Hong Kong's crypto-friendly stance and its impact on Asia and the world: Hong Kong's crypto-friendly regulations and history with China make it an attractive hub for crypto innovation in Asia, potentially impacting China, Asia, and the global crypto industry. Understanding this landscape can lead to valuable opportunities and learning for the US and the physical world's relationship with the metaverse.
Hong Kong is opening its doors to cryptocurrency, positioning itself as a potential epicenter of crypto innovation in Asia. The question is whether this move is in spite of or because of China's stance on crypto. Hong Kong's history and relationship with China were discussed, as well as evidence of its crypto-friendliness. The city state's good regulation and rule making have led to wealth creation, making it an attractive destination for entrepreneurs and innovators. From a global perspective, this could impact China, Asia, and the world, as well as the crypto industry itself. The United States can learn from Hong Kong's approach to crypto, and the physical world's relationship with the metaverse will also be affected. Overall, understanding Hong Kong's crypto landscape is worth paying attention to, especially for those looking to escape their western bubbles and explore opportunities in Asia. Sponsors like Kraken, MetaMask Portfolio, and Arbitrum were also highlighted as valuable resources for navigating the crypto space.
Hong Kong's crypto-friendly developments and Arbitrum Nova's role in web three gaming and social dapps: Arbitrum Nova, a layer 2 scaling solution, is gaining traction in web three gaming and social dapps, with notable partnerships. Arbitrum Orbit, a layer 3 solution, offers interoperability, customizable permissions, and dedicated throughput. Hong Kong's historical background and recent crypto-friendly stance add context to these developments.
Arbitrum Nova is emerging as a significant player in the web three gaming and social dapps scene, with notable platforms like Reddit joining its community. Arbitrum Orbit, a layer 3 solution, offers developers, enterprises, and users interoperable, customizable permissions and dedicated throughput, enhancing their projects' capabilities while maintaining Ethereum's security and decentralization. The discussion also introduced Sandy Peng, a co-founder of Scroll, a zk scaling solution for Ethereum, and a long-time Hong Kong resident. The conversation touched upon the historical background of Hong Kong's growth into a global financial hub, its unique relationship with China, and the potential implications of Hong Kong's warming stance towards crypto on China, Asia, and the world. The history of Hong Kong, from a fishing village to a major financial center, was shaped by its cession to the British during the Opium Wars and its return to China under the "one country, two systems" mechanism in 1997. This background provides valuable context for understanding the significance of Hong Kong's recent crypto-friendly developments.
Hong Kong: The Financial Hub of Asia: Hong Kong, with its international community, cosmopolitan vibe, and business-friendly regulations, is a crucial destination for international capital looking to invest in China and a major player in the global financial scene.
Hong Kong, an island city with a population of around 8 million people, has emerged as the financial hub of Asia, often being compared to New York for its densely packed urban landscape, international community, and cosmopolitan vibe. Hong Kong's role as a bridge between China and the rest of the world has made it a crucial destination for international capital looking to invest in China. With a large proportion of its population working in the financial services sector, major banks having a significant presence, and a constant influx of trainees in various industries, Hong Kong can also be considered the Wall Street of Asia. Its history as a British territory and its business-friendly regulations have contributed to its success as a hub for entrepreneurship and wealth generation, making it a key player in the global financial scene. Despite a healthy rivalry with cities like Singapore, Hong Kong's role as a financial and technological hub continues to shape its growth and influence in the Asian region.
Hong Kong's Swift Response to Support Crypto Businesses: Hong Kong's adaptable business environment and government support enable it to quickly respond to crypto trends, making it a global Web3 hub contender.
Hong Kong's ambitious goal to become a global Web3 hub and its adaptable business environment have led to a swift and coordinated effort from various government agencies to support crypto businesses. This includes direct engagement with key organizations like Invest Hong Kong, Cyberport Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Science Park. The government's quick response and ability to implement crypto laws, unlike the US, is a significant advantage for smaller jurisdictions like Hong Kong and Singapore. However, it's important to note that while Hong Kong operates under a one country, two systems mechanism, allowing it to maintain its own laws and financial regulation, it is still geographically and economically connected to China. Despite its autonomy, Hong Kong pays its own taxes and has independent lawmaking powers. In contrast, Singapore is a completely independent city-state without any special designation with China.
