The Scoop

Six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen is making his mark on the metaverse with a digital sneaker collection featuring 1,000 unique ‘SP33’ NFTs.For the launch, Pippen partnered with Orange Comet — the company that recently helped Sir Anthony Hopkins launch his own NFT collection.In this episode of The Scoop, Scottie Pippen and Orange Comet CEO Dave Broome discuss how Web3 is creating new ways for celebrities and fans to connect, and share the story behind the upcoming ‘SP33’ NFT collection.According to Pippen, launching a digital sneaker collection is a way to bring his brand into the digital era.“I was a big sneakerhead growing up in the NBA world, so this is my opportunity to really resurface back into the sneaker world, but do it from a digital standpoint.”Not only will holders be able to wear their SP33 shoes around the metaverse, but 33 of the 1,000 NFTs will also come with a real-world sneaker prototype.Episode 124 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and NBA legend Scottie Pippen and Orange Comet CEO Dave Broome.Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Or click here to watch the full interview on YouTube. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn, NordVPNAbout TronFounded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provides a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com.About LednLedn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.ioAbout NordVPNNordVPN is essential for keeping crypto transactions secure, hiding your IP address and protecting your devices from hackers and data theft. Get premium cyber-security on up to 6 devices for the price of a cup of coffee a month. Get your exclusive NordVPN Deal and try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee: Visit https://nordvpn.com/thescoop.

A DeFi protocol known as Cryptex offers a permissionless way to speculate on the total crypto market capitalization through its novel index token, TCAP.Now, Cryptex is on the verge of releasing its newest index token, JPEGz, which will allow holders to track the total market cap of NFTs on Ethereum.In this episode of The Scoop, Cryptex co-founder Joe Sticco shares the details behind the upcoming JPEGz NFT index token, including why the index token is a good way to speculate on the future growth of the NFT sector.According to Sticco, the list of NFT collections included in the JPEGz index token is dynamic, which ensures that whenever a hot new NFT project crops up in the future, it will be included in the index.As Sticco explains,“NFTs are literally in their infancy. I look at them now and it's like where crypto was in 2017 — we had that first bust cycle now, and now we're in the ground, and who knows what happens next, but JPEGz is going to be the ability to track the NFT market cap.”Episode 123 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Cryptex co-founder Joe Sticco.Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Or click here to watch the full interview on YouTube. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, LednAbout TronFounded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provides a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com.About LednLedn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

In this month's 'Market Pulse' episode of The Scoop, The Block Vice President of Research Larry Cermak and Loomdart, a founding member of crypto-native venture firm eGirl Capital, reflect on FTX’s collapse and speculate on what comes next for the crypto industry.According to Cermak, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is remaining in the Bahamas to stay engaged with local regulators:“Sam still has connections in the Bahamas and the government is still standing by him … He just made them look terrible, so they kind of have to go in this direction”During a recent interview, SBF confirmed he is still living in the Bahamas, although he is not communicating with FTX’s new CEO John Ray.While FTX's collapse pushed crypto prices to new yearly lows, Loomdart says it is ultimately better for the long-term health of the industry: “Crypto is such an open and free ecosystem to where if we don't have this type of education by fire it just keeps getting worse … If FTX didn't blow up now and they managed to keep going — I don’t think that hole was going to shrink.”Episode 122 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Larry Cermak, and Loomdart, co-founder of eGirl Capital.Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Or click here to watch the full interview on YouTube. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, LednAbout TronFounded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provides a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com.About LednLedn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

In this episode of The Scoop, Sam Bankman-Fried describes how a legacy payment system linked FTX’s future to Alameda Research’s fate, and explores why regulators and auditors alike failed to discover this relationship.According to Bankman-Fried, many FTX customers would fund their accounts via direct wire transfers to Alameda Research bank accounts:“What that flow I think looked like was basically: Bob wires $100 straight to Alameda Research, and then Alameda effectively ledger transfers $100 to Bob on FTX.”SBF has claimed that wired customer funds contributed to over half of Alameda’s position on FTX, likely totaling over $5 billion, as reported by the WSJ.In hindsight, SBF says a “reasonably responsible” way of managing direct wire transfers would have been only debiting Alameda’s primary FTX account. In practice, however, wired customer funds were being credited from an Alameda stub account that SBF says “was specifically meant to be a ledger for wire transfers.”When pressed on how regulators and auditors failed to uncover the extent of Alameda’s relationship to FTX, SBF alleged that customer positions — including Alameda’s — were not part of FTX’s balance sheet:“This was effectively a customer negative position, and many customers had negative positions open on FTX… Those were not part of FTX's assets or liabilities, they were customer assets and liabilities, and so FTX's financials were not directly impacted by this.”Disclaimer: Beginning in 2021, Michael McCaffrey, the former CEO and majority owner of The Block, took a series of loans from founder and former FTX and Alameda CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. McCaffrey resigned from the company in December 2022 after failing to disclose those transactions.Episode 121 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro, and Sam Bankman-Fried, Co-Founder of FTX and Alameda Research.Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn, Athletic GreensAbout TronFounded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provides a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com.About LednLedn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.ioAbout Athletic GreensBuild a Foundation for Better Health. It’s time to reclaim your health and arm your immune system with convenient, daily nutrition! Fill nutrient gaps, promote gut health, and support whole-body vitality with AG1. One daily serving delivers a potent blend of 9 health products—a multivitamin, minerals, probiotics, adaptogens and more—working together to help you feel like your healthiest self. For more information visit AthleticGreens.com/Scoop

In 2020, Cowen Digital formed to allow institutional customers of the investment bank Cowen to trade digital assets. The digital arm has been growing steadily in its eight months of existence, despite the onset of crypto winter.In this episode of The Scoop, Cowen Digital managing director and head Drew Forman explains how the crypto industry can rebuild in the wake of FTX’s meltdown, as well as what it will take to repair trust in the space among institutional investors.According to Forman, many of Cowen’s institutional clients are “getting the pipes ready” to take part in crypto’s next wave. But regulatory clarity is still needed before large, sophisticated institutions get involved. Forman explains:“I welcome a set of rules ahead of time that we all look to abide by — and hopefully that allows the big institutional investors with the trillion dollar balance sheets to start allocating to the space.”The SEC and DOJ are currently examining FTX’s case, and the CFTC chair’s is set to appear before the Senate Agriculture Committee on December 1 to testify on the exchange’s collapse.Episode 120 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro, and Drew Forman, Managing Partner and Head of Cowen Digital.Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, LednAbout TronFounded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provides a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com.About LednLedn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

As the crypto market struggles to gain its footing in the wake of FTX’s demise, sweeping layoffs have thinned the ranks of many companies.In this episode of The Scoop, Rob Paone, founder and CEO of crypto recruiting firm Proof of Talent, shares his perspective on how the crypto hiring landscape has changed during the bear market.According to Paone, the current dynamic between job seekers and prospective employers is much more balanced than it was last year:“It's not 100% a company market right now… but it is a lot more equal than six to twelve months ago — it was a totally candidate-driven market of individuals naming their price and going wherever they wanted with multiple offers.”Paone says that candidates with technical skills should still be able to find plenty of opportunities: “The easiest transition for a lot of people is technical roles — there is a huge demand still for engineering talent…the non-technical roles can get a little bit more challenging.”Episode 119 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro, and Rob Paone, Founder and CEO of Proof of Talent.Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, LednAbout TronFounded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first-class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provides a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com.About LednLedn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

In the fourth installment of The Scoop’s continued coverage of FTX's demise, host Frank Chaparro examines the legal underpinnings of FTX’s bankruptcy and restructuring process with Dan Besikof, a partner at the law firm Loeb & Loeb, and Mark Shapiro, Chair of the Financial Restructuring Group and a partner at the law firm of Shearman & Sterling. In 2008, Shapiro served as the Head of Restructuring for Lehman Brothers, where he guided the sale of the firm's U.S. assets in chapter 11.According to Besikof, FTX’s fiduciary will likely attempt to bring money back into the estate through lawsuits:“One of the things that they're going to look at is where did money go out where value didn't come back, and to the extent money went out and value didn't come back, that's a natural target for a fraudulent conveyance lawsuit or a fraudulent transfer lawsuit.”FTX has notified a federal judge it wants BitGo to custody its $740 million worth of digital assets.While the exact situation of FTX’s finances is still uncertain, Shapiro says the sheer amount of money lost by FTX users is likely to prompt regulators to take a more proactive approach going forward:“Now that it's become so public and so much money has been lost, I think the paternalistic side of the government is going to take over and try to do something about protecting investors.”Episode 118 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro, Dan Besikof, a Partner at Loeb & Loeb, and Mark Shapiro, a Partner at Shearman & Sterling.Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, LednAbout TronFounded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provides a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com.About LednLedn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

