Bankless

Jasmine Sun, a writer on AI, tech, and politics, unpacks the rise of AI populism and why backlash is forming across odd coalitions. She explores protests over data centers, targeted political messaging, and whether jobs, inequality, and SuperPAC money could make AI a 2028 flashpoint. Expect a brisk tour of political maps, labor risk scenarios, and policy ideas to soften the shock.

Michael Nadeau, researcher and host of The DeFi Report, studies macro, crypto and TradFi interplay. He explores why Bitcoin is tracking the NASDAQ and whether today’s AI surge is a sustainable leg up or a frothy finish. They compare this boom to 1999, probe profit margins and concentration in top tech names, and list market signals to watch if the bubble keeps inflating or reverses.

Ari Redbord, former DOJ national security prosecutor and now global head of policy at a blockchain analytics firm, breaks down North Korea’s state-run crypto crime machine. He walks through the Drift hack, how DPRK launderers use mixers, THORChain, OTCs and Chinese networks, and why real-time alerts, DeFi hardening, and offensive cyber may be needed to fight back.

Markets and crypto rallying with Bitcoin tracking the Nasdaq. AI-driven chip and infrastructure gains fueling record earnings. Debate over market froth, debt, and major investors selling. Geopolitical oil moves and yield impacts. CLARITY Act progress and stablecoin yield limits. Big VC raises amid layoffs and talk of selling Bitcoin. L1 Ethereum scaling and DAO legal risks.

Tyler Maroney, a private investigator who led the field for Finding Satoshi, and Bill Cohan, a bestselling financial journalist who shaped the narrative. They walk through a four-year probe into Bitcoin’s creator. Short scenes cover investigative methods, cypherpunk roots, why the identity still matters, the reveal pointing to Hal Finney and Len Sassaman, and the strange afterlives of privacy and money.

Markets surge despite $120 oil and escalating conflict near the Strait of Hormuz. The AI boom is overpowering macro risks and driving big tech rallies. A wave of trillion-dollar IPOs raises questions about market tops. DeFi pulled off a massive community bailout after a major exploit. Stablecoins and on‑chain tools move further into mainstream finance.

Lei (technical lead) builds MegaETH’s low-latency L2 architecture and sequencer tech. Shuyao (product lead) designs token strategy, KPIs, and USDM stablecoin plans. They discuss KPI-locked launches and the ten-app milestone, USDM as a revenue engine, co-location and proximity markets for low-latency trading, composability vs appchains, and preparing the chain for AI agents.

Rory Johnston, an independent oil analyst and author of Commodity Context, explains why the Hormuz crisis could become the largest oil shock in history. He breaks down how oil moves, why inventories and futures matter, and how chokepoints and reroutes are draining supply. He outlines price paths, the $200 oil scenario, and the geopolitical and economic knock‑on risks.

Jordi Visser, investor and writer linking AI, macro, and crypto, argues AI is reshaping moats and pushing capital to scarce assets like Bitcoin. He connects AI-driven compute constraints to inflation swings. He discusses why stocks may struggle, how cycles could be muted, and which crypto and hardware sectors still have upside.

They unpack a $300M DeFi exploit and the protocol failures that allowed cross-chain theft. They debate the controversial decision to freeze funds on Arbitrum and on-chain intervention ethics. They discuss whether AI will cause deflation or worsen inequality. They explore a new bullish thesis comparing ETH to other money-like assets.