Pump.fun’s $370M Burn Was a Mistake, Says Luca Netz: Uneasy Money
Pump.fun set fire to $370 million in tokens. Luca lays out the airdrop math that says they should have done the opposite.
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Pump.fun had a choice with $370 million worth of its own tokens. It burned them.
On this week’s Uneasy Money, Luca Netz argues that was the worst option on the table. He lays out the “people’s champ” math that, in his view, could have turned Pump.fun into a $5 billion-a-year business if Alon Cohen had launched the biggest airdrop crypto has ever seen—and bought the tokens back at the bottom.
Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan also dig into the 137,000 ETH community effort to plug the KelpDAO hole, why Tay thinks Aave—not Layer Zero or KelpDAO—is the key player in DeFi’s latest blowup, and Luca’s blunt new take on whether DeFi yield is even worth the risk right now.
Plus: Meta paying creators in USDC, the ghost of Libra, and OpenAI’s leaked AI-native phone.
Hosts:
Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix
Taylor Monahan, Security Expert
Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins
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Zero Crypto at Home: Bankless in the Age of Wrench Attacks and Phishing | Jameson Lopp and Beau
Crypto’s newest threat isn’t a smart contract exploit, it’s a knock at your door. In this episode, Ryan sits down with Jameson Lopp (Casa) and Beau (former CIA, now safety at Pudgy Penguins) to map the real security landscape for crypto holders in 2026: the phishing traps you’ll see daily, the physical “wrench attacks” that terrify the community, and the practical systems that can make both dramatically less effective. If going bankless is about freedom, this is the playbook for keeping that freedom without turning into your own security team.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
2:45 The 2026 threat landscape: third parties, privacy, then physical
8:07 Most likely vs most dangerous: phishing vs wrench attacks
17:23 Minimize attack surface + separate your money by risk
20:27 The “3-wallet” model: daily spend, risky ops, deep cold vault
25:08 Hot vs cold: the $1k rule + don’t sign when you’re not sharp
30:01 Social engineering defense: authenticate everything, trust nothing inbound
36:22 Password managers + the 2FA ladder (passkeys/YubiKeys win)
45:05 “Dedicated signing machine” and air-gapped thinking
47:30 Wrench attacks: how targets are found + what the attacks look like
52:50 Why France stands out (and what Dubai’s data shows)
57:37 “Zero Crypto at Home”: multisig + geography + time delays
1:12:27 Duress wallets: why they don’t reliably work
1:16:38 Home hardening checklist: cameras, lights, panic buttons, doors/windows
1:30:59 Onchain privacy reality + tax software pitfalls
1:37:40 Is this a setback for the Bankless vision?
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RESOURCES
Jameson Lopp
https://x.com/lopp
https://casa.io/
Beau
https://x.com/beausecurity
https://beausecurity.substack.com/
RSA’s Article - Zero Crypto at Home
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/2016572587363520933
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Companies Are Competing to Bring Crypto to the Masses. Who Is Best Positioned? - Ep. 889
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Crypto is moving past speculation — and into the battle for mass adoption.
In this episode, Phantom CEO Brandon Millman and Pudgy Penguins CEO Luca Netz join Unchained to debate who will own the next hundred million users. Will it be product-led startups, Web2 giants like X and Meta, or crypto-native apps like Phantom? From payments to trading wars to the “everything app” dream, they unpack where the real value will accrue — and why the easy money era for entrepreneurs is over.
Thank you to the sponsors who make this show possible!
Re
Mantle
Guests:
Brandon Millman, CEO and co-founder of Phantom
Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins
Timestamps:
🎬 0:00 Intro
🚧 3:34 Why Brandon still thinks it’s a great time to build in crypto
⚡ 5:55 How Luca sees this moment as an “inflection point” for the industry
👥 9:36 What Brandon and Luca’s personal journeys reveal about building in Web3
🌍 18:07 Who’s best positioned to onboard the next wave of users into crypto
💸 25:05 How distribution is key and why Luca desperately wants to invest in Phantom 😀
💳 37:00 Who might win the payments race and what gives them the edge
📱 51:26 Whether Solana’s Seeker phone has any real shot at breaking through
🔗 58:32 How Robinhood might use Privy and Bridge to dominate the crypto stack
⚔️ 1:01:17 What the new crypto trading wars say about Robinhood, Coinbase, and Kraken
🤔 1:06:05 Whether Coinbase lacks a good product team
📲 1:10:36 Whether the “everything app” dream actually makes sense
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Can Pudgy Penguins Flip DOGE? | Luca Netz
In this episode of Bankless, Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins, explores how meme coins are evolving beyond speculation. We discuss Pengu’s launch on Solana, Pudgy Penguins’ expansion into retail and gaming, and how GIFs with 300M+ daily views are driving mass adoption. Luca also shares why meme coins can be real brands and what’s next for Pudgy’s growing ecosystem.
