Bankless

What if everything you thought about the dollar was wrong?
Monetary historian Jeff Snider joins Bankless to deliver a radical thesis: the Federal Reserve doesn't control the U.S. dollar; a sprawling offshore system of interbank ledger money does. This hidden network, known as the Eurodollar system, is the real engine of global finance, and it’s been breaking down for over 15 years.
In this episode, we unpack how Eurodollars work, why the Fed lost control, the eerie similarities between stablecoins and shadow banking, and why Jeff sees a “Silent Depression,” masked by asset booms but driven by deflationary forces.
If you’ve been bullish on crypto because of debasement fears, Jeff’s counter-narrative might challenge everything you believe.

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
5:30 Who’s Actually in Charge of the Dollar?
12:55 Stablecoins vs. Eurodollars
21:19 Did the Fed Ever Have Control?
30:02 Eurodollar Demand & Market Forces
38:24 What Backs a Eurodollar?
46:38 The Silent Depression Since 2008
52:58 From Fed Power to $6 Trillion Lost
58:45 Jeff’s Portfolio Thesis
1:05:24 “There’s No Debasement”
1:14:19 The Jeff Snider Portfolio

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RESOURCES

Jeff Snider
https://x.com/JeffSnider_EDU

Eurodollar University
https://www.eurodollar.university/

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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas joins the show to explore how AI agents, personalization, and new browsing models could transform the internet experience. 

From replacing mundane workflows with proactive assistance to envisioning a fully AI-native operating system, Aravind shares his long-term vision, the thinking behind Perplexity’s new Comet browser, and why curiosity will remain humanity’s most valuable skill in the AI era.

We also dive into competing with Big Tech, protecting users from AI-generated “slop,” and the architectural choices that make AI-assisted browsing faster, more reliable, and more personal.

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BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:

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🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro

9:58 Curiosity as the Key Human Advantage

15:26 From Keywords to Questions

21:35 Personalization and Agency in Browsing

27:13 Keeping Humans in the Loop

32:30 Why People Love Perplexity

38:35 Comet - The AI Browser

47:24 The Browser vs. Agent Debate

57:16 Competing with Big Tech

1:01:26 The OS Endgame

1:08:48 Closing Thoughts

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RESOURCES

Aravind Srinivas

https://x.com/AravSrinivas 

Perplexity

https://www.perplexity.ai/ 

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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:

https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠ 

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas joins the show to explore how AI agents, personalization, and new browsing models could transform the internet experience. 

From replacing mundane workflows with proactive assistance to envisioning a fully AI-native operating system, Aravind shares his long-term vision, the thinking behind Perplexity’s new Comet browser, and why curiosity will remain humanity’s most valuable skill in the AI era.

We also dive into competing with Big Tech, protecting users from AI-generated “slop,” and the architectural choices that make AI-assisted browsing faster, more reliable, and more personal.

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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

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro

9:58 Curiosity as the Key Human Advantage

15:26 From Keywords to Questions

21:35 Personalization and Agency in Browsing

27:13 Keeping Humans in the Loop

32:30 Why People Love Perplexity

38:35 Comet - The AI Browser

47:24 The Browser vs. Agent Debate

57:16 Competing with Big Tech

1:01:26 The OS Endgame

1:08:48 Closing Thoughts

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RESOURCES

Aravind Srinivas

https://x.com/AravSrinivas 

Perplexity

https://www.perplexity.ai/ 

------

Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:

https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠ 

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas joins the show to explore how AI agents, personalization, and new browsing models could transform the internet experience. 

From replacing mundane workflows with proactive assistance to envisioning a fully AI-native operating system, Aravind shares his long-term vision, the thinking behind Perplexity’s new Comet browser, and why curiosity will remain humanity’s most valuable skill in the AI era.

We also dive into competing with Big Tech, protecting users from AI-generated “slop,” and the architectural choices that make AI-assisted browsing faster, more reliable, and more personal.

------
💫 LIMITLESS | SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW

https://limitless.bankless.com/

https://x.com/LimitlessFT

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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

------

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro

9:58 Curiosity as the Key Human Advantage

15:26 From Keywords to Questions

21:35 Personalization and Agency in Browsing

27:13 Keeping Humans in the Loop

32:30 Why People Love Perplexity

38:35 Comet - The AI Browser

47:24 The Browser vs. Agent Debate

57:16 Competing with Big Tech

1:01:26 The OS Endgame

1:08:48 Closing Thoughts

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RESOURCES

Aravind Srinivas

https://x.com/AravSrinivas 

Perplexity

https://www.perplexity.ai/ 

------

Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:

https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠ 

Contrarian strategist Michael Green lays out why “passive” isn’t passive at all—it’s a flow-driven algorithm, turbocharged by policy, that funnels capital into mega-caps, starves small caps, and raises the odds of market non-clearing shocks.

We unpack Sharpe’s arithmetic vs. rebalancing reality, lessons from Volmageddon, the aging of investor cohorts, why stress may be deflationary before inflationary, and how to “doom-proof” a portfolio with assets that throw off cash (including overlooked duration/TIPS and munis).

Michael also separates crypto’s burn-it-down narrative from its true promise: tokenized, programmable securities that fix TradFi’s paper plumbing.

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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

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro

4:52 Finance Twitter vs Crypto Twitter

6:42 Fundamentals vs Narrative

9:53 Passive Index Investing

22:12 Message for Passive Investors

28:43 Market Cap vs FDV

30:23 Large Cap Dominance

40:45 Other Distortions

43:40 Volmageddon

50:14 Demographics

55:17 Passive Doom-Proof Portfolio

1:04:15 Currency Collapse

1:09:51 Gold & Precious Metals

1:15:58 Bitcoin vs Gold

1:18:29 Ray Dalio Debt Cycles

1:22:43 Stablecoins & Tokenization

1:28:53 Message to the Listeners

1:34:32 Action Items

1:35:28 Closing & Disclaimers

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RESOURCES

Michael Green

https://x.com/profplum99

Michael’s Substack

https://www.yesigiveafig.com/subscribe?coupon=879f4ac8 

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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:

https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠ 

On this week’s Weekly Rollup, ETH flirts with ATH while BTC tags a new one, PPI spooks then fades? Ryan and david dig into a $1B ETH ETF day, Tom Lee’s 1M ETH treasury, and the ETH/BTC setup. Also, Stripe and Circle launch L1s, Coinbase routes Aerodrome in-app, Uniswap’s Wyoming DUNA and fee switch path, Monero’s 51% attack, plus quick hits on Do Kwon and bank pushback on the Genius Act.

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BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:
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🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN
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🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK
https://bankless.cc/Mantle

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TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES

0:00 Intro
4:01 PPI Volatility & Markets
https://x.com/fundstrat/status/1955995766742192612
https://x.com/fundstrat/status/1955992342453772783
https://polymarket.com/event/fed-decision-in-september?tid=1755177801833
https://x.com/DegenerateNews/status/1955763404733603857
https://companiesmarketcap.com/assets-by-market-cap/
https://x.com/CoinMarketCap/status/1955457154686849099
https://x.com/nilesh_rohilla/status/1954190478712164631
https://www.theblock.co/post/366734/standard-chartered-analysts-raise-ethereum-year-end-price-target
https://farside.co.uk/eth/
https://x.com/NateGeraci/status/1955100618088972649
https://decrypt.co/334366/harvard-116-million-blackrock-bitcoin-etf
https://x.com/BitcoinPierre/status/1955433791805329825
https://x.com/BitcoinPierre/status/1955493635119780321
https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1955980017315295514
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/13/crypto-exchange-bullish-more-than-doubles-in-nyse-debut-after-pricing-ipo-above-expected-range.html
https://x.com/hosseeb/status/1955815228245205461
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1954876419261010119
https://x.com/tedpillows/status/1955283896049807480?
https://www.strategicethreserve.xyz/
https://x.com/CryptoGucci/status/1955339759917646012
https://www.bankless.com/read/ethzilla-shares-surge-after-peter-thiel-takes-7-5-stake
https://x.com/MikeIppolito_/status/1955606885442179298
https://x.com/JasonYanowitz/status/1956001519095947593
https://x.com/StoryProtocol/status/1954885593286238460
https://x.com/JasonYanowitz/status/1954890658155545074
https://x.com/EricTrump/status/1955653873730720202
https://x.com/EricTrump/status/1955324074684518557
37:07 Stablecoin big boys launching their own L1s
https://x.com/circle/status/1955246636223135976
https://x.com/adamscochran/status/1955257074318823568
https://x.com/jgarzik/status/1955270849595937091
https://x.com/jgarzik/status/1955270849595937091
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1955011330777497987:
https://x.com/chuk_xyz/status/1955064401490280721
https://x.com/100y_eth/status/1955081750683766805
https://x.com/CampbellJAustin/status/1955240962038349995
https://x.com/cherdougie/status/1955383195609993270
47:36 Banks demand the exclusion for yield-bearing stablecoins in the GENIUS
https://x.com/jchervinsky/status/1955763041594958175
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/08/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-guarantees-fair-banking-for-all-americans/
52:22 Scott Bessent - Strategic Bitcoin Reserve update…it’s not great
https://x.com/watcherguru/status/1955987518509154717
54:01 ETH, Coinbase, & Uniswap
https://x.com/AerodromeFi/status/1953853358575587631
https://x.com/wagmiAlexander/status/1955101747082309745
https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1955268909294068192
https://www.theblock.co/data/crypto-markets/public-companies/coinbase-total-volume
https://www.theblock.co/post/366257/uniswap-foundation-eyes-protocol-fee-switch-with-propose
https://gov.uniswap.org/t/foundation-feedback-group-ffg-thread/25549/10
https://x.com/SenLummis/status/1954950030306968055
https://x.com/unichain/status/1955978120269312280
58:54 Do Kwon pleaded guilty
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/do-kwon-pleads-guilty-us-fraud-charges-40-billion-crypto-collapse-2025-08-12/
1:00:48 Monero getting 51% attacked - now controls over 51% of Monero hashrate
https://x.com/caffeinateduser/status/1954999609039917448
https://x.com/PixOnChain/status/1955738903895531893
1:05:30 Closing & Disclaimers
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

Jake Chervinsky and Amanda Tuminelli join us to unpack the Roman Storm verdict—what it means for DeFi, why Section 1960 is a looming threat to open-source developers, and the strong grounds for appeal.

We discuss the legal, political, and legislative paths forward, the role of Congress in protecting developers, and how the crypto industry can mobilize to prevent future prosecutions.

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BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:

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🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN

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🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK

https://bankless.cc/Mantle

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro

0:24 Verdict First Impressions

4:22 Was it Successful?

6:26 Second Trial?

9:47 Money Transmitter Debate

15:20 Optimistic Setup?

19:56 Levels of Precedent

26:04 What’s Next?

30:26 Crypto Industry Agency

34:01 Regulatory Acts

37:33 Two Paths

44:35 Trump Administration

49:02 Upcoming Administrations

53:45 Call to Action

56:55 Closing & Disclaimers

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RESOURCES

Jake Chervinsky

https://x.com/jchervinsky 

Amanda Tuminelli

https://x.com/amandatums 

DeFi Education Fund

https://www.defieducationfund.org/ 

Fund Roman Storm

https://freeromanstorm.com/ 

Fund Alex Pertsev

https://juicebox.money/v2/p/713 

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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:

https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠ 

Ethereum just turned 10, and Vitalik Buterin returns to reflect on the last decade—and where it’s headed next.

In this conversation, Vitalik shares what surprised him most about Ethereum’s growth, the hard lessons from challenges like The DAO and NFTs, and what he’d do differently if starting again.

We explore Ethereum’s evolving cultural identity, privacy as a core value, the tradeoffs between L1 and L2, and how Vitalik envisions Ethereum surviving an AI-dominated future.

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🎬 DEBRIEF | RYAN & DAVID UNPACKING THE EPISODE
https://www.bankless.com/podcast/debrief-ethereums-next-decade-vitalik-buterin

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BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:

🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFi
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🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN
https://bankless.cc/unichain

🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK
https://bankless.cc/Mantle

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
0:52 Ethereum’s First 2 Years
2:25 Ethereum’s Top Contributions
4:18 Biggest Surprises
7:37 What Took Longer than Expected
9:05 Overcoming Challenges
11:03 Lesson for Younger Vitalik
15:53 Bitcoin vs Ethereum
18:49 Ethereum’s Cultural Evolution
32:11 Privacy on Ethereum
37:42 Nation State Resistant Privacy
43:03 Cypherpunk vs Mainstream
56:05 World Ledger
59:09 Ethereum in 2024
1:02:23 Changes in the Ethereum Foundation
1:10:10 Economic Alignment
1:16:38 Scaling the L1
1:31:21 Ethereum’s Barbell Strategy
1:39:28 Ethereum Nationalism
1:48:28 ETH Treasuries
1:55:19 The Next 10 Years for Ethereum
1:59:35 The Next 10 Years for Vitalik
2:01:25 The Next 10 Years for Bankless
2:02:52 Closing & Disclaimers

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RESOURCES

Vitalik Buterin
https://x.com/VitalikButerin

2021 Endgame
https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2021/12/06/endgame.html

Convex and Concave Dispositions
https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2020/11/08/concave.html

------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

Ethereum just turned 10, and Vitalik Buterin returns to reflect on the last decade—and where it’s headed next.

In this conversation, Vitalik shares what surprised him most about Ethereum’s growth, the hard lessons from challenges like The DAO and NFTs, and what he’d do differently if starting again.

We explore Ethereum’s evolving cultural identity, privacy as a core value, the tradeoffs between L1 and L2, and how Vitalik envisions Ethereum surviving an AI-dominated future.

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🎬 DEBRIEF | RYAN & DAVID UNPACKING THE EPISODE
https://www.bankless.com/podcast/debrief-ethereums-next-decade-vitalik-buterin

------
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

------
TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
0:52 Ethereum’s First 2 Years
2:25 Ethereum’s Top Contributions
4:18 Biggest Surprises
7:37 What Took Longer than Expected
9:05 Overcoming Challenges
11:03 Lesson for Younger Vitalik
15:53 Bitcoin vs Ethereum
18:49 Ethereum’s Cultural Evolution
32:11 Privacy on Ethereum
37:42 Nation State Resistant Privacy
43:03 Cypherpunk vs Mainstream
56:05 World Ledger
59:09 Ethereum in 2024
1:02:23 Changes in the Ethereum Foundation
1:10:10 Economic Alignment
1:16:38 Scaling the L1
1:31:21 Ethereum’s Barbell Strategy
1:39:28 Ethereum Nationalism
1:48:28 ETH Treasuries
1:55:19 The Next 10 Years for Ethereum
1:59:35 The Next 10 Years for Vitalik
2:01:25 The Next 10 Years for Bankless
2:02:52 Closing & Disclaimers

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RESOURCES

Vitalik Buterin
https://x.com/VitalikButerin

2021 Endgame
https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2021/12/06/endgame.html

Convex and Concave Dispositions
https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2020/11/08/concave.html

------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

Ethereum just turned 10, and Vitalik Buterin returns to reflect on the last decade—and where it’s headed next.

In this conversation, Vitalik shares what surprised him most about Ethereum’s growth, the hard lessons from challenges like The DAO and NFTs, and what he’d do differently if starting again.

We explore Ethereum’s evolving cultural identity, privacy as a core value, the tradeoffs between L1 and L2, and how Vitalik envisions Ethereum surviving an AI-dominated future.

------
🎬 DEBRIEF | RYAN & DAVID UNPACKING THE EPISODE
https://www.bankless.com/podcast/debrief-ethereums-next-decade-vitalik-buterin

------
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

------
TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
0:52 Ethereum’s First 2 Years
2:25 Ethereum’s Top Contributions
4:18 Biggest Surprises
7:37 What Took Longer than Expected
9:05 Overcoming Challenges
11:03 Lesson for Younger Vitalik
15:53 Bitcoin vs Ethereum
18:49 Ethereum’s Cultural Evolution
32:11 Privacy on Ethereum
37:42 Nation State Resistant Privacy
43:03 Cypherpunk vs Mainstream
56:05 World Ledger
59:09 Ethereum in 2024
1:02:23 Changes in the Ethereum Foundation
1:10:10 Economic Alignment
1:16:38 Scaling the L1
1:31:21 Ethereum’s Barbell Strategy
1:39:28 Ethereum Nationalism
1:48:28 ETH Treasuries
1:55:19 The Next 10 Years for Ethereum
1:59:35 The Next 10 Years for Vitalik
2:01:25 The Next 10 Years for Bankless
2:02:52 Closing & Disclaimers

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RESOURCES

Vitalik Buterin
https://x.com/VitalikButerin

2021 Endgame
https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2021/12/06/endgame.html

Convex and Concave Dispositions
https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2020/11/08/concave.html

------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