Chain Reaction

Welcome to Chain Reaction, where we unpack and explain the latest in crypto news, drama and trends, breaking things down block by block for the crypto curious.

We had to talk about the news that rocked the crypto world this week in our Thursday episode: the Binance/FTX deal that never was. To begin, we gave you a rundown of WTF just happened with the beef between two of the largest crypto exchanges in the world and how Sam Bankman-Fried’s storied exchange fell so far so fast, bringing down investors, cryptocurrencies and other companies in the space tumbling down with it.

Once we ran through the background behind the situation that’s been unfolding in real-time this week, we shared our thoughts on the massive implications this fiasco might have for the rest of the crypto industry, from venture capitalists and startups to regulation across the globe.

It’s a fascinating backdrop for our conversation at our crypto event in Miami next week, where we’ll be chatting with Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the billionaire who is seen as the catalyst for FTX’s downfall. You can use the promo code REACT for 15% off a General Admission ticket to the event to hear from CZ and plenty of other crypto market players about what the future of this tumultuous industry might hold in the coming months.

Chain Reaction comes out every Tuesday and Thursday at 12:00 p.m. PT, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Monica Long, the president of Ripple, a blockchain-based digital payment network and protocol.

Monica has spent the last 10 years at Ripple, working her way up from the director of communications to now, president. Ripple has been around since 2012 and is one of the oldest crypto entities. In recent years, it was in a legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from December 2020 until summer of 2023, over whether or not its token, XRP, should be registered as a security.

Then, this past July, Ripple scored a victory against the SEC after a US federal judge ruled that secondary XRP sales, or sales to retail investors, aren’t investment contracts or securities. But when it comes to sales with institutional clients, it could be treated as one.

In the meantime, Ripple had been doubling down on global transactions and payments, among other elements.

We talked about Monica’s career growth, cross-border payments, traditional finance and the need for regulatory clarity.

We also dove into:

• Ripple’s suit with the SEC
• The XRP Ledger
• Its focus for 2024
• Advice for the community

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to a re-released episode of of Chain Reaction, a podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious.

For this week’s episode, we're remixing an episode from earlier this year. Jacquelyn interviewed Deana Burke and Natasha Hoskins, the co-founders of Boys Club.

Boys Club is a social decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) for the “crypto curious,” originally designed to get women and non-binary people into the web3 world, it now aims to be an open space for anyone looking to get into the space.

Although it’s a social DAO, Boys Club has a handful of other ventures like their newsletter and podcast, which I was a guest on, as well as events like crypto conference parties and trivia nights.

Before Boys Club, Deana and Natasha were co-founders of a recently acquired travel platform Allcall. Deana was also a communications partner for the blockchain-based Celo Foundation and Natasha previously worked at Fora Travel as a general manager.

We discussed the origin story for Boys Club, what trends Deana and Natasha are following and how they’ve seen the industry evolve since launching their group.

We also talked about:

• EthCC 2023 vibe check
• Inclusivity in web3
• Diversifying the industry
• Advice for the crypto newbies

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction.

A podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious.

For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Maria Shen, a general partner on the investment team at Electric Capital, an early stage venture firm focused on crypto, blockchain, fintech and marketplaces.

Before Electric Capital, Maria was the CTO and co-founder of a startup Bambify that helped small to medium-sized businesses create more efficient supply chains with manufacturers globally. Prior to that, she worked at Microsoft.

In March 2022, the firm announced that it closed $1 billion for a pair of crypto funds – a $400 million vehicle for making equity investments in startups and a $600 million fund intended to invest directly in crypto tokens. Its website currently showcases a portfolio with about 75 investments with crypto startups like Magic Eden, ConsenSys and Bitwise, to name a few.

More recently, Electric Capital put out a report that showed the number of blockchain developers in the U.S. has declined every year since 2017, dropping to 29% last year from 40% in 2017. We dove into what that report really means and how it will affect the growth of developers domestically and internationally.

We discussed what crypto sectors Maria is watching for investments, why she’s betting big on NFTs and the general venture capital market sentiment.

We also talked about:

• U.S. regulatory impact on investments
• The bear market
• Trends she’s following
• Advice for founders

Chain Reaction comes out every other Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Steve Kaczynski, co-author of the book “The Everything Token,” and co-host of a web3 morning show Coffee with Captain.

He also co-authored the first Harvard Business Review article about NFTs and outside of that, he consults with agencies and brands about building their web3 strategies including his role with Starbucks where he is a community lead for its NFT-focused loyalty program, Starbucks Odyssey.

Before getting into the web3 world, Steve worked in communications and marketing roles at places for over 15 years.

Jacquelyn and Steve discuss what got him interested in NFTs, how important it is to build understanding for the sector and why communities matter more than floor prices.

They also dive into:

• Future adoption for Bored Ape Yacht Club
• Growing Starbucks’s NFT-based loyalty program
• What agencies and brands need to know about web3
• How to get started in the NFT space

(0:00) Introduction

(4:23) NFT value creation

(11:41) NFT and community building

(18:14) Bored Ape community building

(20:42) Web3 gaming and community

(23:13) Starbucks Odyssey program and its engagement with web3

(31:30) What's next for NFTs

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.