Ethereum may be one of the most underappreciated assets.
In this conversation, Michael McGuiness and Vivek Raman lay out the case for ETH as “productive money”, a monetary asset with the store-of-value properties of gold and Bitcoin, plus the ability to compound through network activity.
We unpack the $250K ETH thesis, why traditional DCF models miss the bigger picture, and why Ethereum’s role as the settlement layer for a tokenized economy could unlock massive monetary premium.
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------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
4:45 $250K ETH?
6:04 How to Price ETH
8:15 ETH’s Monetary Premium
10:25 What Differentiates ETH
13:54 The Path to $250K ETH
16:35 Menger’s Monetary Attributes
20:28 Scarcity
24:58 Fungibility
26:43 Divisibility
27:45 Portability
28:28 Durability
34:30 Verifiability
35:27 Censorship Resistance
37:00 ETH is Productive Money
41:39 How is ETH Productive?
46:40 Ethereum’s Tollbooth
51:28 Counterparty Risk
53:48 Productive Money vs Dead Capital
58:03 Pitching Productive Money to Wall Street
1:00:08 Why is ETH Underappreciated?
1:04:19 Wall Street ETH Investors
1:11:28 Other L1s
1:14:06 Why Not Just Buy the S&P?
1:15:00 Ethereum Technical Risks
1:17:20 How Does ETH Get to $250K?
1:23:18 Closing & Disclaimers
------
RESOURCES
ETH is Productive Money
https://www.productivemoney.org/
Michael McGuiness
https://x.com/mikemcg0
Vivek Raman
https://x.com/VivekVentures
Etherealize
https://www.etherealize.com/
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Joseph Chalom and Danny Ryan discuss the institutional outlook on Ethereum and why it is “the only game in town.”
Bits + Bips is spreading its wings
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The institutions are here and they may have already picked their preferred blockchain.
Sharplink Gaming CEO Joseph Chalom and Etherealize co-founder Danny Ryan discuss the institutional outlook on Ethereum. They say the network is the only chain being discussed by institutions thinking about tokenization, dismissing Solana as a possible contender. They explore what this means for ether and why anticipated upgrades only strengthen the case.
Meanwhile, Danny maintains that L2s are still part of the Ethereum roadmap, albeit agreeing with Vitalik that they need to evolve.
Plus, why Joseph thinks privacy will unlock Ethereum's next DeFi wave and why Danny sees AI agents as the salve to crypto's UX woes, though he calls the current activity “a toy.”
Guest:
Joseph Chalom, President/CEO at SharpLink Gaming Inc.
Danny Ryan, Co-Founder & President of Etherealize
Links:
Unchained:
Vitalik Targets Block Building as Ethereum Prepares Glamsterdam Upgrade
Vitalik Buterin Lays Out Quantum Defense Plan for Ethereum
Can Solana Edge Out Ethereum to Win the AI Agent & RWA Race?
Ethereum Researchers Outline Seven Forks Through 2029 in New “Strawmap”
BlackRock Just Chose Uniswap. The Market Didn’t Care. Here’s Why.
Want to Hire an AI Agent? Check Their Reputation Via ERC-8004
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this interview, Camila Russo sits down with Danny Ryan — former Ethereum Foundation researcher and a key leader behind Ethereum’s shift to proof of stake — now Co-Founder & President at Etherealize, to talk about the next big wave for crypto: institutional adoption of Ethereum.
Recorded in Buenos Aires during Devconnect, Danny breaks down why the mood inside banks has flipped from “we can’t touch crypto” to “if we don’t adopt it, we’ll be left behind.” We dig into what institutions actually want beyond ETFs, why the biggest opportunity isn’t “tokenizing assets” but rewiring markets from first principles, and why privacy is table stakes for institutional-grade onchain finance.
We also cover the regulatory whiplash of the last few years, what’s changed, what still needs to be written into law, and why Danny believes Ethereum is uniquely positioned for serious capital markets infrastructure.
Key topics:
Why banks suddenly have Ethereum FOMO
The difference between “tokenizing assets” vs rewiring markets
Where the biggest inefficiencies are (credit, fixed income, esoteric institutional markets)
Why privacy + ZK are essential for institutionsCoordination problems, incentives, and who doesn’t want markets to upgrade
Ethereum’s edge: neutrality, uptime, decentralization, and security
👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with someone who still thinks institutions only care about ETFs.
This episode showcases four of the most important talks from our Bankless Summit event in Buenos Aires for Devconnect, each capturing how Ethereum is evolving as it enters the real world. Tomasz K. Stańczak reveals the EF’s new priorities around developer acceleration, founder support, institutional engagement, and unifying the L2 ecosystem. Ansgar Dietrichs explains why Ethereum is shifting from long-term exploration to near-term execution, detailing the plan to 3x L1 scale annually and accelerate real-time ZKVM progress. Dankrad Feist makes the case for a DeFi-centric L1 where Ethereum becomes the global liquidity layer for RWAs and high-value settlement. And Danny Ryan closes with a raw, personal account of building proof of stake, surviving an SEC scare, and why he still believes Ethereum can meaningfully reshape global finance. These talks matter because they chart the clearest picture yet of where Ethereum is heading, what the next decade requires, and how its core builders are steering it there.
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------
TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES
0:00 Intro
4:19 Tomasz K. Stańczak Ethereum's Next 5 Years
28:00 Ansgar Dietrichs Scaling Ethereum 2026: Why & How?
53:22 Dankrad Feist | Ethereum's DeFi Centric Strategy
1:10:22 Danny Ryan | The Last 8 Years: Ethereum, Burnout, & Coming Back
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Recorded live at the Permissionless IV conference, this conversation dives into Ethereum’s strategy to win over Wall Street.
Danny Ryan discusses how Etherealize is advising financial institutions to leverage Ethereum’s decentralization, resilience, and credible neutrality, while Joe Lubin explains why ConsenSys is taking a direct approach by accumulating ETH on Sharplink Gaming’s balance sheet, similar to MicroStrategy with Bitcoin.
Together, they unpack Ethereum’s strengths, institutional adoption strategies, and what it will take for Ethereum to become the foundation of the next-generation financial system.
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------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
3:11 Ethereum's Evolution & Challenges
7:54 Regulatory Tensions & SEC Scrutiny
11:02 Ethereum's Resilience Against Regulation
14:47 Bridging TradFi & Decentralization
16:06 Institutional Adoption of Ethereum
17:19 Ethereum's Path Forward
21:51 Building for the Future
23:40 The Call for Problem Solving
24:41 Ethereum's Leadership Dynamics
33:25 Taking Ethereum to Wall Street
35:17 The Future of SBET & Ether
------
RESOURCES
Joe Lubin
https://x.com/ethereumjoseph
Danny Ryan
https://x.com/dannyryan
Permissionless IV
https://blockworks.co/event/permissionless
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Etherealize is back with a bold new thesis: ETH is digital oil. In this episode, Vivek and Danny Ryan unpack their freshly released report, The Bull Case for ETH, which positions ether as the next great store of value—and a future global reserve asset for the digital economy.
We explore ETH’s misunderstood monetary design, its strategic role for institutions, and why Wall Street is waking up to Ethereum not just as a network, but as an investable asset. This is the case for ETH as the asymmetric opportunity of this generation.
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------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:52 The Bull Case for ETH
3:18 Why ETH?
6:35 Pitching to Wall Street
10:59 ETH is Digital Oil
21:29 ETH’s Monetary Policy
37:37 Why Hold ETH?
43:42 ETH/BTC Ratio
47:20 ETH is a Store of Value
53:55 Ethereum’s Scaling Path
1:03:08 Ethereum’s Renaissance
1:07:06 Ethereum Competitors
1:10:14 The Report
1:12:29 Vivek in Congress
1:13:33 Closing & Disclaimers
------
RESOURCES
The Bull Case for ETH Report
http://ethdigitaloil.com/
VIvek Raman
https://x.com/VivekVentures
Danny Ryan
https://x.com/dannyryan
Etherealize
https://x.com/Etherealize_io
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Jon Charbonneau and Ryan Berckmans join Bankless to debate Ethereum’s future: is ETH undervalued, or has the market already spoken?
We unpack whether Ethereum can rival Bitcoin as a store of value, if L2s will drive real value back to ETH, and whether Solana’s momentum signals deeper trouble for Ethereum. Jon argues ETH has lost its lead and may never reclaim it. Ryan contends Ethereum’s neutrality and institutional traction make it the inevitable hub for the onchain economy.
This is the definitive conversation on where ETH stands—and where it’s heading.
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🌐SELF | PROVE YOUR SELF
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🟠BINANCE | THE WORLDS #1 CRYPTO EXCHANGE
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------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:32 Is ETH special?
32:55 How ETH should be valued
51:42 ETH over or undervalued?
1:09:59 Being wrong on ETH
1:13:00 Closing & Disclaimers
------
RESOURCES
Ryan Berckmans
https://x.com/ryanberckmans
Jon Charbonneau
https://x.com/jon_charb
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Gm! This week we're joined by Tom Dunleavy & Ryan Berckmans to discuss the bull case for Ethereum. We deep dive into Ethereum's big pivot, how to value the L1, should L2 tokens exist, the role of Etherealize, what's next for ETH & more. Enjoy!
--
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ZKsync is the pioneering zero-knowledge technology powering the next generation of builders with limitless scale. Secured by math and designed for native interoperability, ZKsync enables an elastic, ever-expanding network of customizable chains.
Deeply rooted in its mission to advance personal freedom for all, the ZKsync technology makes digital self-ownership universally available.
To learn more about ZKsync, visit http://www.zksync.io
--
Zenrock is a permissionless, decentralized custody network backed by 1RoundTable Partners, 10T, Maven11, and Spartan. Live on Jupiter, $ROCK is the native token for transactions within the Zenrock ecosystem and secures Zenrock’s decentralized custody network.
The first application launching on Zenrock is zenBTC – yield-bearing Bitcoin on Solana. zenBTC will be live in April 2025.
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--
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(01:50) What Went Wrong With Ethereum?
(07:33) The Ethereum L2 Roadmap
(10:35) Does Ethereum Have Product Market Fit?
(13:46) Ethereum’s Big Pivot
(18:11) Ads (ZKSync, Zenrock)
(19:49) Should Blockspace Be Taxed?
(22:15) Ethereum's Next Chapter
(27:55) The Role Of Etherealize
(30:18) Ads (ZKSync, Zenrock)
(31:57) Does Scaling The L1 Benefit L2s?
(42:38) How To Attract Builders To Ethereum
(44:46) Ads (Falcon x,Arweave)
(46:22) Should We Tariff The L2s?
(51:35) How To Value L1s
(56:50) The Bull Case For ETH
(01:04:00) Should L2 Tokens Exist?
(01:09:02) Final Thoughts
—
Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
We’ve got the team behind Etherealize on the show today—Vivek Raman and Danny Ryan—to discuss their mission to onboard institutions, governments, and capital markets to Ethereum.
We explore how Ethereum is “open for business” with L2 scaling, modular architecture, and a maturing regulatory landscape. The Etherealize team breaks down their dual structure—a for-profit consulting and product arm alongside a nonprofit focused on R&D and policy—to drive institutional adoption.
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🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK
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🏦INFINEX | THE CRYPTO-EVERYTHING APP
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------
TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 Intro
00:07:12 Etherealize & Its Mission
00:15:29 Clients & Finances
00:20:17 Relation Between Ethereum Foundation & Etherealize
00:21:31 Etherealize's Funding
00:22:43 Etherealize's Competitions
00:26:02 Challenges & Roadblocks
00:28:15 What Success Looks Like for Etherealize
00:29:56 Etherealize's Co-Founders
00:31:10 Ethereum’s Upcoming Era
00:40:20 What Makes Ethereum Special
00:46:00 Political Effect on Ethereum
00:51:33 Community Support
00:54:51 Layer 1 & Etherealize
00:58:36 Hypothetical Scenarios with Ethereum
01:01:50 What’s Next for Etherealize
01:04:47 Some Unturned Stones
01:07:32 Closing & Disclosures
------
RESOURCES
Etherealize
https://www.etherealize.com
Vivek Raman
https://x.com/VivekVentures
Danny Ryan
https://x.com/dannyryan
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Ethereum has had a tough year, losing ground to Solana in price performance, developer activity and as the home to the latest crypto trends. Yet, Vivek Raman, founder and CEO of Etherealize, is doubling down on Ethereum’s future.
In this episode, Vivek explains how Etherealize, a “marketing arm for the ETH ecosystem,” was in the works long before the current criticisms of the Ethereum Foundation’s marketing, and how it got funding from Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin and the foundation. He discusses why he believes layer 2 solutions make Ethereum a better fit for Wall Street than Solana.
Plus, Vivek shares his thoughts on Ethereum’s value accrual, the state of its ecosystem, and how Etherealize plans to bridge the gap between Wall Street and Web3.
Show highlights:
2:50 Why Vivek thinks that it’s an opportune time to launch Etherealize
7:32 How the project has been in the works for longer than people might think
13:28 How Etherealize secured funding from Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation
15:11 Why Vivek says they got “lucky” with the timing of the announcement
19:03 How Vivek plans to drive the narrative of ETH as an asset
22:17 Why he believes corporations will launch their own L2s on Ethereum
29:13 How he pitches Ethereum to TradFi
31:42 Why Vivek believes Ethereum is better suited for Wall Street than Solana
34:08 What he has to say about L2s being centralized
38:24 News Recap
Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
Thank you to our sponsors!
Quai Network
Polkadot
Guest
Vivek Raman, founder and CEO of Etherealize
Links
Etheralize’s announcement
Unchained:
Lido Founder Says No ‘Second Foundation’ Exists Yet
2024 Was Solana's Best Year Yet. Can It Sustain the Momentum in 2025?
2025 Will Be a Year of Crypto Competition. Can ETH Make a Comeback?
Ethereum Foundation to Fund New DeFi MultiSig Wallet With 50,000 ETH
The Block: Vitalik Buterin details 'large changes' to Ethereum Foundation leadership amid calls for new leadership
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ethereum's Layer 2 solutions are booming, but are they inadvertently holding back the value of ETH itself?
In this episode, Justin Bons and Ryan Berckmans engage in a heated debate over whether L2s are enhancing Ethereum's ecosystem or siphoning off its potential. They discuss the impact of L2s on decentralization, network effects, and whether Ethereum L1 can scale on its own or if the base layer and the rollups now have different incentives. Has Ethereum scaled appropriately for future usage, or was scaling via L2s the wrong roadmap for Ethereum?
Show highlights:
02:43 How Ethereum's rollup-centric roadmap consists of a decentralized Layer 1 (L1) for security with Layer 2 (L2) providing more transaction throughput
04:53 Why Justin is so critical about how L2s centralize Ethereum
14:53 Why, according to Ryan, Layer 2 solutions aren't parasitic to Ethereum but instead enhance its network effects, decentralization, and long-term value
25:35 Why Justin criticizes Ryan’s reliance on "trust me, bro" arguments, questioning the tribalism and authority in claiming the superiority of Ethereum researchers over those from other blockchains
28:15 How Justin thinks the Ethereum L1 could scale and what the tradeoffs are
39:58 Justin’s argument that Ethereum is stuck in the past and his claim that the blockchain trilemma doesn't exist anymore
46:30 Ryan’s take on Ethereum's L1 scaling focuses on solving bandwidth limitations and addressing whether L2s are going to fully decentralize
51:01 Whether SNARKS is the way that Ethereum scales the L1
59:24 Whether L2s will start accepting other tokens to pay for gas
1:05:23 Why Ryan predicts Ethereum's L2 adoption will surge, driving up L1 fees and boosting Ether's value as the leading digital money
1:05:39 Whether based rollups are a good solution for Ethereum to scale without losing all the fees
1:13:21 Why L2s would even try to decentralize and why Justin says that Solana has a better roadmap than Ethereum
1:17:54 Concluding thoughts from Ryan and Justin
Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
Thank you to our sponsors!
Polkadot
Mantle
Stellar
Coinbase
Guests:
Justin Bons, Founder & CIO of Cyber Capital
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Is Bitcoin Doomed to Fail? Eric Wall and Justin Bons Face Off
Ryan Berckmans, Ethereum community member and investor
Links
Previous coverage on Unchained of ETH and L2s:
Are L2s 'Parasitic'? Analysis Shows Ethereum Only Gets a Tiny Percentage of Fees
Are Solana's 'Network Extensions' Just Like Ethereum's Layer 2s But by a Different Name?
Ethereum Has Had a Banner Year in Most Areas. Except Price.
Should Ethereum Layer 2s Urgently Decentralize Their Sequencers?
Others
Justin’s thread on whether L2s are parasitic
Tweet by Zach Rynes, aka ChainLinkGod
Adam Cochran’s tweet on based rollups
Ethereum Foundation September AMA
Vitalkin on L2s
How do layer 2s really differ from execution sharding?
Layers 2s as cultural extensions of Ethereum
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Danny Ryan is a coordinator at the Ethereum Foundation. He’s been on Bankless many times before. Usually, we’re talking about the Ethereum roadmap and what’s coming next. This time we’re talking about something different…a risk to Ethereum that Danny sees. A little over a year ago, Danny wrote a blog post titled “The Risk of LSDs”... discussing the various risk vectors that a dominant LSD presents to Ethereum…even naming Lido specifically in the process.
------ ✨ DEBRIEF | Ryan & David unpacking the episode: https://www.bankless.com/debrief-danny-ryan
------ A lot of people have decided that liquid staking with Lido is the place to do it. At the time of recording Lido has over 30% of all staked Ether. Does this present a systemic risk to Ethereum?
We did an episode called, “In Defense of Lido” with researcher Hasu who argued that Lido does not pose a systemic risk to Ethereum. In fact, Lido’s dominance is better than many other alternatives. We left that conversation half-finished when we published it in August 2023.
In today’s episode, we cover part two of that debate with Ethereum researcher and guest Danny Ryan who argues the opposite. Lido is a systemic risk to Ethereum and what to do about it.
We believe our role as podcasters for issues like this is to voice both sides of the argument in long-form conversations and healthy debate. It is exactly the kind of thing you don’t get on Twitter. That’s why we’ve given voice to both sides of this issue.
We think there are good actors who care about this ecosystem at Lido and in the broader Ethereum community and we’re sure this episode won’t be the last word on this subject.
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🦄UNISWAP | ON-CHAIN MARKETPLACE https://bankless.cc/uniswap
🔗 CELO | CEL2 COMING SOON https://bankless.cc/Celo
------ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro 7:41 Is Lido a Threat to Ethereum 8:57 Blog Post Thinking Change? 19:30 Uniswap 21:20 Theoretical Main Risks 25:45 God Mode 27:20 Practical Main Risks 34:00 Hasu Counter-Arguments 38:25 Permissionless Validator Set Mitigation 42:30 Veto Power Mitigation Argument 46:55 How Likely is the Lido Risk? 51:26 Client Team Positioning 55:00 How Special is the Lido Case? 57:45 One LST Inevitability 1:02:30 Solutions 1:06:55 Profit Maximization 1:09:00 Action Steps For Ethereum Decentralization 1:11:53 Can Ethereum Devs Do Something? 1:20:10 Hasu Questions Answered by Danny 1:22:45 Magnitude of the Lido Threat 1:24:20 How Can Lido Fix This? 1:25:59 Stick & Carrot for Lido 1:26:27 Silverlining of Lido Threat 1:29:05 Next Conversations 1:32:16 Closing & Disclaimers
----- RESOURCES
Danny Ryan https://twitter.com/dannyryan
Danny Ryan Blog Post https://notes.ethereum.org/@djrtwo/risks-of-lsd
Hasu’s Bankless Interview https://youtu.be/IfuUdIblfrY
----- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Tim Beiko and Danny Ryan are two of Ethereum’s lead coordinators, and work at the Ethereum Foundation to shepherd the many parts of Ethereum into the future.
How are they feeling on the other side of the Merge? What does this mean for Ethereum?
Few (if anyone) on the planet are more qualified to discuss the Ethereum Proof-of-Stake than these two, and we use this episode to reflect on the magnitude of the event and look forward to the future of the network.
------ Swell | Liquid Staking for the People https://bankless.cc/swelldiscord
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BRAVE | THE BROWSER NATIVE WALLET https://bankless.cc/Brave
JUNO | BRIDGE FIAT TO LAYER 2 https://bankless.cc/Juno
️ ZKSYNC | THE LAYER 2 SCALING ENDGAME https://bankless.cc/zkSync
------ Resources:
Tim Beiko https://twitter.com/TimBeiko
Danny Ryan https://twitter.com/dannyryan
------- Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
In part one of this three-part Ethereum Merge special edition of The Scoop, Lex Sokolin — head economist at Consensys — examined how The Merge will improve web3’s reputation outside of the crypto space.
