedicated to enhancing the funding and practice of science. In this episode, Stuart addresses key challenges in the scientific landscape, such as bureaucratic obstacles to funding and the distinction between basic and applied science. He emphasizes the interconnected nature of basic and applied research, highlighting how discoveries from basic research lay the foundation for applied innovations and challenges addressed through applied science inspire new questions in basic research. Moving further, Stuart shares his view on the metaphor of failure in science. According to him, failure is not synonymous with defeat; instead, encountering failures in scientific endeavors indicates that one is posing pertinent questions and pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Other topics covered in the podcast include scientific reproducibility, the measurement problem in science, enforcing data accessibility, and many more.

Advancing Research in Brain Health and Longevity through Decentralized Science | Brian Magierski: Brian Margierski is the CEO and Founder of Cerebrum DAO, an open, global community that seeks to reimagine impact funding to advance brain longevity and accelerate solutions and cures to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders. In this episode, Brian delves into Cerebrum DAO, outlining its mission and commitment to advancing brain health research. He sheds light on the motivating factors behind his interest in this field and elaborates on why he opted for the DAO model as the most fitting framework to achieve these objectives. They also discuss how the DAO model enables entrepreneurship by creating an environment for innovation and empowering individuals to propose and pursue unconventional projects without the constraints typically associated with centralized funding models.

MISC

Glen Weyl and Vitalik Buterin explore the Taiwanese plural experience at TempoX Accelerator space:

What You Need to Know About Sei: The First Parallelized EVM — Jay Jog, Sei Network, Ep. 250: In December 2023, Sei Network joined the “billion-dollar network club” in market cap, as its value doubled and its user count skyrocketed. Sei stood out amongst the crypto natives as it claims to be the fastest Layer 1 out there (yes, even faster than Solana) and the first live blockchain to become a parallelized EVM chain. In this Blockcrunch episode, the hosts have Jayendra Jog, Co-Founder of Sei, to share: How did Sei become the fastest blockchain, what is parallelized EVM and why it’s a game-changer, Sei’s roadmap in 2024, and more.