Crypto is Repeating Legacy Finance's Mistakes | Franklin Founder Megan Knab

Crypto began as a rebellion against banks, bailouts, and surveillance. But what happens when the same forces it tried to outrun start reshaping the industry from within?

Megan Knab, founder of Franklin, joins Amanda Cassatt on Endgame to examine where crypto may be drifting off course. She raises concerns about what happens when privacy disappears, how unbanking and financial exclusion play out in practice, and why stablecoins, if implemented incorrectly, could entrench the very systems crypto was meant to disrupt.

From Tornado Cash and the prosecution of developers, to the ethical standards builders should hold themselves to, the conversation circles back to what it means to take cypherpunk values seriously in 2025. For Megan, that extends beyond manifestos and protocols, it’s about how anyone involved in crypto can carry those values forward in practice, from the tools they use to the way they choose to build, transact, and communicate.

The lingering question: if crypto repeats the mistakes of legacy finance, what was the point of building it at all?

TIMESTAMPS: 

00:00 The Coinbase Military Parade Controversy

03:02 The Origins of Cryptocurrency and Its Antithetical Nature to Government

05:39 The Dangers of Government Involvement in Crypto

08:49 The Unbanking Phenomenon and Its Implications

11:52 Corporate Compliance and the Erosion of Cypherpunk Values

14:51 Standards for Cryptocurrency Companies

17:34 The Role of Privacy in Financial Transactions

20:39 The Impact of Institutionalization on Crypto's Goals

27:47 The Cypherpunk Values and Their Evolution

31:33 Privacy Technology: Tornado Cash and Its Implications

39:59 Stable Coins: Bridging Traditional Finance and Crypto

45:36 The Future of Privacy in a Centralized World