Month: September 2024

Coinbase's new wrapped Bitcoin alternative, cbBTC, just launched. Will it challenge the dominance of WBTC in DeFi, or is it just another centralized solution? Coinbase’s VP of engineering, Will Robinson, breaks it all down.

On Thursday, Coinbase unveiled cbBTC, a tokenized version of Bitcoin on its Base layer 2 and Ethereum. This launch follows the recent BitGo controversy about the custody arrangement for Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) now involving Justin Sun, sparking concerns within the crypto community.

In this episode, Will Robinson, Coinbase’s VP of engineering, discusses the strategic importance of cbBTC, how it differs from other wrapped Bitcoin products, and what this means for the future of Bitcoin within DeFi ecosystems. 

Will Coinbase’s reputation as a "trusted custodian" be enough to make cbBTC the go-to choice for Bitcoin in DeFi, or will the industry remain skeptical?

• Why Coinbase launched cbBTC and how it aims to bring Bitcoin into the world of DeFi
• What happens behind the scenes when users mint cbBTC
• What sets cbBTC apart from other wrapped Bitcoin options, according to Will
• Whether Coinbase will expand cbBTC to other layer 2s and where users can already use it on major DeFi platforms
• Will’s response to criticisms about the centralization of cbBTC
• Why Coinbase's cbBTC launch was part of long-term plans, unrelated to the recent controversy around WBTC and Justin Sun
• How Coinbase plans to make money from cbBTC, considering that WBTC has not been a big moneymaker for BitGo
• Why Coinbase has the ability to freeze and blacklist cbBTC addresses
• How Coinbase ensures that Bitcoin backing cbBTC remains the property of token holders and won’t be used as collateral or rehypothecated
• Why Coinbase, a centralized entity, is launching cbBTC, a product for the decentralized, onchain world
• Why Will doesn't want to predict how much demand there'll be for cbBTC

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

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• iTrustCapital
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Guest

• Will Robinson, VP of Engineering at Coinbase

Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC. Distributed by CoinDesk.

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The Security Council is the United Nations' most powerful body, with the ability to impose sanctions and authorize the use of force. There are five permanent members of the council: Russia, France, China, the U.S and Britain. And any one of those permanent members can veto council resolutions. The U.S. is proposing expanding the number of permanent members, including two permanent seats for African countries. We talk to the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. about the proposal.

And Seoul, South Korea is such a massive city, residents looking to experience nature can face a long journey to reach the countryside. As a result, the city's parks are catering to urban campers who want to sleep outdoors closer to home. We meet some of them.

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Host Jennifer Sanasie breaks down the news in the crypto industry from the pause on Kalshi's political prediction markets to eToro's $1.5 million SEC settlement.

"CoinDesk Daily" host Benjamin Schiller breaks down the biggest headlines in the crypto industry today, as a U.S. federal appeals court halted Kalshi's political prediction markets upon a CFTC request for an emergency stay. Plus, eToro has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle SEC charges and Circle is moving to New York City.

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This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and Melissa Montañez and edited by Victor Chen.

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We’ve got a mixed bag of news for y’all in this week’s news roundup, including public miner operational updates from August, Japan’s largest power company mining bitcoin, Fractal Bitcoin’s rip-roaring first week, and the intersection of alternative history and shitcoinery (yes really). 

Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Will and Colin hop on for another duo pod this week for one of the most eclectic roundups yet. The numbers are in for August for the public bitcoin mining world, and these companies are slowly (but steadily) expanding their hashrate, while also collectively selling more than 1,200 BTC over the month. In a testament to bitcoin mining’s utility for utilities, Japan’s largest power company, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), is mining bitcoin with a portion of its renewable energy assets. Finally, the lads breakdown the juicy details of sidechain Fractal Bitcoin’s first week. And in this week’s cry corne – in which Darryl Cooper (Martyr Made) gets BSV-pilled – they touch on the irony of an alternative historian storing his podcasts on a blockchain launched by a man who tried rewriting the history of Bitcoin.

Timestamps:

00:00 Start

02:05 Difficulty update

05:03 August miner updates

11:29 Tokyo mining BTC!

17:49 Fractal Bitcoin update

25:12 Cry Corner: Darryl Cooper BSV pilled

Published twice weekly, "The Mining Pod" interviews the best builders and operators in the Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining landscape. Subscribe to get notifications when we publish interviews on Tuesday and a news show on Friday! 

👉 Check out Bitcoin Season 2 and The Gwart Show.

👉 Watch our newest documentary, The Big Empty!

Follow our hosts on Twitter, @wsfoxley.

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Thank you to our sponsor, CleanSpark, America’s Bitcoin miner!

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"The Mining Pod" is produced by Sunnyside Honey LLC with Senior Producer, Damien Somerset. Distributed by CoinDesk.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.