Bankless

Can Crypto disrupt the IP Market?

In this episode, we dive deep with Jason Zhao, co-founder of Story Protocol, on how their new token launch could unlock the $70 trillion intellectual property market. We explore the bold vision of making IP liquid, programmable, and globally accessible — and how crypto-native creators, DAOs, and even major studios could reshape how stories are owned and built.

This might just be crypto's most ambitious attempt at disrupting the media yet.

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0:00 Intro

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Jason Zhao

Story Protocol

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Ethereum has achieved groundbreaking technological success, but has it failed to properly define ETH the asset?

In this episode, Frax founder Sam Kazemian joins us to discuss what he believes is Ethereum’s biggest mistake: confusing the ETH asset with Ethereum the technology. Sam argues that post-EIP-1559 and Proof of Stake, ETH unintentionally shifted toward a discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation model, undermining its potential as a commodity-like store of value.

We explore how the Ethereum community can reclaim a stronger narrative around ETH and why social consensus — not just tech — determines an asset’s destiny.

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0:00 Intro

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Sam Kazemian

Blue-Money Gospel

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This week, the one, the only, Ryan Sean Adams makes his return to the Weekly Rollup and crypto, after a 90-day crypto detox to find a radically changed landscape. Ryan and David break down crypto’s shifting cycle, what Ryan missed, and Bitcoin’s dramatic decoupling from equities as it earns a strategic reserve in the U.S. Treasury. Meanwhile, Ethereum faces an existential pivot as it tries to reclaim lost ground against Bitcoin and Solana. Plus, Zora sparks heated debate with “content coins” amid new regulatory wins—and new fears of political corruption. Did crypto lose its soul chasing mainstream adoption, or is this the messy price of progress? It’s an essential Weekly Rollup you can’t afford to miss.

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TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES

0:00 Intro

0:47 Are we still in a bull market?

3:01 Ryan’s unplugging

5:35 Ryan’s last 90-days
https://x.com/ryansadams/status/1915115437505049055

24:50 Bankless’s choices moving forward
https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1914312548897219006

32:58 Markets since Ryan’s break

40:35 Trump’s memecoin

48:31 Bitcoin Strategic Reserve

52:34 $LIBRA memecoin

1:03:29 Contentcoins, Zora, & Jesse

1:16:39 Ethereum pivot & Bitcoin decoupling

1:18:18 Closing & Disclaimers

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

In this episode, we unpack Paradigm’s groundbreaking 2025 report, “TradFi Tomorrow: DeFi and the Rise of Extensible Finance,” with Paradigm’s Dan Robinson and Justin Slaughter.

We explore the stunning stat that 66% of traditional financial institutions are actively engaged with DeFi—and what that really means. From tokenization and stablecoins to regulatory clarity and decentralized exchanges, this conversation dives deep into how Wall Street is already integrating with crypto.

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0:00 Intro

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Paradigm Report

Dan Robinson

Justin Slaughter

Paradigm

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Jon Charbonneau and Bread join David Hoffman to unpack Ethereum’s pivotal moment—facing tough choices to re-focus on its Layer 1.

They break down Ethereum’s shift back toward prioritizing L1 growth, the delicate dance between Layer 1 and Layer 2 strategies, and why Ethereum must reclaim DeFi as its core strength. The conversation also explores the nuanced dynamics between Ethereum’s cultural vision and technical roadmap, how Layer 2s fit into Ethereum’s evolving ecosystem, and what this strategic recalibration means for Ethereum's future in a competitive crypto landscape.

Jon Charbonneau: https://x.com/jon_charb
Bread: https://x.com/0xBreadguy

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TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES

0:00 Intro

5:28 Jon & Bread’s reaction to the Dankrad/Angsar episode
https://www.bankless.com/podcast/ethereums-strategic-pivot-ansgar-dankrad-mike-ippolito
https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1914402754891559253
https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1914330497905299790

27:56 Unichain or Ethereum L1 is DeFi?
https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1913633500206428201

35:07 Making the L1 competitive while keeping L2s happy

44:38 L2s Parasitic?

48:49 Bitcoin Roadmap Bread vs. Jon

57:09 Decline of the ETH price & all asset prices overpriced?

1:05:02 ETH/BTC growth slowdown reason

1:13:35 The politics side of the conversation

1:19:05 What Bread & Jon are excited about

1:26:49 Closing & Disclaimers

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

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.

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🌐SELF | PROVE YOUR SELF
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🏦INFINEX | THE CRYPTO-EVERYTHING APP
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TIMESTAMPS

00:00:00 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

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RESOURCES

Dankrad Feist
https://x.com/dankrad

Ansgar Dietrichs
https://x.com/adietrichs

Mike Ippolito
https://x.com/MikeIppolito_

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

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_

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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

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

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

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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

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

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.

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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

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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

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

https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