

CryptoNews Podcast
cryptonews.com
Exploring the ideas and stories of crypto moguls from around the world. Learn more at cryptonews.com
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 29, 2026 • 28min
#513: Sun Raghupathi, CEO of Veda, on Consumer-Grade DeFi, Vaults, Onchain Yield, and The Future of RWAs
Sun Raghupathi is the CEO of Veda, the leading DeFi vault platform, enabling crypto applications, asset issuers, and protocols to build consumer-grade cross-chain yield products. Veda's technology already powers many of DeFi's largest vault products and power more than $4B in deposits. Sun is also the co-founder of Seven Seas Capital, a premier quantitative DeFi investment strategist, offering institutional-grade funds and non-custodial yield vaults through proven market making and risk-mitigated strategies. Prior to founding Veda and Seven Seas, Sun was the Head of Research and Development at Sommelier, a protocol for decentralized asset management specializing in actively managed vaults. In this conversation, we discuss:- Vaults 101 - Onchain yield is a killer use-case in crypto - DeFi infrastructure and yield products - The Problem With DeFi Yield Today - Veda’s Architecture & Design Philosophy - Consumer-Grade DeFi - Why yield opportunities are increasingly cross-chain - The future of RWAs - The Law of Collateral Inheritance - How Veda approaches audits and security - How incentives are aligned across users, builders, and protocols VedaX: @veda_labsWebsite: www.veda.techTelegram: t.me/+GfI_iZQ6wsZlZWNhSun RaghupathiX: @sunandr_LinkedIn: Sunand Raghupathi---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers. PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50FollowApple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicRSS FeedSee All

Jan 26, 2026 • 33min
#512: Austin Campbell, Founder of Zero Knowledge, on Stablecoins, The Incentives of Financial Systems, Tokenization, and Economic Realignment
Austin Campbell, finance and risk management leader and founder of Zero Knowledge Consulting, brings decades in trading, risk, and academia. He discusses stablecoins and how they can decouple payments from risky bank lending. He explores tokenization and composable blockchains unlocking open markets. He covers smart regulation and an economic realignment that aims to return power to Main Street.

Jan 22, 2026 • 29min
#511: Jesse Knutson, Head of Ops at Bitfinex Securities, on Tokenized Securities, Capital Rotation, RWAs, and The Future of Tokenization
Jesse Knutson is Head of Operations at Bitfinex Securities, a regulated security token platform offering issuers and traders access to capital and tokenized securities. Jesse started his career in traditional finance having worked at global investment banks including Barclays and Macquarie. In addition to his role as Taiwan Head of Equity Capital Solutions, Jesse was also a founding member of Macquarie’s digital asset working group, and deal lead on the firm’s first equity investment into the Bitcoin mining space. Prior to joining Bitfinex Securities, Jesse was VP of Financial Products at Blockstream where he worked on developing and distributing financial products built on Bitcoin and backed by Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining. In this conversation, we discuss:- Tokenized securities - Tokenization is in a position to challenge traditional payment rails - NYSE going 24/7 trading - How tokenized stocks work - The convergence of tradfi <> crypto - Freedom is the killer feature of stablecoins - Will RWAs be the next boom for tokenization? - El Salvador Plan B conference - 4 year crypto cycles will have less impact than before - Bitfinex Securities - Capital rotation and fund flows - The relationship between gold <> bitcoin - Building on Bitcoin Bitfinex SecuritiesX: @BFXSecuritiesWebsite: www.bitfinex.com/securitiesLinkedIn: Bitfinex SecuritiesJesse KnutsonX: @KnutsonJesseLinkedIn: Jesse Knutson---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers. PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50FollowApple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicRSS FeedSee All

Jan 19, 2026 • 33min
#510: Matt O’Connor, Co-founder of Legion, on ICOs, IPOs, Private SAFT rounds, and Merit-based Compliant Token Offerings
Matt O’Connor is the Co-founder of Legion, a platform for compliant and merit-based public token offering that enables teams to select investors based on criteria such as onchain history, social clout, and developer contributions. He is the former lead algorithmic engineer for Bridgewater Associates; tokenomics researcher for the Stacks Foundation (SEC qualified 2019 ICO); and token economics lead for Status (2017 ICO). His open source book, Tokenomics for Builders, has been positively reviewed by founders and VCs from Monad, Placeholder, Tensor, AllianceDAO, Galaxy Digital, and more. In this conversation, we discuss:- ICOs, IDOs, launchpads, private SAFT rounds - Merit-based, compliant token offerings - Why IPO access has deteriorated for retail investors - How Legion differs from AngelList, Carta, Republic, or SeedInvest - The convergence of IPOs <> ICOs - Companies with equity holders and token holders - Tokenomics 101 - Common mistakes when designing tokenomics - KPI based vesting for founders LegionX: @legiondotccWebsite: legion.ccLinkedIn: Legion | Merit-based FundraisingMatt O’ConnorX: @matty_LinkedIn: Matt O’Connor---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers. PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50FollowApple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicRSS FeedSee All

