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This Week on Unchained: Private Equity, Stablecoin Race, ETH, and More!
Don't miss this week's content!
Juan Aranovich
November 02, 2025
Good Sunday! Here’s what we unpacked this week on Unchained:
💰 Arthur Hayes and Adam Schlegel on Private Equity – Why crypto’s “boring” middle market might be the next big goldmine.
🏦 Bits + Bips: SharpLink CEO on ETH Demand – Rate cuts, stablecoins, and why banks are going all-in on blockchain.
💵 The Great Stablecoin Race – From Tether to TradFi, who will actually win the stablecoin wars?
⚙️ Bitcoin Miners Turn to AI – Why mining stocks are soaring and what happens when they pivot for good.
🪙 Ex-Citi Chief Economist on Gold and the Dollar – Why gold’s 6,000-year run could be ending as stablecoins take center stage.
🔒 DATs and Locked Tokens – The hidden mechanics behind crypto’s hottest treasury trades.
Arthur Hayes and Adam Schlegel on Why Private Equity Is Crypto’s Next Big Wave
Crypto’s unsexy middle market is about to get a cash injection. Arthur Hayes and Adam Schlegel discuss Maelstrom’s $250M PE fund targeting companies ignored by VCs and exchanges.
Crypto has spent years obsessing over tokens, airdrops, and speculation. But what about the unsexy businesses actually making money?
Arthur Hayes and Adam Schlegel join Laura Shin to talk about Maelstrom’s $250M private equity fund targeting crypto’s most profitable, yet overlooked, companies, $50M revenue businesses with 50% margins that VCs can’t touch and exchanges won’t pay cash for.
But while everyone frames this as just another fund, Hayes and Schlegel argue it’s actually the missing piece in crypto’s maturation: a cash buyer for founders who’ve done their time and want out without four-year earnouts.
Plus: Why Asian crypto companies with monster margins get ignored by Western capital.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, PumpFun, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
The Fed’s next move, AI’s labor shock, and why banks are rushing into crypto.
In this episode of Bits + Bips, former BlackRock executive and SharpLink co-CEO Joseph Chalom joins hosts Austin Campbell, Chris Perkins, and Ram Ahluwalia to discuss why the Federal Reserve may move to ease rates despite a “Goldilocks” economy, the growing role of stablecoins in foreign exchange and settlement, and how major banks like JPMorgan and Citi are expanding their use of blockchain.
The conversation also explores Japan’s first yen-backed stablecoin, the implications of AI for the labor market, and the generational shift that could make crypto wallets the default interface for finance.
Plus, the implications of CZ’s pardon and why it’s “bullish” to have Mike Selig chairing the CFTC.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, PumpFun, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
How the Competition Will Play Out in the Great Stablecoin Race
As stablecoins spread across chains, exchanges, and payment apps, who will win the race for real adoption?
In this episode of Unchained, Laura is joined by Rob Hadick, General Partner at Dragonfly, and Sam MacPherson, Co-founder and CEO of Phoenix Labs, to break down the fast-moving world of stablecoins and stablechains.
They discuss Ethena’s USDe $5 billion drop, the rise of “stablecoin-as-a-service” models, the emergence of payment-focused blockchains like Tempo and Codex, and the return of TradFi heavyweights like Visa, Mastercard, and Western Union to the digital dollar race.
From liquidity challenges to regulatory shakeups and tokenized deposits, the conversation explores what it really takes to win the stablecoin wars, and, importantly, whether any of these players can even make a scratch to king Tether.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Why Soaring Bitcoin Mining Stocks May Signal a Bigger Shift to AI
Many major miners are being valued like AI infrastructure companies. That shift could reshape U.S. mining, and isn’t easily reversible.
Bitcoin miners are having a moment. Their stock prices have recently outperformed other parts of the crypto sector, even as bitcoin itself drifts.
But as Steve Ehrlich reports, the rally has little to do with Bitcoin mining profitability. Instead, AI firms are looking to repurpose miners’ existing data center infrastructure for high-performance computing (HPC) workloads.
The catch? Once miners make the switch to AI, it’s extremely difficult (and expensive) to go back. And this shift could push U.S. hash rate overseas, complicating policy ambitions to keep Bitcoin mining at home.
Ex-Citi Chief Economist on Gold, Bitcoin and the Debasement of the US Dollar
Forget gold: the ex-Citi chief economist says the future lies in stablecoins, CBDCs, and tokenized assets.
Gold may have history, but does it have a future?
Former Citi Chief Economist Willem Buiter joins Unchained Executive Editor Steve Ehrlich to argue that gold’s “6,000-year bubble” is long overdue to burst.
He explains why he thinks central banks should dump their bullion, why Bitcoin isn’t a reliable store of value, and why fully backed stablecoins and central-bank digital currencies could define the next era of money.
He also touches on Trump’s influence on the Fed, tokenized deposits and the future of stablecoins.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, PumpFun, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
How DATs Use Locked Tokens for Early Liquidity and Higher Valuations
DATs are marketing themselves as large piles of liquid tokens traded across major U.S exchanges. But what happens when the tokens backing their shares are locked—while insiders get liquid exits anyway?
Unchained’s Steven Ehrlich joins Laura Shin to discuss his recent investigation into how digital asset treasury companies (DATs) are using locked tokens in ways that quietly rewrite the rules.
From liquid shares backed by illiquid assets to shifting unlock schedules and asymmetric information, we break down what investors need to know before buying into these structures, and why this could potentially be a governance and alignment problem for crypto as a whole.
In Case You Missed It 👀
In its first earnings report post GENIUS Act, Coinbase looks to build on its record USDC growth. Meanwhile, Michael Saylor dismisses dwindling mNAV premiums.
Amid sinking prices and a history of poorly performing unlocks, some companies are hesitant to register PIPE shares. Investors are left with little recourse.
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