The Chopping Block: Crypto as a Public Good, Tornado Cash Ruling, and SEC’s New Direction - Ep. 772

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, and Tom Schmidt chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we're joined by special guest Peter Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of Coin Center, to tackle one of the most pivotal moments in crypto policy. In this episode, we dive into the groundbreaking Fifth Circuit ruling on Tornado Cash, unpack its implications for blockchain privacy, and discuss the challenges noncustodial developers like Roman Storm are facing. We also break down Trump’s crypto executive order, the SEC’s new direction under Hester Peirce, and speculate on what a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve might mean for the future.
Show highlights
🔹 Crypto as a Public Good: Why open, permissionless technologies need protection—and how Coin Center defends them.
🔹 Tornado Cash Ruling: The Fifth Circuit overturns OFAC sanctions—what this means for blockchain privacy and freedoms.
🔹 Roman Storm Case: DOJ’s controversial crackdown on noncustodial developers and its implications for innovation.
🔹 Trump’s Crypto EO: Breaking down the ban on CBDCs and the push for U.S. leadership in digital assets.
🔹 SEC’s New Direction: Hester Peirce’s crypto task force and the future of enforcement and regulation.
🔹 CFTC vs. SEC: Will Congress resolve the jurisdiction battle over crypto markets?
🔹 Senate Banking’s Subcommittee: How Senator Lummis could lead a new era of crypto-friendly policy.
🔹 Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: Speculating on what a U.S. Bitcoin reserve might look like.
🔹 2025 Regulatory Outlook: How shifting policies could redefine crypto’s future.
Hosts
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly

Guest:
⭐️Peter Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of Coin Center
Disclosures

Timestamps -
00:00 Intro
01:34 Coin Center & Crypto as a Public Good
05:04 Crypto Policy Shifts & Trump's Executive Order
16:11 Senate Banking Digital Assets Subcommittee
20:20 SEC Crypto Task Force
32:10 Hester Peirce's Safe Harbor Proposal
35:43 Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: Expectations and Realities
41:12 Tornado Cash & OFAC Sanctions
45:28 Legal Implications for Noncustodial Developers
57:51 Future of Crypto Regulation & Coin Center's Role
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