Episodes

  • ROLLUP: Gold & BTC ATH | AI Bubble or Debasement Trade? | BNB Surge | $2B Polymarket Deal

    ROLLUP: Gold & BTC ATH | AI Bubble or Debasement Trade? | BNB Surge | $2B Polymarket Deal
    Oct 10 2025
    Gold shatters $4,000, Bitcoin quietly hits new all-time highs, and Wall Street just made its biggest bet yet on prediction markets. In this week’s Weekly Rollup, we break down why the debasement trade is heating up, how the AI bubble is shaping markets, and what it all means for crypto’s next move. We cover BNB’s explosive run to the #3 spot, ICE’s $2B investment in Polymarket, and ETH staking ETFs officially going live. Plus, Solana ETF approval looks imminent, Asian capital rotates onchain, and Galaxy steps back into retail with a familiar face at the helm. ------ 📣IMMUNEFI | CRYPTO SECURITY OS https://bankless.cc/Immunefi ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, EARN https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🌳KGEN | REQUEST A DEMO https://bankless.cc/KGEN-podcast 🐂BULLISH | TRADING COMPETITION https://bankless.cc/trading-competition 💠BIT DIGITAL ($BTBT) | ETH TREASURY https://bankless.cc/bit-digital We’re being compensated by Bit Digital (NASDAQ BTBT) for this segment promoting their company and BTBT. The compensation is paid in cash as a one time payment. You can find additional information about Bit Digital and BTBT on their Investor page at https://bit-digital.com/investors ------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 0:00 Intro 3:31 Markets https://www.theblock.co/post/373369/bitcoin-hits-new-all-time-high-crosses-125000-for-the-first-time-as-uptober-momentum-builds https://x.com/RayDalio/status/1973766977421275598 https://x.com/BTC_Archive/status/1975562328377528702 https://x.com/jvb_xyz/status/1975047567852671125 https://x.com/matthew_sigel/status/1976251057421647886 https://www.coinglass.com/bull-market-peak-signals https://x.com/Grayscale/status/1975262626377834938 https://x.com/joechalom/status/1975251314117648420 https://x.com/TheCryptoLark/status/1975147566351237315 https://x.com/EricBalchunas/status/1976037299373646270 21:56 Gold ATH, Equities at ATH and PTJ is calling out the AI bubble! https://x.com/elerianm/status/1975782709084500136 https://companiesmarketcap.com/assets-by-market-cap/#google_vignette https://x.com/SpencerHakimian/status/1975608283751981521 https://x.com/FluentInFinance/status/1975704684808560774 https://x.com/lisaabramowicz1/status/1975121018428809484 https://x.com/noahkaufmanmd/status/1975930839201702195 https://x.com/1MarkMoss/status/1973775891626164276 https://thedefireport.io/research/does-bitcoin-follow-gold#correlation-analysis https://x.com/esaagar/status/1975290951787745581 https://x.com/spikedoanz/status/1975806155470635429 https://x.com/MauiBoyMacro/status/1975589846971523102 https://x.com/pumatheuma/status/1976085531500200220?s=46 https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/06/cnbc-transcript-tudor-investments-founder-cio-paul-tudor-jones-on-squawk-box-today.html https://x.com/AltcoinDaily/status/1975363814167380090 https://x.com/dgt10011/status/1975353090128638415 https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1975560592166355425 41:48 Why is BNB pumping! https://imgur.com/a/4d6Pnb3 https://x.com/cz_binance/status/1975595775540257262 https://defillama.com/chain/bsc https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1975601864423940288 https://x.com/TheCryptoDog/status/1975602134189285606 https://x.com/mattyboomboom/status/1975888004074922144 https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1975909116431515777 https://x.com/eugenegeu/status/1975110416876577133 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cz-returns-binance-speculations-getting-105754644.html 49:17 ICE - NYSE parent company is investing into Polymarket & Distributing Polymarket - $2 billion https://x.com/polymarket/status/1975528768039985449?s=46 https://x.com/CoinDesk/status/1975935472586125456 https://x.com/shayne_coplan/status/1975534265698812046 https://x.com/shayne_coplan/status/1975994093529690405?s=46 51:20 Galaxy launched Galaxy One https://x.com/galaxyhq/status/1975173116428234999 https://x.com/GalaxyOneZac/status/1975140872753999932 https://www.tradingview.com/chart/1CDu50yK/?symbol=NASDAQ%3AGLXY https://x.com/solspacecadet/status/1975262934797353010 56:11 Monad Airdrop Claim Portal incoming Tuesday Oct 14th https://x.com/monad/status/1976279260869619994 https://dropstab.com/coins/monad 57:40 3 things Ryan is excited about: https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1976044336111341719 https://x.com/Jrag0x/status/1976180218814660675 https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1975948961845538985 https://x.com/maxbranzburg/status/1975214629552091239 https://blog.ethereum.org/2025/10/08/privacy-commitment https://notes.ethereum.org/@niard/KohakuRoadmap https://beta.walletbeat.eth.limo/wallet/summary/ 1:02:18 Moment of Zen https://x.com/cocothecorncob/status/1975373485410033673 1:02:45 Closing & Disclaimers ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠
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  • The Bull Case For Prediction Markets | Ryan & David

