Debate: Is Ethereum Ready for Real World Assets? | Omid Malekan vs Austin Campbell (Crypto Professors)
Austin Campbell (NYU) and Omid Malekan (Columbia) debate a simple question: is Ethereum ready to host real-world assets?
They walk through stress tests—what if an exchange is hacked, a stablecoin breaks, or a court order targets the chain—and whether the network should ever step in.
You’ll hear where they agree and disagree, what protections are realistic today, and what still needs to be built before RWAs can scale.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
6:13 Twitter Debate Genesis
8:58 Bybit Hack
17:56 Crypto vs RWA Immutability
29:29 Ethereum Validator Intervention
33:11 Dealing with Multiple Jurisdictions
52:23 Credible Neutrality for a Multipolar World
1:00:32 Blockchain Use Cases
1:13:40 Consortium Chains
1:24:57 Closing Arguments
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RESOURCES
Omid Malekan
https://x.com/malekanoms
https://www.omidmalekan.com/
Austin Campbell
https://x.com/campbelljaustin
https://zero-in.beehiiv.com/
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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From BlackRock to Ethereum: Betting It All on ETH | Joseph Chalom
What does BlackRock’s former crypto lead see in Ethereum that others still miss? Joseph Chalom joins Bankless to take us inside the IBIT/ETHA ramp, why BUIDL launched on Ethereum mainnet, and the simple—but powerful—framework he uses to value ETH as “high-octane money.” We break down staking inside ETFs, the tokenization roadmap from stablecoins to the S&P in your wallet, and the real mechanics of ETH treasury companies—mNAV premiums, ATMs, converts, and the transparency metrics that matter. Less hype, more architecture: if security, liquidity, and 24/7 settlement are the future, this is the bridge.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
3:53 Larry Fink’s arc: skeptic to champion
9:15 Joseph’s crypto journey
18:09 Aladdin × Coinbase Prime
20:55 Building IBIT
24:28 ETHA & ETH ETF staking approval
36:04 Tokenization roadmap & magnitude
44:48 SharpLink’s ETH bet
50:13 Ether as “high-octane money”
58:54 Beyond ‘buy and hold’
1:03:11 ETH vs BTC treasuries
1:06:09 Radical transparency
1:10:31 mNAV, ATMs & buybacks
1:19:10 Where’s the price impact?
1:25:32 How many treasuries win?
1:29:25 Closing thoughts
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RESOURCES
Joseph Chalom
https://x.com/joechalom
Sharplink
https://www.sharplink.com/
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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ROLLUP: ETH ATH! | U.S. Gov Onchain GDP | Google’s L1 | Hyperliquid Prints | EU Digital Euro?
On this week’s Weekly Rollup, Ryan and Haseeb debate if ETH’s new all-time high signals the top or just the start, with whales rotating from BTC into ETH and alt season heating up. Powell hints at rate cuts, ETFs keep pulling billions, and Tom Lee’s billion-dollar ETH bet takes center stage while treasury premiums sink. Meanwhile, Google teases an L1, Hyperliquid outpaces Robinhood, and Europe floats a digital euro, setting up another pivotal week in crypto.
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TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES
0:00 Intro
0:38 Big Sean Crypto
https://x.com/altcoindaily/status/1960753873376961031
3:20 Powell’s speech last week
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/powell-opens-door-potential-rate-cut-speech-jack
https://x.com/FinanceLancelot/status/1958934829082583312
https://x.com/Cointelegraph/status/1958907551442993491:
https://x.com/charliebilello/status/1958910251819786478
https://x.com/AnnaEconomist/status/1958923556680536487
9:10 Markets
https://x.com/JSeyff/status/1959982000804442559
https://x.com/BanklessHQ/status/1958941150041317514
https://x.com/speculatorart/status/1960322107864141966
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/08/25/bitcoin-flash-crash-triggers-usd550m-in-sunday-l
https://x.com/JacobKinge/status/1959724849598718428
https://x.com/lookonchain/status/1958767845934080277
https://x.com/woonomic/status/1960442328604200987
24:53 HYPE Crushing it - competitive with major exchanges
https://x.com/cointelegraph/status/1960379396927213990
https://blockworks-research.beehiiv.com/p/is-hype-still-cheap-8541fea8eaae3e65
https://x.com/infinitybanyan/status/1960373080389304611
34:55 SOL DATs are coming - 3 of em!
