Hal Press, the head of North Rock Digital and an advocate for the Ethereum merge, teams up with Ryan Berckmans, an enthusiastic Ethereum bull and developer. Together, they dive into the upcoming merge's market implications, predicting significant supply changes. Hal highlights the macroeconomic risks, while Ryan remains optimistic about Ethereum's future trajectory. They debate Ethereum's transition to proof-of-stake and the potential for it to outpace Bitcoin, exploring investment strategies and the evolving landscape of the crypto market.

Ryan Berckmans, an Ethereum investor and community member, joins Bitcoin investor Alex Bergeron to dissect Lido's impressive hold on liquid staking derivatives. They explore the implications of Lido's potential monopoly on Ethereum's decentralization, uncovering the mechanics of stETH and its uses. The conversation touches on the challenges posed by miner extractable value, dual governance proposals for Lido, and the ethical dilemmas of a centralized staking ecosystem. Can other competitors challenge Lido’s dominance? Tune in to find out!

Justin Bons, Founder and CIO of Cyber Capital, shares his critical views on Ethereum's Layer 2 solutions, suggesting they may hinder ETH's value and centralize the network. In contrast, Ryan Berckmans defends these L2s, arguing they enhance Ethereum's network effects and long-term potential. The discussion dives deep into Ethereum's scalability challenges, the evolving role of L1 vs. L2, and the implications of centralization. Their spirited debate on the blockchain trilemma leaves listeners questioning the future of Ethereum and its scaling strategies.

In this discussion, blockchain expert Justin Bons and analyst Ryan Berckmans dive into the heated debate over Ethereum's Layer 2 solutions. Bons critiques the centralization risks posed by L2s, while Berckmans argues that they enhance Ethereum's ecosystem and long-term value. The duo tackles whether Layer 2s are parasitic to Ethereum's base layer, exploring scalability, decentralization, and transaction fees. Their differing views on the future of Ethereum's roadmap make for an engaging and thought-provoking conversation.

Ryan Berckmans is an ex-Amazon + fintech startup engineer. He's been involved with the Ethereum community for many years + invests in the crypto space. He recently published a bullish thesis for investing in ETH at: ethereumcashflow.com Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/u3IGTSBzwOk Let us know what you think on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bzaidi https://twitter.com/RyanBerckmans In this conversation you'll learn about: blockchains, bitcoin + ethereum difference between ethereum + ether (ETH) ETH 2.0 + the transition from proof of work to proof of stake how to earn 6-20% yield from ETH "staking" applications of DeFi, peer-to-peer lending, smart contracts + NFTs alternatives like Solana + what could still go wrong side chains (Polygon) + layer 2 rollups (Arbetrum) Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Snippet 0:01:18 - Intro To Ryan + What We’ll Cover 0:05:57 - Explaining Blockchain, Bitcoin + Ethereum 0:08:25 - Decentralization 0:13:57 - Difference Between Bitcoin Blockchain, Currency + Example Transaction 0:19:55 - Game Of Monopoly Example 0:21:50 - Ethereum Is Like The App Store + Uniswap Example 0:26:52 - What’s Being Built On Ethereum? ENS domains, Defi + NFTs 0:30:02 - Smart Contracts 0:31:24 - Decentralized Lending Through Code vs Banks 0:32:37 - “An App That Can’t Lie” 0:34:39 - Individuals Earning Yield Like The Banks 0:36:17 - Eco Is Like A Decentralized Venmo 0:37:26 - Ethereum Cash Flow Thesis 0:39:04 - Transition From Confidence To Cashflow Based Investment 0:42:06 - Replacing Basic Lawyer Tasks With Smart Contracts? 0:43:15 - Complimentary To Bitcoin 0:45:01 - ETH 2.0 0:47:03 - Consuming Less Energy + Impact On Environment 0:48:00 - Proof Of Work vs Proof Of Stake 0:51:10 - Solving For Scarcity 0:52:41 - EIP 1559 - Destroying ETH Tokens + How Fees Work 0:58:01 - How To Earn Yield By Staking ETH 0:58:50 - 3 Rewards As A Validator 1:03:34 - Staking Through Lido Without 32 ETH Minimum 1:05:11 - What % Yield Can You Expect From ETH? Why Will It Change? 1:09:56 - Currently 8 Day Wait To Be A Validator 1:12:29 - Why Yield Will Go Up + Down 1:14:16 - Summary Of ETH Bull Case 1:15:09 - What Could Go Wrong? Bear Case For ETH 1:17:25 - Why Can’t We Do This All On Bitcoin Instead? 1:22:29 - Network Effects + Head Start 1:23:15 - Promise Of Solana As An Alternative? 1:29:16 - Other Alternatives: DOT, Cardano, Binance Smart Chain 1:30:24 - Polygon/Matic + Side Chains 1:32:57 - Scaling Solutions + Rollups 1:34:48 - How Ryan Is Investing 1:39:41 - Do Your Own Research + Understand Risks And Downside 1:41:40 - Advanced Levels Of Yield Farming Thank you to our sponsors: AppSumo - the marketplace entrepreneurs trust to buy and sell the products that grow small businesses into name brands: https://www.appsumo.com Space - the easiest way to engage your team over audio: http://www.JoinSpace.co