TradFi, Tokenization & DeFi Are Finally Converging — Here's What That Looks Like | Annelise Osborne

In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Annelise Osborne, Chief Business Officer at Kadena — a proof-of-work Layer 1 built by former JP Morgan blockchain leads. Kadena isn’t just another chain; it’s an ambitious bet that regulation, decentralization, and enterprise-grade tooling can live in the same ecosystem.They dive into Annelise’s Wall Street background, her work on the SEC’s ICO task force, and why she sees tokenization, smart contracts, and privacy as the keys to bridging TradFi with crypto. From building Kadena’s BD, grants, and ecosystem playbook to running fan tokens for the Croatian football team, Annelise shares what it takes to build a business layer on top of chain infra — and how she’s positioning Kadena for long-term adoption.⏱️ Timestamps(0:00) - Intro: Why Proof-of-Work Still Matters in 2025

(1:26) - Annelise’s Background: From Moody’s to Crypto and the ICO Task Force

(5:12) - Why Kadena Chose Multi-Chain Proof-of-Work

(8:13) - Merging TradFi & DeFi: Tokenization and Real-World Assets

(12:34) - Institutional Adoption: What They Want (and Don’t)

(17:12) - Building a Business Layer on Top of Kadena

(20:05) - Fan Tokens, Fashion NFTs & Global Consumer Use Cases

(24:01) - Who Kadena Funds and Why

(27:23) - The Challenge of Regulated DeFi and the U.S. Compliance Angle

(30:00) - The Future of DeFi: Access, Collateral, and Mortgages

(34:04) - M&A in Crypto and Where Kadena Is Looking

(37:35) - How L1s Are Competing: Devs, Regulation, and TVL

(40:18) - Why Private Chains May Struggle vs Public Chains

(42:26) - Final Advice: Stay Curious, Be Resilient, Build in Public

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