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

  1. ROLLUP: Crypto Momentum | Regime Shift? | Payments War | Prediction Boom | SBF on Netflix

    1 HR AGO

    ROLLUP: Crypto Momentum | Regime Shift? | Payments War | Prediction Boom | SBF on Netflix

    Ryan and David break down a historic week for crypto as the SEC and CFTC finally deliver long-awaited clarity, classifying major tokens and reshaping the market. At the same time, Bitcoin is outperforming stocks and gold amid global tensions, raising the key question: is this a real regime shift or just a relief rally? They also cover the rise of prediction markets, the emerging battle for agentic payments (Tempo vs. Stripe/Coinbase), and crypto’s cultural moment with Vanity Fair and the upcoming SBF Netflix series. --- 📣FIGURE | CRYPTO-BACKED LOANS & ~9% RWA YIELD https://bankless.cc/Figure --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔮POLYMARKET | #1 PREDICTION MARKET https://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast  🪐GALAXY | INSTITUTIONAL DIGITAL FINANCE https://bankless.cc/galaxy-podcast  🏅BITGET TRADFI | TRADE GOLD WITH USDT https://bankless.cc/bitget 🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS https://thedefireport.io/bankless 🐇MEGAETH | 1ST REAL-TIME BLOCKCHAIN https://bankless.cc/megaeth --- TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 0:00 Intro 3:47 Macro & Markets (Oil, War, Fed) https://apnews.com/article/iran-gas-field-south-pars-attack-5ad45090d3b66444467cc255ee966a37 https://energynow.com/2025/06/what-is-the-strait-of-hormuz-and-why-is-it-so-important-for-oil https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116253388303392718 https://polymarket.com/event/how-many-fed-rate-cuts-in-2026/?via=bankless? https://x.com/QuintenFrancois/status/2033469474511429805 https://x.com/zerohedge/status/2033322952238723486 https://x.com/zerohedge/status/2032571409273167950 https://x.com/timevalueofbtc/status/2034612806386086296 https://x.com/fintechfrank/status/2033520517009846618 https://farside.co.uk/btc/ https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2034403519609057593 https://x.com/intocryptoverse/status/2033954843048485174 https://thedefireport.io/research/saylor-is-back-in-the-market 22:35 SEC + CFTC Regulatory Clarity https://x.com/SECGov/status/2033996940363317379 https://x.com/SECPaulSAtkins/status/2034012012460556526  https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/interp/2026/33-11412.pdf https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/atkins-remarks-regulation-crypto-assets-031726 https://x.com/Dogetoshi/status/2034011111008178657 https://x.com/BChillman/status/2033913119756714298 https://x.com/jchervinsky/status/2034003107391172946 https://x.com/EleanorTerrett/status/2034450575773884694 https://x.com/tradexyz/status/2034260987197444255 https://x.com/jchervinsky/status/2034269594282500329 44:44 Prediction Markets Expansion + Risks https://dune.com/hildobby/polymarket https://x.com/Polymarket/status/2034272538465841410 https://x.com/manniefabian/status/2033505062031344004 https://x.com/clashreport/status/2033513701735551202 https://polymarket.com/event/iran-military-action-against-israel-on/?via=bankless? https://x.com/Polymarket/status/2033635318662860916 https://x.com/ChairmanSelig/status/2034625252831998397 52:16 Agentic Payments & Tempo (Standards War) https://x.com/Quicknode/status/2034261280354394610 https://x.com/tempo/status/2034253707303338264 https://x.com/clairekart/status/2034279348480737719 https://visacli.sh/ https://x.com/worldnetwork/status/2033923684768092436 https://x.com/CoinDesk/status/2033883474755551595 58:39 Onchain Banking & Ethereum Upgrades https://x.com/zksync/status/2033864749016809582 https://fastconfirm.it/ https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/2033661196792967254 https://x.com/_julianma/status/2033851796574154808 https://x.com/adietrichs/status/2033863884067475634 1:02:38 Crypto Culture (Vanity Fair + SBF Netflix) https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/cryptos-true-believers https://x.com/CamiRusso/status/2033946061685850353 https://x.com/DennisonBertram/status/2034013980771877353 https://x.com/netflix/status/2033981949740568829 1:08:31 Closing & Disclaimers --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