    The Bull Case For Prediction Markets | Ryan & David
    Oct 9 2025
    In this episode of Bankless, Ryan and David dive into prediction markets and their place in today’s financial landscape. They unpack how peer-to-peer markets differ from traditional sportsbooks, spotlighting Polymarket and Kalshi, and explore scalability, regulation, and societal impact. Are these markets tools for informed decision-making or just another gambling avenue? ------ 📣BANKLESS SUMMIT 2025 | SPONSORED BY M0 https://bankless.cc/summit-2025 https://bankless.cc/M0 ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, EARN https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🌳KGEN | REQUEST A DEMO https://bankless.cc/KGEN-podcast 🐂BULLISH | TRADING COMPETITION https://bankless.cc/trading-competition 💠BIT DIGITAL ($BTBT) | ETH TREASURY https://bankless.cc/bit-digital We’re being compensated by Bit Digital (NASDAQ BTBT) for this segment promoting their company and BTBT. The compensation is paid in cash as a one time payment. You can find additional information about Bit Digital and BTBT on their Investor page at https://bit-digital.com/investors ------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 0:00 Intro to Prediction Markets 2:43 Bankless Summit Announcement 5:32 How Prediction Markets Work 8:06 Who the Big Players Are 14:31 Kalshi’s Breakout and U.S. Access 19:08 Prediction Markets as Media 20:27 How Big Are They Right Now https://x.com/Polymarket/status/1975528768039985449 https://x.com/shayne_coplan/status/1975534265698812046 https://www.tradingview.com/chart/?symbol=NASDAQ%3ADKNG 26:17 Where This Is Headed https://x.com/Domahhhh/status/1973576583064567961 26:40 Sportsbooks vs. Prediction Markets https://www.tradingview.com/chart/?symbol=NASDAQ%3ADKNG https://www.tradingview.com/chart/?symbol=NYSE%3AFLUT 31:43 Why Sportsbooks Are Systemically Unfair 39:10 Rules, Regulators, & Court Fights 54:43 Why This Matters for Society 1:00:31 Wrap Up & What to Watch Next ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠
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  • Why China Builds Faster Than America & The Rest of the World | Dan Wang

