Crypto’s bull run may be far from over, but the battleground is shifting. 
On this week’s Bits + Bips, Bill Barhydt of Abra and Robert Leshner of Superstate join Ram Ahluwalia and Steven Ehrlich to debate: 
  - 
The current state of the markets with a looming government shutdown  
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SWIFT’s move to build on Linea, an Ethereum layer 2 
- 
Hyperliquid vs Aster 
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The future of perps vs. spot  
- 
Why some DATs are starting to look like grifts  
- 
Whether DeFi billionaires will ultimately eclipse their CeFi predecessors  
Plus: Binance’s and Tether’s valuation, CZ as the entrepreneur of the decade, and why the industry may be entering an era of “perpification.”
Thank you to Xapo for sponsoring this episode!
Hosts:
  - 
Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida 
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Steven Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained 
Guests: 
Steve’s story on the DAT that claimed it raised much more than it actually did
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Timestamps:
  - 
🎬0:00 Intro 
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📈 3:26 Why Bill believes the bull run is far from over 
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🧐 5:10 Why Ram is pushing back on market FUD 
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🏛️ 9:10 Will a government shutdown impact markets? 
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🌐 12:48 Why SWIFT building on Ethereum’s Linea layer 2 is such a big deal 
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🏦 22:15 Whether it even matters if banks embrace crypto 
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⚠️ 27:50 How one DAT may have been the “ultimate grift” 
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⚔️ 35:58 Inside the DEX perps wars: Hyperliquid vs Aster 
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👑 40:32 How valuable Binance and CZ really are to the industry 
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🚀 50:39 What advantages make Hyperliquid stand out in the perp battle 
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🤔 53:14 Why picking winners in trading isn’t so simple 
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🔄 57:29 Winners in stablecoin race plus why perps are better than spot 
 
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