Diamond Rhino

About Diamond Rhino

An explainer show where I talk through what's big, what's changing, what's interesting and what's bad, ever so bad, in the cryptocurrency universe. Every Sunday. www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com/s/diamond-rhino?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Brady Dale

Category

business · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Dec 2025

Latest episode

18 May 2026

Latest episodes

16 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   18 May 2026

   The post-quantum Ethereum migration, with PaperImperium

   When a fix gets engineered for securing crypto assets against quantum computers, that’s when the real work will begin. In this podcast, we deal with the part of the post-quantum roadmap that no one dwells on and I suspect will be the most important: the migration from old, quantum insecure addresses to the bigger, bulkier addresses that actually can stand up to quantum computation. I invited a prominent community member in the Ethereum world to discuss this with, Chris Cameron, also known as PaperImpeium on X (https://x.com/ImperiumPaper). Cameron has been around the DeFi space a long time. My plan had been for us to talk through many facets of Lean Ethereum (https://blog.ethereum.org/2025/07/31/lean-ethereum), the next big upgrade coming for the world’s second-largest blockchain. Instead, we end up just talking about the problem of migrating everyone to new addresses once the fix is in, how hard that will be, making guesses about what will happen and whether or not there’s a better way to do it (I don’t think there is any option, but who knows? Engineers could surprise us all). I’ve written about the post-quantum migration problem (https://www.frontstageexit.com/p/one-key-fact-about-the-quantum-threat) before, but obviously everyone has not read that piece yet. I think it was really helpful to have on a super well-informed leader in the blockchain space and inform them on tape of this necessary headache and get their reaction to it in real time. Everyone working on this issue knows that this logistical hurdle is ahead. No one who’s just casually reading about the debate between Nic Carter and Bitcoin’s illuminati has grokked it yet. Here’s the thing: Decentralization works differently. You are responsible for your assets. If you are living in a house with a bad lock, you have to change your locks yourself. Just because someone makes a better lock, that won’t automatically install the lock on your house. You’ve still got to put it on. That’s the same problem here. Every single person with assets on chain needs to make a decision soon: * Are you going to move your assets onto a centralized service and let them manage the quantum transition for you? * Or are you going to watch updates from the blockchain core developers on your chain of choice and be ready to move your assets to a new, self-custody wallet yourself, once the solution is ready? Because if you do nothing, your wallet will be swept, eventually. Sources: Episode 391 - Lean Ethereum Part 1: Introduction with Justin Drake (https://youtu.be/Dad2UonQ9Ag)Zero Knowledge PodcastFeb 18, 2026 Episode 397 — Lean Etehreum Part 6: Ethereum’s quantum leap with Justin Drake (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=251bjdYGHBs)Zero Knowledge PodcastFeb 20, 2026 Notes: Zero Knowledge ran a six-part series on Lean Ethereum, which starts here (https://zeroknowledge.fm/podcast/391/). * I listened to all of it. I followed very little. Lean Ethereum is big and it’s going to change many things in ways that the engineers building it feel sure will be much better. Meet the DeFi Delegate Knocking on the Doors of Congress (https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2021/10/14/meet-the-defi-delegate-knocking-on-the-doors-of-congress), by Andrew Thurman, CoinDesk, October 14, 2021 Ingle tokens (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/chris-cameron-486568b5_unsecured-lending-is-all-the-rage-in-crypto-activity-7404204622036275200-wm7I/), by Chris Cameron, LinkedIn * A good example of how Cameron likes to connect the history of money to crypto. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

2. 

   6 Apr 2026

   The Wolverine Stack debate misses the point (and needles)

   Whenever some big change hits the world, the conversation goes the same way: * People on the frontier dive in and pat each other on the back for seeing the future (mistakes get made). * The mainstream rolls its eyes, clutches its pearls, wrings its hands and says “tsk, tsk, tsk” (opportunities get missed). * Eventually Matthew Yglesias (https://substack.com/profile/580004-matthew-yglesias) and Scott Alexander (https://substack.com/profile/12009663-scott-alexander) write very long posts about them. No one reads both. Diamond Rhino, the inimitable podcast, sits in the middle of all that. It puts the frontier and the mainstream together on one show and asks if there aren’t some good points made on both sides. So, here we are in week two of our coverage of peptides, the industry that’s already bigger than video games were when everyone got surprised that video games were bigger than Hollywood about a decade ago. The only people who aren’t behind on this issue are in too deep. Join the A-Team: So, this week, I dig into claims focus have made about BPC-157 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BPC-157) (mostly) and also TB-500 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TB-500), the two grey market peptides that often get combined into what’s known as “The Wolverine Stack” — because they are each thought to help people heal. It’s just that they don’t help everyone heal! And when they do help, results vary! And also people keep making themselves sick, but not because of what was put in the vials. More on all of this on today’s episode. Are you hyped? (we’re against hype about everything except this newsletter). But here’s the part you’re not going to expect but is actually going to really help ground you through the conversation: We’re going to start with some really modest claims from people you have never heard of. Anecdotes aren’t data, but they are information. 🖤 To subscribe to Diamond Rhino in a pod player, click on any of these links: * Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/38yUACZAksg7mp0IbTr4qx) * Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diamond-rhino/id1861360127) * Pocket Casts (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/diamond-rhino/d4075b30-bb80-013e-5cc3-0affe45d82e1) * Overcast (https://overcast.fm/p5515853-v4Bt6F) Sources Joe Rogan Experience #1683 - Andrew Huberman (https://youtu.be/-s2d7cojsog)June 27, 2024 BPC-157: Everything You Need to Know—Benefits, Risks, Dosing, & Delivery Methods (https://youtu.be/JNEOEFAychA)Quinn Stilson MDJune 12, 2025 Why I Stopped BPC-157 and TB-500 Peptides (https://youtu.be/d898NBHvk8Y)April 26, 2024Bill Maeda I Took The Wolverine Stack & My Thoughts On BPC-157 & TB-500 (https://youtu.be/GFVspd1by7w)Dr. Josh Jagoda (https://www.youtube.com/@DrJoshJagoda)October 19, 2025 My Experience with BPC-157 | Peptides That ENHANCE HEALING? (https://youtu.be/_WlVxvR_Hs8)Stephanie Wolff, PAJuly 15, 2022 My BPC-157 story (https://youtu.be/RVPxpy4J7nA)Jake WatkinsAug 20, 2025 How BPC157 and TB500 Changed My Life A Personal Account (Peptide Therapy) (https://youtu.be/EVajrEC8650)Gabriel PicadoJune 23, 2024 I Analyzed the Wolverine Stack Evidence—Here's What I Found (BPC-157 & TB500 Peptides) (https://youtu.be/-Dhap_CtA9M)Dr. Chris Raynor | Not Your Everyday OrthoMarch 14, 2026 Doctor Admits — I Was WRONG About The Wolverine Stack (https://youtu.be/aKPyE0M_xI4)Dr. Ashley FroeseMar 10, 2026 Notes Jake Watkins follow up video (https://youtu.be/JWeoEDGqGqI), Jan 6, 2026 14 Peptides Are About to Become Legal Again — What This Means for Your Health (https://meto.co/blog/peptides-legal-again-2026), Meto, March 12, 2026 Nevada Regulators Fine Peptide Providers at Anti-Aging Festival Where Two Women Became Critically Ill (https://www.propublica.org/article/raadfest-peptide-injections-nevada-fines), Propublica, March 13, 2026 A Las Vegas Festival Promised Ways to Cheat Death. Two Attendees Left Fighting for Their Lives, Propublica (https://www.propublica.org/article/peptide-injections-raadfest-rfk-jr), July 29, 2025 Music in the episode: “Data Breach (https://pixabay.com/music/electro-data-breach-112775/)” by FASSounds “Fortnite Roblox Minecraft Video Game Music (https://pixabay.com/music/video-games-fortnite-roblox-minecraft-video-game-music-342069/),” by MFCC “Abstract Glitch Hop (https://pixabay.com/music/beats-abstract-glitch-hop-132325/)” by The Mountain “Bitcoins going up (https://pixabay.com/music/american-roots-rock-bitcoins-going-upsuno-music-show-youtube-194491/)” by SunoMusicShowYouTube All from Pixabay Music This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

3. 

   29 Mar 2026

   What we talk about when we talk about peptides

   Correction (March 30, 2026, 12:26 PM CST): At one point in the episode, I compare Ozempic to Wegovy. I should have compared it to Zepbound, instead. If you had a coworker who seemed to transform one month, what would you do? What if she seemed to have more pep in her step, a glow in her skin, more focus and more charm? Would you ask her what was going on? You might assume she had found a fresh romance, but what if she reached into her bag, pulled out a little pouch and opened it up to show you a bunch of nasal sprays and said: “I’ve been shooting these on the reg and I feel like I’m 17 again.” If she swore to you that she knows a dozen other people doing the same thing and that they all report similar results, with no noticeable downsides, what would you do? Would you order a few bottles? That’s roughly a conversation that’s taking place on the West coast quite a bit right now. I am willing to bet it’s coming to your backyard sooner than you think. The driver of the conversation: synthetic peptides. Sprays and injections that enter our body and imitate little proteins that have always been good at telling our bodies to do the things we need them to do. Peptides have been an ambient topic for me over the last three or four years. It all started with Ozempic, of course, but I’ve come across people experimenting with other peptides as well, for things like healthy skin. It felt like one of those frontier topics that I should have a look into, but once I started poking around YouTube videos and podcasts exploring the topic, I realized how exciting this new kind of hacking really looks to be. Here’s a heuristic about technology that has never let me down: If lots of smart people and smart money moves into a sector, it can’t lose. Something valuable will come out of it. We are in the rebel phase of peptide experimentation and entrepreneurship. It’s a point at which it makes sense to look directly at the rhetoric around peptides in order to see whether or not it sounds similar to (perhaps misguided) rhetoric we have heard about other topics in other times. This is not a peptides explainer. This is an exploration of the explanations. All I want to convince you of is this: an important conversation about healthcare, health hacking and health sovereignty is underway in this country. And, of course, there are major vested interests naysaying the whole conversation. Also, Martin Shkreli naysays it. 🖤 To subscribe to Diamond Rhino in a pod player, click on any of these links: * Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/38yUACZAksg7mp0IbTr4qx) * Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diamond-rhino/id1861360127) * Pocket Casts (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/diamond-rhino/d4075b30-bb80-013e-5cc3-0affe45d82e1) * Overcast (https://overcast.fm/p5515853-v4Bt6F) Sources Silicon Valley's new miracle drug (https://youtu.be/W0ltbBby9FU)March 6, 2026Good Work How Peptides Conquered the Internet (https://open.spotify.com/episode/0T6E7FWFYGFHDnCPopQ4KO)Feb 13, 2026Search Engine The Booming Business of Chinese Peptides (https://youtu.be/QErGuO-mtfc)Dec 19, 2025Odd Lots The Great Peptide Debate, Musk Driving on the Moon, AI Coming for Zuck’s Job, Unitree S1 (https://www.youtube.com/live/oGBCUCJHPDQ?si=pX1dRZ8flTV1L0Ge&t=3767)TBPNMarch 23, 2026Martin Shkreli v. Max Marchione The Truth About Popular Peptides (What Works, What’s Overhyped) | Peptide Tier List pt.1 (https://youtu.be/3k9pBu27LcM)Dec 22, 2025Dr. Alex Tatem Dr. Josh Axe: On Mitochondrial Health, Peptide Therapy and Parasite Infections | TUH #205 (https://youtu.be/1Ec3MJpbXW8)The Ultimate HumanGary BreckaSept 30, 2025 Before You Start Peptides: A Doctor Answers Your Biggest Questions (https://youtu.be/GSdJ5i1wvQY)Nov 29, 2025Dr. Ashley Froese Joe Rogan Experience #2376 - Brigham Buhler (https://youtu.be/By17xYkP6jg)Sept 9, 2025 Narrative note I’m super skeptical of personal stories from founders and influencers. I included one tiny one. The low trustworthiness of personal storytelling at this point obviously complicates this narrative, and something I will work to remain mindful of going forward. Notes The Peptide Craze (https://erictopol.substack.com/p/the-peptide-craze?utm_source=publication-search), Ground Truths Life on Peptides Fees Amazing (https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/peptides-from-instagram-china-wellness-cure.html), NY Mag People are buying unregulated, injectable peptides from Chinese factories. Are they safe?** (https://www.ideastream.org/2026-03-24/people-are-buying-unregulated-injectable-peptides-from-chinese-factories-are-they-safe) I Talked to 100 People on PEPTIDES - Here’s What They Said (https://youtu.be/t3NOLXEWLt4), Feb 10, 2026, Dr. Ashley Froese They Went on Ozempic—and Gave Up on Life (https://www.thefp.com/p/they-went-on-ozempic-and-gave-up-on), by Evan Gardner, The Free Press, March 26, 2026 The Ozempicization of the Economy (https://kyla.substack.com/p/the-ozempicization-of-the-economy), Kyla Scanlon, March 26, 2026 Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks (http://fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/certain-bulk-drug-substances-use-compounding-may-present-significant-safety-risks), FDA Which 14 of the 19 Peptides Are Becoming Legal Again? (https://openloophealth.com/blog/what-peptides-are-becoming-legal-2026), OpenLoop, March 13, 2026 Music in the episode: “Data Breach (https://pixabay.com/music/electro-data-breach-112775/)” by FASSounds “Fortnite Roblox Minecraft Video Game Music (https://pixabay.com/music/video-games-fortnite-roblox-minecraft-video-game-music-342069/),” by MFCC “Abstract Glitch Hop (https://pixabay.com/music/beats-abstract-glitch-hop-132325/)” by The Mountain “Bitcoins going up (https://pixabay.com/music/american-roots-rock-bitcoins-going-upsuno-music-show-youtube-194491/)” by SunoMusicShowYouTube All from Pixabay Music Front Stage Exit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

4. 

   22 Mar 2026

   Yes, prediction markets have won, but why do they feel so gross? (with Kate Irwin)

   I feel weird about prediction markets. I think a lot of us do? Those of us who feel weird about them call it gambling. Those of us who think they are great prefer “gaming.” Our whole country is in the middle of a big conversation about whether or not prediction markets are on balance good or on balance bad. So, I invited someone who made her beat gaming — the kind of gaming where people try to have fun more than they try to make money (though she was covering crypto gaming, so that line got blurry too, in all fairness), the great Kate Irwin. You know her from Decrypt, PCMag and Blockworks. Now she’s leading content at the vault company Veda. * She broke the fall of a major crypto gaming operation (https://blockworks.com/news/neon-machine-shrapnel-in-the-red), Neon Shrapnel. * And GameStop bagging on NFTs (https://decrypt.co/212761/gamestop-bails-on-crypto-gaming-killing-nft-marketplace). * She made some waves last last year with her big take on the industry, “Extraction Isn’t the Only End Game (https://x.com/kateirwin/status/1997382197226119238?s=20).” Front Stage Exit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. In this episode, we hear from a number of proponents of prediction markets, from key moments in the history of this sector: before they were legal here, amid the election of 2024 and afterward, as they started to settle in as a clear industry in the United States. As I edited this episode, I realized that I don’t represent my views on this topic as well as I should. As usual, my general approach is: “Let’s wait and see.” However. Most use on prediction markets now is sports betting. Sports betting is bad. As a great man (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hicks) once said: “That’s a judgement call and I’m making it.” You can see it in the fact that we have more and more scandals in sports. I don’t even care about sports. I don’t watch them. I don’t follow them, but it’s clear to anyone who cares to look that gambling not only corrupts the game but also hurts enough of the bettors to make it not actually worth it societally. The big idea of prediction markets is that people would bet on things that would help societally. Like, could we set up markets on, for example, which presidential candidate is likely to yield a better overall employment rate? Or a lower national deficit? As Robin Hanson (https://substack.com/profile/280980-robin-hanson) explains in a quote (admittedly, from quite a few years ago) that I clipped from an old episode of Epicenter (linked below), you usually can’t get a lot of liquidity into questions like that. People just don’t find them that interesting. The tough question that Irwin speaks to a lot in this episode is insiders. * Is society better off if prediction markets give them a profit motive to reveal privileged information by making a bet on something that they are more informed about than anyone else? * Or is society worse off, because those insiders hover up all the money from retail traders who are making bets on public information and vibes? On that one, I’m a little bit sympathetic to the Hanson view that it’s good to get that information out there, albeit indirectly. But there will be weird edge cases. For example, the Israeli reservist charged (https://www.timesofisrael.com/two-indicted-for-using-classified-info-to-place-online-bets-on-military-operations/) for placing bets using privileged military information. The Racket News (https://substack.com/profile/21674950-the-racket-news) has a good post up today about people betting on the war in Iran. We can’t know for sure that insiders were placing bets, but the sudden rush of wagers just before the attack looks suspicious. And that’s not the only event that looks suspicious. As Racket reports, Democrats have prepared legislation to forbid Federal employees from placing bets, but I would not bet on that legislation going anywhere. At least not in this session. Even in crypto, some influential folks are starting to raise their eyebrows. I’m a regular listener to Castle Island Ventures’ weekly news roundup podcast. Nic Carter (https://substack.com/profile/882701-nic-carter) is starting to give the markets side eye. He suspects retail will get out of the game, soon, as they realize how outclassed they are (https://murmurationstwo.substack.com/p/prediction-markets-are-not-good-markets) in most markets. On the other hand, prediction markets offer some good features for bettors. First of all, their odds are just much more legible (https://www.si.com/betting/prediction-market/prediction-markets-101/prediction-markets-vs-sports-betting). Second, sports books also stack the deck against bettors. If you are any good at placing wagers, sports books will just kick you off. Michael Lewis (https://substack.com/profile/15614529-michael-lewis) and his producer Lidia Jean Kott (https://www.lidiajeankott.com/) broke all this down in season 4 of their podcast, Against the Rules (https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/against-the-rules/gambler-billy-walters-on-the-sharps-life). Prediction markets won’t do this because you aren’t betting against Polymarket or Kalshi. You’re betting against another user (you don’t know which one, but you are). So they don’t care if you’re good or bad. They just like your liquidity. So it is fair to say that prediction markets are different in kind from sports books. OK. But are they different in consequence? If we were getting lots of compelling insights about the fate of companies or the fate of policy in the U.S. out of these things, I might feel differently. But we mainly seem to be getting a new way for corrupt politicians to max extract and for nobodies to lose money. These are some of the topics Irwin and I explore in today’s pod. In this post, I wrote more of what I actually think about prediction markets, because I don’t think I say it very well in the episode. * That’s okay though! Kate does a great job making her take clear! So listen for Kate! One last thing: As I was researching clips to make for this episode, I stumbled on this video about not making rookie mistakes: I thought I might make a clip from it as something orthogonal for Kate and I to discuss, but, to be honest, I didn’t even understand it. It made me feel like even dumber money. Buy markets on the future at your own risk, friends. Looks pretty rough out there. Sources The Folly of Prediction (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-folly-of-prediction/)Steven LevittFreakonomics2011 Robin Hanson: Futarchy, Prediction Markets And The Challenge Of Disruptive Technology (https://epicenter.tv/episode/98-futarchy-prediction-markets-and-the-challenge-of-disruptive-technology)Epicenter2015 Polymarket CEO says his prediction market is “the most accurate thing we have as mankind right now.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA5bY4K9XPs)Anderson Cooper and Shayne Coplan2025 Why the Media Got the 2024 Election Wrong (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIy2b4KtRZw)Tom Schmidt, Robert Leshner and Haseeb QureshiThe Chopping Block 2024 Prediction Markets and the “Suckerifcation” Crisis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76kF5J-7avs)Charlie Warzel and Max Read (https://substack.com/profile/238208-max-read) 2025 Show notes Meta layoffs (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/16/meta-ai-costs-mass-layoffs-20percent-up-premarket.html) — this was weird. We discussed this as a hypothetical market on the show and then it happened, right after we taped. Male suckerification crisis (https://maxread.substack.com/p/predictions-markets-and-the-suckerfication) Kalshi beats CFTC ahead of 2024 election (https://www.axios.com/2024/10/02/election-betting-prediction-markets-kalshi-polymarket) Polymarket comes back to USA (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/14/how-prediction-markets-work.html) FBI raids Shayne Coplan’s home after 2024 election (https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/fbi-raids-polymarket-ceo-shayne-coplans-apartment-seizes-phone-source-rcna180180) Rain Protocol (https://www.rain.one/) Variant post on Melee (https://blog.variant.fund/investing-in-melee-markets-permissionless-prediction-markets-with-uncapped-upside) Disclosure I have made a few bets on a few markets. I don’t trade. I let ‘em ride. I threw in about $50 and spread it across several of the Democrats who were favorites to get the Democratic Party’s nomination for President. I don’t actually care about this race, I just noticed that the prices for all of them were so low that if any of the ones I bet on won, it would more than make up for my losses on the other. Of course a dark horse could easily hit and I’ll lose it all. So it goes. I also have roughly $20 in on whether or not we will learn aliens exist this year. I bought that more as hopium than because I actually think it will work out. I did it right after Trump announced (https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/19/trump-declassify-reports-ufos-00790415) he was asking Hegseth to reveal what the military really knows (looking at your Air Force — you guys have been so sketch). As we know, I love this topic (https://www.frontstageexit.com/p/receipts-not-rumors-the-specific). Kate and I actually discussed this but as I was editing I decided to cut it for time as one of the weaker bits. So the same info is now here in the post. There was one good part in the tape I was sad to cut. After saying which bets I’d made, Kate basically says, “Congratulations, Brady. You’re exit liquidity.” Not wrong. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

5. 

   15 Mar 2026

   Blood of the Bitcoin books

   How many novels have we seen so far about some numbnuts taking a job at a Silicon Valley startup (https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/129944.Silicon_Valley_Fiction_)? Lots. But what we haven’t seen nearly so much of, proportionally, have been books that deal with the world of blockchains. That despite the fact that nonces, hashrates and memes have powered a whole hell of a lot of real-world drama. From scams to billionaires to nation-state meltdowns to cyber-robbery, crypto has veered wildly into the edgy zones where fiction breathes. A part of the problem may be that, as Alex Perez (https://substack.com/profile/12046249-alex-perez) pointed out in 2022 (https://web.archive.org/web/20221013002106/https://www.hobartpulp.com/web_features/alex-perez-on-the-iowa-s-writers-workshop-baseball-and-growing-up-cuban-american-in-america), the only books that can get a deal in American publishing focus on the sort of subjects that make an NPR listener say “so important” and “thank you” in that hushed tone of the yes-very-concerned. I think that’s part of the story. “Crypto” is definitely poisonous among that set. (I may or may not know something about trying to get bookstores — which have the same sensibility — to give the author of a book about cryptocurrency some attention.) But there’s another problem: The crypto world barely cares about reading books about itself. This is something that Molly J. Zuckerman (https://www.mollyjanezuckerman.com/) and I have been discussing, privately, for some time. Molly is a long time crypto journalist, and she used it in a very real and daily way before she ever started writing about this technology. So I asked Molly to come talk to me about a new crypto novel that has hit the virtual shelves of Amazon, Blood of the Bourgeoisie (https://a.co/d/0gYDmXB8), by Michael Sullivan (https://michaelrsullivan.com/). One problem with crypto fiction might be the fact that, as Molly points out in our conversation, most of the drama on chain, at the end of the day, is about pushing buttons on a laptop. A lot of inanity has gone down in crypto, but I can’t think of any swordfights. And everyone knows that swordfights are crucial for good fiction. But, there is this new novel. It’s about Bitcoin. In the world of this book, there is only Bitcoin. So Molly and I both read it (I confess that I was skimming pretty hard by the end) and we talk about it on today’s episode. We also talk about some other books, too, so here is the complete list of the crypto books discussed in what follows, in the order that we give them appreciable attention: * Blood of the Bourgeoisie (https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Bourgeoisie-Michael-R-Sullivan-ebook/dp/B0FRZTM49Y), by Michael Sullivan (the star of our show), * REKT: A Crypto Hallucination (https://www.amazon.com/REKT-Crypto-Hallucination-Chris-Furlong-ebook/dp/B0BP2WZ7HJ/ref=pd_lpo_d_sccl_1/143-0943675-8471923?pd_rd_w=vmqjy&content-id=amzn1.sym.4c8c52db-06f8-4e42-8e56-912796f2ea6c&pf_rd_p=4c8c52db-06f8-4e42-8e56-912796f2ea6c&pf_rd_r=Z38JYMJ4XTMCNHA6KSE1&pd_rd_wg=0h8RM&pd_rd_r=1622536e-1990-4cc8-8664-4adc623c1395&pd_rd_i=B0BP2WZ7HJ&psc=1) , by Chris Furlong (best supporting actor), * The Oracle: A Novel (https://a.co/d/01MZSyvb), by Ari Juels, * Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall (https://www.amazon.com/Number-Go-Up-Cryptos-Staggering-ebook/dp/B0BYV2Y3XT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2KLSBJCP9JLFP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TFH42G2no4pd-N_KSV9gYw.pQIjenCi2YVwJ4WpkRixVb88Zdq1Dm4mAJmHNXVhwY0&dib_tag=se&keywords=number+go+up+zeke+faux&qid=1773525265&s=digital-text&sprefix=Number+go+up+%2Cdigital-text%2C144&sr=1-1), by Zeke Faux, * American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road (https://a.co/d/0faECWaE), by Nick Bilton and * Bitcoin Billionaires (https://a.co/d/084cce3f), by Ben Mezrich. (Molly also namechecks some fiction books that bring up blockchain topics, but you’ll have to listen for those) 🖤 To subscribe to Diamond Rhino in a pod player, click on any of these links: * Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/38yUACZAksg7mp0IbTr4qx) * Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diamond-rhino/id1861360127) * Pocket Casts (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/diamond-rhino/d4075b30-bb80-013e-5cc3-0affe45d82e1) * Overcast (https://overcast.fm/p5515853-v4Bt6F) Next week… Kate Irwin (https://www.kateirwin.ca/) and I will discuss prediction markets, what folks have said about them and what we think. This will be the second time Kate and I have talked about this weird world of ours. The first time was here: Sources #25 Michael Sullivan - Blood of the Bourgeoise | The Best Fiction Novel About Bitcoin (https://youtu.be/95o19OWs_vI)The Bitcoin BroadcastNov 2025 Show notes How to Send Money to the Wrong Side of the War (https://www.coindesk.com/opinion/2022/04/25/how-to-send-money-to-the-wrong-side-of-the-war)CoinDesk How Tyler Winklevoss Converted His Biographer Into a Bitcoin Believer (https://cointelegraph.com/interview/how-tyler-winklevoss-converted-his-biographer-into-a-bitcoin-believer)CoinTelegraph Dear Crypto: Read a Book Already (https://blockworks.com/news/dear-crypto-read-a-book-already)Blockworks Net Society #65: Exit through the Grift Shop (https://open.spotify.com/episode/2xOd5KhCLMSvsORkww0Cjt)February 2026 Victor Pelevin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Pelevin)Wikipedia Tana French (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tana_French)Wikipedia Origin story of this episode: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

6. 

   1 Mar 2026

   In court, Sam Bankman-Fried got more guilty by the day

   A jury of his peers found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty on seven counts in 2023. Then Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced him to 25 years in prison. In case you’ve forgotten, he launched the crypto exchange that turned out to have a multibillion hole where it’s customer’s money should have been, late in 2022 (https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/08/ftx-exchange-halts-all-crypto-withdrawals). In recent days, SBF has attempted to exonerate his image in the public and he has sucked up to President Trump on social media as he campaigns for a pardon. It would surprise me immensely if it worked, but his antics gave the journalists who were there to watch his trial a reason to have a reunion of sorts. We didn’t really reunite with each other. Several of them united just with me, over a video call, and all six of them I spoke to are now reunited in this podcast. We revisited the trial, what about it stood out and what we remembered and how convincing we found the prosecution’s case against him (we found it convincing). I’ve been following Sam since the first time I spoke to him amid DeFi summer in 2020. Then after his empire fell apart, I wrote a whole book about the guy. My book, SBF: How the FTX Bankruptcy Unwound Crypto’s Very Bad Good Guy (https://www.amazon.com/SBF-Bankruptcy-Unwound-Cryptos-Very-ebook/dp/B0C3WTDMYQ#averageCustomerReviewsAnchor), was the first to hit bookstore shelves. It isn’t the most famous, but it the only one that tells the full length of his story. The others that got attention really only cover about the last 15 minutes of his career, but mine goes back to the start of his days in the crypto trading game, right up through his arrival in U.S. prisons. None of the books so far include in the trial, but this account puts a bunch of perspectives on the trial together. The goal of this dispatch was to look back and talk about what, with time, has become the most memorable parts of the trial — the bits that remain the post compelling. (plus, it’s a fun look under the hood at the reporting process). Just in case time has caused your memories to fade a little, just in case you have started to wonder whether or not we might have been too quick to judge Bankman-Fried, I think this revisiting of his trial should lay any fermenting misgivings to rest. 🖤 To subscribe to Diamond Rhino in a pod player, click on any of these links: * Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/38yUACZAksg7mp0IbTr4qx) * Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diamond-rhino/id1861360127) * Pocket Casts (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/diamond-rhino/d4075b30-bb80-013e-5cc3-0affe45d82e1) * Overcast (https://overcast.fm/p5515853-v4Bt6F) Sources Interviews with: * Andre Breganski (https://decrypt.co/author/andrebeganski), Decrypt; * Elizabeth Lopatto (https://www.theverge.com/authors/elizabeth-lopatto), The Verge; * Crystal Kim (https://www.investopedia.com/crystal-kim-11775999), now of Investopedia, then of Axios; * Aleks Gilbert (https://www.dlnews.com/authors/Aleks-Gilbert/), DL News; * Ben Weiss (https://fortune.com/author/ben-weiss/), then of Fortune, now of Fortune and * Katie Baker (https://www.theringer.com/creator/katie-baker), The Ringer. Judging Sam: The Hail Mary That Wasn’t (https://podbay.fm/p/against-the-rules-the-big-short-companion/e/1698836214), Against the Rules, Nov. 1, 2023 Front Stage Exit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Notes Sam Bankman-Fried is waging a social media campaign for a pardon—but President Trump will not give him one, says the White House (https://fortune.com/2026/02/24/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-trump-pardon-binance-cz-crypto-tucker-carlson/), Fortune, Feb 4. 2026 The Year That Cryptocurrency Somehow Didn’t Die (https://www.theringer.com/2023/12/19/tech/year-in-cryptocurrency-sam-bankman-fried-fraud-market-bounce-back), The Ringer, Dec. 19, 2023 Michael Lewis Is Still Defending Sam Bankman-Fried (https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2cf2sgphrg7eyyvb4cn40/culture/michael-lewis-is-still-defending-sam-bankman-fried), Institutional Investor, Nov. 6, 2023 Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty in FTX fraud case (https://www.axios.com/2023/11/02/sam-bankman-fried-trial-ftx-court-verdict), Axios, Nov 2, 2023 Judge Blocks ‘Going Infinite’ Excerpt as ‘Inadmissible Hearsay’ at Sam Bankman-Fried Trial (https://decrypt.co/203847/judge-calls-going-infinite-inadmissible-hearsay-sam-bankman-fried-trial), Decrypt, Oct 31, 2023 Sam Bankman-Fried doesn’t recall (https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/30/23939639/sam-bankman-fried-cross-exam-fraud), The Verge, Oct 30, 2023 The Crypto Whistleblower at the Center of the Sam Bankman-Fried Storm (https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/tiffany-fong-crypto-influencer-sam-bankman-fried-1234862132/), Rolling Stone, Oct. 23, 2023 Crypto Influencers and ‘Degenerates’ Flock to Sam Bankman-Fried’s Trial (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/20/technology/crypto-influencers-degenerates-sam-bankman-fried-trial.html), New York Times, October, 20, 2023 Caroline Ellison Was Supposed to Shock the SBF Trial. Instead, the Defense Team Has (https://www.theringer.com/2023/10/16/tech/sam-bankman-fried-sbf-trial-caroline-ellison-testimony-ftx-cryptocurrency), The Ringer, Oct 16, 2023 SBF trial: FTX lacked funds to meet customer deposits over a year before collapse, witness says (https://www.axios.com/2023/10/18/sbf-trial-ftx-update-witness-deposits-customers-alameda-margin),(that forensic accountant) Axios, Oct 18, 2023 Sam Bankman-Fried was a no-good, very bad ex (https://www.axios.com/2023/10/12/caroline-ellison-sam-bankman-fried-ftx-trial), Axios, Oct. 12, 2023 FTX used random numbers to generate the size of its insurance fund (https://www.theblock.co/post/255352/ftx-used-random-numbers-to-generate-the-size-of-its-insurance-fund), The Block, October 9, 2023 Sam Bankman-Fried can’t shut up (https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/10/30/sam-bankman-fried-word-salad-long-answers-75-percent-longer-caroline-ellison-nishad-singh-gary-wang-ftx/), Fortune, Oct 23, 2023 Sam Bankman-Fried leans on ‘dumb defendant defence’ as he faces life in prison (https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/sam-bankman-fried-relying-on-dumb-defendant-defence/), Decrypt, Oct 5, 2023 SBF overflow rooms wildness (https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/10/the-jeering-wildness-of-the-sbf-trial-overflow-rooms.html), NY Mag, Oct. 2023 Music: “Data Breach (https://pixabay.com/music/electro-data-breach-112775/)” by FASSounds “Bitcoins going up (https://pixabay.com/music/american-roots-rock-bitcoins-going-upsuno-music-show-youtube-194491/)” by SunoMusicShowYouTube From Pixabay Music This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

7. 

   22 Feb 2026

   Bear market EthDenver, bull market regulators

   🤯 55% off subscription discount subscription offer (https://www.frontstageexit.com/58884828) * lasts forever! Wow! I was not at ETHDenver (https://ethdenver.com/) 2026. It’s the first one I have missed in several years. But I still have a report for you, because I went through a bunch of the talks posted on YouTube that dealt with the evolving regulatory backdrop for the cryptocurrency world. Regulation still seems like the key theme of the moment — to me. Plus, it’s also the most likely to serve as a catalyst for renewed enthusiasm about cryptocurrency. People were talking a ton about agents and ETH on stage this year, too, but I’m not going to hold my breath for that to make the market kick off. Coinbase getting a proper exchange license, at long last, though? That could be a thing. Authorization to raise money selling tokens? Tokens that send profits back to investors with no doubts about getting slapped with a lawsuit? Oh yes. That could be very real. So I continue to follow along with the agencies. Congress is not going to get this done. 🖤 To subscribe to Diamond Rhino in a pod player, click on any of these links: * Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/38yUACZAksg7mp0IbTr4qx) * Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diamond-rhino/id1861360127) * Pocket Casts (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/diamond-rhino/d4075b30-bb80-013e-5cc3-0affe45d82e1) * Overcast (https://overcast.fm/p5515853-v4Bt6F) 📼 Follow up on last week’s ep: Curious about how Bitcoin adapts when price tanks? Sources: All the sources this year came from videos posted on the EthDenver YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@ETHDenver/videos). SEC Chair Paul Atkins and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce in Conversation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8dj0GslEeY)Feb 18, 2026 The Compliance Era: How Tax Regulation Is Reshaping Web3 | Patrick Camuso - Camuso CPA (https://youtu.be/-TJeaJvLdIA)Feb 18, 2026 The Identity Layer: Compliance as Core Crypto Infrastructure | Derek Woods - Persona (https://youtu.be/sCT0ezR9vSc)Feb 19, 2026 Why TradFi Stablecoins Need DeFi Stablecoins | Gerrit Hall - Curve Finance (https://youtu.be/anKwSv7_lGk)Feb 18, 2026 Ethereum: The Next Chapter | Alex Stokes - Ethereum Foundation (https://youtu.be/sQtDmG2VbbM)Feb 19, 2026 Tokenization in 2026: What the Data Says | Dean Khan Dhillon - RWA.xyz (https://youtu.be/MQ1ni5-aa4k)Feb 19, 2026 From Boring to Billions: How RWAs Won Crypto, and What's Next (https://youtu.be/Ryrq-j9hoW0)Feb 18, 2026 Stablecoins as Infrastructure | Gerrit Hall, Jelena Djuric, DeFi Dave, and Katie Talati (https://youtu.be/hGUMAKIkx44)Feb 18, 2026 RWAs: From Experiment to Exponential | Drake Breeding - Circle & Bhaji Illuminati - Centrifuge (https://youtu.be/61ItNpQLCds)Feb 18, 2026 Why Policy Needs Cypherpunks | Samuel Jacques Cloutier - Hash Directors (https://youtu.be/12olqyv9C8w)Feb 20, 2026 — Seriously watch this one 👇 Notes: The Future of Crypto Banking | Jeff John Roberts , Caitlin Long & Rok Kopp (https://youtu.be/s81TfvGs1Ls)Feb 18, 2026 Peanut Butter & Watermelon: Financial Privacy in the Digital Age (https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-remarks-blockchain-conference-080425)Commissioner Hester M. PeirceRemarks to the Science of Blockchain ConferenceU.C. BerkeleyAug. 4, 2025 Privacy in the House: Remarks at the Privacy and Financial Surveillance Roundtable (https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-remarks-crypto-task-force-roundtable-121525)Commissioner Hester M. PeirceWashington D.C.Dec. 15, 2025 Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and amended Common Reporting Standard: OECD releases IT format for transmitting information and issues interpretative guidance (https://www.oecd.org/en/about/news/announcements/2024/10/crypto-asset-reporting-framework-and-amended-common-reporting-standard-oecd-releases-it-format-for-transmitting-information-and-issues-interpretative-guidance.html)OECDOctober 2, 2024 Front Stage Exit is a reader-supported publication. Stick around! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

8. 

