Bankless

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Bankless

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

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    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 "picks and shovels" approach to investing in AI-driven crypto tech.  Are AI agents on blockchains the obvious future? And how do scarcity and abundance interact in this new era? Join us as we tackle these questions and more, exploring what the future might hold at the intersection of AI, autonomy, and blockchain. ------ 🍵0x v2 | NEXT GEN PRICING ENGINE https://bankless.cc/0x   ------ 📣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  🪄MAGIC EDEN | HOME OF WEB3 https://bankless.cc/MagicEden  🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle    🤖 0G | MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE, INEVITABLE https://bankless.cc/0G  ------ ✨ Mint the episode on Zora ✨ https://zora.co/collect/zora:0x0c294913a7596b427add7dcbd6d7bbfc7338d53f/86?referrer=0x077Fe9e96Aa9b20Bd36F1C6290f54F8717C5674E  ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 5:34 Crypto x AI Narrative Shift  6:39 AI & Economic Agents Explained  11:50 GOAT Memecoin Summary  23:15 Were AI Crypto Agents Obvious?  25:18 Luna AI Token & Terminal  29:41 Consequences? Is This Life? 33:27 Exciting Use Cases 40:27 Sam Altman Quote Importance  42:33 Wealth Generation Process & Blockspace 48:15 Programmable Money & Agent MEV 56:14 The AI Agent & Memecoin Thesis 1:03:03 Government & Society Reaction Predictions 1:11:09 No Off Buttons?... 1:13:40 DePin & AI 1:16:45 AI Agent Blockspace Demand 1:19:15 Closing & Disclaimers ------ RESOURCES Matthew Stephenson  https://x.com/stephensonhmatt  Crypto's Role In The AI Revolution https://panteracapital.com/blockchain-letter/cryptos-role-in-the-ai-revolution/#crypto-ai-gold-rush  ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures ⁠

    1h 21m
  2. 3 DAYS AGO

    Are L2s Extensions of Ethereum? | Kyle Samani & Max Resnick vs. David Hoffman & Jill Gunter

    Bankless Nation, we’ve got the hottest debate in crypto right now: Are L2s extensions of Ethereum? On one side, we’ve got Kyle Samani and Max Resnick proposing that the current Ethereum Rollup-Centric Roadmap is off-track. On the other side we’ve got David Hoffman and Jill Gunter defending L2s as successful  extensions of Ethereum. ------ 📣 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  🪄 MAGIC EDEN | HOME OF WEB3 https://bankless.cc/MagicEden  🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle    🤖 0G | MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE, INEVITABLE https://bankless.cc/0G  ------ ✨ Mint the episode on Zora ✨ https://zora.co/collect/zora:0x0c294913a7596b427add7dcbd6d7bbfc7338d53f/85?referrer=0x077Fe9e96Aa9b20Bd36F1C6290f54F8717C5674E  ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 8:54 Defending “Extensions of Ethereum” 16:33 Interoperability Standards 25:36 Are L2s Parasitic to Ethereum? 32:37 ETH Economics & Value Accrual 41:30 Solana vs Ethereum L2s 49:09 Closing Thoughts ------ RESOURCES Kyle Samani https://x.com/KyleSamani   Max Resnick https://x.com/MaxResnick1   Jill Gunter https://x.com/jillrgunter   ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures ⁠

    48 min
  3. 6 DAYS AGO

    ROLLUP: Stripe's Billion Dollar Stablecoin Bet | Noteworthy Investor Longs BTC | Kraken's New L2 | Self Custody Is For Losers??

    This week, a record-breaking billion-dollar crypto acquisition has caught mainstream attention, highlighting its significance for the stablecoin market’s future. Kraken joined the Layer 2 race, while Worldcoin launched its own L2, WorldChain, and Scroll’s airdrop received mixed reactions from recipients. Meanwhile, Paul Tudor Jones is bullish on crypto as a hedge, while Michael Saylor stirred controversy by criticizing self-custody, calling it a move for “losers.” ------ 📣 0x v2 | NEXT GEN PRICING ENGINE https://bankless.cc/0x   ------ 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://bankless.cc/MagicEden  🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle    🤖 0G | MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE, INEVITABLE https://bankless.cc/0G  ----- ✨ Mint the episode on Zora ✨ https://zora.co/collect/zora:0x0c294913a7596b427add7dcbd6d7bbfc7338d53f/84?referrer=0x077Fe9e96Aa9b20Bd36F1C6290f54F8717C5674E  ------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 00:00 Start 02:23 Markets https://pro.kraken.com/app/trade/btc-usd  https://pro.kraken.com/app/trade/eth-usd  https://x.com/DegenerateNews/status/1849120571222536262  https://www.coingecko.com/en/global-charts  06:22 L2 Updates https://l2beat.com/scaling/summary  https://x.com/lukeyoungblood/status/1849217477668171831?s=46&t=2ZINVXJQKx6xO_6Wiiu_2g  https://x.com/lukeyoungblood/status/1849217477668171831? s=46&t=2ZINVXJQKx6xO_6Wiiu_2g  08:09 Paul Tudor Jones Bullish Bitcoin https://x.com/WatcherGuru/status/1848735063615152136  10:46 Election Check In https://polymarket.com/elections  https://x.com/Polymarket/status/1849451658788384797  15:26 Kraken's New L2 https://x.com/inkonchain/status/1849443457883885801  https://inkonchain.com/en-US  19:23 Stripe's $1 Billion Dollar Bet https://x.com/Stablecoin/status/1848390849215730100  https://x.com/zcabrams/status/1848391342524641533  https://x.com/benhoneill/status/1848390493425504388 https://x.com/cburniske/status/1848108613631390155  22:24 Michael Saylor Against Self Custody? https://x.com/AdamSimecka/status/1848131598044074289  https://x.com/Sina_21st/status/1848450657205789161  https://x.com/ErikVoorhees/status/1848754319019151873  https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1848876323026178429  https://x.com/ercwl/status/1848737997463695827  28:59 Balance on CEX's https://x.com/leonwaidmann/status/1848780740969795917? s=46&t=2ZINVXJQKx6xO_6Wiiu_2g  32:38 Uniswap Integrated Across https://x.com/AcrossProtocol/status/1849106135443202069  https://x.com/danrobinson/status/1849142590131904650  https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1849182167748022600  35:47 Scroll Airdrop https://scroll.io/blog/introducing-scrolls-first-airdrop-a-celebration-of-the-global-community  https://claim.scroll.io/  https://x.com/Andrey_10gwei/status/1848441546645135672  https://x.com/redhairshanks86/status/1848653068554166339  39:12 Ethereum Blobs https://x.com/Data_Always/status/1848789160888332340  42:46 WorldCoin launches 'World Chain' L2 https://world.org/blog/announcements/world-chain-now-open-every-human  48:46 Central Bankers https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4985877  https://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/working-papers/unique-implementation-of-permanent-primary-deficits  52:11 Buenos Aires Issues Decentralized ID's https://zksync.mirror.xyz/kWRhD81C7il4YWGrkDplfhIZcmViisRe3lnsmbvOEmg  56:19 Nigeria Drops Charges https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-23/nigerian-court-releases-binance-executive-jailed-since-february  57:44 Meme Of The Week  https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1849206541255389459  ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

    1 hr
  4. 24 OCT

    Kraken's 'Ink' - the Newest L2 in the Optimism Superchain | Ben Jones & Andrew Koller

    Optimism’s Ben Jones and Kraken’s Andrew Koller join us today to talk about Kraken’s latest release. Kraken is launching Ink, a blockchain built on the OP Stack, joining the Superchain to scale Ethereum. Ink offers 1-second block times and connects users to top DeFi applications while contributing to a unified ecosystem. Kraken will share revenue with the Optimism Collective and participate in OP Governance, alongside major players like Coinbase and Uniswap. Ink’s mainnet is set to launch in early 2025, focusing on onchain wealth management and developer engagement. ------ 📣 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://bankless.cc/MagicEden  🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle    🤖0G | MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE, INEVITABLE https://bankless.cc/0G  ------ ✨ Mint the episode on Zora ✨ https://zora.co/collect/zora:0x0c294913a7596b427add7dcbd6d7bbfc7338d53f/83?referrer=0x077Fe9e96Aa9b20Bd36F1C6290f54F8717C5674E  ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 5:43 Ink Explained  10:23 What Happens on Ink? 12:52 Technicalities of Ink 14:00 Kraken x Ink Synergy & Goals 16:15 Why Superchain? 17:36 Ink Roadmap 19:08 Scaling Ink  24:41 Wen Superchain Promise 33:19 Superchain 2025 Forcast 37:36 Kraken BTC x Ink 38:38 $INK 39:35 Superchain Economics 48:28 What’s Next?  51:30 Closing & Disclaimers ------ RESOURCES Ink http://inkonchain.com  Kraken https://x.com/krakenfx  ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures ⁠

    54 min
  5. 21 OCT

    ETH vs. SOL: A Professor's Take | Omid Malekan

    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 is better than SOL. ------ 🎬 DEBRIEF | Ryan & David unpacking the episode: https://www.bankless.com/debrief-omid-malekan  ------ 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://bankless.cc/MagicEden  🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle     🤖0G | MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE, INEVITABLE https://bankless.cc/0G  ------ ✨ Mint the episode on Zora ✨ https://zora.co/collect/zora:0x0c294913a7596b427add7dcbd6d7bbfc7338d53f/81?referrer=0x077Fe9e96Aa9b20Bd36F1C6290f54F8717C5674E  ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 5:52 Omid Malekan’s Crypto Background 9:31 Transitioning from TradFi to Crypto 14:51 Explaining Blockchain to Crypto Newcomers 21:10 The Fear in Crypto Transactions 24:53 Blockchain as a New Financial Architecture 28:07 What New Crypto Users Get Wrong 32:06 Not All Blockchains Are Equal 39:25 Qualitative & Quantitative Block Space 41:49 Lessons from Traditional Finance 46:36 Modular Design in Blockchain Systems 1:01:30 Envisioning Crypto's Endgame 1:09:25 Ether's Value Proposition and Role 1:20:28 Opportunities for High-Quality Liquid Assets 1:23:38 Ether as the Money of the Internet 1:36:55 Settlement Assurances and the Future of Ether 1:44:07 Crypto Cycles and Future Gains 1:45:29 Own Podcast? 1:46:22 Closing & Disclaimers ------ RESOURCES Omid Malekan https://x.com/malekanoms  Omid's Books  https://www.amazon.com/Re-Architecting-Trust-History-Markets-Platforms/dp/1732027331  https://www.amazon.com/Story-Blockchain-Beginners-Technology-Understands/dp/1732027307  ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures ⁠

    1h 41m
  6. 18 OCT

    ROLLUP: $2B Polymarket Bet | Election Pump? | Ethereum Optimism | Trump 'WLFI' Launch

    With 17 days to the election, Trump launched WLFI token sales, while Kamala’s positive crypto comments sparked reactions. Polymarket shows Trump at 62%—can that be real? In Ethereum, despite price drops, Fuel launched a high-performance L2, and Paradigm introduced its own with Reth at the core. Meanwhile, Saylor plans a Bitcoin Bank, and Kraken is rolling out wrapped Bitcoin. ------ 🎮B3 | THE FUTURE OF ONCHAIN GAMING https://bankless.cc/b3  ------ 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://bankless.cc/MagicEden  🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle    🤖0G | MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE, INEVITABLE https://bankless.cc/0G  ------ ✨ Mint the episode on Zora ✨ https://zora.co/collect/zora:0x0c294913a7596b427add7dcbd6d7bbfc7338d53f/80?referrer=0x077Fe9e96Aa9b20Bd36F1C6290f54F8717C5674E ------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 0:00 Intro 4:17 Markets, L2 Update, & Blobs https://farside.co.uk/?p=1518  https://x.com/Evan_ss6/status/1846592303143776269  https://x.com/growthepie_eth/status/1845076141054345464  https://x.com/ryansadams/status/1845111043250393569  https://x.com/sassal0x/status/1846458384842916143  https://dune.com/hildobby/blobs  https://x.com/litocoen/status/1846455792461140222  https://imgur.com/a/hGxZIyT  https://x.com/pythianism/status/1846502438624231605  https://x.com/EricBalchunas/status/1845944946991276494  21:52 What’s going on on Polymarket?  https://polymarket.com/event/presidential-election-winner-2024?tid=1729178339570  https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1846660964105453836  https://x.com/fewture/status/1846667819200795038  https://x.com/adamscochran/status/1846677802583838768  https://x.com/divine_economy/status/1846677795423785150  https://www.natesilver.net/p/whats-behind-trumps-surge-in-prediction  https://x.com/fozzydiablo/status/1846369866091319743  https://x.com/fozzydiablo/status/1846647506446246089  https://x.com/hosseeb/status/1846395633806331914  31:12 Let’s check in on Trump and Kamala - 17 Days until election  First Trump - kicked off World Liberty Financial token sale https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1845179557852377508  https://x.com/tier10k/status/1846641132731552018  https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1845926256292122767  34:43 Then Harris - said something about crypto - appreciates the help of crypto in broadening access to wealth  https://kamalaharris.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/FMfcgzQXJZxzLGgcKmSNQSXCRKXShwxJ.pdf  https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1845920172638605768  https://x.com/Matt_Hougan/status/1845832802316751251  https://x.com/BanklessHQ/status/1846552111217045904  https://elections2024.thehill.com/massachusetts/massachusetts-senate-warren-deaton/  https://polymarket.com/event/massachusetts-us-senate-election-winner?tid=1729152612507  46:16 Galaxy researched released their Crypto policy scorecard  https://x.com/intangiblecoins/status/1845845163588907486  51:29 Kraken with a big release…Wrapped BTC - KBTC https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/10/17/crypto-exchange-kraken-launches-wrapped-bitcoin-token-kbtc/  52:17 Fuel mainnet is live!  https://x.com/fuel_network/status/1846536888003313786  53:54 Paradigm is launching a new L2, Odyssey https://x.com/gakonst/status/1844757392061542781  https://x.com/danrobinson/status/1844759810421805069  55:49 Conduit introduced Conduit G2  https://x.com/conduitxyz/status/1846567345864536468  57:41 Michael Saylor wants to turn Microstrategy into a Bitcoin bank https://x.com/isoandso/status/1844772434991325287  59:15 Italy will raise capital gain tax on Bitcoin from 26% to 42%  https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/italy-stiffens-terms-digital-services-tax-

    1h 7m

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

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