On this week’s Weekly Rollup Ryan and David ask if the cycle top is in and whether alt season is coming, debating if it is time to buy the dip or sell everything while reviewing 30 market signals. ETH ETFs pull in over $3B as Tom Lee buys and Saylor mints more MicroStrategy shares, yet prices remain stuck and treasury premiums compress. Meanwhile the Fed signals a pro-crypto shift, Wyoming unveils a state stablecoin, and New York threatens new taxes, setting up another pivotal week in crypto.
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TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES
0:00 Intro
0:10 What if $124,000 was the cycle top and there won’t be an altseason?
https://x.com/QuintenFrancois/status/1957893416282648646
5:10 Markets
https://x.com/TheStalwart/status/1958179878940901700
https://x.com/TheStalwart/status/1958179988802302124
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/18/openai-sam-altman-warns-ai-market-is-in-a-bubble.html
https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/759965/sam-altman-openai-ai-bubble-interview
https://www.tradingview.com/chart/1RYLG2gC/
https://finance-commerce.com/2025/08/fed-rate-cut-debate-jobs-inflation/
https://polymarket.com/event/fed-decision-in-september?tid=1755697973403
https://farside.co.uk/eth/
https://x.com/hildobby/status/1957489251890962578
https://x.com/Cointelegraph/status/1957491638671949895
21:12 Treasuries keep buying…but mNAV losing it’s premium.. Is the treasury meta over?
Bitmine became the 2nd largest crypto treasury
https://x.com/SERdotxyz/status/1957417581138288945
https://x.com/arkham/status/1956387897830965711
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1957849710678384977
https://www.strategicethreserve.xyz/
https://x.com/Cointelegraph/status/1957623767443587218
https://www.tradingview.com/chart/1CDu50yK/?symbol=NASDAQ%3AETHZ
https://x.com/saylor/status/1957413273122287738
https://x.com/kale_abe/status/1957433733025288674
https://youtu.be/hEJueJxftuU?si=682aUZrlLGwuDDCg
https://blockworks.co/analytics/treasury-companies/bitcoin-treasury-companies
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/08/18/btcs-to-pay-first-ever-ether-dividend-loyalty-bonus-to-discourage-short-selling
41:00 Is the current crypto cycle over?
https://www.coinglass.com/bull-market-peak-signals
https://x.com/fejau_inc/status/1957672639054639465
https://x.com/nic__carter/status/1957875046002680141
https://x.com/NateGeraci/status/1957074513365016952
https://cointelegraph.com/news/norway-sovereign-wealth-fund-bitcoin-exposure
50:05 Gemini is getting ready for its IPO
https://www.theblock.co/post/367160/gemini-ipo-filing-exchange-targets-nasdaq-as-gemi-reveals-dip-in-revenue
51:06 New York proposed 0.2% tax on digital asset transactions starting September
https://x.com/Cointelegraph/status/1956423461342969915
53:43 Wyoming launched the first stablecoin issued by a US state
https://x.com/eleanorterrett/status/1957763504435524055
55:01 Exec director crypto whitehouse - Bo Hines left exchanged White House for Tether
https://tether.io/news/tether-appoints-former-white-house-crypto-council-executive-director-bo-hines-as-strategic-advisor-for-digital-assets-and-u-s-strategy/
57:35 SEC is investigating the CEO of WLFI treasury company
https://x.com/zoomerfied/status/1957856353537372614
https://x.com/ALT5_Sigma/status/1957946923647922519
https://x.com/Jonisaac702/status/1957903664393384023
59:04 FED is turning bullish on crypto
https://www.theblock.co/post/367508/we-stand-at-a-crossroads-feds-bowman-urges-more-of-an-embrace-toward-crypto-and-tech
1:02:05 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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Who Really Controls the Dollar? | Jeff Snider
What if everything you thought about the dollar was wrong?
Monetary historian Jeff Snider joins Bankless to deliver a radical thesis: the Federal Reserve doesn't control the U.S. dollar; a sprawling offshore system of interbank ledger money does. This hidden network, known as the Eurodollar system, is the real engine of global finance, and it’s been breaking down for over 15 years.
In this episode, we unpack how Eurodollars work, why the Fed lost control, the eerie similarities between stablecoins and shadow banking, and why Jeff sees a “Silent Depression,” masked by asset booms but driven by deflationary forces.
If you’ve been bullish on crypto because of debasement fears, Jeff’s counter-narrative might challenge everything you believe.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
5:30 Who’s Actually in Charge of the Dollar?
12:55 Stablecoins vs. Eurodollars
21:19 Did the Fed Ever Have Control?
30:02 Eurodollar Demand & Market Forces
38:24 What Backs a Eurodollar?
46:38 The Silent Depression Since 2008
52:58 From Fed Power to $6 Trillion Lost
58:45 Jeff’s Portfolio Thesis
1:05:24 “There’s No Debasement”
1:14:19 The Jeff Snider Portfolio
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RESOURCES
Jeff Snider
https://x.com/JeffSnider_EDU
Eurodollar University
https://www.eurodollar.university/
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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LIMITLESS: Aravind Srinivas: Perplexity CEO’s All-In Gamble to Take Down Google
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas joins the show to explore how AI agents, personalization, and new browsing models could transform the internet experience.
From replacing mundane workflows with proactive assistance to envisioning a fully AI-native operating system, Aravind shares his long-term vision, the thinking behind Perplexity’s new Comet browser, and why curiosity will remain humanity’s most valuable skill in the AI era.
We also dive into competing with Big Tech, protecting users from AI-generated “slop,” and the architectural choices that make AI-assisted browsing faster, more reliable, and more personal.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
9:58 Curiosity as the Key Human Advantage
15:26 From Keywords to Questions
21:35 Personalization and Agency in Browsing
27:13 Keeping Humans in the Loop
32:30 Why People Love Perplexity
38:35 Comet - The AI Browser
47:24 The Browser vs. Agent Debate
57:16 Competing with Big Tech
1:01:26 The OS Endgame
1:08:48 Closing Thoughts
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RESOURCES
Aravind Srinivas
https://x.com/AravSrinivas
Perplexity
https://www.perplexity.ai/
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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Why Passive Investors Lose | Contrarian Investor Michael Green
Contrarian strategist Michael Green lays out why “passive” isn’t passive at all—it’s a flow-driven algorithm, turbocharged by policy, that funnels capital into mega-caps, starves small caps, and raises the odds of market non-clearing shocks.
We unpack Sharpe’s arithmetic vs. rebalancing reality, lessons from Volmageddon, the aging of investor cohorts, why stress may be deflationary before inflationary, and how to “doom-proof” a portfolio with assets that throw off cash (including overlooked duration/TIPS and munis).
Michael also separates crypto’s burn-it-down narrative from its true promise: tokenized, programmable securities that fix TradFi’s paper plumbing.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
4:52 Finance Twitter vs Crypto Twitter
6:42 Fundamentals vs Narrative
9:53 Passive Index Investing
22:12 Message for Passive Investors
28:43 Market Cap vs FDV
30:23 Large Cap Dominance
40:45 Other Distortions
43:40 Volmageddon
50:14 Demographics
55:17 Passive Doom-Proof Portfolio
1:04:15 Currency Collapse
1:09:51 Gold & Precious Metals
1:15:58 Bitcoin vs Gold
1:18:29 Ray Dalio Debt Cycles
1:22:43 Stablecoins & Tokenization
1:28:53 Message to the Listeners
1:34:32 Action Items
1:35:28 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Michael Green
https://x.com/profplum99
Michael’s Substack
https://www.yesigiveafig.com/subscribe?coupon=879f4ac8
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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ROLLUP: BTC ATH & ETH Near ATH | Stripe & Circle L1s | Monero 51% Attack
On this week’s Weekly Rollup, ETH flirts with ATH while BTC tags a new one, PPI spooks then fades? Ryan and david dig into a $1B ETH ETF day, Tom Lee’s 1M ETH treasury, and the ETH/BTC setup. Also, Stripe and Circle launch L1s, Coinbase routes Aerodrome in-app, Uniswap’s Wyoming DUNA and fee switch path, Monero’s 51% attack, plus quick hits on Do Kwon and bank pushback on the Genius Act.
