For our Tuesday episode where we interview a guest in the web3 space, we sat down with Jesse Powell, founder and CEO of Kraken, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. Powell announced last month that he is stepping down from the top spot at the company he built 11 years ago and transitioning to the chairman role. We heard from Powell about the reasons behind why he is ceding the CEO title.

For our Thursday episode, where we discuss the latest in crypto news, we had a long conversation about whether Kim Kardashian really deserved that $1.26 million fine that she got from the SEC for advertising an unregistered security, in this case a token called EthereumMax.

For our Tuesday episode where we interview an expert in the web3 space, we sat down with Edward Saatchi, the founder of The Culture DAO and Fable. We talked about how emerging technologies can enable new forms of storytelling and how sectors like crypto and AI are changing what the metaverse might look like.

For our Thursday episode where we discuss the latest in crypto news, we hashed out some of FTX’s latest potential M&A actions, executive departures and fundraising plans. We specifically dug into FTX’s purchase of Voyager’s assets in a bankruptcy auction. The team also dug into some tough regulatory action against Nexo and the latest news around the Fed’s potential embrace of a Digital Dollar.

For our Tuesday episode this week, where we interview an expert in the crypto space, we chatted with Kevin Owocki. He is the founder of Gitcoin and an outspoken proponent of both open source software and decentralized governance. We spoke with Owocki about whether the crypto community is living up to its lofty ideals and what comes next for Ethereum after The Merge.

For our Thursday episode where we discuss the latest in crypto news, we hashed out the recent steep decline in Ethereum prices following its major network upgrade. The team also dove into potential regulatory action surrounding stablecoins and the latest progress from Biden’s White House in preparing to embrace a digital dollar.

For our Tuesday episode where we chat with a web3 expert, we talked to Seth Ginns, head of liquid investments and a managing partner at crypto venture firm CoinFund, about the state of different parts of today's crypto market, from tokens to layer-ones to startups.

Welcome to a Chain Reaction bonus episode! On Thursday, Anita and Jacquie went live with Equity's Alex Wilhelm and Natasha Mascarenhas to talk all about the Ethereum Merge. Pulling off the Merge was an event requiring such technical coordination and rigor that it's been compared to the moon landing. Now that it's happened, what will be the impacts on web3 startups? What about the rest of the tech industry, or large financial institutions, or Chinese crypto miners? They walked through all these questions and more, trying to address both what the Merge is and why it matters through as holistic a lens as possible.

For our Thursday episode this week, we dug into the institutional embrace of blockchains by stodgy financial powerhouses -- including mega PE firm KKR, which announced this week that they were tokenizing one of their latest funds to provide access to a slightly less rich class of wealthy investors. While it’s far from pervasive financial democratization, the move attracted a lot of attention, which we dissected.

For our Tuesday episode where we chat with a web3 expert, we talked to Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at publicly-traded digital asset manager Coinshares. Demirors was a core team member at crypto investment firm Digital Currency Group in 2015.

For our Thursday episode focused on major news topics this week, we discussed the latest drama surrounding crypto mega exchange Binance which is making its presence known in the stablecoin game and shaking up the ecosystem as it looks to muscle its way to supremacy.

For our Tuesday episode where we chat with a web3 expert, we talked to James Zhang, founder and CEO of Concept Art House, a consultancy that creates and advises on art for web3 video games and NFT collections. The company raised $25 million in funding last October from investors including Animoca Brands and Dapper Labs but faces a slumping NFT market today.

For our Thursday episode focused on major news topics this week, Anita and Lucas unpacked the good, the bad and the downright confusing as they relate to the long-awaited Ethereum network upgrade -- The Merge -- starting this month. Jacquie has been out on vacation, so we're sure she'll be returning with lots to say next week.

For our Tuesday episode where we chat with a web3 expert, we talked to Jack Lu, the co-founder and CEO of fast-rising NFT marketplace Magic Eden. The venture-backed startup was founded last year and has already reached unicorn status -- raising at a $1.6 billion valuation.

Welcome back. Earlier this week, Anita caught up with two investors at Haun Ventures, partner Sam Rosenblum and associate Breck Stodghill, live on Twitter Spaces. All eyes are on the lean venture firm, led by former a16z crypto and U.S. Department of Justice official Katie Haun, as it deploys a whopping $1.5 billion fund in web3 startups. We recorded the casual conversation as a bonus episode so you can hear Rosenblum and Stodghill share their thoughts on where they’re seeing opportunities in crypto these days, how they approach the diligence process, and what they’re listening to and reading outside of web3. Subscribe to the Chain Reaction newsletter to dive deeper: https://techcrunch.com/newsletters

For our Thursday episode focused on major news topics this week, the crew broke down the latest blockchain happenings and volatility including SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s open letter to the crypto industry which has web3 insiders fuming. We also covered: A new report into the financials behind crypto exchange FTX, detailing how the rising giant stacks up to top competitors while offering insight into why investors are giving it a private valuation that’s twice the size of Coinbase’s public market cap. We had a lot to unpack! The chaotic court proceedings around Celsius’s bankruptcy woes and how the crypto lender is lashing out at previous partners through legal action as the company looks to shift blame for the way things went down.

Welcome back. This week while Lucas was out, Anita caught up with Devin Lewtan, cofounder and CEO of web3 media production studio Mad Realities. Mad Realities is the team behind “Proof of Love,” a dating show that allows its audience to vote and engage with its content using NFTs. Lewtan talked about how accidentally creating the viral Clubhouse show “NYU Girls Roasting Tech Guys” led her to launching a Paradigm and Paris Hilton-backed web3 startup. She also shared her insights on building community through web3 among people who might otherwise roll their eyes at that term. Subscribe to the Chain Reaction newsletter to dive deeper: https://techcrunch.com/newsletters

Welcome back. This week, Jacquelyn and Anita ran the show while Lucas was out. We recapped a must-watch interview by Coinage with Do Kwon, the now-infamous founder of Terraform Labs whose algorithmic stablecoin de-pegged from the U.S. dollar, sending the crypto markets into chaos. This was Kwon’s first interview since the coin’s collapse in May, which wiped out some $60 billion in value. Is he remorseful? Aren’t the authorities after him? We got into all those questions and more. We also discussed acquisition drama for the second week in a row, this time between Galaxy Digital and crypto custodian BitGo. Finally, we went through news of recent, highly secretive layoffs at Crypto.com as the exchange looks to expand its user base abroad. Subscribe to the Chain Reaction newsletter to dive deeper: https://techcrunch.com/newsletters

Welcome back, this week Anita and Lucas interviewed Li Jin, cofounder of crypto venture firm Variant, which just raised $450 million for its third fund. Jin, formerly a solo GP at Atelier Ventures, is known for developing an investment thesis around the “passion economy” that eventually led her down the rabbit hole of web3. A backer of companies such as Magic Eden and Mirror, Jin talked about the ethics behind onboarding cash-strapped creators into crypto, why she’s no longer a solo investor and how she balances new investments and supporting her existing portfolio companies through a downturn. Subscribe to the Chain Reaction newsletter to dive deeper: https://techcrunch.com/newsletters

Welcome back. This week, Jacquelyn and Anita ran the show while Lucas was off on vacation. We got up to speed on the U.S. government’s crackdown on cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash because of its role in facilitating money laundering. While it’s true that hackers have long used Tornado to fuel illicit activity, we tried to answer some bigger questions: what is a mixer in the first place, and what exactly would someone use one for if not crime? This week’s episode comes just after Coinbase announced its long-awaited, ultimately disappointing second-quarter results, so we ran through the numbers and what they mean for the industry. We also talked about Binance and Indian exchange WazirX, which might never, ever, ever be getting back together. Subscribe to the Chain Reaction newsletter to dive deeper: https://techcrunch.com/newsletters

Welcome back, this week Anita and Lucas interviewed MC Lader, COO of Uniswap Labs, the entity managing the world’s largest decentralized crypto exchange. A former managing director at asset management firm BlackRock, Lader explained how her management team oversees a fully decentralized protocol and shared her thoughts on the exchange’s future path to profitability. Subscribe to the Chain Reaction newsletter to dive deeper: https://techcrunch.com/newsletters

Welcome back, this week Lucas and Anita welcome Jacquelyn Melinek as a new permanent co-host on Chain Reaction. They dove into the hot crypto topics of the week, including the $190 million draining of the Nomad bridge by both ‘black-hat’ and ‘white-hat’ hackers. They also discussed the widespread Solana wallet attack and a particularly deep round of layoffs at Robinhood. You’ll notice something different about the show this week besides a new co-host -- we’re splitting up the news analysis and interview segment into different episodes! On Tuesdays you’ll hear us sit down with experts in the crypto space and on Thursdays, we’ll dive into the hottest web3 topics of the week. Catch us early next week for an interview with Uniswap COO MC Lader.

Welcome back, this week Lucas and Anita dive into a conversation around Coinbase’s legal woes and the insider trading scandal surrounding an employee at the firm. We also discussed Elon Musk’s bitcoin sale and Minecraft’s ban of NFTs from its platform. In their interview this week, Anita and Lucas interviewed David Nage. Nage is a portfolio manager at Arca where he makes early-stage bets on crypto startups. We talked about finding hot opportunities in seed stage crypto and then broke into a wide-ranging conversation on crypto regulation and what comes next.

Welcome back, this week Lucas and Anita dive into a conversation around OpenSea’s significant layoffs, how Binance is taking on Coinbase in a stateside battle royale and why the Bored Apes creators are trying to outdo Meta with their own metaverse. In their interview this week, Lucas and Anita chat with Alexander Taub. Taub is the founder of DAO tooling startup Upstream which lets people spin up their own decentralized governance organizations. DAOs were the space to be this year, but how many of them will stick around through a crypto winter?

Welcome back, this week Lucas and Anita return to discuss the ultimate meme investing crossover episode with GameStop launching an NFT marketplace. We also break down this week’s latest drama with the liquidation of crypto hedge fund 3 Arrows Capital. It wasn’t all doom and gloom as we discussed some of the new crypto funds injecting fresh capital into the space. In their interview this week, Lucas and Anita chat with Naveen Jain. Naveen is the founder of web3 startup Yat which lets people buy their own emoji URL. The marketplace saw some wildly expensive sales this year, but when can pricey emojis tell us about the future of identity?