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------ TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 Intro 00:03:53 Opinion on Pengu token and its competitor 00:08:03 Reformatting the idea of a memecoin 00:12:32 Pudgy Penguins aren't just memes 00:16:09 Solana competitor vs Pengu 00:20:03 Impact of 30 Billion views on the GIFs on the brand 00:22:56 How does the GIFs system work? 00:25:27 GIFs working principle 00:27:13 Big brands doing SEO on GIFs 00:28:38 Non-crypto people using Pudgy GIFs 00:31:59 Physical Products of Pudgy Penguins 00:36:50 Other components of expanding the brand 00:38:56 How big is the conglomerate? 00:39:26 Choosing Solana L1 over L2 00:45:27 Where does Base stand in the algorithm? 00:51:26 Some thoughts on Ethereum's current state 00:55:32 Abstract Chains 01:02:58 Pudgy Penguins' relation with Abstract Chains 01:04:18 Closing & Disclaimers
------ RESOURCES
Luca Netz https://x.com/LucaNetz
Pudgy Penguins https://pudgypenguins.com/
------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Luca Netz on the Pudgy Penguin Airdrop | Roundup
In this week's roundup we are joined buy Pudgy Penguins founder Luca Netz to unpack the recent Pengu token launch. He shares the journey from surviving the bear market with just $500k in the bank to becoming a global brand in Walmart, and explains why Pudgy Penguins is positioned to become crypto's first consumer conglomerate. The conversation delves into the challenges of fundraising for IP projects, strategic decisions around launching on Solana versus Abstract L2, and how the project aims to transcend traditional memecoins to become a cultural phenomenon. Thanks for tuning in!
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Explore the SKALE Ecosystem at skale.space/ecosystem and stay up to date with the gas-free blockchain on X at @skalenetwork
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It's time for an on chain Binance to emerge.
Magic Eden is getting into token trading and their vision is to become on chain Binance and then much more as the entire world ends up moving on chain
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The self-custody wallet that's built for swapping. Created for a multi-chain world by the most trusted team in DeFi.
Available on Chrome, iOS, and Android.
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$cmETH, a Mantle native liquid restaking token, will launch together with Season 2: Methamorphosis, allowing users to easily participate in restaking, and earn $COOK rewards in addition to other yields.
$COOK, the governance token of mETH Protocol, will allow holders to play a pivotal role in directing the strategic future of mETH Protocol.
Learn more: https://x.com/mETHProtocol
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction
(02:51) Pudgy Airdrop Review
(12:16) Why launch a coin
(24:56) Solana, zkSync, L2 Decision Making
(30:53) Skale Ad
(31:32) Magic Eden Ad
(32:16) Uniswap Ad
(32:48) Mantle Ad
(33:43) Ledger Ad
(34:30) Walmart Deal making
(51:48) Difficulty of Raising
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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, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
The Pudgy Penguins Comeback Story with Luca Netz
Today on the show we're joined by Luca Netz, the new owner of Pudgy Penguins. Luca walks us through his story of how he got here, from a less than ideal childhood, to a full blown NFT empire. In addition to a massive new deal with Walmart, he also lays out the case for why he thinks the bright future for Pudgy Penguins has only just begun.
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------ TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Start 00:07:36 Intro To Luca 00:11:09 Building an NFT Brand 00:17:00 Deciding to Buy Pudgy Penguins 00:19:43 Earning the Money For The Purchase 00:23:35 What Did Luca Actually Buy? 00:26:03 The Masterplan 00:30:44 Post-Buy Learnings 00:38:57 First Steps Of Action 00:43:03 Licensing 00:45:46 Royalties 00:50:19 Walmart Deal 00:59:33 What's Different About Web3 01:03:54 Managing Expectations 01:09:43 Pudgy World 01:16:01 zk Sync 01:18:19 Lightning Round 01:22:59 Wen Flip Apes?
------ RESOURCES
Luca Netz: https://twitter.com/LucaNetz
Pudgy Penguins: https://pudgypenguins.com/
------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Pudgy Penguins Path to Legacy Brand & IP Powerhouse | Luca Netz
In today's episode, Jason is joined by Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins, to discuss his journey, Pudgy Penguins' business model, IP Houses, Brand Licensing, and Pudgy Penguins future.
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Follow Luca Netz: https://twitter.com/LucaNetz
Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz
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This episode is brought to you by Carbon.
Carbon is a new DEX on Ethereum that makes concentrated liquidity easy. LPs can automate their liquidity strategy with custom on-chain limit and range orders: all from a beautiful UI. Check out Carbon today at https://www.carbondefi.xyz/.
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This episode is brought to you by Synthetix.
This episode is brought to you by Synthetix. Synthetix Perps is the most efficient decentralized perpetual futures engine, with 5/10 bp fees and up to 25x leverage. With a growing list of over 20 tradable markets, Synthetix Perps are available on Optimism via Kwenta.io and Polynomial.fi, with more coming soon! As a permissionless liquidity layer, Synthetix makes it easy for any protocol to integrate perps and earn 5%-10% of trade fees.
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Who is Luca Netz?
(04:35) Buying Pudgy Penguins
(10:47) Pudgy Penguins' Business Model
(25:16) Pudgy Penguins as an IP House
(31:44) Carbon Ad
(33:03) Synthetix Ad
(34:43) Monetization & NFT Bear Markets
(38:22) Confidence In NFT Projects
(44:23) The Future of Pudgy Penguins
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Resources
Pudgy Penguins
https://twitter.com/pudgypenguins
https://www.pudgypenguins.com/
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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, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.