The crypto world was shaken this weekend when Donald Trump and Melania Trump launched their own memecoins, ahead of Trump’s inauguration as president. 

Financial analyst Lyn Alden joins Laura to explain why she’s not a fan of memecoins, neutral on a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve, and doubtful the U.S. can disrupt itself even as Bitcoin, crypto and blockchain technology hold the possibilities of upending the geopolitical world order.

Discussing everything from rising tariffs to reshoring strategies, Lyn offers a sharp analysis of the U.S. fiscal and monetary outlook and explains why she believes fiscal policy now overshadows monetary policy. Plus, hear her take on the TikTok ban debate, her skepticism that Bitcoin’s future security could be at risk as the block subsidy decreases, and her Bitcoin projection for 2025.

Show highlights:

• 02:13 Why Lyn is not supportive of the launch of Trump’s and Melania’s memecoins
• 10:01 Whether Trump should airdrop his memecoin to U.S. citizens
• 11:47 Why a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve sparks debate over its potential to devalue the dollar, reshape trade deficits, and challenge the global reserve currency system
• 25:09 How bitcoin’s rise as a neutral reserve asset could shape a multi-polar world
• 27:23 Why she thinks addressing U.S. fiscal issues may require the reshoring of industry and rethinking the dollar system
• 31:22Why Lyn thinks rising tariffs could disrupt global trade, but might also make the government less able to rely on taxation in a world of portable capital and growing privacy tools
• 35:16 Whether DOGE will be bearish for bitcoin
• 39:39 Why Lyn feels that Scott Bessent’s “3-3-3 Plan” faces challenges
• 42:29 Why fiscal policy now overshadows monetary policy, according to Lyn
• 48:21 What the TikTok ban debate reveals to Lyn about government control and the push for decentralized social media
• 52:31 Lyn’s take on MSTR’s plan to increase the number of shares
• 54:56 Lyn’s view on OP_CAT and bitcoin soft forks
• 57:20 Why Lyn doesn’t think that declining subsidies pose a problem for bitcoin’s security
• 1:05:59 Why Lyn doesn’t see value in other sectors of crypto, such as DeFi, aside from Bitcoin and stablecoins
• 1:09:15 Lyn’s projection for the price of bitcoin in 2025

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Somnia Network
• Polkadot

Guest:

• Lyn Alden, founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy
• Previous appearances on Unchained:
• Does Maximalism Help or Hurt Bitcoin? Lyn Alden and Udi Wertheimer Debate
• How Will Inflation Impact Crypto?
• Is Ethereum a Good Investment? 
• Why Bitcoin Now: Meltem Demirors and Lyn Alden on the Perfect Conditions for Bitcoin

Links

• Trump’s announcement of a memecoin 
• Unchained: TRUMP Memecoin Soars Then Sinks as MELANIA Launches
• Balaji’s tweet on the proposal of airdropping $TRUMP
• Unchained: A Bitcoin Strategic Reserve for the U.S.? Senator Cynthia Lummis Reveals Her Bill
• Bloomberg: MicroStrategy May Soon Rival Amazon, Alphabet in Common Shares - 
• Unchained: What Is the OP_CAT Bitcoin Improvement Proposal? - Unchained
• Unchained: Bitcoin Layer 2s Aim to Attract Ethereum-Like Dapps. Will They Succeed? - Ep.638

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This week, Sony launched the mainnet for Soneium, its Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain built on the OP Stack from Optimism. Soneium is designed to support creators, developers, and fans through tools like Sony’s NFT-based Fan Marketing Platform and Soneium Spark.

However, Soneium’s launch has sparked controversy. Its decision to blacklist some memecoins—over intellectual property concerns—has raised questions about the balance between decentralization and protecting creators’ rights. Even Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin weighed in, highlighting the tradeoffs businesses face in Web3.

Sota Watanabe, CEO at Startale, took a quick interview to clear up the misunderstanding about IP infringement. He also explains the vision for the platform and what’s next for Soneium in entertainment and finance.

Plus, at the end of the episode, Laura speaks to Ari Gore, head of communications at Zengo Wallet, about protecting your private keys and your cryptocurrencies from natural disasters.