https://x.com/matthew_sigel/status/1959942140500365564
https://x.com/SolanaFloor/status/1959948823280619558
https://decrypt.co/336832/pantera-capital-eyes-1-25b-raise-solana-treasury-firm
https://panteracapital.com/blockchain-letter/dat-value-creation/
https://mcga.com/news/trump-media-group-cro-strategy-to-acquire-cro-digital-asset-treasury
https://blockworks.co/analytics/treasury-companies/market-data
42:01 Google is building its L1
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rich-widmann-a816a54b_all-this-talk-of-layer-1-blockchains-has-activity-7366124738848415744-7idA/
49:35 US GOV - will publish GDP figures onchain!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbEPqUdelFo
https://blog.chain.link/united-states-department-of-commerce-macroeconomic-data/
https://x.com/Cointelegraph/status/1961067983800881224
https://x.com/krakenfx/status/1961081675175149795
https://etherscan.io/address/0x36ccdf11044f60f196e981970d592a7de567ed7b#code
https://docs.chain.link/data-feeds/us-government-macroeconomic/addresses?page=1&testnetPage=1
51:41 The EU may release a Stablecoin on a public chain - Ethereum or Solana
https://x.com/DefiIgnas/status/1958754787345727712
https://app.rwa.xyz/stablecoins
https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/china-considering-yuan-backed-stablecoins-boost-global-currency-usage-sources-2025-08-21/
56:45 Kanye West released $YZY
https://x.com/kanyewest/status/1958346810801697237
https://x.com/CryptoHayes/status/1958356982991401006
https://x.com/lookonchain/status/1958355708010975580
https://x.com/JamesWynnReal/status/1958383968945831940
59:43 DOJ announced that it won’t bring charges against non-custodial developers
https://x.com/BanklessHQ/status/1958645825732501566
1:04:51 Closing & Disclaimers
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
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ETHZilla wants to turn ETH into Wall Street’s new reserve asset, and they’ve built a plan to do it. Ryan sits down with Avichal Garg (Electric Capital) and Mac Rudisill (ETHZilla) to unpack why ETH treasuries exploded this cycle, how credit markets (converts, preferreds, and debt) supercharge accumulation, and why stablecoins → DeFi → ETH forms a flywheel that turns Ether into high-quality collateral. We dig into leverage discipline, mNAV premiums, operational security, and the business math that makes an ETH treasury look more like Berkshire than a hype trade. Plus: can this wave trigger a DeFi after-boom, and what does “winning” actually mean for ETHZilla?
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
3:53 Catching Tom Lee and Peter Thiel Backing
7:53 Treasury vs. ETF vs. Just Holding ETH
11:58 Why Treasuries Are Booming
16:51 New Debt Instruments & Appetite
22:00 Leverage, Rehypothecation & Risk Controls
29:50 The Big Unlock: ETH as High-Quality Collateral
34:35 Stablecoins → DeFi → ETH Flywheel
38:55 “ETH Is the Next Bitcoin?”
54:51 Why ETH Lagged BTC
56:05 ETH vs BTC Treasuries: Yield Surface
1:01:33 Why Electric Capital Runs Deployment
1:03:45 Buy Rules: Time vs. Price
1:09:00 Attention Matters: Spokesperson & Community
1:13:24 What “Winning” Looks Like for ETHZilla
1:17:59 Where Are We in the Cycle?
1:26:12 DeFi Afterboom?
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RESOURCES
Maria Shen’s “Beyond Stablecoins” Report
https://x.com/MariaShen/status/1942658782439395815
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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Will Crypto Peak in 2025 or 2026? Onchain Data Signals | Michael Nadeau’s DeFi Report #5
Crypto cycles have always topped on a four-year rhythm, but are we heading for a Q4 2025 peak or an extended run into 2026?
Michael Nadeau from The DeFi Report joins Ryan to break down the onchain and macro signals shaping this cycle. We cover Powell’s dovish pivot at Jackson Hole, global liquidity trends, and why loosening bank lending standards could fuel risk-on markets. Michael explains how whale Bitcoin selling, ETH’s breakout, and muted altcoin flows fit into the bigger cycle map. Finally, we dive into portfolio strategy, from core holdings to high-beta “hot sauce” bets, and why holding fewer, higher-conviction assets is the edge most investors miss.
Michael Nadeau & The DeFi Report:
https://x.com/JustDeauIt
https://thedefireport.io
https://thedefireport.io/research/how-many-assets-should-you-hold-in-a-crypto-portfolio#closing-thoughts
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
3:01 Global Liquidity Insights
6:44 Market Valuations Discussion
9:53 Lending Standards & Bank Activity
11:49 Powell's Impact on Markets
15:34 Inflation and Market Psychology
17:38 Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index
18:58 Long-term vs Short-term Holders
22:45 Realized Price vs Market Value
26:34 Altcoin Market Dynamics
31:19 Extended Cycle vs Classic Cycle
35:06 Portfolio Construction Strategies
39:27 Core vs Non-Core Asset Holdings
43:10 High Beta Assets Explained
45:54 Cash Allocation Strategies
54:05 Upcoming Research and Reports
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
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Canada - english