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.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
1:12 Ethereum & Solana
7:33 Why Solana is Winning
9:27 L1 Valuations
13:13 Coinbase & Robinhood
17:16 Base Contentcoins
20:32 Kalshi & Polymarket
23:19 Prediction Market Tokens
24:45 Store of Value Duopoly
27:21 Tokens in 2026
29:41 Tokens & Equity Alignment
31:01 MetaDAO
32:42 ICOs
34:44 Morpho
39:17 Morpho & Aave
40:41 Perp Exchanges
44:28 Proof of Personhood
48:42 Fat Wallet Thesis
51:45 X & Crypto
53:27 AI & Vibecoding
55:28 Is Crypto Dead?
57:18 Capital Stack Moving Onchain
59:10 What About TradFi?
1:02:15 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Arnav Pagidyala
https://x.com/0xArnav
Bankless Ventures
https://x.com/banklessvc
Investing Trends for 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Poes3EpAR5c
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
