The Bitcoin Space Race Begins, ETH’s Big Pivot, & a Looming Crypto Recession?

📣BUILDBEAR | EASY EVM SANDBOX https://bankless.cc/buildbear ------ This week, Ryan and David dive into crypto’s dramatic new re-prioritization (pivot?) as Ethereum is shifting rapidly, prioritizing Layer 1 scaling in a move that has sparked intense community debate. Meanwhile, macro turmoil hits crypto with a looming tariff-driven recession and signs of American capital flight shaking global markets. Bitcoin tightens its grip on Washington, cementing itself as digital gold in the eyes of the Trump administration, and Worldcoin launches a U.S. rollout amid rising fears of an AI-driven dystopia. Plus, Sui surges on wild Pokémon rumors, Ripple’s bold move to buy Circle gets rejected, and Monero rockets after a massive Bitcoin hack. Is crypto entering a new golden age, or are these the early tremors of deeper uncertainty? Find out on this week's must-watch Weekly Rollup. ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFi https://bankless.cc/Frax 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🌐SELF | PROVE YOUR SELF https://bankless.cc/Self 🟠HEMI | BTC & ETH, ONE NETWORK https://bankless.cc/hemi ------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 0:00 Intro 1:58 Markets 3:06 Movers of the Week https://www.bankless.com/read/whats-next-for-sui-in-2025 https://x.com/davewardonline/status/1877073873499197832? https://x.com/SuiNetwork/status/1914689214803009837 https://blog.sui.io/canary-capital-sui-etf/ 5:11 Macro https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1917575854961439151 https://www.apolloacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/042625-ConsumerandFirms_v2.pdf https://x.com/watcherguru/status/1917601209906520370 Meme: https://x.com/alifarhat79/status/1917585508818980906 https://x.com/RaoulGMI/status/1912554771644325905/photo/1 19:18 Ethereum Pivot? Or Reprioritization? https://x.com/ethereumfndn/status/1916883771280040264 https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1917541325072916590 https://x.com/ethereumfndn/status/1916883782025482729 https://x.com/dankrad/status/1917678690852311333 https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1917689036744835390 https://x.com/TrustlessState/status/1917564803909918856 https://x.com/hasufl/status/1917880676000411796 https://x.com/0xoxus/status/1917824751151600084 28:05 Base and Scroll Reach Stage 1 Decentralization Milestone https://l2beat.com/scaling/summary https://x.com/jessepollak/status/1917253415966798164 https://x.com/Scroll_ZKP/status/1916871844151406649 29:33 Worldcoins “At Last” Event in San Francisco https://www.ft.com/content/0c5c2b8d-b185-40b6-9221-b80ee130b92e?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://x.com/TheStalwart/status/1916277891299475462 38:45 Bitcoin Space Race https://x.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1917271814356754459 https://bitcoinmagazine.com/politics/u-s-secretary-of-commerce-howard-lutnick-has-a-bitcoin-vision-for-america 42:20 What’s going on in Movement labs?! https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2025/04/30/inside-movement-s-token-dump-scandal-secret-contracts-shadow-advisors-and-hidden-middlemen https://x.com/hasufl/status/1917572935339888776 44:02 Monero likely pumped 50% due to suspected $330M Bitcoin theft https://x.com/zachxbt/status/1916756932763046273 45:51 Tether Now Holds 7.7 Tons of Gold to Back XAUT https://thedefiant.io/news/markets/tether-now-owns-7-7-tons-of-gold-to-back-its-xaut-token 47:09 US bank regulators pull back guardrails on bank crypto activities https://x.com/federalreserve/status/1915519104435224895 https://x.com/asvanevik/status/1915581219133415597 48:15 Senate Moves to Ban Congressional Stock Trading—Again https://x.com/HarrisonKrank/status/1916921283658252621 51:18 US DOJ seeks 20-year prison sentence for Alex Mashinsky https://x.com/cointelegraph/status/1917166974091534743 53:13 Circle rejected ripple takeover bid of $4-5B https://x.com/matthew_sigel/status/1917647009994993944 56:29 Closing & Disclaimers ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures