Around the Block
Crypto’s emergence as a geopolitical force
Examining crypto’s usage in Ukraine, sanctions, and the Biden Executive Order
Recent Episodes
Never miss a beat—catch up on the latest episodes of Around the Block
Sep 13, 2022Helium’s Amir Haleem on the difficulty of building a sovereign blockchain
Developers behind Helium proposed migrating the network off of its own blockchain onto Solana. Founder and CEO Amir Haleem shares the vision behind Helium, the key decisions that shaped the network, and why the move could be the project’s best bet.
Sep 6, 2022Tornado Cash and Crypto Implications with Faryar Shirzad, Sheila Warren and Jake Chervinsky
Coinbase’s Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad, Crypto Council for Innovation CEO Sheila Warren, and Head of Policy for the Blockchain Association Jake Chervinsky discuss Tornado Cash: what happened, who it impacts, and how we can work with policymakers.
Aug 30, 2022Decentralization, Privacy, and a Credibly Neutral Ethereum with Vitalik Buterin and Brian Armstrong
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong discuss Coinbase’s responsibility as an infrastructure operator, maintaining a credibly neutral Ethereum network, and why Ethereum leaves privacy up to the builders.
Jul 20, 2022What Makes Bitcoin Special with River CEO Alexander Leishman
There was much excitement over the last cycle around Ethereum and smart contract based applications. Still, many are sticking to building on Bitcoin. We talk to River CEO Alex Leishman about what makes Bitcoin special, and what keeps him dedicated to it.
Jul 13, 2022The Future of Stablecoins & CBDCs with Visa’s Head of CBDC Catherine Gu
According to the BIS, 9 out of 10 Central Banks will conduct experiments around Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) in 2022. What’s the intrigue, and how long before we see CBDCs make the leap from theoretical possibility to an everyday reality?
Jun 29, 2022The Merge with the Ethereum Foundation's Justin Drake
After years in the making, the Ethereum Merge is fast approaching. In this conversation with Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake, we break down how the merge will help make Ethereum a more eco-friendly, economically efficient, and secure network.
Jun 22, 2022Bitcoin ETFs & the SEC with Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein
In this conversation with Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein, we discuss the state of regulated crypto investment products. More specifically, GBTC, and what’s taking the SEC so long to finally approve a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Jun 15, 2022Breaking Down the Bitcoin Energy Debate with Nic Carter of Castle Island Ventures
In this episode, Nic Carter of Castle Island VC gets to the of heart of what's driving the Bitcoin mining debate, and breaks down common misconceptions around mining activities. We also explore the current state of mining using renewable energies.
Jun 8, 2022Crypto & the Changing World Order with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong
A frank discussion with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong about the state of the economy, crypto, and Coinbase as a whole. We touch on the market downturn, Coinbase’s market positioning, and end with Brian’s thoughts on Ray Dalio’s “Changing World Order.”
Jun 1, 2022The Ownership Economy with Variant Fund's Li Jin
Web3 has been commonly defined by three words: read, write, own. In this conversation with Variant Fund's Li Jin, we discuss how Web3 can enable ownership to be distributed across the internet as seamlessly as the internet distributes communications.
May 25, 2022Enterprise Grade Liquid Staking with Alluvial CEO Matt Leisinger
There’s a growing demand amongst institutions and enterprises to access liquid staking, but to date, there hasn’t been a solution that meets their compliance and security standards.
May 18, 2022Metaverse Investing 101 with Everyrealm's Janine Yorio
While many still struggle to wrap their heads around what the metaverse actually is, Everyrealm is out there identifying investment opportunities within this nascent landscape.
May 11, 2022GameFi & the Next Billion Users with Ancient8's Howard Xu
Following the breakout of crypto-gaming in 2021, “GameFi” continues to show promise in onboarding the next billion crypto users.
May 4, 2022Let’s talk about Asset Listings at Coinbase with Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal & CPO Surojit Chatterjee
Asset listings at Coinbase: often discussed, sparsely understood. In this episode, we dive into some of the elephants in the room with respect to our listing process.
Apr 27, 2022Seriously, what IS the metaverse? with Coinbase's Alex Reeve
In this conversation, we get into what the metaverse is not, and what we think it will be once fully formed: a persistent platform composed of interconnected virtual worlds where people can socialize, work, transact, play, and create.
Apr 6, 2022The Present & Future of Self-Custody with Coinbase Wallet Director of Engineering, Chintan Turakhia
In this episode with Coinbase Wallet Director of Engineering Chintan Turakhia, we break down the difference between custodial exchanges that manage assets on behalf of a user, and self-custodial wallets like Coinbase Wallet that put users in full control.
Mar 23, 2022Blockchains Explained with Dragonfly Capital's Hasseb Qureshi
In this conversation, we walk through Hasseb’s elegant mental model that will leave you with a clearer way of thinking about the entire crypto ecosystem. Most critically, you will learn why blockchains are better thought of as cities, rather than networks.
