Crypto Curious

This week in crypto we've got hackers who stole $320 million in Bitcoin… then gave most of it back and asked for a $47 million thank-you payment.

Yep. Apparently even crypto criminals are negotiating their bounties now.

We've also got Jack Dorsey making the ultimate establishment move — Block has applied for a US banking charter to custody Bitcoin and stablecoins. Because apparently the road to decentralisation now goes through the banking regulator.

And finally, the LAPTOP update we've been waiting for. Hunter Biden's memecoin launched, briefly rocketed to a $1.6 billion implied market cap… and then crashed 98% in its first hour. And the wallet trail behind it is raising a few eyebrows.

So: polite hackers, Bitcoin banks and another celebrity memecoin spectacular.

Let's get into it 🚀

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TIMESTAMPS

2:18 Hackers stole $320m then asked for $47m for returning it
6:05 Block has filed with the banking regulator for a banking license
8:00 Laptop flop!
10:14 Short, sharp news bites

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Show notes:
2-minute survey
Curious about our app? Try out the new Bamboo demo mode.
OR try our new Micro-Investment Calculator
Have you subscribed to the Crypto Curious Newsletter?

****
If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

Follow the Crypto Curious Instagram here.
Join the Crypto Curious Facebook Group here.

*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's never a dull week in crypto, folks.

First up, Hunter Biden is launching a memecoin called LAPTOP — aimed squarely at people who've lost money on the Trump memecoin. And the timing is pretty extraordinary, because memecoin trading is roaring back, with Robinhood Chain posting record volumes.

Then, Bitcoin miners are quitting Bitcoin for AI. Some of the biggest players in the industry are shutting down mining operations and turning their power-hungry warehouses over to AI — because apparently GPUs are now a better business than Bitcoin.

And finally, El Salvador's Bitcoin mystery deepens. The IMF says the country's Bitcoin stash has continued growing thanks to private donations... from donors who, so far, nobody seems willing to name.

Let's get into it 🚀

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TIMESTAMPS

3:04 Sleepy Joe's son is launching a memecoin called LAPTOP
8:09 Hyperscale Data is quitting Bitcoin for AI
11:27 El Salvador mystery deepens
14:14 Short, sharp news bites

****

Show notes:
2-minute survey
Curious about our app? Try out the new Bamboo demo mode.
OR try our new Micro-Investment Calculator
Have you subscribed to the Crypto Curious Newsletter?

****
If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

Follow the Crypto Curious Instagram here.
Join the Crypto Curious Facebook Group here.

*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we've got a very special guest joining us for this week's crypto news — Peter Stanhope, General Manager Australia at Nexo.

Peter has spent almost a decade at IG Australia, co-founded superannuation startup GigSuper, ran Capital.com's Australian operations, jumped the fence into crypto with Banxa, and now heads up Nexo here in Australia — just as they've launched regulated crypto-backed credit lines Down Under.
Welcome, Peter!

So what have we got for you this week?

First up, we're going inside Nexo with Peter to find out how a crypto platform went from a 2018 startup to more than 7 million customers — and what regulated crypto-backed lending actually looks like for Australians.

Then, California has had enough of politician memecoins. Its legislature has unanimously voted to ban public officials from launching their own coins — because apparently this is a problem we now need laws for.

And finally, we've got 4,000 goats, an insane wage law and a prediction market. A California goat-herding company has literally hedged the risk of a $240,000 wage bill by betting on whether the government will fix the law.

Let's get into it. 🚀

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TIMESTAMPS

1:28 Nexo's story
10:48 California bans memecoins from politicians
14:00 Goat herders make a stand on Kalshi
18;20 Short, sharp news bites

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Show notes:
Nexo | Linkedin | X
2-minute survey
Curious about our app? Try out the new Bamboo demo mode.
OR try our new Micro-Investment Calculator
Have you subscribed to the Crypto Curious Newsletter?

****
If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

Follow the Crypto Curious Instagram here.
Join the Crypto Curious Facebook Group here.

*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm Blake, and Tracey is taking a break this week, but you're not stuck with just me. We've got two great co-hosts joining us.

First, a returning favourite, seasoned digital asset investor Ben Ritchie is back on the show. And making his debut behind the mic, James Brannan.

And before we get into it, a quick favour: we'd love you to take our two-minute listener survey. Your feedback genuinely helps us make the show better, and there's a link in the show notes.
Now, Ben and James, you've picked quite a week to jump behind the mic.

Bitcoin has absolutely ripped. After months of grinding sideways and down, it jumped 22% in a single week, going from around $64,000 to almost $80,000 — its best week since 2023.
And this wasn't just one thing.

The US Treasury started pumping more liquidity into the market. Trump invited one of crypto's biggest offshore exchanges to come into America. And the SEC just proposed its first crypto-specific fundraising framework in 90 years.

So, what's actually going on? Let's get into it 🚀

****

Show notes:
2-minute survey
Curious about our app? Try out the new Bamboo demo mode.
OR try our new Micro-Investment Calculator
Have you subscribed to the Crypto Curious Newsletter?

****
If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

Follow the Crypto Curious Instagram here.
Join the Crypto Curious Facebook Group here.

*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Crypto Curious, we're fresh off our 1 million download celebration - and what a week to get back to the news desk. Thank you again for all the love on the reunion episode; now the crypto world has served up one of the wildest news weeks of the year.

👉🏼 First, XRP has fallen below $1 for the first time in almost 2 years - and the trigger was a hack that took just 97 minutes. We unpack how a flaw in a little-known bridge let attackers drain almost every coin it held, and why such a small exploit managed to rattle an already nervous market.

👉🏼 Then, a story with a genuine constitutional twist. New York has sued prediction market Kalshi for a staggering $36 billion, claiming it's running an unlicensed gambling operation - while the federal regulator has fired back with an emergency order telling Kalshi to keep operating anyway. One company, 2 governments, completely opposite instructions. The courts now have to decide who's actually in charge.

👉🏼 And finally, a sentence that would have sounded like satire not long ago: the Trump family's crypto firm is on its way to becoming a bank. World Liberty Financial has won conditional approval for a federal trust bank charter - we explain what that actually means, why critics are calling it "the most brazen act of self-dealing" in financial history, and why crypto firms everywhere are queuing up for banking licenses.

Plus, the short sharp news bites, including the US state where running a Bitcoin ATM can now land you in jail.

Let's get into it 🚀

****

Show notes:
Curious about our app? Try out the new Bamboo demo mode.
OR try our new Micro-Investment Calculator
Have you subscribed to the Crypto Curious Newsletter?

****
If you’re enjoying these episodes please subscribe to our podcast on your preferred platform, leave a review, or share this episode with a friend or family member.

If you want to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold & Silver, you can download the Bamboo app here. Use the code CURIOUS for $10 in BTC when you sign up.

Follow the Crypto Curious Instagram here.
Join the Crypto Curious Facebook Group here.

*****

In the spirit of reconciliation, Crypto Curious acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

*****

This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs, or objectives.

Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.