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.
Uneasy Money: How the Increasingly Better AI Agents Are Being Used Onchain
Thank you to our sponsors!
Fuse: The Energy Network
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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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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------ 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
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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KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://bankless.cc/kraken
UNISWAP | ON-CHAIN MARKETPLACE https://bankless.cc/uniswap
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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
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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------ 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
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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------ 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 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