BREAKDOWN: Why Crypto's 'Rogue State' Narrative is a Risk to the Industry
Blockchain conferences in Iran plus Iran-focused hedge funds using crypto to work around sanctions: should we be worried?
ABOUT
Crypto tokens weren’t the only thing that saw a major pump yesterday. The total value locked in DeFi ascended to new heights. While part of this can be explained simply by the rise in ETH price, it also reflected traders turning to DeFi platforms as a way to get more exposure to the market action without selling their core assets.
For all the exciting price action, not everything is pointing in a positive direction. These market moves don’t seem to reflect new market participants, for example, and anecdotally, times remain tough for projects trying to fundraise.
In our final segment, we look at a blockchain conference in North Korea that the UN suggests simply attending may violate international sanctions, an Iran-focused hedge fund that uses cryptocurrency to work around international restrictions, and ask whether this sort of activity presents a narrative risk to the industry as a whole?
HOST
CoinDesk is the world leader in news, prices and information on bitcoin and other digital currencies.
We cover news and analysis on the trends, price movements, technologies, companies and people in the bitcoin and digital currency world.

EPISODES
Blockspace: Robinhood Opens AI Trading, IREN’s $1.6B GPU Buy, Hut 8 CEO Beacon Point Update
Robinhood now allows AI to trade for you, and IREN just purchased $1.6 billion worth of GPUs for AI workloads.
May 28, 2026
Blockspace: Pope Leo Calls AI the Tower of Babel, China is Funding Anti-AI FUD, TeraWulf’s 1 GW KY Data Center
Pope Leo has likened AI to the Tower of Babel, and the Chinese government is funding the push against AI data centers...
May 27, 2026
Arthur Hayes says regulation is irrelevant, only fiat liquidity moves bitcoin
Arthur Hayes from Consensus Miami.
May 26, 2026
Blockspace: SpaceX’s $2T IPO, FBI Scams the Scammers, Trump Media Sells Bitcoin
SpaceX’s IPO is gearing up to be the biggest ever, and the FBI lays a honey pot for scammers with a scam token of the...
May 23, 2026

The Policy Protocol
The Policy Protocol is CoinDesk's regulation and policy show. This is your direct line to the crypto legislative engine, where we pull back the curtain on crypto in Washington, D.C. and beyond.
Apr 9, 2026

Public Keys at NYSE
Public Keys is a weekly show filmed at the New York Stock Exchange that explores the intersection of traditional finance, macroeconomics and digital assets. Hosted by CoinDesk Senior Anchor, Jennifer Sanasie, the program delivers a deep dive into how crypto is increasingly shaping – and being shaped by – the public markets.
Mar 16, 2026

The Mining Pod
Feb 10, 2025

CoinDesk Podcast Network
The top stories and best shows in the blockchain world, delivered daily from the team at CoinDesk.
Dec 20, 2023
