Top Talent Is Leaving the EF. What Happens to ETH Now?
Top Ethereum talent is leaving. The Ethereum Foundation is shrinking. And one question now hangs over the entire ecosystem: what happens to ETH if the EF steps back?
In this livestream, Camila Russo is joined by Dankrad Feist, Laura Shin, Ajit Tripathi, and William Mougayar to break down the EF departures, leadership turmoil, the cypherpunk mandate, the debate over tokenomics, and whether Ethereum is still positioned to win as competition intensifies.
The big tension in this conversation is clear: the EF may be choosing to do less, but the market is demanding more. So if Ethereum is entering a new phase, who organizes, who builds, and who fights for ETH from here?
Explore The Defiant ✨
Ethereum’s Next Decade | Tomasz K. Stańczak, Ansgar Dietrichs, Dankrad Feist, & Danny Ryan
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
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
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Ethereum’s Strategic Pivot: The Plan it Needs to Win
Ethereum Foundation researchers Dankrad Feist and Ansgar Dietrichs join David Hoffman and Michael Ippolito to discuss Ethereum’s identity crisis—and how it’s turning the ship around.
They break down Ethereum’s cultural and organizational challenges, the pivot toward L1 growth, and the evolving role of the Ethereum Foundation under new leadership. The conversation covers the future of base and native rollups, L2 alignment, and why Ethereum’s unique values still matter in a competitive landscape.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 Intro
00:05:42 Top Problems with Ethereum
00:12:33 Lack of Growth in Ethereum Layer 1
00:27:49 Ethereum’s Roadmap Dilemma
00:38:08 Layer 1 Scaling Progress
00:39:08 Ethereum L1’s Value Proposition to L2s
00:48:44 Base and Native Rollups Explained
00:57:25 Canonical EVM in a Rollup World
01:01:26 Vitalik’s Vision for L1 Scaling
01:05:59 ZK Scaling Becomes Real
01:08:12 Fast Block Times and DeFi
01:16:59 The Evolving Ethereum Core Culture
01:22:38 Other Interesting Changes
01:26:41 Ethereum’s Direction Feels Different Now
01:30:09 Closing and Disclosure
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RESOURCES
Dankrad Feist
https://x.com/dankrad
Ansgar Dietrichs
https://x.com/adietrichs
Mike Ippolito
https://x.com/MikeIppolito_
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Restaking Alignment with Vitalik, Sreeram, Tim Beiko, Justin Drake, Dankrad & Jessy
What are the implications of restaking? Not every Bankless listener will be prepared for this conversation. This one is a hard one. If you want to be adequately equipped for the conversation that awaits, we recommend listening to the Bankless episode we did with Sreeram a few weeks ago. That episode will get you up to speed to understand some of the nuances and problems that are discussed in today’s episode.
Because, today on the show, we have the largest and most gigabrain panel that we’ve ever had on Bankless…Vitalik Buterin, Justin Drake, Dankrad Feist, Jessy (aka 13-year-old VC - that’s her pseudonym), and of course… Sreeram Kannan himself, founder of Eigenlayer and perhaps the creator of restaking…all moderated by Tim Beiko!
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----------- TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro 4:45 Setting the Panel 8:51 Jessy’s Restaking Thoughts 10:20 Justin’s Restaking Perspective 11:40 Dankrad’s Restaking Views 12:30 Sreeram’s Restaking Arguments 14:00 Why Justin is a Restaking Doomer 18:30 EigenLayer’s Restaking Architecture 22:05 Restaking Builder Hooks 25:05 Vitalik’s Restaking Concerns 30:05 EigenLayer’s Acceleration 32:50 Sreeram Addressing Vitalik’s Concerns 37:48 Ensuring Restaking is Aligned 46:04 Reputation Systems & Alignment 51:35 Ethereum Protocol Complexity 59:00 Credible Neutrality 1:03:30 MEV Boost & PBS 1:07:10 One Shot Signatures 1:09:10 Closing Thoughts, Arguments, & Next Steps 1:16:30 Closing & Disclaimers
----------- RESOURCES
Sreeram Kannan https://twitter.com/sreeramkannan https://youtu.be/HcEGXoC57Rw
Vitalik Buterin https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin
Tim Beiko https://twitter.com/TimBeiko
Justin Drake https://twitter.com/drakefjustin
Dankrad Feist https://twitter.com/dankrad
Jessy https://twitter.com/13yearoldvc
----------- 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
Devcon #3 - Dankrad | EIP-4844
Welcome to Devcon 6. The first Devcon for Bankless, the conference was a ton of fun and an amazing cultural experience in Bogota, Colombia.
Dankrad Feist is leading the charge of Danksharding, expressed through proto-danksharding in EIP-4844.
The Layer 2 Wars are heating up, and Dankrad’s here to talk about it.
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------ Timestamps:
0:00 Intro 2:30 Dankrad 4:00 Vibes & Morale 5:30 Post-Merge Ethereum 7:30 Danksharding 10:16 New Opportunities 11:55 Unlocking Use Cases 13:45 The Layer 2 Wars
------ Resources:
Dankrad https://twitter.com/dankrad
----- 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
119 - Dive into Danksharding | Vitalik, Dankrad, Protolambda, Moderated by Tim Beiko
This might be the dankest livestream we’ve done to date. Vitalik Buterin, Dankrad Feist, and Protolambda join Tim Beiko to discuss all things Danksharding and Proto-Danksharding. Sharding what? Don't worry. By the end of this conversation, you’ll know how sharding has evolved over time, why danksharding is possible, how proto-danksharding will get deployed, and so much more.
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------ Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro & Danksharding Explained 7:00 Panelist’s Backgrounds 8:34 How Sharding Has Evolved 15:56 Why Danksharding is Possible 23:40 Proto-Danksharding 27:15 Data Availability 35:40 Data Availability Sampling 48:00 Cryptography for Noncryptographers 56:10 How Does All of This Get Deployed 1:00:05 The Big Open Questions in Sharding Land 1:05:30 Closing Thoughts
------ Resources:
Vitalik https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin
Dankrad https://twitter.com/dankrad
Protolambda https://twitter.com/protolambda
Tim Beiko https://twitter.com/TimBeiko
Proto-Danksharding https://www.eip4844.com/
----- 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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