Podcast

📺 SotN #32: Does DeFi Fix This? Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss

In this episode, we bring Tyler & Cameron Winklevoss, founders of the Gemini Exchange and crypto-visionaries, to the Bankless State of the Nation. We do a deep dive into the market craze of the Gamestop ($GME) Short-Squeeze, r/Wallstreetbets, and what it means for the DeFi space.

Feb 3, 2021 • 1 min read

TOPICS

- r/WallStreetBets
- Robinhood Retail vs. Institutional Elite
- Media & The Establishment
- Is Traditional Finance Broken?
- DeFi's Big Moment
- Gemini Updates

Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss had a heated appearance on CNBC last week to discuss the events of the Gamestop Short-Squeeze in the context of populism, the inequity of the current financial establishment, and cryptocurrency.

Their argument centers on the relationship between censorship and centralization –problems that don't exist in the crypto landscape. The $GME craze has been the epicenter of a growing protest against the institutional elite – this protest inherently calls for decentralization and distributed power. DeFi fixes this.

Brokerages like Robinhood having the power to limit trading based on a phone call is a war cry to adopt permissionless transacting. Cameron describes how this is an example of the people becoming disillusioned to the monopoly of modern money. The media establishment has vastly underestimated and vilified these "internet amateurs."

The Winklevi discuss how a money-making opportunity turned into a movement demanding institutional change, flaming the fires of broken trust after events like the '08 collapse. Public forums like Twitter and Reddit have become powerful tools to organize the masses, and the sentiments seen here reflect cryptocurrency's value propositions.

The big question remaining is how these events and arguments can serve as a rallying point for DeFi adoption. Cameron & Tyler are optimistic about DeFi's solutions to increasingly relevant and urgent problems in our current system.

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.

Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here.

Published in Bankless

There’s a revolution in the world of money. Ethereum, Bitcoin, crypto, open finance, DeFi—a bankless revolution. And you want part of it.

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