Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Venice founder Erik Voorhees says crypto's real job was never speculation. It's becoming the rails AI agents actually need. Plus, why he sold equity, not tokens.
🔥 EPISODE LINK 🔥
unchainedcrypto.com/uneasy-money-why-erik-voorhees-calls-ais-hidden-filter-deceptive
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👉 Visit 1inch to swap tokenized securities, crypto and more. Simple. Secure. Self-custodial. Whatever asset you’re buying - swap it at unchainedcrypto.com/go/1inch-yt
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Stripe bought OpenRouter this month in one of the cleanest crypto-to-AI pivots yet, and Erik Voorhees says most of the industry drew the wrong lesson from it.
Voorhees, founder and CEO of Venice AI, joins Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan to argue that crypto's job was never to serve crypto people, it was to become the financial rails a decentralized AI future actually needs. He pushes back on the instinct to abandon tokens for pure AI plays, and on the assumption that America deserves to win the AI race just because it is America.
They get into why Voorhees sold Venice's equity but refused to sell its VVV tokens, why he says the big labs are losing money "hand over fist" subsidizing $200-a-month plans, how DeepSeek reset the cost curve for inference, and why he calls the moderation layer sitting inside today's AI models "deceptive."
His answer for who should actually win the AI race has nothing to do with flags.
Hosts:
⭐️ Kain Warwick - Host of Uneasy Money and Founder of Infinex and Synthetix - https://x.com/kaiynne
⭐️ Taylor Monahan - Co-host of Uneasy Money and Security Expert - https://x.com/tayvano_
Guest:
⭐️ Erik Voorhees - Founder and CEO of Venice AI
Timestamps:
🤝 01:51 Why Stripe buying OpenRouter is one of crypto's cleanest AI pivots
🪙 04:02 Why Erik says he can't pivot out of crypto even while building an AI company
⚖️ 12:43 Crypto has principles, AI didn't: unpacking the two industries' DC playbooks
💧 27:58 1inch Aqua: See how shared liquidity keeps LPs' tokens in their wallet at unchainedcrypto.com/go/1inch-yt
💰 28:44 Why Erik sold Venice's equity but refuses to sell its VVV tokens
🧩 42:51 Inside Venice's strategy for aggregating every major AI model in one app
📉 49:15 Why Erik says labs are bleeding money on $200 plans, and how DeepSeek reset AI pricing
🌐 57:30 Why Erik says America doesn't deserve to win the AI race by default
🔓 01:02:41 Why Erik has 'zero faith' in politics and trusts decentralized tech instead
🕵️ 01:09:56 Why Erik calls the moderation layer inside AI models 'deceptive'
===============================================================
#bitcoin #ethereum #crypto #cryptocurrencies
===============================================================
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Venice founder Erik Voorhees says crypto's real job was never speculation. It's becoming the rails AI agents actually need. Plus, why he sold equity, not tokens.
🔥 EPISODE LINK 🔥
unchainedcrypto.com/uneasy-money-why-erik-voorhees-calls-ais-hidden-filter-deceptive
=========================================================================
Thank you to our sponsors!
👉 Visit 1inch to swap tokenized securities, crypto and more. Simple. Secure. Self-custodial. Whatever asset you’re buying - swap it at unchainedcrypto.com/go/1inch-yt
=========================================================================
Stripe bought OpenRouter this month in one of the cleanest crypto-to-AI pivots yet, and Erik Voorhees says most of the industry drew the wrong lesson from it.
Voorhees, founder and CEO of Venice AI, joins Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan to argue that crypto's job was never to serve crypto people, it was to become the financial rails a decentralized AI future actually needs. He pushes back on the instinct to abandon tokens for pure AI plays, and on the assumption that America deserves to win the AI race just because it is America.
They get into why Voorhees sold Venice's equity but refused to sell its VVV tokens, why he says the big labs are losing money "hand over fist" subsidizing $200-a-month plans, how DeepSeek reset the cost curve for inference, and why he calls the moderation layer sitting inside today's AI models "deceptive."
His answer for who should actually win the AI race has nothing to do with flags.
Hosts:
⭐️ Kain Warwick - Host of Uneasy Money and Founder of Infinex and Synthetix - https://x.com/kaiynne
⭐️ Taylor Monahan - Co-host of Uneasy Money and Security Expert - https://x.com/tayvano_
Guest:
⭐️ Erik Voorhees - Founder and CEO of Venice AI
Timestamps:
🤝 01:51 Why Stripe buying OpenRouter is one of crypto's cleanest AI pivots
🪙 04:02 Why Erik says he can't pivot out of crypto even while building an AI company
⚖️ 12:43 Crypto has principles, AI didn't: unpacking the two industries' DC playbooks
💧 27:58 1inch Aqua: See how shared liquidity keeps LPs' tokens in their wallet at unchainedcrypto.com/go/1inch-yt
💰 28:44 Why Erik sold Venice's equity but refuses to sell its VVV tokens
🧩 42:51 Inside Venice's strategy for aggregating every major AI model in one app
📉 49:15 Why Erik says labs are bleeding money on $200 plans, and how DeepSeek reset AI pricing
🌐 57:30 Why Erik says America doesn't deserve to win the AI race by default
🔓 01:02:41 Why Erik has 'zero faith' in politics and trusts decentralized tech instead
🕵️ 01:09:56 Why Erik calls the moderation layer inside AI models 'deceptive'
===============================================================
#bitcoin #ethereum #crypto #cryptocurrencies
===============================================================
Subscribe to our channel!
CHECK OUT THE CRYPTOPIANS → youtube.com/watch?v=DFzunCFXrv4 WEBSITE → unchainedcrypto.com
UNCHAINED DAILY NEWSLETTER → unchainedcrypto.beehiiv.com/subscribe LAURA'S TWITTER → https://x.com/laurashin
UNCHAINED TWITTER → https://x.com/unchained_pod
FACEBOOK → facebook.com/unchainedwithlaurashin
INSTAGRAM → instagram.com/laurashin/?hl=en
LINKEDIN → 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 → podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1123922160?ls=1
Spotify → open.spotify.com/show/1cJrrfGY1SKBIRn5noKSAf?si=6SI4qIcRTEO7EhOe0V9n4w
RSS Feed → https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LSHML4761942757
YOUR NO-HYPE RESOURCE FOR ALL THINGS CRYPTO!