   15 Feb 2026

   Economist Paul Krugman agrees: Bitcoin is for Exit

   Imagine my surprise when I started going through crypto crash commentary in mainstream media, news shows and podcasts and found that economist Paul Krugman is on my side on one key point. The commentator, who has always hated Bitcoin, concedes the one use case for Bitcoin that is — in my opinion — its most compelling: Its ability to evade capital controls. Bitcoin is for exit. You can hear him say so in the first couple minutes of today’s episode of Diamond Rhino. Wealth that needs to get out from under a government that’s not working for its owner can escape thanks to Bitcoin. It’s the most rarely used but most powerful use case. If Krugman can see it, does that mean he will come around? No. He’s committed to the bit. In fact, for some reason, after a decade-plus of talking about Bitcoin on the reg, the mainstream media is still treating the most recent massive drop in BTC price just like they have treated the past ones: Bitcoin is useless. We don’t see the purpose. It’s just a story. There’s no intrinsic value. It’s probably over this time. Why are reporters in the west so committed to this bit? Do they love being wrong? Weird flex, bro. In this week’s episode of Diamond Rhino, we go through some of the latest takes on the drop in Bitcoin price from the names you know: CNBC, the FT, The Information and so on. Did you hear any mainstream takes that I should have revisited? How fair do you think I was to these commentators? * Let me know in the comments or email me directly. Note: As ever, I edit clips, but mainly to cut down rambling and for efficiency. I don’t change the speakers’ points or clip to make it look like they said something they didn’t really say. If you disagree, let me know. The fulls segments I used are all linked below. To subscribe to Diamond Rhino in a pod player, click on any of these links: * Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/38yUACZAksg7mp0IbTr4qx) * Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diamond-rhino/id1861360127) * Pocket Casts (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/diamond-rhino/d4075b30-bb80-013e-5cc3-0affe45d82e1) * Overcast (https://overcast.fm/p5515853-v4Bt6F) 🤯 55% discount subscription offer (https://www.frontstageexit.com/58884828) * lasts forever, too! Wow! Keep this site going for cheap! Audio sources BitGo CEO Mike Belshe: The latest bitcoin downturn doesn't bother me too much (https://youtu.be/39zv6BWloOQ)CNBC w/ host Morgan BrennanFeb 11, 2026 FT’s Jemima Kelly: Bitcoin’s value is zero and the scarcity argument is pretend (https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/02/10/fts-jemima-kelly-bitcoins-value-is-zero-and-the-scarcity-argument-is-pretend.html)PowerLunchJemima Kelly with Kelly EvansFeb 10, 2026 Behind the volatility in crypto: Bitcoin hovering around $69,000, ethereum near $2,000 (https://youtu.be/xCK9MHY6Eh8)MacKenzie Sigalos speaks with Andrew Ross SorkinCNBCFeb 10, 2026 Bitcoin's Bumpy Ride Continues Trading Around $70,000 (https://youtu.be/P2r2nDOFpN0)Isabelle LeeBloombergFeb 9, 2026 Bitcoin Slump Raises Questions About Crypto's Purpose (https://youtu.be/I2aPHbLXyR0)BloombergEd Ludlow talking with Jalak JobanputraFeb 9, 2026 Why the Crypto Story is Dying (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00kJX8tsBpk)Yueqi YangThe Information. Host Akash Pasricha.Feb. 6, 2025 Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman Calls Bitcoin 'Total Bust' (https://youtu.be/6uGoAaov9lU)Paul KrugmanHosts: Carol Massar and Tim StenovecBloomberg Businessweek Daily.Feb 5, 2026 Be my BFF? Other sources Is This Crypto’s Fimbulwinter? (https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/is-this-cryptos-fimbulwinter), by Paul Krugman Bitcoin is still about $70,000 too high (https://www.ft.com/content/2b030926-2012-4446-b22d-e549e10e7086), by Jemima Kelly, FT The schtick is in (https://www.frontstageexit.com/i/187695440/the-schtick-is-in), Front Stage Exit Coming Attractions From the Division of Corporation Finance (https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/moloney-statement-coming-attractions-021326-coming-attractions-division-corporation-finance)James Moloney, Director, Division of Corporation Finance, SECFeb. 13, 2026 Bitcoin: Addresses with Balance > 1 BTC (https://www.bitcoinmagazinepro.com/charts/addresses-greater-than-1-btc/) Russia’s Sberbank plans crypto-backed loans to corporate clients (https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/russias-sberbank-plans-crypto-backed-loans-corporate-clients-2026-02-05/) Are we the baddies? — Know Your Meme (https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/are-we-the-baddies) Bitcoin Hashrate Falls 12% After US Winter Storms Hit Miners (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-hashrate-falls-12-us-103000985.html) Bitcoin: Percent Addresses in Profit (https://www.bitcoinmagazinepro.com/charts/percent-addresses-in-profit/) Bitcoin Difficulty Chart (https://www.coinwarz.com/mining/bitcoin/difficulty-chart) Bitcoin Hashprice Index (https://data.hashrateindex.com/network-data/bitcoin-hashprice-index) Thanks for reading Front Stage Exit! This post is public so feel free to share it. Music in the episode: “Data Breach” by FASSounds (https://pixabay.com/music/electro-data-breach-112775/) “Bitcoins going up” by SunoMusicShowYouTube (https://pixabay.com/music/american-roots-rock-bitcoins-going-upsuno-music-show-youtube-194491/) All from Pixabay Music Thanks for listening! Let me know what you think! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

9. 

   8 Feb 2026

   Quantum Money, the apotheosis of cypherpunk

   This podcast covers a new twist on the intersection of cryptocurrency and quantum computing. It’s got a wow factor. If you think the quantum threat to Bitcoin is controversial, wait until you see what can be uncovered when you start to look into quantum applications. There’s an idea that’s been floating around out there since 25 years before Satoshi dreamed up Bitcoin: Quantum Money. We say BTC works like cash, but that’s not really true. If I hand you a dollar, no one has to witness that. The dollar in your pocket is the proof that you have it. The location of the dollar is the ledger. No one needs to witness a cash transaction. Bitcoin itself witnesses bitcoin transactions. We don’t mind. We like Bitcoin. It’s neutral. But there are trade-offs there. For example, Chainalysis and Elliptic are always watching. They can probably figure out who we are. What if there were an electronic money that didn’t need witnesses? That’s the promise of quantum money. Quantum money allows the creation of objects, like physical coins, that can work over the internet. In fact, it may even be better than the internet? We may not even need wires. This stuff all gets super weird. It’s like peering through Alice’s looking-glass. All of this is completely theoretical. It’s a long way off. But it’s cool enough that maybe, just maybe, it allows a crypto stan to look at the future with less dread. To maybe even look ahead and feel a little dazzled. Were you dazzled? It would be great to hear your thoughts. Front Stage Exit is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. To subscribe to Diamond Rhino on mobile, click on any of these links: * Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/38yUACZAksg7mp0IbTr4qx) * Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diamond-rhino/id1861360127) * Pocket Casts (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/diamond-rhino/d4075b30-bb80-013e-5cc3-0affe45d82e1) * Overcast (https://overcast.fm/p5515853-v4Bt6F) Sources The Future is Quantum by Fabrizio Romano Genovese (NeverLocal/QSig/20Squares)Dec 19, 2024 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVyzeP_AC1A)Fabrizio Romano Genovese QuantumPunks Meetup Quantum Crypto Acceleration Dec 19, 2024 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6emfA0B1DTE)Nicola GregoQuantumPunks Meetup Quantum Punks with Alex and NicolaMay 7 2025 (https://zeroknowledge.fm/podcast/360/)Alex Obadia (https://x.com/obadiaalex) and Nicola Greco (https://x.com/iamnotnicola)ZK Podcast Quantum Cryptography Part 2 Nov. 1, 2023 (https://zeroknowledge.fm/podcast/297/)Or SattahZK Podcast Other materials The Quantum Punks Manifesto (https://quantumpunks.org/) Quantum Punks Meetups (https://www.youtube.com/@quantumpunks_at_meetups) The Quantum Bitcoin Summit (https://pbquantum.com/) Bitcoin and the Quantum Problem – Part II: The Quantum Supremacy (https://murmurationstwo.substack.com/p/bitcoin-and-the-quantum-problem-part-47f), Murmurations II by Nic Carter (https://substack.com/profile/882701-nic-carter) Bitcoin developers are mostly not concerned about quantum risk (https://murmurationstwo.substack.com/p/bitcoin-developers-are-mostly-not), Murmurations II by Nic Carter Restack this baby This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

10. 

    1 Feb 2026

    As Frontier Tower grows, Network States take root in San Francisco

    Announcement: I turned on monetization today. It would still be great if readers wanted to support the newsletter. For the first 44 days this is monetized, I’m offering a huge discount: 55% off, forever (https://www.frontstageexit.com/subscribe?coupon=58884828). Sign up now and it will be $2.25/month or $24.75/year for as long as you want to support this. Today’s show is about a new outpost of crypto culture in San Francisco, where the idea of “Network States” has taken up permanent residence. Some entrepreneurs from Germany have purchased a 16-storey building and they are turning it into their first outpost of a nation of frontier nomads they hope to expand all over the world, ultimately enlisting 13 million citizens. It’s called Frontier Tower. It’s not even a year old, but it’s going strong. Have you heard about the robot fight clubs? Have you heard about Chinese peptide raves? Those were at Frontier Tower. And this thing wants to go over all the world. This is a story where crypto wealth meets urban downtowns in transition and the continued push and pull of visionary tech types and normie neighbors. For me, this caught my attention because I started as a journalist covering innovation in cities. So obviously a startup experimenting in reviving the way urban areas work is going to grab me. And the whole vibe is extremely crypto. So tune in for another exploration of crypto culture, and let me know what you think. To subscribe to Diamond Rhino on mobile, click on any of these links: * Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/38yUACZAksg7mp0IbTr4qx) * Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diamond-rhino/id1861360127) * Pocket Casts (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/diamond-rhino/d4075b30-bb80-013e-5cc3-0affe45d82e1) * Overcast (https://overcast.fm/p5515853-v4Bt6F) Show notes Sources: Ep 62.Dr. PeptidesNET societyJan 19, 2025 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/3e4DL7gktvFPe87GYjJ28c) Jakob Drzazga of Frontier Tower on Network & City StatesJames of ÂrcJan 9, 2026 (https://youtu.be/ZuzX2HMy670) Lit 6 - Christian Nagel - Building the Future : The Frontier Tower Visionwith Christian NagelJan 7, 2026 (https://youtu.be/nCnG6tNwFjk) Talk: The Story of Frontier Tower (https://youtu.be/E3WaeEqzAUk)Katia YakovlevaSafetyWingDec 19, 2025 Laurence IonKGRAdb (https://www.youtube.com/@KGRAdb)Transhumanist Enlightenment SalonDec 3, 2025 Edge City — What is Frontier TowerKatia YakovlevaNov 13, 2025 (https://youtu.be/7VGCGUu7pFQ) Inside Balaji’s Network State Vision | E2145This Week in StartupsJune 30, 2025 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdALxUub5Eo) Who kills subcultures?OK Banger, Christin Chong and Cameron Armstrong, hostsMay 27, 2025 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rrz3aCSnzyg) Silicon Valley’s Plan to Dismantle DemocracyTaylor LorenzMay 30, 2024 (https://youtu.be/_kpZdrv1P-U) Other references: Frontier Tower (https://frontiertower.io/) * On YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@FrontierTower1) ‘Market Street is coming back to life’: The tech utopia trying to revitalize Mid-Market (https://sfstandard.com/2025/05/18/first-look-frontier-tower-san-francisco-vertical-village/)SF StandardMay 15, 2025 Broken $100M dream city haven for utopians (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-28/srinivasan-builds-crypto-techno-utopia-network-school-in-malaysia-s-forest-city)Bloomberg San Francisco Chronicle (https://sfstandard.com/2025/05/18/first-look-frontier-tower-san-francisco-vertical-village/)May 18, 2025 The Tech Baron Seeking to Purge San Francisco of “Blues” (https://newrepublic.com/article/180487/balaji-srinivasan-network-state-plutocrat)April 26, 2024 I Can Tolerate Anything Except The Outgroup (https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30/i-can-tolerate-anything-except-the-outgroup/)Sept 30, 2014 ‘Peak SF’ on a Friday Night Is a Robot Fight (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/technology/san-francisco-robot-fight.html)New York Times2025 Chinese peptides rave (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/business/chinese-peptides-silicon-valley.html)Jan 3, 2026 Chairman Birb (https://x.com/Bonecondor/status/2007940177290031148). Geeks, mops and sociopaths. (https://meaningness.com/geeks-mops-sociopaths)Meaningness Sarah Friend on utopias (https://x.com/isthisanart_/status/1119178839169675264) Other useful material: The Tale of One Tower: SF-Based Vertical Longevity VillageLifespanJuly 29, 2025 (https://lifespan.io/news/the-tale-of-one-tower-sf-based-vertical-longevity-village/) How Cities Build Vibrant Tech ScenesNextCitySept 10, 2014 (https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/how-cities-best-tech-scenes) VitaDao (https://www.vitadao.com/) Rumors in the tower (https://youtu.be/hLYsKkA223Q)YouTube This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

