*BLUF
Banking cartel is cracking. Now we have the chance of a century to change things. Simple - Break em’ up OR bring in stablecoins.
Concept art by Sum of Parts for Zero Knowledge.
Good morning,
Your bank is a rigged, rotten dumpster fire. You know it. They know it.
Yes, even if you work for one. You are not the enemy—you're just stuck in the system.
Banks are defending their borders. Consumers are defecting their deposits.
But that gives us a chance to make this system better:
Break em’ up or let stablecoins eat their lunch?
LMK,
Austin
Teaching Blockchain & DeFi at NYU
Talking to institutions at Zero Knowledge
ZERO IN
ILLEGAL? WEILL SEE
In 1998, Citicorp CEO Sandy Weill made a $70 billion bet that would change banking forever.
Weill announced a merger with Travelers Group—he’d combine commercial banking with investment banking—before getting regulatory approval.
Weill's gamble? Congress would change Glass-Steagall, the law that made it illegal, and regulators wouldn’t be able to stop him.
He was right.
WEILL GOT A REPEAL
In 1999, Gramm-Leach-Bliley killed Glass-Steagall which opened pandoras box which allowed banks to be, well, all kinds of things, at the same time.
like a Frankenstein mix of :
Commercial banking (checking)
Investment banking (trading)
Anything else financial (insurance, etc.)
WE GOT A BAD DEAL
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IS OUR FATE SEALED?
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Otherwise, consumers continue to get the worst. Big banks continue to get the best.
People defend this??? Yes.
THE “SMALL BANK” SHIELD
Naysayers scream about protecting small banks from stablecoin competition.
So now that we can rein in the bears… you want to talk about the ants?
Big banks “Bears” bet with the bulk of deposits—and get bailed out. Small banks bet with breadcrumbs—and when they fail, bears swallow them for pennies on the dollar.
ZERO OUT
LEVEL THE FIELD
LET STABLECOINS YIELD
Stablecoins force the banks to raise their yields—(not this 0.01% BS)
Banks make stablecoins match them on service and safekeeping.
Let the rest of us eat 🍿
ZERO INSIDER
AUSTIN
Last Sunday, 60 Minutes came by the Zero Knowledge office for the facts (no printer) on Donald Trump, Changpeng Zhao & World Liberty Financial. Watch it if you haven’t.
Source: “Trump pardon of billionaire sparks concerns,” 60 Minutes (CBS News).
DAVID
On the third anniversary of FTX closing withdrawals (Nov. 11th, 2025), my book, Stealing the Future: Sam Bankman-Fried, Elite Fraud, and the Cult of Techno-Utopia, came out. Get your copy at Repeater or a bookstore near you.
Source : “Stealing the Future: Sam Bankman-Fried, Elite Fraud, and the Cult of Techno-Utopia” (Repeater Books, 2025) / Illustration by Sum of Parts for Zero Knowledge.
1 Missed out? Read 009 on Luke Knots’ committee crusade, 008 on Plasma + Cloudflare, 007 on WLF + Justin Sun