Bankless

Bitwise’s Matt Hougan and Ryan Rasmussen return with 10 big predictions for 2026. From the case for $1M BTC (and why the classic four-year cycle may be dead) to a world where ETFs soak up more than 100% of new BTC/ETH/SOL supply. We get into Bitcoin volatility vs. mega-cap tech, crypto equities vs. tech equities, and why Polymarket could smash past its 2024 election-era highs. Plus: stablecoins as an “escape valve” that emerging economies may blame for currency stress, on-chain also known as “ETFs 2.0,” and how the Clarity Act could be the starter’s gun for ETH and SOL to run. ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24  https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔵COINBASE | ETH & BTC BACKED LOANS https://bankless.cc/coinbase-borrow 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, & EARN https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP | CONTINUOUS CLEARING AUCTIONS https://bankless.cc/uniswap-cca 🛞MANTLE | GLOBAL HACKATHON 2025 https://bankless.cc/mantle-hackathon 💤EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep 💤EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Last Year Predictions 13:12 1. Bitcoin Breaks 4-Year Cycle 16:19 2. BTC Less Volatile Than NVDA 22:09 3. ETFs Purchasing New Supply of Crypto 30:02 4. Crypto Equities Outperforming Equities 37:23 5. Prediction Markets All-Time Highs 42:50 6. Stablecons Destabilizing Currencies 48:16 7. Onchain Vaults Doubling in AUM 52:56 8. Clarity Act Triggering ETH & Sol All-Time Highs 56:40 9. Ivy League Endowments Investing in Crypto 58:49 10. 100+ Crypto ETPs Launching 1:01:14 Bitwise Announcement 1:04:08 Bonus. Bitcoin Equity Correlation Falling 1:07:29 Progress in 2025 1:10:48 Cross-Generational Wealth Transfer? 1:13:02 Closing Thoughts & Disclaimers ------ RESOURCES Matt Hougan https://x.com/Matt_Hougan  Ryan Rasmussen https://x.com/RasterlyRock  Bitwise https://bitwiseinvestments.com/  ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

AI is becoming the most powerful surveillance machine ever built and most people are feeding it their deepest secrets without realizing who can read them. Proton founder Andy Yen joins Bankless to explain how Big Tech captures your identity, why AI chat logs are a privacy disaster waiting to happen, and what a self-sovereign, user-aligned future could look like. We explore how AI models profile you, why subscription business models don’t guarantee privacy, how Proton built Lumo without retaining user data, and why encrypted email remains the cornerstone of your digital identity. Andy also breaks down EU “chat control,” Apple’s privacy-washing, the crisis of trust in crypto, and the practical steps anyone can take today to reclaim their digital freedom. --- 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔵COINBASE | ETH & BTC BACKED LOANS https://bankless.cc/coinbase-borrow 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, & EARN https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP LABS | SWAP NOW https://bankless.cc/uniswap-labs 🛞MANTLE | GLOBAL HACKATHON 2025 https://bankless.cc/mantle-hackathon 💤EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep --- TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 2:18 Why Privacy Matters More Than Ever 3:24 How Screwed Are We? Andy’s 1–10 Privacy Score 5:43 Who Can Read Your AI Chats? 12:22 Worst-Case Scenarios: AI Breaches & Behavioral Profiles 15:08 AI Knows You Better Than You Know Yourself 16:55 Privacy as a Digital Civil Liberty 20:26 Can Big Tech Ever Offer Real Privacy? 26:28 Why Lumo AI Can Be Private (and Big Tech Won’t Copy It) 31:08 What Lumo Runs On & How It Competes With Frontier Models 35:45 The Case for a Self-Sovereign AI 38:46 How Proton’s Foundation Model Really Works 45:47 Can Private AI Be Sustainable? 49:47 The Full Proton Privacy Stack 54:59 The Messy State of Encrypted Chat Apps 58:49 Browsers, Search, and the Dark Patterns of AI Integration 1:02:53 Are iPhones Actually Private? 1:12:42 The Fight Over Encryption: EU Chat Control & Beyond 1:26:08 “A Backdoor for the Good Guys” — Why It Can’t Work 1:29:42 Financial Privacy = Freedom 1:32:58 Crypto’s Reputation Problem 1:39:24 Practical Privacy: The One High-Leverage Step 1:45:15 Two Futures: One Dark, One Bright --- RESOURCES Andy Yen https://x.com/andyyen --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

The final Fed meeting of 2025 delivered a surprise rate cut, but the real story is how the market is reacting. In this week’s Weekly Rollup, Ryan and David unpack what the new policy shift means for crypto liquidity, why regulators across the SEC, CFTC, and OCC are suddenly embracing onchain markets, and how Tom Lee’s massive ETH accumulation is reshaping sentiment. We also get into Ethereum’s growing momentum from ZK advancements and blob upgrades, the ZKsync Atlas rollout, Base’s bridge drama with Solana, and Farcaster’s pivot away from social. Plus, the rise of tokenization, new prediction market rails, and whether this week marks the first real cycle turn for Ethereum. ------ 📣REYA | ETHEREUM FOR TRADERS https://bankless.cc/reya    ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔵COINBASE | ETH & BTC BACKED LOANS https://bankless.cc/coinbase-borrow 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, & EARN  https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP LABS | SWAP NOW https://bankless.cc/uniswap-labs 🛞MANTLE | GLOBAL HACKATHON 2025 https://bankless.cc/mantle-hackathon 💤EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep ------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 0:00 Intro 5:01 Markets https://x.com/EricBalchunas/status/1998424357232922883 https://www.theblock.co/post/381737/bitmine-13-2-billion-holdings-eth-treasury-expands-november-slowdown https://x.com/RyanWatkins_/status/1998529576331522334 https://x.com/MikeIppolito_/status/1998495400869900626 https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/10/fed-interest-rate-decision-december-2025-.html https://x.com/jameslavish/status/1998835306800505140 https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1998407015756964343 https://x.com/JustDeauIt/status/1998905919577452765 24:52 Farcaster is pivoting to a wallet https://farcaster.xyz/dwr/0xd29fe760 https://x.com/DefiIgnas/status/1997915182073626802 https://x.com/eth_call/status/1998406182092906534 http://x.com/nic_carter/status/1998813611997745386 https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1999134280757235767 37:11 ZK … early stage of unleashing Ethereum’s vision https://x.com/zksync/status/1996678308214264145 https://x.com/zksync/status/1996678311997853752 https://x.com/StaniKulechov/status/1996990055043223659 https://x.com/zksync/status/1998405700637356056 https://x.com/Celo/status/1998780366988128562 47:06 Did Base launch a vampire attack on Solana’s liquidity? https://x.com/jessepollak/status/1996750308933091359 https://x.com/vibhu/status/1996698682545107247 https://x.com/0xyoussea/status/1997763313909092415 https://x.com/solana/status/1999035191323759024 52:30 Ethereum's first Blob Parameter Only (BPO) fork is now live on the network https://x.com/i/status/1998936032314523977 https://dune.com/hildobby/blobs 56:17 Regulators are doing a complete 180 https://x.com/OndoFinance/status/1998015670278148283 https://x.com/coinbureau/status/1997128653650657338 https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/12/08/cftc-launches-digital-assets-pilot-allowing-bitcoin-ether-usdc-as-collateral https://x.com/joechalom/status/1998421401049710686 https://x.com/WatcherGuru/status/1998379541132402987 https://www.fdic.gov/news/inactive-financial-institution-letters/2023/fil23001.html https://x.com/USComptroller/status/1998793576663187561 https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/guaranteeing-fair-banking-for-all-americans/ https://occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2025/nr-occ-2025-123a.pdf https://www.bankless.com/read/news/occ-calls-out-americas-largest-banks-for-politicized-and-unlawful-debanking-behaviors https://www.theblock.co/post/381815/sen-moreno-calls-crypto-bill-talks-decently-frustrating-as-senate-races-toward-year-end-goal-posts  1:05:03 The New York Times put out an anti-stablecoin explainer piece https://x.com/0xDeployer/status/1997754736158900440 https://x.com/nic_carter/status/1997866686439928004 1:06:50 Gemini can now offer prediction markets in the US - Stock Surges Nearly 14% https://x.com/gemini/status/1998880024401973615 https://x.com/gondorfi/status/1998754620416344483 https://gondor.fi/ 1:07:49 Meme of the Week https://x.com/Bankless/status/1998064876892442788 1:09:36 Closing & Disclaimers ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

