CRYPTO 101 Ep. 687: Reunion with Aaron Malone/Pizza Mind: A Journey Through Science and Crypto

Release Date: November 1, 2025
Hosts: Bryce Paul & Brendan Viehman
Guest: Aaron “Pizza Mind” Malone

Episode Overview

This reunion episode features Aaron "Pizza Mind" Malone, former co-host of Crypto 101, chronicling his post-podcast adventures and his current mission to merge science and crypto for global good. The conversation journeys through Aaron’s travels, the rise of “DeSci” (Decentralized Science), his new project Unbound Science, and the state of crypto and scientific innovation—highlighting challenges, opportunities, and the philosophical stakes of building outside traditional systems.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Aaron Malone’s Global Journey and Edge City

• [01:30–04:57] Aaron recounts his travels since leaving the podcast:
  • Visited Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Brazil, Panama; currently in Patagonia, Argentina, at “Edge City”—a pop-up AI-governed community of 300+ innovators from Web3, science, and finance.
  • Edge City focuses on blending AI, Web3, and scientific collaboration outside traditional institutional structures.

Quote:

“It feels so good to be home. I’ve missed you guys so much...I’ve been all over the world...at a pop-up state called Edge City. It’s a gathering of about 300 people from web3, from science, from finance...figuring out how to change the world.”
—Aaron Malone, [01:00]

2. DeSci: Decentralizing Scientific Research

• [04:57–08:38] Aaron’s revelation about how blockchains and DAOs enable open-source science:
  • Traditional science is slow and siloed, locked behind NDAs/patents; open-source and decentralized approaches could break down barriers and accelerate innovation.
  • Inspired by early conversations in Miami in 2022 about sharing data to spur collaboration—notable DAOs like Molecule and VitaDAO grew from these roots.

Quote:

“If we were to work together and share our data, maybe we could make advancements a lot faster. And that’s where blockchain and decentralized storage comes in…”
—Aaron Malone, [03:45]

3. The “Good, Bad, and Ugly” in Science

• [08:34–12:53] Exploring the actors who hold back progress:
  • Good: Most scientists are impact-driven, but stymied by institutional gatekeepers.
  • Bad: Wealthy donors, university endowments, and entrenched interests silo research, punish dissent, and sometimes even threaten disruptors.
  • Ugly: Government suppression of inventions via the Invention Secrecy Act (~6,000 ideas withheld since 1952)—creating artificial scarcity.

Quote:

“If you say the wrong thing, or you step on the wrong person’s toes...not only could your career be over, you may get a knock on the door threatening your life if you’re lucky. Some people are not so lucky...just eliminated.”
—Aaron Malone, [09:42]

4. How Blockchain Can Rescue Innovation

• [12:53–17:00] Example of Plastine—an innovation threatened by Big Oil—highlighting why publishing on blockchain might save disruptive science from being suppressed.
  • New energy solutions and clean tech (“version two” energy: mini-reactors, hydrogen modules) are ready, but face big business obstacles and require creative collaboration for adoption.

Quote:

“The only reason that we don’t have many thorium and fission reactors and zero point energy devices...is because of big oil.”
—Aaron Malone, [13:51]

5. Regulatory Fears & Philosophical Resistance

• [17:00–22:17] Discussion of regulatory hurdles for disruptive tech and Aaron's rationale for staying outside the U.S. for Unbound Science.
  • Advocates for piracy and open-sourcing blueprints (cf. BitTorrent for technology) to outpace suppression and force incumbents to adapt.
  • Ultimate vision: abundance through energy leads to “replicator” technology that could end scarcity-driven conflict.

Quote:

“Why should we pay attention to a patent system from a government that will literally steal any idea it wants, suppress any idea it wants, and follow the law when it wants to and doesn’t want to?”
—Aaron Malone, [18:38]

6. The Unbound Science Project: Blueprint for Decentralized Invention

• [21:31–30:22]
  • Unbound Science gives inventors/tools to share blueprints, videos, and research in an open, crypto-funded way.
  • Process: Scientists submit materials, seek USDC donations or philanthropic funding, and rely on the community (with Unite tokens) to vote and fund projects.
  • Monetization: Open-source “free” versions for individuals, paid licenses/support for governments/corporates—a model akin to Red Hat in open source.

Quote:

“Here’s these donation pools. Anyone can donate to them in USDC...and then the community gets to use the Unite tokens and vote on what they want brought into the world.”
—Aaron Malone, [25:18]

7. Comparing Unbound to Other DeSci Projects

• [30:22–32:29]
  • Contrast to Molecule, VitaDAO, Bio Protocol: Most DeSci projects are research/libraries; Unbound focuses on post-research, hands-on inventors, pushing projects to real-world impact, not just publications.

Quote:

“We’re focused on inventors that are getting their hands dirty, as opposed to researchers that just want to publish a paper and hope somebody else actually does the work later.”
—Aaron Malone, [31:18]

8. Crypto Ecosystem Critique & Evolution

• [36:36–39:07]
  • Skepticism about current cycle's meme coins and projects launching with inflated valuations and little interest in delivering long-term value.
  • Many projects set up for founders/investors to exit, with retail holding the bag.
  • Legacy-building and real utility should be paramount in crypto.

Quote:

“Both retail and institutional investors have intentionally gone towards putting their money in scams and memes and things that aren’t meant to deliver long term value...so many of these things just aren’t going to survive because they’re not meant to.”
—Aaron Malone, [37:52]

9. Team Building, Roadmap & New Unbound Features

• [39:07–44:17]
  • Aaron remains semi-nomadic, building a global, serendipitous network.
  • Unbound launching alpha at DevConnect, November 2025.
  • Upcoming features: global collaboration tools, AI translation, peer review, IP fractionalization, “game show” for funding, token mining, and even Degen trading tools (Freaking Fun) that funnel trading revenue to scientific research.

Quote:

“We want to build a collaboration whiteboard...AI translation tools...AI peer review...and have a game show module that decides how the donation pools get distributed and we want to have that game show live at CES every year.”
—Aaron Malone, [41:37]

10. Advice for Builders & the Rise of “Vibe Coding”

• [44:53–47:02]
  • AI tools now enable anyone to build software by “vibe coding”—explaining ideas in plain English for automated development.
  • The critical future skill is not programming but vision and communication.

Quote:

“Vibe coding is one of the things that is going to be the most impactful...you can create a simple website or a simple app simply just by typing in human language...instead of months or years, it’s literally done in minutes.”
—Aaron Malone, [44:53]

11. Macro Reflections: Trust, Collapse, and Human Nature

• [47:02–56:11]
  • Aaron’s work at Edge City reinforces focus on society-resilient tools (voting, smart city logistics).
  • Lessons from currency collapse in Argentina highlight why sound money matters and why global decentralization is necessary.
  • On food quality, science, and a call to always question, never accept “settled” truths.

Quote:

“That’s the whole point of science, is to keep proving things wrong and evolving. We’re not supposed to ever stop.”
—Aaron Malone, [55:33]

Notable and Memorable Moments

• Aaron’s travels and perspectives from Edge City (01:30–04:57)
• The “Invention Secrecy Act”: “This act has been invoked over 6,000 times to steal work from scientists. That’s the ugly truth right there.” [11:32]
• Blueprint piracy as resistance: “We want to pirate this stuff so it’s not just being produced in one little lab somewhere, but thousands of people...so it can’t be stopped.” [19:12]
• Nostalgic reflection: “What a long way we’ve come...little tiny 10 by 10 foot bedroom in Mission Beach.” [57:36]
• Aaron holding up stacks of nearly worthless Argentinian pesos as a lesson on fiat collapse (50:48–52:34)

Key Timestamps

• 01:30 – Aaron describes his journey since leaving the podcast, Edge City, and global Web3 communities.
• 03:45 – The origins of Decentralized Science (DeSci).
• 08:34 – The “good, bad, and ugly” in science: gatekeepers and suppression.
• 14:08 – The coming wave of mini-reactors, energy abundance, and corporate partnerships.
• 18:12 – Regulatory fears; why Unbound Science avoids U.S. incorporation.
• 25:48 – How Unbound Science operates for scientists and backers.
• 30:38 – Comparison with Molecule, VitaDAO, and other DeSci projects.
• 41:37 – Unbound’s roadmap: new features, collaborative tools, and funding mechanics.
• 44:53 – Advice for builders: rise of AI-powered “vibe coding.”
• 50:48 – Real-world lesson: the collapse of the Argentine peso.
• 55:01 – Science as continuous questioning; never accepting “settled” conclusions.

Closing Thoughts & Takeaways

Aaron Malone’s journey echoes the podcast’s mission: arming retail investors (and now scientists) with the tools to disrupt entrenched systems. Unbound Science represents a bold, open-source, crypto-powered vision to liberate scientific innovation from gatekeepers, just as Bitcoin did for money.

Final Quote:

“We’re not here to be comfortable. We’re here to grow. We’re here to learn skills. We’re here to improve things and improve ourselves as much as possible. I think that’s what we’re supposed to be doing at the moment.”
—Aaron Malone, [56:15]

Connect with Aaron & Unbound Science:

• Twitter: @UnboundScience
• Medium: medium.com/boundscience
• Telegram: Links in show notes