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• Ethereum’s Strategic Pivot: The Plan it Needs to Win

  Ethereum Foundation researchers Dankrad Feist and Ansgar Dietrichs join David Hoffman and Michael Ippolito to discuss Ethereum’s identity crisis—and how it’s turning the ship around.They break down Ethereum’s cultural and organizational challenges, the pivot toward L1 growth, and the evolving role of the Ethereum Foundation under new leadership. The conversation covers the future of base and native rollups, L2 alignment, and why Ethereum’s unique values still matter in a competitive landscape.------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFi https://bankless.cc/Frax🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain🌐SELF | PROVE YOUR SELF https://bankless.cc/Self🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle🏦INFINEX | THE CRYPTO-EVERYTHING APP https://bankless.cc/Infinex------ TIMESTAMPS00:00:00 Intro 00:05:42 Top Problems with Ethereum 00:12:33 Lack of Growth in Ethereum Layer 1 00:27:49 Ethereum’s Roadmap Dilemma 00:38:08 Layer 1 Scaling Progress 00:39:08 Ethereum L1’s Value Proposition to L2s 00:48:44 Base and Native Rollups Explained 00:57:25 Canonical EVM in a Rollup World 01:01:26 Vitalik’s Vision for L1 Scaling 01:05:59 ZK Scaling Becomes Real 01:08:12 Fast Block Times and DeFi 01:16:59 The Evolving Ethereum Core Culture 01:22:38 Other Interesting Changes 01:26:41 Ethereum’s Direction Feels Different Now 01:30:09 Closing and Disclosure------ RESOURCESDankrad Feisthttps://x.com/dankradAnsgar Dietrichshttps://x.com/adietrichsMike Ippolito https://x.com/MikeIppolito_------Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

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  1:20:03
• ROLLUP: Ethereum L1 Comeback | MegaETH Testnet | Base Token Chaos | OHM Crash | WalletConnect Token

  This week, Bread joins David to unpack Ethereum’s surprising pivot back to Layer 1, as insiders push for a more pragmatic roadmap and faster block times. MegaETH’s 10ms testnet drops jaws and breaks dApps, while WalletConnect shocks the industry with a late-stage token launch. Meanwhile, Base stirs chaos with its “content coins,” OHM crashes $6B in hours, and Solana’s token wars heat up. Is Ethereum finally finding its focus — or just reacting to the noise? It’s a jam-packed Weekly Rollup you don’t want to miss. Bread: https://x.com/0xBreadguy MegaETH: https://x.com/megaeth_labs Modern Market: https://x.com/modernmarket_ ------ 📣 WALLET CONNECT | ONCHAIN UX ECOSYSTEM https://bankless.cc/WalletConnect ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFi https://bankless.cc/Frax 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🌐SELF | PROVE YOUR SELF https://bankless.cc/Self 🏦INFINEX | THE CRYPTO-EVERYTHING APP https://bankless.cc/Infinex ------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 0:00 Intro 1:20 Bread’s Arc 3:17 MegaETH & Testnet 8:46 Noise 13:31 Wen MegaETH Mainnet? 16:59 Ethereum Strategic Pivot? 39:25 Base Tokenized Content Drama 49:59 $OM Mantra Token Dump 59:28 Raydium’s LaunchLab 1:03:38 Bread’s Upcoming Excitement 1:04:31 Closing & Disclaimers ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

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  1:05:28
• AI ROLLUP: This Changes Everything | ChatGPT's Memory Update Just Blew Our Minds

  OpenAI just rocked the week with a groundbreaking memory update, sparking debate over whether “soul data” is the real moat in AI. Google fires back with its Agent‑to‑Agent protocol and a Cursor‑killer. We riff on 1,000 AI agents unleashed in Minecraft, labs turning pets into humans, and how Dolphin AI somehow beat GTA 6 to market. Buckle up as David, Ejaaz, and Josh roll through the top five stories shaping the AI‑crypto frontier and what they mean for builders, traders, and the future of intelligence. David: https://x.com/TrustlessState Ejaaz: https://x.com/cryptopunk7213 Josh: https://x.com/Josh_Kale ------ 📣 WALLET CONNECT | ONCHAIN UX ECOSYSTEM https://bankless.cc/WalletConnect ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFi https://bankless.cc/Frax 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🌐SELF | PROVE YOUR SELF https://bankless.cc/Self 🏦INFINEX | THE CRYPTO-EVERYTHING APP https://bankless.cc/Infinex ------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 00:00:00 OpenAI’s HUGE Announcement https://x.com/openai/status/1910378774727623024?s=46 https://x.com/cryptopunk7213/status/1910728919113736380 00:10:23 The Final Data Set https://x.com/theannagat/status/1912209931073433907?s=46 https://x.com/nearcyan/status/1910796767626686951?s=46 https://x.com/dbarabander/status/1910402182589145411 00:16:10 Falling In Love With AI https://www.instagram.com/p/DHwWc6RiH2P/ 00:23:05 Open AI To Replace Apple 00:31:10 The All Knowing Intelligence 00:37:12 Agents Overtake Minecraft https://x.com/kimmonismus/status/1912415676331168147?s=46 00:44:50 Pets As Humans? https://x.com/venturetwins/status/1911113662607315035 00:46:18 We Can Talk To Dolphins https://blog.google/technology/ai/dolphingemma/ 00:48:33 Google Agent To Agent https://x.com/omarsar0/status/1909977142311690320?s=46 https://x.com/i/status/1912123283954389172 01:00:01 GPT 4.1 https://x.com/_mohansolo/status/1911843179898540311 https://x.com/openrouterai/status/1911803671878173114?s=46 https://x.com/kimmonismus/status/1912434791779017083?s=46 01:09:17 A New Model Architecture ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

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  1:12:17
• Unraveling of the Global Order? | Rana Foroohar

  Donald Trump is attempting something no leader has done before—unwind the global economic order. In this episode, Financial Times columnist and CNN analyst Rana Foroohar joins us to unpack Trump’s economic strategy, the unraveling of Bretton Woods, and whether America is becoming an emerging market. From soaring bond yields to declining dollar strength, we explore what markets are signaling, how business leaders are reacting, and why this may mark the end of the neoliberal era. ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFi https://bankless.cc/Frax 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🌐SELF | PROVE YOURSELF https://bankless.cc/Self 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🏦INFINEX | THE CRYPTO-EVERYTHING APP https://bankless.cc/Infinex ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 4:20 Trump Unwinding Global Order? 13:39 Emerging Market Paradigm 21:51 All-In Debate 26:22 Manufacturing Jobs 31:55 Trump Vibe Based President? 35:41 90-Day Tariff Pause Signal 38:41 Centralizing U.S. Supply Chain 40:54 Where Rana Finds Signal & Crypto 45:16 Closing & Disclaimers ------ RESOURCES Rana Foroohar https://x.com/RanaForoohar America the Unstable https://www.ft.com/content/e7a0af16-6ecf-4e04-8fa3-4de5646e8d58 The Great Tariff Debate with David Sacks, Larry Summers, and Ezra Klein https://youtu.be/KcmMOZKnKAk?si=52ZULN6T_xyirh23 Stephen Miran’s A User's Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System https://x.com/SteveMiran/status/1856745675943207362 ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

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  45:57
• Stablecoin Gold Rush: A $200 Trillion Opportunity | Rob Hadick

  Stablecoins are no longer a niche crypto curiosity—they're a full-blown financial revolution. In this episode, Rob Hadick, General Partner at Dragonfly, joins us to unpack the emerging stablecoin tech stack and why cross-border payments, savings, and financial infrastructure are being rebuilt from the ground up. From Circle and Tether to next-gen orchestration layers and stablecoin-native blockchains, we explore why this $200 trillion global opportunity is only 5% unlocked—and who stands to win the most.------📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium------BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFihttps://bankless.cc/Frax 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAINhttps://bankless.cc/unichain 🌐SELF | PROVE YOUR SELFhttps://bankless.cc/Self 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORKhttps://bankless.cc/Mantle 🏦INFINEX | THE CRYPTO-EVERYTHING APPhttps://bankless.cc/Infinex ------TIMESTAMPS0:00 Intro5:08 Why Stablecoins?6:50 The Stablecoin Train20:26 Stablecoin Network Effects22:55 Stablecoin Payments: Who Actually Wins?26:51 Orchestration Layers41:53 Stablecoin Blockchains52:53 Stablecoin Singularity56:03 Traditional Banks59:38 Non-USD Stablecoins1:02:05 How Many Stablecoins?1:05:03 Circle IPO1:09:32 Closing & Disclaimers------RESOURCESRob Hadickhttps://x.com/hadickmStablecoin Payments: Who Actually Wins?https://medium.com/@HadickM/stablecoin-payments-who-actually-wins-ebd72a1cc8b3------Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

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  1:05:06

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