    1h 9m
  2. Tempo Mainnet: The Race to Agentic Commerce

    1 DAY AGO

    Tempo Mainnet: The Race to Agentic Commerce

    Tempo Mainnet is live, but this episode isn’t really about just another chain launch. It’s about a bigger claim: that AI agents are about to need native money, and that the internet may need a new payment layer to support them. Georgios Konstantopoulos and Brendan Ryan join Bankless to unpack why Tempo launched with agentic payments front and center, what MPP actually is, how it compares to x402, and why they think machine-to-machine commerce could reshape everything from paid APIs to the business model of the web itself. --- 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔮POLYMARKET | #1 PREDICTION MARKET https://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast 🪐GALAXY | INSTITUTIONAL DIGITAL FINANCE https://bankless.cc/galaxy-podcast 🏅BITGET TRADFI | TRADE GOLD WITH USDT https://bankless.cc/bitget 🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS https://thedefireport.io/bankless 🐇MEGAETH | 1ST REAL-TIME BLOCKCHAIN https://bankless.cc/megaeth --- TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Tempo Mainnet goes live 1:18 Why the launch is focused on agents 3:58 What MPP actually is 6:30 MPP vs x402 15:28 Why agentic commerce matters 20:08 The “original sin” of the internet 26:04 MCP, NLWeb, and the emerging agent stack 34:07 The onboarding flow: wallets for agents 37:11 How Tempo’s wallet security works 40:11 Tempo chain design and specs 51:13 Why build an L1 instead of an Ethereum L2? 56:10 The Ethereum tension 1:05:01 Agent identity, reputation, and ERC-8004 1:06:53 TIP20, stablecoins, and what can be built on Tempo 1:12:36 Builder opportunity in the agentic web --- RESOURCES Georgios Konstantopoulos https://x.com/gakonst Brendan Ryan https://brendanjryan.com --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

    1h 20m
  3. Trump's Grand Strategy: Iran, China & The New World Order | Kamran Bokhari

    2 DAYS AGO

    Trump's Grand Strategy: Iran, China & The New World Order | Kamran Bokhari

    A deep dive into Trump’s emerging grand strategy and the geopolitical logic behind the Iran conflict.  Kamran Bokhari joins Bankless to unpack how the U.S. is trying to reshape the Middle East, manage tensions with China and Russia, and transition from direct intervention toward a new model of burden-sharing, regional power balancing, and global restraint. ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ 🔮POLYMARKET | #1 PREDICTION MARKET https://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast  🪐GALAXY | INSTITUTIONAL DIGITAL FINANCE https://bankless.cc/galaxy-podcast  🏅BITGET TRADFI | TRADE GOLD WITH USDT https://bankless.cc/bitget 🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS https://thedefireport.io/bankless 🐇MEGAETH | 1ST REAL-TIME BLOCKCHAIN https://bankless.cc/megaeth ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:56 Iran War Unstated Motives 10:03 Trump’s Goals 18:43 China’s Role 26:43 Venezuela & Cuba 28:22 US China Relationship 34:27 Optimizing Global Relationships 39:56 Iran War Best Approach 47:12 Does Iran Want to Negotiate? 51:30 Iran Regime Change 56:51 Israel Interests 1:00:36 Marco Rubio 1:05:24 Signal in the Noise 1:07:25 Closing & Disclaimers ------ RESOURCES Kamran Bokhari on X https://x.com/KamranBokhari  LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamranbokhari/  New Lines Institute https://newlinesinstitute.org/people/kamran-bokhari/  Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/kamranbokhari/  ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

    1h 8m
  4. Ethereum Foundation's New Mandate Has The Community Divided | Bankless Takes

