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A legal war over prediction markets just went public. Ryan and David break down the CFTC’s claim of exclusive authority, the backlash from state officials and lawmakers, and why this fight is really about whether markets or politics get to define truth. They explore why AI-powered prediction markets may be crypto’s strongest product-market fit yet, and why that scares regulators. Plus: Harvard rotates from Bitcoin into Ethereum, Base breaks from Optimism, Zora expands to Solana, the Ethereum Foundation leadership reshuffles, signs of life for the Clarity Act, institutions buying DeFi tokens, Europe’s unrealized-gains wealth tax, autonomous “life” on Ethereum, OpenAI’s EVMbench, and what ETHDenver says about where crypto goes next.

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🌐BRIX | EMERGING MARKET YIELD

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🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS

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TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES

0:00 Intro

2:27 MARKETS 

https://x.com/hiwhaledegen/status/2023372409303450065

4:33 PREDICTION MARKETS REGULATORY FIGHT

https://x.com/ChairmanSelig/status/2023744651216240966 

https://x.com/GovChristie/status/2023821634344550892

https://x.com/SenWarren/status/2023877196323188764

https://x.com/govcox/status/2023795059980988874

https://x.com/RepCasten/status/2024212119491588303

https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/2023794107274194944

https://x.com/SenatorHagerty/status/2023802779899252901

https://x.com/SenMcCormickPA/status/2023831838461194501

https://x.com/tyler/status/2023761976481259585

https://x.com/kylascan/status/2023786873605476719

https://x.com/ADoricko/status/2023834015699173398

https://x.com/abcampbell/status/2024281289700802568

https://x.com/NTmoney/status/2024505537514394104

25:18 BASE LEAVES OPTIMISM

https://blog.base.dev/next-chapter-for-base-chain-1

https://x.com/lex_node/status/2024181767813427402

https://x.com/intangiblecoins/status/2024184295493886317

https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/optimism

https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/arbitrum

https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/polygon

https://x.com/web3_data/status/2023716576126755249

https://polymarket.com/event/will-base-launch-a-token-in-2025-341/?via=bankles

35:24 ZORA EXPANDS TO SOLANA

https://x.com/zora/status/2023797263651533053

https://x.com/js_horne/status/2023809356739838390

https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/2023872648032272642

https://x.com/haydenzadams/status/2023990750082445561

40:04 ETHEREUM FOUNDATION SHAKEUP

https://x.com/tkstanczak/status/2022315368430067847

https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/2022318344288792618

https://x.com/aerugoettinea/status/2022318885047779576

https://x.com/dannyryan/status/2022318587281572257

44:56 CLARITY ACT SIGNS OF LIFE

https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/2024238762021036201 

https://polymarket.com/event/clarity-act-signed-into-law-in-2026/?via=bankles

https://x.com/altcoindaily/status/2024174959707541638 

49:16 APOLLO x MORPHO (INSTITUTIONS BUYING DEFI TOKENS)

https://x.com/AggrNews/status/2022482933974544669

https://x.com/RyanWatkins_/status/2022680420270379400

https://x.com/DefiIgnas/status/2023054776762876157

52:14 AAVE TOKEN ALIGNMENT PROPOSAL

https://x.com/TheiaResearch/status/2022037595568603406

https://x.com/Marczeller/status/2022073505341219033

https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/aave

56:09 NETHERLANDS UNREALIZED GAINS WEALTH TAX

https://x.com/BitcoinNewsCom/status/2021978390870347923

https://x.com/balajis/status/2022360046122995851

58:55 AUTONOMOUS LIFE ON ETHEREUM (CONWAY)

https://x.com/0xSigil/status/2023877649475731671

https://x.com/sterlingcrispin/status/2024254432498639322

1:04:56 OPENAI EVMbench

https://openai.com/index/introducing-evmbench/

1:06:24 ETHDENVER REFLECTIONS

https://x.com/EthereumDenver/status/2024234929840935318

https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/2024215091856527753

1:08:05 CLOSING & DISCLAIMERS

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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:

https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

Lyn Alden joins us to make sense of the “everything, everywhere, all at once” macro moment.

A fourth-turning-style unwind of the long-term debt cycle, rising fiscal dominance, and a rare, headline-level clash over Fed independence—plus what a Kevin Warsh Fed might actually do under real-world constraints. 

We dig into the “gradual print” era, why gold is ripping, how a more multipolar monetary order could emerge (gold, bitcoin, and stablecoins in different roles), and what trade war dynamics mean for the dollar’s privilege. 

Lyn also explains why Bitcoin has lagged gold this cycle, how much the four-year crypto cycle still matters, the risks around treasury companies and quantum narratives, and how she’s thinking about portfolio construction in 2026.

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🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS

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💰ICO WATCH | UPCOMING PUBLIC TOKEN SALES

https://bankless.cc/ico-watchch

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 What’s Happening?

6:23 The Fourth Turning

13:59 Fed Independence

30:40 New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh

37:46 The Gradual Print

42:16 Gold

53:56 China vs US

1:07:14 Bitcoin vs Gold

1:12:37 Crypto 4-Year Cycles

1:23:26 Proof-of-Work vs Proof-of-Stake

1:28:12 Frontier Tech

1:35:11 Lyn Alden’s 2026 Portfolio

1:39:24 Cash Strategy

1:41:30 Closing & Disclaimers

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RESOURCES

Lyn Alden

https://x.com/LynAldenContact 

Lyn Alden Newsletter

https://www.lynalden.com/ 

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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:

https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

Crypto feels cooked in 2026, and the Super Bowl proves it. Ryan and David unpack Coinbase’s Backstreet Boys rug pull ad and what it reveals about crypto’s collapsed public narrative. Then they dig into the brutal selloff, why IBIT’s record volume hints at forced TradFi liquidation, and what Polymarket is pricing for Bitcoin under $50K. From Robinhood’s prediction markets exploding into a real revenue engine to the political fight over who regulates “gambling vs markets,” the thesis is clear: finance is the only use case still scaling. Plus: LayerZero’s new “world computer” L1, MegaETH and Aztec’s bear market launch playbook, Vitalik finally calling ETH a store of value, ENS staying on L1, BlackRock bringing BUIDL to Uniswap, and the weirdest loose end of all, SBF’s missing tungsten cube.

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👑BANKLESS PREMIUM | AD-FREE & BONUS EPISODES

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🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS

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💰ICO WATCH | UPCOMING PUBLIC TOKEN SALES

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TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES

0:00 Intro

0:32 Super Bowl Coinbase Commercial 

https://x.com/julia_fiedler5/status/2020672759508967576

10:02 Markets

https://x.com/cryptorand/status/2021894696268660736

https://x.com/TheDemocrats/status/2019492504614150375

https://polymarket.com/event/what-price-will-bitcoin-hit-before-2027/?via=bankles

https://x.com/intocryptoverse/status/2019835733503255006

https://x.com/DegenerateNews/status/2020846896084852796

https://x.com/blckchaindaily/status/2021967204653445163 

https://x.com/WatcherGuru/status/2020860553732768085

https://www.strategicethreserve.xyz

https://x.com/WatcherGuru/status/2021325189674357204

25:46 Prediction Markets Growth has been explosive

https://x.com/theoneandomsy/status/2021399052366250280

https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/2021603112541102400 

https://x.com/movietimedev/status/2021278393136808099

https://x.com/mattplatkin/status/2021335653091508323

https://x.com/GovChristie/status/2019515642836054038

https://x.com/michaelselig/status/2019533204068393280

34:51 A tail of Three Chains - LayerZero, Robinhood, MegaETH

https://x.com/LayerZero_Core/status/2021338847972663394

https://x.com/a16zcrypto/status/2021348447656476841

https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/layerzero

https://x.com/LayerZero_Core/status/2021343796236321036

https://x.com/RobinhoodApp/status/2021585052417630465

https://youtu.be/KcpMRlmrkEw

https://x.com/megaeth/status/2020876108342927670

https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/2021265395307495795

https://x.com/Zac_Aztec/status/2021707048497602777

https://x.com/sjdedic/status/2021960471704707177

https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/zama

https://app.hyperliquid.xyz/trade/MEGA

https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/layerzero

44:04 Are non-financial crypto dead?

https://x.com/matthuang/status/2020858831065043159

https://x.com/jessepollak/status/2020962065100538091

https://x.com/cdixon/status/2019837259575607401

https://x.com/hosseeb/status/2020451853633511696

50:04 ETH & BlackRock

https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/2019814868140933287

https://x.com/ensdomains/status/2019789111557808146

https://x.com/BrantlyMillegan/status/2019791852531069313

https://x.com/vitalikbuterin/status/2019818956530274327

https://x.com/haydenzadams/status/2021587358999630034

https://x.com/KalshiTrade/status/2021586037034651819

https://fortune.com/2026/02/11/blackrock-uniswap

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/uniswap-token-jumps-following-blackrock-165720913.html

https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/uniswap

57:13 MrBeast acquired a Gen Z‑focused banking app

https://x.com/MrBeast/status/2020910218360782929

https://x.com/BuckOnTwidder/status/2021005048654987354

59:17 You can now give your agent a self-custodial wallet! 

https://x.com/programmer/status/2021649037074870627
https://docs.cdp.coinbase.com/agentic-wallet/quickstart.

https://x.com/base/status/2021413560740721048

1:01:10 Safemoon founder sentenced to 100 months in prison

https://x.com/IRS_CI/status/2021340944143196568?

1:02:19 SBF suck up…full on propaganda - pardon by summer?

https://x.com/SBF_FTX/status/2021932965047988515

https://themissingbillions.com/

1:05:42 Closing & Disclaimers

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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:

https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

Last week felt like four different crashes happening at the same time: AI software stocks melting down, crypto capitulating, gold and silver whipping around, and markets suddenly panicking about AI CapEx. Jim Bianco returns to Bankless to explain what actually changed: why AI is collapsing the cost of building software (and threatening SaaS pricing models), how “synthetic Bitcoin” in TradFi can amplify volatility even when nothing breaks onchain, and why the next crypto cycle can’t be powered by “permission” narratives, it has to be powered by replacement and building.

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
0:44 Super Bowl ads as a market metaphor
2:30 WTF was last week? Four selloffs collide
8:38 Why crypto traded like “software” in the selloff
13:52 AI CapEx fears: are we overbuilding the infrastructure?
17:00 The 1999 playbook: infra boom → crash → app-layer winners
28:53 Where the value accrues: users, not the hyperscalers
35:36 Gold & silver: why silver behaves like an “altcoin”
39:09 Why Jim is bearish on China
44:21 Trump, Europe, defense spending, and the “go to 11” problem
49:09 Synthetic Bitcoin: the offchain float problem
56:52 Crypto’s next narrative: replacement, not permission
1:01:57 Kevin Warsh, Fed independence, and a new Fed–Treasury accord
1:09:40 Portfolio wrap: puke signals, building signals, and 4–5–6 returns

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RESOURCES

James Bianco
https://x.com/biancoresearch

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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
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Robinhood isn’t just adding another crypto feature—it’s assembling a new exchange stack: stock tokens, an Ethereum L2 built for real-world assets, and a wallet that can plug into DeFi. Johann Kerbrat (GM of Crypto at Robinhood) joins Bankless to unpack what “24/7 markets” actually requires, why liquidity and routing are the hidden battleground for tokenized equities, and how “Certified by Robinhood” could become a distribution moat for onchain apps. Along the way, they compare Robinhood’s approach to tokenization with the NYSE’s 24/7 tokenized platform plans and Nasdaq’s tokenized securities proposal, and dig into what U.S. regulatory clarity would need to unlock stock tokens stateside. Subscribe for more on the new financial rails being built in real time.

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
3:43 Is Robinhood Building a New Exchange?
4:45 Robinhood Chain testnet: what it enables for builders
9:17 What’s actually unique about this L2
10:44 “Certified by Robinhood” explained
12:52 Mainnet timing & NYSE/Nasdaq vs Robinhood tokenization approaches
16:34 Stock tokens today: EU access, U.S. questions
18:16 The liquidity problem (and how routing fixes it)
21:28 What tokenized equities unlock beyond trading
23:23 Robinhood Wallet’s role in the stack
24:57 The CLARITY Act: what matters to Robinhood
30:49 Strategic bets: Talos, Bitstamp, and going institutional
38:51 Lighter + perps: DeFi vs CeFi (and the U.S. CFTC wall)
43:21 What’s next: “one ecosystem” + prediction markets
45:13 Builder call-to-action

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RESOURCES

Johann Kerbrat
https://x.com/JohannKerbrat

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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures