WuBlockchain Podcast

At the 2026 Davos Forum's *New Era for Finance* roundtable, leading figures in the financial sector from various regions gathered to discuss how technological innovations are reshaping global finance, with a particular focus on the role of cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and artificial intelligence in payments and financial transactions. Below is an excerpt of Binance founder CZ's remarks.
CZ believes that while the payments sector still faces challenges, the integration of traditional payment methods with cryptocurrency will drive significant growth in the future. He also expressed concerns about the risks associated with Bitcoin payments, Memecoins, and traditional banks, citing their high levels of speculation and uncertainty. When discussing the need for a unified global regulatory framework, CZ noted the difficulty in implementing such a framework due to varying regulations across countries. He proposed the idea of a "regulatory passport," where a license obtained in one country would be recognized by others, offering a more feasible solution than creating a global regulatory body.
Timeline:
00:00 Differences between cryptocurrency and traditional financial regulation
03:12 CZ introduces the innovation prospects of cryptocurrency and blockchain
06:40 The future of Bitcoin payments
07:18 Thoughts on Memecoins and the Metaverse
08:22 CZ: Traditional banks will significantly reduce in the next decade
09:51 In-depth reflection on bank liquidity issues
10:52 Different responses of cryptocurrency and banking systems
12:29 Challenges of global regulatory frameworks and regulatory differences between countries
14:35 CZ suggests "regulatory passports" as a global regulatory solution

In this episode of ETHPanda, Tomasz Stanczak, Co-Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation, shares his journey from traditional finance to Ethereum core development. He explains how he founded Nethermind from scratch and became a driving force behind the Ethereum core protocol. Tomasz discusses the challenges he faced, including resource constraints and fundraising. He also provides insight into the future direction of the Ethereum protocol, particularly the integration of Agentic AI with ETH, and how standards like ERC-8004 are driving the adoption of AI agents on Ethereum. Additionally, he covers the interoperability of Layer 2 solutions and the Ethereum community's development strategy.
Timeline:
00:00 Opening & Introduction
03:18 The path to Ethereum core development
05:18 The advantages and challenges of starting Nethermind without funding
09:23 The development of Nethermind
12:45 Key milestones for Nethermind
16:57 A piece of advice to my younger self
19:11 Ethereum Foundation's goals and challenges
22:22 Discussing Layer 2 interoperability
26:38 Ethereum's future community development strategy
33:29 The future of Ethereum and AI integration
39:27 Ethereum as an AI collaboration layer
42:34 How Agentic AI integrates with blockchain governance
50:09 How the Ethereum Foundation supports AI and ETH development
53:13 Contributions from China to Web3 and AI development

In this BNB Chain 2025 Year-End AMA, CZ reflects on a year that marked a turning point both for him personally and for the broader crypto industry. He talks about how life changed after receiving a pardon, and how his focus has shifted toward education, early-stage investing, ecosystem mentorship, and advising governments on crypto policy. The discussion spans key milestones across BNB Chain, Giggle Academy, YZi Labs, and Binance, highlighting renewed growth momentum on BNB Chain, continued adoption of stablecoins, and the emergence of prediction markets as an increasingly important on-chain use case. CZ also shares his perspectives on the evolution of stablecoins, the rise of AI agents, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, and where crypto infrastructure may be headed in 2026 and beyond.
Timeline:
Host Interview with CZ
00:00 Life after the pardon and personal reflections
01:20 Four core focus areas: Giggle Academy, YZi Labs, BNB Chain ecosystem mentorship, and government advisory work
05:02 Key 2025 milestones: education, BNB Chain growth, investment pace, and Binance user scale
08:32 Why prediction markets are gaining momentum and how CZ views multi-team competition
13:09 Stablecoins as a turning point in crypto infrastructure discussions
15:39 Stablecoin "1.0 vs 2.0," yield mechanisms, regulation, and opportunities on BNB Chain
17:42 What CZ looks for in founders and mission-driven teams
Community Q&A
21:22 Advice for technical builders transitioning into business and leadership roles
23:58 Lessons from BNB Chain's early "undervalued" phase and a long-term mindset
27:51 Why stablecoin competition is not a zero-sum "horse race"
31:47 Crypto social platforms versus X and the value of native crypto communities
36:07 Early-stage prediction markets: execution over current features
39:38 BNB Chain's future goals and CZ's advisory role
41:50 Views on real-world asset tokenization, AI, robotics, and DePIN
45:34 AI trading agents, the limits of shared strategies, and future adoption paths

At Binance Blockchain Week 2025, held on December 3–4 in Dubai, Tom Lee-Co-founder of Fundstrat and Chairman of BitMine-delivered a keynote titled "The Crypto Supercycle Intact." In his speech, he systematically outlined his long-term bullish thesis on the crypto market. His core arguments included: why tokenization is the defining theme of 2025; why he believes Bitcoin and Ethereum have already bottomed; how the traditional four-year cycle is being disrupted; why Ethereum is positioned as foundational infrastructure for the future global financial system; and why Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) companies will play a critical role in the next phase of crypto financialization.
Tom Lee argues that Bitcoin's cyclical logic is being reshaped by industrial and inflation cycles, rather than the familiar four-year halving pattern. On tokenization, he emphasizes that the true transformation goes far beyond simple "digitization of assets." In his view, the future of finance involves deep financial decomposition and reconstruction, where stocks, cash-flow streams, product lines, and even the implied economic value of a CEO can be fragmented, priced, and tokenized-enhancing transparency, predictive power, and hedging efficiency across capital markets. He also describes how BitMine, as a representative DAT, aims to serve as a bridge between Wall Street and the crypto ecosystem.
Text summary: Link
Timeline:
00:00 Context of the speech: Tom Lee's professional roles and why he addresses crypto amid a market pullback
01:36 Five themes overview: tokenization, market cycles, Ethereum, institutional opportunity, and digital asset treasury companies
02:53 Reviewing a decade of asset performance: why crypto remains the strongest asset class
03:55 Major positive developments in 2025: policy support and institutional adoption
05:39 Tokenization becomes the core narrative of 2025: Ethereum's "ChatGPT moment"
06:36 Long-term growth potential: adoption remains extremely low
07:46 Assessing the market bottom: mispricing, deleveraging, and structural changes
08:26 Discussion of Bitcoin's drawdown: is the four-year cycle still valid?
09:36 Fundstrat model adjustments: incorporating Tom DeMark's timing indicators
11:22 Dissecting the Bitcoin four-year cycle: why it may be breaking down
13:40 Price implications: if the cycle breaks, Bitcoin could set new highs in January
14:10 Why Ethereum is the future financial infrastructure
15:41 Continued Ethereum upgrades: reinforcing its ecosystem position
16:27 ETH/BTC valuation breakout: structural repricing ahead
17:39 The true value of tokenization: from digitization to financial decomposition
19:56 Prediction markets + tokenization: a new architecture for capital markets
21:18 Strategic role of DATs in bridging TradFi and DeFi

In this interview, Ben Fisch, the founder of Espresso, elaborates on the project's technological innovations aimed at solving the fragmentation problem in Web3 blockchain ecosystems. Espresso seeks to address these challenges by offering high-speed finality and supporting Layer 2 technologies, facilitating efficient communication between different blockchains. Ben details how the project leverages improvements in consensus mechanisms and innovative technologies, such as erasure coding and zero-knowledge proofs, to reduce cross-chain latency and improve interchain interaction. He also discusses Espresso's appeal to top developers and investors, as well as its future market positioning and tokenomics model.
Text summary: Link
Timeline:
00:00 Origins of Espresso and Its Initial Goals
03:07 The Impact of AI and Crypto Talent Competition
04:17 The Causes of Web3 Fragmentation
08:07 Why Digital Finance in Web3 is Still Fragmented
08:37 Espresso's Technological Innovations and How It Differs from Traditional Blockchains
09:00 The Advantages of Espresso in Supporting Layer 2 and Its Performance Features
10:16 How Espresso Solves Cross-Chain Interaction and Finality Issues
12:33 Espresso's Consensus Mechanism and Cross-Chain Communication
15:08 Espresso's Consensus Design and Achieving Fast Finality
18:21 How Espresso Uses Zero-Knowledge Proofs for Real-Time Cross-Chain Communication
20:55 How Espresso Supports Multi-Chain Ecosystems and Bridges to Other Chains
21:23 The Benefits of Espresso for Rollup Projects
23:32 Rollups' Demand for Espresso and Use Cases
24:46 The Value of Espresso's Token and Network Effects
26:28 Reasons for Introducing the Token and Future Value Drivers
29:43 Espresso's Future Vision and Market Positioning