ROLLUP: Markets Spooked? | MegaETH & Monad Mania | New CFTC Chair | Base & Polymarket Tokens? | Circle Arc Backlash
Markets got the treat they were waiting for with a Fed rate cut and pause on quantitative tightening, but prices still fell. Why? This week, Ryan and David break down why the markets got spooked, what Powell really said about December cuts, and what it means heading into November. We also cover MegaETH’s oversubscribed ICO, Monad’s airdrop, Polymarket’s confirmed token, and JP Morgan’s $34B Base token estimate. Plus Solana’s new ETF, Western Union’s stablecoin, Circle’s controversial L1 launch, the X402 payment boom, and the latest on Consensys and Securitize IPOs.
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💠BIT DIGITAL ($BTBT) | ETH TREASURY
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We’re being compensated by Bit Digital (NASDAQ BTBT) for this segment promoting their company and BTBT. The compensation is paid in cash as a one time payment. You can find additional information about Bit Digital and BTBT on their Investor page at https://bit-digital.com/investors
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TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES
0:00 Intro
5:03 Markets
https://www.tradingview.com/chart/1RYLG2gC/
https://www.tradingview.com/chart/1RYLG2gC/
https://x.com/fundstrat/status/198307855327420049
https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1983595486259950049
https://polymarket.com/event/fed-decision-in-december?tid=1761832318180
https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1983613170691535094
https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1983606477479899214
https://x.com/TKL_Adam/status/1983560866436927875
https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1983855569996861631
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/10/28/solana-etfs-could-draw-over-usd3b-if-bitcoin-ether-etf-trends-repeat
https://x.com/ETHZilla_ETHZ/status/1982901255782445420
https://www.strategicethreserve.xyz/
30:32 3 of the most exciting tokens this year & new valuations! It’s token launch season!
https://x.com/megaeth/status/1983188518756339906
https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1982831157491184073
https://x.com/megaeth/status/1982502453515071847
https://x.com/kunalgoel/status/1983304334835077425
https://x.com/0xd1namit/status/1981661321101009388
https://claim.monad.xyz/
https://app.hyperliquid.xyz/trade/MON
https://app.hyperliquid.xyz/trade/MEGA
https://www.theblock.co/post/376134/coinbases-base-token-could-be-worth-34-billion-jpmorgan-says
44:36 Circle’s Arc EVM L1 goes to public testnet - RSA triggered
https://www.arc.network/blog/circle-launches-arc-public-testnet
47:00 x402 gets its first signs of traction - 200,000% growth week over week
https://www.x402scan.com/
https://dune.com/programmer/x402
52:27 Trump names Michael Selig to chair CFTC
https://x.com/CoinMarketCap/status/1983262571277762907
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPdqwebmJzE
https://x.com/davidsacks47/status/1982009725110600145
https://x.com/cdixon/status/1981834098932167131
53:41 Trump Media is about to launch a prediction market
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-28/trump-media-plans-to-enter-booming-prediction-markets-business
https://x.com/WatcherGuru/status/1982976302803234955
56:46 Western Union is building exclusively on Solana
https://x.com/solana/status/1983215174883430839
https://x.com/DegenerateNews/status/1983265904348803569
https://x.com/camillionaire_m/status/1983506060343185571
https://x.com/0xMert_/status/1983517171234861273
https://x.com/calilyliu/status/1983386544271704528
https://x.com/vibhu/status/1983568810360643945
1:03:21 3 themes this cycle: Acquisitions, Banks, IPO
https://aave.com/blog/stable-acquire
https://x.com/farcaster_xyz/status/1981398124242620852
https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/zelle-stablecoin-cryptocurrency-7ef515e7
https://www.coinbase.com/blog/coinbase-and-citi-collaborate-to-build-the-future-of-payments
https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1982850023718105337
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/securitize-the-leading-tokenization-platform-to-become-a-public-company-at-1-25b-valuation-via-business-combination-with-cantor-equity-partners-ii-302596208.html
https://app.rwa.xyz/platforms
https://www.theblock.co/post/376845/metamask-parent-consensys-pursues-ipo-jpmorgan-goldman-axios
1:09:55 Closing & Disclaimers
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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How Crypto Neobanks Work: Frax, Cards, and Visa’s Role | Sam Kazemian
Neobanks might be the quiet coordination hack that makes Visa optional. David sits down with Frax’s Sam Kazemian to map the new payment stack: why cards today settle over Visa yet still onboard users into stablecoins, how Frax USD (payments) pairs with sFRAX USD (savings), and why Ethereum remains the “savings/issuance” base while specialized payment chains battle for flows. Sam unpacks Frax’s white-label issuance strategy and RWA plumbing, shares an institutional DD story that highlights reliability over hype, and lays out the metrics that actually matter—card acceptance, bank deposits, chain coverage, and real-world spend. If you’re tracking how stablecoins, neobanks, and RWAs converge into an on-chain economy, this one connects the pipes.
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🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN
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🛞MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK
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🌳KGEN | REQUEST A DEMO
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💠BIT DIGITAL ($BTBT) | ETH TREASURY
https://bankless.cc/bit-digital
We’re being compensated by Bit Digital (NASDAQ BTBT) for this segment promoting their company and BTBT. The compensation is paid in cash as a one time payment. You can find additional information about Bit Digital and BTBT on their Investor page at https://bit-digital.com/investors
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:54 What Is a Neobank
2:45 Crypto Neobanks & Frax’s Two-Coin Model
5:28 Strategy: Be the Pipes, Not the Card
14:48 Design: RWAs On-Chain & Compliance Surface
18:16 Cards Today, Native Pay Tomorrow
28:52 The Standards Fight
33:30 Institutional Proof Point & Growth Curve
40:28 Closed-Loop On-Chain Economy
55:36 What to Track Next
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RESOURCES
Sam Kazemian
https://x.com/samkazemian
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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Why Pro Athletes Are Betting on Bitcoin, Crypto & Prediction Markets | Tristan Thompson & Paul Grewal
NBA Star Tristan Thompson and Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal break down why pro athletes are moving into Bitcoin, crypto, and onchain prediction markets.
We cover stablecoin rewards after the Genius Act, Coinbase’s fight to preserve consumer yield and staking, the CFTC vs. state path for prediction markets, and Tristan’s new onchain app, basketball.fun.
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🛞MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK
https://bankless.cc/Mantle
🌳KGEN | REQUEST A DEMO
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💠BIT DIGITAL ($BTBT) | ETH TREASURY
https://bankless.cc/bit-digital
We’re being compensated by Bit Digital (NASDAQ BTBT) for this segment promoting their company and BTBT. The compensation is paid in cash as a one time payment. You can find additional information about Bit Digital and BTBT on their Investor page at https://bit-digital.com/investors
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:54 An Athlete & a Lawyer?
2:47 Athletes Love Crypto
8:19 Bitcoin & Trust
15:16 Stablecoin Yields
18:41 Crypto vs Banks
21:34 Tristan’s Crypto Interests
26:58 Crypto’s UX
35:48 Prediction Markets
43:58 Prediction Market Regulation
48:41 Anti-Crypto Democrats
51:00 Basketball.fun
56:00 Gary Gensler’s Deleted Texts
1:00:25 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Tristan Paul
https://x.com/RealTristan13
Paul Grewal
https://x.com/iampaulgrewal
Basketball.fun
https://www.basketball.fun/
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
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Downtober drags on… but not all is bearish. On this week’s Weekly Rollup, Ryan and David break down why sentiment feels cold despite strong BTC, and the three ways this cycle could play out. Plus, gold is ripping! Can crypto catch up?
We also cover Dankrad’s jump to Tempo, Coinbase’s Echo deal, Polymarket’s NHL play, the Fed’s potential FedWire opening, and the AI trading showdown.
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📣BANKLESS SUMMIT 2025 | SPONSORED BY M0
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BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:
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🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN
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🛞MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK
https://bankless.cc/Mantle
🌳KGEN | REQUEST A DEMO
https://bankless.cc/KGEN-podcast
💠BIT DIGITAL ($BTBT) | ETH TREASURY
https://bankless.cc/bit-digital
We’re being compensated by Bit Digital (NASDAQ BTBT) for this segment promoting their company and BTBT. The compensation is paid in cash as a one time payment. You can find additional information about Bit Digital and BTBT on their Investor page at https://bit-digital.com/investors
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TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES
0:00 Intro
4:00 Markets
https://x.com/QuintenFrancois/status/1980893883161882974
https://x.com/VentureCoinist/status/1979622508732276761
https://x.com/QuintenFrancois/status/1980935843763150926
https://x.com/cryptogucci/status/1981367758278578590
https://x.com/qthomp/status/1981040936890081390
https://x.com/qthomp/status/1981044811894550678
https://x.com/FinFreedom414/status/1980614441315033342
https://x.com/VentureCoinist/status/1979622508732276761
https://x.com/JasonYanowitz/status/1980620067315282091
https://x.com/Barchart/status/1979149096700031112
https://x.com/Barchart/status/1981195191110574116
https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1980994433849135340
https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1980994455328149603
https://x.com/elerianm/status/1976244432317096373
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/central-banks-now-hold-more-gold-than-u-s-treasuries/
https://x.com/charliebilello/status/1979553653393383654
https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1979563634805133590
https://x.com/charliebilello/status/1979542689977667913
https://x.com/BTC_Archive/status/1980614921357283448
25:04 Trump Pardons CZ
https://x.com/WSJ/status/1981377689270231336
https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/trump-pardons-convicted-binance-founder-7509bd63?mod=hp_lead_pos2
https://x.com/cz_binance/status/1981404850832494666
30:19 Dankrad is moving to Tempo
https://x.com/dankrad/status/1979133618254405775
https://x.com/AggrNews/status/1979220336680833433
https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1979900912903586286
https://x.com/EffortCapital/status/1979158689605882109
https://x.com/ethereumJoseph/status/1980279130638672175
39:04 The Fight for Bitcoin’s Soul - Neutral blockspace or Bitcoin only
https://x.com/BitMEXResearch/status/1978545931600511157
https://www.bankless.com/read/bitcoins-nft-schism-is-intensifying
https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1978643578328137883
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1979188770747408728
48:25 Coinbase bought Cobie’s Echo
https://x.com/cobie/status/1980579379244855384
https://x.com/A_Leutenegger/status/1980589269891837972
https://x.com/TheEylon/status/1981405829010956687
https://x.com/CryptoKaleo/status/1980385803630227570
https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1981410026746261971
53:41 Polymarket announces they’re the Official Prediction Market for the NHL
https://x.com/shayne_coplan/status/1981016949309239616
https://x.com/Kalshi/status/1980976183241240858
https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1981024439887151337
https://x.com/zoomerfied/status/1981010074093969831
56:57 OpenSea wants to become “trade everything” app
https://x.com/dfinzer/status/1979200646763929835
58:45 FED is going to give crypto companies direct access to its Fedwire
https://www.theblock.co/post/375513/waller-signals-feds-shift-toward-embracing-crypto-proposes-skinny-master-account-for-payment-innovators
https://x.com/CoinDesk/status/1980728462022529203
https://polymarket.com/event/who-will-trump-nominate-as-fed-chair?tid=1761236821603
https://www.therage.co/us-btc-forfeiture/
https://x.com/francispouliot_/status/1978129578754191580
1:04:04 AI models entered a trading competition
https://x.com/jay_azhang/status/1979312946154033227
https://nof1.ai/
https://nof1.ai/leaderboard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fijrhqJ88Sc&t=457s
1:06:30 RSA excited about AI - give your AI a wallet to spend with x402
https://x.com/CoinbaseDev/status/1981064709555310825
https://nexus.thirdweb.com/
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1980985187484758401
1:08:33 Closing & Disclaimers
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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State Of Crypto 2025 | a16z Crypto — Eddy Lazzarin & Daren Matsuoka
a16z crypto’s CTO Eddy Lazzarin and partner Daren Matsuoka return for our annual State of Crypto to map where 2025 really is on the curve: a price–innovation cycle poised to hand the baton back to builders, Bitcoin holding ~50% share, and 70M people now using crypto on-chain out of 716M owners. We dig into why institutions are actually shipping (not just PR), how stablecoins now rival Visa-scale volumes and sit among top U.S. Treasury holders, why DEX spot share near 20% changes price discovery, and how perps, infra throughput, and fee-switch economics are reshaping revenue across chains. Plus: prediction markets’ second act, the AI×crypto handshake (agents, proof-of-humanity, IP), and Bitcoin’s long-dated quantum dilemma.
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🛞MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK
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💠BIT DIGITAL ($BTBT) | ETH TREASURY
https://bankless.cc/bit-digital
We’re being compensated by Bit Digital (NASDAQ BTBT) for this segment promoting their company and BTBT. The compensation is paid in cash as a one time payment. You can find additional information about Bit Digital and BTBT on their Investor page at https://bit-digital.com/investors
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Price–Innovation Cycle: Where We Are Now
3:46 Bitcoin Dominance & Market Correlations
12:09 User Geography & Adoption: MAUs vs Owners
20:15 Institutions & TradFi: Motives, Stablecoins, Integration
27:40 Stablecoin Scale: Volumes, Treasuries & Dollar Power
39:03 Stablecoin Decoupling & DeFi Growth
42:33 Perps, Protocol Revenue & Prediction Markets
47:55 Infrastructure: TPS, Scalability & Bottlenecks
49:51 Token Valuation & Chain Revenue
59:24 Bitcoin’s Quantum Risk: Paths & Responses
1:02:48 AI × Crypto: Use Cases & Decentralization
1:04:00 Outlook & Closing: Predictions & Cycle Top?
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RESOURCES
Eddy Lazzarin
https://x.com/eddylazzarin
Daren Matsuoka
https://x.com/DarenMatsuoka
a16z’s Quantum Computing Podcast
https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/podcast/quantum-computing-what-when-where-how-fact-vs-fiction/
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
New Zealand