Optimism Co-Founders: What Happened to the L2s? Ben Jones & Karl Floersch
This week, Ben Jones and Karl Floersch join the show to discuss what happened to the L2s. We take a deep dive into Optimism's new strategy for 2026, the current state of Ethereum, why companies need to launch a chain, having a token, and more. Enjoy!
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Follow Karl: https://x.com/karl_dot_tech
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction
(03:43) What L2s Got Right vs Wrong
(12:46) peaq Ad
(13:42) Optimism’s Strategy in 2026
(32:36) What’s Optimism’s Moat?
(40:02) Who Needs To Build a Chain?
(51:20) The Current State of Ethereum
(59:39) Launching a Token
(01:03:10) What Defines Success in Crypto?
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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, Rob and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Optimism Is Done With “Ethereum Alignment” — Users Come First
In this episode of The Defiant Podcast, Camila Russo sits down with Jing Wang to discuss how Optimism is evolving and why the debate over what counts as a “real” Ethereum L2 might be missing the point.
Jing argues that the most important question isn’t whether a chain is an L1, L2, or sidechain.
It’s whether the architecture actually serves users and real-world use cases.
“If it looks like an L1, we’ll build that. If it looks like an L2, we’ll build that.”
In the conversation we cover:
Why Optimism now sees itself as a network of blockchains (the Superchain)
The debate around Ethereum L2 decentralization sparked by Vitalik Buterin
Why institutions are already using decentralized rails
Why ZK proofs are the future
And why Jing believes finance inevitably moves on-chain
Nexo is a premier digital assets wealth platform that helps clients build, manage, and preserve their wealth through advanced interest-generating products, crypto-backed credit, advanced trading tools, and 24/7 client care. Get started at https://nexo.com/defiant
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Uneasy Money: How the Increasingly Better AI Agents Are Being Used Onchain
Thank you to our sponsors!
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MultiChain Advisors
Vitalik Buterin just dropped a bombshell: the L2 vision no longer makes sense. Meanwhile, AI coding agents are going parabolic.
In this monster episode of Uneasy Money, Ethereum Foundation Head of Developer Growth Austin Griffith and Optimism co-founder Karl Floersch join hosts Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan to unpack the reasoning behind Vitalik's remarks and debate whether Ethereum needs L2s to pull institutions.
They also take a deep dive into the OpenClaw and Moltbook craze and Austin shares how he has different agents running on different machines, including one that texts his wife good morning everyday. Is “AI the new UI?”
Hosts:
Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix
Taylor Monahan, Security Expert, Metamask
Guests:
Austin Griffith, AI Lead at Ethereum Foundation
Karl Floersh, CTO of OP Labs
Links:
Vitalik Rethinks Ethereum’s L2 Playbook, Calls for Shift Toward Native Rollups
How the x402 Standard Is Enabling AI Agents to Pay Each Other
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Simon Sinek: How to identify great leaders & find your why
Author Simon Sinek joins host Reid Hoffman for a lively chat about how to identify good leaders, scale ideas, and leverage the “ultimate hack” for success. They also discuss why missionaries beat mercenaries in Silicon Valley and whether AI can ever really be your friend.
Simon Sinek’s 15th anniversary edition of “Start With Why”: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/304046/start-with-why-15th-anniversary-edition-by-simon-sinek/
Synthetic voiceover of Reid Hoffman used in this episode was produced by Respeecher with full consent and permission.
Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com
Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Real Strategy of Optimism's Superchain | Ben Jones & Ryan Wyatt
In today's episode Optimism co-founder Ben Jones and growth lead Ryan Wyatt discuss the Superchain vision. They explore how the OP Stack and Superchain are transforming Ethereum scaling through unprecedented collaboration between major players like Base, Coinbase, and Kraken. The conversation covers the strategic importance of interoperability, the role of open source development, and Optimism's innovative approach to building sustainable tokenomics and governance. Featuring candid insights about enterprise adoption, the future of data analytics in crypto, and how AI could change DAO governance. Thanks for tuning in!
devcon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tds-Bik7zM
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Join the revolution today and learn more at https://geodnet.com.
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Unichain is a fast, decentralized L2 that’s built to be the home for DeFi and liquidity across chains.
To stay updated on news including the upcoming launch of Unichain, visit www.Unichain.org or follow @Unichain on X.