Mar 16, 2022Crypto's Role in the Ukraine Crisis with Elliptic's Dr. Tom Robinson
In this conversation, we sit down with Elliptic co-founder and Chief Scientist Dr. Tom Robinson to discuss what the analytics’s firm has observed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mar 9, 2022Demystifying the Crypto Tax Boogeyman with Lawrence Zlatkin
It’s tax season, which means it's time to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. But crypto taxes are tricky. In this conversation with Coinbase’s VP of Tax, Lawrence Zlatkin, we break down the common misconceptions surrounding crypto taxes.
Feb 23, 2022Navigating Risk within the Crypto Wormhole
The recent $250M Wormhole exploit is just one of several high profile hacks to hit the cryptosphere of late. In this conversation, we offer you some common sense advice for navigating both the risks you can control, and those you cannot.
Feb 16, 2022Super Spicy Side of DAO Governance with Orca's Julia Rosenberg
In this conversation with Orca Protocol’s Julia Rosenberg, we dive into the hardest problems facing decentralizing governance and how they can be solved. We also get into real world examples including Synthetix and the recent drama out of ENS.
Feb 9, 2022Vampire Attack! OpenSea vs. LooksRare
In a vampire attack reminiscent of SushiSwap vs Uniswap in 2020, NFT marketplace LooksRare found a clever way to coax users away from market leader OpenSea. In this conversation, we examine the launch of LooksRare and its long term sustainability.
Feb 2, 2022Crypto’s 69 Most Interesting Charts from 2021
In this conversation, we discuss some of crypto's most compelling data points from 2021 with Elias Simos—a protocol specialist for Coinbase Cloud who put together a mega-viral yearend thread titled, “The 69 most interesting charts in crypto for 2021.”
Jan 26, 2022Crypto Developer Count Hits All-Time Highs
In this episode, we discuss Electric Capital’s Annual Developer report with author and EC partner Maria Shen, and she reveals which ecosystems are growing the fastest and why fewer developers than you might think maintain Bitcoin and DeFi.
Jan 19, 2022Community in Web3 with Alexis Ohanian
In this conversation with Reddit co-founder and current founder of venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, we dive into the importance of communities in Web3, how to spot healthy ones, and why women are poised to play a dominant role in the future.
Jan 12, 2022Crypto Theses for 2022
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Messari CEO Ryan Selkis discuss Messari’s report: Crypto Theses for 2022—touching on the state of the industry, the political climate in Washington, the Web3 landscape, layer 1 competition, layer 2 scaling, DAOs, and more.
Dec 29, 2021Building on Bitcoin
Since its inception, Bitcoin has grown and evolved tremendously, along with the rest of the crypto industry. But where does Bitcoin fit in within the growing world of Web 3 technologies and smart contract platforms? And what else can we do with Bitcoin?
Dec 22, 2021Crypto Security 101
What does it mean to “own” crypto and where should you hold your crypto? What are some common pitfalls? Justin and Katherine get into crypto safety and security with Mark Nesbitt, the engineering manager on the blockchain security team at Coinbase.
Dec 15, 2021The coming Zero-Knowledge Proof revolution
In this conversation with Jill Gunter, we discuss the issues surrounding the completely transparent nature of blockchains and how Zero Knowledge Proofs can open up the design space for a host of new applications for DAOs, NFTs, and more.
Dec 8, 2021The realities of working for a DAO
DAOs have taken off in 2021—from multi-billion dollar protocol DAOs to smaller investment, service, and social DAOs. Blockchain Capital’s Kinjal Shah joins us to discuss her experience as a founding member of investment DAO, Komorebi Collective.
Dec 1, 2021What the heck is a DAO?
There is a whole lot of buzz around DAOs - decentralized autonomous organizations. But what exactly are they and what’s all the hype about? Justin & Katherine are joined by Jesse Pollak, the Senior Director of Engineering at Coinbase focused on DAOs.
Nov 24, 2021The Multichain World
Why are there so many different blockchains? What is the blockchain scaling trilemma? This week, Justin & Katherine attempt to peel back the layers of the multichain world and shed light on the technology, tools and protocols behind the crypto ecosystem.
Nov 17, 2021Crypto's Evolution
How can Coinbase continue to evolve in a decentralized world and what new developments are in store? Justin and Katherine welcome Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong to the podcast to discuss how far crypto has come and where it can grow from here.
Nov 10, 2021Crypto Gaming
When two of the biggest and most passionate communities in the world collide you get crypto gaming. Justin and Katherine talk to Amy Wu of Lightspeed Ventures about what’s driving the growth in crypto gaming, and what the next 12-18 months might look like.
Nov 3, 2021The NFT Revolution
Justin and Katherine sit down with NFT influencer, Gmoney, and discuss Crypto Punks, the future of art, digital identity, and NFTs.
From the blog
Insights on the crypto ecosystem, brought to you by Coinbase Ventures
