This week, we have a bonus episode where Jacquelyn and TechCrunch+ Editor in Chief Alex Wilhelm interviewed Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins.Pudgy Penguins, originally known for its flagship collection of 8,888 NFTs that began in 2021 has expanded beyond that into a “IP and brand development company” after Luca bought the project for $2.5 million and took over as CEO in April 2022.For context, Pudgy Penguins digital collectibles have generated over $400 million in transaction volume since release. That early success in the NFT market has now been parlayed into the creation of an open-world digital player experience called Pudgy World, which integrates blockchain technology from Ethereum and zkSync Era, and through its toy line, Pudgy Toys, that launched back in May.We discussed with Luca how those toys launched in 2,000 Walmart stores across the U.S. and Smyths, one of the biggest toy stores in the United Kingdom; in addition to prior launches in Five Below, Amazon, Hot Topic and others stores. We also talked about: Economics of toys Monetizing NFTs long termDemand for Pudgy ToysBringing web3 to the real worldFuture plans for its digital world Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Tiago Sada, head of product for Tools for Humanity and core contributor to Worldcoin, at TechCrunch’s Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco.Tools for Humanity, which is the team building Worldcoin, raised $115 million in a Series C round back in May with investors like Blockchain Capital, a16z, Bain Capital Crypto and Distributed Global. In March 2022, Worldcoin raised $100 million at a $3 billion valuation.The project was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman with a three part mission to create a global ID, a global currency and an app that enables payments, purchases and transfers with its token. Worldcoin has been on a world tour since April, hitting major cities like Tokyo, Miami, New York City and San Francisco. It has also set up shop in major cities in countries like Kenya, India and China. We dive into why someone would scan their eyes, alternate options and privacy concerns some skeptics have about the project. We also talked about: Global adoption of Worldcoin Kenya 'indefinitely’’ pausing Worldcoin iris scansProjects’ biggest challenges for growth How AI can fit into Worldcoin Future opportunities and roadmaps Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn did a live interview with Chris Lehane, chief strategy officer at Haun Ventures, at TechCrunch’s Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco.Prior to joining the firm, Chris was an executive at Airbnb. He also co-founded a strategic consultancy firm, Fabiani & Lehane, that advised political, corporate, technology, entertainment and professional sports clients. In the 1990s, Chris held various government roles like press secretary to Vice President Al Gore and was special assistant counsel to President Bill Clinton.After a number of decades working across different industries, Chris landed in the world of crypto at Haun Ventures, a web3-focused venture capital firm that has two investment vehicles: a $500 million early stage fund and a $1 billion acceleration fund. Aside from Haun, he is also a member of Coinbase's Global Advisory Council.We discussed Haun’s investment strategy amid U.S. and global regulatory challenges, how the firm advises portfolio companies to navigate the ever changing environment and whether Chris find’s the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s regulation tactics productive, among other things. Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn is sharing a panel she moderated live at Avalanche House, while she was in Seoul, South Korea for Korea Blockchain Week. The panel focused on the biggest opportunities and challenges facing web3 enterprise and included the following speakers:Dan Sun, startup success manager for web3 APAC lead at Google Cloud Gagan Mac, head of product and senior director of web3 services at Circle Johann Eid, chief business officer at ChainlinkLihan Lee, co-CEO and founder of XangleWe discussed the state of web3 enterprise adoption today compared to past quarters and years and dove into the ripple effects that catastrophic events from 2022 had on the space. We also talked about: Regulatory scrutiny Next wave of enterprise adoption New web3 enterprise use cases Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotif,  or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Welcome to Chain Reaction. A podcast that unpacks and dives deep into the latest trends, drama and news in crypto with some of the biggest names in the industry to break things down block by block for the crypto curious. For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Charlie Shrem, founder of the Bitcoin Foundation, general partner at Druid Ventures and host of the Charlie Shrem show.Before all that, he was the co-founder and CEO of BitInstant which was a bitcoin payment processor that started in 2011. Shortly after founding the company, he was charged with operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and for allegedly attempting to launder over $1 million through the now defunct dark web marketplace Silk Road. He spent a little over a year in a low-security prison as a result. Now, Charlie is a vocal advocate for clearer crypto regulation, he’s a crypto investor, podcaster, and even a movie producer.We discussed how the bitcoin and crypto ecosystem have changed (and stayed the same) over the past decade as well as how his incarceration shaped his view on the industry. We also talked about: Need for regulatory clarity in U.S. Crypto projects and sectors he’s followingHow the bitcoin ecosystem is growing Friend.techAdvice for listenersChain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.