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Bankless

The Ultimate Guide to Crypto Finance. DeFi, NFTs, and cryptocurrencies. Level up. Go bankless.

Episodes

Investing in AI, Crypto, & Tech in 2025 | Elad Gil

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....

Dec 16, 20241 hr 18 min

ROLLUP: Are Record Inflows Good For ETH? | New Crypto & AI Czar | Record Liquidations | Where To Next?

This week on the Weekly Rollup: Bitcoin briefly plunged to $93K amidst $1.1B in crypto liquidations, marking the largest single-day event since 2021, with $815M wiped from long positions alone. Meanwhile, Ethereum ETFs hit a record inflow day of $428M, and Layer 2 solutions like Mantle are driving the ecosystem forward with nearly 1M ETH bridged to Base. On the regulatory front, the crypto world sees both challenges and opportunities as Trump appoints David Sacks as Crypto Czar while Microsoft s...

Dec 13, 20241 hr 7 min

AI ROLLUP #3: Solana AI Hackathon | Truth Terminal’s Roadmap | Satan & God Automated | Delphi Digital AI Analyst

Ejaaz is back with David to break down the latest in the explosive world of AI Agents. This week, they uncover how Truth Terminal’s roadmap could revolutionize autonomous on-chain transactions, why ai16z's Eliza framework is poised to reshape multi-chain agent deployment, and how zerebro’s creative push into music and art is expanding the reach of AI in culture. They also discuss the growing institutional attention on AI agents, from $20M funding announcements to agents acting as venture capital...

Dec 12, 20241 hr 14 min

One Billion AI Agents | ai16z's Shaw

What is the role of AI in crypto, and how will it shape the future? AI agents are taking the crypto world by storm, introducing unprecedented scale and efficiency to Web3. At the center of this revolution is Shaw, the creator of the Eliza framework and ai16z DAO, a groundbreaking initiative that’s reshaping decentralized investments. The ai16z DAO has rapidly gained traction, becoming the #1 trending GitHub repository last month, with over 3,300 stars and 880+ forks. In this episode, we explore ...

Dec 11, 20241 hr 20 min

Top 10 Crypto x AI Predictions for 2025 | Bitwise's Matt Hougan & Ryan Rasmussen

2024 was a breakout year for crypto, with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana outperforming traditional assets and spot Bitcoin ETFs attracting $31.7 billion in record inflows. Coinbase surged toward S&P 500 inclusion, stablecoins doubled, and tokenized real-world assets began their rise. Nations embraced Bitcoin as a reserve asset, and AI-driven memecoins fueled fresh mania. Bitwise calls 2024 a prelude to 2025—a year poised to redefine crypto’s place in global finance. Bitwise’s Chief Investment Off...

Dec 10, 20241 hr 13 min

Can Ethereum Compete with Bitcoin, Solana & Celestia? | Mike Ippolito & Jon Charbonneau

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 Dra...

Dec 09, 20241 hr 26 min

ROLLUP: BTC Shatters $100K, What's Next? | The Debanking Debacle | New SEC Chairman | Biggest Airdrop... Ever?

Bitcoin hit $100K! To kick off the show we dive into the wild ride that brought us here—from Satoshi’s first block to retail mania today. NYC Mayor Eric Adams says, “I told you so,” after his Bitcoin paycheck gamble pays off. We unpack Marc Andreessen’s revelations on Joe Rogan about political debanking and welcome a new SEC chairman with a pro-crypto agenda, BYE GARY. Plus, Hyperliquid’s massive airdrop, XRP flipping Solana, and Alex Mashinsky pleading guilty—it’s a packed week for crypto! ----...

Dec 06, 20241 hr 5 min

AI ROLLUP #2: Virtuals $1B | Zerebro LLM | Ai16z Comeback? | Bittensor Tao | Freya $50K Game

Ejaaz is back to go through the latest news over the past week in the wild world of AI Agents. This week, Ejaaz and David dive into why and how Virtuals hit a $1B market cap, and also Zerebro is launching a decentralized LLM, Ai16z is making a comeback with Eliza V2, and so much more. Will AI agents continue to dominate the mindshare of crypto Crypto Twitter and beyond? ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🐙KR...

Dec 05, 20241 hr 24 min

The ZK Fast Track | Andrew & Uma of Conduit & Succinct

Last month, Andrew Huang (Conduit) and Uma Roy (Succinct) announced OP Succinct, a groundbreaking collaboration that blends Succinct’s SP1 zkVM with Conduit’s Rollup-as-a-Service platform. This new zkEVM promises 1-hour finality, breaking away from the traditional 7-day delays seen with optimistic rollups. In this episode, we unpack what makes OP Succinct a game-changer and how it challenges the conventional ZK rollup landscape. Why is this Rust-based zkVM approach so different? Is ZK rollup tec...

Dec 04, 202455 min

Ethereum’s Three Front War | Justin Drake

Is the Beam Chain the endgame for Ethereum? 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 strate...

