Why Vy Le Says Most 2025 DeFi Hacks Were a Stupid People Problem: DEX in the City

Description

Ari Redbord sits down with Katherine, Jessi, and Vy to talk about SEC clarity, the onshore perps boom, and DeFi's opsec problem — plus why the U.S. should hack North Korea back. ========================================================================= 🔥 EPISODE LINK 🔥 https://unchainedcrypto.com/dex-in-the-city/ari-redbord-sits-down-with-the-hosts-of-dex-in-the-city ========================================================================= The hosts of DEX in the City spend every week breaking down crypto's legal fights. This time, they're the ones answering the questions. Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs, sits down with Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, Jessi Brooks, and Vy Le for a wide-ranging conversation on where crypto's regulatory and security battles are actually headed. Vy traces her path from SEC enforcement to her case for "tech-neutral" rules: regulators should regulate outcomes, not technology. Katherine explains why DCMs have become crypto's hottest acronym, as true perps and prediction markets move onshore. And Jessi makes her push to stop calling North Korea's hacks "illicit finance" and start naming them a national security threat: Pyongyang, she notes, is funding a weapons program with stolen crypto. Ari goes further — if North Korea can steal hundreds of millions from DeFi, the U.S. should steal it back. Vy pushes back on the panic over the recent hacks: most, she argues, weren't broken smart contracts at all, just sloppy operational security. The conversation covers SEC clarity, the CFTC's moment, DeFi security, on-chain privacy, and what it really takes to keep the ecosystem safe. ========================================================================= Host: ⭐️ Ari Redbord - Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs and Host of TRM Talks - https://x.com/ARedbord Guests: ⭐️ Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, General Counsel - https://x.com/kkirkbos ⭐️ Jessi Brooks, General Counsel at Ribbit Capital - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessi-brooks-8289ab32/ ⭐️ Vy Le - Co-host of DEX in the City and General Counsel of Veda - https://x.com/TuongvyLe12 Timestamps: 🛡️ 01:37 OFAC's first IRGC-linked exchange sanctions on Zedcex and Zedxion 🧭 04:28 How Vy, Katherine, and Jessi went from the SEC, BigLaw, and DOJ into crypto 🎙️ 12:58 The origin story behind the DEX in the City name and its all-women cast 🏛️ 17:13 Vy on the SEC trading ambiguity for rules, and "tech-neutral" regulation 📈 21:24 Katherine on why DCMs are suddenly crypto's hottest acronym 🩹 24:26 Jessi on reframing illicit finance around victims, not just enforcement 🔐 27:23 Jessi and Vy on Drift, Kelp, and why the recent hacks were ops failures 🕵️ 32:12 Katherine on why privacy is necessary for on-chain markets 🔮 37:24 Lightning round: Jessi on agentic finance, Katherine on perps, Vy on vaults ========================================================================= #bitcoin #ethereum #crypto #cryptocurrencies ========================================================================= Subscribe to our channel! CHECK OUT THE CRYPTOPIANS → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFzunCFXrv4 WEBSITE → https://unchainedcrypto.com UNCHAINED DAILY NEWSLETTER → https://unchainedcrypto.beehiiv.com/subscribe/ LAURA'S TWITTER → https://x.com/laurashin UNCHAINED TWITTER → https://x.com/unchained_pod FACEBOOK → https://www.facebook.com/unchainedwithlaurashin INSTAGRAM → https://www.instagram.com/laurashin/?hl=en LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurashin/ MERCHANDISE → https://unchainedpodcast.company.site/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NEW EPISODES OF UNCHAINED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY! ALONG WITH BITS & BIPS AND THE CHOPPING BLOCK Apple → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1123922160?ls=1 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/1cJrrfGY1SKBIRn5noKSAf?si=6SI4qIcRTEO7EhOe0V9n4w RSS Feed → https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LSHML4761942757 YOUR NO-HYPE RESOURCE FOR ALL THINGS CRYPTO!