Is Ethereum's $240 Billion Market Cap Justified With Only $6 Million in Monthly Fees?

About this episode

Vitalik Buterin wants ETH to be a store of value. So why does value pile up in apps like Hyperliquid and Pump.fun instead of Ethereum? Jeff Dorman lays out his fix. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsor! Put your crypto to work with Nexo: earn daily interest or borrow funds against your assets on one platform trusted by more than 10 million clients. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://unchainedcrypto.com/go/nexo-podcast-sn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Geo-restrictions, eligibility and terms apply. ======================================================== Vitalik Buterin argued this week that ETH should be valued as a store of value rather than a fee-burning token, tying the asset's worth to Ethereum's decentralization and its CROPS principles. Jeff Dorman, Chief Investment Officer and co-founder of Arca, tells Laura Shin the pivot is "really misguided." By his math, Ethereum's roughly $6 million in monthly revenue and the ETH sitting in wallets for gas account for about $50 billion of tangible value, leaving roughly $200 billion of what he calls "hopium." Dorman lays out why value has flowed to applications like Hyperliquid and Pump.fun rather than to layer 1s, why he thinks Bitcoin's store-of-value run can't be copied, and why Ethereum would have to build its own stablecoin and DEX or start taxing the apps built on it. His challenge to ETH bulls: put a number on how big the network has to get before the token captures any of that value. Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Laura Shin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Host / Unchained Guest: Jeff Dorman - Chief Investment Officer and Co-founder of Arca Timestamps 🎬 00:00 Intro 🎙️ 00:59 Bits + Bips: search Bits + Bips and subscribe to our weekly crypto and macro show at https://www.youtube.com/@Bitsandbips 🔥 01:19 Why Vitalik Buterin now wants ETH valued as a store of value, not a fee burn 📊 10:44 Jeff on why L1s like Ethereum and Solana look overvalued but apps don't 💰 16:00 Nexo: Generate daily interest on your crypto or borrow funds against your assets at https://unchainedcrypto.com/go/nexo-podcast-yt 🏝️ 16:44 Vitalik's L'Oréal comparison and Jeff's case that untaxed chains are islands 🌍 21:39 Why Jeff calls ETH the 'lazy' bet on stablecoins, tokenization and DeFi 🪙 27:46 Why Jeff calls Vitalik's store-of-value pitch for ETH 'really misguided' 🧾 31:07 How Jeff would fix ETH: copy Hyperliquid's 'holy trinity' or tax the apps Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices