Bankless

February ends with peak FUD. Ryan and David unpack why crypto is stuck in historic “Extreme Fear” even without a major blowup, and why markets feel like they’ve entered an uncertainty bubble. They break down the Supreme Court striking Trump’s tariffs, Trump immediately finding new legal doors to bring them back, and the looming $150B+ refund fight. Then the “Citrini Crash”: AI doomer scenarios going viral, spooking stocks, and leaving investors terrified that AI will be either not good enough or far too good. Plus: fresh allegations that Jane Street helped accelerate Terra’s collapse, Meta’s stablecoin reboot for its billions of users, ZachXBT’s Axiom insider trading exposé, Hyperliquid’s new DC policy push, Robinhood’s retail venture fund, Coinbase’s 24/5 stocks rollout, and the Pentagon’s ultimatum to Anthropic over AI guardrails.

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📣FIGURE | CRYPTO-BACKED LOANS & REAL YIELD

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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

2:51 Extreme Fear & the “Uncertainty Bubble”

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

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

https://alternative.me/crypto/fear-and-greed-index

https://x.com/xeer/status/2025867669707043156

https://x.com/Evan_ss6/status/2026363413610238032

https://thedefireport.io/research/uncertainty-bubble

https://x.com/kobeissiletter/status/2024862913761001477

https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2026067372604371286

https://www.citriniresearch.com/p/2028gic

https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2026040229535047769

https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2026028854461047220

https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/the-citrini-post-is-just-a-scary

https://x.com/mattshumer_/status/2021256989876109403

https://x.com/intangiblecoins/status/2027011410627027024

26:24 Was Jane Street Behind the 2022 Crypto Winter?

https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/jane-street-accused-of-insider-trading-that-helped-collapse-terraform-659e6993

https://x.com/OGDfarmer/status/2026343910923006123

https://x.com/hasufl/status/2026246191550193756

https://x.com/davidzmorris/status/2026286018643603749

https://x.com/1914ad/status/2026757796390449382

35:29 Meta Revives Stablecoin Plans

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/02/24/mark-zuckerberg-s-meta-is-planning-stablecoin-comeback-in-the-second-half-of-this-year

39:49 ZachXBT Exposes Insider Trading at Axiom

https://x.com/zachxbt/status/2025917891678523644

https://polymarket.com/event/which-crypto-company-will-zachxbt-expose-for-insider-trading/?via=bankless?

https://x.com/zachxbt/status/2027016064534757659

https://x.com/zachxbt/status/2027016170126323925

50:40 Hyperliquid DC Policy Center, Robinhood VC, & Coinbase 24/5 stocks & ETFs trading

https://x.com/jchervinsky/status/2024116520427651480

https://x.com/vladtenev/status/2026028297822588941

https://x.com/coinbase/status/2026303315382870364

55:49 AI Watch: Pentagon vs Anthropic

https://x.com/DeItaone/status/2027028927756054670

https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/2026382701562048545

https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/2026329054887239697

1:02:33 Closing & Disclaimers

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

https://www.bankless.com/disclosures

Crypto’s newest threat isn’t a smart contract exploit, it’s a knock at your door. In this episode, Ryan sits down with Jameson Lopp (Casa) and Beau (former CIA, now safety at Pudgy Penguins) to map the real security landscape for crypto holders in 2026: the phishing traps you’ll see daily, the physical “wrench attacks” that terrify the community, and the practical systems that can make both dramatically less effective. If going bankless is about freedom, this is the playbook for keeping that freedom without turning into your own security team.

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⚡ EUPHORIA | REAL-TIME ONE-TAP TRADING
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🌐BRIX | EMERGING MARKET YIELD
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🏅BITGET TRADFI | TRADE GOLD WITH USDT
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🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS
https://bankless.cc/TDRpro

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
2:45 The 2026 threat landscape: third parties, privacy, then physical
8:07 Most likely vs most dangerous: phishing vs wrench attacks
17:23 Minimize attack surface + separate your money by risk
20:27 The “3-wallet” model: daily spend, risky ops, deep cold vault
25:08 Hot vs cold: the $1k rule + don’t sign when you’re not sharp
30:01 Social engineering defense: authenticate everything, trust nothing inbound
36:22 Password managers + the 2FA ladder (passkeys/YubiKeys win)
45:05 “Dedicated signing machine” and air-gapped thinking
47:30 Wrench attacks: how targets are found + what the attacks look like
52:50 Why France stands out (and what Dubai’s data shows)
57:37 “Zero Crypto at Home”: multisig + geography + time delays
1:12:27 Duress wallets: why they don’t reliably work
1:16:38 Home hardening checklist: cameras, lights, panic buttons, doors/windows
1:30:59 Onchain privacy reality + tax software pitfalls
1:37:40 Is this a setback for the Bankless vision?

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RESOURCES

Jameson Lopp
https://x.com/lopp
https://casa.io/

Beau
https://x.com/beausecurity
https://beausecurity.substack.com/

RSA’s Article - Zero Crypto at Home
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/2016572587363520933

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

Ethereum’s next big leap might not look like a single “flip the switch” moment—but it could change how the chain verifies everything. In this episode, Ansgar Dietrichs comes back to unpack the ZK EVM: why “re-executing every block” has been Ethereum’s hidden scaling tax, how real-time proofs finally make a different verification model viable, and what it would take to transition safely without sacrificing the verifiability that keeps Ethereum credibly neutral. They explore the three true bottlenecks of blockchain scaling (compute, IO, bandwidth), the roadmap from optional proofs to mandatory proofs, and why client diversity could look radically different in a ZK-native future.

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BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:

🔮POLYMARKET | #1 PREDICTION MARKET
https://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast

🪐GALAXY | INSTITUTIONAL DIGITAL FINANCE
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⚡ EUPHORIA | REAL-TIME ONE-TAP TRADING
https://bankless.cc/euphoria

🌐BRIX | EMERGING MARKET YIELD
https://bankless.cc/brix

🏅BITGET TRADFI | TRADE GOLD WITH USDT
https://bankless.cc/bitget

🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS
https://bankless.cc/TDRpro

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
0:43 Ethereum’s Biggest Upgrade
4:35 The Core Idea: Verify Blocks Without Re-Executing
10:40 From Bitcoin’s “Verify Cheaply” to Verifying Full Execution
16:22 Cryptography 2.0: Proving Arbitrary Computation
22:56 Scaling All 3 Constraints: Compute, IO, Bandwidth
32:33 Why Ethereum Has Been “Slow” by Design
38:29 3× Per Year: Scaling Now, Not Someday
41:28 ZK Isn’t About Faster Blocks (But Speed Still Improves)
46:33 Rollout Plan: Optional Proofs → Mandatory Proofs
49:59 Dependencies: Block-in-Blobs, Repricing, New State Trees
54:14 Security Reality Check: Performance → Security → Production
1:01:24 Client Diversity in a ZK World
1:10:51 Timeline: ZK Ethereum, Around 2030
1:16:31 Second-Order Wins: L2 Bridging and Beyond Crypto
1:20:49 Closing: Build the Boring Infrastructure, Enable the Apps

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RESOURCES

Ansgar Dietrichs
https://x.com/adietrichs

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

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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📣ROCKET POOL | PERMISSIONLESS STAKING

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BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS:

🔮POLYMARKET | #1 PREDICTION MARKET

https://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast 

🪐GALAXY | INSTITUTIONAL DIGITAL FINANCE

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⚡EUPHORIA | REAL-TIME ONE-TAP TRADING

https://bankless.cc/euphoria 

🏅BITGET TRADFI | TRADE GOLD WITH USDT

https://bankless.cc/bitget

🌐BRIX | EMERGING MARKET YIELD

https://bankless.cc/brix 

🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS

https://bankless.cc/TDRpro 

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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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https://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast

🌐BRIX | EMERGING MARKET YIELD

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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

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