Unchained Podcast: "Uneasy Money: Why Crypto Still Can't Overcome Its ICO Struggles"

Host: Laura Shin
Date: January 23, 2026
Panelists:

• King Warick
• Taylor (Security at MetaMask)
• Luca (CEO of Pudgy Penguins)

Episode Overview

In this episode of "Uneasy Money," the panel unpacks the recurring disasters of crypto token launches, with a focus on the Trove token ICO fiasco, the cyclical failures of new fundraising paradigms, and the persistent struggles with transparency, scams, and broken trust mechanisms in the crypto ecosystem. They also dissect InfoFi’s demise on X (formerly Twitter), the limits of using payments as spam deterrents, and the ongoing challenges and transitions of major crypto infrastructure projects.

The discussion is frank, animated, and delivered in a builders-and-degens’ tone—heavy on skepticism, some frustration, but always attentive to deeper lessons and cautionary tales for anyone mired in or observing crypto’s on-chain circus.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trove Token ICO Fiasco & the Repeating ICO Cycle

[03:17–14:17]

• What happened with Trove:

  • Trove, aiming to become a perpetual futures market based on collectibles, held an ICO raising $11.5M.
  • The process was messy: oversubscription, confusing (and partial) refunds, a last-minute pivot to Solana, and a launch price that crashed instantly—“worse than a meme coin.”
  • Reports surfaced of aggressive paid KOL campaigns, and at least one KOL refused to participate due to lack of transparency regarding paid promotion.

• Quote:

  • "How is it that we can't figure out a fucking way to sell tokens to people and not have it just blow up immediately?" —King Warick [08:36]

• Deep, recurring problems:

  • Crypto keeps repeating its mistakes: ICOs, then IDOs, now “return to ICOs”—always with catastrophic launches for retail.
  • No equivalent to traditional investment banks (e.g., JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs) exists in crypto to steer launches and manage risk/hype.
  • Projects without knowledgeable partners or experienced advisors “get smoked every time.”

• Product vs. mechanics:

  • Panelists like the idea of tokenized collectibles but emphasize that technical and market realities—like illiquidity and the manipulability of price oracles—make execution nearly impossible.

• Quote:

  • "If someone tells you they're going to perp something that's completely illiquid, the person is most likely retarded… there are so many challenges." —King Warick [11:22]

2. Influencers, Hype, and the ICO Hype Machine

[14:17–19:15]

• KOL-led paid hype:

  • Projects are increasingly bypassing VCs in favor of mass FOMO campaigns led by crypto influencers on X.
  • This isn’t more equitable: it's simply a new form of extractive insider game.

• Panel skepticism:

  • Panelists suggest treating any “new meta”—like perps on collectibles—as a red flag, especially when it’s paired with paid hype.
  • Anti-VC sentiment feels justified but ends up funneling users into even more extractive games (meme coins, pump-and-dumps).

• Quote:

  • "If 95% of the KOLs are in agreement about something and there’s no dissent...that is a crazy paid campaign being run on you." —King Warick [18:14]

3. Alternatives to VCs: The Failure of Echo Groups

[20:55–24:04]

• Echo group failures:

  • Community investing groups (Echo) were meant to democratize access but quickly degraded into yield farms for organizers, with poor deal selection and carry fees rivaling VCs.
  • The supposed wisdom of the crowd was not superior to the expertise of seasoned angels or VCs.

• Lesson:

  • Every new system succumbs to perverse incentives over time, and mass participation doesn’t guarantee better outcomes—often the opposite.

4. InfoFi and Micro-Incentivized Noise on Social Platforms

[26:04–34:04]

• InfoFi’s rise and demise (and X’s role):

  • InfoFi let users “grind” for points/cash by replying on X, incentivizing massive paid and botted engagement (“yapping” for dollars).
  • X detected and nuked InfoFi, showing it is finally aware of crypto’s promotional metas infecting its user base.

• Transparency paradox:

  • When paid engagement was public, manipulation was visible. Now, with private deals, shilling will continue—just less visibly.

• Quote:

  • "Stop incentivizing people to be butts on the Internet. Okay? Thank you." —Taylor [33:54]

5. The Futility of Monetary Disincentives for Spam/Scam Mitigation

[34:11–58:30]

• Micropayments don’t deter bad actors:

  • Attempting to curb spam by charging for replies/emails historically fails—spammers are ROI-driven and legitimate users are simply priced out.
  • Transparent ledgers and public transactions enable address-poisoning attacks, as scammers can precisely target users about to move large amounts of money.

• Quote:

  • "You cannot successfully block out scammers, spammers, whatever. You just can't. With financial stuff, there has to be other stuff. And the second you do try to block them with financial means, you just destroy every legitimate user." —Taylor [57:39]

• Security anecdotes:

  • Luca tells a story of a sophisticated scam that intercepted an investment via address poisoning, resulting in a million-dollar loss for a VC. The lesson: never copy addresses from transaction history, always use address books, and never rely on surface UIs that prioritize unfiltered transaction history.
  • Taylor stresses the importance of user interface choices in wallet software for blocking exposure to address poisoning.

6. The Rise and Fall of Social Experiments: Farcaster, Nar, and the Problem with Social Crypto Apps

[35:50–49:21]

• Farcaster acquired by Nar:

  • Despite a $150M raise, Farcaster failed to break incumbent social giants’ network effects and was acquired by an infra builder.
  • The panel praises the risk—social apps warrant big, bold investment—but acknowledge the project learned painful lessons about echo chambers and scaling beyond a tech-native crowd.

• Key insight:

  • Real social innovation will come from drastically lower building costs and smaller teams, unleashing experimentation. Incumbents’ network effects remain daunting.

• Tipping and monetization as a killer feature:

  • Panelists argue that seamless, peer-to-peer payments/tipping (as implemented by their own apps) is still an underutilized killer feature only enabled by crypto.

• Quote:

  • "One of the greatest things about tokenization is the ability to take intangible things and make them tangible... if you assess the opportunity there, what is one of the most valuable intangible things? My answer is influence." —Luca [44:34]

7. The Chains That Stalled: Cosmos and the Pain of Building Away from EVM Standards

[61:28–67:21]

• Cosmos’ predicament:

  • The chain is technically solid but suffers from fragmentation, lack of network effects, and far less developer traction than EVM-based chains.
  • Moving from Cosmos to EVM-compatible stacks is now the clear trend, as developer experience and user base are decisive.

• Quote:

  • "No one uses it. No one cares. It’s a meme..." —King Warick on Cosmos [62:37]

8. Code is Law? The Paradox Rollback and Shifting Norms Around Immutable Contracts

[68:26–76:23]

• Paradox chain rollback:

  • A disastrous database migration led to a rollback to protect users (with the bug even, comically, taking Bitcoin to zero in the virtual world).
  • The community’s acceptance of pragmatic rollbacks signifies shifting norms: immutability is less sacred, user recovery is now respected.

• Quote:

  • "If you can and you choose not to, and you do all these mental gymnastics to basically morally justify you not taking an obviously good action... you're never going to build and ship anything of value if you're that disconnected from your people and your product.” —Taylor [72:40]

• Caveats:

  • True immutability is still a green flag, but most projects operate between fully immutable and fully mutable, and a pragmatic fix is now less taboo.

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On why crypto can't get launches right:

  • “It’s insane. It’s completely insane. Like, how is it that we can’t figure out a fucking way to sell tokens to people and not have it just blow up immediately?" —King Warick [08:36]

• On paid campaigns and false consensus:

  • “If 95% of the KOLs are in agreement about something and there’s no dissent...that is a crazy paid campaign that is being run on you right now.” —King Warick [18:14]

• On the futility of using payments to deter spam:

  • "You cannot successfully block out like threat actors, scammers, spammers, whatever… you just destroy every legitimate user." —Taylor [57:39]

• On tipping and influence as crypto’s killer app:

  • “One of the greatest things about tokenization is the ability to take intangible things and make them tangible... My answer is influence.” —Luca [44:34]

• On the shifting meta of rollbacks and “code is law” philosophy:

  • "If you can and you choose not to... to basically morally justify you not taking an obviously good action. I'm sorry, like you're avoidant. You're not good at building, you're not good at shipping, you're never going deliver value to people...” —Taylor [72:40]

Important Timestamps

• 03:17 — Trove Token & ICO Failures
• 08:36 — Rant: “Why can’t we launch tokens right?”
• 14:17 — Patterns of Hype and Influence
• 18:14 — KOL Red Flags
• 26:04 — InfoFi: Monetizing Social Engagement on X
• 33:54 — “Stop incentivizing people to be butts on the Internet.”
• 34:11–58:30 — Security, Spam, and Micropayments Doomed to Fail
• 61:28 — Cosmos Chain’s Downward Spiral
• 68:26 — Paradox Rollback & Code is Law, Revisited

Summary Takeaways

The episode is a candid, sometimes exasperated reflection on how crypto continues to reinvent new ways to repeat old mistakes. Whether discussing paid campaigns, another failed launch, or clumsy attempts at incentive design, the hosts see history echoing—scams flourishing, trust broken, and users left holding the bag. Yet, their spirit is not entirely cynical; they hold out hope for innovation in tough problems like on-chain engagement, truly fair token launches, and the elusive quest for a new social network model—if only the lessons of the past can be heeded.