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By supplying USDT to Aries lending pools, users have the potential to earn a higher yield compared to some traditional methods.
Not financial advice. Participating in Defi carries risks. To learn more visit petra.app/earn
- -
Timestamps
(00:00) Introduction
(01:55) What is Optimism Today
(14:55) Retaining L2s & Open Source
(20:12) Kraken vs Coinbase Interop
(26:10) Optimism's Stack in 5 Years
(30:23) Interop as a Service
(34:56) Customizability on the SuperChain
(40:19) Geodnet Ad
(41:17) Uniswap Ad
(42:05) Aptos Ad
(42:49) Leaving the SuperChain
(46:27) Ecosystem Model
(51:00) OP Mainnet's Place
(55:38) Andreessen Horowitz's Impact
(01:00:09) Enterprise Crypto
(01:05:10) Open Data Investment
(01:10:44) Optimism's 2025
- -
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.
Kraken's 'Ink' - the Newest L2 in the Optimism Superchain | Ben Jones & Andrew Koller
Optimism’s Ben Jones and Kraken’s Andrew Koller join us today to talk about Kraken’s latest release. Kraken is launching Ink, a blockchain built on the OP Stack, joining the Superchain to scale Ethereum. Ink offers 1-second block times and connects users to top DeFi applications while contributing to a unified ecosystem.
Kraken will share revenue with the Optimism Collective and participate in OP Governance, alongside major players like Coinbase and Uniswap. Ink’s mainnet is set to launch in early 2025, focusing on onchain wealth management and developer engagement.
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------ ✨ Mint the episode on Zora ✨ https://zora.co/collect/zora:0x0c294913a7596b427add7dcbd6d7bbfc7338d53f/83?referrer=0x077Fe9e96Aa9b20Bd36F1C6290f54F8717C5674E
------ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro 5:43 Ink Explained 10:23 What Happens on Ink? 12:52 Technicalities of Ink 14:00 Kraken x Ink Synergy & Goals 16:15 Why Superchain? 17:36 Ink Roadmap 19:08 Scaling Ink 24:41 Wen Superchain Promise 33:19 Superchain 2025 Forcast 37:36 Kraken BTC x Ink 38:38 $INK 39:35 Superchain Economics 48:28 What’s Next? 51:30 Closing & Disclaimers
------ RESOURCES
Ink
http://inkonchain.com
Kraken https://x.com/krakenfx
------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Announcing Unichain | DeFi's Next Frontier?
Unichain Is Here! Joining us today is Hayden Adams of Uniswap and Karl Floersch of Optimism to explain the exciting new release and vision for the future of Ethereum and appchains.
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🎬 DEBRIEF | Ryan & David unpacking the episode: https://www.bankless.com/debrief-announcing-uni
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------
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------ TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Start 00:05:51 Announcing Unichain! 00:11:51 How Will Unichain Work? 00:17:21 Superchain And Interoperability 00:19:38 Superchain Enhancements 00:26:12 Unichain User Experience 00:30:43 What About Other Superchains? 00:38:49 Unfragmenting The Fragmentation 00:43:58 Coordinating All Of Ethereum 00:49:08 UNI Token 00:52:47 Should DeFi Live On L1? 00:57:57 What Success Looks Like 01:01:15 The Path To Superchain 01:03:19 Release Dates
------ RESOURCES
Unichain: https://unichain.org/
Hayden: https://x.com/haydenzadams
Karl: https://x.com/karl_dot_tech
------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Be a Better Leader, the Human Paradox, and the Folly of a Plan — with Simon Sinek
The Dawg is back!
Scott opens with what he’s been up to the past month and shares some exciting news from Prof G Media.
We’re then joined by Simon Sinek, an international speaker and best-selling author of the books “Start With Why,” “The Infinite Game,” and “Find Your Why.” Simon discusses all things leadership, mentorship, and the struggles men face in building meaningful relationships. We also get into Simon’s personal life, including his career journey, the demons he wrestles with, and his hacks for mastering the art of storytelling. @simonsinek.
Subscribe to No Mercy / No Malice
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726: Seven Factors for Successful Data Leadership
Ben Jones, CEO of Data Literacy, discusses the seven crucial components of effective data leadership. From ethics to technology and fostering a data-centric culture, Jones provides actionable insights and practical examples. Tune in to empower your organization with purposeful and ethical data strategies from day one.
Additional materials: www.superdatascience.com/726
Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Visit JonKrohn.com/podcast for sponsorship information.
185 - The Superchain Explained with Jesse Pollak & Ben Jones
On today’s episode we brought on repeat Bankless guests, Ben Jones, Co-Founder of Optimism and Creator of Base, Jesse Pollock.
------ ✨ DEBRIEF | Ryan & David unpacking the episode: https://www.bankless.com/debrief-superchain
----- Base! Coinbase’s Layer 2 has almost hit 1 million users in 2 weeks. It has more transactions per second than Ethereum mainnet. Jesse digs into the magnitude of this development. Base chain was built on Optimism’s tech stack. This is just 1 chain of many thousands we’ll see over the coming years. How do we tie them all together? Ben dives into all things Superchain. The Superchain is how we bring 1 billion people onchain.
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⚖️ ARBITRUM | SCALING ETHEREUM https://bankless.cc/Arbitrum
🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle
🦄UNISWAP | ON-CHAIN MARKETPLACE https://bankless.cc/uniswap
👾STADER LABS | ETHX LIQUID STAKING https://bankless.cc/Stader
----- TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro 7:42 Base Launch Reflection 9:53 Optimism’s Reflection 11:35 Coinbase x Optimism Collaboration 17:14 OP Stack Incentives 23:43 Base’s Impressive Numbers 26:26 Explaining the Superchain 31:40 Why Join the Superchain? 33:55 The Law of Chains 45:26 The Coinbase Onchain Formula 51:15 Base Part of Optimism Governance 58:40 What About Other L2s? 1:04:56 Optimism Collective’s Fee 1:08:25 The Tech Behind the Superchain 1:13:34 Superchain Timeline 1:15:45 Fault Proofs 1:18:36 Risk Profile of Base 1:22:15 Optimism’s Governance Minimization 1:24:10 Wen Fault Proofs & Stages 1:30:00 How Many Clients Does Optimism Have? 1:33:36 Near Term Focus For Base 1:37:01 Near Term Focus For Optimism 1:38:27 Closing & Disclosures
----- RESOURCES
Jesse Pollock https://twitter.com/jessepollak
Ben Jones https://twitter.com/ben_chain
The Law of Chains https://gov.optimism.io/t/law-of-chains-v0-1-full-draft/6514
----- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Conversation with Simon Sinek — Finding Your Why, Feeling Stuck, and Building Strong Leaders
Simon Sinek, a renowned leadership expert, author, and motivational speaker, joins Scott to discuss his visionary concept of “Start With Why,” along with insights on building strong teams, leadership, feeling stuck, and finding your purpose. Simon also gets Scott to open up about a meaningful memory of his mom.
Follow Simon on Twitter, @simonsinek.
P.S. Scott is on holiday, so we’ll be back with our business analysis and Algebra of Happiness in September!
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20VC: Simon Sinek on Trust; How it is Gained and Lost | Why Millennials Avoid Conflict | How to Listen Effectively | What Makes The Best Feedback and How to Provide It | Why Humans Do Not Change & How To Find Out Who You Really Are
Simon Sinek is an optimist and author, as we discuss in the show today. Simon is best known for his TED Talk on the concept of WHY (62M views), and his video on millennials in the workplace (80M views in 7 days). Simon is also a bestselling author including global bestseller Start with WHY, Leaders Eat Last and The Infinite Game. In addition, Simon is the founder of The Optimism Company, a leadership learning and development company, and he publishes other inspiring thinkers and doers through his publishing partnership with Penguin Random House called Optimism Press.
In Today's Discussion with Simon Sinek We Discuss:
1. The Makings of Simon Sinek:
In what ways does Simon believe that his parents and upbringing shaped who he is today?
What does Simon want to be when he grows up?
What was the catalytic moment to the "Simon Sinek brand"? When was that big break moment?
2. Identity:
Simon has said before, "I define myself by who I am and not what I do". Is it wrong to define yourself by what you do?
What do you do if you do not know who you are? What do you do if you do not like the answers to who you are?
Is it possible to change who you are? What does that process look like?
What is Simon's biggest advice to those looking to find a greater sense of self and identity?
3. Trust:
Does Simon start relationships with inherent trust and it is there to be lost or no trust and it is there to be gained over time?
When has someone broken Simon's trust? How did it impact how he approaches trust today?