    Why China Builds Faster Than America & The Rest of the World | Dan Wang
    Oct 8 2025
    Why does China build so much faster—and what does that reveal about two very different ways of running a society? Ryan and David sit down with Dan Wang, author of Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future, to unpack China’s “engineers-in-charge” model versus America’s “lawyerly” governance. We cover how this shapes daily life and growth (from subways and high-speed rail to batteries, EVs, and drones), common western misconceptions about China (surveillance, social credit, “imminent collapse”), why U.S. capital markets soar while Chinese manufacturing dominates, what an American “abundance agenda” could look like, and Dan’s closing prescription: the U.S. needs ~20% more engineering; China needs ~50% more rights-protecting legalism. ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, EARN https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🌳KGEN | REQUEST A DEMO https://bankless.cc/KGEN-podcast 🐂BULLISH | TRADING COMPETITION https://bankless.cc/trading-competition 💠BIT DIGITAL ($BTBT) | ETH TREASURY https://bankless.cc/bit-digital We’re being compensated by Bit Digital (NASDAQ BTBT) for this segment promoting their company and BTBT. The compensation is paid in cash as a one time payment. You can find additional information about Bit Digital and BTBT on their Investor page at https://bit-digital.com/investors ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:45 US Lawyers vs China Builders 8:50 Becoming Elite in China vs US 14:55 Motivating Forces 18:26 China’s Misconceptions 24:38 Protests in China 26:00 US vs China Innovation 27:59 Digital Authoritarianism 34:49 Social Credit System? 36:51 Will China Collapse? 42:53 China & Crypto 47:59 China’s Capital Markets 49:46 Path to Wealth 54:29 Property Rights 58:49 Stock Price vs Productivity 1:02:35 The 1960s 1:04:56 Abundance Agenda 1:06:51 US Weakness Relative to China 1:10:53 The Best of Both Worlds 1:13:43 Is China a Security Threat? 1:14:52 US Manufacturing Comeback? 1:20:20 US Global Talent Hub 1:25:07 China’s US Misconceptions 1:27:03 US Success Scenario 1:29:39 Closing & Disclaimers ------ RESOURCES Dan Wang https://x.com/danwwang Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future https://www.amazon.com/Breakneck-Chinas-Quest-Engineer-Future/dp/1324106034 ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠
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  • LIMITLESS: We Interviewed The Team Behind ChatGPT's #1 Feature

    LIMITLESS: We Interviewed The Team Behind ChatGPT's #1 Feature
    Oct 7 2025
    OpenAI’s personalization leads, Christina Kaplan and Samir Ahmed map the shift from an “assistant with a notebook” to Pulse—the part of ChatGPT that quietly preps your day while you sleep. We unpack how short- and long-term memory work across sessions and why April’s subtle update changed the experience, show how daytime chats stay aligned with overnight prep, and close on the big questions: privacy, consent, and why this is an assistant/representative—not a digital clone. ------ 💫 LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE https://pod.link/1813210890 https://youtube.com/watch?v=cDrllt2zn5M ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 1:03 Why Memory Mattered 6:00 User Reception 9:45 Under the Hood: Short vs Long Term 12:20 Behavior Shift & Data Strategy 20:26 What is Pulse? ------ RESOURCES Christina Kaplan https://x.com/ChristinaHartW Samir Ahmed https://x.com/PageOfSamir ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠
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  • The Art of Spending Money: How to Get Rich and STAY Rich | Morgan Housel

    The Art of Spending Money: How to Get Rich and STAY Rich | Morgan Housel
    Oct 6 2025
    How do you spend money in ways that actually make life better? Morgan Housel, author of the new book The Art of Spending Money, explores status vs. satisfaction, the hedonic treadmill, and why money’s best use is buying independence. We also cover quiet compounding, a practical 15-stage path to financial freedom, when to spend vs. save, helping kids without spoiling them, and small experiments that raise the utility of every dollar. ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, EARN https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🌳KGEN | REQUEST A DEMO https://bankless.cc/KGEN-podcast 🐂BULLISH | U.S. EXCHANGE LAUNCH https://bankless.cc/bullish 💠BIT DIGITAL ($BTBT) | ETH TREASURY https://bankless.cc/bit-digital We’re being compensated by Bit Digital (NASDAQ BTBT) for this segment promoting their company and BTBT. The compensation is paid in cash as a one time payment. You can find additional information about Bit Digital and BTBT on their Investor page at https://bit-digital.com/investors ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 2:29 Who’s The Book For? 5:49 There’s No Universal Formula 12:59 What People Want 19:36 Money as a Curse 22:03 Taking a Step Off 26:59 Holding vs Spending 30:26 Identity Traps 33:50 Secret to Contentment 37:32 External vs Internal Benchmarks 40:41 Making an Impact 42:37 Social Debt 50:51 Quiet Compounding 55:10 Financial Freedom 1:02:20 Money & Parenting 1:09:48 Balancing Saving & Spending 1:14:44 Small Purchases 1:16:59 Trying New Things 1:19:29 Morgan’s Financial Decisions 1:21:37 Closing & Disclaimers ------ RESOURCES Morgan Housel https://x.com/morganhousel?lang=en The Art of Spending Money https://www.amazon.com/Art-Spending-Money-Simple-Choices/dp/0593716620 ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠
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  • ROLLUP: Uptober Rally | Tom Lee $1B ETH Buy | Vanguard Flips to Crypto | Stripe Stablecoin Play