Hong Kong as a testing ground for China's financial innovations: Hong Kong fosters regulatory stability and clarity, attracting innovation and business as a layer 2 or side chain of China's financial ecosystem
Hong Kong functions as a testing ground for China's innovative ideas, particularly in the financial sector. This relationship is complex and ambiguous, with China aiming to be perceived as the ultimate authority, while Hong Kong's citizens are content with this perception but retain a degree of autonomy. The success of these innovations being adopted in mainland China is variable. Hong Kong's role is to foster regulatory stability and clarity, especially in emerging areas like crypto, to attract innovation and business. The political perception, however, is beyond anyone's control. Using crypto terminology, Hong Kong can be seen as a layer 2 or side chain of China, with its regulatory framework influencing the broader ecosystem. This ambiguity is part of Hong Kong's identity and its ambition to be a successful financial center.
Hong Kong's crypto scene: Growth and opportunities: Hong Kong's openness to crypto drives expansion, with initiatives like Celo's layer 2 bringing decentralized security and real-world use cases for Ethereum. The city's crypto scene is growing, with increasing adoption, low gas fees, and services like Uniswap's mobile wallet and TOKU's token compliance simplification.
Hong Kong's openness to crypto may be driven by both bottom-up and top-down initiatives. The city aims to differentiate itself internationally and expand beyond its core financial services offerings. Crypto rules are seen as another expansion of the financial ecosystem. The Celo layer 2, a new proposal, brings significant advantages like decentralized security and real-world use cases for Ethereum. Hong Kong's crypto scene is growing, with increasing adoption and low gas fees. Uniswap, the world's largest decentralized exchange, now offers a mobile wallet for easy trading on the go. TOKU simplifies the complex world of token compliance for companies, making it easier to navigate labor laws, payroll, and crypto regulations. Overall, Hong Kong's crypto scene is thriving, offering numerous opportunities for growth and innovation.
Hong Kong: A Bridge Between the West and Asia in Crypto Economics: Hong Kong's common law system and absence of crypto regulations led to lengthy lawmaking process, but its strategic position and financial expertise make it an attractive hub for crypto innovation, including stablecoin projects.
Hong Kong has served as a significant bridge between the Western world and Asia, particularly China, in the realm of crypto economics. From the birth of Bitcoin in 2013 to the present day, Hong Kong's vibrant and international community of financial talent has fostered the growth of numerous crypto companies. However, due to its common law system and the absence of a regulatory framework for non-security crypto assets, the financial regulators had to initiate the lawmaking process to effectively engage with these emerging players. This process began around 2018, culminating in the first set of virtual asset exchange (VASP) licensing rules in 2023. Now, Hong Kong is poised to become a hub for stablecoin projects with the proposed stablecoin licensing regime. Despite the lengthy regulatory process, Hong Kong's strategic position and financial expertise make it an attractive destination for crypto innovation.
Hong Kong's Pro-Crypto Stance: Hong Kong's legal framework supports crypto innovation and attracts businesses and crypto nomads, setting it apart as a potential cryptoeconomic hub.
Hong Kong has been a hub for crypto innovation and entrepreneurship since the early 2010s, with a legal framework that has become increasingly supportive of the crypto industry. This trend accelerated in late 2022 when the Hong Kong government announced its commitment to becoming a fully Web 3 city. The incentives for this embrace of crypto include the opportunity to attract businesses and the affluent crypto nomad community, Hong Kong's historical focus on finance, and a need to find new growth areas as trading volume in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange declines. The legal framework in Hong Kong has gone beyond the US in recognizing the difference between commodities and securities in crypto assets. Overall, Hong Kong's pro-crypto stance sets it apart from jurisdictions like the US and positions it as a potential cryptoeconomic hub.
Hong Kong: A Significant Player in Crypto and Blockchain: Hong Kong's financial system sophistication, talent pool, and clear regulation make it an attractive destination for crypto builders, with the SFC already implementing a license regime and a USD-pegged stablecoin on the horizon.
Hong Kong is a significant player in the crypto and blockchain space, with several regulatory initiatives underway. The SFC has already implemented a vast license regime for virtual asset assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. The stablecoin regime is expected to be officially announced soon, which could result in the emergence of a USD-pegged stablecoin similar to Circle. Hong Kong's financial system sophistication, talent pool, and clear financial regulation make it an attractive destination for crypto builders, alongside other crypto-friendly jurisdictions like Japan, Dubai, and Singapore. Cindy, a long-term resident of Hong Kong, chose to build Skrull there due to its cosmopolitan nature, liberal environment, and high percentage of women in active office and professional life.
