It's Banks. We need the Ethers, not the Banks
Author: ChainCatcher
IN THE SHADOW OF A SERIES OF NEGATIVE NEWS, SUCH AS THE SUCCESSIVE DEPARTURES OF SENIOR MEMBERS OF THE FOUNDATION AND THE SALE OF ETH BY VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS, THE ETA ECOLOGY HAS REKINDLED。
Today, David Hoffman, a co-founder of Banks, confirmed in a letter from platform X that all his ETH holdouts had been cleared, and that, in the meantime, a large-scale downsizing of Banks and the separation of the two founders had spread。
In response, the famous KOL Chen sword gave a rather divine metaphor... “David, founder of the newspaper Bankless of the Taifung Party, sold all the ETHs in his possession, which is almost equivalent in nature to the defection of Wong Long-Lang from North Korea in the same year”. The effect of this phrase is enough to cool the back of anyone who understands the position of Banks in the ecology of the Taifung。
However, in the context of the growing mainstreaming, institutionalization of the encryption industry, and the largely completed transfer of language from the ETA narrative, the evacuation of Banks is in fact reasonable, and it is not necessary for ETA to be free of information。
I. Bankless: The former Etherwood “Communication Department”
Before in-depth analysis of the earthquake, it is important to understand what Banks means in the Ethera ecology。
Banks is much more than an encrypted media platform. Initially, it was a podcast and a Substack subscription channel, with the simple idea of replacing traditional banking with a self-custody, a DeFi and a Taifeng settlement for the new financial system。
David Hoffman and Ryan Sean AdamsIt is a “extremely reliable currency” that is strongly advocated. They built a media brand around the Taifeng, maximizing its exposure and becoming the two most vocal supporters in the industry. Today, Banks is recognized as one of the most influential media brands in the encrypted world, especially the ETA。
David HoffmanIt is particularly well known for its strong personal convictions. During the time of Bear City in 2018, he was active in buying the Ether factory when it fell to $300. As a result, he became a symbol of Taifong extremism in the encrypted currency Twitter circle。
The unique position of Bankless is that it is not just a “reporter” of the eco-ecosystems, but rather a co-constructor of the Taicha narrative itself。
"Etherleaf is the ultrasound currency" "Ethera will open up the industrial revolution of the Internet" "Ethera is digital oil" A number of his ideas have been widely disseminated in the encryption industry, which has injected an ever-present stream of faith and fuel into the ecology of the Pacific。
From talking about Vitalik Buterin, to deep analysis of the Taifung Road Map, to continuous theoretical packaging of new narratives such as L2, DeFi, and re-admittances, Bankless has long taken on the dual roles of “information hub” and “psychiatric lighthouse” in the community of the Taifung. The two co-founders have also long played the role of preacher at the core of the ETA — Hoffman himself publicly stated that 99 per cent of his personal wealth was held in ETA。
Chen's sword compares Banks to the Taifung newspaper — the exact point of the metaphor is that it reveals that Banks' role has long gone beyond ordinary commercial media to be a value-producing machine with some sort of “quasi-official” or “semi-official” status within the ecology。
In the last year or two, however, Banks has clearly weakened his voice in the ecological narratives of the Taicha and rarely has a clear view of high-transmission and unique perspectives。
II. WHAT HAPPENED
Earlier today, the Bankless co-founder David Hoffman announced that he had sold all the ETH held. Another co-founder, Ryan Sean Adams, then re-stated that the first phase of Banks was over and that he and David had been exploring encryption for six years, that DeFi had worked with the Ether Workshop, and that he had now entered a second phase, which would be transformed into a supporting role to continue supporting Banks。
Soon, the former Lucas Campbell, co-founder of FireEyes DAO and former Bankless research analyst, revealed on X that Banks apparently fired most of the team members yesterday, and that its founders did not say a word of thanks or public statements to help the team members find a new home。
Jean-Paul Faraj, Director of Business Development, Banks, in his letter to X, reviewed his experience during his work at Banks and stated that today was the last day of his work at Banks, which also confirmed the accuracy of mass layoffs。
This series of messages sends at least two clear signals, one that the co-founder of Bankless, David Hoffman, is no longer a firm ETH look, the other that Banks has difficulty maintaining the current frequency and intensity of content output after large-scale layoffs, with the so-called "advocacy department" in the Taifung region。
There are early signs. Just one day ago, Ryan Sean Adams also wrote a letter criticizing the Etherwood Foundation, “The future of the Etherwood can no longer depend on the Etherwood Foundation”. While the EF is important, the ETA needs new institutional involvement and gaps. We need an organization that truly wants to win — a quantitative increase — with ETH assets, and that is bold enough to speak out for practical implementation. EF is not and never will be.”