Web3 investment firm CoinFund recently launched a $300 million fund targeting early-stage crypto and web3 startups.In this episode of The Scoop, CoinFund Managing Partner David Pakman shares how this fund fits into CoinFund’s broader investment thesis for crypto and web3, including why the fund is specifically targeting early-stage startups.The new fund is intended for new crypto startups already showing signs of success. As Pakman explains,“We saw a lot of seed-stage companies graduating to have real progress and we wanted to invest in that stage too, so we raised a fund purposefully to invest at the Series A, maybe Series B stage of crypto projects that are showing some traction.”While CoinFund is also looking to raise an additional $250 million fund specifically for seed-stage investments, Pakman says the early-stage investments typically see the most value creation:“A company is showing a little bit of progress, they may be showing some evidence of product market fit, and they're going to raise — not growth capital yet — but, you know, ten to fifteen million dollars… the steepest part of the value creation can happen just after that moment.”Episode 117 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and CoinFund Managing Partner David Pakman.Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, LednAbout TronFounded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provides a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com.About LednLedn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

Aptos, a new Layer 1 blockchain originating from the Facebook blockchain initiative Libra (later renamed 'Diem'), recently launched its mainnet.The architecture behind Aptos was designed to serve millions of people at scale and uses the Move programming language originally intended for Libra.In this episode of The Scoop, Aptos Co-Founders Mohammed Shaikh and Avery Ching explain why they believe Aptos empowers developers to build faster, more secure applications, and why applications built on Aptos will help onboard millions of users into web3.According to Ching, experiences built on Aptos will look and feel more like what users are accustomed to on existing Web2 platforms:“When we think about what's going to onboard people into web3 from web2, one thing that people are used to in web2 is extremely good latency for their products … being able to see those same kinds of experiences in web3 through the Aptos network is something that will be very powerful.”In addition to user experience, the Move language offers developers a Rust-based alternative to Solana — something some teams who were developing on Solana are currently exploring.  While vulnerabilities in smart contracts have cost DeFi projects billions of dollars, the Aptos co-founders claim the Move language allows for fewer vulnerabilities. As Shaikh explains,“Making sure that engineers or product managers who are excited about a use case aren't thwarted by having to deal with smart contract complexity and worry about auditability — that’s really meaningful to us.”Episode 116 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Kevin Peng, and Aptos Co-Founders Avery Ching and Mohammed Shaikh.Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, LednAbout TronFounded in 2013, Huobi Global is one of the largest virtual asset exchanges in the world. Huobi Global serves millions of users across international markets. Since its establishment, Huobi Global has committed to providing first class virtual asset investment services. Huobi Global's robust infrastructure, product innovation and capital strength provides a truly customer-centric and secure trading environment to help our international users to achieve their investment objectives. Please refer to Huobi's official website for more information: huobi.com.About LednLedn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.io

In this venture capital-focused segment of The Scoop, CoinShare Chief Strategy Officer Meltem Demirors and Aglaé Ventures Managing Partner Vanessa Grellet explain which crypto verticals are oversaturated, and examine how market dynamics have changed since last year.Although the crypto industry has experienced many boom-and-bust cycles before, Demirors says “2021 will be one of the worst years for crypto venture returns.”Demirors explains that one of the reasons for this is a mismatch in block space supply and demand that was created during the proliferation of competing Layer 1 blockchains last year:“We're seeing that now with all of these overfunded L1s — there's just more block space than there is demand for block space.”Instead of mimicking existing successful projects, Grellet suggests that up-and-coming crypto projects should identify how they plan to differentiate themselves early on:“The question is, if you are a new platform coming into space or a new marketplace, what is distinctive that you bring that will allow for the end user to come to your platform rather than going to the existing incumbents?”Episode 115 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block's Frank Chaparro, CoinShares CSO Meltem Demirors, and Aglaé Ventures' Managing Partner Vanessa Grellet.Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests can be sent to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn, Athletic GreensAbout TronTRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |About LednLedn was founded on the unshakeable conviction that digital assets have the power to democratize access to the global economy. We help you to experience the real life benefits of your Bitcoin without having to sell it. Start a savings account, take out a loan, or double your Bitcoin. For more information visit Ledn.ioAbout Athletic GreensBuild a Foundation for Better Health. It’s time to reclaim your health and arm your immune system with convenient, daily nutrition! Fill nutrient gaps, promote gut health, and support whole-body vitality with AG1. One daily serving delivers a potent blend of 9 health products—a multivitamin, minerals, probiotics, adaptogens and more—working together to help you feel like your healthiest self. For more information visit AthleticGreens.com/Scoop