Dec 02, 20241 hr 26 min

ROLLUP: Memecoin Mania | Tornado Cash Win! | Pro-Crypto Trump Cabinet | Justin Sun & WLFI

Memecoin mania spiraled out of control this week, with shocking livestream rug pulls and Pump.fun disabling its livestream feature due to disturbing behavior. Meanwhile, Base and Farcaster hit record TPS and inflows as memecoin trading heats up. In Washington, Trump nominated pro-crypto Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary. What does this mean for crypto policy? Plus, a surprising investor joins Trump’s World Liberty Financial raise—we’ll reveal who. And a major court victory for crypto privacy: ...

Nov 29, 20241 hr 18 min

AI ROLLUP: Base vs. Solana | Ai16z | GOAT | AIxbt | Virtuals & Zerebro

AI agents are reshaping the crypto landscape, from gaming to decentralized venture capital. This week, we explore groundbreaking developments in Crypto AI, including breaking news out of Ai16z’s meteoric rise (and fall?), GOAT, AIxbt, Virtuals, Zerebro, and Base vs. Solana. Ejaaz Ahamadeen joins us to break down the trends, drama, and future of autonomous agents in crypto. ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: �...

Nov 28, 20241 hr 14 min

A Short Story About Private Law | Peter Van Valkenburgh

The Director of Research at Coincenter, Peter Van Valkenburgh joins us for our final talk at the Bankless Summit with a story that hits close to home about privacy and surveillance. ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://k.xyz/bankless-pod-q2 ⁠ 🤖 dYdX | UNLIMITED LAUNCHING SOON https://bankless.cc/dYdXUnlimited 🗣️TOKU | CRYPTO EMPLOYMENT https://bankless.cc/toku �...

Nov 27, 202436 min

Why ETH is Permissionless Money | Mike Neuder

Ethereum Foundation researcher Mike Neuder joins us at the Bankless Summit with a really bullish articulation of what ETH and Ethereum is in 2024. Mike Neuder explains why ETH is permissionless, why ETH is money and therefore why ETH is permissionless money. ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://k.xyz/bankless-pod-q2 ⁠ 🤖 dYdX | UNLIMITED LAUNCHING SOON https://ban...

Nov 26, 202433 min

From Web1 to Web3: Why Are We Here? | Matt Cutler

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 Intern...

Nov 25, 202434 min

ROLLUP: $100k BTC? | Gensler Resignation | Trump’s ‘Crypto Czar’ | Memecoin Rugs

Bitcoin soared to new all-time highs as MicroStrategy led massive BTC buys, and BlackRock's ETF options hit $1.9B volume. Meanwhile, a 13-year-old executed a rug pull, sparking chaos and meme token wars. On the regulatory front, SEC Chair Gary Gensler announced his resignation effective January 20, 2025, coinciding with President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. Trump teased a "Crypto Czar," while 18 states sued the SEC. Binance launched BFUSD with 19.55% APY, challenging Coinbase’s USDC yield...

Nov 22, 20241 hr 3 min

Roman Storm Speaks - Tornado Cash Developer on What’s at Stake

📣DONATE TO ROMAN’S CASE https://juicebox.money/@defend-roman-storm Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm faces decades in prison after being arrested last year for creating open-source privacy tools on Ethereum. His case could define whether code is speech, if developers are liable for bad actors, and if Americans have a right to digital privacy. With the full force of the U.S. government against him, Roman’s trial this April is a pivotal moment for digital rights. Bankless has contributed $50k to...

Nov 21, 202426 min

The Future of Rollups is Based | Mteam

Mteam explores why the future of Ethereum Rollups is inevitably based. Many people said this was the most impressive technical talk at the Bankless Summit. I don’t know what you were doing when you were 17 but I was certainly not doing anything like this. ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://k.xyz/bankless-pod-q2 ⁠ 🦄UNISWAP | BROWSER EXTENSION https://bankless.cc...

Nov 20, 202431 min

Why Are We Here? Crypto-Anarchism Explained | Arjun Bhuptani

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. ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://k.xyz/bankless-pod-q2 ⁠ 🦄UNISWAP | BROWSER EXTENSION https://bankless.cc/uniswap 🪄 MAGIC EDEN | HOME OF WEB3 https://bankles...

Nov 19, 202434 min

Defending Beamchain & the Ethereum Roadmap | Justin Drake

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. ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://k.xyz/bankless-pod-q2 ⁠ 🦄UNISWAP | BROWSER...

Nov 18, 202436 min

ROLLUP: Post Election All Time Highs | Beam Chain Announcement | Devcon Recap | FBI Raids Polymarket CEO

Bitcoin keeps going higher… What about Ethereum? On this weekly rollup we not only cover markets and its election aftermath, we also vibe check on Devcon week, Justin Drake’s Beam Chain Announcement and Polymarket’s CEO being raided by the FBI? ------ 📣 LEGION | MERIT BASED ICOs https://bankless.cc/Legion ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://k.xyz/bankless-pod-q2 ⁠ 🦄UNISWAP | BROWSER EXTENSION https://bankless.cc/uniswap 🪄 MAGIC EDEN | HOME OF WEB3 ht...