    3 DAYS AGO

    Ethereum Foundation's New Mandate Has The Community Divided | Bankless Takes

    The Ethereum Foundation’s new mandate has reignited one of Ethereum’s oldest debates: Should it stay laser-focused on cypherpunk values, or lean harder into adoption, product, and market share? Ryan and David debate CROPS, self-sovereignty, ETH as money, and whether the EF is protecting Ethereum’s soul or holding it back. ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ 🔮POLYMARKET | #1 PREDICTION MARKET https://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast  🪐GALAXY | INSTITUTIONAL DIGITAL FINANCE https://bankless.cc/galaxy-podcast  🏅BITGET TRADFI | TRADE GOLD WITH USDT https://bankless.cc/bitget 🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS https://thedefireport.io/bankless 🐇MEGAETH | 1ST REAL-TIME BLOCKCHAIN https://bankless.cc/megaeth ------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 0:00 Intro 2:39 The EF Manifesto https://x.com/ethereumfndn/status/2032460726728573298  https://blog.ethereum.org/2026/03/13/ef-mandate  https://ethereum.foundation/ef-mandate.pdf  10:18 Bullish Takes https://x.com/lay2000lbs/status/2033326038122438677  https://x.com/EvgenyGaevoy/status/2033160316079534510  https://x.com/malekanoms/status/2032599584640315706  https://x.com/lex_node/status/2033189653587677343  https://x.com/StaniKulechov/status/2032462574571204924  15:15 Bearish Takes https://x.com/dankrad/status/2032532067527856216  https://x.com/tayvano_/status/2032549549550743925  https://x.com/masonnystrom/status/2032558469786775993  https://x.com/yugacohler/status/2033225486847885758  https://x.com/hosseeb/status/2033603057347616869  https://x.com/divine_economy/status/2033547178803708371  27:43 Bullish Response to Bears https://x.com/divine_economy/status/2033547178803708371  https://x.com/dimabuterin/status/2033548385974735174  35:44 David’s Takes https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/2032832671206748551  47:29 Ryan’s Takes https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/2032512531856503181  56:32 We Can do Both https://x.com/vibhu/status/2032574444724449605  https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/2033545623345967572  59:51 Closing & Disclaimers ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

    1 hr
  5. Robinhood CEO: "Gen Z Is the Most Retirement-Savvy Generation Ever" | Vlad Tenev

    4 DAYS AGO

    Robinhood CEO: "Gen Z Is the Most Retirement-Savvy Generation Ever" | Vlad Tenev

    The next great battle in finance may not be over stocks, crypto, or even payments. It may be over where the $90 trillion great wealth transfer actually lands. In this episode, Robinhood founder and CEO Vlad Tenev returns to Bankless for a fast-moving conversation on how Robinhood wants to position itself for that generational handoff, why he believes 24/7 markets and tokenization are inevitable, and why the popular narrative around Gen Z as financially reckless misses what he’s seeing on-platform. --- 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔮POLYMARKET | #1 PREDICTION MARKET https://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast 🪐GALAXY | INSTITUTIONAL DIGITAL FINANCE https://bankless.cc/galaxy-podcast 🏅BITGET TRADFI | TRADE GOLD WITH USDT https://bankless.cc/bitget 🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS https://thedefireport.io/bankless 🐇MEGAETH | 1ST REAL-TIME BLOCKCHAIN https://bankless.cc/megaeth --- TIMESTAMPS 0:00 The $70–90T Wealth Transfer and Robinhood's Strategy 4:01 Finance in 2040: 24/7 Markets Everywhere 6:06 Tokenized Stocks, Robinhood Chain, and the U.S. Rollout Question 11:22 Robinhood's Full-Stack DeFi Vision 14:31 Prediction Markets as “Truth Machines” 17:06 Robinhood Social, Sherwood Media, and the Content Layer 21:44 Why “Entertainment Finance” Might Be Overstated 25:03 Gen Z Is More Retirement-Savvy Than You Think 30:54 Trump Accounts and Investing From Birth 36:21 The Financial Super App Race 39:30 Why Robinhood Is Not Prioritizing Peer-to-Peer Payments 42:22 Stablecoins, Bank Charters, and Consumer Reality 49:30 The Clarity Act, Stablecoin Yield, and Tokenized Assets 55:16 Perps Could Come Onshore Fast 57:12 Retail Access to Private Markets 1:00:52 Robinhood's Third Act: Social, AI, and Agentic Finance --- RESOURCES Vlad Tenev https://x.com/vladtenev --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

    1h 2m
  6. ROLLUP: Chaotic Era | Oil, Jobs, Credit | Nasdaq x Kraken | BlackRock Staked ETH | Roman Storm Retrial

