Bankless

We’re joined by Haseeb Qureshi from Dragonfly Capital to discusses the SEC's Project Crypto and its impact on the crypto landscape. We celebrate Ethereum's 10th birthday, reflect on its growth, and analyze the ongoing trial of Roman Storm linked to Tornado Cash. The episode also covers the launch of Ethereum treasury company ETH Zilla and advancements in crypto ETF regulations. Haseeb: https://x.com/hosseeb [https://x.com/hosseeb] —- 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium [https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium] --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFi https://bankless.cc/Frax [https://bankless.cc/Frax] 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain [https://bankless.cc/unichain] 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle [https://bankless.cc/Mantle] —- TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Ethereum's 10th Birthday https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/30/at-10-years-old-ethereums-future-is-brighter-than-ever-despite-recent-setbacks.html?taid=688a2118974852000113ad9a [https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/30/at-10-years-old-ethereums-future-is-brighter-than-ever-despite-recent-setbacks.html?taid=688a2118974852000113ad9a] https://x.com/TimBeiko/status/1950578090108993904 [https://x.com/TimBeiko/status/1950578090108993904] https://x.com/ethereumfndn/status/1950179673872510997 [https://x.com/ethereumfndn/status/1950179673872510997] 7:47 Analyzing SEC's Project Crypto https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025-101-sec-permits-kind-creations-redemptions-crypto-etps [https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025-101-sec-permits-kind-creations-redemptions-crypto-etps] https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/atkins-digital-finance-revolution-073125 [https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/atkins-digital-finance-revolution-073125] 26:56 Exploring Token Launchpad Wars https://x.com/smyyguy/status/1949657674003431788 [https://x.com/smyyguy/status/1949657674003431788] https://x.com/smyyguy/status/1949790587877515697 [https://x.com/smyyguy/status/1949790587877515697] https://x.com/0xMert_/status/1950324576204050752 [https://x.com/0xMert_/status/1950324576204050752] 48:41 The Roman Storm Verdict Discussion https://x.com/innercitypress/status/1950586483955626129 [https://x.com/innercitypress/status/1950586483955626129] 1:03:39 Closing Thoughts and Reflections --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures [https://www.bankless.com/disclosures]

Can a country wage war without ever firing a bullet? In this episode of Bankless, we uncover the surprising truth: America’s most powerful weapon isn’t its military - it’s the dollar. Joining us is Edward Fishman, a former State Department official and the author of Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare. He explains how U.S. sanctions work, why they’re so effective, and what happens when countries try to escape them. From Iran and Russia to the rise of stablecoins and China’s digital yuan, we dive deep into the geopolitical power of financial infrastructure and crypto’s growing role in rewriting the rules. If you want to understand the silent machinery behind global power, and why crypto might be the next battleground - don’t miss this one. --- 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium [https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium] --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFi https://bankless.cc/Frax [https://bankless.cc/Frax] 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain [https://bankless.cc/unichain] 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle [https://bankless.cc/Mantle] 🟠BINANCE | THE WORLDS #1 CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://bankless.cc/binance [https://bankless.cc/binance] 🦎COINGECKO API | REAL-TIME CRYPTO PRICE & MARKET DATA https://bankless.cc/coingecko [https://bankless.cc/coingecko] --- TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 5:51 Sanctions 101 8:32 The History of Economic Warfare 17:03 When Sanctions Precede War 22:27 Life After Dollar Disconnection 31:28 Sanctioning Russia: Methods & Lessons 43:49 Measuring Sanctions’ Effectiveness 49:20 The Strategic Tradeoffs of Sanctions 57:28 The Rise of Dollar Dominance 1:04:05 Unseen Costs of Sanction Power 1:08:15 Shifting Global Economic Power 1:15:47 Risks to U.S. Economic Leadership 1:20:43 Stablecoins as U.S. Leverage 1:28:13 Crypto’s Role in Sanction Evasion ------ RESOURCES Edward Fishman https://x.com/edwardfishman [https://x.com/edwardfishman] Edward Fishman’s “Chokepoints” https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/726149/chokepoints-by-edward-fishman/ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/726149/chokepoints-by-edward-fishman/] --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures [https://www.bankless.com/disclosures]

Is intelligence just compute plus data? And if so... what happens next? In this episode, Dwarkesh Patel, host of one of the most respected AI podcasts and author of “The Scaling Era”, joins us to break down the exponential rise of artificial intelligence. We explore how scaling laws became the engine behind modern models, why AI still can’t learn on the job, and whether we’re truly on the brink of AGI. From coding to consciousness, from geopolitics to governance, Dwarkesh shares a grounded but urgent perspective on what it means to live through the transition and how we might prepare for what’s coming. ------ 💫 LIMITLESS | SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW https://limitless.bankless.com/ [https://limitless.bankless.com/] https://x.com/LimitlessFT [https://x.com/LimitlessFT] ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFi https://bankless.cc/Frax [https://bankless.cc/Frax] 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain [https://bankless.cc/unichain] 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle [https://bankless.cc/Mantle] 🟠BINANCE | THE WORLDS #1 CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://bankless.cc/binance [https://bankless.cc/binance] 🦎COINGECKO API | REAL-TIME CRYPTO PRICE & MARKET DATA https://bankless.cc/coingecko [https://bankless.cc/coingecko] ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 6:59 What Is the Scaling Era? 9:31 Compute + Data = Intelligence? 15:08 Are We Building God? 17:57 The Catalyst: Discovering the Scaling Laws 20:54 Model Capabilities 24:35 Why Coding Is the AI Frontier 31:43 What AIs Still Can’t Do 36:26 AI Isn’t Around the Corner 46:01 Is AI Really Smart? 50:54 Inside the Black Box 54:46 AI Safety and Alignment 1:03:49 Who Controls the Models? 1:08:16 Swiss Cheese Safety & Liberal AI 1:19:30 Scaling Inputs: Energy, Compute, Data 1:26:40 Jobs, Growth & the Intelligence Curse 1:32:07 Why 60% AGI by 2040? 1:36:14 Dwarkesh’s Personal View ------ RESOURCES Dwarkesh Patel https://x.com/dwarkesh_sp [https://x.com/dwarkesh_sp] Dwarkesh’s Book https://www.amazon.com/Scaling-Era-Oral-History-2019-2025/dp/1953953557 [https://www.amazon.com/Scaling-Era-Oral-History-2019-2025/dp/1953953557] Dwarkesh’s Podcast https://www.dwarkesh.com/ [https://www.dwarkesh.com/] ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠ [https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠]

Andrew Keys and David Merin join us to unveil the Ether Machine—a bold new strategy to make ETH the internet’s reserve currency.  We unpack their ambitious plan to acquire and actively manage hundreds of thousands of ETH, why they believe ETH is more than just a treasury asset, and how institutional capital can finally understand and tap into Ethereum’s full potential. From staking and restaking to DeFi yield generation and Wall Street education, this episode explores why Ether is not just digital oil—it’s the engine of the next internet. ------ 📣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  🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle  🟠BINANCE | THE WORLDS #1 CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://bankless.cc/binance 🦎COINGECKO API | REAL-TIME CRYPTO PRICE & MARKET DATA https://bankless.cc/coingecko ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 1:32 How Much Ether? 4:57 Other ETH Treasuries 9:41 Ether Machine 12:46 ETH vs BTC 17:27 Ether Machine DeFi Strategy 21:14 Explaining ETH to Wall Street 26:01 How Big is ETH? 28:14 ETH ETFs vs Ether Machine 37:13 Andrew’s Journey 40:54 Gensler’s SEC Era 43:30 Michael Saylor of ETH? 49:29 Decentralization Worries 52:09 ETH’s Narrative Problem 56:47 The Institutional Cycle 1:00:41 Closing ------ RESOURCES The Ether Machine https://x.com/TheEtherMachine [https://x.com/TheEtherMachine]  https://ethermachine.com/ [https://ethermachine.com/]  Andrew Keys https://x.com/ak_ethermachine [https://x.com/ak_ethermachine]  David Merin https://x.com/dfmerin [https://x.com/dfmerin]  ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

The internet is broken for creators, and Base thinks it has the fix. Jesse Pollak joins Bankless to unveil the Base app, a crypto-powered everything app where posts earn, creators own, and mini apps go viral. From meme coins to market-based social media, this might be the start of a new onchain economy. —- 📣BANKLESS TV | BASE DAY https://x.com/BanklessHQ/status/1948769160932327886 [https://x.com/BanklessHQ/status/1948769160932327886] —- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFi https://bankless.cc/Frax [https://bankless.cc/Frax] 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain [https://bankless.cc/unichain] 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle [https://bankless.cc/Mantle] 🌐BINANCE | THE WORLDS #1 CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://bankless.cc/binance [https://bankless.cc/binance] 🦎 COINGECKO API | REAL-TIME CRYPTO PRICE & MARKET DATA https://bankless.cc/coingecko [https://bankless.cc/coingecko] —- TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 1:04 The Vision of BASE 3:11 The Everything App 6:10 The Future for Creators 10:13 Earning Through Engagement 14:29 Crafting the Perfect Content 20:54 The Rise of Mini Apps 23:59 Monetization and the Free Market 25:52 Addressing Creator Concerns 29:23 Closing Thoughts on BASE —- RESOURCES Jesse https://x.com/jessepollak [https://x.com/jessepollak] Base https://x.com/base [https://x.com/base] —- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures [https://www.bankless.com/disclosures]