Pokemon cards are suddenly one of the hottest markets in collectibles. But why now, and what does it have to do with crypto? Andy8052 joins David to break down the rise of digital pack-opening platforms, the nostalgia-driven bull case for Pokémon, why grading companies have a stranglehold on the market, and how millions of dollars of real-world cards are slowly moving onchain. Are tokenized collectibles the next NFT comeback story, or just another frothy mania?
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---
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 NFTs to Pokémon Cards
2:59 Why Pokémon Is Hot
8:13 Nostalgia Meets Disposable Income
11:56 Brands, Influencers, and Hype
15:06 Pricing the Cards
16:21 Grading and Market Bottlenecks
22:16 Why Cards Still Aren't On-Chain
30:06 Inside Monster Strategy
34:40 Market Consolidation Ahead
35:42 Vaults, Shipping, and Logistics
38:13 Kids, Parents, and Collecting
40:45 Nostalgia Is the Real Bull Case
43:45 Where to Find Andy
44:35 Tokenized Cards and Stablecoins
---
RESOURCES
Andy8052
https://x.com/andy8052
---
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
In this episode of the Bankless Podcast, hosts discuss Real Economic Value (REV). Triggered by Jon's exploration of how ETH and SOL prices correlate with REV, the team delves into REV's role as a value capture metric and demand signal for blockchain networks. We evaluate the implications for network valuations, debate the sustainability of relying on REV, and analyze competitive dynamics between Ethereum and Solana. The conversation concludes with musings on crypto investment risks and the evolving identity of digital currencies in relation to app utility.
Jon Charbonneau: https://x.com/jon_charb
Bread: https://x.com/0xBreadguy
Andy8052: https://x.com/andy8052
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🟠HEMI | BTC & ETH, ONE NETWORK
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---
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 REV
https://x.com/jon_charb/status/1923739890115543264
https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1924835154700234866
17:56 Stablecoins vs Native Currencies
28:38 Tribalism
https://x.com/post_polar_/status/1924458711940055246
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1924202146117153172
39:30 The Trenches
https://dune.com/beincrypto/solana-launchpads
49:14 Pump . Fun
---
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
In this episode of the Bankless Roundtable, host David Hoffman is joined by crypto enthusiasts Zero X Bread Guy, John Charbonneau, and Andy8052 to discuss the recent surge in Ethereum's price, which skyrocketed nearly 50% this week. The panel analyzes the impact of the Believe app and Launchcoin on internet capital markets, Coinbase's entry into the S&P 500, and Robinhood's new Layer 2 solution. They explore the implications of these developments for investor confidence and market liquidity, alongside the rising interest in meme-based tokens. The conversation wraps up with thoughts on Ethereum vs. Solana and the importance of community engagement in the evolving crypto landscape.
Jon Charbonneau: https://x.com/jon_charb
Bread: https://x.com/0xBreadguy
Andy8052: https://x.com/andy8052
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🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK
https://bankless.cc/Mantle
🌐SELF | PROVE YOUR SELF
https://bankless.cc/Self
🟠HEMI | BTC & ETH, ONE NETWORK
https://bankless.cc/hemi
---
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 ETH vs SOL vs BTC
5:40 Internet Capital Markets
https://x.com/gabrielhaines/status/1922293923420000346
https://dexscreener.com/solana/yrrustgpugdp8bbfosqdefssen6sa75zs1qjvgnhtmy
https://www.believescreener.com/
https://x.com/believeapp
22:19 Memecoin Launchpads
https://x.com/believeapp/status/1922075588115775489
https://x.com/zhusu/status/1922178773375418733
30:32 Ethereum Up 50%
https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/ethereum
46:25 Coinbase Listed
https://x.com/coinbase/status/1922046840528113880
53:47 Robinhood Acquires Wonderfi
https://x.com/hanni_abu/status/1922341347844841611
---
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Jon Charbonneau, Bread, and Andy8052 join David to break down Ethereum’s bold pivot back to Layer 1 and what it means for the future of crypto.
They also dive into the implications of scaling the L1 over rollups, the looming death of longtail L2s, and the shifting meta around value accrual, memecoins, and onchain activity. The crew also debates ETH’s monetary identity, HyperLiquid’s EVM ambitions, and whether Ethereum can reassert itself as crypto’s dominant tech and cultural platform.