ICOs are suddenly back, but this time the projects are real, the mechanisms are better, and retail isn’t shut out. Ryan and David break down why MegaEth, Monad, Aztec, Zama, and Infinex are launching public sales all at once, how onchain auctions are fixing 2017’s mistakes, and what regulatory clarity means for U.S. participation. They also dive into the rise of internet native capital markets on Ethereum, the shift away from airdrop farming, and why fair price discovery could be a defining theme of 2026. ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24  https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔵COINBASE | ETH & BTC BACKED LOANS https://bankless.cc/coinbase-borrow 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, & EARN  https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP LABS | SWAP NOW https://bankless.cc/uniswap-labs 🛞MANTLE | GLOBAL HACKATHON 2025 https://bankless.cc/mantle-hackathon 💤EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:13 Are ICOs Back? 2:54 The Rise of Capital Formation 5:04 Learning from 2017 ICO Mania 7:19 Regulatory Challenges & Arbitrage 10:56 Recent ICOs Overview 17:01 Exploring the MegaEth Sale 26:21 Monad's Unique Approach 30:40 The Innovative Aztec ICO 45:19 Upcoming Auctions: Zama & Infinex 1:04:41 The Future of Capital Formation 1:07:46 Closing & Disclaimers ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

What was really happening inside the SEC during the Gensler years? Today, we sat down with Corey Frayer, former senior crypto policy advisor to SEC Chair Gary Gensler and now Director of Investor Protection at the Consumer Federation of America. We dig into how the agency thought about securities law, DeFi, Uniswap, stablecoins, SAB 121, and why platforms like Coinbase and Kraken ended up in the crosshairs. Corey defends the Gensler playbook while responding to the industry’s harshest criticisms, from “regulation by enforcement” to claims of a political war on crypto.  Corey Frayer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corey-frayer-990a6b2  ------ 🎬 DEBRIEF | RYAN & DAVID UNPACKING THE EPISODE https://www.bankless.com/podcast/debrief-inside-gary-genslers-sec  ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔵COINBASE | ETH & BTC BACKED LOANS https://bankless.cc/coinbase-borrow 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, & EARN https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP LABS | SWAP NOW https://bankless.cc/uniswap-labs 🛞MANTLE | GLOBAL HACKATHON 2025 https://bankless.cc/mantle-hackathon 💤EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 4:58 Crypto Industry Misconceptions 7:59 Corey’s Role & Background 14:20 How it All Started 24:16 No Path to Register? 31:26 Technology vs Economic Activity 38:22 Protecting Investors 41:07 DeFi Regulation 44:53 Uniswap’s Wells Notice 57:00 Fake DeFi vs True DeFi 1:03:41 Google Analogy 1:08:35 The Howey Test 1:16:53 SEC: Good or Evil? 1:26:52 GENIUS Bill 1:29:10 SAB 121 1:33:01 Crypto & SEC Political Impact 1:36:02 Paul Atkin’s SEC 1:38:15 What Would Corey Change? 1:41:23 Gary’s Text Messages 1:43:10 Is ETH a Security? 1:44:39 Gary Gensler’s Radio Silence 1:47:37 Gary’s Twitter April Fools PFP 1:50:44 Closing & Disclaimers ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

At our Bankless Summit in Buenos Aires, four standout talks captured the frontier of crypto’s next chapter. Lincoln Murr lays out why x402 is emerging as the missing payment layer for the agentic internet. Shay Ketsdever explains how bots already run modern markets, and how programmable auctions and privacy can turn the bot economy into something that benefits people instead of exploits them. Michael Dong shows how real-time ZK proving unlocks a hundred-fold expansion of Ethereum’s computational power. And Luca Prosperi reframes money as a network, warning that today’s stablecoin architecture is a single point of failure and arguing for a more resilient, distributed monetary system. ------ 📣BANKLESS SUMMIT 2025 | SPONSORED BY M0 https://bankless.cc/m0 ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔵COINBASE | ETH & BTC BACKED LOANS https://bankless.cc/coinbase-borrow 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, & EARN  https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP LABS | SWAP NOW https://bankless.cc/uniswap-labs 🛞MANTLE | GLOBAL HACKATHON 2025 https://bankless.cc/mantle-hackathon 💤EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep ------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 0:00 Intro 4:26 x402 & The Agentic Internet | Lincoln Murr 22:58 The Bot Economy: When AI & MEV Collide | Shea Ketsdever 47:16 1000x the L1: The Path To Infinite Compute | Michael Dong 1:09:25 A Network Theory of Money | Luca Prosperi ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