In this episode of The Scoop, Ethereum Foundation researcher Danny Ryan provides a technical overview of The Merge, and explains why it took longer than expected to prepare the network for its transition to proof of stake.
According to Ryan, changing the consensus mechanism of an active blockchain is no small feat:
“It's like we built this better plane and started flying it next to the existing proof-of-work plane, and we're actually taking the payload, we're taking all the contents out of the proof-of-work plane, and we're putting in this other plane in flight.”
Although The Merge was initially supposed to happen years ago, translating the mathematical concepts that underpin the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism into production took longer than expected.
As Ryan explains,
“You have these beautiful mathematical algorithms and proofs and design goals, and then when it comes time to actually turn that into something concrete and actionable, there's a lot of work to do.”
Episode 85 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Tim Copeland and Ethereum Foundation researcher Danny Ryan.
Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen
About Tron
On August 1st, 2022, Poloniex launched a faster and more stable trading system along with a brand new user interface. Poloniex was founded in January 2014 as a global cryptocurrency trading platform. With its world-class service and security, it received funding in 2019 from renowned investors, including H.E. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON. Poloniex supports spot and margin trading as well as leveraged tokens. Its services are available to users in nearly 100 countries and regions with various languages available. For more information visit Poloniex.com.
About Chainalysis
Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.
About IWC Schaffhausen
IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.
Is the Merge Priced In? The Ethereum Proof-of-Stake Merge looms around the corner, but how do the markets feel about it?
Ryan Berckmans and Hal Press have a mutually bullish discussion about the Ethereum network today, tomorrow, and long-term. They're both bullish ETH, but differ on how it's going to play out.
This is our favorite kind of debate.
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----- Timestamps:
0:00 Intro 7:00 Hal & Ryan Thesis 18:28 The Merge is Happening 23:30 A Crowded Trade 29:23 Risks and Catalysts 36:10 Structural Significance 41:40 Blockspace Demand 46:40 Real vs Nominal Return 50:30 Miners vs Validators 56:00 Proof of Stake Wins 59:00 Store of Value 1:09:45 The Flippening 1:18:00 Price Predictions
----- Resources:
Hal Press https://twitter.com/NorthRockLP
Ryan Berckmans https://twitter.com/ryanberckmans
----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/bankless-disclosures
Ryan Berckmans, Ethereum investor and community member, and Alexandre Bergeron, Bitcoin investor, discuss Lido’s dominance as a liquid staking provider, whether that issue can be resolved, and how it could be a centralizing force for Ethereum. Show highlights:
what stETH is, what the uses cases are for stETH, and why it is important
how Lido had a first-mover advantage and how that kicked off network effects
whether the liquid staking derivatives system is one of a “winner-take-all”
how much of the staked ETH will be turned into a liquid staking derivative
how Lido might have a huge MEV opportunity after the Merge
what the proposer-builder separation is
whether Lido's dominance will increase over time
whether other competitors have been competitive with Lido
why Lido is a natural monopoly because of the incentives and MEV opportunities
what the implication of Lido’s monopoly is for Ethereum’s censorship resistance
whether Lido is effectively a single entity despite having multiple node operators
whether there could be a long waiting period for becoming a validator after the Merge
how Lido is moving its staking derivatives to other chains
how Lido’s new dual-governance proposal works, why it might be useful to decentralize Lido and whether it reduces the power of LDO token holders
how Lido’s centralization is the biggest threat to Ethereum in the long term and what are the possible solutions
why Ryan believes the value of ETH comes from its credible neutrality and whether Lido's centralization may jeopardize that
whether finding solutions around MEV opportunities is a good way to reduce Lido’s monopoly
whether Lido’s competitors could form an alliance and build a tokenized basket of their staking derivatives to compete with Lido
whether Lido could airdrop the LDO token to all ETH holders to decentralize its governance token
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021
Ava Labs: https://www.avax.network/
Oasis: https://oasisprotocol.org/grant-programs?utm_source=unchained&utm_medium=partnership&utm_campaign=podcast-oasis-grants-program
Alex: Twitter: https://twitter.com/bergealex4
Ryan: Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanberckmans
stETH Lido’s explanation of what stETH is: https://twitter.com/LidoFinance/status/1535184472546889735?s=20&t=oQeB1uj7HG7Y4he-0gbcLg
Previous Unchained Coverage: In the Recent Crypto Market Meltdown, What Role Did Lido’s stETH Play?: https://unchainedpodcast.com/in-the-recent-crypto-market-meltdown-what-role-did-lidos-steth-play-ep-370/
Lido’s Centralization: Alex’s thread on why ETH is broken: https://twitter.com/bergealex4/status/1410761639226318852?s=20&t=JLyNokP7Kxj7tIiDzHIHTQ
Ryan on a liquid staking monopoly: https://twitter.com/ryanberckmans/status/1521179049548300291?s=20&t=JLyNokP7Kxj7tIiDzHIHTQ
Ryan’s proposed solutions: https://twitter.com/ryanberckmans/status/1531731955011579904?s=20&t=JLyNokP7Kxj7tIiDzHIHTQ
Is Lido making Ethereum less decentralized?: https://cryptobriefing.com/is-lido-making-ethereum-less-decentralized/
LDO token analysis: https://medium.com/general_knowledge/lido-finance-liquid-ethereum-staking-ldo-potential-f5dc3553b8d2
Ethereum researcher Danny Ryan’s take: https://twitter.com/dannyryan/status/1524044527828303872?s=20&t=H4UNoLn7sKQyZx5ll3-Ncw
Ryan’s take on Lido’s self-limit: https://research.lido.fi/t/should-lido-on-ethereum-be-limited-to-some-fixed-of-stake/2225/9?u=ryanberckmans
Lido’s Governance Proposals Lido + stETH dual governance: https://research.lido.fi/t/ldo-steth-dual-governance/2382
Hasu on Lido’s dual governance proposal: https://twitter.com/hasufl/status/1540652075352313857?s=20&t=sJU5C5xo5litEJrZZDaWNQ
Lido’s two-phase voting scheme: https://blog.lido.fi/moving-to-two-phase-voting/
MEV Ryan on post-merge MEV: https://twitter.com/ryanberckmans/status/1453597003397611526?s=20&t=JLyNokP7Kxj7tIiDzHIHTQ
Alex on proposer-builder separation: https://twitter.com/bergealex4/status/1540934540901744640?s=20&t=JLyNokP7Kxj7tIiDzHIHTQ
Haseeb on post-merge MEV: https://twitter.com/hosseeb/status/1464003851942391834?s=20&t=JLyNokP7Kxj7tIiDzHIHTQ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Danny Ryan is an Ethereum 2.0 researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, but he is also a cat owner, husband, and outdoors enthusiast. With some of the longest hair in crypto, Danny is solving extremely difficult and important problems at the protocol level for Ethereum. He is a communicator and a thinker—he is technical but also personable.
Danny is a human at the center of this movement, navigating through high-stakes subjective decisions and surrounded by smart, passionate people. This conversation also covers what it’s like working for a protocol. What’s it like working without a boss and concrete job description?
Danny’s answer? He cares a lot.
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------
Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro 4:00 Danny Ryan & His Hair 8:50 Coding & Building 12:45 Communicating 19:37 Subjective Decisions 25:05 Existential Risks 31:35 Work Culture & Accountability 38:08 After Ethereum 41:21 Proof of Stake 45:36 Social Interactions 51:42 More Proof of Stake 55:40 Bitcoin 58:10 Clean Money 1:00:15 Happy Devs & the Mock Merge 1:06:01 Personal Stuff 1:14:55 Closing
------ Resources:
Danny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dannyryan?s=20
----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/bankless-disclosures
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ETH 2.0 AMA with Danny Ryan
Danny Ryan is a researcher at the EF and is one of the lead coordinators behind the ETH 2. movement!
Listen to Danny's talk at ETH Online! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEh4u5a-43o&t=1539s
Check out ETH Online! https://ethglobal.online/#schedule
------
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-----
Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research. Disclosure. From time-to-time we may add links in this channel to products we use. We may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. We'll always disclose when this is the case.