What are the best investing opportunities in Tech for 2025?
Elad Gil is one of silicon valley's legendary investors. He's backed 40 unicorns including Airbnb, Coinbase, Figma and Stripe to name a few. He's super active in AI and hosts the no priors podcast which is like Bankless but for AI.
In this conversation, Elad explores the state of AI and how the industry is evolving, what he thinks about Crypto. and why he’s bullish on Tech in general given the new United States political administration.
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0:00 Intro 3:07 AI in 2024 5:26 The Future of AI 9:40 Where are we on the S Curve? 14:43 AI vs Other Tech Revolutions 17:27 Are we in a Bubble? 21:04 Evolution of AI 26:11 AI x Crypto 31:17 Centralized vs Decentralized AI 34:51 AI Agents 39:37 Doomsday Scenario 42:12 Raw Crypto 47:25 Order of Trends 50:03 Silicon Valley on Crypto 53:11Crypto Founders vs Tech Founders 56:25 Politics & Tech 1:09:33 Advice for 2025 1:12:10 Closing & Disclaimers
What is Ethereum’s North Star, and does it even need one?
There has been angst in the Ethereum community, growing over the last year, as Ethereum has become squeezed by its competition. Bitcoin’s story as money is growing in mainstream society. Solana has captured the hot ball of money in crypto. And Celestia’s data availability continues to progress at a faster rate than what is found at home in Ethereum.
This is Ethereum’s Three-Front War, a topic we covered in a recent episode with Justin Drake. And today we‘re joined by Jon Charbonneau and Mike Ippolito to contextualize and diagnose what Ethereum needs in order to thrive in this competitive landscape.
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0:00 Intro 3:12 Jon’s Article 14:00 How did we get here? 20:28 Ethereum’s Three Front War 40:16 Ethereum Wins by its Synergies 47:56 Ethereum’s Focus 57:02 Ethereum Tactical Advice 1:13:32 Ultra Sound Money vs World Computer 1:25:30 Closing & Disclaimers
At Devcon, Justin Drake presented what he called his most ambitious proposal to date! Beam Chain, a roadmap which fell very flat in public discourse.
In this episode we fill the gaps of this reaction and we discuss the rise of Credible Competition to the three major components of Ethereum Roadmap. Execution, which competes with Solana, Data Availability which competes with Celestia and Consensus, which competes with Bitcoin.
So what’s Ethereum’s strategy for winning this Three Front War against three legitimate competitors? Stay tuned!
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0:00 Intro 2:05 Beam Chain Reactions 7:19 Is Ethereum Ossifying 15:43 Ethereum’s Three Front War 24:39 Bitcoin Utility Prosprects 30:56 The Endgame for Crypto 45:04 Beam Chain 101 50:28 Beam Fork Aftermath 55:59 Pre-Confirmations 1:01:15 L1 Execution Layer 1:08:55 Rollup Design Space 1:22:28 Ethereum’s Midgame 1:28:45 Ethereum 3.0? 1:30:12 Closing & Disclaimers
Matt Cutler is the founder of Blocknative and the combination of a fantastic storyteller and a fantastic data analyst.
Blocknative is not his first company, It’s his fifth. Matt’s first company was an internet company that he started in the 90s well before the dot com boom and he founded a company in every major internet era since.
In today’s Bankless Summit talk, we hear from Matt’s experience and wisdom so we can learn how the rise of blockchain technology contrasts with the rise of the Internet and why we are here in the first place.
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0:00 Intro 2:43 Internet Early Days 9:29 The Rise of Blockchains 16:54 Why Are We Here? 21:26 Gas Network 24:58 Fix the World 26:50 Questions
Arjun gives one of the best non-technical talks at the Bankless Summit that everyone in crypto needs to hear. Do you know why you’re here? Arjun explains the first principle concept of Crypto-Anarchism.
For the Bankless Summit’s inaugural episode, Justin Drake shares his reflection on the Beamchain talk he gave earlier in the week at Devcon Bangkok. Additionally, Justin adds some much needed context and important (and very bullish) facets to the Ethereum Roadmap from his perspective.
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0:00 Intro 2:07 5-Year Ethereum Roadmap 5:02 Part 1 - Execution 12:59 Part 2 - Data 18:27 Part 3 - Consensus 25:52 Audience Questions 31:23 Closing
Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy Digital, joins us to unpack the impact of last night’s sweeping Republican victory on the crypto landscape. We dive into record-breaking price action, potential shifts in crypto legislation, and the role Polymarket played in election coverage. Tune in for insights on what lies ahead for crypto in this new political climate.
Omid Malekan, an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and author of multiple books on crypto joins us. Omid shares his insights on the evolution of blockchain, the concept of digital scarcity, and the future of decentralized finance. Drawing from his experiences in both traditional finance, his teachings, and the crypto industry. Omid also discusses how blockchain offers a fundamentally new way to build trust and redefine property rights in the digital world and his best arguments for why ETH > SOL.