Show highlights:

• 01:52 Why Sony decided to launch a layer 2 on Ethereum
• 05:39 How Soneium will work with creators to support them
• 11:29 Sota’s response to the backlash about blacklisting memecoins
• 18:46 How Soneium’s technical implementation protects IP rights
• 23:56Why Soneium attracts people from certain demographics
• 27:05 What the L2 blockchain will focus on next
• 27:05 Tips to protect your crypto safe from natural disasters
• 34:47 News Recap

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Stellar Build Better
• Quai Network
• Polkadot

Guests

• Sota Watanabe, CEO at Startale
• Ari Gore, head of communications at Zengo Wallet

Links

• Soneium Mainnet: Invoking Emotion And Empowering Creativity
• Tweet by PopPunkOnChain
• Tweet by 0xKawz
• Tweet by Vitalik 
• Tweet by donnoh_eth
• Soneium's Philosophy for Responsible Innovation

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, we’re joined by Guy Young, CEO and founder of Ethena Labs, to break down the hard truths behind DeFi’s most recent chaos. We dive into the USD0++ depeg and its ripple effects across the ecosystem, exploring what went wrong and the critical lessons for the future of stable assets. Plus, we discuss Ethena’s meteoric rise, Guy’s vision for synthetic dollars, and how innovative yield strategies are reshaping DeFi. Stay tuned as we debate, analyze, and uncover the hidden forces shaping crypto today.

Show highlights

🔹 USD0++ Depeg Drama: A deep dive into what caused the USD0++ depeg, the mechanics behind the chaos, and the broader implications for DeFi.

🔹 Lessons on Risk Transparency: Why sudden rule changes eroded trust and how protocols can improve communication to avoid similar fallout.

🔹 Ethena’s Rise and Vision: Guy Young shares the story of Ethena’s explosive growth, its innovative synthetic dollar model, and its role in DeFi’s evolution.

🔹 The Yield Dilemma: Exploring how Ethena’s yield model works, its appeal, and the risks it carries for users and the ecosystem.

🔹 DeFi’s Distribution Problem: Why centralized exchanges remain the key to scaling synthetic assets and stablecoins like Ethena’s USD.

🔹 Transparency vs. Overconfidence: Drawing lessons from Luna’s downfall and how Ethena’s approach to clear communication sets a new standard.

🔹 Athena’s 2025 Roadmap: From DeFi integrations to TradFi adoption, what’s next for Ethena as it scales synthetic dollars globally.

🔹 Reflections on Building in DeFi: Guy Young opens up about the challenges, surprises, and rewards of leading one of DeFi’s fastest-growing projects.

🔹 2025 Predictions: The crew debates who might become this year’s “main character” in crypto and what that could mean for the market.

Hosts

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Guest

⭐️Guy Young, CEO & Founder of Ethena Labs

Disclosures

Timestamps 

00:00 Intro

01:30 Changes to Usual Money’s Protocol

06:05 Reactions & Analysis

09:12 Lessons from USD0 

18:35 Transparency vs. Miscommunication

22:42 Ethena: A DeFi Success Story

32:12 Demand for Stablecoins & Yield

36:40 Custody & Market Structure Post-FTX

43:58 Handling Negative Yields and Market Corrections

48:22 Ethena's Roadmap and Future Plans

55:53 Reflections on Building Ethena

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This week, Bloomberg’s James Seyffart, Lumida’s Ram Ahluwalia, and guest Tom Dunleavy explore whether the “Fed pivot” is officially dead, how AI will impact the job market, and what Tether’s move to El Salvador means for U.S. stablecoin policy.

They also debate whether bitcoin could ever be a risk-off asset, how sovereign nations might already be accumulating BTC, and what the Coinbase legal win against the SEC signals for the future.

Plus, why volatility is still king in crypto and what lies ahead for the global markets.

Show highlights:

• 02:12 Whether the “Fed pivot” is officially dead and whether rate cuts are coming
• 08:37 What the impact of AI will be on the jobs market
• 13:27 Why the markets have been chopping so much and whether it’s the bottom
• 18:00 What Trump could achieve for the crypto industry in his first 100 days
• 23:02 Whether the US sold the Silk Road bitcoin
• 25:27 Why bitcoin will not be a risk-off asset in the near term according to Tom and Ram
• 31:08 Whether sovereign nations have already started buying bitcoin
• 36:49 Why Tether moving to El Salvador is a loss to the U.S., according to Ram
• 40:26 How the L.A. fires will have an impact on the political landscape in the U.S.
• 52:06 How Coinbase just achieved a “huge win” against the SEC

Sponsors:

• Stellar Build Better
• 
  

Hosts:

• James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
• Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

Guest:

• Tom Dunleavy, Partner at Master Ventures

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In October, the crypto industry saw a jaw-dropping acquisition: Bridge, a stablecoin-focused company, was bought by Web2 payments giant Stripe for $1.1 billion.

Now, three months later, Bridge co-founder Zach Abrams opens up about the wild journey that led to this moment, from navigating collapses like Terra’s UST and USDC’s depegging, to securing compliance and fraud prevention as core priorities.

