About this episode
Crypto in 2026 is consolidating into a handful of high-stakes rivalries: Ethereum vs. Solana for the center of gravity, Coinbase vs. Robinhood for the finance super-app, and Polymarket vs. Kalshi for prediction markets. Arnav Pagidyala (Bankless Ventures) joins David and Ryan to map the investment implications, why incentives-driven L1s keep leaking liquidity, what makes Morpho’s institutional playbook work, and whether Hyperliquid, wallets, and onchain rails start eating the exchange business. We also dig into the comeback of ICOs, what it would take for tokens to become truly investable, and why proof-of-personhood and privacy-preserving KYC may become unavoidable infrastructure.------?POLYMARKET | #1 PREDICTION MARKEThttps://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast?BITGET TRADFI | TRADE GOLD WITH USDThttps://bankless.cc/bitget-trading?BANKLESS PREMIUM | AD-FREE & BONUS EPISODEShttps://bankless.cc/spotify-premium?THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTShttps://bankless.cc/TDR-pro?ICO WATCH | UPCOMING PUBLIC TOKEN SALEShttps://bankless.cc/ico-watch ------TIMESTAMPS0:00 Intro1:12 Ethereum & Solana7:33 Why Solana is Winning9:27 L1 Valuations13:13 Coinbase & Robinhood17:16 Base Contentcoins20:32 Kalshi & Polymarket23:19 Prediction Market Tokens24:45 Store of Value Duopoly27:21 Tokens in 202629:41 Tokens & Equity Alignment31:01 MetaDAO32:42 ICOs34:44 Morpho39:17 Morpho & Aave40:41 Perp Exchanges44:28 Proof of Personhood48:42 Fat Wallet Thesis51:45 X & Crypto53:27 AI & Vibecoding55:28 Is Crypto Dead?57:18 Capital Stack Moving Onchain59:10 What About TradFi?1:02:15 Closing & Disclaimers------RESOURCES
