Why, in 2026, Crypto Still Doesn't Have Good ICOs: Uneasy Money

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 23, 2026 at 11:17  |  1:16:46  |  Unchained (Chopping Block)
Speakers
Kain Warwick — Founder, Infinex & Synthetix
Luca Netz — CEO, Pudgy Penguins (Igloo Inc.)

Summary

Uneasy Money hosts discuss the Trove token crash and why crypto still struggles to run fair token sales. They cover X shutting down the InfoFi meta, Farcaster's absorption by NAR, address-poisoning scams, Cosmos's builder exodus, and Paradex's rollback. Market implications include caution on InfoFi and Cosmos, a more constructive view on the ZK stack, and continued security risks in wallets and DeFi.

  • Trove's ICO raised $11.5M but crashed below sale price amid refund and token-distribution concerns.
  • X nuked InfoFi, wiping out the Yapper community and leaving the sector without its main distribution channel.
  • Farcaster was handed over to NAR, prompting lessons about social network network effects and crypto-enabled social payments.
  • Address poisoning attacks are increasingly sophisticated and costly, raising wallet-security concerns.
  • Cosmos is losing builders as teams migrate to EVM L1s and alt L1s.
  • Paradex's rollback sparked debate about 'code is law' versus fixing mistakes.
  • Luca remains bullish on the ZK stack, while Kain is negative on InfoFi and Cosmos.
Ideas
Kain Warwick Founder, Infinex & Synthetix 29:38
InfoFi is dead after X crackdown
X nuked InfoFi by wiping out the Yapper community and other accounts that drove the meta; since InfoFi's primary distribution vector was X and the sector relied on farming attention there, it has no clear recovery path. Kain explicitly says InfoFi is over and recommends people do something else.
InfoFi HIGH
Kain Warwick Founder, Infinex & Synthetix 61:03
Cosmos losing builders; avoid
Cosmos is losing builders because it is stuck in an uncanny valley: its tech is real and usable, but it is not used enough to thrive, segmentation and poor tooling make it hard to build on, and DYDX's migration there coincided with activity falling off a cliff. Builders are instead moving to EVM L1s and alt L1s where interop, tooling, and infrastructure are much stronger.
ATOM HIGH
Luca Netz CEO, Pudgy Penguins (Igloo Inc.) 64:02
Bullish on ZK stack capabilities
Luca is bullish on the ZK stack because after early usability problems it is now on par with the EVM, and building on ZK gives unique capabilities that other stacks do not have. He says he is glad Pudgy Penguins/Abstract picked it and that it now has its own bullish setup.
ZK MED
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815 Money Talk (815머니톡) · Jan 23

This Unchained (Chopping Block) video, published January 23, 2026, features Kain Warwick, Luca Netz discussing InfoFi, ATOM, ZK. 3 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Kain Warwick, Luca Netz  · Tickers: InfoFi, ATOM, ZK