Unchained
Hosted by Ben Francis, Haseeb K. Qureshi, Laura Shin, Robert Leshner, Tarun Chitra & Tom Schmidt · 31 decoded episodes · newest Oct 15, 2026
Crypto assets and blockchain technology are about to transform every trust-based interaction of our lives, from financial services to identity to the Internet of Things. In this podcast, host Laura Shin, an independent journalist covering all things crypto, talks with industry pioneers about how crypto assets and blockchains will change the way we earn, spend and invest our money. Tune in to find out how Web 3.0, the decentralized web, will revolutionize our world.
Episodes 31
- Oct 15, 2026 · 58 minCrypto’s new moats are distribution, judgment and trustThe episode connects supply-chain security, synthetic trading and AI’s challenge to technical advantage into one question: what remains difficult to copy?
- Oct 14, 2026 · 60 minCrypto’s next era tests security, economics and scaleAs crypto moves toward broader adoption, its biggest constraints may be security, sustainable value accrual and infrastructure rather than speculation.
- Oct 9, 2026 · 42 minCrypto weighs friendly jurisdictions against cryptographic collapseThe panel connects founder migration, AI-driven security fears, and failing Layer 2 networks to a broader test of crypto’s resilience.
- Oct 9, 2026 · 46 minNEAR Intents traces a $3.8 million exploit to its suspected attackerThe incident shows how a cross-chain protocol can detect fraud, compensate users, investigate stolen funds, and still confront hard limits around privacy and decentralization.
- Oct 8, 2026 · 1h 20mAI speculation tests crypto’s security assumptionsThe episode separates credible cryptographic risk from panic while examining how governance, laundering, and wallet economics shape crypto’s resilience.
- Oct 7, 2026 · 1h 12mTHORChain debate exposes the limits of crypto decentralizationThe dispute tests whether a protocol can remain permissionless while refusing to facilitate laundering from North Korean hacks.
- Oct 5, 2026 · 24 minNexo pitches crypto as a wealth-management toolThe interview examines whether digital assets can move from speculative holdings into integrated strategies for borrowing, spending, retirement, and intergenerational wealth.
- Oct 2, 2026 · 1h 6mCrypto infrastructure faces tests from hacks, incentives, and AIThe episode connects three emerging sources of financial risk: discretionary cross-chain intervention, opaque market incentives, and capital that can move automatically.
- Oct 1, 2026 · 56 minCrypto careers need purpose, resilience, and a life beyond the marketThe final DEX in the City episode turns the hosts’ experience into practical guidance for entering crypto without losing perspective or identity.
- Oct 1, 2026 · 55 minHunter Biden defends $LAPTOP coin amid political crypto fightThe interview tests whether transparency and disclosed incentives can distinguish a politically motivated memecoin from the speculative ventures it criticizes.
- Oct 1, 2026 · 1h 23mBitget hack exposes crypto’s security and governance fault linesThe episode connects a $388 million exchange exploit to North Korean-linked threats, censorship-resistance tradeoffs, AI risk, and Ethereum’s commercial future.
- Sep 30, 2026 · 1h 6mBitget confronts the limits of crypto’s emergency responseThe hack tests whether exchanges, blockchains, stablecoin issuers, and permissionless protocols can coordinate when stolen funds cross jurisdictions and networks.