Crypto ETFs: Trojan Horse or Big Win? - Austin Griffith, Mona El Isa, Peter Van Valkenburgh

The approval of Ethereum spot ETFs sent shockwaves through the industry as policymakers pivoted abruptly from threatening to veto FIT21 bill, to a pro-crypto discourse. One could say their hand was forced by the imminent US elections, but Ethereum is now officially classified as a commodity, nonetheless. As the regulatory hurdle seems, for the time being, surpassed, one should not forget the values promoted by the crypto movement from the get-go: decentralisation and permissionlessness. However, everyday users tend to overlook these aspects in favour of a more streamlined user experience. As technology evolves and scaling solutions mature, better UI & UX represent crucial goals in the race for end user adoption.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Crypto regulations: FIT21 & Tornado Cash trial
• Ethereum spot ETF
• Is Ethereum a commodity or a security?
• Scaling solutions & end user adoption
• The importance of decentralisation
• How Web3 lowers barriers of (permissionless) competition
• Regulatory and legal hurdles
• Educating ‘normies’ & UX
• Technology: depoliticising money
• Berlin blockchain week & Dappcon 2024 wrap-up

Episode links:

• Austin Griffith on Twitter
• Mona El Isa on Twitter
• Peter Van Valkenburgh on Twitter

Sponsors:

• Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io
• Chorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst and Brian Fabian Crain.