Lightspeed

Ryan Connor, a researcher at Blockworks, shares insights on macro cryptocurrency trends, while Carlos, known for his Solana commentary, dives into market microstructure. They discuss Solana's recent momentum and the impact of prop AMMs displacing traditional models. The conversation explores the vision of Solana as a decentralized capital market, the potential for tokenized stocks, and the importance of transparency in the evolving DeFi landscape. Key themes for 2026 include deepening liquidity and innovative equity perps, setting the stage for Solana's bright future.

Gm! We're back with Kevin from HumidiFi to discuss how they became the largest prop AMM on Solana. We deep dive into what are prop AMMs, is price discovery moving onchain, launching their token, the aftermath of 10/10 and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Danny: https://x.com/defi_kay_ Follow Lightspeed: ⁠https://twitter.com/Lightspeedpodhq⁠ Join the Lightspeed Telegram: ⁠https://t.me/+QUl_ZOj2nMJlZTEx⁠ -- Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: ⁠https://blockworks.co/newsletter/⁠ -- (00:00) Introduction (03:18) What Are Prop AMMs? (07:24) The Monad ICO (10:00) Capital Efficiency & Profitability (17:35) Is Price Discovery Moving Onchain? (27:15) The Aftermath Of 10/10 (32:40) Trading On SOL vs Other L1s (40:13) DEX Aggregators (42:48) What's Next For HumidiFi? (45:26) Launching The WET Token (48:02) What's Next For Solana In 2026? -- Disclaimers: Lightspeed was kickstarted by a grant from the Solana Foundation. Nothing said on Lightspeed is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Danny, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Lucas Bruder, Co-founder and CEO of Jito, shares insights into the future of Jito and Solana, diving into concepts like Block Assembly Marketplaces (BAM) and the sandwiching problem in Solana trading. He highlights the transparency BAM brings to transaction sequencing and its significance for traders. Lucas also discusses the biggest opportunities for Jito in 2026, the potential of application-controlled execution, and how these innovations can reshape validator economics and trading efficiency on Solana.

This week, Lei Yang, co-founder of MegaETH, and Namik Muduroglu, its strategy lead, share exciting insights about their innovative Ethereum Layer 2 project. They delve into the mechanics of their high-performance design, highlighting trade-offs between centralization and speed. The duo discusses their ICO strategy, aiming for broad public participation, and the unique auction process. Listeners will hear about the future of low-latency applications, the need for high transaction throughput, and how MegaETH plans to support developer growth while complementing Ethereum.

Kevin Ricoy, aka Kyzer, a crypto commentator and founder of All Might, dives into the latest trends in the crypto space. He critiques Eclipse Foundation's Twitter strategy and discusses how it impacted market perceptions. The conversation highlights counterintuitive trading wins, particularly meme-driven successes. They also address the undercompensation of Ethereum developers, emphasizing the balance between ideals and commercialization in crypto. Kyzer shares insights on Solana's Seeker phone and its market fit, raising questions about future product directions.

The team discusses Meteora's imminent token launch and the reasons behind it. They explore how dynamic fees can help reduce risk for liquidity providers. A candid conversation about the fallout from LIBRA reveals community rebuilding efforts. Insights into the future of Solana DeFi highlight the importance of on-chain liquidity. The hosts explain their tokenomics strategy and why a high float is essential for long-term growth. Listeners are encouraged to join the community and prepare for the upcoming token generation event.

In this engaging discussion, Amira Valliani, Head of DePIN at the Solana Foundation, sheds light on the future of decentralized physical infrastructure. With a rich background in policy, she tackles the challenges of venture capital and discusses promising areas like AI energy opportunities and robotics. Amira emphasizes the importance of aligning incentives in token use and critiques the rush for unicorns in favor of more practical infrastructure projects. Her insights highlight the potential of DePIN to innovate and reshape how users interact with technology.

Michael Repetný, CEO of Marinade Labs and a pioneer in Solana staking infrastructure, shares insights on the evolution of staking in the crypto space. He dives into the origins of Marinade, detailing its hackathon beginnings and institutional focus. Michael compares liquid and native staking, highlighting their respective advantages. He also discusses the challenges of sandwich attacks and revenue dynamics surrounding staking. Additionally, he explores the potential of staking to function like savings accounts in the future, blending innovation with practicality.

Viktor Fischer, Founder and CEO of RockawayX, is an early Solana investor who’s deeply immersed in blockchain innovation. He reflects on his journey in crypto, discussing the pivotal moments that convinced him to invest in Solana back in 2018. Viktor shares insights on tokenization, highlighting Solana's advantages in low cost and speed for asset migration. He explains why traditional finance needs to adopt Solana and how RockawayX is focused on driving this growth with innovative approaches like DATs and private credit opportunities.

In this captivating discussion, Michael Marcantonio, Head of DeFi at Galaxy and a Solana expert, dives into how Solana could revolutionize global capital markets. He elaborates on the role of tokenized securities and the potential of Decentralized Asset Trusts (DATs). Michael shares insights on building high-frequency trading stacks and compares Solana's advantages over centralized entities. He also highlights real-world problems tokenization can solve and predicts competitive market dynamics that could transform investment landscapes.