Bitcoin hit a rare signal this week, dropping to its cheapest level relative to gold in nearly 15 years. Is that a buy signal or something deeper in the macro picture? Ryan and David break down what the BTC–gold anomaly really means, how liquidity, rates, and Trump’s surprise Fed Chair pick factor in, and whether the market is entering a shallow cycle instead of a true winter. We also cover Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade, Vitalik’s push to bring builders back to L1, Polymarket’s mainstream breakout and CNN–Kalshi deal, and Aztec’s 16K ETH privacy auction. Plus, the SEC’s coming innovation exemption and the growing alliance between Larry Fink and Brian Armstrong. ------ 📣REYA | ETHEREUM FOR TRADERS https://bankless.cc/reya    ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔵COINBASE | ETH & BTC BACKED LOANS https://bankless.cc/coinbase-borrow 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, EARN  https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | GLOBAL HACKATHON 2025 https://bankless.cc/mantle-hackathon 💤EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep ------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 0:00 Intro 4:09 Spotify Wrapped  https://x.com/AviiWeb3/status/1996326825736487062 https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1996331131164373441 7:17 Markets https://x.com/stacy_muur/status/1995761132527911338 https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/11/29/why-gold-is-winning-over-bitcoin-in-2025-liquidity-trade-and-trust https://x.com/simonkim_nft/status/1993744596908802121 https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1996543833753174365 https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-new-federal-reserve-chair-be-announced-early-next-year-2025-12-02/ https://polymarket.com/event/who-will-trump-nominate-as-fed-chair https://thedefireport.io/research/macro-risks-are-mispriced#rate-cuts https://www.strategy.com/press/strategy-announces-establishment-of-1-44-billion-usd-reserve-and-updates-fy-2025-guidance_12-1-2025 https://www.tradingview.com/chart/52u4tG3f/ https://x.com/BlackRock/status/1995537254022869438 https://x.com/WatcherGuru/status/1996264980241617007 https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1996275431625159096 https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/12/02/bank-of-america-greenlights-wealth-advisors-to-recommend-up-to-4-bitcoin-allocation https://x.com/WatcherGuru/status/1996270024663957881 30:20 Polymarket Live in the U.S. on 60 mins & Kalshi CNN https://x.com/Polymarket/status/1996231420117688701 https://apps.apple.com/us/iphone/charts/6004 https://polymarket.com/event/will-polymarket-us-go-live-in-2025 https://app.artemisanalytics.com/asset/polymarket https://www.forbes.com/profile/shayne-coplan https://youtu.be/ZA5bY4K9XPs https://x.com/60Minutes/status/1995293602612691238 https://x.com/WhaleInsider/status/1995886355713589307 https://x.com/WALLACHLEGAL/status/1994039650877628546 https://x.com/Kalshi/status/1996233186251075862 40:27 Ethereum Fusaka is live! https://x.com/sassal0x/status/1996336227474423991 https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1996342458234605895 https://x.com/sassal0x/status/1996442356464361817 https://etherscan.io/gastracker https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1995209899182375024 https://ultrasound.money https://x.com/haydenzadams/status/1995349830265159782 https://x.com/nero_eth/status/1995480367050920265 https://x.com/nero_eth/status/1995487640309944639 50:05 Tether Fud https://x.com/CryptoHayes/status/1994915256150495652 https://x.com/JosephA140/status/1994943733054542124 https://x.com/MonetSupply/status/1995187007803285936 53:21 The AZTEC token sale just crossed 15.9k ETH committed https://x.com/aztecnetwork/status/1996054062450786392 https://x.com/haydenzadams/status/1996088299354497325 https://x.com/BillHughesDC/status/1995851990082224151 55:28 SEC announced Innovation Exemption https://x.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1995839722854514838 https://x.com/DeItaone/status/1995849795219378590 56:22 Uniswap & Revolut https://x.com/Uniswap/status/1995873897334669428 56:45 Bullish UK Crypto? https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/29/pdfs/ukpga_20250029_en.pdf https://www.theblock.co/post/381181/uk-new-law-crypto-property 55:25 Meme of the Week https://x.com/jonwu_/status/1995483574238347289 58:58 Closing & Disclaimers ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

