The Chopping Block: Ethereum’s Civil War, L2 Taxation, and Vitalik’s Milady Moment - Ep. 776

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, we dive into Ethereum’s growing identity crisis as frustration mounts over the Ethereum Foundation’s leadership, vision, and sluggish innovation. Is Ethereum losing its edge while Solana, Base, and Tron take over? We also break down the Second Foundation drama, discuss Justin Sun’s wild L2 taxation proposal, and debate whether Ethereum needs a CTO-style overhaul to stay competitive. Plus, Vitalik Buterin’s unexpected embrace of the Milady NFT movement and what Gary Gensler’s exit from the SEC means for the future of crypto regulation.

Show highlights

🔹 Ethereum Civil War? The Ethereum Foundation (EF) faces internal and external backlash as Vitalik defends its “WEF soy boy” ethos. Critics call for leadership changes, faster innovation, and a more aggressive growth strategy.

🔹 Second Foundation Fakeout: Rumors spread that Lido’s founder was launching a rival EF, briefly pumping ETH before being debunked. The buzz reignites calls for governance changes.

🔹 L2 Taxation Debate: Justin Sun proposes a 5B ETH tariff on rollups to fund buybacks, sparking debates on Ethereum’s fragmented ecosystem and lack of value accrual.

🔹 Vitalik Goes Milady: Ethereum’s co-founder embraces the Milady NFT subculture, changes his profile pic, and adopts the meme’s signature sign-off, fueling speculation about crypto’s shifting cultural landscape.

🔹 Ethereum’s Identity Crisis: With Solana, Base, and Tron dominating user adoption, is Ethereum too slow and academic to compete? Calls for an Ethereum “CTO” or more centralized execution grow louder.

🔹 Gensler’s Next Move: Gary Gensler exits the SEC and returns to MIT to teach AI & finance. Crypto celebrates his departure, while an AI-generated rap video mocks his legacy.

Hosts

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

DisclosuresLinks

Hayden Adam’s Tweet: 

https://x.com/haydenzadams/status/1884134669265891433

Justin Sun’s EF Plan Tweet:

https://x.com/justinsuntron/status/1881999625990836229 

Scaling Ethereum L1 and L2s in 2025 and Beyond by Vitalik Buterin:

https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2025/01/23/l1l2future.html 

Zen and the Art of Shifting Mindsets in Technology: Aya Miyaguchi interview in Wired Magazine:

https://wired.jp/article/the-next-innovators-4-aya-miyaguchi-en/ 

Timestamps 

00:00 Intro

01:47 Ethereum Foundation's Civil War

05:53 The Bronze Age Mentality

07:32 Community Criticism and Governance

10:03 Vitalik's New Persona: Embracing Milady

14:33 Future of Ethereum and L2s

37:39 L1 vs L2: Do People Really Care?

42:12 Ethereum's Strategy and Colonialism Analogy

46:10 The Role of the Ethereum Foundation

58:34 Gary Gensler's Move to MIT and His Legacy

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