DeFi Decoded

Join Alex Tapscott and Andrew Young as they decode the world of Web3. Listen in as they discuss the accelerating institutionalization of crypto, several emerging crypto treasury strategies, current market dynamics and the case for alternatives like cryptoassets, Andrew’s big news, the growing convergence between TradFi and DeFi, and more.

In this episode of DeFi Decoded, Alex Tapscott and Andrew Young dig into the "most quiet and ignored crypto rally ever." Bitcoin is well over $100,000 and within striking distance of an all-time high, yet this market lacks the fervor and excitement of past bull runs. They dig into the reasons this, namely the growing bifurcation between the "hard money" narrative typified by Bitcoin maximalism and the 'tech accelerationism' narrative of Web3. The proliferation of new tokens has made it harder for speciic projects to stand out. Meanwhile, many people in 'crypto' particularly newcomers are underweight Bitcoin. Next, they talk about the rumours Ripple might buy Circle, issuer of stablecoin USDT and finish on a wrap-up of the Consensus Conference, highlighting the Canadian crypto ecosystem and how DePin (decentralized physical infrastructure) projects were a big standout.

In this episode of DeFi Decoded, Alex Tapscott and Andrew Young speak with Vijay Chetty, CEO of Eclipse Labs about Eclipse's unique modular approach to building a scalable layer two network by combining the best of Solana, Ethereum and Celestia, and the implications for web3 and beyond. Eclipse is designed for decentralized application developers building category-leading DeFi, NFT, gaming, and consumer apps that leverage Ethereum’s liquidity and network effects. They also explore Vijay's journey from traditional finance to crypto, the early days of Ripple, his work at Uniswap and dydx and the current state of decentralized finance (DeFi). Eclipse's innovative TurboTap game, user growth metrics, and the long-term vision for value accrual within the network. The discussion also touches on the role of Ethereum, developer strategies, and the future of layer two solutions in the crypto ecosystem.

Join Alex Tapscott and Andrew Young as they decode the world of Web3. In this episode of DeFi Decoded, Alex and Andrew discuss the current state of the crypto market, focusing on the role of stablecoins, particularly Tether, in the treasury market. They explore the implications of Tether's growth and its potential to act as a significant buyer of U.S. government debt. The conversation also delves into Ethereum's upcoming upgrade, market valuations of private vs. public companies, and the future of crypto narratives.

Join Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of Web3 with special guest Vincent Kadar, CEO of Polymath. Listen in as they explore Vincent’s journey into crypto, the future of tokenized assets beyond dollars, some of the challenges of asset tokenization, a few exciting projects at Polymath, its purpose-built Polymesh blockchain for regulated assets, why some asset managers have chosen to build on public networks like Ethereum, what’s next for Polymath, and more.

In this engaging discussion, Scott Melker, the Wolf of All Streets, shares his insights as a trader and investor in the crypto landscape. He dives into Bitcoin's growing independence from altcoins, pondering its impact on market dynamics. The conversation takes a turn to explore the ramifications of U.S. tariffs on small businesses and investors alike. Melker also highlights Ethereum's struggles and bright spots amidst emerging Layer 2 solutions. Predictions for 2025 and the evolving role of crypto ETFs add even more intrigue to the discussion.

Join Alex Tapscott and Andrew Young as they decode the world of Web3.  Listen in as they discuss the current macroeconomic environment and its implications for the crypto market, four of the most positive fundamental trends in crypto, how stablecoins are creating new source of demand for U.S. government debt, the onchain gold and FX markets setting record highs in activity last week, the underlying economics for stablecoin issuers and their experience back in the zero-interest rate (ZRIP) era, the launch of the world’s first Solana ETFs in Canada, an update on the SX Network following its best month in history, and more.

Join Alex Tapscott and Andrew Young as they decode the world of Web3 with special guest James Seyffart, ETF Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. Listen in as they discuss what’s happened with ETFs amid this past week’s market turmoil, the meaning of terms like ‘bearish but long’ and ‘Vanguard put,’ and how they relate to current investing trends, where most ETF flows are going, ETF trading volumes by asset class, key indicators to watch for gauging market sentiment, whether James sees any signs of market strain from the ETF lens, thoughts on new products that short leveraged ETFs, the influx of crypto ETF filings, whether the SEC will greenlight staking for crypto ETFs, the pros and cons of gaining crypto exposure through public corporation vehicles versus ETFs, the collapse in Grayscale’s Solana Trust premium and what it signals for SOL ETFs, how institutional investors are thinking about Bitcoin, the crypto market outlook for the second half of the year, the recent divergence between Bitcoin and crypto equities, and more.

Join Alex Tapscott and Andrew Young as they decode the world of Web3 with special guest Daniel Lynch, Lead of MetaMask Card at Consensys. Listen in as they discuss the origin story of MetaMask Card, its evolution into Daniel’s full-time role, Argentina’s vibrant crypto developer ecosystem, his ambitious vision for self-custodial neobanking, innovative use cases for bringing offchain commerce onchain, how MetaMask Card enhances identity attestation, key corporate benefits it unlocks, their go-to-market strategy, the regions with the strongest adoption, their international expansion plans, and more.

Join Alex Tapscott and Andrew Young as they decode the world of Web3 with special guest Michael Sonnenshein, Chief Operating Officer of Securitize. Listen in as they discuss the evolution of crypto regulations, Wall Street’s perception of public versus private blockchain networks, how Securitize selects blockchains to launch RWAs, the recently announced Converge blockchain by Securitize and Ethena, the key benefits of tokenization, why private equity firms are interested in tokenization, Sky’s $500 million allocation into BlackRock’s tokenized USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), emerging RWA sectors with high growth potential, the impact tokenization will have on financial markets, tokenized investment accounts, and more.