Jon Charbonneau: https://x.com/jon_charb
Bread: https://x.com/0xBreadguy
Andy8052: https://x.com/andy8052
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🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK
https://bankless.cc/Mantle
🌐SELF | PROVE YOUR SELF
https://bankless.cc/Self
🏦INFINEX | THE CRYPTO-EVERYTHING APP
https://bankless.cc/Infinex
------
TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES
0:00 Intro
1:58 Ethereum Pivot Has a Tagline
https://x.com/hosseeb/status/1917052715911549399
https://x.com/0xngmi/status/1916910787936797005
18:49 Ethereum Value Accrual
30:29 Fun Chain Premium
34:00 Memecoin Meta These Days
50:17 HyperLiquid EVM
58:01 1 Gorilla vs 100 Men
https://x.com/search?q=1%20Gorilla%20v%20100%20Men&src=typed_query
1:04:07 Closing & Disclaimers
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
In this episode, Jason is joined by geebz, TylerD, and DeeZe to discuss the current state of NFTs and memecoins. They dive into how meme coins have taken attention away from NFTs recently, similar to the 2021 NFT bull cycle. The guests share their thoughts on the future of the NFT market, including the potential for gaming NFTs, ordinals on Bitcoin, and the experimentation happening with NFT utility. They also discuss the intense competition among NFT marketplaces like Magic Eden, Blur, and OpenSea. Finally, Jason shares learnings from launching the Permies NFT collection for Blockworks' Permissionless conference. Stay tuned for all of this and much more!
- -
Follow DeeZe: https://twitter.com/DeeZe
Follow Geebz: https://twitter.com/ArtGeebz
Follow Tyler: https://twitter.com/Tyler_Did_It
Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz
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Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/
- -
Wormhole is a decentralized interoperability platform powering multi-chain applications and bridges. It provides developers with access to liquidity and users on over 30 leading blockchain networks, enabling use cases in DeFi, data queries, and governance. The platform is trusted by teams like Uniswap and Circle and, to date, the platform has facilitated the transfer of over 35 billion dollars through over 850 million cross-chain messages.
Claim your unique Wormhole NFT at
https://wormhole.com/empire10-7469
- -
Monad is a fully EVM compatible Layer 1 blockchain that can support 10,000 real transactions per second. Monad aims to open up the design space for the EVM to support high fidelity defi, consumer facing applications, and more generally allow crypto to scale to the masses.
If you are interested in participating in Monad's journey, follow: https://twitter.com/monad_xyz and join: https://discord.gg/monad
- -
Shardeum is an EVM-based autoscaling blockchain
Learn more and spin up your node today: bit.ly/shardeum-blockworks-1
- -
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Earn $1,500 by referring Web3 projects to use Supra services. The projects get the fastest services for free, and you earn $1,500 for every referral. Learn more at the link above.
- -
Timestamps
(00:00) Intro
(02:15) NFTs vs Memecoins
(13:27) Are Memecoins Cycle Top Froth?
(19:24) Roundtripping Gains
(22:37) Future of NFTs
(31:00) Crypto Native NFTs vs Outsiders
(34:56) NFT Allocation in 2024
(48:32) Wormhole Ad
(49:59) Monad Ad
(50:57) Shardeum Ad
(51:53) Supra Ad
(52:50) The Memecoin Supercycle
(56:13) NFT Marketplace Structure
(01:06:32) Web2 NFT Adoption
- -
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.
In a massive week for Bored Ape Yacht Club studio Yuga Labs, they acquired CryptoPunks & Meebits from Larva Labs, as well as releasing their community token $APE. With ApeCoin and a massive inflow of intellectual property, the NFT space is spinning with buzz and speculation about what this all means.
Today, we have Zeneca_33, Andy8052, and Scott Lewis joining State of the Nation to get to the bottom of this monumental event. What does this mean for Punks and Apes? What about intellectual property, ownership, and value? And lastly, are we seeing the dawn of a new age of digital monopolies?
In this chaotic landscape, a rational and steady approach to understanding is always a winner.
