ROLLUP: Markets Down | Tether $500B Raise | South Park x Polymarket | Gensler Grilled

Listen to this episode from Bankless on Spotify. In this week's Weekly Rollup, we break down “Downtemper” market moves as Bitcoin and Ethereum slide, and examine why Vitalik Buterin is calling low-risk DeFi Ethereum's true backbone. We highlight Tether's ambitious $500B raise, Polymarket's mainstream moment on South Park, and Gary Gensler's testy CNBC appearance. We also cover Paul Atkins' push for pro-crypto regulation, the heated debate over whether Base should be regulated like Nasdaq, and the surprising deletion of 86 million bank accounts in Vietnam as digital ID mandates expand. ------ TIMESTAMPS & RESOURCES 0:00 Intro 2:58 Markets https://x.com/PeterSchiff/status/1971193227807162797 https://x.com/tomleeupdates/status/197097365172296 1041 https://x.com/TheOneandOmsy/status/1969076691478696325 6:21BitGo IPO https://x.com/jseyff/status/1969143764535972186 8:33 Tether $500B Raise https://www.reuters.com/business/crypto-firm-tether-eyes-500-billion-valuation-major-raise-round-bloomberg-news-2025-09-23 13:21 Polymarket / South Park https://x.com/Polymarket/status/1970829572842065995 https://x.com/aleximm/status/1971063404308918630 https://x.com/Polymarket/status/1971137036863275056 https://x.com/martypartymusic/status/1970125767460950181 19:58 Gary Gensler / Paul Atkins / CFTC / Clarity Act https://x.com/altcoindaily/status/1968814029943480623 https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6379979495112 https://x.com/vronirwin/status/1969775136959270993 https://x.com/amandalfischer/status/1970254506374938992 https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/09/10/trump-s-cftc-hopeful-quintenz-takes-his-dispute-with-tyler-winklevoss-very-public https://x.com/BrianQuintenz/status/1965855208195412356 https://www.theblock.co/post/371778/white-house-patrick-witt-market-structure-bill 32:24 Vitalik / DeFi / Coinbase https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2025/09/21/low_risk_defi.html https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1969794415595077997 https://youtu.be/ADiEX92S58E https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1968708504547364921 36:52 Synthetix Perp Dex https://x.com/synthetix_io/status/1970237341760655656 https://www.bankless.com/podcast/how-synthetix-brings-perps-back-to-the-ethereum-l1-kain-warwick?ref=bankless.ghost.io 41:12 Base / Nasdaq Debate https://thedefiant.io/newsletter/defi-daily/should-base-be-regulated-as-an-exchange https://x.com/iampaulgrewal/status/1970206735206900038 https://x.com/MaxResnick1/status/1970250612399825075 https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1970258498996048247 https://x.com/jchervinsky/status/1970571188993958214 https://x.com/danrobinson/status/1970557854190051463 50:52 Coinbase + Cloudflare x402 https://x.com/CoinbaseDev/status/1970477072792592484 https://x.com/balajis/status/1952582943689556453 52:18 Vietnam Bank Account Purge https://x.com/alanvibe/status/1967643742653042698 https://x.com/RyanSAdams/status/1969390296812196325 56:46 Closing & Disclaimers ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