Bits + Bips: Why TradFi Knows It Needs Crypto More Than Ever to Stay Relevant - Ep. 973

Unchained

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Hosts Ram Ahluwalia, Austin Campbell, and Chris Perkins dig into why interest rates may not fall as quickly as markets hope, why oil demand could surprise to the upside, and how retail keeps buying every dip—even while consumer confidence hits new lows.

The trio also breaks down the growing collision between TradFi and crypto: whether banks can compete with blockchain-native distribution, how BlackRock’s staked ETH ETF filing could reshape the market, and how yields on Ethereum and Solana represent a brand-new financial primitive.

Plus, they examine Ripple’s controversial raise, Citadel’s push to regulate DeFi, and why major incumbents are now in a frantic race to choose their crypto “dance partners.”

Hosts:

• Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida

• Austin Campbell, NYU Stern professor and founder and managing partner of Zero Knowledge Consulting

• Christopher Perkins, Managing Partner and President of CoinFund

Links:

• Unchained:

• BlackRock Files S-1 for Staked ETH ETF

• Berachain Kept Secret a $25 Million Refund Right to a Brevan Howard Fund

• CoinDesk: Citadel Challenges DeFi Framework in Letter to SEC, Sparking Industry Outrage

• Bloomberg:

• Wall Street Hedged Big Crypto Bet in $500 Million Ripple Deal (XRP)

• Bitcoin Options Show Traders Hunkering Down for Crypto Winter

Timestamps:

• 👏 0:00 Intro

• 📉 2:06 Whether there’s any real path to lower rates

• 🛢️ 5:07 Why Ram is bullish on oil demand

• 🤖 6:12 The biggest constraint on AI adoption

• 🇯🇵 7:02 Is Japan raising rates still a “nothing burger”?

• 🛍️ 9:57 How retail keeps buying every dip

• 🏦 12:21 Can crypto beat banks’ entrenched distribution?

• 📉 18:00 Why Ram thinks you should “sell the Bitcoin rallies”

• 📼 20:13 Are we reliving the 1970s?

• ⛓️ 24:47 How BlackRock’s staked ETH ETF filing could reshape the market

• ⚖️ 30:28 How staking yields will trade against Fed short rates

• 💼 38:59 Ripple’s controversial “raise” — and the unusual protections granted to Citadel and Fortress

• 🛡️ 47:52 How Citadel is fighting DeFi to defend its moat

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