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------ Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro 8:00 Panelists 12:03 What CryptoPunks Want 16:44 Brand Management 22:01 Applebees 26:52 Creative Commons License 32:00 Best Rights Strategies 40:00 ApeCoin Launch 46:20 Is $APE Overvalued? 54:58 Yuga Labs Deck 1:00:52 Financials vs Monopolies 1:04:31 $450 Million Raise 1:06:45 Panelist Projects 1:10:00 Closing & Disclaimers
------ Resources:
Scott Lewis: https://twitter.com/scott_lew_is?s=20&t=kXCI6sgHk2MMkG_PZKekSQ Zeneca_33: https://twitter.com/Zeneca_33?s=20&t=kXCI6sgHk2MMkG_PZKekSQ Andy8052: https://twitter.com/andy8052?s=20&t=kXCI6sgHk2MMkG_PZKekSQ
----- 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
On December 7, 2021, Metaverso was held in Puerto Rico as a 1-day conference filled with leaders in crypto culture. We held a panel with Sam Cassat of Aligned Capital, Ben Lakoff of Charged Particles, Andy8052 of Fractional, and Laura Jaramillo of Upshot.
In this special edition, we dive into what the conference experience really is. Spoiler: Crypto IRL is amazing. The panel explores the intersection of DeFi and NFTs—what happens when these worlds collide? There are only two types of assets—fungible and non-fungible—but we are seeing these concepts blur together in new and interesting ways.
From liquidity to communities, this conversation covers how the Metaverse is bringing DeFi to NFTs.
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🦄 UNISWAP | DECENTRALIZED FUNDING https://bankless.cc/UniGrants
------ Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro 3:15 The Conference Experience 6:44 TradArt and NFTs 10:11 Metaverso 13:14 Crypto IRL 16:20 The Panel 19:40 FreeRoss DAO 21:38 The Panelists 24:28 The Potential of NFTs 29:00 More than Fractionalizing 33:45 Liquidity 39:33 Pricing Assets 46:50 Community 54:34 Regulatory Issues 1:00:22 Use Cases
----- Resources:
Metaverso https://www.metaver.so/ FreeRossDAO https://freerossdao.com/ Sam Cassatt https://twitter.com/samcassatt?s=20 Ben Lakoff https://twitter.com/benlakoff?s=20 Andy8052 https://twitter.com/andy8052?s=20 Laura Jaramillo https://twitter.com/LauraTJD?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
The NFT Boom rages on. We bring on Fractional team members and CryptoPunk holders DeeZe and Andy to make sense of all this.
Is this just the beginning? Is this a speculative mania? Maybe it's something more. This could be the genesis of a new set of passionate communities, where culture has a quantifiable value.
------ 🚀 SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/ 🎙️ SUBSCRIBE TO PODCAST: http://podcast.banklesshq.com/ 🎖 CLAIM YOUR BADGE: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/-guide-2-using-the-bankless-badge ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:
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🔐 LEDGER | SECURE YOUR ASSETS https://bankless.cc/Ledger
🦄 UNISWAP | DECENTRALIZED FUNDING https://bankless.cc/UniGrants
------ 📣 TracerDAO | Building DeFi Infrastructure. Join the Discord! https://bankless.cc/TracerDAO ------
Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro 10:00 Andy & DeeZe 13:15 jpeg Summer 17:20 NFTs vs. DeFi Tokens 21:14 What Started This? 26:17 The Fundamentals 29:48 Mania or Bubble Territory? 34:03 NFT Evaluation 101 41:43 Getting Things You Like 44:38 Mimetic Desire 50:00 Art Blocks and Generative Art 55:44 Auctions & Pricing 59:47 Fidenza 1:04:01 The Next Picasso 1:11:00 The One-of-One Game 1:17:14 On-Chain NFTs 1:21:07 Vetting Projects 1:26:59 How Long Will This Last? 1:30:53 Closing & Disclaimers
------ Resources:
DeeZe on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeezeFi?s=20 Andy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andy8052?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
NFTs have exploded in 2021, but many coveted pieces are far out of the price range of average DeFi citizens. Enter Fractional, the new protocol for buying, selling, and minting fractions of NFTs.
This breaks apart NFTs and allows anyone to unlock NFT liquidity and open the door for community involvement. To detail this step forward in crypto culture, we bring on Fractional lead dev @Andy8052 for a Live AMA.
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🦄 UNISWAP | DECENTRALIZED FUNDING https://bankless.cc/UniGrants
------ 📣 SMARTCON | Register for Smart Contract Summit 2021! https://bankless.cc/SmartCon
------
Resources:
Andy on Twitter https://twitter.com/andy8052?s=20
Fractional https://fractional.art/
------ 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