David Hoffman, on the other hand, publicly stated in his podcasts this month that he had sold a very symbolic CryptoPunk, which he held for many years, and replaced the proceeds with Zcash (ZEC)。
III. End of the phased mission
In the response of Ryan Sean Adams, it is worth noting that the first phase of the Bankless mission ended and is now moving towards the second phase. So, what was the first phase of the Bankless mission? What is the next mission
As noted earlier, Banks, who had served to a large extent as a “advocacy department” in the form of half-officers, continued to transmit to the encrypted community the specific role and ideas of new technologies, such as Layer2, to “full faith” for the market。
THIS HIGH-DENSITY, HIGH-CONFIDENCE CONTENT OUTPUT IS ESSENTIAL IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE TRANSITION FROM THE ETHER TO THE "EXTREME TOY" TO "ENCRYPTED WORLD COMPUTER" - IT HELPED THE ETHER FONG TO GATHER THE MOST LOYAL COMMUNITIES IN THE SIEGE OF COUNTLESS CHAINS, AND IT ALSO SUSTAINED THE INITIAL ETH NARRATIVE PREMIUM。
The problem, however, is that this stage of the mission has largely been accomplished。
OVER THE PAST YEAR OR TWO, PURE NARRATIVES WITHIN THE ENCRYPTION INDUSTRY HAVE CLEARLY WEAKENED, AND GROWTH IN ADOPTION RATES HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY DEPENDENT ON ACCESS TO TRADITIONAL FINANCIAL SYSTEMS, PARTICULARLY IN THE AREAS OF PAYMENTS AND RWA (REAL WORLD ASSETS). THERE IS NO LONGER A NEED FOR THE ETA TO CONVINCE PEOPLE TO “DO NOT TRUST THE BANK” BY A FEW STRONG ARTICLES, BUT RATHER FOR BANKS, ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANIES, AND LISTED COMPANIES TO REALLY USE ETA AS AN INFRASTRUCTURE。
With the switch in the type of target group, the relay bar for narratives has changed hands。
Asset management companies, represented by Bitwise, VanEck, BlackRock, have begun to pass on ETH values to the traditional financial world through ETF products, studies and public statements. MicroStrategy, although predominantly in bitcoin, has created a model of “purchase of encrypted assets by listed companies” that has been replicated by other companies, some of which have started to include ETH in their balance sheets. People with traditional financial backgrounds, such as Tom Lee and Larry Fink, have emerged as new faces in explaining the concept of the Taicha to the mainstream world. Their language is more compliant, more professional and more acceptable to traditional capital。
The role of Bankless is being replaced by a more decentralized, professional and dollar narrative network。
For a long time, the moat of the ETA was not a technology-leading or user-size, but a complete system of value narratives woven by media preachers such as Vitalik, the ETA Foundation, Nucleus developers and Banks. Technology can be imitated and ecology replicated, but this faith-based community that has accumulated since 2015 is almost irreplaceable。
Today, the role of Banks, while fading, is not in a vacuum, but in nature, with a large number of new forces that are more in line with the current stage of the development of the Taipei, including various institutional research departments, mainstream entrepreneurs, chain-based data platforms, etc。
From this perspective, the departure of Banks is not just a crisis, but a logical consequence of the evolution and decentrization of the Taifung narrative system. A healthy ecology should not be long-term dependent on a “semi-official” media to maintain faith. The historical mission of the Ministry of Advocacy has been accomplished when the ETF has entered the mainstream financial world and when ETF funding flows are more able to influence market sentiment than any podcast。