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TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES
0:00 Intro
4:01 PPI Volatility & Markets
https://x.com/fundstrat/status/1955995766742192612
https://x.com/fundstrat/status/1955992342453772783
https://polymarket.com/event/fed-decision-in-september?tid=1755177801833
https://x.com/DegenerateNews/status/1955763404733603857
https://companiesmarketcap.com/assets-by-market-cap/
https://x.com/CoinMarketCap/status/1955457154686849099
https://x.com/nilesh_rohilla/status/1954190478712164631
https://www.theblock.co/post/366734/standard-chartered-analysts-raise-ethereum-year-end-price-target
https://farside.co.uk/eth/
https://x.com/NateGeraci/status/1955100618088972649
https://decrypt.co/334366/harvard-116-million-blackrock-bitcoin-etf
https://x.com/BitcoinPierre/status/1955433791805329825
https://x.com/BitcoinPierre/status/1955493635119780321
https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1955980017315295514
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/13/crypto-exchange-bullish-more-than-doubles-in-nyse-debut-after-pricing-ipo-above-expected-range.html
https://x.com/hosseeb/status/1955815228245205461
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1954876419261010119
https://x.com/tedpillows/status/1955283896049807480?
https://www.strategicethreserve.xyz/
https://x.com/CryptoGucci/status/1955339759917646012
https://www.bankless.com/read/ethzilla-shares-surge-after-peter-thiel-takes-7-5-stake
https://x.com/MikeIppolito_/status/1955606885442179298
https://x.com/JasonYanowitz/status/1956001519095947593
https://x.com/StoryProtocol/status/1954885593286238460
https://x.com/JasonYanowitz/status/1954890658155545074
https://x.com/EricTrump/status/1955653873730720202
https://x.com/EricTrump/status/1955324074684518557
37:07 Stablecoin big boys launching their own L1s
https://x.com/circle/status/1955246636223135976
https://x.com/adamscochran/status/1955257074318823568
https://x.com/jgarzik/status/1955270849595937091
https://x.com/jgarzik/status/1955270849595937091
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1955011330777497987:
https://x.com/chuk_xyz/status/1955064401490280721
https://x.com/100y_eth/status/1955081750683766805
https://x.com/CampbellJAustin/status/1955240962038349995
https://x.com/cherdougie/status/1955383195609993270
47:36 Banks demand the exclusion for yield-bearing stablecoins in the GENIUS
https://x.com/jchervinsky/status/1955763041594958175
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/08/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-guarantees-fair-banking-for-all-americans/
52:22 Scott Bessent - Strategic Bitcoin Reserve update…it’s not great
https://x.com/watcherguru/status/1955987518509154717
54:01 ETH, Coinbase, & Uniswap
https://x.com/AerodromeFi/status/1953853358575587631
https://x.com/wagmiAlexander/status/1955101747082309745
https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1955268909294068192
https://www.theblock.co/data/crypto-markets/public-companies/coinbase-total-volume
https://www.theblock.co/post/366257/uniswap-foundation-eyes-protocol-fee-switch-with-propose
https://gov.uniswap.org/t/foundation-feedback-group-ffg-thread/25549/10
https://x.com/SenLummis/status/1954950030306968055
https://x.com/unichain/status/1955978120269312280
58:54 Do Kwon pleaded guilty
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/do-kwon-pleads-guilty-us-fraud-charges-40-billion-crypto-collapse-2025-08-12/
1:00:48 Monero getting 51% attacked - now controls over 51% of Monero hashrate
https://x.com/caffeinateduser/status/1954999609039917448
https://x.com/PixOnChain/status/1955738903895531893
1:05:30 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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