We've already discussed how Ethereum is the most trusted decentralized intermediary on earth ad nauseam. Ethereum, optimizing for security and decentralization, could not be fast. Furthermore, blockchains have congestion pricing for fees to offer incentives to validators but primarily to reduce the likelihood of spamming - raising the price of interacting with the blockchain disincentivizes chicanery.

This however is not prudent when you are marketing the blockchain because people only care about security and decentralization when the system is under direct threat - a rare occasion.

Ethereum developed Layer 2s which were an ingenious idea when they were burning tons of ether every day and airdropping millions to users - but as soon as these things stopped criticisms arose suggesting they were parasitic to Ethereum.

Mutual

L2s could be alternative L1s. This we know would be bad for Ethereum. These hypothetical alternative L1s could have independent virtual machines & could have independent currencies, further fragmenting the onchain world.

But they settle to Ethereum. They borrow ethereum's trust, at minimum costs since EIP-4844, and resale it. They borrow the recognizable and deeply trusted store of value asset as the center of their respective economies.

By increasing the surface area of Ethereum, the marketshare of ethereum can increase versus competitors. The low costs activity and security allows a stratification of transactions naturally, as people pay for coffee on L2 and save for their future on L1. Similarly, bank rails for coffee aren't the same for the international settlement of banks.

Uptober: L2s in October 2025

The Ethereum Ecosystem has been growing violently in all metrics. Activity is most important to note. With multiple chains working to bring people to the broader Ethereum Ecosystem, the active address metric is the result of many different teams. Daily transaction count on Ethereum is up 23% YoY (1.36M), Base is up 77% YoY (12.5M), Arbitrum is up 64% YoY (3.24M).

At the same time transaction costs has plummeted. Most interesting though is that Layer 2's are once again burning ether. Since Blobs began (March 2024), L2s have burned 9,286.1 Ether. In the last seven days, 4325.99 Ether have been burned from L2 activity.

L2s have been eviscerated time and time again as slow and inefficient and unable to compete with alternative L1s. L2s have delivered 3,100 TPS and exceed 1,000 TPS at some point every day , although they are most commonly found between 200 - 500 TPS.

I say this to say they are operating at less than full capacity. As more and more finance comes onchain, L2s will become home to tens of thousands of transactions per second. The question is, how much ether will be burned at that point?

Over the last few years L2s have move up and to the right and that's to be expected with the teams which back them. Along with them, they bring Ether and Ethereum.

The very core of economic transactions is trust. Trust that transactions will settle. Trust that actors in the ecosystem will behave in the interest of the ecosystem. This trust is the core of capital, better known as social capital.

As I dove into economics further in my younger years, I believed everything was numerical, physical, and tangible. However, thanks to a good brother of mine and many mind bending conversations about the issue, it is the intangible materials which are the life blood of a good capitalist system.

Social Capital - trust that everyone means well - is that core item.

Absent social capital, capitalism devolves into a game of exploitation and survival of the fittest. It is a violent trend which feeds off itself where humans lose trust due to exploitation of trust - leading to more exploitation.

Exploitation is very profitable but it cannot last indefinitely without constant innovation on new ways to manipulate trust. The rise of private equity firms in the United States is a displays the insatiable desire to extract without producing value.

This is likely a trend throughout the western world and has reduced trust in institutions broadly across these populations.

Disintermediation

The solution to this declining privacy is simple - disrupting these existing monopolies in our economies with transparent innovation.

Adverse Selection

A buyer can be vulnerable and this offers an opportunity for exploitation. If an individual is facing blindness, you can sell them a drug for an exorbitant price, because few would elect for blindness. Few would elect to be homeless.

Pay Day lenders can lend to people at exorbitant usurious rates because the borrowers are in a desperate position.

In a more transparent market, it is possible that people could offer their credentials onchain (using some form of Zero Knowledge Privacy) to an internet of lenders who would clamor for these rates. The competition for these borrowers would reduce the rate of interest to a much less exploitative rate.

The transparency of the Blockchain could reduce this market to be more fair.

Rent Seeking

In Europe, many cities are walkable and public transit is prioritized for the benefit of the public (I am sure there is exploitation but as an American, I just see greener grass). In the US this is not the case. One cannot be without a car. In recent years, the cost of vehicles has skyrocketed and so has car insurance. This is a rent market because absent a vehicle, one cannot be employed. So people are forced into the market.

This is very much self reinforcing in the car insurance market as more are priced out of insurance putting upward price pressure on those who can still afford car insurance.

Without a functioning public transit, the cost of car ownership is allowed to monopolize transit.

Informational Asymmetry

Sellers are aware of the flaws in their products and can exploit buyers with hidden fees. The internet is a tool that can be used to dramatically reduce and increase informational asymmetry.

Today bots post videos and posts about products to convince people to buy them with dishonest advertisements. People, who have large followings, can be purchased to advertise products they've never used.

People also can post honest reviews that can be upvoted on sites to increase the trust of the post. Reddit has benefitted from this model as people can seek out reviews of products.

The internet can produce fake social capital with bot engagement.

There is a growing importance to have more verifiability on the internet so social consensus can be generated without the centralized input & approval. Decentralized algorithms and verification can produce social capital without a central point of control.

Moral Hazard

When banks are offered a blank check from regulators at taxpayer expense, they are more likely to take on exorbitant risk. We've seen this time and time again, especially since the creation of the Federal Reserve. Profits were privatized during the rise of these leveraging events but when the deleveraging comes it is socialized - the US dollar was devalued significantly from 35 USD per oz of gold to 20.67 USD per oz of gold during the Great Depression.

Prior to this, the US (like most of the world) had a plethora of panics where banks were punished socially for their chicanery and economies were wrecked. Blockchains are very much so like this. In 2022, many crypto leveraging attempts blew up but they were all centralized.

The rising utility of decentralized finance, on immutable & transparent rails, is ready to accept the world. As smart contracts continue to prove they can reduce intermediation in finance, & the risk of human error can be reduced in our economies.

Social Capital is coming Onchain

Recently, Vitalik wrote a post about the increasing trust in Decentralized Finance, among other decentralized technologies.

Ethereum is likely the largest beneficiary of this trend because of its decentralized validator set and hardening financial services.

As distrust grows, the Ethereum community needs to grow louder about the utility of a center of trust not associated with a centralized institution. Cryptocurrency is evidence that humans, using communication technologies of the 21st Century, are capable of developing consensus among one another. Ethereum can be that center of Trust.

Recently, I was tasked with creating a better marketing pitch for Ether the (asset) and Ethereum (the economy). It had been brought to my attention that the statement Bitcoin is digital gold required you to say bitcoin while Ethereum's latest Believe in Something (the eth in something being replaced by the Ethereum logo) does not require you to say Ethereum or Ether. Bitcoin being acknowledged as digital gold is an actionable way for an investor to view and use the asset. In this article, I will attempt to do something of that nature.

What is the pitch?

When I approached people about cryptocurrency they often reel with some form of disgust. So I pivoted toward explaining the diminishing benefits of remaining in the traditional financial system. There was a bit of nihilism about the subject: "what are we gonna do about it?"

Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.

President John F. Kennedy

The idea of a nation & a community requires a sense of identity in a collective. President Kennedy artfully asked for collective sacrifice for the purpose of collective advancement. Active citizenship is maintained when individuals labor for the interest of a collective and the collective benefits the individual over time. When the collective fails to support the individual, who works tirelessly maintaining their end of the social contract, individuals begin to opt out.

"What are we going to do about it?"

"Opt out."

Here I begin to explain the benefits of Ethereum's Economy for a saver starting with interest rates on Aave, Morpho, & Moonwell. Why do you choose to earn 2.75% interest on your savings when Circle or PayPal will issue you a stable coin and give you access to markets which earn 6% on a bad day? Here I eventually convince someone to move a less serious amount of money to a lending market on Ethereum or one its many layer 2s.

One thing I've noticed is the surprise of earning interest in real time, visibly is powerful for people - most notably Morpho's Projected Monthly Earnings. For most people the negligible amount of money they put onchain outperforms their more significant savings. Slowly they move more money onchain.

Ask not what you can do for your economy, but what your economy can do for you?

What is your economy doing for you? Ask yourself, because Ethereum is right here.

When their eyes grow larger, I say to them Just Use Ethereum. Ethereum is good. Ethereum is ready for savers. Ethereum is safe. Ethereum is always available. I explain that cryptocurrency is no different than the wild west. There were many boomtowns surrounding mineshafts which offered promise that faded away into nothingness when that promise evaporated, but there was San Francisco, Denver, & Salt Lake City. Going west is the smart decision but being conservative is smarter than gambling. Lastly, I explain the addition of a store of value asset to a portfolio of savers. Dollar inflation higher than it has been in previous eras, which is why we need higher savings rates more than previous eras, but we also need stores of value more than previously.

Why Ether?

Ether gets its value from Ethereum's Economy and Ethereum's Economy gets invaluable services from Ether. While all this is super cool to express endlessly, people want to know what ethereum can do for them. So show them. Bitcoin is Digital Gold is a declarative statement, but Just Use Ethereum is a call to action. Ethereum offers utility for everyones money - whether it is bitcoin, gold, tokenized assets or fiat currency. We have to continue pushing the bounds and innovating until we might ask the question: What can't ethereum do for you?

The financial system is large and expansive and is intertwined in our every day lives. Everyday finance is done. Finance is action. Ethereum's best marketing is what it can do. What it can do right now for every individual on earth.

This isn't to say Ether is not Digital Oil. It is indeed Digital Oil and it must live as Oil did. Initially, petroleum was merely to produce kerosene and the many other hydrocarbons were considered waste. People did not yet know what it could do. When humanity discovered the many other uses of Oil it became far more valuable and to this day, even as we look to more renewable power sources, oil is a massive part of the global economy - and without it much economic activity would cease. Oil is in demand when humanity needs to do.

We have to get more practical about what Ethereum can do, and this will increase the demand for Ether. Ethereum is a place for economic activity which allows other zones of economic activity to spring forth from it in the form of Ethereum's many L2s. All of Ethereum can do for people all about the globe and we have to go to people and show them what it can do.

Why Just Ethereum?

Credible neutrality is not easy to acquire but it is easy to lose. Recently, corporations have begun attempting to release their own Layer 1 chains and consortiums to gain marketshare in stable coins and payments. Trust as a component of money is something that is not well understood and but trust as a component of finance is well understood. No one wants to do business where transactions run the risk of being censored or reversed without clear fixed rules of engagement. On Ethereum all business is going to receive the same treatment, however on a consortium an arbiter will decide what is valid.

This is not to say a consortium has no value, but it is to say that no individual will be holding their life savings on this chain without any guarantees on their money - especially when Ethereum exists. Corporations and businesses would find their savings and treasuries better managed on Ethereum than on a consortium chain who would have some control on their assets.

Reliability and trust are worth something. They are earned by doing.

inevitable that if you’re reading this, you’re keenly aware that ETH is once again

approaching the $4,000 mark. Perhaps it’s because of the general anxiety that ETH’s

return to this price feels fated—destined. But as the asset sets its sights on a new all-time

high, which itself feels like a given, it would be easy to overlook one of the greatest

challenges to Ethereum’s ascension into the realm of the “almost mythological” asset

class.

Ethereum—and by extension, ETH—for all its technological achievements, has a

narrative and linguistic problem. Unlike Bitcoin, which was branded early and

consistently as “digital gold,” ETH has cycled through identity crises: smart contract fuel,

world computer, decentralized finance layer, ultrasound money. All of them true, yet none

of them stuck.

Why? Because none of them were linguistically engineered to resonate. No metaphor. No

rhythm. No repetition. No shared imagery. All intellectually accurate—yet emotionally

forgettable.

The result? A fractured understanding of Ethereum’s role in the world. But now, as the

digital economy takes shape and the price line ascends to its highest peak in this cycle, it

seems appropriate that we return to the question of narrative. We need a new metaphor—

one that may finally anchor ETH in the public mind: Ethereum is digital oil.

Just like its predecessor Bitcoin, ETH is primed to cement itself as part of this epoch-

defining moment where traditional finance meets the blockchain.

Bitcoin, for all of its parabolic price appreciation over the last several years—and

especially in the last year—didn’t get there because it had a superior value proposition. It

didn’t generate yield. There were no applications—not really. Instead, Bitcoin benefitted

from first-mover advantage and, more importantly, from belief in a narrative.

That belief wasn’t an accident. It was linguistically constructed.

The phrase “digital gold” entered the discourse and took root. Four words. Simple.

Evocative. Familiar. It borrowed the trustworthiness of a historical asset and layered on

modern potential. It gave shape to an abstract idea.

It worked because it obeyed the rules of linguistic framing:

- Metaphor: It compared the unfamiliar (Bitcoin) to the familiar (gold).

- Cognitive ease: It was easy to say, remember, and repeat.

- Emotional resonance: Gold signified permanence, safety, rebellion.

Immediately, it created a juxtaposition: if Bitcoin was digital gold, then Ether was silver

—or so the esoteric conversations of the last decade suggested. And this framing, too,

served to reinforce Bitcoin’s mystique.

We’ll explore gold more thoroughly in a moment, but for now, we can focus on what

made this belief stick: it wasn’t just correct. It was linguistically perfect. A metaphor that

carried centuries of emotional weight, mapped onto a new form. Bitcoin became an

emotional hedge, a libertarian statement, and an anti-inflation vault—all in four words.

That metaphor became its moat.

And that left Ether as the lesser metal. Why buy silver when gold is on the table?

Even gold, as an asset, has benefitted from powerful narratives shaped over millennia.

From the very beginning, gold was an unremarkable metal chemically—but it was

imbued with symbolic and monetary value. That happened through language and belief.

As far back as ancient Egypt, gold was hoarded—stockpiled and kept as a sacred metal. It

became “the flesh of the gods.” That phrase didn’t just describe gold. It sacralized it.

Later, kings would hoard it to signal divine legitimacy. When the Lydians minted the first

gold coins around 600 BCE, they weren’t just creating currency—they were branding

sovereignty in metal. As far back as ancient Egypt, gold was hoarded—stockpiled and kept as a sacred metal. It

became “the flesh of the gods.” That phrase didn’t just describe gold. It sacralized it.

Later, kings would hoard it to signal divine legitimacy. When the Lydians minted the first

gold coins around 600 BCE, they weren’t just creating currency—they were branding

sovereignty in metal.

Eventually, gold became the global store of value. But again, not through utility alone.

Through narrative evolution:

- Temple offering → Royal reserve

- Royal reserve → Currency peg

- Currency peg → Crisis hedge

And at every phase, language framed it:

- “Gold is real money. Everything else is credit.” (J.P. Morgan)

- “Gold standard” — a phrase now synonymous with highest possible quality

Its price history is as much about belief as geology. Gold may be the first asset class to be

narratively financialized at global scale.

And then there are diamonds.

Diamonds are not rare. They are perhaps the most successful product of emotional

engineering in modern capitalism. De Beers’ “A Diamond is Forever” campaign didn’t

just sell stones—it sold ritual. It transformed carbon into commitment—a luxury item

into a moral obligation.

The genius wasn’t geological. It was linguistic.

“A Diamond is Forever.” Four words.

- Evoked immortality.

- Reframed spending as virtue.

- Created a market where resale was taboo and price sensitivity evaporated.

It wasn’t just advertising. It was cultural programming, repeated in media, movies, music,

and myth. It locked diamonds into love, loyalty, and memory. The lesson? Narratives

make markets—even when fundamentals don’t. Especially when fundamentals don’t.

Unlike gold or diamonds, Ethereum does something. It powers activity. And this is where

the oil metaphor hits hardest.

Oil powered the industrial revolution. ETH powers the onchain revolution. Just as the

20th century ran on crude oil, the 21st will run on Ethereum.

Just like oil underpins modern life—showing up in our cars, planes, plastics, and

electronics—Ethereum underpins the emerging digital economy. It secures networks,

moves assets, runs applications, and burns with use.

But unless we frame that in language the public can absorb, we’ll lose the narrative again.

We don’t need a tagline that’s technically perfect. We need one that’s linguistically

inevitable.

Let us frame it plainly:

Ethereum is the engine. ETH is the fuel.

Where Bitcoin is perfectly suited as an onchain analogy for gold—something that sits in a

vault and appreciates in value due to its scarcity—Ether is different. And equally, if not

more, valuable.

Ethereum doesn’t sit in vaults—it moves economies. It fuels systems, applications, and

protocols. If the world is digitizing its economies—from finance to governance to media—then

Ethereum is positioned to be the substrate that makes it possible. And ETH is the oil that

keeps that engine turning.

For ETH to claim its place among the great assets of our time, it must do what Bitcoin,

gold, and even diamonds have done before: cement a narrative, crafted with intention,

metaphor, and emotion.For ETH to claim its place among the great assets of our time, it must do what Bitcoin,

gold, and even diamonds have done before: cement a narrative, crafted with intention,

metaphor, and emotion.

ETH is digital oil.

That’s not just a slogan — it’s a linguistic strategy.

It’s the metaphor that can carry Ethereum into cultural permanence.

The time has come to say it, show it, and repeat it—until the world believes it.

Gold's limitations as a standalone store of value are exposed in today's fast-paced, digitally connected world. To address these shortcomings, consider diversifying your portfolio with Bitcoin for enhanced portability and Ether for yield-generating potential. This article argues for a multi-asset approach to storing value, combining the strengths of traditional gold with the benefits of modern cryptocurrencies.

Gold

For millennia, gold has reigned supreme as the ultimate store of value, and its allure is undeniable. This coveted metal has stood the test of time, prized for its durability, verifiability, and undeniable human fascination with its luster. However, the dawn of the digital age has disrupted gold's dominance, as the speed of information has accelerated exponentially. With the world at our fingertips, we've grown accustomed to instant access to information, and our expectations for money have followed suit.

The seismic shift began when Richard Nixon severed the dollar's ties to gold, ushering in the dollar standard. The world adapted, and dollars became the new benchmark for speed and agility in policymaking. Gold, once the underlying unit of value for all currency exchanges, was relegated to a secondary role. Yet, it continued to hold its ground as a trusted, sovereign store of value.

In the aftermath of Nixon's decision, gold embarked on a spectacular ascent, skyrocketing from $35 to $860 per ounce before retreating. It repeated this feat during the Great Recession, but as human consensus accelerates at an unprecedented pace, it's clear that settlement of traditional stores of value like gold can no longer keep up. The question is: what's next? Will gold's limitations be its downfall, or can it be complemented by newer, more agile alternatives?

The Pendulum of Certainty

My journey into the heart of economics began with a profound concept: radical uncertainty. Introduced by Mervyn King and John Kay, it revealed the intricate web of variables that shape our economic world. This idea resonated with the principles of quantum mechanics, particularly Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, which led me to explore the patterns that govern human history.

Like the oscillations of Gibbs Free Energy Constant, uncertainty ebbs and flows, momentarily achieving equilibrium before careening back into chaos. Throughout the ages, we've witnessed fleeting periods of peace and prosperity, which I term "Paxes." During these golden eras, delta uncertainty remains stable, and effective governance maintains the delicate balance. However, sustaining this equilibrium demands constant energy and coordination, ultimately succumbing to the natural state of uncertainty.

In times of turmoil, humans instinctively seek refuge, just like atoms responding to environmental changes. Gold, with its durability and perceived value, has long been the safe-haven asset of choice. People convert their hard-earned wealth into gold, seeking security in its tangibility. Yet, when stability returns, this pattern reverses, and gold is abandoned in favor of investments that promise yields and growth.

Here lies gold's Achilles' heel: its inability to generate intrinsic yield, coupled with the physical constraints and storage requirements that necessitate centralization. This limitation led to the creation of gold-backed notes, ultimately giving rise to the fiat-dominated financial system we know today.

The pursuit of yield is an fundamental aspect of human nature. When optimism prevails, we inevitably seek to invest, lend, and improve our societies. Gold, as a store of value, cannot satisfy this drive for growth. Through fiat currencies and gold-backed securities, yield has enabled people to be compensated for their investments while deferring immediate gratification. From Renaissance-era government bonds to Dot-com era equities, optimistic investors have consistently sought returns, fueling the engine of economic progress.

As we enter a new era of humanity, characterized by instant global communication, infinite access to information, and abundant energy, it's imperative that we reassess our store of value. We need a system that can transfer value at a speed that matches the velocity of human consensus, sustaining a strong and viable economy even in the most turbulent times. As human consensus accelerates with advancements in telecommunications, it's clear that traditional stores of value like gold can no longer keep pace. The question is: what's next?

Digital Gold

For centuries, gold has reigned supreme as the ultimate store of value, but Bitcoin has emerged as a formidable challenger, shaking the foundations of the status quo. Bitcoin's fixed supply and predetermined schedule make it a more reliable and predictable store of value than gold, which is vulnerable to inflationary shocks, like a possible discovery of new celestial deposits. Moreover, Bitcoin's infinite divisibility, portability, and accessibility make it a more practical and convenient option for the modern era. However, like gold, Bitcoin suffers from a critical flaw: it offers no intrinsic yield, leaving investors hungry for returns.

The 2021 cryptocurrency mania exposed the darker side of the industry, as centralized companies recklessly mismanaged deposits and promised unsustainable yields. This era of wildcat banking was a symptom of a deeper issue: the need for innovation and financial progress often comes at the cost of sovereignty. As the demand for decentralized solutions grows, it becomes clear that Bitcoin, despite its strengths, cannot fill the void left by gold alone.

In the shadow of Bitcoin's rise, a new powerhouse has emerged: Ether. This decentralized and dynamic money has the potential to revolutionize the way we store value, providing a bedrock for a thriving economy to be built upon. Ether is not just a worthy competitor to Bitcoin and gold; it's a game-changer. As the third pillar of a new triumvirate, Ether is poised to play a starring role in the future of finance, and it's not just a supporting actor – it's the protagonist.

A Persistent Digital Store of Value

In the sweltering summer of 2015, Ethereum burst onto the scene, revolutionizing the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency. As a smart contract platform, it provided a fertile ground for developers to experiment with its composable blockspace, and they didn't hesitate. Thousands of assets were minted, and significant economic activity ensued. To ensure this activity was permissionless and decentralized, Ethereum followed in Bitcoin's footsteps, adopting a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism that issued 5 ether per block. This move transformed Ethereum into a thriving agora and marketplace, with Ether as its native currency.

As the Ethereum economy grew, so did the voices calling for a more valuable Ether. The inflation rate of 5 ether per block became the focal point of attention. Through a process of rough consensus, the community decided to reduce inflation to 3 ether per block, and later to 2 ether per block. But that wasn't enough. The citizens of Ethereum then made a bold move, introducing a mechanism to destroy a certain amount of ether every block, effectively reducing the net issuance of new ether. This was followed by the most ambitious decentralized project in history – the Ethereum Merge – which transitioned the network to Proof of Stake (PoS) and slashed inflation rates to almost zero.

The implications of this move are profound. Ethereum's supply schedule is now inextricably linked to the health of its economy. If economic activity is high, more ether is destroyed than created, reducing the supply. Conversely, if activity is low, more ether is created, increasing the supply. This dynamic has significant implications for monetary theory and the concept of a store of value. Ether is not just a store of value; it's a unique asset that can provide native yield without the risk of centralization.

Like Bitcoin, Ether is infinitely divisible, portable, and globally accessible, with no degradation risk. But what sets it apart is its ability to host an entire economy, exporting its properties to other blockchains that want to utilize the security and money of Ethereum. In times of great uncertainty, people flock to stores of value for protection. But with Ether, they can stake their assets and earn more Ether, even in the midst of turmoil. With Ethereum, even if they wanted to hold stablecoins they could still add to the economy in a lending app. When optimism returns, they can exchange their staked Ether for liquid Ether, claim their interest, and chase yield in the Ethereum economy.

A good store of value must not only preserve wealth but also incentivize holding over spending and investing elsewhere. Gold and Bitcoin alone cannot achieve this. But Ether can. It's a key to an economy that provides permissionless access to finance, growth, resilience, and autonomy. The internet was designed to disrupt intermediaries, and yield is a market that offers financial freedom. Whether you're looking for native staking yield or yield from the economy itself, a store of value that provides yield is a fundamental evolution of how we think of value, trust, and money. As digital stores of value continue to erode gold's market share, consider Ether, which offers scarcity, security, a stake in a digital economy, and yield.

The Optimism stack is a standout in the Ethereum ecosystem, boasting over 15 optimistic rollups, including Base, Coinbase's Layer 2 solution. A key factor in a thriving blockchain economy is the presence of talented developers driving innovation and attracting capital. Moreover, a truly great economy encourages competition from external entities, fostering growth and improvement. The recent integration of Across's cross-chain intents on the OP Stack presents an exciting opportunity for it to become a unified economic hub, with interconnected activity across its various layers.

This vision has long been a goal for myself and many other Ethereum L2 users. Uniswap was an early pioneer in this space, introducing a bridging feature that enabled seamless transfers of Ether, USDC (USDC.e as well). However, the game-changer is Velodrome's recent upgrade to support OP Stack cross-chain technology. I had the chance to experience it firsthand this week, and it was truly mind-blowing. The seamless interaction between different layers is a significant milestone in achieving a cohesive and efficient blockchain economy.

Above I am able to purchase Moonwell's Governance token on Optimism with Ether on Unichain. This transaction took less than 16 seconds and costed a network fee of 0.000424 Ether (which I hope declines in the future). This amazing technology is the future standard of the Ethereum L2 landscape, however there is a single issue which I must point out.

Imagine a seamless, interconnected world where Ethereum's Layer 2 solutions work in harmony, providing a frictionless experience for users. But today, a glaring anomaly exists. Velodrome, a pioneering on-chain exchange on the Optimism Mainnet, has successfully bridged multiple blockchains - except one. Base, the largest liquidity hub on the OP Stack, remains isolated, despite being home to Aerodrome, Velodrome's own implementation.

The numbers are staggering. Aerodrome boasts a Total Value Locked (TVL) of 190,354 Ether, dwarfing Velodrome's 32,879 Ether. Yet, Velodrome's cross-chain model inexplicably excludes Aerodrome, leaving a critical gap in the ecosystem. This omission is not only costly but also senseless, degrading the user experience across the entire OP Stack.

I've been a fan of Velodrome since its early days on Optimism Layer 2 in 2022. Its dominance on OP Mainnet and other OP Stack chains is undeniable. But the launch of Aerodrome on Base, with a separate token, seems to be a missed opportunity for integration. Instead, Velodrome expanded to other chains, weaving them together - except Base. This fragmentation is a stark reminder of the Ethereum ecosystem's shortcomings.

The disconnect between Velodrome and Aerodrome is a prime example of the "Ethereum is fragmented" and "Layer 2s are not Ethereum" criticisms. It's a jarring experience, like hitting a speed bump on an otherwise smooth highway. The separation of the Velodrome stack from Aerodrome, Optimism from Base, and Base from the remainder of the stack, is a pressing issue that demands attention.

The solution is clear: integration. By merging these two applications, the Superchain can finally realize its full potential. What matters is a unified, seamless experience that unlocks the true power of the Ethereum ecosystem. As we look to the future, it's clear that the Ethereum ecosystem is on the cusp of a revolution. The prospect of a unified Superchain, where Layer 2 solutions work in harmony, is no longer a distant dream but a tangible reality. As the fragmented ecosystem begin to coalesce, we can expect to see a surge in innovation, adoption, and growth, cementing Ethereum's position as the leading force in the world of blockchain. The future is bright, and it's only a matter of time before the Superchain prevails, changing the face of the digital landscape forever.

Ethereum has been marketed to the masses endlessly and it has been done well, however ether marketing has taken a backseat. It is time we improve this to express the full store of value capabilities.

Ethereum is the Chess Board

Uncle ↑

@UncleRewards

If $BTC is king then $ETH is the chessboard

612

12:29 PM • Jun 26, 2025

I was scrolling on Twitter the other day and I took a look at this image posted by an Ether Bull. We always appreciate of bull posting, but I have to look at this for what it is worth and how a person may interpret.

What this post displays is store of value assets to fiat on a spectrum of descending value. All of these assets, regardless of their value sit on Ethereum, the chessboard. As a chess player of insignificant skill, I must also add that the pieces are displayed in descending height not descending power on the board.

This post states a few things:

1. Bitcoin is the superior store of value asset

2. Ethereum is the superior marketplace for economic activity & there is no game without Ethereum (assuming you can’t play chess without a chess board.)

Where is Ether?

Bitcoin is a great store of value and has a great history of storing value for the constituents of the network and has begun transitioning to a great store of value for larger institutions like pensions, companies and nation states. However, so has ether.

Above, we have entities who have chosen to hold Ether as a store of value, ranging from actors in the Ethereum Economy to nations and pension funds.

The Ethereum Economy has the potential to become the chessboard, however it is not the chessboard at current. Ether and Ethereum exist in a symbiotic relationship, so because Ethereum (the Chessboard) wouldn’t exist without Ether, Ether deserves a place on the chessboard. Out of Ether comes Ethereum. From the Ethereum Layer one, there are many sprawling economies leveraging both Ether & Ethereum.

Moreover, ether excels in many key properties that define a reliable store of value. Notably, since the Ethereum Merge, ether's issuance rate has fallen below that of both gold and bitcoin. Furthermore, its flexible protocol allows for the potential reduction of issuance over time, adding to its appeal. What's more, ether stands out as the most adaptable store of value asset, uniquely offering a native yield through staking or decentralized finance (DeFi) without the need for intermediaries.

Simplicity

As a lover of Ether & Ethereum, I have a desire to add overwhelming complexity to the marketing of Ether & Ethereum to our approach, however inundating people with the glorious ethereum gospel isn't effective. In recent years, I have learned that we have to simplify our marketing. I’ll propose a new order, while keeping the chess pieces in their proper order of power on the board.

We mustn’t forget KISS - keep it simple & stupid. IF (and when, as an Ether bull) Ethereum becomes the chessboard, there will be a need to rearrange the pieces as they are set above.