    ROLLUP: Uptober Rally | Tom Lee $1B ETH Buy | Vanguard Flips to Crypto | Stripe Stablecoin Play
    Oct 3 2025
    In this week’s Weekly Rollup, Uptober kicks off with Bitcoin and Ethereum surging toward all-time highs as Tom Lee drops another $1B into ETH and Vanguard finally opens its doors to crypto ETFs. We cover Stripe’s push to break the Tether–Circle duopoly with its new stablecoin platform, Cloudflare’s surprising entry into onchain payments, and Swift teaming up with Consensys on blockchain rails. Plus, Zcash rockets 200%, Ethereum’s Lighter perps exchange goes live, and Circle sparks debate with plans for reversible USDC. --- 📣0G | CRYPTO X AI https://bankless.cc/OGAI --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, EARN https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🌳KGEN | REQUEST A DEMO https://bankless.cc/KGEN-podcast 🐂BULLISH | U.S. EXCHANGE LAUNCH https://bankless.cc/bullish 💠BIT DIGITAL ($BTBT) | ETH TREASURY https://bankless.cc/bit-digital *We’re being compensated by Bit Digital (NASDAQ BTBT) for this segment promoting their company and BTBT. The compensation is paid in cash as a one time payment. You can find additional information about Bit Digital and BTBT on their Investor page at https://bit-digital.com/investors* --- TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 0:00 Intro 3:38 U.S. Government Shutdown https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrj1znp0pyo 7:13 Markets https://x.com/pumatheuma/status/1973717212025553313 - ZK Szn?? https://x.com/CoinDesk/status/1971565473218113771 https://www.strategicethreserve.xyz/ https://www.bankless.com/read/news/another-week-another-buy-bitmine-stacks-234k-eth https://x.com/Jrag0x/status/1972643353918677497 https://x.com/smyyguy/status/1971585912602796266 https://x.com/fundstrat/status/1972948825578131523 https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/us-regulators-probe-stock-moves-before-companies-made-crypto-treasury-2025-09-26/ 24:57 Plasma nailed its go-to-market https://x.com/Plasma/status/1972660468561965173 https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/plasma https://defillama.com/chains https://blockworks-research.beehiiv.com/p/plasma-s-defi-shockwave https://x.com/lemiscate/status/1972337762205339788 https://x.com/ajwarner90/status/1972823448897634648 https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1973436365225468336 32:35 Everyone gets a Stablecoin! The duopoloy is dead! Phantom announced Cash stablecoin https://x.com/phantom/status/1973035201950617617 https://x.com/useCash/status/1973035307139477561 https://stripe.com/blog/introducing-open-issuance-from-bridge https://x.com/zcabrams/status/1973052207911129557 https://x.com/nic__carter/status/1973399535092171216 38:43 Cloudflare launched their own stablecoin on Base https://x.com/CoinbaseDev/status/1970477072792592484 https://x.com/eastdakota/status/1971226533831582073 https://x.com/Kira_sama/status/1971237126378504230 https://x.com/Rewkang/status/1970782770805813392 https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1973753405894992073 44:18 Lighter - Ethereum Zk Perps https://x.com/Lighter_xyz/status/1973508660061180363 https://defillama.com/protocol/lighter 50:06 More crypto TradFi mainstream! https://x.com/MorphoLabs/status/1972913932802421202 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/swift-teams-ethereum-software-giant-190506673.html https://www.theblock.co/post/372706/swift-blockchain-ledger-consensys https://x.com/Louis_Tellier/status/1973692818452337125 https://cointelegraph.com/news/circle-examines-reversible-stablecoin-transactions 57:36 With new Sora, the need for zk proving reality 100x-ed https://youtu.be/qeORiYlsEH4?t=374 https://x.com/pumatheuma/status/1973258262939312433 1:01:52 CEO of Polymarket gets flipped off https://x.com/shayne_coplan/status/1972675295564931242 https://x.com/nickpreszler/status/1972748902240780589 1:04:44 Closing, Disclaimers, & Moment of Zen https://x.com/coinbase/status/1972731382830072129 --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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  • The State of Authoritarian Tech | Steven Feldstein

    The State of Authoritarian Tech | Steven Feldstein
    Oct 2 2025
    Authoritarian regimes are upgrading their playbook — from surveillance cameras and spyware to algorithmic censorship and AI-driven policing. Steven Feldstein, senior fellow at Carnegie and author of The Rise of Digital Repression, joins Bankless to map the expanding world of repression technology. We cover everything from Nepal’s protest movement to China’s sophisticated censorship stack, the global spyware industry, and the unsettling rise of predictive policing and AI in warfare. Along the way, Feldstein explains how financial repression and social credit systems extend state power into the economic sphere — and where crypto fits into the story of resistance. 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, EARN https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR L2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🌳KGEN | REQUEST A DEMO https://bankless.cc/KGEN-podcast 🐂BULLISH | U.S. EXCHANGE LAUNCH https://bankless.cc/bullish 💠BIT DIGITAL ($BTBT) | ETH TREASURY https://bankless.cc/bit-digital We’re being compensated by Bit Digital (NASDAQ BTBT) for this segment promoting their company and BTBT. The compensation is paid in cash as a one time payment. You can find additional information about Bit Digital and BTBT on their Investor page at https://bit-digital.com/investors --- TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 1:54 The Toolkit of Digital Repression 4:22 Nepal Protests & Freedom Tech 13:32 China’s Integrated Control Playbook 19:48 Who Builds And Sells Repression 28:51 Vendors, Dual-Use, Governance Risks 36:04 Democracies Use These Tools Too 45:00 AI Supercharges Repression 51:57 Crushing Mobilization & 3.5% Rule 58:55 Blunt Backfires, Iran Copies China 1:07:43 How Repression Tech Spreads 1:13:29 Financial Repression, Crypto Workarounds 1:18:48 How To Resist, Practically 1:23:44 Closing Thoughts --- RESOURCES Steven Feldstein https://x.com/stevejfeldstein The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance https://stevejfeldstein.com/ --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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  • Was That the Top? Bitcoin, ETH, & Q4 Setup | Michael Nadeau's DeFi Report #6

    Was That the Top? Bitcoin, ETH, & Q4 Setup | Michael Nadeau's DeFi Report #6
    Sep 30 2025
    Is this really the cycle top, or just a reset before Q4 fireworks? Michael Nadeau from The DeFi Report joins Ryan to decode the latest onchain and macro data. We dig into Bitcoin’s key levels, ETH’s $4K line, and why September’s liquidation event might have cleared the path for new highs in Q4. Michael explains what a “mini alt season” tells us about dominance, where fresh capital could come from, and how to think about positioning ahead of year-end. Michael Nadeau & The DeFi Report: https://x.com/JustDeauIt https://thedefireport.io/research/is-the-top-in —————— 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium —————— BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFi https://bankless.cc/Frax 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🎩DEGEN | JOIN THE COMMUNITY https://bankless.cc/degen 🌳KGEN | REQUEST A DEMO https://bankless.cc/KGEN-podcast 🏄SURF | UPGRADE YOUR CRYPTO RESEARCH https://bankless.cc/surf —————— TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Introduction to Crypto Fundamentals 1:43 Recapping the Summer Market 2:11 Analyzing the Mini Altcoin Season 6:54 Examining Long-Term Holder Behavior 7:35 Bitcoin vs. Altcoins: Market Dynamics 12:38 The Next Phase of the Cycle 14:41 Bitcoin's Critical Price Levels 17:12 Moving Averages: Key Indicators 20:40 Current State of the Altcoin Market 26:34 Insights on Ethereum’s Future 27:44 Liquidation Events and Market Sentiment 31:22 Understanding Global Liquidity 34:42 Macro Economic Outlook 38:41 Impact of Rate Cuts on Crypto 47:41 Future Capital Inflows into Crypto 49:37 Monitoring Market Cycles & Conditions 50:49 Closing & Disclaimers —————— Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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