Bankless
The Ultimate Guide to Crypto Finance. DeFi, NFTs, and cryptocurrencies. Level up. Go bankless.
Episodes
October 16, 2025
A $19B liquidation wave hit crypto 10 days after Lighterās public mainnetāso we asked founder/CEO Vladimir Novakovski why they built a ZK L2 Perp DEX on Ethereum, how the escape hatch actually protects users, and what really happened under extreme stress. We dig into ADL vs. LLP, trader-first design, and why verifiability (not vibes) should govern order matching and liquidations. Vlad shares throughput targets, why Lighter chose cu...
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October 15, 2025
Binance listing fees, finally out in the open. CJ Hetherington, Founder of Limitless, published the offer he received after no NDA. 8% of total token supply and $250k. We dig into why the founders accept deals like this, the hidden sell pressure, and how onchain price discovery can replace CEX gatekeeping. CJ also breaks down Limitless on Base, instant-settlement price markets, and the path to Coinbase via Aerodrome.
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October 13, 2025
Tom Lee and Arthur Hayes map how crypto is flipping Wall Street: BTC at fresh highs, ETHās comeback, and a surge of institutional capital, tokenization, and stablecoin rails.
Tom lays out Bitmineās big ETH accumulation and bold targets (BTC $200ā250k, ETH $10ā12k), while Arthur dives into cycles, liquidity, why perps outshine leveraged ETFs, and the looming clash between prediction markets and TradFi. Plus: banks turning into on-...
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Gold shatters $4,000, Bitcoin quietly hits new all-time highs, and Wall Street just made its biggest bet yet on prediction markets. In this weekās Weekly Rollup, we break down why the debasement trade is heating up, how the AI bubble is shaping markets, and what it all means for cryptoās next move.
We cover BNBās explosive run to the #3 spot, ICEās $2B investment in Polymarket, and ETH staking ETFs officially going live. Plus, Sol...
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October 9, 2025
In this episode of Bankless, Ryan and David dive into prediction markets and their place in todayās financial landscape. They unpack how peer-to-peer markets differ from traditional sportsbooks, spotlighting Polymarket and Kalshi, and explore scalability, regulation, and societal impact. Are these markets tools for informed decision-making or just another gambling avenue?
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Why does China build so much fasterāand what does that reveal about two very different ways of running a society?
Ryan and David sit down with Dan Wang, author of Breakneck: Chinaās Quest to Engineer the Future, to unpack Chinaās āengineers-in-chargeā model versus Americaās ālawyerlyā governance.
We cover how this shapes daily life and growth (from subways and high-speed rail to batteries, EVs, and drones), common western misco...
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OpenAIās personalization leads, Christina Kaplan and Samir Ahmed map the shift from an āassistant with a notebookā to Pulseāthe part of ChatGPT that quietly preps your day while you sleep. We unpack how short- and long-term memory work across sessions and why Aprilās subtle update changed the experience, show how daytime chats stay aligned with overnight prep, and close on the big questions: privacy, consent, and why this is an ass...
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How do you spend money in ways that actually make life better?
Morgan Housel, author of the new book The Art of Spending Money, explores status vs. satisfaction, the hedonic treadmill, and why moneyās best use is buying independence.
We also cover quiet compounding, a practical 15-stage path to financial freedom, when to spend vs. save, helping kids without spoiling them, and small experiments that raise the utility of every dol...
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In this weekās Weekly Rollup, Uptober kicks off with Bitcoin and Ethereum surging toward all-time highs as Tom Lee drops another $1B into ETH and Vanguard finally opens its doors to crypto ETFs.
We cover Stripeās push to break the TetherāCircle duopoly with its new stablecoin platform, Cloudflareās surprising entry into onchain payments, and Swift teaming up with Consensys on blockchain rails. Plus, Zcash rockets 200%, Ethereum...
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October 2, 2025
Authoritarian regimes are upgrading their playbook ā from surveillance cameras and spyware to algorithmic censorship and AI-driven policing. Steven Feldstein, senior fellow at Carnegie and author of The Rise of Digital Repression, joins Bankless to map the expanding world of repression technology.
We cover everything from Nepalās protest movement to Chinaās sophisticated censorship stack, the global spyware industry, and the unset...
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Is this really the cycle top, or just a reset before Q4 fireworks? Michael Nadeau from The DeFi Report joins Ryan to decode the latest onchain and macro data. We dig into Bitcoinās key levels, ETHās $4K line, and why Septemberās liquidation event might have cleared the path for new highs in Q4. Michael explains what a āmini alt seasonā tells us about dominance, where fresh capital could come from, and how to think about positioning...
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September 29, 2025
Crypto vs. Banks ā the proxy war for the future of money is heating up.
Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association and former CFTC Commissioner, joins Bankless to unpack the battle over the GENIUS Act, why banks are fighting to roll it back, and how stablecoins have become the frontline. From Elizabeth Warrenās fading influence to the $700M bank lobbying machine, we explore whatās really happening on Capitol Hill, the glob...
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In this weekās Weekly Rollup, we break down āDowntemperā market moves as Bitcoin and Ethereum slide, and examine why Vitalik Buterin is calling low-risk DeFi Ethereumās true backbone. We highlight Tetherās ambitious $500B raise, Polymarketās mainstream moment on South Park, and Gary Genslerās testy CNBC appearance. We also cover Paul Atkinsā push for pro-crypto regulation, the heated debate over whether Base should be regulated lik...
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James Seyffart from Bloomberg Intelligence joins to break down the state of crypto ETFs and their explosive growth.Ā
We cover the rise of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, the debate between ETFs and DATs, and the institutional inflows reshaping the market. James explains how advisors, hedge funds, and sovereign wealth funds are participating, the regulatory hurdles around staking ETFs, and why basket products may be the next big wave...
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September 24, 2025
Vitalik Buterin just declared DeFi as Ethereumās ākiller app.ā In his new post, he compares it to Google Search, the dependable core business that powers everything else.
Ryan and David break down why Vitalik believes DeFi has finally earned this title, how it survived the volatility of the last cycle, and what it means for ETH as collateral, culture, and revenue. They cover the Google analogy, the risks DeFi has outgrown, and why...
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What happens when stablecoins break apart the traditional business model of banks?
Economist Charles Calomiris explains how the āunbundlingā of payments and lending reshapes finance, why politics matter more than technology, and what this revolution could mean for the dollarās future.
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September 19, 2025
In this Weekly Rollup, we discuss the implications of recent Federal Reserve rate cuts on crypto markets, exploring their potential benefits for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
We highlight the SEC's easing of crypto ETF regulations, Tether's new compliant stablecoin, and SEC Chair Paul Atkins' vision for clearer regulations. Finally, we touch on how global finance is adapting to crypto innovations in Ghana and Nepal.
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September 17, 2025
What if payment chains are the āAWS moment for moneyā?
Simon Taylor ā fintech veteran, ex-Barclays crypto lead, and author of FinTech Brainfood ā joins Bankless to map the convergence of fintech and crypto. From stablecoins serving as the Trojan horse for tokenisation to Tempoās push for a payments chain, Simon explains why finance is on the brink of its biggest infrastructure shift since Visa.
We cover the rise of payments L1s, ...
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Why do recessions feel like a relic of the past?
Macro strategist Vincent Deluard argues weāve entered an era where fiscal dominance, structural inflation, and relentless asset debasement reshape how capital flows and how investors must position themselves.
We cover the U.S. supercycle, the role of tech and energy, why the ā2% inflation targetā is dead, and what a portfolio looks like in the age of permanent stimulus.
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In this bonus episode of the Bankless podcast, we highlight insights from three guests featured in the Bankless premium feed. Uma Roy from Succinct discusses the Succinct Prover Network's role in enhancing Ethereum's transaction capabilities. Preston Van Loon outlines the upcoming hard forks Fusaka and Glamsterdam, along with essential privacy innovatio...
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