✨ Part II Out Now for Bankless Premium Subscribers: https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/early-access-whats-next-vitalik-buterin  ✨ DEBRIEF | Unpacking the Episode: https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/vitalik-debrief  Vitalik Buterin is a crypto-economic researcher, author of the Ethereum Whitepaper, builder, and philosopher. He also recently published a new book titled, “Proof of Stake: The Making of Ethereum and the Philosophy of Blockchains.” In his first Bankless appearance post-merge, Vitalik shares his behind-the-scenes perspective on the merge, looking back—what he would’ve done differently, and most importantly—what’s next? This is a two-part episode that you don’t what to miss! Part one is all about what’s next for Ethereum. And part two covers more of the social/philosophical realm of holistically, what is Ethereum. Further, Vitalik explores his thoughts on artificial intelligence and its relationship to crypto. ------ ? Swell | Liquid Staking for the People https://bankless.cc/swelldiscord  ------ ? SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/  ?️ SUBSCRIBE TO PODCAST: http://podcast.banklesshq.com/  ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: ? LENS | WEB3 SOCIAL PROTOCOL https://bankless.cc/Lens  ? ROCKET POOL | ETH STAKING https://bankless.cc/RocketPool  ⚖️ ARBITRUM | SCALING ETHEREUM https://bankless.cc/Arbitrum  ? BRAVE | THE BROWSER NATIVE WALLET https://bankless.cc/Brave  ? JUNO | BRIDGE FIAT TO LAYER 2 https://bankless.cc/Juno  ⚡️ ZKSYNC | THE LAYER 2 SCALING ENDGAME https://bankless.cc/zkSync  ----- Topics Covered 0:00 Intro 10:28 What Will Trolls Focus on Next? 11:34 The Merge From Vitalik’s Perspective 15:10 PoS Energy Reduction 27:09 Why PoS Took So Long 32:03 Truly Optimal PoS 35:12 What Vitalik Would Change 37:30 Where Are We in Ethereum’s Trajectory 52:53 The Economics of Staking 1:02:15 Centralization of Stake Worry 1:11:40 Censorship Resistance Problem 1:15:15 Validator Choices 1:18:30 Have L2s Lived Up to the Hype 1:20:37 The 2023-2024 Ethereum Era 1:25:41 Closing ------ Resources: Vitalik Roadmap Bankless Episode https://youtu.be/b1m_PTVxD-s  Vitalik’s Vlog https://vitalik.ca/  Vitalik’s New Book https://www.amazon.com/Proof-Stake-Ethereum-Philosophy-Blockchains/dp/164421248X/  The Ethereum Roadmap https://twitter.com/vitalikbuterin/status/1466411377107558402  Paths to Single Slot Finality https://notes.ethereum.org/@vbuterin/single_slot_finality  MEV Boost https://www.mevboost.org/  DAOs are not corporations https://vitalik.ca/general/2022/09/20/daos.html  ----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.