Meme Coins and the Pardon of a Crypto Icon

In this week’s Bankless Weekly Rollup, David is joined by Eric Conner to unpack a whirlwind week in crypto. Highlights include Trump’s explosive entry back into the Oval Office, launching a $50B memecoin on Solana, a full pardon for Ross Ulbricht, and pro-crypto cabinet appointments. Meanwhile, the Ethereum Foundation faces internal drama as Vitalik declares “wartime mode” amidst leadership restructuring. We also dive into Solana’s soaring ecosystem, BlackRock’s massive Bitcoin buys, and the SEC’s shakeup with new pro-crypto initiatives. It’s a week of big moves, bigger drama, and major market shifts!

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------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:30 Markets https://farside.co.uk/?p=1518  https://blog.coinshares.com/volume-217-digital-asset-fund-flows-weekly-report-02c0bf3c093d  https://youtu.be/nWPRFNVs6XY?si=YEOfBSUlqGmNJD7B 

00:06:08 ETF Flows https://farside.co.uk/?p=1518  https://blog.coinshares.com/volume-217-digital-asset-fund-flows-weekly-report-02c0bf3c093d 

00:11:19 Trump Memecoin https://x.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1880446012168249386 

00:14:10 Melania Token https://x.com/MELANIATRUMP/status/1881087523847593995 

00:20:53 World Liberty Financial Bids https://x.com/worldlibertyfi/status/1881457386671464804 

00:26:06 Ross Ulbricht Freed https://x.com/WatcherGuru/status/1881932492170760674 

00:31:08 Politics and Agencies https://x.com/DegenerateNews/status/1881760858508062898  https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/departure-gensler-012025 

00:35:53 Brian Armstrong Expectations https://x.com/AltcoinDailyio/status/1880348843772113061 

00:40:15 Trump Effect Kicking In https://x.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1880299698038493400  https://x.com/Cointelegraph/status/1881688751602286740 

00:47:35 What’s Going On In The EF? https://x.com/vitalikbuterin/status/1880635379771904423  https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1880723497393201460 

00:56:19 EF Leadership Drama https://x.com/dannyryan/status/1879705279761178690  https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1881680518934384676 

01:06:37 SEC Charges Digital Currency Group https://x.com/tier10k/status/1880299710495486365 

01:07:25 Circle Introduces USDC Paymaster https://x.com/circle/status/1882428077537386502 

01:07:41 Phantom Raised $150M Series C https://x.com/phantom/status/1880018917068009527 

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