    13 MAR

    ROLLUP: Chaotic Era | Oil, Jobs, Credit | Nasdaq x Kraken | BlackRock Staked ETH | Roman Storm Retrial

    Ryan and David break down a week where war hit markets, and the safe-haven playbook broke down. Oil spiked, gold failed, bonds sold off, the dollar caught the flight to safety, and crypto somehow bounced right through it. Then they unpack Trump’s public pressure campaign against banks over stablecoin yield, Kraken’s historic Fedwire breakthrough, and why crypto is starting to look less like an outsider and more like part of the financial core. Plus: Anthropic vs. the Pentagon, Erik Voorhees’ private AI push with Venice, fresh Aave governance drama, ZachXBT helping catch the $46M government crypto thief, and the New York Times calling crypto dead right on schedule. --- 📣FIGURE | CRYPTO-BACKED LOANS & ~9% RWA YIELD https://bankless.cc/Figure --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔮POLYMARKET | #1 PREDICTION MARKET https://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast  🪐GALAXY | INSTITUTIONAL DIGITAL FINANCE https://bankless.cc/galaxy-podcast  🏅BITGET TRADFI | TRADE GOLD WITH USDT https://bankless.cc/bitget 🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS https://thedefireport.io/bankless 🐇MEGAETH | 1ST REAL-TIME BLOCKCHAIN https://bankless.cc/megaeth --- TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 0:00 Intro 3:22 Chaotic Era: 3 Signals Driving Markets https://imgur.com/UirRpZD https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HDEnyQQWwAAbwf1.jpg https://x.com/TheSalonDon/status/2031478190741328334 https://polymarket.com/event/will-crude-oil-cl-hit-by-end-of-march/?via=bankless https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GASREGW https://imgur.com/a/I13P5gv https://www.tradingview.com/chart/1CDu50yK/ https://www.tradingview.com/chart/1CDu50yK/ https://x.com/byheatherlong/status/2029914129654501425 https://x.com/TKL_Adam/status/2029655785282887772 https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2031714633581469751 https://polymarket.com/event/us-recession-by-end-of-2026/?via=bankless https://financialpost.com/fp-finance/jpmorgan-limits-private-credit-lending https://x.com/adamscochran/status/2031718465044701376 https://www.reuters.com/business/blackrock-limits-withdrawals-private-credit-fund-redemptions-mount-2026-03-06 20:44 Kraken + Nasdaq: Tokenized Stocks https://x.com/fintechfrank/status/2030979714001621138 https://x.com/krakenfx/status/2030964578117398617 https://x.com/xStocksFi/status/2030963704024740126 https://x.com/markchadwickx/status/2031068859101565118 https://x.com/EricBalchunas/status/2030988246864286036 25:33 DOJ Retries Tornado Cash Developer Roman Storm & Treasury Report on Crypto Privacy & Mixers https://x.com/amandatums/status/2031176790484374012 https://x.com/rstormsf/status/2031204201418883256 https://www.bankless.com/read/jay-claytons-crypto-war https://x.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/2030995739795472464 https://x.com/L0laL33tz/status/2031025281532645838 https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/246/GENIUS-Act-Illicit-Finance-Innovation-Congressional-Report-March-2026.pdf https://x.com/theragetech/status/2031349077342859477 36:39 SEC + CFTC Coordination https://x.com/SECGov/status/2031830716628029565 https://x.com/SECPaulSAtkins/status/2031834357082832949 39:05 BlackRock Launches Staked ETH ETF ($ETHB) https://x.com/Bankless/status/2032108386938929322 https://www.ishares.com/us/products/348532/ishares-staked-ethereum-trust-etf 42:10 Across Protocol DAO → C-Corp Proposal https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/across-protocol https://x.com/hal2001/status/2031737518505537907 https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/2031831233722999111 https://x.com/defiignas/status/2031761413006626934 46:58 Polymarket + Palantir Partnership https://x.com/shayne_coplan/status/2032108237932159113 49:31 AI Backlash & Data Center Moratorium https://x.com/SenSanders/status/2031868041940660673  https://x.com/nick_field90/status/2030700617295860074 https://fortune.com/2026/03/09/ai-opinion-poll-democrats-iran-war-president-donald-trump https://x.com/brianstelter/status/2030635638823801333 https://x.com/kevinroose/status/2031397522590282212 55:52 Closing & Disclaimers --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

    57 min
  7. Where is ETH in the cycle? | Michael Nadeau

    11 MAR

    Where is ETH in the cycle? | Michael Nadeau

    Ethereum underperformed this cycle, and investors are asking the big question: did ETH just skip a cycle, or is something deeper going on? Michael Nadeau joins Ryan to break down where Ethereum sits in the market cycle today, why several of his key indicators suggest ETH is entering a fair value zone, and whether the true macro bottom could still lie ahead. They also unpack why ETH struggled despite improving fundamentals. Mike explains how Ethereum’s L2 roadmap may have improved the network while weakening short-term value capture for the asset itself, and what signals he’s watching (MVRV, supply in profit, the 200-week moving average) as he looks for the next expansion phase. Michael Nadeau & The DeFi Report: https://x.com/JustDeauIt https://thedefireport.io/ --- 📣GALAXY | INSTITUTIONAL DIGITAL FINANCE https://bankless.cc/Galaxy --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔮POLYMARKET | #1 PREDICTION MARKET https://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast  🪐GALAXY | INSTITUTIONAL DIGITAL FINANCE https://bankless.cc/galaxy-podcast  🏅BITGET TRADFI | TRADE GOLD WITH USDT https://bankless.cc/bitget 🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS https://thedefireport.io/bankless 🌍 WORLD | FULLY ONCHAIN EXCHANGE https://bankless.cc/world --- TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 3:50 The History of ETH Cycles 5:41 Analyzing Performance Trends 8:32 The Impact of L2 Roadmap 10:24 Roadmap Decisions & Market Perception 15:50 Valuation Metrics Explained 20:08 Disparities in Valuation Methods 23:22 Navigating Market Conditions 26:14 Nation-State Metaphor & Valuation 27:45 Revenue and Economic Impact 33:42 DEX Volumes & Their Implications 37:25 Stablecoin Supply on Ethereum 38:09 Cycle Metrics & Analysis 44:22 Fair Market Value Insights 50:40 Evaluating ETH for the Portfolio --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

    57 min
  8. Making America the Crypto Capital of the World | New CFTC Chairman Michael Selig

    9 MAR

    Making America the Crypto Capital of the World | New CFTC Chairman Michael Selig

    A conversation with new CFTC Chairman Mike Selig on the policy shift behind America’s push to become the crypto capital of the world. We cover the CFTC’s evolving role in crypto, prediction markets, and perpetuals, the end of regulation by enforcement, how the agency is thinking about DeFi and software developers, and why market structure legislation like the Clarity Act could reshape the future of U.S. crypto. ------ 🎬 DEBRIEF | RYAN & DAVID UNPACKING THE EPISODE https://www.bankless.com/podcast/debrief-making-america-the-crypto-capital-of-the-world ------ 🔮POLYMARKET | #1 PREDICTION MARKET https://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast  🪐GALAXY | INSTITUTIONAL DIGITAL FINANCE https://bankless.cc/galaxy-podcast  🏅BITGET TRADFI | TRADE GOLD WITH USDT https://bankless.cc/bitget 🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS https://thedefireport.io/bankless 🌍 WORLD | FULLY ONCHAIN EXCHANGE https://bankless.cc/world ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:33 Mike’s Background 4:25 Commodity Markets Transformation 7:31 Commodity Definition 10:56 The Role of the CFTC 11:56 Prediction Markets 17:48 Navigating New Markets 20:34 Are Prediction Markets CFTC Territory? 24:45 Insider Trading vs Information Advantage 28:25 Trump’s Conflict of Interests 29:21 Clarity Act 36:58 Project Crypto 39:37 Defining Intermediary 43:32 Exchanges vs L2s 45:50 No More Wells Notices 50:17 The New CFTC & SEC 54:51 Making America the Crypto Capital of the World 57:08 Best of the Clarity Act 59:04 Closing & Disclaimers ------ RESOURCES Mike Selig https://x.com/ChairmanSelig  CFTC https://www.cftc.gov/  ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

    59 min

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

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