Zach also delves into his vision for the future of stablecoins, whether the U.S. dollar will continue to dominate, and why global financial infrastructure needs an upgrade.

Plus, he recounts how timing and resilience helped Bridge stand out amidst massive industry challenges.

Show highlights:

• 01:49The problems of the payments system and how stablecoins could solve them
• 13:35 What Bridge is, how it works and what types of consumers it serves
• 19:33 What significant inconveniences Bridge found throughout its journey
• 25:56 How Zach’s background in Coinbase influenced the launch of Bridge
• 30:20 Whether there will be multiple stablecoins or just a couple of winners
• 33:49 How Bridge worked with their customers to improve its product
• 39:35 The story of how Bridge was acquired by Stripe for $1.1 billion
• 46:37 Whether its dependence on banks is a problem for Bridge
• 53:02 How Bridge deals with fraud and compliance 
• 59:50 What Zach thinks about the competition in the stablecoin landscape
• 1:04:37 Why Zach believes that the fiat infrastructure landscape is still Bridge’s main competitor
• 1:10:08 Whether the U.S. dollar will remain the overwhelmingly predominant currency in stablecoins

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Stellar Build Better
• Polkadot

Guest:

• Zach Abrams, Co-founder of Bridge

Links

• Recent coverage of Unchained on stablecoins:
• How This Stablecoin Business in Africa Is Taking on SWIFT and Big Banks
• Why Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev Is Betting Big on Crypto, Stablecoins, and Prediction Markets
• CNBC: Stripe's $1.1 billion deal for crypto firm Bridge marks much-needed win for VCs

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It’s been a tough week for the markets, with bitcoin gyrating from $102,400 to $92,000. 

Travis Kling, CIO of Ikigai Asset Management, shares his thoughts on the selloff, whether this market dip is a cause for alarm, and how macro factors like the Fed’s rate policy and ETF dynamics are shaping the landscape. 

Plus, he dives into the explosive growth of AI agents and why crypto investors should start paying attention to this new frontier. Could AI agents revolutionize crypto, or are we witnessing another bubble?

Show highlights:

• 01:49 Why Travis believes this market selloff was “abnormal”
• 04:31 Whether he thinks the DOJ will sell Silk Road’s $6 billion worth of BTC from Silk Road
• 07:36 Why Travis is supportive of a US bitcoin strategic reserve
• 17:15 Why inflation and policy shifts might keep Fed rates steady
• 22:30 What explains the significant outflows from bitcoin spot ETFs on Wednesday
• 24:37 Whether Travis thinks the AI agent rise is a bubble 

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Stellar Build Better
• Polkadot

Guest

• Travis Kling, Chief Investment Officer of Ikigai Asset Management
• Previous appearances on Unchained: 
• With Rate Cuts and Upcoming Elections, What’s the Best Play in Crypto?
• With the Merge, Will Ethereum Take Over Bitcoin’s Title as Digital Gold

Links

• Previous coverage of Unchained on AI agents:
• 2025 Will Be a Year of Crypto Competition. Can Ethereum Make a Comeback?
• With AI Agents Now Trading Crypto, What Does Their Future Look Like?

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, the crew dives deep into the FDIC’s alleged vendetta against crypto, whistleblower revelations, and the evolving dynamics of token distribution on platforms like Echo. Plus, we analyze the rise of crowdsales, explore the intersection of policy and crypto innovation, and reflect on our 2024 podcast stats with some friendly competition. 

Show highlights

🔹 FDIC Scandal Unveiled: The panel discusses the whistleblower claims against the FDIC, allegations of a vendetta against the crypto industry, and the fallout from newly unredacted FOIA documents.

🔹 Echo Crowdsale Platform: A deep dive into Echo’s rise as a preferred crowdsale platform, its competition with CoinList, and its innovative token distribution model.

🔹 Regulators Under Scrutiny: Insights into systemic issues within regulatory agencies like the FDIC and parallels drawn with other organizations like the FTC.

🔹 VC Sentiment and Crowdsales: The crew explores the tension between venture capitalists and crowdsale platforms, examining fairness, community building, and strategic distribution.

🔹 KOL Rounds vs. Community Fairness: A comparison of KOL rounds and Echo’s syndicate model in balancing fairness and hype in token distribution.

🔹 Token Distribution Dynamics: Analysis of how platforms like Echo incentivize participation and create new avenues for community engagement.

🔹 2024 Podcast Stats Recap: Fun insights into which hosts spoke the most, used the most filler words, and referenced Ethereum, Solana, or Bitcoin the most in 2024.

🔹 Predictions in Review: Early check-ins on 2025 predictions and how trends like DeSci and crowdsales are already shaping the year.