In the case of cheating in a relationship, does Simon believe it is possible to regain trust over time?
Simon has said before, "trust is built on telling the truth". Does it ever make sense or is even right to tell a little white lie in a relationship?
4. Creating Safe Spaces:
How can we create safe spaces for our partners to be their full selves?
Does this differ professionally and personally?
What are the biggest mistakes people make in building safe spaces?
5. Listening:
What does great listening in a relationship mean? How can we do it better?
Often people jump from listening to solution mode, is that wrong?
Why does Simon have a rule of "no crying alone". What does it do and how is it productive? When was the last time Simon cried?
6. Simon Sinek: AMA:
What is success to you?
Can one be "successful" and unhappy?
What is the difference between happiness and joy?
How To Decentralize a Fortune 500 Company
This week on The Defiant podcast, Tegan Kline hosts Jesse Pollak, senior director of Engineering at Coinbase, Eva Beylin, the director of the Graph Foundation, and Ben Jones, the director of the Optimism Foundation, to give us a deep dive into the launch of Base, Coinbase's recently-launched Layer 2 blockchain.
Base is an Ethereum Layer two that offers a secure, low-cost, developer-friendly way for anyone anywhere to build decentralized applications.
In this episode, we talk about the evolution of Base from inside a Fortune 500 company, the importance of decentralized tools like the Graph and Optimism, and the importance of thinking positive sum, not zero-sum.
Jesse discusses decentralization inside a centralized company and how Coinbase plans to onboard millions of dapps and a billion users.
Thanking our podcast sponsors:
web3 with a16z is a chart-topping podcast about the next generation of the internet, from a16z crypto. Click here to listen now.
This episode is brought to you by Orbs Layer-3. Trade DeFi like a pro using decentralized TWAP order type on SpookySwap, SpiritSwap, and Pangolin. Learn more: https://www.orbs.com/dtwap/
Optimism Base Superchain 🔵_🔴 with Ben Jones, Karl Floersch, & Jing Wang
In today's show, we bring on Ben Jones, Chief Scientist of the Optimism Foundation, Karl Floersch, CTO at OP Labs, and Jing Wang, Executive Director of Optimism Foundation
The five discuss Coinbase's Base launch, the OP Stack integration, and what it means for the Superchains vision!
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EARNIFI | CLAIM YOUR UNCLAIMED AIRDROPS https://bankless.cc/earnifi
------ Timestamps:
0:00 Intro 6:20 Sentiment at Optimism 7:00 Biggest Deal with the News? 11:28 Reflection on Coinbase's Base 15:45 OP Stack 17:15 Is Base a Competitor? 20:53 Puberty State of Chains 33:30 Superchains 40:35 Security of the Superchains 44:35 Superchain Standards 51:51 Base Decentralization Timeline? 57:10 Closing & Disclaimers
------ Resources:
Coinbase Base Announcement https://www.coinbase.com/blog/introducing-base
Optimism + OP STack Details https://optimism.mirror.xyz/2jk3D1Y8-hid8YOCUUa6yXmsyzNCYYyFJP0Nhaey9x0
Ben Jones https://twitter.com/ben_chain
Karl Floersch https://twitter.com/karl_dot_tech
Jing Wang https://twitter.com/jinglejamop
----- 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://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Starbucks, Warner Music among billion-dollar brands turning to Polygon to tap web3
From Starbucks to Warner Music, large corporations are building on the Polygon blockchain to bring their web3 visions to life.
According to Polygon Labs President Ryan Wyatt, it’s not Polygon’s tech that is attracting big brands, but rather Polygon Labs’ unique "white glove" approach to corporate partnerships. “Fortune 500 companies are used to having their hand held along a journey, especially in something like web3 where there’s a lot to navigate,” Wyatt said.
In this episode, Wyatt discusses Polygon Labs’s approach to business development, how the upcoming release of Polygon’s zkEVM will help Ethereum scale, and the future of blockchain gaming.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Circle, Railgun, Flare Network, NordVPN
About Circle
Circle is a global financial technology company helping money move at internet speed. Our mission is to raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value. Visit Circle.com to learn more.
About Railgun
RAILGUN is a private DeFi solution on Ethereum, BSC, Arbitrum, and Polygon. Shield any ERC-20 token and any NFT into a Private Balance and let RAILGUN’s Zero-Knowledge cryptography encrypt your address, balance, and transaction history. You can also bring privacy to your project with RAILGUN SDK and be sure to check out RAILGUN with partner project Railway Wallet, also available on iOS and Android. Visit Railgun.org to find out more.
About Flare
Flare is an EVM-based Layer 1 blockchain designed to allow developers to build applications that can use data from other blockchains and the internet. By providing decentralized access to a wide variety of high-integrity data from other blockchains and the internet, Flare enables new use cases and monetization models. Build better and connect everything at Flare.Network
About NordVPN
NordVPN is essential for keeping crypto transactions secure, hiding your IP address, and protecting your devices from hackers and data theft. Get premium cyber-security on up to 6 devices for the price of a cup of coffee a month. Get your exclusive NordVPN Deal and try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee: Visit https://nordvpn.com/thescoop
Will Optimism's OP Token Draw People Back to Layer 2s on Ethereum? - Ep.350
Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix, and Ben Jones, cofounder and chief scientist at Optimism Foundation, discuss the current state of Ethereum Layer 2s, Optimism’s new governance structure, why Synthetix chose to build on Optimism, and more. Show topics:
what Optimism and Synthetix are
how zero-knowledge rollups differ from optimistic rollups
why Synthetix decided to build on Optimism
what makes L2s more enticing to build on than other L1s
how Optimism’s governance is going to change with the launch of the Optimism Collective and OP token
what issues Synthetix has had with Discord governance and early token voting, and how they have now solved this by forcing users to consolidate wallet addresses
what retroactive public goods funding is and how it could create a “flywheel” of development on Optimism
why whales might be excluded from Optimism’s token grant to Synthetix
why Ben thinks the future is about the “superchain” rather than multi-chain
what Kain and Ben think about bridging between L2s and Mainnet
why Optimism is a staunch backer of EIP 4844
how the merge could affect Optimism and Synthetix
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021
Coinchange: https://coinchange.io
OnJuno: https://onjuno.com/
Episode Links
Guests
Ben Jones: https://twitter.com/ben_chain
Kain Warwick: https://twitter.com/kaiynne
Synthetix
https://twitter.com/synthetix_io
Optimism
https://twitter.com/optimismPBC
Optimism Collective
https://optimism.mirror.xyz/gQWKlrDqHzdKPsB1iUnI-cVN3v0NvsWnazK7ajlt1fI
Synthetix Launching on Optimism
https://blog.synthetix.io/optimism-launch-announcement/
Synthetix Governance
https://docs.synthetix.io/governance/
Kain’s Blog
https://blog.synthetix.io/author/kain/
Rollups
What are the biggest risks to optimistic rollup chains?
https://vitalik.ca/general/2021/01/05/rollup.html#:~:text=Anatomy%20of%20a%20fraud%20proof
What is the difference between optimistic and ZK rollups? And why did Synthetix choose Optimism?
https://blog.matter-labs.io/optimistic-vs-zk-rollup-deep-dive-ea141e71e075
EIP 4844
https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-4844
https://www.eip4844.com/
The Merge
https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-ethereums-merge-was-delayed-and-why-it-wont-reduce-gas-fees-much/
Kain’s previous Unchained appearances
Ethereum killers episode
https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-solana-and-binance-smart-chain-could-take-ethereums-lead/
How Synthetix became the second-largest DeFi platform
https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-synthetix-became-the-second-largest-defi-platform/
DeFi summer
https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-comp-5xed-on-day-1-and-what-this-means-for-a-defi-bull-market/
Optimism’s Bridging Solution
https://twitter.com/optimismPBC/status/1517548430297604096
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The Eternal Optimist with Karl Floersch | Layer Zero
Karl Floersch is the co-founder of Optimism, the Ethereum rollup scaling solution, as well as one of the primary advocates in the space for public goods funding. Through his prolific body of work—as well as a boundless well of optimism and energy—Karl is a core beating heart of Ethereum culture, as well as a schelling point for values and ethos across the ecosystem.
We say it every episode: the code we write impacts the people who use it. Few embody this declaration more than Karl, whose deepest passion is building technological infrastructure to incentivize ethical behavior.
We also explore the concept of ‘Ether’s Phoenix,’ a hypothetical being that rewards you for manifesting it—directly contrasting the concept of Roko’s Basilisk (research at your own risk).
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⚡️ MAKER DAO | THE DAI STABLECOIN https://bankless.cc/MakerDAO
🦁 BRAVE | THE BROWSER NATIVE WALLET https://bankless.cc/Brave
------ Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro 5:00 Inspiration and Leaders 10:10 Road to Ethereum 16:13 For the Right Reasons 21:12 Embedding Values 28:35 The School of Fish 34:38 The Future Karl Sees 42:00 The Human Body Metaphor 47:44 The Decentralized Brain 52:25 Retroactive Public Goods Funding 57:14 Distributing Funds 1:01:08 Unprecedented Opportunity 1:04:59 R*ku’s B*silisk 1:08:39 Ether’s Phoenix (caw!) 1:15:40 A Just Utopia
------ Resources:
Karl Floersch: https://twitter.com/karl_dot_tech Optimism: https://twitter.com/optimismPBC Ether’s Phoenix: https://medium.com/ethereum-optimism/ethers-phoenix-18fb7d7304bb
----- 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
107 - What's Real About Crypto Gaming | Ryan Wyatt
Ryan Wyatt is the CEO of Polygon Studios and former Head of Gaming at Youtube. Ryan is always on the frontier of gaming, having stewarded a new generation of content creators. He's now shifting his focus to Web3, where the next wave of innovation is set to happen.
Ryan presents a number of fascinating takes, including his feelings on Anti-NFT sentiment, the future of games, and the growing influence of gaming content.
By building out the Polygon Metaverse, Ryan is colliding games and economies. In this episode, he shares what he's learned — what's real about crypto, and what's not.
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💳 LEDGER | THE CRYPTO LIFE CARD https://bankless.cc/Ledger
🧙♂️ ALCHEMIX | SELF REPAYING LOANS https://bankless.cc/Alchemix
🦄 UNISWAP | DECENTRALIZED FUNDING https://bankless.cc/UniGrants
------ Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro 5:00 Ryan Wyatt 8:50 Creator Economy Background 12:07 Transitioning to Web3 18:58 Crypto Improves Games 24:51 Whales & Blockchains 31:17 NFT Maxis vs Antti-NFT Maxis 36:08 Why Gamers Hate NFTs 40:05 Will Everything Be Crypto? 49:10 How We Change Minds 54:30 How Web2 Sees Web3 1:01:46 Colliding Games & Economies 1:05:56 What’s Wrong with Gaming 1:09:00 Money, Yield, and Content 1:17:01 In-Game Assets, Real World Value 1:24:45 The Bull Case for Polygon 1:27:48 Closing & Disclaimers
------ Resources:
Ryan Wyatt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fwiz?s=20&t=TWOdkCxUzoJ-e3DlN9uT_g
Polygon Studios: https://twitter.com/polygonstudios?s=20&t=TWOdkCxUzoJ-e3DlN9uT_g
Crypto Unicorns: https://www.cryptounicorns.fun/
------ Related Episodes:
The Crypto Gaming Revolution | Arianna Simpson https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/the-crypto-gaming-revolution
Web3 Gaming 101 | Amy Wu https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/-96-web3-gaming-101-amy-wu
Crypto Gaming Panel | Loot Squad, Yield Guild, Illuvium https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/crypto-gaming-panel-loot-squad-yield
The Dawn of Crypto Gaming | Robbie Ferguson https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/-the-dawn-of-crypto-gaming-robbie
The Emergent Metaverse | Sam Englebardt & Richard Kim https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/-102-the-emergent-metaverse-sam-englebardt?utm_source=url
----- 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
Ether's Phoenix with Optimism's Karl Floersch | GreenPill #2
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-----
Karl Floersch is the co-founder of Optimism, the Ethereum rollup scaling solution, as well as one of the primary advocates in the space for public goods funding.
Karl is inspiring on many levels—both individually with his seemingly boundless optimism and energy, and also his prolific work in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Optimism is simultaneously scaling Ethereum’s transaction space and its values & ethos, pledging to recycle its fees into public goods. A central goal of regenerative finance is to align economic value with our moral values, and Karl’s work on retroactive public goods funding is pushing us towards that brighter, solarpunk future.
We also explore the concept of ‘Ether’s Phoenix,’ a hypothetical being that rewards you for manifesting it—directly contrasting the concept of Roko’s Basilisk (research at your own risk).
Take the Green Pill, anon.
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🦄 UNISWAP | DECENTRALIZED FUNDING https://bankless.cc/UniGrants
💳 LEDGER | THE CRYPTO LIFE CARD https://bankless.cc/Ledger
🧙♂️ ALCHEMIX | SELF REPAYING LOANS https://bankless.cc/Alchemix
------ Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro 2:40 Karl Floersch 4:38 Optimism & Public Goods 7:30 Solving Governance 11:32 Retroactive Public Goods Funding 18:09 The Endgame 21:18 Karl’s Favorite Public Goods 28:25 Ether’s Phoenix 32:12 Grinding & Mindset 34:02 Memes & Narratives 37:49 Closing
------ Resources:
Karl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/karl_dot_tech?s=20&t=-oO_ckIiZ6BKahlmZVvB8w
Kevin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/owocki?s=20&t=A1yy1WYtQlNAOiSxXtGuNQ
Vitalik on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin?s=20&t=6oPk84CaEN12Es6e7Nze3A
Optimism: https://twitter.com/optimismPBC?s=20&t=-oO_ckIiZ6BKahlmZVvB8w
----- Music by WABI SABI - snowflake - https://thmatc.co/?l=7786B012
----- 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 Great L2 Migration | Cross-Chain L2 Panel
We think 2022 is going to be a huge year for Layer 2 scaling solutions. Cross-Chain protocols will be a crucial infrastructure for the great migration to L2s, allowing users to bridge assets across platforms.
Composability and user experience is the glue of modular blockchains, which optimize for decentralization, scaling, and cost. The projects and representatives each present cryptographic solutions for building a web of liquidity across the many suburbs of DeFi, where average users will live and engage.
GUESTS:
Ben Jones - Optimism https://twitter.com/ben_chain?s=20
Hart Lambur - UMA https://twitter.com/hal2001?s=20
Arjun Bhuptani - Connext https://twitter.com/arjunbhuptani?s=20
Chris Whinfrey - Hop Protocol https://twitter.com/WhinfreyChris?s=20
Vaibhav Chellani - MOVR https://twitter.com/vaibhavchellani?s=20
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GEMINI | TURN FIAT INTO CRYPTO https://bankless.cc/Gemini
BRAVE | THE BROWSER NATIVE WALLET https://bankless.cc/Brave
UNISWAP | DECENTRALIZED FUNDING https://bankless.cc/UniGrants
----- 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 State of Optimism | Ben Jones & Karl Floersch (SotN 8/10)
Optimism is scaling Ethereum with its open-source Optimistic Rollup. Uniswap recently deployed on Optimistic Ethereum, officially kicking off Ethereum's Scalability Summer. Where does Optimism stand now? What's next?
Optimists Ben Jones & Karl Floersch join to talk about working on Ethereum’s hardest problems and pioneering a better future for humanity.
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Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro 7:00 Ben Jones & Karl Floersch 9:10 Is Ethereum Scaling? 10:03 The History of Optimism 16:20 A Scaled Ethereum Chain 19:26 A Mental Model & Theme Parks 27:24 Governors & Contracts 29:29 Infrastructure & Use Cases 37:07 The Optimistic EVM 41:32 How Much Scale is There? 49:04 Latency & Liquidity 58:59 Layer 2 to Layer 2 1:06:29 Understanding Tradeoffs 1:09:18 MEV & Sequencing 1:19:17 Power & Responsibility 1:27:08 Saving Humanity 1:29:48 Fire Round Questions 1:34:54 Closing & Disclaimers
------ Resources:
Optimism: https://optimism.io/ Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ben_chain?s=20 Karl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/karl_dot_tech?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
How I Built Resilience: Live with Simon Sinek
Each week, Guy is hosting online conversations with founders and entrepreneurs about how they're navigating these turbulent times. Today's conversation is with Simon Sinek, whose books about business — including "Start with Why," and "The Infinite Game" — offer guidance to founders that is especially timely right now.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
#82 – Simon Sinek: Leadership, Hard Work, Optimism and the Infinite Game
Simon Sinek is an author of several books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, and his latest The Infinite Game. He is one of the best communicators of what it takes to be a good leader, to inspire, and to build businesses that solve big difficult challenges.
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This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify, or support it on Patreon.
Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
OUTLINE:
0:00 – Introduction
3:50 – Meaning of life as an infinite game
10:13 – Optimism
13:30 – Mortality
17:52 – Hard work
26:38 – Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and leadership
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