Ethereum, once the undisputed leader in the smart contract ecosystem, is facing intense competition from Solana, which has outpaced Ethereum on key metrics such as developer growth. Meanwhile, debates rage within Ethereum’s community over governance, scalability, and the Ethereum Foundation’s leadership.

Adding to the disruption, AI agents are rapidly reshaping DeFi and token launches, reducing barriers to entry and creating new opportunities—and risks—for founders and investors. Is this the next big leap for crypto or just the latest bubble?

In this episode, Marc Zeller of Aave Chan Initiative and Kain Warwick of Infinex discuss Ethereum’s future, the role of AI in DeFi, and whether Solana’s momentum will continue. They also share bold predictions for crypto in 2025 and debate whether Ethereum’s fragmented ecosystem can still deliver on its promise.

Show highlights:

• 03:35 Why 2024 became a turning point for the crypto ecosystem
• 07:02 How AI agents could reshape onchain innovation and public discourse in 2025
• 14:47 Whether AI agents might soon compete with VCs
• 22:10 Why fundamentals-driven crypto projects will gradually dominate the market, according to Marc
• 26:05 Whether Solana will continue to steal Ethereum’s thunder
• 37:56 Is Base cannibalistic to Ethereum? Can Base or Ethereum compete with Solana?
• 42:53 Where the ETH ecosystem is headed and whether it can overcome issues of fragmentation, lack or interoperability, so many L2 tokens detracting from the ETH price
• 52:30 Whether Coinbase's deep commitment to Ethereum is causing it to discriminate against Solana
• 1:00:10 How Ethereum's reputation rises and falls with its price action, not its fundamentals, per Kain
• 1:08:43 What the purpose is of the Ethereum Foundation and whether it should change its approach
• 1:24:57 Why Kain doesn’t think the native rollups proposal is tenable 
• 1:31:12 Whether Ethena is depressing the price of ETH
• 1:34:00 What Kain and Marc think about crypto-specific phones, especially the Solana Seeker
• 1:42:07 Kain’s and Marc’s predictions for 2025

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Stellar Build Better 
• Robinhood & Arbitrum
• Kelp DAO
• Polkadot

Guests:

• Marc Zeller, founder of Aave Chan Initiative
• Kain Warwick, founder of Infinex

Links

• Unchained: Why Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev Is Betting Big on Crypto and Stablecoins
• Unchained: 2024 Was Solana's Best Year Yet. Can It Sustain the Momentum in 2025?
• Unchained: What's the Best Way for Ethereum to Grow? Two Ethereans Debate
• The Block: Long-running Ethereum newsletter shutting down, cites lack of funding
• Unchained: How Solana Beat Out Ethereum to Nab New Crypto Developers in 2024
• Evan Van Ness’ tweet on the newsletter shutdown 
• EF’s Josh Stark’s reply to Van Ness
• Unchained: Vitalik Has Gone 'Founder Mode.' Is This Just What Ethereum Needs?
• Marc’s proposal about the EF 
• 0xMawuko’s tweet on ETH governance 
• Unchained: Are Layer 2s Failing Ethereum? A New Proposal Advocates for Native L2s
• Ben Lilly’s tweet on Ethena possibly suppressing the price of ETH

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