A DeFi project steps precariously close to insider trading. On "Carpe Consensus," hosts Ben Schiller and Danny Nelson dive into the murky waters of DeFi news.  Inside the Desk: Danny recaps his latest deep-dive piece looking at a highly profitable yet legally dubious DeFi trading strategy – one that could render those behind the trade vulnerable to what would be a first-of-its-kind insider trading investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “Carpe Consensus” is executive produced by Jared Schwartz and produced and edited by Eleanor Pahl. See Privacy Policy at https://a ..read more

A crypto winter of growth and optimism: from those who developed the tech to those who led the fight for sensible regulation, the year has been full of influential figures transforming the crypto industry. On "Carpe Consensus," hosts Ben Schiller and Danny Nelson are joined by Nik De to review some of the most influential figures of the year in crypto as part of Consensus Magazine's Most Influential 2023 list, including Messari CEO Ryan Selkis, Elizabeth Warren, Gary Gensler and more. “Carpe Consensus” is executive produced by Jared Schwartz and produced and edited by Eleanor Pahl. See Privacy ..read more

Danny Nelson describes his recent scoop where he learned that Polygon quietly gave DraftKings preferential treatment while telling the public it was an "equal" member of the validator community. On "Carpe Consensus," hosts Ben Schiller and Danny Nelson take a deep dive into a recent scoop of Danny's, involving layer 2 blockchain Polygon and sports betting company DraftKings. [1:04] Inside the Desk: When Polygon announced DraftKings would be joining its validator community, it failed to disclose the financial incentives lurking in the background of the deal. Read Danny's full piece on CoinDesk ..read more

Jonathan Martin traveled across El Salvador, observing bitcoin adoption in the first country to make BTC legal currency. On "Carpe Consensus," hosts Ben Schiller and Danny Nelson take a look at bitcoin adoption alongside Jonathin Martin, bitcoiner and graduate student at The Wharton School. Martin discusses the nature of adoption – by who, in what parts of the country and for what purposes – and explores the complexities of attempting to imbed a new digital currency in a nation. Check out Jonathan's latest report from El Salvador, "Westerners See El Salvador as a Template for a New Monetary Sy ..read more

When SBF decided to take the stand, reporters flocked to the courthouse to try and get a spot in the room itself to watch the former FTX CEO recount his version of events. Turns out Sam didn't remember much of what happened at FTX. On “Carpe Consensus,” hosts Ben Schiller and Danny Nelson center the episode on, arguably, the crypto news event of the year: the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried. [0:53] Inside the Desk: For weeks, Danny's been predicting that SBF would choose to take the stand – either for his ego, or as a last-resort attempt to sway the jury. Danny recaps SBF's direct and cross examin ..read more

In a break from the Sam Bankman-Fried trial coverage, “Carpe Consensus” hosts Ben Schiller and Danny Nelson chat about bitcoin ETFs and the state of crypto policy. On “Carpe Consensus,” hosts Ben Schiller and Danny Nelson center the episode on, arguably, the crypto news event of the year: the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried. [0:46] Inside the Desk: October is historically a good month for bitcoin, and this year is no different. But, there’s some additional factors pushing the price, including the potential for a spot bitcoin ETF approval in coming months. [16:22] The ShillFest: Ben dives into poli ..read more

CoinDesk reports from the courthouse. On “Carpe Consensus,” hosts Ben Schiller and Danny Nelson center the episode on, arguably, the crypto news event of the year: the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried. [1:05] Inside the Desk: Nik De, CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation, breaks down CoinDesk’s approach to covering the trial. [10:08] Danny reports from the first two days at the courthouse, alongside Nik De and Sam Kessler. “Carpe Consensus” is executive produced by Jared Schwartz and produced and edited by Eleanor Pahl. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Cali ..read more

Danny Nelson catches up with Johann Kerbrat, general manager of crypto at Robinhood about the company’s vision for crypto on its platform. On “Carpe Consensus,” host Danny Nelson catches up with Johann Kerbrat, general manager of crypto at Robinhood. The duo dive into: The evolution of Robinhood’s crypto vertical and changes throughout market cycles Advantages of building in the bear Considerations of what customers want next for the platform The importance of transparency and consistency for crypto platforms, after the fall of FTX “Carpe Consensus” is executive produced by Jared Schwartz an ..read more

The latest in a series of "rage quits" that showcase how DAOs deal with factions of investors who lose faith in their vision and demand their money back. On “Carpe Consensus,” hosts Ben Schiller and Danny Nelson dive into the latest crypto news. [1:15] Ben kicks off the show by recounting his time on the (muddy) playa of Burning Man 2023. Are some foundational ideals of the festival harmonious with the crypto ethos? [6:07] Inside the Desk: North Korea-linked hacker collective Lazarus Group has been linked to yet another crypto hack. [12:06] Danny’s Dungeon: NounsDAO is the latest decentralize ..read more

While one network (Base) faced an outage, another (Ethereum) had a layer 2 leader grappling with the idea of an “Ethereum Supreme Court.” On “Carpe Consensus,” host Danny Nelson is joined by CoinDesk tech reporter Sam Kessler to dive into the latest blockchain news. [0:53] Coinbase’s Ethereum layer 2 blockchain Base experienced its first major outage since its launch, halting the production of new blocks for about 45 minutes. Sam explains what caused the outage and other vulnerabilities he’s watching. [13:16] In crypto, the phrase “code is law” seems to assert that technology can thwart centr ..read more