Ethereum’s Biggest Mistake (and How to Fix It) | Sam Kazemian
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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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
4:43 Classifying ETH
17:50 ETH/BTC Collapse
33:39 ETH Revenues
44:35 Blue-Money Gospel
53:44 What ETH Needs
1:10:08 ETH Internet Bond Narrative
1:19:49 Final Thoughts
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RESOURCES
Sam Kazemian
https://x.com/samkazemian
Blue-Money Gospel
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1915874994514452763
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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.------📣 WALLET CONNECT | ONCHAIN UX ECOSYSTEMhttps://bankless.cc/WalletConnect ------BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFihttps://bankless.cc/Frax 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAINhttps://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORKhttps://bankless.cc/Mantle 🌐SELF | PROVE YOUR SELFhttps://bankless.cc/Self 🏦INFINEX | THE CRYPTO-EVERYTHING APPhttps://bankless.cc/Infinex ------TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES0:00 Intro0:47 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 forwardhttps://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1914312548897219006 32:58 Markets since Ryan’s break40:35 Trump’s memecoin 48:31 Bitcoin Strategic Reserve52:34 $LIBRA memecoin 1:03:29 Contentcoins, Zora, & Jesse1:16:39 Ethereum pivot & Bitcoin decoupling 1:18:18 Closing & Disclaimers------Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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1:19:05
66% of Wall Street is Already in DeFi | Paradigm’s 2025 Survey with Dan Robinson & Justin Slaughter
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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🌐SELF | PROVE YOUR SELF
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
7:10 What Constitutes a TradFi Firm
10:13 TradFi Firms with Defi
12:16 What's Exciting about this Report?
13:53 Stablecoins, Tokenization & More
18:54 Public Blockchains & TradFi?
21:05 “Tokenize The World” Moment?
27:47 TradFi’s Long-Term Outlook
33:19 The Formal Rejection of Private Blockchains
38:31 What’s Left for Regulation &Compliance
45:04 DeFi vs TradFi
48:07 User Value
50:55 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Paradigm Report
https://www.paradigm.xyz/2025/03/tradfi-tomorrow-defi-and-the-rise-of-extensible-finance
Dan Robinson
https://x.com/danrobinson
Justin Slaughter
https://x.com/JBSDC
Paradigm
https://x.com/paradigm
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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51:12
Is Ethereum Back on Track? | Jon Charbonneau & @0xBreadguy
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 ------📣 WALLET CONNECT | ONCHAIN UX ECOSYSTEMhttps://bankless.cc/WalletConnect ------BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFihttps://bankless.cc/Frax 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAINhttps://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORKhttps://bankless.cc/Mantle 🌐SELF | PROVE YOUR SELFhttps://bankless.cc/Self 🏦INFINEX | THE CRYPTO-EVERYTHING APPhttps://bankless.cc/Infinex ------TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES0:00 Intro5:28 Jon & Bread’s reaction to the Dankrad/Angsar episodehttps://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. Jon57:09 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------Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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1:27:32
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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