11. 

    25 Jan 2026

    Crypto will touch grass in 2026 thanks to real world assets

    Real world assets aren’t just a narrative. They are a phase change for the cryptocurrency industry. The new episode of Diamond Rhino breaks all that down. In detail. With charm. But before we get to that… First! If you like the podcast so far, it would be great if you subscribed via one of your favorite mobile pod players. Here’s some helpful links for you to find the show wherever you tend to listen: * Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/38yUACZAksg7mp0IbTr4qx) * Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diamond-rhino/id1861360127) * Pocket Casts (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/diamond-rhino/d4075b30-bb80-013e-5cc3-0affe45d82e1) * Overcast (https://overcast.fm/p5515853-v4Bt6F) * And theoretically any other podcast player as well… Thank you! So. The fate of the crypto markets will no longer be hermetically sealed against the real economy, inside the balances in Coinbase and Kraken accounts or inside Metamask wallets. No, in the real world asset future (https://rwa.xyz/), on-chain will meet Main Street at scale. The way this has been discussed so far, to me, has sounded like real world assets would just be the new corner of crypto. As if there’s memecoins and NFTs and Bitcoin and now we’ve got real world assets, too. That’s not right. Once real world assets reach adequate scale, the liquidity, the volume growth, the blockchain-to-reality connection, it’s going to reach every corner of this whole market. To research this episode I went through a slew of discussions of real-world assets and it only gave me greater conviction that crypto has not had a real cycle yet. The true cycle will kick in once the real world asset flywheel really begins spinning. Sure this is all bullish, but I see something else, to. There’s a thesis at the end that I’ve been kicking around a while but haven’t talked about too much yet. So come for the breakdown. Stay for the lowdown. Show notes: Unlocking Trillions of Dollars with RWAs (Real World Assets) (https://thedefiant.io/podcasts-and-videos/podcast/unlocking-trillions-of-dollars-with-rwas)The DefiantLucas Vogelsang, CentrifugeOctober 16, 2023 (https://youtu.be/emdeHLE2sfk) Tokenizing Real World Assets — with Robert Leshner of Superstate (https://www.bankless.com/tokenizing-real-world-assets-robert-leshner)BanklessMarch 12, 2024 (https://youtu.be/kdQi-N1BfO4) Unlocking Trillions: Sergey Nazarov On Tokenizing Real World Assets & The White House Crypto Summit (https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/unlocking-trillions-sergey-nazarov-on-tokenizing-real/id1500066831?i=1000699366341) (https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/unlocking-trillions-sergey-nazarov-on-tokenizing-real/id1500066831?i=1000699366341)Wolf of All StreetsMarch 16, 2025 (https://youtu.be/-rM9jg3Ovv4) Are Tokenized Stocks Real? (https://www.bankless.com/podcast/are-tokenized-stocks-real-gabriel-otte-of-dinari)BanklessGabriel Otte, founder of DinariJuly 14, 2025 (https://youtu.be/oOAlj6-bpfQ) The State Of DeFi Lending With Mary GooneratneLightspeedMary Gooneratne, LoopscaleAug 19, 2025 (https://youtu.be/RSiOo8W5fOM) The Future of Finance is Tokenized: Ondo’s Vision for RWAs (https://thedefiant.io/podcasts-and-videos/podcast/the-future-of-finance-is-tokenized-ondo-s-vision-for-rwas)The DefiantIan De Bode, Chief Strategy Officer at Ondo FinanceSept 2, 2025 (https://youtu.be/gRhL_bhFRaY) State of Crypto 2025: The Latest Data, Trends, and Themes Revealed (https://www.a16z.news/p/state-of-crypto-2025)a16z CryptoOctober 22, 2025 (https://youtu.be/SFKJEQlrShY) Most Tokenization Projects Fail. Here’s Why One Succeeded (https://unchainedcrypto.com/bits-bips/lessons-from-a-successful-tokenization-project-what-market-structure-reveals-about-trump-linked-wlfis-false-promises-bits-bips/)Unchained — Bits & BipsFigure CEO Mike CagneyDec 20, 2025 (https://youtu.be/W1Tr6esVR8k) Real-World Asset Summit Brooklyn 2025: The Path to $1T OnchainReal World Asset SummitVivek Raman, EtherealizeSep 30, 2025 (https://youtu.be/lO4PLmIWcus) Real World Asset Summit. Debate 2025 Jenn Senhaji, Chronicle.Sept 18, 2025 (https://youtu.be/0FVHarfuUlY) Mary Gooneratne, Co-Founder of Loopscale, on 11AM w/ Seed Club11AM Seed ClubMary Gooneratne, LoopscaleSept 12, 2025 (https://youtu.be/9QyqvdGfe6s) Talking Tokenization: Tokenizing the Future of Credit Markets (https://talkingtokens.beehiiv.com/p/talking-tokenization-how-the-future-of-credit-markets-come-onchain)Talking TokensMary Gooneratne, LoopscaleJan 8, 2026 (https://youtu.be/mY2K_hS_TzE) Other useful materials: Figure Goes Public As HELOC Growth, Marketplace Vision Take Center Stage (https://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news/figure-goes-public-heloc-growth-marketplace-vision-take-center-stage)National Mortgage ProfessionalSept. 12, 2025 Figure’s flash crash sends $13bn worth of blockchain loans flying (https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/figure-heloc-flash-crash-sends-blockchain-based-home-equity-loans-flying/)DL NewsOct. 27, 2025 Ondo and Pantera Capital earmark $250 million for real-world asset tokenization (https://www.axios.com/pro/fintech-deals/2025/07/03/ondo-pantera-capital-250-million-tokenization)AxiosJuly 3, 2025 BlackRock tokenized fund overtakes Franklin Templeton (https://www.axios.com/2024/05/01/blackrock-tokenized-treasury-fund-franklin-templeton)AxiosMay 1, 2024 Centrifuge turns real world assets into loans (https://www.axios.com/2022/09/23/centrifuge-turns-real-world-assets-into-loans)AxiosSept 23, 2022 Planet Money: We Bought a Toxic Asset (https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510396/planet-money-we-bought-a-toxic-asset)NPR2010-2011 And if you’re dying for more, today’s episode is a natural follow up to this one: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

12. 

    18 Jan 2026

    How Bitcoin exit-pilled Joe Rogan, podcasting's everyman

    It seems like the first time Joe Rogan, the mega-podcaster, ever heard about Bitcoin was caught on the mic in a very early episode. That clip can now only be found as a clip other people have posted online, because that old episode, #110, is no longer available from Rogan himself. But it gets shared around often enough. In this podcast episode, I take us through some of the key conversations on the Joe Rogan Experience where he talks about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. By my read (and you can feel free to debate me on this point), what seems to grab Rogan about the original cryptocurrency is more its allegiance to core values than its remunerative potential or the business use cases that appeal to startup founders. Many have said that what will really make this technology appealing for people is better UX, better speed and/or more functionality. Rogan’s story looks different, though, as I go through in the episode. Let me know if you’re convinced. There are clips in here from 2011, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024. If you put them all together, Rogan goes from: hmm? To, ah-ha!. To, hey… To, oh damn. What he never becomes is a true believer or a hardened critic. He’s just intrigued (and a bit worried). Show notes: Here’s links to all the shows I pulled clips from for this episode, plus some other additional material that I consulted. Joe Rogan Experience #110 (https://www.jrepodcast.com/episode/joe-rogan-experience-110-duncan-trussell-brian-redban/). The video isn’t watchable any longer. I got the clip from this tweet (https://x.com/iAnonPatriot/status/1989857880976068626), and it has some lame background music on it. JRE #446 (https://www.jrepodcast.com/episode/joe-rogan-experience-446-andreas-antonopoulos/), 2014. The first with Andreas Antonopoulos (https://aantonop.com/). JRE #490 (https://www.jrepodcast.com/episode/joe-rogan-experience-490-andreas-antonopoulos/), 2014. The second with Antonopoulos. JRE #1236 (https://www.jrepodcast.com/episode/joe-rogan-experience-1236-jack-dorsey/), 2019. With Jack Dorsey, when he was still CEO of Twitter (and of Square, which is what’s relevant here) JRE MMA #124 (https://www.jrepodcast.com/episode/joe-rogan-experience-jre-mma-show-124-with-khalil-rountree/), 2022. With Khalil Rountree (http://ufcstats.com/fighter-details/749f572d1d3161fb), MMA fighter. JRE #1921 (https://www.jrepodcast.com/episode/joe-rogan-experience-1921-peter-zeihan/), 2023. Peter Zeihan (https://zeihan.com/), geopolitical analyist and author. JRE #2044 (https://www.jrepodcast.com/episode/joe-rogan-experience-2044-sam-altman/), 2023. Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO and Worldcoin co-founder. JRE #2234 (https://www.jrepodcast.com/episode/joe-rogan-experience-2234-marc-andreessen/), 2024. Marc Andreessen, co-founder of a16z, web pioneer. Like Rogan: bald. Legendary Twitter thread starts here: Other materials that were useful: How crypto converted Joe Rogan (https://dailycoin.com/joe-rogan-how-crypto-converted-king-of-podcasts/#h-doubts-start-creeping-in), Daily Coin, April 2025 Alas, Babylon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alas%2C_Babylon), by Pat Frank. 1959 novel. JRE #844 (https://www.jrepodcast.com/episode/joe-rogan-experience-844-andreas-antonopoulos/). A 3rd with Andreas. Didn’t use it in this episode, though. Jack Dorsey, Marc Andreessen and the Makings of a Crypto Holy War (https://www.theinformation.com/articles/jack-dorsey-marc-andreessen-and-the-makings-of-a-crypto-holy-war), The Information, 2022 Market Realist (https://marketrealist.com/p/joe-rogan-on-crypto/), 2022 Central Bank Digital Currency tracker (https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/cbdctracker/), Atlantic Council On debanking: Court warns FDIC of sanctions over crypto documents (https://www.axios.com/2025/02/06/coinbase-fdic-sanctions-crypto) (Axios) Crypto firm’s debanking story (https://www.axios.com/2025/02/06/crypto-debanking-anchorage-senate) (Axios) Recommended reading: The Right to Transact (https://www.amazon.com/right-transact-Zelinar-XY-ebook/dp/B0CG3Q57G7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=7VXKG2JI223O&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.lFW3k4VSvlLcjHqpmJ1tiQ.rfgSejU9I1Mou-pdj1QY259ZNbRK1eXWcNa4GUqESuI&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+right+to+transact+zelinar&qid=1768767335&sprefix=the+right+to+transact+zelinar%2Caps%2C152&sr=8-1), by Zelinar Xy A note on the clips: Some of the clips are clipped within the clip or clipped together, for length, clarity or an excess of explanation. If anyone thinks I warped anything, hit me up. Mostly the clips are just as they appeared, though. Music in the episode: “Data Breach” by FASSounds (https://pixabay.com/music/electro-data-breach-112775/) “Bitcoins going up” by SunoMusicShowYouTube (https://pixabay.com/music/american-roots-rock-bitcoins-going-upsuno-music-show-youtube-194491/) All from Pixabay Music Thanks for listening! Let me know what you think! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

13. 

    11 Jan 2026

    Worldcoin to pit proof-of-humanity against pig-butchers of the lonelyhearted

    Worldcoin has had many lives since it revealed itself in 2021 (https://venturebeat.com/technology/worldcoin-launches-a-global-cryptocurrency-that-will-be-given-to-every-person-on-earth). When we all first heard about it, it was a plan to deliver a crypto basic income to everyone on earth, as fears mounted about what artificial intelligence would do to employment. Then the crypto and biometrics startup started talking more about dealing with deepfakes. Then it became more about ensuring you’re interacting with a real person. But that’s not what 90% of the mental energy that’s been invested in Worldcoin has honestly been about. It’s mostly been about the eyeball scanning (https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66128111). Is the biometric-based campaign good or bad? Is the company’s orb (https://world.org/blog/engineering/opening-orb-look-inside-world-biometric-imaging-device) freaky or not? I have always been ambivalent about Worldcoin, but I’ve also secretly suspected I was being a little unreasonable about it, reacting more to its optics than to its fundamentals. So, this episode is my attempt to take an honest look at the project, something I’ve never really done previously. Right now, it seems like the top priority is to just get more people registered for WorldID’s (that is, to get their eyeballs scanned and get them on the network). As you’ll here in the episode, Sam Altman, one of the co-founders, likes to make bets on getting to very large scale. To that end, the company strategists have identified three verticals for growth: Gaming, social and dating. All these verticals are very popular online and all of them have a problem with either bots or people pretending to be someone that they are not. Honestly, the one of these that seems the most compelling to me is online dating. Friends, I’m gonna be honest: I have nothing to say about whether or not you die alone. That’s on you. But I do care about whether or not you get your wallet emptied while looking for someone to spend a little time with. That seems like a problem we should be able to solve as a society. Romance scams cost Americans something like $1.1 billion every year (https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2024/02/love-stinks-when-scammer-involved). Pig-butchering has been one of the most vile trends (https://www.axios.com/2023/02/14/romance-scam-pig-butchering-cybersecurity-crypto) of the last several years. Could WorldID’s eyeball scans throw up a lot of friction for romance scam rings? Probably. It bums me out that widows and perma-singles are getting taken advantage of this way, and it’s nice to see an effort to deploy cryptography to combat it. It opened my mind somewhat to shoving one’s face into one of these orbs. Have I done it yet, though? No. But still. * Unc might need to. And yes, yes, I know that the company doesn’t go by “Worldcoin” any longer. It’s technically just “World,” (operated by the company, Tools for Humanity (https://www.toolsforhumanity.com/)). That rebranding is right up there with the WeWork switch to “We.” (Do y’all really want to emulate Adam Neumann?) So, have a listen to this latest dispatch of Diamond Rhino. I go through much more than the romance use case, to be fair. What I don’t do is obsessively dwell on the orb. That facet has gotten tons of attention. What you might find encouraging, though, is the way World’s info security guy talks about using cryptography. So come for love, but stick around for discretionary disclosure. Also, if you haven’t gotten enough Brady Dale in your ears and eyes, lately, here are a couple shows I appeared on in recent days. Kate Irwin (https://www.kateirwin.ca/) had me on her new Veda Labs podcast to talk about the year in crypto we are heading into: And the Blockspace Media guys (all CoinDesk alums, like me) had me on to talk about the state of Crypto Media, following upon the Twitter thread I put out a few weeks ago. In my opinion, the most fun part is when all three of us throw shade on the New York Times consistently embarrassing crypto coverage. In fact speaking of the Times: So that’s it for recent appearances. For the sources I consulted for this Worldcoin episode, see below: (aka, show notes) Experience Real Connections with World ID and Match Group (https://world.org/blog/announcements/experience-real-connections-with-world-id-and-match-group) Digital identity - weighing the risks of misuse and missed use | Dakota Gruener | TEDxMarrakesh (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqq-LGgyGZ4)July 3, 2019 Sam Altman: OpenAI CEO on GPT-4, ChatGPT, and the Future of AI | Lex Fridman Podcast #367 (https://youtu.be/L_Guz73e6fw)Mar 25, 2023 * Here’s what a Sam Altman-backed basic income experiment found (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sam-altman-universal-basic-income-study-open-research/) (CBS News) At Last ft. Alex Blania and Sam Altman (https://youtu.be/1x8tACHbyjg)WorldMay 1, 2025 A New World ft. Alex Blania and Sam Altman (https://youtu.be/_RWvsCZ17x8)WorldOct 18, 2024 * Introducing AMPC: Another leap in privacy and performance for World ID (https://world.org/blog/engineering/introducing-ampc-another-leap-privacy-performance-world-id), Sept 4, 2025 Worldcoin: Most Dystopian Crypto? CoinBureau (https://youtu.be/osAjc08MA2k)Aug 3, 2023 The Real Reason World Scans Your Eyeballs (https://youtu.be/fG3tJVXNDjU)BeInCryptoDec 24, 2025 Reclaiming the panopticon (https://x.com/mollycantillon/status/2008918474006122936?s=20), X essay Why Proof of Humanity Matters in an AI Future Alex BlaniaEmpire Podcast (https://youtu.be/ImPvUOwFR68)May 16, 2023 Transforming Government: Digital Identity in India (https://youtu.be/ty1Gpjho4dQ)World BankJan 13, 2016 Inside India’s Aadhar: The World’s Largest Biometric System Explained (https://youtu.be/FqriDe2nxlw)ByteMonkJan 25, 2025 You Can Pre-Order This $15,000 Crypto-Powered Beer Vending Machine (https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2019/03/13/you-can-pre-order-this-15000-crypto-powered-beer-vending-machine)CoinDeskSept. 13, 2021 The History and Philosophy of Cypherpunk (https://youtu.be/prXQJSp_H8A)Harry HalpinNov. 12, 2024 World Dune Dashboard (https://dune.com/world/world) I covered a World app, Divine Research, in this story: Deception, exploited workers, and cash handouts: How World recruited its first half a million test users (https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/06/1048981/worldcoin-cryptocurrency-biometrics-web3/#:~:text=To%20fix%20it%2C%20he%20was,doing%20or%20what%20they%20want.%E2%80%9D)MIT Tech ReviewApril 6, 2022 Sam Altman’s eye-scanning Worldcoin banned in Spain (https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/spain-blocks-sam-altmans-eyeball-scanning-venture-worldcoin-ft-reports-2024-03-06/)ReutersMarch 6, 2024 Sam Altman’s World pauses operations in Germany as company overhauls iris-scanning stations (https://www.dlnews.com/articles/web3/altman-crypto-venture-world-pauses-iris-scanning-in-germany/)DL NewsJuly 10, 2025 All Hail The Orb: Worldcoin - Episode 123 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqA38dHIcJU)Crypto Critics CornerAug 2, 2023Pondering the Orb with Molly White (https://techwontsave.us/episode/181_pondering_the_orb_w_molly_white)Tech Won’t Save Us podAug 17, 2023 Worldcoin Is Older Than Ethereum —Just Not the Eyeball-Scanning One (https://thedefiant.io/news/defi/original-worldcoin-is-angry)The DefiantOctober 26, 2021 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

14. 

    4 Jan 2026

    How to see the sky with Bitcoin

    This is going to be a weird episode of this very new podcast. But if you’ve gone down the rabbit hole of Bitcoin or cryptocurrency, then you have tasted the fruit of reasoning from uncertainty. However, cryptocurrency’s epistemic terrain has gotten to be much too easy travel. So come with me to give that conceptual flexibility you learned from embracing decentralized networks a workout by exploring another kind of conceptual terrain: embracing communion with interstellar intelligences. Hopefully, I can convince you that doing so will chart a path to a better world, for everyone, right here, right now. In 2021, George Mason University professor Robin Hanson published a paper (https://arxiv.org/abs/2102.01522), “If Loud Aliens Explain Human Earliness, Quiet Aliens Are Also Rare.” Since then, he’s been making the argument that we can — based on what little we know about the universe so far — make a model that estimates the population of interstellar colonizers across all time and space. As we’ll see in the episode, that doesn’t mean it enables the estimation of all interstellar life. That doesn’t matter though. What matters is that his model and the discussions around it make conceptualizing life, the universe and everything considerably more tractable. At least it did for me. The journey here is about concepts. The key concepts in discussing how to think about interstellar life. That’s the power of what Hanson opened up here. Most discussions you see of UFOs will try to show you evidence that we’ve been visited. I’ve looked at basically all the evidence in the public domain, and I find much of it compelling. But you know what’s really compelling? Thinking it all through. So that’s what I’m going to try to do here. This isn’t about the very sketchy and impossible to reproduce facts. This is about the ideas they have led us to. I very much have a point of view, but I also think this episode should help any open-minded person to refine their own, as well. This episode draws on a lot of material besides Hanson’s paper. Not that many of the clips in this episode were edited for clarity (often to cut out some jargon-filled asides that weren’t really additive to the point in the episode). For more on the sources of many of the clips or topics I discuss in the episode, see below: Grabby Aliens (https://grabbyaliens.com/) — website devoted to the topic. How Far To Grabby Aliens? Part 1 (https://www.overcomingbias.com/p/how-far-aggressive-alienshtml) It’s time to take UFOs seriously. Seriously. (https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/5/8/21244090/pentagon-ufo-report-navy-alexander-wendt)(Vox)(paywalled, but you can find it on the Wayback Machine) Three Body Problem Trilogy: Simply Brilliant Astounding modern classic Sci-fi book series (https://www.reddit.com/r/scifi/comments/1iw7bjq/three_body_problem_trilogy_simply_brilliant/) “The Apologists (https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/audio_11_25b/),” Tade Thompson (Clarkesworld) See the videos cited in this episode on the blog post for this episode on FrontStageExit.com. Music in the episode: “Data Breach” by FASSounds (https://pixabay.com/music/electro-data-breach-112775/) “Bitcoins going up” by SunoMusicShowYouTube (https://pixabay.com/music/american-roots-rock-bitcoins-going-upsuno-music-show-youtube-194491/) All from Pixabay Music Thanks for listening! Let me know what you think! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

15. 

    21 Dec 2025

    The Aave dispute, the glory of a DAO, and the discomforts of DeFi growing up

    Show notes https://epicenter.tv/episode/337-aave-unlocking-access-to-capital-with-flash-loans?utm_source=chatgpt.com (https://epicenter.tv/episode/337-aave-unlocking-access-to-capital-with-flash-loans?utm_source=chatgpt.com) https://youtu.be/jXPncidkzvw?si=jmLctp8z7AF8xvuC (https://youtu.be/jXPncidkzvw?si=jmLctp8z7AF8xvuC) https://www.youtube.com/live/eFjimvV_HWI?si=HyJ6zmw09ZDnIz6C (https://www.youtube.com/live/eFjimvV_HWI?si=HyJ6zmw09ZDnIz6C) https://youtu.be/M-O11MPtEgg?si=hJY00iSAVHRFx0vH (https://youtu.be/M-O11MPtEgg?si=hJY00iSAVHRFx0vH) https://youtu.be/ma0ws1n1Ags (https://youtu.be/ma0ws1n1Ags) https://youtu.be/04FeBtV_m3s (https://youtu.be/04FeBtV_m3s) https://www.youtube.com/live/RUCAgrTkfps?si=Ihapgypd770vtk9Y (https://www.youtube.com/live/RUCAgrTkfps?si=Ihapgypd770vtk9Y) Aave.com (http://Aave.com) DefiLlama (https://defillama.com/protocol/aave) EthLend ICO (https://icomarks.ai/ico/ethlend) Compound launch on Techcrunch (https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/27/short-ethereum-zrx-bat-rep/) Andre Cronje: DeFi Expressionist (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/andre-cronje-defi-expressionist-175919198.html) Compound COMP bug (https://blockworks.co/news/leading-defi-protocol-compound-leaked-over-100-million-in-rewards) Chart by @sonyasunkim (https://x.com/sonyasunkim/status/1816820866501443839) Bunni story (https://decrypt.co/345621/decentralized-exchange-bunni-pulls-the-plug-following-8-4m-flash-loan-exploit) Balancer flash loan stoy (https://www.certora.com/blog/breaking-down-the-balancer-hack) DL News Morpho story (https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/defi-risk-manager-gauntlet-joins-crypto-lender-morpho/) Lens starts getting talked about (https://thedefiant.io/news/nfts-and-web3/lens-web3-social-media) Confirmed in February (https://thedefiant.io/news/nfts-and-web3/lens-web3-social-media-polygon) @jessyfries (https://x.com/jessyfries) Uniswap v3 description (https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/uniswap-unveils-version-3-in-bid-to-stay-defis-top-dog-2021-03-23) DL News story on the Aave front end stuff (https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/aave-dao-clashes-with-founder-over-website-revenue/) Stani K on X: How Aave will win (https://x.com/StaniKulechov/status/2001036446098919461) Aave Changelog (https://aave.com/docs/resources/changelog) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

16. 

    14 Dec 2025

    XRP's consensus model truly blows my mind

    Steelmanning XRP on Diamond Rhino with Brady Dale http://www.frontstageexit.com/ Welcome to the first episode of Diamond Rhino, which should come out every Sunday. Let me know if I got anything horribly wrong, and please bear with me as I get my workflow down. I learned a lot doing this episode. Next one should go better. Sound clips came from these videos: XRPL Foundation - Consensus https://youtu.be/k6VqEkqRTmk (https://youtu.be/k6VqEkqRTmk) XRPL Foundation - Nodes and validators https://youtu.be/JjaVDXPqnbA (https://youtu.be/JjaVDXPqnbA) XRPL Foundation - Tokenization https://youtu.be/Oj4cWOiWf4A (https://youtu.be/Oj4cWOiWf4A) David Schwartz Stanford Blockchain Conference 2020 https://youtu.be/W15S28tmo5o (https://youtu.be/W15S28tmo5o) Brad Garlinghouse on the Future Of Ripple, XRP, & Crypto | Live From Ripple Swell 2025 https://youtu.be/z5HP7xNbANc (https://youtu.be/z5HP7xNbANc) https://open.spotify.com/episode/5cnb0S3e2hvFdk0Urd14Je (https://open.spotify.com/episode/5cnb0S3e2hvFdk0Urd14Je) News and other text media referred to in this episode: Archive link to the funding announcement in WSJ https://archive.ph/C7h9a (https://archive.ph/C7h9a) The race to replace Bitcoin — Observer https://observer.com/2015/02/the-race-to-replace-bitcoin/ (https://observer.com/2015/02/the-race-to-replace-bitcoin/) When Howey Met Gary https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/speech-hinman-061418 (https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/speech-hinman-061418) Coverage of the Hinman Speech https://www.axios.com/2023/06/13/sec-officials-expressed-concern-about-digital-assets-policy-messaging-in-2018 (https://www.axios.com/2023/06/13/sec-officials-expressed-concern-about-digital-assets-policy-messaging-in-2018) https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/06/13/hinman-emails-reveal-2018-speech-on-ether-drew-input-from-multiple-sec-officials (https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/06/13/hinman-emails-reveal-2018-speech-on-ether-drew-input-from-multiple-sec-officials) XRP Scan - Unique Node List https://xrpscan.com/validators (https://xrpscan.com/validators) University research post https://cryptoslate.com/ripple-grants-2-million-university-kansas-funds-29-universities-blockchain-crypto-research (https://cryptoslate.com/ripple-grants-2-million-university-kansas-funds-29-universities-blockchain-crypto-research) User notes the UNL isn't editable at the node level https://www.fastbull.com/news-detail/ripple-cto-drops-major-xrp-unl-clarification-details-news_6300_0_2025_4_5977_3 (https://www.fastbull.com/news-detail/ripple-cto-drops-major-xrp-unl-clarification-details-news_6300_0_2025_4_5977_3) EOS worst fears https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2019/09/19/everyones-worst-fears-about-eos-are-proving-true (https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2019/09/19/everyones-worst-fears-about-eos-are-proving-true) Ripple report on all its acquisitions this year https://ripple.com/insights/building-the-one-stop-shop-for-digital-asset-infrastructure/ (https://ripple.com/insights/building-the-one-stop-shop-for-digital-asset-infrastructure/) Some additional critique of Ripple Consensus https://cryptobern.github.io/noconsensusripple/ (https://cryptobern.github.io/noconsensusripple/) Music in the episode: "Data Breach" by FASSounds https://pixabay.com/music/electro-data-breach-112775/ (https://pixabay.com/music/electro-data-breach-112775/) "Ever Flowing" by ItsWatr https://pixabay.com/music/future-bass-ever-flowing-12277/ (https://pixabay.com/music/future-bass-ever-flowing-12277/) "Bitcoins going up" by SunoMusicShowYouTube https://pixabay.com/music/american-roots-rock-bitcoins-going-upsuno-music-show-youtube-194491/ (https://pixabay.com/music/american-roots-rock-bitcoins-going-upsuno-music-show-youtube-194491/) All from Pixabay Music Thanks for listening! Let me know what you think! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontstageexit.com (https://www.frontstageexit.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

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