Jan 15, 2026 • 29min
#509: Nic Roberts-Huntley, CEO of Blueprint Finance, on DeFi’s Next Frontier, Institutional Yield Generation, and Crypto Vaults
Nic Roberts-Huntley is the CEO and Co-Founder of Blueprint Finance, leveraging his unique background spanning medicine, economics, and finance. A former surgeon who practiced at prestigious institutions, including Oxford University Hospitals and The Royal Marsden, Nic pivoted to finance after completing his MBA and Master's in Evidence-Based Policy Evaluation & Economics at Oxford University. His career trajectory includes roles as Vice President at Point72, Venture Architect at Virtual Ventures, and various surgical fellowships.At Blueprint Finance, Nic oversees two innovative protocols: Concrete, which provides institutional-grade financial services through its Earn, Borrow, and Protect products that optimize yields and offer liquidation protection; and Glow, a Solana-based protocol offering advanced trading, lending, and liquid restaking solutions. His multidisciplinary expertise and quantitative approach position him as a distinctive voice at the intersection of traditional finance and DeFi innovation.In this conversation, we discuss:- Institutional yield generation becomes crypto’s next major unlock - Nic’s career path: surgeon to trad-fi to crypto - M&A in digital asset markets accelerates - DeFi grows up from speculation to infrastructure - Crypto vaults - Delta-neutral trading strategies in vaults - Nic’s critique of “chasing headline APY” - DeFi’s Next Frontier: Credit, Tokenization & New Markets - Insurance will unlock the next frontier of crypto - On-chain credit markets - Composability across DeFi Blueprint FinanceX: @Blueprint_DeFiWebsite: blueprintfinance.comGlow FinanceX: @GlowFinanceXYZWebsite: glowfinance.xyzDiscord: discord.gg/glowfinanceConcreteX: @ConcreteXYZWebsite: concrete.xyzDiscord: discord.gg/concretexyzNic Roberts-HuntleyX: @nic_buildsLinkedIn: Nic Roberts-Huntley---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers. PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50FollowApple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon Music

Jan 12, 2026 • 32min
#508: Irina Chuchkina, Chief Growth Officer at Wallet In Telegram, on Super-Apps, Wallets, Tokenized Stocks, and Finance Inside Messaging Apps
Irina Chuchkina is the Chief Growth Officer at Wallet In Telegram. Irina is an accomplished leader in crypto and fintech with over 18 years of experience building world-class brands at the intersection of payments and technology, across Europe and Asia. Currently, Irina is leading Wallet's global expansion strategy with a target of 15 new countries in the next 2 years.Previously, she was CMO at Volt, driving their brand and global marketing strategy. She was also part of Southeast Asia super-app giant, Grab, where she helped to launch GrabPay, Grab’s mobile wallet, and GrabRewards, its loyalty platform across Southeast Asia.In this conversation, we discuss:- Wallet in Telegram - Difference between Wallet in Telegram vs standalone crypto wallets - Finance inside messaging apps - Telegram as a Super-App - The convergence of messaging, payments, and identity - Go-To-Market for wallets - Stablecoins as the backbone of global payments - 3 pillars of wallets: distribution, utility, simplicity - The recent launch of xStocks inside TON Wallet - Why growth in crypto is fundamentally different from Web2 growth Wallet In TelegramX: @wallet_tgTelegram: t.me/walletLinkedIn: Wallet In TelegramIrina ChuchkinaX: @pogodasuperLinkedIn: Irina Chuchkina---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers. PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50FollowApple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicRSS FeedSee All

Jan 8, 2026 • 28min
#507: Carlos Lei, CEO of Uplink, on The Future of Connectivity, Mesh Networks, Building on Avalanche, and DePIN in 2026
Carlos Lei, CEO of Uplink, one of the leading DePIN players, operates as a connectivity marketplace using existing Wi-Fi routers to help telecom companies save millions of dollars. In this conversation, we discuss:- 2026 will be the year of DePIN - Insights from building in connectivity since 2015 - The future of connectivity - Mesh networks - Sharing connectivity using existing infrastructure - There isn’t enough infra to connect devices in the future - The connectivity incentive layer - How ULX and Network Credits work together - Building on Avalanche - Network effects in crypto UplinkX: @uplink_xyzWebsite: www.uplink.xyzLinkedIn: UplinkCarlos LeiX: @CarlosLeiSantosLinkedIn: Carlos Lei Santos---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers. PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50FollowApple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicRSS FeedSee All

Jan 5, 2026 • 23min
#506: Marco Santori, CEO of Solmate, on Inventing The SAFT Framework, Solana, The Infrastructure Flywheel Strategy, and The Geographical Importance of The UAE
A treasury company pioneer, Marco launched the very first altcoin treasury on the Nasdaq. Prior to joining Solmate as CEO he was a partner at Pantera Capital, where he helped to structure some of the industry’s best-performing treasuries. A trained attorney, Marco was once dubbed the "Dean of Digital Currency Lawyers" by the Editor-in-Chief of American Banker. He was the Chief Legal Officer at Kraken, one of the world's largest digital asset exchanges, for five years.Prior to Kraken, Marco was the President of Blockchain.com, as well as a Partner at Cooley LLP, where he led the firm’s global financial technology team. At Cooley, he invented the SAFT Framework and co-authored the SAFT Project Whitepaper, which became a market standard for crypto capital formation. He was an advisor to the International Monetary Fund and an IMF delegate speaker on financial technology in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.In this conversation, we discuss:- Inventing the SAFT Framework - Stories from being Chief Legal Officer at Kraken - Crypto in Abu Dhabi and UAE - The geographical importance of the UAE - Why Solana - Solana in 2026 - Raising $300 million - Planned Acquisition of RockawayX - The Infrastructure Flywheel Strategy SolmateX: @SolmateWebsite: www.solmate.comLinkedIn: Solmate $SLMTMarco SantoriX: @msantoriESQLinkedIn: Marco Santori---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers. PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50FollowApple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicRSS FeedSee All

Jan 1, 2026 • 26min
#505: Kyle Okamoto, CTO of Aethir, on Compute Becoming an Asset Class, GPUs, and Decentralized Compute
Kyle Okamoto is the Chief Technology Officer at Aethir: the leading decentralized enterprise-grade cloud computing network. With over 20 years of experience in cloud and edge computing, digital media, IoT and AI, Kyle's leadership has been pivotal in scaling growth businesses and driving technological innovation at Aethir.Before joining Aethir, Kyle served as the General Manager of Aeris Communications and Ericsson’s enterprise businesses, overseeing Internet of Things, Security, and Connected Vehicle portfolio companies. He was also the Chief Executive Officer of Edge Gravity, a global edge cloud platform facilitating cloud gaming, AI, and media and entertainment applications. Kyle's extensive experience also includes his tenure as Chief Network Officer of Verizon Media and his role as a founding member of Verizon Digital Media Services, which grew to a multi-billion dollar business before its acquisition by Private Equity.In addition to his work with Aethir, Kyle is an early investor and advisor to Theta Labs, holds board positions in various technology companies and non-profit organizations, and is an active angel investor and advisor in the venture capital and private equity spaces. Kyle holds a Master of Business Administration from New York University and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology.In this conversation, we discuss:- AI’s growth is now gated by access to compute rather than model quality - Compute is becoming a financial asset class - AI demand continues to outpace supply - GPUs - Investors are starting to treat compute like infrastructure, not software - Financial structures are becoming essential to scaling AI infrastructure - Decentralized compute offers an alternative path during the global GPU shortage- Enterprises are moving toward multi-source compute strategies - Financing compute - The financing of compute is as important as the tech side AethirX: @AethirCloudWebsite: www.aethir.comLinkedIn: AethirKyle OkamotoLinkedIn: Kyle Okamoto---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers. PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50FollowApple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicRSS FeedSee All

Dec 29, 2025 • 29min
#504: Tom Trowbridge, Co-founder of Fluence Labs, on DePIN, DeAI, and Decentralized Storage/Compute
Tom Trowbridge, co-founder of Fluence Labs and a key figure in Hedera Hashgraph, delves into the fascinating world of decentralized systems. He highlights the evolution from centralized clouds to decentralized compute, explaining the innovative DePIN model and its potential for sustainable value creation. Trowbridge also discusses the importance of staking, token incentives, and transparency in crypto, advocating for on-chain revenue verification to nurture trust in the ecosystem. It's a thought-provoking look at the future of decentralized technology!