Hosts

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

Disclosures

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Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 mark, only to slump back down on Tuesday, sparking debates about what’s next for the crypto markets. In this episode, James Seyffart and Alex Kruger are joined by Charles Edwards of quant fund Capriole Investments to break down the macro trends shaping Bitcoin’s trajectory. From Trump’s inauguration to the Fed’s looming decisions on quantitative tightening, they analyze the key factors influencing risk assets. Plus, they unpack the premium on MicroStrategy’s BTC holdings, the future of AI agents in crypto and whether AI agent swarms might someday hire humans, and their bold predictions —supercycle? SOL ETFs?—for 2025.

Show highlights:

• 01:54 Why bitcoin broke the $100K level again
• 07:28 How the markets will react to the inauguration of Donald Trump as President
• 19:09 What factors will affect the Fed’s next decision on rates
• 26:38 What the premium of MSTR to its BTC holdings should be
• 34:37 Why they all hate the current version of AI agents
• 43:19 Why Charles likes Ethena and ENA
• 45:49 Alex’s and Charles’ thoughts on what to expect in 2025: supercycle incoming?
• 50:01 Alex’s analysis on the market corrections and what they teach us
• 57:34 Whether James believes the spot Solana ETF will be approved this year

Hosts:

• James Seyffart, Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
• Alex Kruger, Founder of Asgard

Guest:

• Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments 

Links

• Capriole Investments | Update #58
• MicroStrategy just bought another $100m in Bitcoin on path to $2bn spree – DL News
• With AI Agents Now Trading Crypto, What Does Their Future Look Like?

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Ethereum, once the undisputed leader in the smart contract ecosystem, is facing intense competition from Solana, which has outpaced Ethereum on key metrics such as developer growth. Meanwhile, debates rage within Ethereum’s community over governance, scalability, and the Ethereum Foundation’s leadership.

Adding to the disruption, AI agents are rapidly reshaping DeFi and token launches, reducing barriers to entry and creating new opportunities—and risks—for founders and investors. Is this the next big leap for crypto or just the latest bubble?

In this episode, Marc Zeller of Aave Chan Initiative and Kain Warwick of Infinex discuss Ethereum’s future, the role of AI in DeFi, and whether Solana’s momentum will continue. They also share bold predictions for crypto in 2025 and debate whether Ethereum’s fragmented ecosystem can still deliver on its promise.

Show highlights:

• 03:35 Why 2024 became a turning point for the crypto ecosystem
• 07:02 How AI agents could reshape onchain innovation and public discourse in 2025
• 14:47 Whether AI agents might soon compete with VCs
• 22:10 Why fundamentals-driven crypto projects will gradually dominate the market, according to Marc
• 26:05 Whether Solana will continue to steal Ethereum’s thunder
• 37:56 Is Base cannibalistic to Ethereum? Can Base or Ethereum compete with Solana?
• 42:53 Where the ETH ecosystem is headed and whether it can overcome issues of fragmentation, lack or interoperability, so many L2 tokens detracting from the ETH price
• 52:30 Whether Coinbase's deep commitment to Ethereum is causing it to discriminate against Solana
• 1:00:10 How Ethereum's reputation rises and falls with its price action, not its fundamentals, per Kain
• 1:08:43 What the purpose is of the Ethereum Foundation and whether it should change its approach
• 1:24:57 Why Kain doesn’t think the native rollups proposal is tenable 
• 1:31:12 Whether Ethena is depressing the price of ETH
• 1:34:00 What Kain and Marc think about crypto-specific phones, especially the Solana Seeker
• 1:42:07 Kain’s and Marc’s predictions for 2025

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Stellar Build Better 
• Robinhood & Arbitrum
• Kelp DAO
• Polkadot

Guests:

• Marc Zeller, founder of Aave Chan Initiative
• Kain Warwick, founder of Infinex

Links

• Unchained: Why Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev Is Betting Big on Crypto and Stablecoins
• Unchained: 2024 Was Solana's Best Year Yet. Can It Sustain the Momentum in 2025?
• Unchained: What's the Best Way for Ethereum to Grow? Two Ethereans Debate
• The Block: Long-running Ethereum newsletter shutting down, cites lack of funding
• Unchained: How Solana Beat Out Ethereum to Nab New Crypto Developers in 2024
• Evan Van Ness’ tweet on the newsletter shutdown 
• EF’s Josh Stark’s reply to Van Ness
• Unchained: Vitalik Has Gone 'Founder Mode.' Is This Just What Ethereum Needs?
• Marc’s proposal about the EF 
• 0xMawuko’s tweet on ETH governance 
• Unchained: Are Layer 2s Failing Ethereum? A New Proposal Advocates for Native L2s
• Ben Lilly’s tweet on Ethena possibly suppressing the price of ETH

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Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, the crew is joined by special guest Jansen, co-founder of Virtuals, the leading AI agent launchpad. Together, they dive into the $5 billion Virtuals craze, explore the explosive rise of tokenized AI agents like AIXBT, and debate how AI is reshaping DeFi and blockchain. From the clash between scarcity and abundance to the emergence of agentic societies and decentralized economies, this episode unpacks the key trends driving the next phase of crypto innovation.

Show highlights

🔹 AI and Crypto Convergence: The panel explores how AI agents are revolutionizing blockchain, tokenomics, and decentralized finance (DeFi).

🔹 Virtuals AI Launchpad: Jansen discusses Virtuals, a platform for tokenizing and crowdfunding AI-driven blockchain agents.

🔹 Autonomous AI Evolution: The rise of AI agents from basic chatbots to self-improving tools for crypto and DeFi applications.

🔹 Tokenized AI Agents: How agents like AIXBT generate revenue through trading, attention, and blockchain commerce.

🔹 Managing AI Risks: Insights into policy-based wallets and infrastructure to mitigate risks in autonomous crypto agents.

🔹 Decentralized Agent Societies: A vision for specialized AI agents collaborating in blockchain ecosystems.

🔹 Scarcity vs. Abundance in Crypto: Contrasting crypto’s scarcity-driven models with AI’s abundance and economic disruption.

🔹 AI Agent Backlash: Predictions of anti-AI sentiment as agents dominate Crypto Twitter and online communities.

🔹 Blockchain Verifiability: The role of cryptographic proofs in ensuring trust and security in AI-driven tokenized economies.

🔹 Future of AI in Crypto: Debates on sustainable applications for AI agents in trading, DeFi, and digital economies.

Hosts

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly 

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

Special Guest

⭐️Jansen Teng, Co-Founder and CEO of Virtuals Protocol

Disclosures

Timestamps 

• 00:00 Intro
• 02:19 What Are AI Agents?
• 07:23 AI Agents in Crypto
• 13:04 AI-Driven Societies Emerge
• 15:53 Challenges of AI Agents
• 24:47 Tokenizing AI Revenue Models
• 35:13 AI Crypto Predictions
• 43:26 AI Influencers and Trust
• 53:54 Perception of AI Content
• 01:04:44 Humans vs. AI Roles

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In this episode, Shaw Walters, founder of Eliza Labs, takes us through his journey of launching ai16z, a decentralized AI-driven investment DAO, and the explosive growth of the Eliza open-source framework.

Shaw explains how AI agents are evolving beyond "reply bots" to serve as powerful tools for financial autonomy, community investment, and user empowerment. He shares the challenges of building trust between humans and AI, the possibilities of agents trading across multiple blockchains, and his vision of a world where financial freedom drives human progress.

Show highlights:

• Why Shaw decided to launch ai16z
• What he believes AI agents are useful for 
• What the Eliza framework is and the role it plays being an open-source project
• Whether AI agents can be good at trading
• Why the Eliza framework works on every chain, even though there’s a focus on Solana
• How and why the AI version of Marc Andreessen was launched
• Whether ai16z will launch its own layer 1 and the details on the future launchpad
• How agents on social media could be really useful instead of being “reply bots”
• What Shaw thinks overall of the AI space and how it’ll impact human society

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Polkadot
• Kelp DAO

Guest

• Shaw Walters, Founder of Eliza Labs

Links

• Unchained: 
• The Backstory of How 3 AI Agents Led to the Rise of the Hottest Memecoin, GOAT
• AI Meme Tokens Like FARTCOIN Dominate Crypto Markets, Suggesting Powerful 2025 Trend
• The Block: AI agent platform ai16z considers tokenomics overhaul and launching Layer 1 blockchain
• Chain of Thought: Ai16z: The Bazaar of Agents
• Cygaar: How the Eliza Framework works

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Intro
• 03:01 Shaw’s inspiration for launching ai16z
• 08:45 How AI agents are evolving beyond simple tasks
• 10:28 The Eliza framework and its open-source impact
• 13:22 Can AI agents excel at trading?
• 21:19 Why Eliza works seamlessly across multiple blockchains
• 24:08 The story behind launching Marc Andreessen as an AI character
• 35:18 Plans for ai16z’s layer 1 and its future launchpad
• 40:23 Transforming AI agents into more than just “reply bots”
• 43:26 Shaw’s vision for AI’s role in shaping human society
• 49:26 Crypto News Recap

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