0:00 Intro 3:22 Omid Malekan’s Crypto Background 7:00 Transitioning from TradFi to Crypto 12:21 Explaining Blockchain to Crypto Newcomers 18:41 The Fear in Crypto Transactions 22:23 Blockchain as a New Financial Architecture 25:37 What New Crypto Users Get Wrong 29:36 Not All Blockchains Are Equal 32:49 Understanding Decentralization and Security 39:19 Lessons from Traditional Finance 44:06 Modular Design in Blockchain Systems 46:51 Counterexamples in Blockchain Systems 57:30 Envisioning Crypto's Endgame 1:00:09 Evaluating Ethereum's Current Direction 1:16:24 Opportunities for High-Quality Liquid Assets 1:19:34 Ether as the Money of the Internet 1:32:51 Settlement Assurances & the Future of Ether 1:40:03 Crypto Cycles and Future Gains 1:41:25 Own Podcast? 1:42:18 Closing & Disclaimers
Unichain Is Here! Joining us today is Hayden Adams of Uniswap and Karl Floersch of Optimism to explain the exciting new release and vision for the future of Ethereum and appchains.
------ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Start 03:13 Announcing Unichain! 09:13 How Will Unichain Work? 14:43 Superchain And Interoperability 17:01 Superchain Enhancements 23:35 Unichain User Experience 28:06 What About Other Superchains? 36:12 Unfragmenting The Fragmentation 39:15 Coordinating All Of Ethereum 44:24 UNI Token 48:04 Should DeFi Live On L1? 53:14 What Success Looks Like 56:31 The Path To Superchain 58:35 Release Dates
That’s right, Bankless Nation, BlackRock on the podcast today.
BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, a company that manages over $10 trillion dollars in assets around the world, to put it in perspective, that’s 5 times the crypto market cap. Let’s just say what they do has ripple effects in global markets.
But here at Bankless we wanted to figure out what they’re doing in crypto. That’s why we brought Robbie Mitchnick, BlackRock’s Head of Digital Assets.
We explore Crypto narratives in TradFi, how they measure the risk profile of Crypto, their plans for the future of ETFs, Tokenization and even DeFi.
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0:00 Intro 2:49 What is BlackRock? 4:36 BlackRock’s Crypto Arc 11:54 Digital Assets Team 14:14 BlackRock Bitcoin ETF 17:46 Investor Education 20:01 Narratives 22:11 Risk Management 31:17 Regulatory Environment 34:18 The Future of ETFs 38:21 Tokenization 46:50 What Needs to be Built 50:16 The State of DeFi 52:53 BlackRock’s Crypto Mission 56:34 Closing & Disclaimers
"I believe the next generation for markets, the next generation for securities, will be tokenization of securities," BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said during the New York Times DealBook event, Feb 2, 2023.
Today on a special in-person recording of Bankless we welcome special guest and best selling author, Yuval Noah Harari. Yuval is best known for his book Sapiens, and today, he is introducing ideas from his next book Nexus.
We go deep down the history rabbit hole and explore the question, if human beings are so wise, why are we so self destructive?
------ TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Start 00:06:11 The World of Information Networks 00:09:03 Truth vs Information 00:19:33 Tribal Consequences 00:23:09 Naive View Of Information 00:32:31 Populist View Of Information 00:42:58 Inventing New Mechanisms 00:51:37 A Brief History Of Information Networks 00:56:47 The Most Successful Story Ever Told 01:00:57 Story vs Information Network 01:08:13 Story Of Debt Clay Tablets 01:10:37 Entering the Age Of AI 01:16:35 Self Correcting Mechanisms 01:21:19 The Potential Of Crypto
That’s the question we asked Benjamin Cowen, YouTuber, Founder of Into The CryptoVerse and famous chart maximalist who does some fantastic technical analysis.
The main goal of this pod is to understand if we're currently going through Ethereum’s bottom but we also cover:
Are crypto 4 year cycles dead? What’s next for ETH/BTC? How’s Ben positioning his portfolio for what’s coming?
Except to learn that and much more.
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0:00 Intro 2:30 Where Are We? 4:40 4 Year Cycles 19:48 ETH/BTC Ratio 26:24 ETH Price Analysis 34:51 Blue Chips vs Altcoins 50:52 ETH/BTC Final Equilibrium 56:31 Idiosyncratic Events 1:08:54 The Flippening 1:11:43 The Bull Market 1:16:19 2026 1:20:21 Presidential Election 1:22:51 Ben’s Portfolio 1:27:28 Closing Thoughts
Peter Schiff is a financial commentator and economist that is relentlessly bullish on gold and a famous skeptic of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
He covers a ton of ground in this podcast, from what money really is, why gold can't be disrupted as the ultimate store of value, why we should abolish the Federal Reserve and principles to grow your wealth.
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0:00 Intro 4:19 What is Money? 12:16 Why is Gold the Apex Money? 25:10 Gold vs. Bitcoin Custody 33:38 Gold in The Internet Age 40:19 Gold as a Productive Asset 46:41 Gold vs. Bitcoin Demographics 49:27 Can Gold be Disrupted? 1:00:09 Should we Abolish The Federal Reserve? 1:09:21 Is the Stock Market Overpriced? 1:15:58 Principles to Grow Wealth 1:21:19 Steelmanning Crypto 1:32:05 Closing & Disclaimers
This is a classic example of a rich old white man reluctant to change. He makes too much money from the current system and how things are. Bitcoin is a threat to him.
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis is a leading Bitcoin advocate in Congress who recently introduced her proposal, "the Bitcoin Act," which seeks to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the United States of America. In today's episode, we explore how the bill could address the $35 trillion debt, the conversion of gold certificates to Bitcoin, and its economic implications.
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0:00 Intro 6:40 The Bitcoin Act 10:01 Gold to Digital Gold 15:01 U.S. Strategic Reserves 18:00 U.S. Discretion in Selling Forfeited Bitcoin 20:44 Is Bitcoin Ready for Federal Reserve Backing? 23:24 Bitcoin Adoption to Tackle U.S. Debt 28:17 Bitcoin's Potential Impact 33:15 Being First in Bitcoin Strategic Reserves 39:22 Pros vs. Cons of Bitcoin Strategic Reserves 49:08 Bipartisan Prospects and Democratic Silence 53:52 Conservative Support vs. Liberal Adoption 56:30 Trump vs. Harris on Crypto Legislation
Mike Solana (no relation to Solana the chain, that’s his name),is the editor-in-chief of Pirate Wires and the guy who broke the Trump Memecoin news.
We brought him on the show today to try to make sense of the current state of politics in the face of the upcoming election, and what it all of this means for crypto
Expect to learn why tech has pivoted right, why democrats are cracking down on crypto, why media in 2024 is fundamentally broken and much more.
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0:00 Intro 4:13 $DJT Memecoin 13:39 Crypto Politics 26:43 Mike’s Perspective on Crypto 31:16 Memetic Wars 35:01 Growth vs Degrowth 40:25 Information Wars 48:22 Social Media 56:39 Being Terminally Online 1:09:05 Media in 2024 1:21:17 2024 Election 1:26:02 Closing & Disclaimers
Matt Hougan and Alex Thorn put together their own analysis of inflows for the ETH ETF. Remarkably, their numbers came in somewhere close to the same place.
We discussed how much demand there will be for the ETH ETF, whether or not it will overperform or underperform expectations and the overall state of the Crypto Market today.
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0:00 Intro 2:18 When ETH ETF? 7:16 Data Gathering Process 13:59 The BTC ETF Datapoint 24:17 Estimating ETH ETF Inflows 42:19 Price Impact 52:36 The ETH ETF Bear Case 1:03:14 Solana ETF? 1:05:44 The State of the Market 1:13:53 Closing & Disclaimers
David is joined by Leighton Cusack and Matt Metkov, two members of PleasrDAO, the organization that owns and is releasing the Wu-Tang Album.
The Wu-Tang Clan created a unique album, “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” to combat music’s devaluation in the digital age. It was bought by Martin Shkreli in 2015, who later lost it due to a fraud conviction. In 2021, PleasrDAO, a crypto collective, purchased the album to restore its value and make it accessible to the public, promoting fairer digital ownership in the Web3 era.
Hear how you can own the most exclusive music album and help support the movement.
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0:00 Intro 6:01 What’s Special About This Album? 8:06 One Off Event Or New Path For Artists? 11:16 Music Scenario: 2014 VS Now? 14:34 Music Renting vs. Collecting/Ownership 16:41 How To Own The Album? 21:01 Rights & Collaboration 22:25 Rethinking Music Distribution 25:19 Magnitude Of Album Release 27:03 Why Crypto People Should Care? 29:12 David On The Album Songs 32:21 Where To Own The Album? 34:33 Sales & Record Breaking Week 38:05 Closing & Disclosure
What if the information anarchy of the internet spells the downfall of liberalism?
Economist Noah Smith and Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin join us for a fascinating discussion on why Authoritarianism might be the answer to the current information warfare. Yes, you heard that right.
We start the episode by defining liberalism, how it has brought excessive polarization and why totalitarianism might be the only solution left. We then steelman the case against this same argument and how blockchains and crypto could play a role in all this.
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0:00 Intro 8:53 Defining Liberalism 21:50 Information Warfare 42:17 Summarizing the Argument 55:09 Could the Thesis be Wrong? 1:11:12 Information Leviathans 1:34:13 The Role of Blockchains 1:38:22 Closing & Disclaimers
Sam Jernigan, the “Unofficial ETH Maxi of Wall Street”, has been evangelizing Ethereum to institutional funds and billionaires from inside the house for the past five years.
Having the perfect blend of deep Ethereum knowledge and the full Wall Street experience, Sam guides us through how he became an ETH Maxi, why the lack of understanding of ETH in TradFi is the most bullish case for the asset and what the future holds for ETH institutional adoption.
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0:00 Intro 3:48 Defining TradFi 16:05 Ethereum’s P/E Ratio 19:50 Sam’s Background 36:45 Becoming an ETH Maxi 48:58 The State of ETH in TradFi 53:38 ETH Bull Case 1:02:11 The Flippening 1:05:36 ETH ETF 1:12:51 Security vs Commodity Debate 1:17:25 TradFi: Friend or Foe? 1:28:04 Regulation 1:39:31 Closing & Disclaimers
Ethereum vs. Solana. That’s the debate we’re having today.
On Ethereum’s side we have Ethereum Researcher Justin Drake, and on the Solana’s we have Solana’s Co-Founder Anatoly Yakovenco.
They give us the good, the bad and the ugly of each other’s blockchain, settling their endgame towards the end of the episode.
This was one, if not the spiciest debate we had on the show. We tried our best to give both guests time with minimal intervention. At times went well, at others it caused deep semantic rabbit holes. But overall both guests were able to communicate their messages.
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0:00 Intro 4:20 The Good 19:33 The Bad 46:23 Global Shared State 1:00:28 Economic Security 1:24:28 The Ugly 1:41:43 The Endgame 1:49:42 Closing & Disclaimers
Kyla Scanlon is a writer, podcaster, analyst, founder of financial education company Bread, and an all around brilliant explainer of things hard to explain.
Expect to learn why economies are vibe reflectors, Kyla’s “economic kingdom” model and an overview on the current state of economic affairs.
Financial literacy is a superpower and Kyla managed to compress this topic that people have been trying to figure out for ages in an easy to understand economics toolbox.
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0:00 Intro 4:09 The Vibes Economy 9:24 Understanding Money & Finance 14:18 The Economic Kingdom 17:51 The Monetary Castle 25:49 The Fiscal Castle 35:01 Vibes are the Economy 51:00 The Deciders 55:32 Housing Market 1:01:34 The Labor Market 1:08:12 Wealth Inequality 1:13:48 Energy 1:17:38 The Economics Toolbox 1:22:40 What’s Next for Kyla 1:27:40 Closing & Disclaimers
Matt Hougan is the CIO at Bitwise, and has been one of the best people to talk to when it comes to understanding the ETF process, and the impact of ETFs on the crypto markets.
Today we dive into the specifics on what exactly the ETF approval means for ETH.
------ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 05:46 What Exactly Happened? 08:45 Was This Really Political? 12:11 Who's Responsible For This 16:46 Next Steps For ETF 20:36 Matt's ETF Story 22:44 ETF Price Impact 27:38 ETF Inflow Predictions 34:50 Explaining The ETH Narrative 38:23 Matt's 2 Minute Pitch 45:12 How Bitwise's Job Changes 49:01 ETH Charts 54:31 Legislation
The Ether spot ETF has officially been approved marking a landmark day for Ethereum and crypto as a whole. We're going live today to discuss the extent of this approval and what it means for Ether the asset, and more broadly the entire crypto industry. This is a big deal and we're stoked to be sharing this moment live with the Bankless Nation.
00:00 It Happened 05:09 ETF Approved! 07:24 Boom Approval Surprise 09:11 Why Did This Happen? 13:38 When Will The ETFs Go Live? 15:47 ETF Inflows 19:18 ETH Education Campaign 21:37 Staked ETF? 24:14 What Coin is Next?
This is a huge week for crypto in DC and we have on Congressman Patrick McHenry to tell us all about it.
Three big things: 1) SAB 121 repeal bill going to Biden’s desk - will he let it pass or veto? 2) SEC approve/deny Ethereum ETF - decision due Thursday. 3) House vote on FIT bill you’ve been championing - well talk about that bill.
------ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Start 04:05 Introduction to Congressman McHenry 05:11 Crypto in DC Temp Check 07:34 Generational vs Partisan Divide 12:57 Has Biden's Crypto Sentiment Changed? 16:46 FIT 21 Act 20:10 Security vs Commodity 23:18 Startups Becoming Commodities 26:34 Why Should Congress Support? 29:22 Why Patrick Cares About Crypto 33:25 Stablecoin Legislation 35:37 Will Crypto Still Be Under Attack? 38:24 Trump vs Biden Crypto Policies 40:41 How To Get Involved
0x077f
Elad Gil’s 2025 Guide to Invest in AI, Crypto & Tech
Elad Gil is one of silicon valley's legendary investors. He's backed 40 unicorns including Airbnb, Coinbase, Figma and Stripe to name a few. He's super active in AI and hosts the no priors podcast which is like Bankless but for AI.
In this conversation, Elad explores the state of AI and how the industry is evolving, what he thinks about Crypto. and why he’s bullish on Tech in general given the new United States political administration.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
3:07 AI in 2024
5:26 The Future of AI
9:40 Where are we on the S Curve?
14:43 AI vs Other Tech Revolutions
17:27 Are we in a Bubble?
21:04 Evolution of AI
26:11 AI x Crypto
31:17 Centralized vs Decentralized AI
34:51 AI Agents
39:37 Doomsday Scenario
42:12 Raw Crypto
47:25 Order of Trends
50:03 Silicon Valley on Crypto
53:11Crypto Founders vs Tech Founders
56:25 Politics & Tech
1:09:33 Advice for 2025
1:12:10 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Elad Gil
x.com/eladgil
Elad Gil Website
eladgil.com/
No Priors Podcast
www.youtube.com/@NoPriorsPodcast
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
Can Ethereum Compete with Bitcoin, Solana & Celestia?
There has been angst in the Ethereum community, growing over the last year, as Ethereum has become squeezed by its competition. Bitcoin’s story as money is growing in mainstream society. Solana has captured the hot ball of money in crypto. And Celestia’s data availability continues to progress at a faster rate than what is found at home in Ethereum.
This is Ethereum’s Three-Front War, a topic we covered in a recent episode with Justin Drake. And today we‘re joined by Jon Charbonneau and Mike Ippolito to contextualize and diagnose what Ethereum needs in order to thrive in this competitive landscape.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
3:12 Jon’s Article
14:00 How did we get here?
20:28 Ethereum’s Three Front War
40:16 Ethereum Wins by its Synergies
47:56 Ethereum’s Focus
57:02 Ethereum Tactical Advice
1:13:32 Ultra Sound Money vs World Computer
1:25:30 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Mike Ippolito
x.com/mikeippolito
Jon
x.com/jon_charb
Jon’s Article
dba.xyz/ethereums-north-star/
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
Ethereum’s Three Front War with Justin Drake
At Devcon, Justin Drake presented what he called his most ambitious proposal to date! Beam Chain, a roadmap which fell very flat in public discourse.
In this episode we fill the gaps of this reaction and we discuss the rise of Credible Competition to the three major components of Ethereum Roadmap. Execution, which competes with Solana, Data Availability which competes with Celestia and Consensus, which competes with Bitcoin.
So what’s Ethereum’s strategy for winning this Three Front War against three legitimate competitors? Stay tuned!
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
2:05 Beam Chain Reactions
7:19 Is Ethereum Ossifying
15:43 Ethereum’s Three Front War
24:39 Bitcoin Utility Prosprects
30:56 The Endgame for Crypto
45:04 Beam Chain 101
50:28 Beam Fork Aftermath
55:59 Pre-Confirmations
1:01:15 L1 Execution Layer
1:08:55 Rollup Design Space
1:22:28 Ethereum’s Midgame
1:28:45 Ethereum 3.0?
1:30:12 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Justin Drake
x.com/drakefjustin
Beam Chain Announcement
youtu.be/rGE_RDumZGg?t=7001
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
From Web1 to Web3: Why Are We Here? | Matt Cutler
Blocknative is not his first company, It’s his fifth. Matt’s first company was an internet company that he started in the 90s well before the dot com boom and he founded a company in every major internet era since.
In today’s Bankless Summit talk, we hear from Matt’s experience and wisdom so we can learn how the rise of blockchain technology contrasts with the rise of the Internet and why we are here in the first place.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
2:43 Internet Early Days
9:29 The Rise of Blockchains
16:54 Why Are We Here?
21:26 Gas Network
24:58 Fix the World
26:50 Questions
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RESOURCES
Matt Cutler
x.com/mcutler
Presentation Slides
docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YvfS-akFgE_tOPr-lAalyeztMtP94L4r/edit#slide=id.p1
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
Why Are We Here? Top Reasons to Care About Crypto
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RESOURCES
Arjun Bhuptani
x.com/arjunbhuptani
Presentation Slides
docs.google.com/presentation/d/1rwqPdrljsFpZvGCxwEwkYpCAX7mFlGS4/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=118091317616904257032&rtpof=true&sd=true
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
You’re Not Bullish Enough! Ethereum Roadmap & Beamchain with Justin Drake
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
2:07 5-Year Ethereum Roadmap
5:02 Part 1 - Execution
12:59 Part 2 - Data
18:27 Part 3 - Consensus
25:52 Audience Questions
31:23 Closing
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RESOURCES
Justin Drake
x.com/drakefjustin
Presentation Slides
docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Yvzh5q2jjlcW_g95s-7E4Gk5ZL-scM3l/edit#slide=id.p5
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
A New Era For Crypto: Where Do We Go From Here?!
2024 Presidential Election Breakdown With Alex Thorn
We dive into record-breaking price action, potential shifts in crypto legislation, and the role Polymarket played in election coverage. Tune in for insights on what lies ahead for crypto in this new political climate.
Alex on X - x.com/intangiblecoins
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
This is an election triumph that I will never forget!
Stripe's Billion Dollar Stablecoin Bet
Top Ivy League Crypto Professor Ends the ETH vs. SOL Debate
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🎬 DEBRIEF | Ryan & David unpacking the episode:
www.bankless.com/debrief-omid-malekan
------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
3:22 Omid Malekan’s Crypto Background
7:00 Transitioning from TradFi to Crypto
12:21 Explaining Blockchain to Crypto Newcomers
18:41 The Fear in Crypto Transactions
22:23 Blockchain as a New Financial Architecture
25:37 What New Crypto Users Get Wrong
29:36 Not All Blockchains Are Equal
32:49 Understanding Decentralization and Security
39:19 Lessons from Traditional Finance
44:06 Modular Design in Blockchain Systems
46:51 Counterexamples in Blockchain Systems
57:30 Envisioning Crypto's Endgame
1:00:09 Evaluating Ethereum's Current Direction
1:16:24 Opportunities for High-Quality Liquid Assets
1:19:34 Ether as the Money of the Internet
1:32:51 Settlement Assurances & the Future of Ether
1:40:03 Crypto Cycles and Future Gains
1:41:25 Own Podcast?
1:42:18 Closing & Disclaimers
------
RESOURCES
Omid Malekan
x.com/malekanoms
Omid's Books
www.amazon.com/Re-Architecting-Trust-History-Markets-Platforms/dp/1732027331
www.amazon.com/Story-Blockchain-Beginners-Technology-Understands/dp/1732027307
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
Announcing Unichain | DeFi's Next Frontier?
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Start
03:13 Announcing Unichain!
09:13 How Will Unichain Work?
14:43 Superchain And Interoperability
17:01 Superchain Enhancements
23:35 Unichain User Experience
28:06 What About Other Superchains?
36:12 Unfragmenting The Fragmentation
39:15 Coordinating All Of Ethereum
44:24 UNI Token
48:04 Should DeFi Live On L1?
53:14 What Success Looks Like
56:31 The Path To Superchain
58:35 Release Dates
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RESOURCES
Unichain: unichain.org/
Hayden: x.com/haydenzadams
Karl: x.com/karl_dot_tech
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
Did We Just Unlock The Key To The Bull Market??
Banana zone incoming.....
BlackRock's Trillion Dollar Crypto Plan
BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, a company that manages over $10 trillion dollars in assets around the world, to put it in perspective, that’s 5 times the crypto market cap. Let’s just say what they do has ripple effects in global markets.
But here at Bankless we wanted to figure out what they’re doing in crypto. That’s why we brought Robbie Mitchnick, BlackRock’s Head of Digital Assets.
We explore Crypto narratives in TradFi, how they measure the risk profile of Crypto, their plans for the future of ETFs, Tokenization and even DeFi.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
2:49 What is BlackRock?
4:36 BlackRock’s Crypto Arc
11:54 Digital Assets Team
14:14 BlackRock Bitcoin ETF
17:46 Investor Education
20:01 Narratives
22:11 Risk Management
31:17 Regulatory Environment
34:18 The Future of ETFs
38:21 Tokenization
46:50 What Needs to be Built
50:16 The State of DeFi
52:53 BlackRock’s Crypto Mission
56:34 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Robbie
x.com/robbiemitchnick
Blackrock
x.com/BlackRock
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
Inflation Drops to New Low! Bullish Crypto & Stocks?
Will AI Kill Democracy? | Yuval Noah Harari
We go deep down the history rabbit hole and explore the question, if human beings are so wise, why are we so self destructive?
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 Start
00:06:11 The World of Information Networks
00:09:03 Truth vs Information
00:19:33 Tribal Consequences
00:23:09 Naive View Of Information
00:32:31 Populist View Of Information
00:42:58 Inventing New Mechanisms
00:51:37 A Brief History Of Information Networks
00:56:47 The Most Successful Story Ever Told
01:00:57 Story vs Information Network
01:08:13 Story Of Debt Clay Tablets
01:10:37 Entering the Age Of AI
01:16:35 Self Correcting Mechanisms
01:21:19 The Potential Of Crypto
------
RESOURCES
Yuval: www.ynharari.com/
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
Is This Ethereum’s Bottom?
That’s the question we asked Benjamin Cowen, YouTuber, Founder of Into The CryptoVerse and famous chart maximalist who does some fantastic technical analysis.
The main goal of this pod is to understand if we're currently going through Ethereum’s bottom but we also cover:
Are crypto 4 year cycles dead?
What’s next for ETH/BTC?
How’s Ben positioning his portfolio for what’s coming?
Except to learn that and much more.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
2:30 Where Are We?
4:40 4 Year Cycles
19:48 ETH/BTC Ratio
26:24 ETH Price Analysis
34:51 Blue Chips vs Altcoins
50:52 ETH/BTC Final Equilibrium
56:31 Idiosyncratic Events
1:08:54 The Flippening
1:11:43 The Bull Market
1:16:19 2026
1:20:21 Presidential Election
1:22:51 Ben’s Portfolio
1:27:28 Closing Thoughts
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RESOURCES
Into The CryptoVerse - Get 10% Off
intothecryptoverse.com/ref/bankless/
Ben Cowen
x.com/intocryptoverse
Ben Cowen on YouTube
www.youtube.com/channel/UCRvqjQPSeaWn-uEx-w0XOIg
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
Peter Schiff: Why Gold is Superior to Bitcoin!
Peter Schiff is a financial commentator and economist that is relentlessly bullish on gold and a famous skeptic of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
He covers a ton of ground in this podcast, from what money really is, why gold can't be disrupted as the ultimate store of value, why we should abolish the Federal Reserve and principles to grow your wealth.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
4:19 What is Money?
12:16 Why is Gold the Apex Money?
25:10 Gold vs. Bitcoin Custody
33:38 Gold in The Internet Age
40:19 Gold as a Productive Asset
46:41 Gold vs. Bitcoin Demographics
49:27 Can Gold be Disrupted?
1:00:09 Should we Abolish The Federal Reserve?
1:09:21 Is the Stock Market Overpriced?
1:15:58 Principles to Grow Wealth
1:21:19 Steelmanning Crypto
1:32:05 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Peter Schiff
x.com/PeterSchiff
Peter Schiff Youtube
www.youtube.com/@peterschiff
SchiffGold
www.schiffgold.com/
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
Cynthia Lummis: The BITCOIN Act - BTC in U.S. Reserves?
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
6:40 The Bitcoin Act
10:01 Gold to Digital Gold
15:01 U.S. Strategic Reserves
18:00 U.S. Discretion in Selling Forfeited Bitcoin
20:44 Is Bitcoin Ready for Federal Reserve Backing?
23:24 Bitcoin Adoption to Tackle U.S. Debt
28:17 Bitcoin's Potential Impact
33:15 Being First in Bitcoin Strategic Reserves
39:22 Pros vs. Cons of Bitcoin Strategic Reserves
49:08 Bipartisan Prospects and Democratic Silence
53:52 Conservative Support vs. Liberal Adoption
56:30 Trump vs. Harris on Crypto Legislation
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RESOURCES
Senator Cynthia Lummis
x.com/SenLummis
The Bitcoin Act
www.lummis.senate.gov/press-releases/lummis-introduces-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-legislation/
www.lummis.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/BITCOIN-Act-FINAL.pdf
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
"This is an idea that is almost crazy enough to work"
What the Hell is Happening to America? - Mike Solana
Mike Solana (no relation to Solana the chain, that’s his name),is the editor-in-chief of Pirate Wires and the guy who broke the Trump Memecoin news.
We brought him on the show today to try to make sense of the current state of politics in the face of the upcoming election, and what it all of this means for crypto
Expect to learn why tech has pivoted right, why democrats are cracking down on crypto, why media in 2024 is fundamentally broken and much more.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
4:13 $DJT Memecoin
13:39 Crypto Politics
26:43 Mike’s Perspective on Crypto
31:16 Memetic Wars
35:01 Growth vs Degrowth
40:25 Information Wars
48:22 Social Media
56:39 Being Terminally Online
1:09:05 Media in 2024
1:21:17 2024 Election
1:26:02 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Mike Solana
x.com/micsolana
Pirate Wires Daily
get.piratewires.com/pw/daily
The Market Is WRONG! ETH ETF Final Countdown
Ethereum ETF Predictions: MASSIVE Inflows Coming for $ETH
Matt Hougan and Alex Thorn put together their own analysis of inflows for the ETH ETF. Remarkably, their numbers came in somewhere close to the same place.
We discussed how much demand there will be for the ETH ETF, whether or not it will overperform or underperform expectations and the overall state of the Crypto Market today.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
2:18 When ETH ETF?
7:16 Data Gathering Process
13:59 The BTC ETF Datapoint
24:17 Estimating ETH ETF Inflows
42:19 Price Impact
52:36 The ETH ETF Bear Case
1:03:14 Solana ETF?
1:05:44 The State of the Market
1:13:53 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Matt Hougan
x.com/matt_hougan
Alex Thorn
x.com/intangiblecoins
Bitwise
bitwiseinvestments.com/
Galaxy Digital
www.galaxy.com/
PleasrDAO Releases Secret Wu-Tang Album
The Wu-Tang Clan created a unique album, “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” to combat music’s devaluation in the digital age. It was bought by Martin Shkreli in 2015, who later lost it due to a fraud conviction. In 2021, PleasrDAO, a crypto collective, purchased the album to restore its value and make it accessible to the public, promoting fairer digital ownership in the Web3 era.
Hear how you can own the most exclusive music album and help support the movement.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
6:01 What’s Special About This Album?
8:06 One Off Event Or New Path For Artists?
11:16 Music Scenario: 2014 VS Now?
14:34 Music Renting vs. Collecting/Ownership
16:41 How To Own The Album?
21:01 Rights & Collaboration
22:25 Rethinking Music Distribution
25:19 Magnitude Of Album Release
27:03 Why Crypto People Should Care?
29:12 David On The Album Songs
32:21 Where To Own The Album?
34:33 Sales & Record Breaking Week
38:05 Closing & Disclosure
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RESOURCES
Mint Here
thealbum.com
Leighton
x.com/lay2000lbs
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
Vitalik & Noah Smith: Can Authoritarianism Win the 21st Century?
Economist Noah Smith and Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin join us for a fascinating discussion on why Authoritarianism might be the answer to the current information warfare. Yes, you heard that right.
We start the episode by defining liberalism, how it has brought excessive polarization and why totalitarianism might be the only solution left. We then steelman the case against this same argument and how blockchains and crypto could play a role in all this.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
8:53 Defining Liberalism
21:50 Information Warfare
42:17 Summarizing the Argument
55:09 Could the Thesis be Wrong?
1:11:12 Information Leviathans
1:34:13 The Role of Blockchains
1:38:22 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Vitalik Buterin
x.com/VitalikButerin
Noah Smith
x.com/Noahpinion
Noahpinion Blog
www.noahpinion.blog/
Donald Trump $DJT Memecoin Explained
Mastering the Art of Selling ETH to TradFi
Having the perfect blend of deep Ethereum knowledge and the full Wall Street experience, Sam guides us through how he became an ETH Maxi, why the lack of understanding of ETH in TradFi is the most bullish case for the asset and what the future holds for ETH institutional adoption.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
3:48 Defining TradFi
16:05 Ethereum’s P/E Ratio
19:50 Sam’s Background
36:45 Becoming an ETH Maxi
48:58 The State of ETH in TradFi
53:38 ETH Bull Case
1:02:11 The Flippening
1:05:36 ETH ETF
1:12:51 Security vs Commodity Debate
1:17:25 TradFi: Friend or Foe?
1:28:04 Regulation
1:39:31 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Sam Jernigan on X
x.com/sjerniganiv
Sam Jernigan on LikedIn
www.linkedin.com/in/samjernigan07302015/
ETHEREUM VS. SOLANA: Which Blockchain Wins 2024 & Beyond?
On Ethereum’s side we have Ethereum Researcher Justin Drake, and on the Solana’s we have Solana’s Co-Founder Anatoly Yakovenco.
They give us the good, the bad and the ugly of each other’s blockchain, settling their endgame towards the end of the episode.
This was one, if not the spiciest debate we had on the show. We tried our best to give both guests time with minimal intervention. At times went well, at others it caused deep semantic rabbit holes. But overall both guests were able to communicate their messages.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
4:20 The Good
19:33 The Bad
46:23 Global Shared State
1:00:28 Economic Security
1:24:28 The Ugly
1:41:43 The Endgame
1:49:42 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Anatoly Yakovenco
twitter.com/aeyakovenko
Justin Drake
twitter.com/drakefjustin
Ethereum Bull Market Price Target?!
How Money & Markets Really Work with Kyla Scanlon
Kyla Scanlon is a writer, podcaster, analyst, founder of financial education company Bread, and an all around brilliant explainer of things hard to explain.
Expect to learn why economies are vibe reflectors, Kyla’s “economic kingdom” model and an overview on the current state of economic affairs.
Financial literacy is a superpower and Kyla managed to compress this topic that people have been trying to figure out for ages in an easy to understand economics toolbox.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
4:09 The Vibes Economy
9:24 Understanding Money & Finance
14:18 The Economic Kingdom
17:51 The Monetary Castle
25:49 The Fiscal Castle
35:01 Vibes are the Economy
51:00 The Deciders
55:32 Housing Market
1:01:34 The Labor Market
1:08:12 Wealth Inequality
1:13:48 Energy
1:17:38 The Economics Toolbox
1:22:40 What’s Next for Kyla
1:27:40 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Kyla Scanlon on X
x.com/kylascan
Kyla Scanlon Website
kylascanlon.com/
Order “In this Economy?” Now
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/737854/in-this-economy-by-kyla-scanlon/
Kyla’s “AI Can't Plant Corn (Yet)”
kyla.substack.com/p/ai-cant-plant-corn-yet
WSJ “How Gen Z Is Becoming the Toolbelt Generation”
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/gen-z-trades-jobs-plumbing-welding-a76b5e43
Why the Ethereum ETF is Bullish $ETH | Matt Hougan of Bitwise
Today we dive into the specifics on what exactly the ETF approval means for ETH.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
05:46 What Exactly Happened?
08:45 Was This Really Political?
12:11 Who's Responsible For This
16:46 Next Steps For ETF
20:36 Matt's ETF Story
22:44 ETF Price Impact
27:38 ETF Inflow Predictions
34:50 Explaining The ETH Narrative
38:23 Matt's 2 Minute Pitch
45:12 How Bitwise's Job Changes
49:01 ETH Charts
54:31 Legislation
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RESOURCES
Matt on X: x.com/Matt_Hougan
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
www.bankless.com/disclosures
The Biggest Day in $ETH History
ETH ETF Officially Approved! | James Seyffart
James on X: x.com/JSeyff
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TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES
00:00 It Happened
05:09 ETF Approved!
07:24 Boom Approval Surprise
09:11 Why Did This Happen?
13:38 When Will The ETFs Go Live?
15:47 ETF Inflows
19:18 ETH Education Campaign
21:37 Staked ETF?
24:14 What Coin is Next?
Crypto's HUGE Week in DC with Rep Patrick McHenry
Three big things:
1) SAB 121 repeal bill going to Biden’s desk - will he let it pass or veto?
2) SEC approve/deny Ethereum ETF - decision due Thursday.
3) House vote on FIT bill you’ve been championing - well talk about that bill.
Stand with Crypto: www.standwithcrypto.org/politicians
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Start
04:05 Introduction to Congressman McHenry
05:11 Crypto in DC Temp Check
07:34 Generational vs Partisan Divide
12:57 Has Biden's Crypto Sentiment Changed?
16:46 FIT 21 Act
20:10 Security vs Commodity
23:18 Startups Becoming Commodities
26:34 Why Should Congress Support?
29:22 Why Patrick Cares About Crypto
33:25 Stablecoin Legislation
35:37 Will Crypto Still Be Under Attack?
38:24 Trump vs Biden Crypto Policies
40:41 How To Get Involved
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RESOURCES:
Patrick on X: x.com/PatrickMcHenry
5/17