ROLLUP: Markets Down | Tether $500B Raise | South Park x Polymarket | Gensler Grilled
Bankless
Vitalik's bullish case for low-risk DeFi
Summary of Vitalik's blog: low-risk DeFi as Ethereum's backbone, real-world utility, and comparison to Google's ad revenue funding moonshots.
In this week’s Weekly Rollup, we break down “Downtemper” market moves as Bitcoin and Ethereum slide, and examine why Vitalik Buterin is calling low-risk DeFi Ethereum’s true backbone. We highlight Tether’s ambitious $500B raise, Polymarket’s mainstream moment on South Park, and Gary Gensler’s testy CNBC appearance. We also cover Paul Atkins’ push for pro-crypto regulation, the heated debate over whether Base should be regulated like Nasdaq, and the surprising deletion of 86 million bank accounts in Vietnam as digital ID mandates expand.
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TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES
0:00 Intro
4:16 Markets
https://x.com/PeterSchiff/status/1971193227807162797
https://x.com/tomleeupdates/status/197097365172296 1041
https://x.com/TheOneandOmsy/status/1969076691478696325
7:38 BitGo IPO
https://x.com/jseyff/status/1969143764535972186
9:51 Tether $500B Raise
https://www.reuters.com/business/crypto-firm-tether-eyes-500-billion-valuation-major-raise-round-bloomberg-news-2025-09-23
17:06 Polymarket / South Park
https://x.com/Polymarket/status/1970829572842065995
https://x.com/aleximm/status/1971063404308918630
https://x.com/Polymarket/status/1971137036863275056
https://x.com/martypartymusic/status/1970125767460950181
23:43 Gary Gensler / Paul Atkins / CFTC / Clarity Act
https://x.com/altcoindaily/status/1968814029943480623
https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6379979495112
https://x.com/vronirwin/status/1969775136959270993
https://x.com/amandalfischer/status/1970254506374938992
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/09/10/trump-s-cftc-hopeful-quintenz-takes-his-dispute-with-tyler-winklevoss-very-public
https://x.com/BrianQuintenz/status/1965855208195412356
https://www.theblock.co/post/371778/white-house-patrick-witt-market-structure-bill
39:25 Vitalik / DeFi / Coinbase
https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2025/09/21/low_risk_defi.html
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1969794415595077997
https://youtu.be/ADiEX92S58E
https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1968708504547364921
43:53 Synthetix Perp Dex
https://x.com/synthetix_io/status/1970237341760655656
https://www.bankless.com/podcast/how-synthetix-brings-perps-back-to-the-ethereum-l1-kain-warwick?ref=bankless.ghost.io
48:12 Base / Nasdaq Debate
https://thedefiant.io/newsletter/defi-daily/should-base-be-regulated-as-an-exchange
https://x.com/iampaulgrewal/status/1970206735206900038
https://x.com/MaxResnick1/status/1970250612399825075
https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1970258498996048247
https://x.com/jchervinsky/status/1970571188993958214
https://x.com/danrobinson/status/1970557854190051463
57:53 Coinbase + Cloudflare x402
https://x.com/CoinbaseDev/status/1970477072792592484
https://x.com/balajis/status/1952582943689556453
59:19 Vietnam Bank Account Purge
https://x.com/alanvibe/status/1967643742653042698
https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1969390296812196325
1:03:47 Closing & Disclaimers
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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