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. ------ 📣BANKLESS SUMMIT 2025 | SPONSORED BY M0 https://bankless.cc/m0 ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔵COINBASE | ETH & BTC BACKED LOANS https://bankless.cc/coinbase-borrow 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, EARN  https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 💤EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep ------ 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 ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

Michael Nadeau called the top before the 10/10 crash. In this episode, he sits down with Ryan to explain why. They break down the onchain data that flipped him risk off, Bitcoin’s decisive break below the 50-week moving average, and why global liquidity and rate cuts may not rescue this cycle. Michael shares the price zones where Bitcoin becomes compelling again, how long-term holder behavior maps to past tops, and the framework he’s using to build a high conviction watch list for the next bull. Michael Nadeau https://x.com/JustDeauIt ------ 📣REYA | ETHEREUM FOR TRADERS https://bankless.cc/reya  🗞️ THE DEFI REPORT | SIGN-UP & SUBSCRIBE (CODE: TDRPRO30) https://thedefireport.io/sign-up https://buy.stripe.com/dRm3cv84e6FYfFzbVgebu01 ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔵COINBASE | ETH & BTC BACKED LOANS https://bankless.cc/coinbase-borrow 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, EARN  https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 💤EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep ------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 0:00 Intro 0:48 Market Downturn Analysis 5:22 Risk-Off Position Insights 8:25 Market Structure Breakdown 9:49 October Call Reflection 11:27 November Confirmation 13:48 Market Psychology Overview 24:43 Cycling Through Market Phases 28:55 Wealth Destruction Zone 34:11 Markets KPIs 38:47 Long-Term Holder Dynamics 44:02 Cycle End Analysis 49:07 Global Liquidity Conditions 52:15 Trading Strategies Discussion 56:13 Price Points & Metrics 1:04:47 Watch List Strategy 1:07:38 Closing & Disclaimers ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

If crypto wins without privacy, did we actually win? In this episode, Ryan sits down with Aztec co-founders Zac Williamson and Joe Andrews to unpack their eight-year quest to build a private world computer for Ethereum, covering the Aztec ignition chain, zero-knowledge-powered “private intents,” and how you can route trades across L1 and L2s without exposing your strategies or balances. They dive into ZK Passport (turning your NFC e-passport into a proof of personhood), the coming breakdown of selfie KYC in an AI world, holistic on-chain identity, Aztec’s one-shot move to a fully decentralized L2. Along the way, Zac and Joe get candid about the regulatory risk of building privacy rails, echoes of the early SSL wars, and what keeps them grinding after nearly a decade of R&D to ship Aztec Alpha --- 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔵 COINBASE | ETH & BTC BACKED LOANS https://bankless.cc/coinbase-borrow 🪙 FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, & EARN https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄 UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞 MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 💤 EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep --- TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 6:00 The State of Privacy on Ethereum in 2025 9:47 Identity as the Missing Piece of Privacy 11:52 AI Deepfakes Just Broke Web2 KYC 20:19 How ZK Passport Plugs Into Aztec (and the Token Sale) 23:04 Holistic On-Chain Identity: Bottom-Up, Not Top-Down 30:54 From Private Bitcoin to a Private World Computer 36:36 Private Intents: Using Aztec as Ethereum’s Privacy Router 43:15 Compliant DeFi with ZK Identity in the Loop 48:37 Does This Actually Solve Privacy on Ethereum? 50:38 Ignition Chain Launch: Stage-2 Rollup with Decentralized Sequencers 56:19 One-Shot Decentralization, Alpha/Beta, and Security Model 1:05:37 Scaling a Private Rollup: TPS, Fees, and the Aztec Stack 1:11:40 Noir, No VM for Private State, and New DeFi Primitives 1:17:08 Selective Disclosure and ZK Receipts for Regulators 1:21:29 Privacy vs Nation States: The Second Crypto Privacy War 1:29:45 Why Keep Building Privacy After 8 Years? 1:33:37 Token Sale, Fair Auctions, and Running an Aztec Node 1:37:33 Closing Thoughts: The Most Cypherpunk L2 Since 2016? --- RESOURCES Zac Williamson https://x.com/Zac_Aztec Joe Andrews https://x.com/jaosef Aztec https://x.com/aztecnetwork --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures