What is the future of Arbitrum now that L1 Ethereum is becoming scalable?

In this episode, Amanda Cassatt sits down with Offchain Labs and Arbitrum co-founder Steven Goldfeder. Arbitrum began as Ethereum’s scaling answer, borrowing its security to add more bandwidth, faster confirmations, and better UX. As Ethereum solves the scalability problem that was Arbitrum's original raison d’être, Steven explains Arbitrum's next frontier: customization and institutional onboarding onto Ethereum, by providing privacy and KYC that won't become available at L1 anytime soon.

The two discuss the specific ways and regions Robinhood is already - though invisibly to users - using Arbitrum, the precise path RWAs are taking to gain consumer adoption, and which traditional financial products are poised to come onchain. Steven clarifies where he aligns and departs from Vitalik's articulation of what Ethereum is for, and he tells us what he believes will happen when Ethereum grows beyond its original decentralization-first vision.

Times are evolving, and institutions aren’t guaranteed to take on the cypherpunk ideology, but so long as the core system is preserved, Goldfeder believes that there are a lot of benefits to mass onboarding.

Timestamps:

00:00 Scaling Ethereum: The Role of Arbitrum

09:29 Customization for Institutions: Arbitrum's Unique Offerings

12:43 Compliance and Privacy: Institutional Needs in DeFi

16:21 The Philosophy of Ethereum: Freedom vs. Compliance

22:39 The Future of Ethereum: KYC and Institutional Adoption

25:03 The Evolution of Use Cases on Arbitrum

31:44 Arbitrum's DAO: Governance and Decision-Making

43:50 Balancing Power: Democracy vs. Monarchy in DAOs

55:24 The Future of Arbitrum: Growth and User Experience

Subscribe to Endgame: https://www.youtube.com/@endgamepodcast

Steven on X: https://x.com/sgoldfed

Offchain Labs on X: https://x.com/OffchainLabs

Amanda on X: https://x.com/amandacassatt

Serotonin on X: https://x.com/serotonin

Endgame on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6iSvbKOJWoEPiAoGmiulkd

Endgame on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/endgame-with-amanda-cassatt/id1801809440

Substack: https://substack.com/@UCInZsV3L1nDGoFjxoNUnPQQ

What happens when crypto stops optimizing purely for profit and starts optimizing for people, planet, and long-term coordination?

In this episode, Amanda Cassatt sits down with Gitcoin founder Kevin Owocki to discuss Ethereum’s public goods, swallowing the Green Pill, and what onchain coordination will look like in the future.

Owocki maps the cultural fault lines inside Ethereum: the libertarian and cypherpunk roots, the rise of hyper-financialized degen culture, and the parallel effort to build something different: a regenerative ecosystem that funds public goods, sustains open source, and solves coordination failures instead of reproducing them.

The two unpack what Green Pill really means and the choice it asks of builders, how Gitcoin funded $70 million in public goods and why grants and vibes aren’t enough anymore.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Regen and Degen

02:57 The Green Pill Movement

06:13 Public Goods in Ethereum

09:10 Funding Challenges in the Ethereum Ecosystem

12:07 Comparing Ethereum to Traditional Governments

15:00 The Evolution of Public Goods Funding

17:48 Incentive Alignment and the Tragedy of the Commons

21:04 Building Proofs for Public Goods

24:11 Ethereum's Unique Approach to Public Goods

26:48 Meditations on Moloch and Coordination Failures

29:39 Exploring Moloch and Ginsberg's Influence

30:04 Addressing Coordination Failures in Ethereum

34:48 The Future of Capitalism and Its Alternatives

39:40 Balancing Different Forms of Capital

45:03 Navigating Financial Nihilism Among Youth

47:41 Success Stories in Building Parallel Institutions

Subscribe to Endgame: https://www.youtube.com/@endgamepodcast

Kevin on X: https://x.com/owocki

Amanda on X: https://x.com/amandacassatt

Serotonin on X: https://x.com/serotonin

Endgame on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6iSvbKOJWoEPiAoGmiulkd

Endgame on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/endgame-with-amanda-cassatt/id1801809440

Substack: https://substack.com/@UCInZsV3L1nDGoFjxoNUnPQQ

Crypto was supposed to be the escape hatch. So why does it increasingly feel like it’s being absorbed by the very systems it set out to challenge?

In this candid conversation, Amanda Cassatt sits down with cyberpunk crypto lawyer Gabriel Shapiro about the “fintech-ization” of crypto, where the industry stands in the post-Gary Gensler era and the fading relevance of the four-year cycle.

Is crypto a tool for resisting power, or just a more efficient version of traditional finance waiting to be regulated into submission?

Regulation isn’t a complete negative for the space; Gabriel believes that certain aspects, such as antitrust law, are beneficial. But while some laws age like a fine wine, others aren’t as relevant as technology evolves.

Amanda and Gabriel also discussed KYC and how it’s evolving, zero-knowledge proofs, and what Tornado Cash did wrong.

Timestamps:

00:00 Current State of Crypto and Market Cycles

02:53 The Debate on Decentralization vs. Centralization

05:47 The Role of Government and Regulation in Crypto

08:43 Crypto as an Alternative to Traditional Legal Systems

11:49 The Impact of Incumbent Protection on Innovation

15:03 The Future of Crypto in a Regulated Environment

17:51 The Importance of Privacy and Programmability in Crypto

26:18 The Imperative of Privacy in Crypto

34:52 Navigating Legal Compliance and Privacy

39:41 The Dilemma of Civil Disobedience

46:24 The Future of KYC in Crypto

48:40 Zero Knowledge Technology and Its Potential