Hong Kong's Unique Attraction for Crypto Community: Despite uncertainty over DeFi, Hong Kong's economic freedom, high net worth population, and infrastructure make it an attractive location for the crypto community, potentially serving as a testing ground for crypto adoption in China.
Hong Kong's unique characteristics, including its economic freedom, high net worth population, and infrastructure, make it an attractive location for the crypto community. However, the future of decentralized finance (DeFi) in Hong Kong is uncertain, as the focus is currently on centralized exchanges and stablecoins. The regulatory stance on DeFi, censorship resistance, and permissionless systems is not clear. Hong Kong's role as a testing ground for crypto adoption before Mainland China could make its friendly stance towards crypto a necessary first step for broader Chinese acceptance. But whether this will lead to further crypto-friendly regulations in Hong Kong and eventually in China remains to be seen.
Hong Kong's Crypto-Friendly Environment Could Boost Mainland China's Adoption: Hong Kong's crypto scene, with numerous projects and regulatory efforts, could lead to wider crypto adoption in China, but it depends on eliminating bad actors and building confidence in regulatory abilities.
The crypto-friendly environment in Hong Kong, with the presence of numerous crypto projects and regulatory efforts, could potentially lead to wider crypto adoption in mainland China. However, the success of this depends on the elimination of bad actors and the confidence in regulatory abilities. Hong Kong is home to many tech-savvy crypto projects, particularly in the NFT and exchange sectors. Notable ones include Animoca, Meandland, Kinetic, VSFC, OSL, Hashkey, and Newman Group. The crypto scene in Hong Kong is robust and diverse, spanning various jurisdictions and time zones. While crypto adoption in China is promising, it's essential to acknowledge the risks involved, as with any investment in crypto. As always, it's crucial to do your own research and stay informed.
Crypto in Hong Kong with Sandy Peng
Recent Episodes from Bankless
Fed Rate Cut: Is It Too Late? | Macro Alf
Jerome Powell and the Federal Reset is about to cut rates, but the question on everyone’s mind is… What happens next?
Alfonso Peccatiello, known as "Macro Alf," is a macroeconomic analyst and investment strategist and he’s joining the pod to help us figure this out.
- Are these rate cuts just in time or too little too late?
- Is the Fed cutting by 25bps or 50bps?
- Will we get a recession or the soft landing the FED is hoping for?
- What will happen to crypto assets?
We discuss all this and more with Macro Alf, one of the top minds in macro out there.
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------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
5:41 The Fed is Behind the Curve
12:28 Why Haven’t Things Broke?
18:57 Bad News are Actually Bad News
24:17 Fed Rate Cut Prediction
30:43 Elizabeth Warren’s Letter
35:06 Market Reaction
42:55 How to Prepare
53:20 Probability of Recession
54:48 Debasement
1:05:06 Monetary Plumbing
1:09:09 Debasement Assets
1:11:46 Closing Thoughts
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RESOURCES
Maro Alf
https://x.com/MacroAlf
Alf's Institutional Research Free Trial
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfzLZS_8sWjyuqzDgJb9OQC_pSAoOjz6GVgsB0UIGzLELMSFQ/viewform
The MacroCompass
https://themacrocompass.org/
Monetary Plumbing Chart
https://x.com/MacroAlf/status/1834938859848634440
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
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Refuting L2 Fud & State of Arbitrum | Steven Goldfeder
Steven Goldfeder is back on the podcast today to discuss Arbitrum’s and all Ethereum L2 FUD.
Is a win for Arbitrum also a win for Ethereum, or is Arbitrum competing for users and liquidity? Steven addresses governance concerns and discusses the decentralization of Arbitrum’s Sequencer.
In the second half of the show, we get into the latest developments in the Arbitrum ecosystem, including Stylus, Bold, Orbit, and Timeboost.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
4:01 L1 vs. L2 Relationship
10:45 Use Cases of the L1 vs. L2s
18:56 Fastest Blockchain
20:05 Decentralization Priority
25:15 Sequencer Debate
33:06 Arbitrum x Espresso
38:02 Optimistic Rollups Capturing Ethereum Governance?
41:58 What Does Arbitrum Want From the L1
45:21 Increasing Block Times?
49:17 Arbitrum Ecosystem
52:21 How Does Stylus Work?
57:22 Web2 Devs Now Web3 Devs
1:03:02 Arbitrum’s Next 10x
1:08:17 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Steven Goldfeder
https://x.com/sgoldfed
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
What Are BlackRock’s Crypto Plans? | Robbie Mitchnick Head Digital Assets at Blackrock
That’s right, Bankless Nation, BlackRock on the podcast today.
BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, a company that manages over $10 trillion dollars in assets around the world, to put it in perspective, that’s 5 times the crypto market cap. Let’s just say what they do has ripple effects in global markets.
But here at Bankless we wanted to figure out what they’re doing in crypto. That’s why we brought Robbie Mitchnick, BlackRock’s Head of Digital Assets.
We explore Crypto narratives in TradFi, how they measure the risk profile of Crypto, their plans for the future of ETFs, Tokenization and even DeFi.
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------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
5:36 What is BlackRock?
7:33 BlackRock’s Crypto Arc
14:42 Digital Assets Team
17:01 BlackRock Bitcoin ETF
20:33 Investor Education
22:48 Narratives
24:58 Risk Management
34:04 Regulatory Environment
38:27 The Future of ETFs
42:30 Tokenization
51:00 What Needs to be Built
54:26 The State of DeFi
57:03 BlackRock’s Crypto Mission
1:00:44 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Robbie
https://x.com/robbiemitchnick
Blackrock
https://x.com/BlackRock
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
ROLLUP: The Debate | 1st DeFi Congress Hearing | ENS joins PayPal/Venmo | Coinbase’s cbBTC
This week in crypto, the Trump vs. Harris debate sparked chatter, but did the markets react? DeFi had its first U.S. congressional hearing—how’d it go?
Friend.tech burned its keys—abandoning? ENS integrated with PayPal and Venmo, while Coinbase launched their cbBTC, and Sony might release a stablecoin.
Plus, did we see “war mode” Vitalik this week?
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TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES
0:00 Intro
5:21 Markets
https://farside.co.uk/?p=1518
https://x.com/biancoresearch/status/1832806811088638440
https://x.com/matt_hougan/status/1833149076722081906
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inflation-cpi-fed-readies-to-cut-rates-next-week/
https://www.tradingview.c om/symbols/FRED-WALCL/
https://x.com/sonyasunkim/status/1832114732326957274
18:02 House lawmakers ended up divided in 1st Congressional DeFi hearing
https://financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=409354
https://x.com/fund_defi/status/1833556632027955694
https://x.com/coinage_media/status/1833593592373243915
https://x.com/NeerajKA/status/1833530974212387228
https://x.com/rohangrey/status/1833543531228762323
https://x.com/jchervinsky/status/1833557017023459526
27:29 The Debate - they didn’t mention crypto!
https://x.com/CNN/status/1833703753179857334
https://x.com/erikvoorhees/status/1833705605045051850
https://polymarket.com/event/who-will-win-the-debate-according-to-polls
https://polymarket.com/event/presidential-election-winner-2024?tid=1726028429396
https://x.com/shayne_coplan/status/1833127734844789106
https://x.com/Polymarket/status/1833679653191512442
https://www.theblock.co/post/315808/presidential-debate-risk-off-crypto
https://x.com/MikeIppolito_/status/1833874331539034448
36:49 War mode vitalik? If its not stage 2, its not a rollup
https://x.com/vitalikbuterin/status/1834061075970683367
39:01 zkSync Stage 1? & New CMO?
https://blog.zknation.io/zksync-governance-system/
https://x.com/the_matter_labs/status/1833894141052494218
42:41 Sony Stable Yen
https://x.com/delzennejc/status/1833243834563650038
43:21 Friend.Tech team renounces control of smart contracts
https://x.com/friendtech/status/1832581118165709140
https://x.com/functi0nZer0/status/1833178200685318213
https://x.com/MacroMate8/status/1833393620407488542
https://x.com/friendtech/status/1833259362711986335
47:06 EigenLayer announced Season 2 Stakedrop!
https://blog.eigenfoundation.org/season-2-stakedrop/
48:55 ENS was integrated with PayPal and Venmo!
https://x.com/ensdomains/status/1833536140529570039
https://x.com/brantlymillegan/status/1833568986547818820?
50:16 Coinbase Bitcoin - cbBTC released!
https://x.com/coinbase/status/1834208544247144949
https://x.com/jessepollak/status/1833603913888764064?s=46&t=2ZINVXJQKx6xO_6Wiiu_2gb
55:04 David Fighting at Permissionless
58:01 Closing & Disclaimers
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Will AI Kill Democracy? | Yuval Noah Harari
Today on a special in-person recording of Bankless we welcome special guest and best selling author, Yuval Noah Harari. Yuval is best known for his book Sapiens, and today, he is introducing ideas from his next book Nexus.
We go deep down the history rabbit hole and explore the question, if human beings are so wise, why are we so self destructive?
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------
TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 Start
00:08:07 The World of Information Networks
00:10:59 Truth vs Information
00:21:28 Tribal Consequences
00:25:05 Naive View Of Information
00:34:27 Populist View Of Information
00:44:54 Inventing New Mechanisms
00:53:33 A Brief History Of Information Networks
00:58:43 The Most Successful Story Ever Told
01:05:13 Story vs Information Network
01:12:29 Story Of Debt Clay Tablets
01:14:53 Entering the Age Of AI
01:20:50 Self Correcting Mechanisms
01:25:35 The Potential Of Crypto
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RESOURCES
Yuval: https://www.ynharari.com/
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
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Where’s the ETH Bottom? | Ben Cowen
When is this all going to reverse?
That’s the question we asked Benjamin Cowen, YouTuber, Founder of Into The CryptoVerse and famous chart maximalist who does some fantastic technical analysis.
The main goal of this pod is to understand if we're currently going through Ethereum’s bottom but we also cover:
- Are crypto 4 year cycles dead?
- What’s next for ETH/BTC?
- How’s Ben positioning his portfolio for what’s coming?
Except to learn that and much more.
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------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
5:33 Where Are We?
7:44 4 Year Cycles
22:52 ETH/BTC Ratio
29:28 ETH Price Analysis
37:55 Blue Chips vs Altcoins
55:32 ETH/BTC Final Equilibrium
1:01:11 Idiosyncratic Events
1:13:34 The Flippening
1:16:23 The Bull Market
1:20:58 2026
1:25:00 Presidential Election
1:27:30 Ben’s Portfolio
1:32:08 Closing Thoughts
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RESOURCES
Ben Cowen
https://x.com/intocryptoverse
Ben Cowen on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRvqjQPSeaWn-uEx-w0XOIg
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
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Why Peter Schiff Hates Bitcoin & The Bull Case for Gold
Why does Bitcoin sucks and is inferior to Gold?
Peter Schiff is a financial commentator and economist that is relentlessly bullish on gold and a famous skeptic of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
He covers a ton of ground in this podcast, from what money really is, why gold can't be disrupted as the ultimate store of value, why we should abolish the Federal Reserve and principles to grow your wealth.
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------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
7:07 What is Money?
15:05 Why is Gold the Apex Money?
27:59 Gold vs. Bitcoin Custody
36:27 Gold in The Internet Age
43:08 Gold as a Productive Asset
49:30 Gold vs. Bitcoin Demographics
53:90 Can Gold be Disrupted?
1:04:20 Should we Abolish The Federal Reserve?
1:13:33 Is the Stock Market Overpriced?
1:20:09 Principles to Grow Wealth
1:25:30 Steelmanning Crypto
1:36:17 Closing & Disclaimers
------
RESOURCES
Peter Schiff
https://x.com/PeterSchiff
Peter Schiff Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/@peterschiff
SchiffGold
https://www.schiffgold.com/
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
ROLLUP: Trump’s DeFi Project | CFTC vs. Uniswap | Brazil Bans Twitter | Coinbase AI | Polymarket & Bloomberg
This week in crypto, Trump’s new DeFi project sparked debate—is it legit or a grift? After the SEC, the CFTC targeted Uniswap—what’s going on with regulators?
Brazil’s Twitter ban also made waves—what does it mean for free speech and crypto’s role in resisting censorship?
Markets are asking if the 4-year cycle is dead, and Ryan has three takes on the lackluster crypto prices and what it could mean moving forward.
On the bright side, Polymarket is now on the Bloomberg terminal, and Coinbase is looking to bank the robots—an exciting step for AI and crypto.
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🦄UNISWAP | BROWSER EXTENSION
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⚡️ CARTESI | LINUX-POWERED ROLLUPS
https://bankless.cc/CartesiGovernance
🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK
https://bankless.cc/Mantle
🗣️TOKU | CRYPTO EMPLOYMENT
https://bankless.cc/toku
------
✨ Mint the episode on Zora ✨
------
TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES
0:00 Intro
2:03 Markets
https://x.com/Negentropic_/status/1830685688662040961
https://outlierventures.io/article/token-trendlines-2-bitcoin-halving-the-four-year-cycle-is-dead/
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1831316995691671641
https://x.com/Fiskantes/status/1831302629651042637
https://x.com/SplitCapital/status/1831317921089642915
https://x.com/iamDCinvestor/status/1831318267367145492
18:30 Trump revealed more about his DeFi project, World Liberty Financial!
https://www.worldlibertyfinancial.com/
https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1829141447087648796
https://x.com/lex_node/status/1831084542377206220
https://x.com/lex_node/status/1831105068952961399
https://x.com/nic__carter/status/1831145983847137451
https://x.com/worldlibertyfi/status/1831348462635397271
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1829500453152837828
32:07 Brazil banned Twitter
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1829778143449698764
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1831015509384364428
37:17 Binance exec Tigran Gambaryan entered Nigeria court on crutches
https://x.com/_RichardTeng/status/1830869029705441553
41:47 Arbitrum released Stylus!
https://x.com/arbitrum/status/1831020553211089243
https://x.com/joeykrug/status/1831367181885698392
43:30 Euler V2 is back!
https://x.com/eulerfinance/status/1831331399619756375
48:03 Celestia releases technical roadmap
https://blog.celestia.org/roadmap/
48:39 Bloomberg added Polymarket election data to Terminal
https://x.com/M_McDonough/status/1829166689516442043
https://x.com/shayne_coplan/status/1830984489259901203
50:13 CFTC charges Uniswap with illegal derivatives trading
https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8961-24
https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/phamstatement090424
https://x.com/MinarikLaw/status/1831363800542634459
53:11 AIs are now paying other AIs with crypto
https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1829623778726592804
56:32 MEME of the Week
https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1831386476841726226
59:03 Closing & Disclaimers
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Is the Ethereum Roadmap Off Track? | Max Resnick
Is the Ethereum roadmap… off track? Have we lost the plot? Are L2s running interference, intercepting all the users, transactions, and value from reaching the L1? And if all of this is real, and not just FUD, what should we do about it?
We have Max Resnick on the show today, he's an Ethereum researcher working at Special Mechanism Group and he’s got some opinions that are contrary to what is typically found out of the Ethereum Rollup Centric Roadmap.
Max explains why Ethereum is breaking down on its vision for bringing the world onto decentralized, censorship resistant, permissionless blockchains, and suggests possible alternative directions.
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🎬 DEBRIEF | Ryan & David Unpacking the Episode:
https://www.bankless.com/debrief-the-max-resnick-interview
------
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🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE
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🦄UNISWAP | BROWSER EXTENSION
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⚡️ CARTESI | LINUX-POWERED ROLLUPS
https://bankless.cc/CartesiGovernance
🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK
https://bankless.cc/Mantle
🗣️TOKU | CRYPTO EMPLOYMENT
https://bankless.cc/toku
------
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------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
5:08 Max’s Contrarian Take
12:20 The State of Rollups
17:59 Are L2s Extensions of Ethereum?
27:52 What Needs to Change
44:33 Based Rollups
50:05 The Holy Grail Blockchain
59:02 Scaling the L1
1:05:29 Max’s Incentives
1:09:53 Why Not Solana?
1:14:06 Navigating ETH’s Roadmap
1:18:05 ETH: The Asset
1:22:15 Value Capture
1:23:58 Call to Action
1:26:43 Closing & Disclaimers
------
RESOURCES
Max Resnick
https://x.com/MaxResnick1
Max Resnick Holy Grail Blockchain Tweet
https://x.com/MaxResnick1/status/1826630256008331301
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
U.S. Strategic BTC Reserve - The BITCOIN Act | Senator Cynthia Lummis
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis is a leading Bitcoin advocate in Congress who recently introduced her proposal, "the Bitcoin Act," which seeks to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the United States of America. In today's episode, we explore how the bill could address the $35 trillion debt, the conversion of gold certificates to Bitcoin, and its economic implications.
------
🎬 DEBRIEF | Ryan & David unpacking the episode:
https://www.bankless.com/debrief-the-cynthia-lummis-interview
------
BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:
🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE
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🦄UNISWAP | BROWSER EXTENSION
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🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK
https://bankless.cc/Mantle
⚡️ CARTESI | LINUX-POWERED ROLLUPS
https://bankless.cc/CartesiGovernance
🗣️TOKU | CRYPTO EMPLOYMENT
https://bankless.cc/toku
------
✨ Mint the episode on Zora ✨
https://zora.co/manage/1155/zora:0x0c294913a7596b427add7dcbd6d7bbfc7338d53f/56
------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
6:40 The Bitcoin Act
10:01 Gold to Digital Gold
15:01 U.S. Strategic Reserves
18:00 U.S. Discretion in Selling Forfeited Bitcoin
20:44 Is Bitcoin Ready for Federal Reserve Backing?
23:24 Bitcoin Adoption to Tackle U.S. Debt
28:17 Bitcoin's Potential Impact
33:15 Being First in Bitcoin Strategic Reserves
39:22 Pros vs. Cons of Bitcoin Strategic Reserves
49:08 Bipartisan Prospects and Democratic Silence
53:52 Conservative Support vs. Liberal Adoption
56:30 Trump vs. Harris on Crypto Legislation
------
RESOURCES
Senator Cynthia Lummis
https://x.com/SenLummis
The Bitcoin Act
https://www.lummis.senate.gov/press-releases/lummis-introduces-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-legislation/
https://www.lummis.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/BITCOIN-Act-FINAL.pdf
------
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Related Episodes
Can We Fire Gary Gensler? with Rep. Warren Davidson
Today's episode is with Representative Warren Davidson, an outspoken member of the U.S. Congress and an advocate for cryptocurrency.
In today's show, we cover:
1) Why is Rep. Warren Davidson trying to fire Gary Gensler?
2) What is the “SEC Stabilization Act?”
3) Is the U.S. losing ground to Europe, Japan, and Hong Kong? How can it catch up?
4) Does Congress care enough about crypto to do something about it? How can we change that?
As a reminder, Bankless is not a political podcast that divides on red/blue lines. We have no party affinity in the U.S. or any other nation. What we do care about is the values of decentralization, autonomy, and power to the people that underly this crypto technology. To the extent these values are political, so are we. But they don’t divide on party lines. We’ll continue to give voice to these values no matter what political party they come from.
------
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------
BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:
🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE
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🦊METAMASK LEARN | HELPFUL WEB3 RESOURCE
https://bankless.cc/MetaMask
🗣️TOKU | CRYPTO EMPLOYMENT SOLUTION
https://bankless.cc/Toku
⚖️ ARBITRUM | SCALING ETHEREUM
https://bankless.cc/Arbitrum
🦄UNISWAP | ON-CHAIN MARKETPLACE
https://bankless.cc/uniswap
🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK
https://bankless.cc/Mantle
------
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
5:25 #FireGaryGensler
10:36 Why Gary Hates Crypto
14:00 How Political Governance Works
23:20 Presidential Jurisdiction
25:45 SEC Stabilization Act
31:55 Does the U.S. Have Hope?
36:09 Closing & Disclaimers
------
RESOURCES
https://twitter.com/WarrenDavidson/status/1674519201170485249
https://twitter.com/WarrenDavidson/status/1668305460368121857
------
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
Dollar v. world / Taylor Swift v. FTX / Fox v. Dominion
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Bringing Lore to Life: Spire's Storytelling Engine for Arbitrum Games with N8amis
🌐 On this episode, Git talks with N8amis from Spire. Spire is a decentralized, automated protocol that nurtures game narratives, adapting to the community's needs with innovative mechanics like creative boundaries, toggle governance, and more.
🔥 Why Spire Stands Out:
- For founders and dev teams, Spire enriches lore, supports professional storytelling without needing in-house writers, maintains lore development alongside game building, and fosters deep community engagement.
- For the community, it offers a platform to co-create their beloved game worlds, opportunities for monetization without selling game assets, expert writing guidance through office hours, and a richer game universe for immersive experiences.
🚀 A rare Win-Win-Win: Spire facilitates collaboration between developers, the gaming community, and SpireDAO, creating a symbiotic ecosystem where everyone thrives.
🔗 Engage and Explore:
- Connect with N8amis on X: https://twitter.com/n8amis1
- Connect with Spire on X: https://twitter.com/Spire_DAO
- Learn more about SpireDAO's revolutionary platform: https://spire.lol/
👉 Experience how SpireDAO is revolutionizing game lore on Arbitrum. Like, share, and subscribe for more insights. Dive into the comments below with your thoughts!
E48: The role of decentralization, China/US break down & more with Bestie Guestie Balaji Srinivasan
Show Notes:
0:00 Bestie Guestie Balaji Srinivasan is introduced
6:01 Balaji's day in the life, Coinbase background, comparing crypto with early 2000's p2p music industry, China's lawful evil
16:09 China declares crypto transactions illegal, comparing and contrasting the US and China's future outlook
39:43 Chances of a revolution in China, predictions for the next 1-2 decades
48:37 Decentralized citizen journalism, the end of corporate journalism
58:11 Facebook's tough stretch continues: leaker might come forward with SEC, lawsuit over FTC payouts, public sentiment turning on big tech, decentralized social media
1:18:43 How decentralized media platforms would work mechanically
Follow the besties:
https://twitter.com/DavidSacks
Follow the pod:
https://twitter.com/theallinpod
https://linktr.ee/allinpodcast
Intro Music Credit:
https://twitter.com/yung_spielburg
Intro Video Credit:
https://twitter.com/TheZachEffect
Referenced in the show:
https://www.readingthechinadream.com/
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/1993-06-01/clash-civilizations
https://www.amazon.com/End-History-Last-Man/dp/0743284550
https://www.amazon.com/Gray-Lady-Winked-Misreporting-Fabrications/dp/1736703307
https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1386288771872673793?lang=en
https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1386024429629558784?s=20
https://www.amazon.com/Truth-Machine-Blockchain-Future-Everything/dp/1250114578
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOWRembdPS8
https://www.facebook.com/business/news/navigating-change-and-improving-performance-and-measurement
https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2021-177
https://medium.com/craft-ventures/masks-should-be-the-law-3f53f08709cc
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/01/social-media-ads-russia-wanted-americans-to-see-244423
Alpha Leak | The Bull Case for TreasureDAO
What is TreasureDAO? Ever heard of that small gaming company, Nintendo? They're trying to build the decentralized version of it. How? David brings on two of their co-founders to discuss that and so much more. Bullish? Bearish?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or on Twitter @trustlessstate
------
📣 CONSENSYS | M·A·C: NFT Collection for a Good Cause
https://bankless.cc/MAC
------
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⚖️ ARBITRUM | SCALED ETHEREUM
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🏦 ALTO IRA | TAX-FREE CRYPTO
https://bankless.cc/AltoIRA
👻 AAVE V3 | LEND & BORROW CRYPTO
https://bankless.cc/aave
⚡️ MAKER DAO | THE DAI STABLECOIN
https://bankless.cc/MakerDAO
🦁 BRAVE | THE BROWSER NATIVE WALLET
https://bankless.cc/Brave
------
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
6:30 Backgrounds
11:05 Why Anon?
12:25 What is Treasure its History
17:40 Why $MAGIC Won
22:00 The Bull Case for Treasure
26:40 The Nintendo of the Metaverse
31:45 Bridgeworld
39:40 Harvesting $MAGIC
52:30 Smolverse
1:02:10 Treasure Community Video
1:07:05 How TreasureDAO is Structured
1:14:05 Treasure's NFT Marketplace
1:19:38 Treasure's L1 Blockchain
1:28:10 David's Summary
------
Resources:
TreasureDAO
https://twitter.com/Treasure_DAO
Bridgeworld
https://bridgeworld.treasure.lol/
Smolverse
https://www.smolverse.lol/
John Patten
https://twitter.com/jpatten__
Gaarp
https://twitter.com/_gaarping
Pta
https://twitter.com/pugmassacre
-----
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