
Award-nominated host @JacqMelinek interviews the most consequential leaders in onchain finance, on the record. Brought to you by @StrataMedia_
Every Tuesday and Thursday
Joined February 2022
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Today's pod is with @wagmiAlexander, CEO of @DromosLabs and Core Contributor to @aeroxyz, diving into:
- Aerodrome and Velodrome merging into Aero
- Its expansion across 7 networks including @Base, Ethereum and @RobinhoodCrypto Chain
- What's next for Aero with predictive allocation
- Why he thinks onchain exchanges can compete with the Nasdaq's of the world
- How @Coinbase's tokenized stocks did about $1.5B in volume on Aero in roughly a month and more
- Centralized exchanges becoming "distribution rails," with DEXs doing the work underneath
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro
00:55 Aerodrome Becomes Aero
01:51 Why Aero Is Going Multichain
03:27 Is Base Still the Leading L2?
04:56 Robinhood's Onchain Growth
07:30 Centralized vs. Decentralized Exchanges
09:22 Will Consumers Actually Use DEXs?
10:20 Bringing Stocks Onchain
12:00 Why Onchain Markets Can Compete With Nasdaq
13:55 Turning Stock Exchanges Into Code
15:09 $1.5B in Tokenized Stock Volume
16:01 How Fast Can Tokenized Markets Grow?
17:01 Taking Market Share From Traditional Exchanges
17:40 Bringing Exotic Assets Onchain
18:22 Why Markets Want to Be 24/7
19:24 Do Crypto Tokens Create Real Value?
21:59 Why Aero Redistributes 100% of Value
24:02 What's Wrong With Traditional Token Models?
25:04 Competing With Wall Street
26:16 What Alex Would Do Differently
27:20 What's New in Aero
28:46 How Predictive Allocation Works
30:21 Building Markets From First Principles
31:23 Where Aero Could Be in One Year
Watch below or on X:
Are you selling technology or helping customers make money?
@YuvalRooz, co-founder and CEO of Digital Asset, which builds @CantonNetwork, calls it "blockchain tourism" when companies experiment with blockchain without figuring out the business case.
His advice? Solve the problem first, then sell the tech.
Talking Tokens Podcast retweeted
The use cases that succeed with institutions show ROI within 3 to 6 months of production, not ones that require transforming the business first.
That keeps integration cost low enough to prove results early. @YuvalRooz discusses with @_TalkingTokens.
Talking Tokens Podcast retweeted
Chainlink's Q3 update came out yesterday with $140B secured and $15B+ migrating to CCIP with DTCC and Swift on the TradFi side.
"Today they know what to do. They know how to do it," @Chainlink's Head of RWAs @KarwanLiam05 said about institutions on @_TalkingTokens
More companies may launch their own blockchains, but Kevin Lepsoe (@lepsoe), founder of @ETHGasOfficial, thinks Ethereum will still be the network connecting them.
Here’s why:
Also available on
YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=q-V8ixMg…
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3eN…
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/a…
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The repo market handles trillions of dollars in notional value every day.
Yuval Rooz (@YuvalRooz), co-founder and CEO of Digital Asset, which builds @CantonNetwork, says moving just 1% of that activity onchain would bring in billions of dollars a day.
…And that's just one use case to keep an eye on.
Talking Tokens Podcast retweeted
Chainlink Tokenization
Today's episode is with @KarwanLiam05, Head of RWAs at @Chainlink Labs.
3 Key Takeaways:
- Karwan says institutional conversations have shifted: "They know what to do. They know how to do it. And they come to us to know how to do it successfully."
- On how fast this scales: "It's going to be slow, but quicker than we think." He puts the market at roughly $300 billion including stablecoins, compared with $100 trillion in capital markets.
- He calls tokenized stocks "properly hyped" and has a view on wrapped versus natively issued equities.
TIMESTAMPS:
Introduction
What Is Tokenization?
How Tokenization Has Changed in 12 Months
Chainlink's Role in Onchain Finance
What Financial Institutions Want From Chainlink
Why Institutional Conversations Have Changed
Are Tokenization Projects Succeeding?
Simple vs. Complex Institutional Use Cases
The Next Phase of Institutional Adoption
Private Blockchains, Compliance and Interoperability
Why Technology Isn't the Biggest Bottleneck
Making the Business Case for Blockchain
How Quickly Will Tokenization Scale?
The $100 Trillion Capital Markets Opportunity
Why Chainlink Wants to Connect Financial Networks
Which Institutions Are Adopting RWAs?
Why Hedge Funds Are Moving More Slowly
Is Onchain Finance Ready for Wall Street?
Stablecoins, Liquidity and Yield Opportunities
Why Fintechs Could Drive Mainstream Adoption
Will Consumers Know They're Using Blockchain?
Why Crypto Focused on Infrastructure First
How Onchain Finance Improves Financial Products
Institutional Adoption in South Korea
Why Tokenized Equities Matter
Are Tokenized Stocks Overhyped?
Wrapped vs. Native Tokenized Equities
How the Tokenization Industry Has Evolved
Why Asset Managers Are Focusing on Distribution
Chainlink's Long-Term Vision
What Will Drive the Next Wave of RWA Adoption?
Fintechs, Stablecoins and New Onchain Demand
Talking Tokens Podcast retweeted
Chainlink Tokenization on @_TalkingTokens
Dropping tomorrow is our full conversation with @wagmiAlexander, CEO of @DromosLabs and Core Contributor to @aeroxyz.
We dug into Aero’s growth this year and its goal to become the exchange layer for the broader onchain economy.
Notifications on, we promise it’ll be a big one. 👀
Talking Tokens Podcast retweeted
TODAY: @Anza implements Alpenglow upgrade on @Solana, cutting finality to ~150ms, from ~12.8 seconds.
Tom Warner (@redbeard), Head of BD at @DoubleZero, on @_TalkingTokens about why speed and predictability matter for institutions trading on Solana:
"Traditional finance systems are incredibly faster than crypto systems.
Every trading firm builds their model around how long does it take to execute, so you have predictability on, if I want to buy the stock, I know it’s going to take me 20 milliseconds, and then you can calculate based on how long your perceived price alpha exists."
Todd McDonald, co-founder of @inside_r3, on the three reasons they chose Solana for the next version of Corda
“One is the technology. I personally love their approach to a single mainnet and scaling through a single mainnet. One pool of liquidity. Two is their strategy. Internet Capital Markets, that’s the north star. They’re focused on helping existing capital markets players understand, launch and be successful on Solana.”
“Three, the culture of the ecosystem. Both those building on it and the Solana Foundation. They’re viewing this as a long-term business they want to grow. What you really need in this space is long-term alignment with the partners you choose. That was the big thing for us.”
@Mcdtv @jacqmelinek @_TalkingTokens
Talking Tokens Podcast retweeted
In five years, underwriting a loan against assets you already hold, like a $50,000 stock position, could cost close to $0, making collateral lending beyond mortgages and car loans finally viable.
@YuvalRooz discusses with @_TalkingTokens.
Talking Tokens Podcast retweeted
Had a blast chatting with the great @jacqmelinek ! Talked tokenized equities, tokenized deposits, and the role @chainlink plays in the space.
Today's episode is with @KarwanLiam05, Head of RWAs at @Chainlink Labs.
3 Key Takeaways:
- Karwan says institutional conversations have shifted: "They know what to do. They know how to do it. And they come to us to know how to do it successfully."
- On how fast this scales: "It's going to be slow, but quicker than we think." He puts the market at roughly $300 billion including stablecoins, compared with $100 trillion in capital markets.
- He calls tokenized stocks "properly hyped" and has a view on wrapped versus natively issued equities.
TIMESTAMPS:
Introduction
What Is Tokenization?
How Tokenization Has Changed in 12 Months
Chainlink's Role in Onchain Finance
What Financial Institutions Want From Chainlink
Why Institutional Conversations Have Changed
Are Tokenization Projects Succeeding?
Simple vs. Complex Institutional Use Cases
The Next Phase of Institutional Adoption
Private Blockchains, Compliance and Interoperability
Why Technology Isn't the Biggest Bottleneck
Making the Business Case for Blockchain
How Quickly Will Tokenization Scale?
The $100 Trillion Capital Markets Opportunity
Why Chainlink Wants to Connect Financial Networks
Which Institutions Are Adopting RWAs?
Why Hedge Funds Are Moving More Slowly
Is Onchain Finance Ready for Wall Street?
Stablecoins, Liquidity and Yield Opportunities
Why Fintechs Could Drive Mainstream Adoption
Will Consumers Know They're Using Blockchain?
Why Crypto Focused on Infrastructure First
How Onchain Finance Improves Financial Products
Institutional Adoption in South Korea
Why Tokenized Equities Matter
Are Tokenized Stocks Overhyped?
Wrapped vs. Native Tokenized Equities
How the Tokenization Industry Has Evolved
Why Asset Managers Are Focusing on Distribution
Chainlink's Long-Term Vision
What Will Drive the Next Wave of RWA Adoption?
Fintechs, Stablecoins and New Onchain Demand
Today's episode is with @KarwanLiam05, Head of RWAs at @Chainlink Labs.
3 Key Takeaways:
- Karwan says institutional conversations have shifted: "They know what to do. They know how to do it. And they come to us to know how to do it successfully."
- On how fast this scales: "It's going to be slow, but quicker than we think." He puts the market at roughly $300 billion including stablecoins, compared with $100 trillion in capital markets.
- He calls tokenized stocks "properly hyped" and has a view on wrapped versus natively issued equities.
TIMESTAMPS:
Introduction
What Is Tokenization?
How Tokenization Has Changed in 12 Months
Chainlink's Role in Onchain Finance
What Financial Institutions Want From Chainlink
Why Institutional Conversations Have Changed
Are Tokenization Projects Succeeding?
Simple vs. Complex Institutional Use Cases
The Next Phase of Institutional Adoption
Private Blockchains, Compliance and Interoperability
Why Technology Isn't the Biggest Bottleneck
Making the Business Case for Blockchain
How Quickly Will Tokenization Scale?
The $100 Trillion Capital Markets Opportunity
Why Chainlink Wants to Connect Financial Networks
Which Institutions Are Adopting RWAs?
Why Hedge Funds Are Moving More Slowly
Is Onchain Finance Ready for Wall Street?
Stablecoins, Liquidity and Yield Opportunities
Why Fintechs Could Drive Mainstream Adoption
Will Consumers Know They're Using Blockchain?
Why Crypto Focused on Infrastructure First
How Onchain Finance Improves Financial Products
Institutional Adoption in South Korea
Why Tokenized Equities Matter
Are Tokenized Stocks Overhyped?
Wrapped vs. Native Tokenized Equities
How the Tokenization Industry Has Evolved
Why Asset Managers Are Focusing on Distribution
Chainlink's Long-Term Vision
What Will Drive the Next Wave of RWA Adoption?
Fintechs, Stablecoins and New Onchain Demand
YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=wq9TW0Ib…
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0n3…
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
NEW: The @USOCC has finalized its GENIUS Act rules and declined to treat stablecoin rewards offered by exchanges and other third parties as presumed violations.
@KevWysocki, Head of Policy at @Anchorage, said on the show earlier this month that banks’ failure to adopt new technology poses a bigger risk than stablecoin rewards:
"You had a number of community banks coming in to senator offices saying, we’re really concerned about deposit flight in the future because of stablecoin rewards.
I don’t personally think that the evidence in the past has suggested that the growth of stablecoins has led to that.
I get it’s a concern, [but] I think the bigger problem is the failure to adopt new technologies."
The @USOCC just finalized its rule implementing for the GENIUS Act
It takes effect Jan. 18, 2027. More details below👇











