{"id":"ryan-sean-adams","hidden":false,"ipfs":"QmZZtXJxCNaxeTmQzsYiCFKzLwvh2B4hGeZtqqk9aybnNx","language":"en","transactionHash":"0xf8d75c8864d873b570872accef6cdc877d3a998b39e913daa6d8d1c61551a05b","created":"2024-06-21T12:17:02.682Z","updated":"2026-08-28T18:58:17.210Z","title":"Ryan Sean Adams","summary":"Ryan Sean Adams is a crypto investor, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Bankless and Bankless Ventures, known for his Ethereum and open finance-focused commentary.","content":"**Ryan Sean Adams** is a crypto investor and entrepreneur, best known as a co-founder and co-host of [Bankless](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bankless), a [cryptocurrency](https://iq.wiki/wiki/cryptocurrency) media brand and community focused on [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum), [decentralized finance](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi), and open finance. He is also a general partner at the early-stage crypto venture fund [Bankless](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bankless) Ventures, which is branded with [Bankless](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bankless) but operates as a separate investment vehicle.[[3]](#cite-id-a6it56g3a7d)​[[4]](#cite-id-vxmadtvu7br)​\n\n [YOUTUBE@VID](Rd_04vVLE-4) \n\n## Education\n\nAdams attended Brock University where he studied for a BA, Honors in Business Administration.[[1]](#cite-id-30ap1ut1kgy)​\n\n## Career\nRyan Adams began his career as a Vice President and Principal of Vivus Software from 2003 to 2009. He was also the Vice President of Sales at Meddius, a startup focused on improving patient care by helping organizations make healthcare information universally accessible. In 2016, he joined Premier Inc. as Vice President for Integrated Platform & Analytics.\n\nIn November 2017, he founded Mythos Capital, an investment firm focused on cryptoassets. In March 2023, Adams became a General Partner at [Bankless](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bankless) Ventures, an early-stage crypto venture fund branded with [Bankless](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bankless) and structured as a separate vehicle for investing in seed-stage [Web3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/web3) companies.[[4]](#cite-id-vxmadtvu7br)​[[5]](#cite-id-i5iv96x9vm)​\n\n### Bankless\nAdams co-founded [Bankless Media](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bankless) with [David Hoffman](https://iq.wiki/wiki/david-hoffman) in September 2020 as a [cryptocurrency](https://iq.wiki/wiki/cryptocurrency) media brand and community focused on helping individuals navigate the [decentralized finance](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi) and broader open finance landscape.[[2]](#cite-id-478ayf2ulh4) Podcast episode listings show Adams continuing to co-host [Bankless](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bankless) through at least August 2026, including year-ahead market discussions in December 2025 and episodes on [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum)’s market cycle and macro themes released in March and August 2026.[[8]](#cite-id-vk0uzie9ba)​[[9]](#cite-id-qogb8wbcld)​[[10]](#cite-id-a1yx4eo4pu)​[[11]](#cite-id-1gnlyfdom7)​ In May 2026, crypto media reports stated that [Bankless](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bankless) had laid off most of its team, and Adams wrote on X that “the first era of Bankless has ended,” describing a transition after four years of collaboration with co-host [David Hoffman](https://iq.wiki/wiki/david-hoffman).[[6]](#cite-id-2stxbm51ox)​ Subsequent reporting described the layoffs as having been carried out quietly without a formal public announcement, prompting online criticism of how the departures were communicated given Bankless’s community-focused image.[[12]](#cite-id-uemfoxlqi)​ In his own post on X, Adams confirmed that the team had been reduced, said he was stepping into a more “passive” role while Hoffman would lead the team and content, and indicated that this shift marked a “second era” for Bankless with scope for content to expand beyond its earlier Ethereum-centric focus.[[12]](#cite-id-uemfoxlqi)​ In Bankless content, Adams and Hoffman also discussed and occasionally satirized experimental models for community and investor participation in the Bankless brand, including hypothetical onchain equity or IPO-style structures, framing these ideas as conceptual explorations rather than announcements of an actual securities offering.[[8]](#cite-id-vk0uzie9ba)​[[9]](#cite-id-qogb8wbcld)​\n\nAccording to his Blockworks speaker profile, Adams describes himself as an \"open finance maximalist\" focused on financial sovereignty, with a stated mission to help onboard the first billion people to crypto through memes, media, and education.[[3]](#cite-id-a6it56g3a7d)​\n\n [YOUTUBE@VID](toWhv4SdBOI)\n\n### Bankless Ventures\nRyan Adams is also a crypto investor. In April 2023, he started a venture fund called [Bankless](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bankless) Ventures with [David Hoffman](https://iq.wiki/wiki/david-hoffman), structured as a seed-stage [Web3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/web3) venture fund that is legally separate from the [Bankless](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bankless) media business while sharing its brand.[[4]](#cite-id-vxmadtvu7br)​[[5]](#cite-id-i5iv96x9vm)​\n\n> \"The relationships we’ve (Hoffman & Adams) built through the podcast have helped us meet more and more pioneers with a shared vision for crypto’s ultimate potential. Through our angel investments, Ryan and I have helped finance small teams that eventually grew to become pillars of the crypto industry.\n>\n> We’ve been fortunate that the growing network of [Bankless](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bankless) has given us access to a substantial amount of dealflow, and it’s become much more than two individuals can handle,\" the team wrote in the Bankless Ventures launch post.[[4]](#cite-id-vxmadtvu7br)\n\nIn early 2023, [CoinDesk](https://iq.wiki/wiki/coindesk) reported that the Bankless hosts were raising a venture capital fund of up to $35 million to invest in seed-stage [Web3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/web3) companies, structured as a separate legal entity from the Bankless podcast but sharing its brand.[[5]](#cite-id-i5iv96x9vm)​ By mid-2023, it had been reported that Bankless Ventures was targeting a fund of around $35 million focused on early-stage [Web3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/web3) projects.[[5]](#cite-id-i5iv96x9vm)​\n\nThe Bankless Ventures team includes the hosts, Ryan Sean Adams & [David Hoffman](https://iq.wiki/wiki/david-hoffman), Ben Lakoff, Kimberly Adams, and Brent Matterson. Advisors of the venture fund include [Justin Drake](https://iq.wiki/wiki/justin-drake) and [Anthony Sassano](https://iq.wiki/wiki/anthony-sassano).[[4]](#cite-id-vxmadtvu7br)​\n\n## Views and Public Profile\nAdams is publicly positioned as an Ethereum- and open finance-focused commentator, emphasizing financial sovereignty and the role of decentralized finance.[[3]](#cite-id-a6it56g3a7d) He is best known as a co-host of the [Bankless](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bankless) podcast and related media channels, where he discusses crypto, DeFi, and [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) developments.[[3]](#cite-id-a6it56g3a7d) Adams is also active on X and contributes long-form writing to [Bankless](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bankless), where his author page lists articles on crypto, [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum), and broader [Web3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/web3) topics.[[1]](#cite-id-30ap1ut1kgy)​[[7]](#cite-id-3m0t7lrbue)​ From 2024 through 2026 his public commentary continued to focus on [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum)’s market cycle and long-term investment case, including a 2026 interview with analyst Michael Nadeau in which he discussed on-chain indicators and ETH’s position in the broader crypto cycle.[[10]](#cite-id-a1yx4eo4pu)​ He also used [Bankless](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bankless) podcasts to explore token distribution mechanisms such as ICO-style launches and macro themes like the “debasement trade,” hosting episodes on the return of public token sales in late 2025 and macro-driven demand for crypto assets in 2026.[[9]](#cite-id-qogb8wbcld)​[[11]](#cite-id-1gnlyfdom7)​ \n\nAdams has remained publicly vocal about Ethereum’s monetary role, including 2026 posts criticizing the “Ethereum not $ETH” narrative and arguing that Ethereum would be a “failed project” if its native token did not function as a large-scale global store of value.[[13]](#cite-id-ptbagci1ml)​ Media coverage contrasted his view with Hoffman’s more skeptical position on direct value capture for ETH and reported in mid-2026 that Hoffman had liquidated his remaining ETH holdings, while noting that Adams had not publicly indicated plans to sell his ETH.[[13]](#cite-id-ptbagci1ml)​ These debates were presented as differences in perspective between the two co-founders rather than formal policy positions for Bankless.[[13]](#cite-id-ptbagci1ml)​ \n\nIn late 2025 and 2026 Bankless podcast episodes, Adams and Hoffman described what they saw as the early stages of a new crypto [bull market](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bull-market), emphasizing commentary that revenue-generating tokens and alternative store-of-value assets such as [Zcash](https://iq.wiki/wiki/zcash) and Near might play a larger role relative to [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) and Ether in this cycle.[[14]](#cite-id-no1eelo49z)​[[15]](#cite-id-2884vpxhku)​ Adams also helped frame macro discussions on rising U.S. Treasury yields, fiscal policy, and what he and his guests referred to as the “debasement trade,” referencing bond-market dynamics and investor letters such as Howard Marks’s memos as part of his long-term thesis for Bitcoin and Ethereum.[[11]](#cite-id-1gnlyfdom7)​[[14]](#cite-id-no1eelo49z)​ These views were framed within specific Bankless podcast episodes as Adams’s and his guests’ interpretation of market conditions rather than definitive forecasts.[[15]](#cite-id-2884vpxhku)​","recentActivity":null,"operator":{"id":"0x1E23b34d3106F0C1c74D17f2Cd0F65cdb039b138"},"categories":[{"id":"people","title":"People in crypto"}],"tags":[{"id":"Founder"},{"id":"Investor"}],"images":[{"id":"QmajT2X6ZnqiCz8dMGWMJUgifnAzAEXNHiNfBDcapXAv3G","type":"image/jpeg, 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