Nov 15, 20241 hr 4 min

How Crypto AI Agents Will Take Over the World | Ejaaz Ahamadeen

Ejaaz is back on the podcast to explore the cutting edge of AI agents and their potential takeover—starting with blockchains, powered by crypto rails. Is AI x Crypto the next big wave or just hype? Is any of it investible? Ejaaz, former Coinbase product manager and current Crypto-AI fund operator, shares what’s real, what’s not, where VCs are allocating their capital and much more in today’s episode. ------ 📣GET YOUR ALL ACCESS PASS TO THE PODCAST https://bankless.cc/podshownotes ------ BANKLES...

Nov 14, 20242 hr 50 min

2025 Crypto Predictions with Altcoin Daily | BTC, ETH, Memecoins & L2s

Ryan and David were interviewed by Altcoin Daily on Oct. 1st, 2024. In their interview, they chat about what's next for Ethereum, their best Ether price prediction for 2025, and all of the other tokens and more! ------ 📣GET YOUR ALL ACCESS PASS TO THE PODCAST https://bankless.cc/podshownotes ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://k.xyz/bankless-pod-q2 ⁠ 🦄UNISWAP | BROWSER EXTENSION https://bankless.cc/uniswap ⚖️ ARBITRUM | SCALING ETHEREUM ⁠https://bankl...

Nov 13, 202443 min

How to Prepare for the 2025 Bull Market | Arthur Hayes

What is Arthur Hayes buying for 2025? We recorded this on the U.S election day so we don’t know who won at the time of recording. Regardless, Arthur says the election doesn’t matter. To him, the outcome is the same no matter who’s in power, they will print money. We talk about the Chinese property bubble and the coming money cannon which Arthur thinks will be bigger than the COVID stimulus. The Fed’s next move, why the treasury is sucking all the oxygen out of the room. We get into his crypto po...

Nov 11, 20241 hr 16 min

ROLLUP: A New Era For Crypto | Bitcoin All Time High | Polymarket Dominance | Where Do We Go Next?

Gary Gensler’s reign of terror is over. It’s ATH week. With a sweeping Republican win and Trump’s declaration of a ‘Golden Age of America,’ the U.S. election results have reshaped the crypto landscape overnight. Join us as we dive into the Polymarket effect on election night coverage, analyze the election’s impact on key crypto legislation, and explore the post-election market surge. We cover price action, pro-crypto shifts in Congress, and big players like Elon Musk and Michael Saylor making mo...

Nov 08, 202456 min

The 2024 Presidential Election Breakdown With Alex Thorn

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. Alex on X - https://x.com/intangiblecoins ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://k.xyz/bankless...

Nov 06, 20241 hr 3 min

Why You Should Still Be Bullish ETH | Anthony Sassano

ETH is down bad when compared to SOL & BTC, but is all this narrative following price or something more fundamental? We’ve got Anthony Sassano on the podcast today. He’s a notable angel investor, ETH bull, and creator of Ethereum podcast The Daily Gwei. Anthony is here to bring us some clarity to all the noise that has been going around the ETH price these days. He answers the criticisms, gives us the bull case and tells us what’s next. ------ 📣 GET YOUR ALL ACCESS PASS TO THE PODCAST https://b...

Nov 05, 20242 hr 52 min

Do Based Rollups Solve Everything? | Justin Drake

What exactly are Based Rollups? We’ve brought Ethereum Researcher and Bankless recurring guest, Justin Drake, to give us his reasoning on why he thinks the future of Ethereum is Based. A handful of teams are already working on this Based Rollup future so, with this episode, and perhaps a few more, we’re front running it all and getting you downloaded on all things Based Rollups. Enjoy! ------ 🎬 DEBRIEF | Ryan & David Unpacking the Episode: https://www.bankless.com/debrief-justin-drake-based-rol...

Nov 04, 20242 hr 51 min

ROLLUP: Bitcoin's ATH Run | AI Memecoin Meta | Blobs Price Discovery | Microsoft Buying Bitcoin?

It's The Bankless Friday Weekly Rollup! In this episode, we dive into the rise of AI agents on blockchain, a surge in Bitcoin inflows ahead of a Trump-favored election, Ethereum “blobs” entering price discovery, and speculation around Microsoft potentially buying Bitcoin. ------ 📣 LEGION | MERIT BASED ICOs https://bankless.cc/Legion ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://k.xyz/bankless-pod-q2 ⁠ 🦄UNISWAP | BROWSER EXTENSION https://bankless.cc/uniswap 🪄 ...

Nov 01, 20241 hr 7 min

The AI Agent & Memecoin Thesis | Pantera’s Matt Stephenson

The collision between crypto and AI agents has officially begun. Matthew Stephensen of Pantera Capital research partner and author of “Crypto: Picks and Shovels for the AI Gold Rush,” joins us today. We dive into the world of autonomous AI agents on blockchains, discussing the evolving role of agents, AI-driven market changes, and whether blockchain is the natural substrate for AI. Matt sheds light on topics from agent liability and regulatory challenges to infrastructure value capture and the "...

Oct 30, 20241 hr 21 min