Tokenized DeFi's Institutional Evolution Ft. Rob Hadick, Stani Kulechov & Guy Young
Sep 18, 2025
Rob Hadick, a General Partner at Dragonfly, dives into the evolving landscape of institutional DeFi. Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave Labs, discusses the innovative Aave protocol and the future of tokenized assets on Horizon. Guy Young from Ethena shares insights on synthetic dollar products and yield-generating stablecoins. The trio debates the pivotal role of stablecoins for traditional finance. They also tackle the challenges of corporate chains versus Ethereum's liquidity and the controversial future of tokenized equities.
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Aave's Bridge To Tokenized Assets
- Aave built permissionless lending for crypto and is expanding to tokenized traditional assets with Horizon.
- Tokenized assets let institutions borrow stablecoins against real-world collateral on-chain.
Ethena's Rapid Dollar Growth Story
- Guy founded Ethena to create a synthetic dollar backed by delta‑neutral basis trades and harvested crypto derivatives yield.
- Ethena grew to about $13B supply and added a product wrapping a BlackRock money market fund.
Stablecoins As Institutional On‑Ramp
- Stablecoins are the primary on‑ramp for institutions to access DeFi opportunities like borrowing and yield.
- Demand for stablecoins rises with DeFi borrowing and native crypto market cycles.