In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Amanda Cassatt, founder of Serotonin and the former CMO of Consensys, who played a foundational role in bringing Ethereum to market. Amanda shares how she entered the early Ethereum ecosystem, what it was like working alongside early builders, and how those experiences shaped her thinking on storytelling, distribution, and product-market fit for crypto projects today.

They discuss the evolution of L1s, why a general-purpose chain like Ethereum would struggle to launch in today’s market, and how new L1s must differentiate through niches or built-in distribution. Amanda also talks through privacy tech, credible neutrality, and why marketing should feel like the “no-makeup, makeup look” to help people discover products naturally rather than forcing narratives.

The conversation expands into institutional adoption, the influence of enterprises on Ethereum’s early growth, the certification and /corporatization of crypto, and how narratives get shaped (and reshaped) as the space matures. Amanda also shares her views on AI, digital homogenization, cultural flattening, and how individuals can preserve independence thought in a hive-mind world.

Timestamps (00:00) - Why Ethereum is unique & why a general-purpose L1 would struggle today

(00:40) - Amanda’s view on AI extraction vs “nuclear button” fears

(01:26) - How Amanda entered Ethereum in 2015 and joined Consensys

(02:37) - Bringing Ethereum, MetaMask, Infura & early tooling to market

(03:57) - Why new L1s now require niches, advantages, or built-in distribution

(05:25) - Cypherpunk values, privacy pools & modular privacy concepts

(07:52) - Why most users shouldn’t need to understand backend tech

(09:56) - How Serotonin thinks about marketing: matching tech to real user desire

(12:56) - The “no-makeup, makeup look” & why good marketing shouldn’t feel forced

(15:49) - Institutional adoption: the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance & early inflection points

(18:24) - Narrative chasing vs conviction: why rebranding with every hype cycle fails

(20:27) - How stablecoins changed product-market fit expectations for blockchains

(26:24) - Crypto’s corporatization vs preserving credible neutrality and openness

(32:08) - AI, homogenization & how to keep independent thought

(38:57) - Amanda’s final advice: the only test is whether you lived the life you wanted

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