Onchain, Honestly! Ep. 7 ft. Figure - Can Real-World Credit Scale Through DeFi?

Onchain, Honestly! Ep. 7 ft. Figure - Can Real-World Credit Scale Through DeFi?

In this episode, Aaron Kong, Director of Decentralized Finance at Figure, discusses how they are building capital markets infrastructure to make real-world credit faster, cheaper, and more accessible onchain. We cover how Figure became one of the largest non-bank HELOC originators in the US and how much blockchain rails help reduce origination costs and improve loan execution. We also discuss Figure’s DeFi strategy across Democratized Prime, Hashra, $Prime, and $YLDS, as well as its expansion into new credit asset classes. Aaron explains the role of DeFi capital, the risk profile of real-world credit, and Figure’s broader vision of turning institutional-grade credit markets into globally accessible onchain yield. — Aaron Kong LinkedIn: Aaron Kong | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronxkong/]  Aaron Kong X: (10) AARON (@aaronxkong) / X [https://x.com/aaronxkong] Figure: Figure - America's #1 Non-Bank HELOC Lender [https://www.figure.com/]  Alea Research:  https://alearesearch.io/ [https://alearesearch.io/]  Alea Research X: https://x.com/AleaResearch [https://x.com/AleaResearch]  Spotify:  Apple: Alenka X: https://x.com/alenka_on_x [https://x.com/alenka_on_x]  Alenka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-shmalko/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-shmalko/]  Kaisa X: https://x.com/kaisakaisa_ [https://x.com/kaisakaisa_]  Kaisa LinkedIn: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnV3TFY1a2ZlVFZaYnRud1NtbGh1V0VObGtHZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsQzlUMlJsRFFYUFpncmcwNEM1Wk9seUMyTGltdUZNeUszN29vbnVpbXZiTTItM2tWdS1NNmVxQ3NWZzdzZDZjQTdSNjIxQ3I3UFdwREpZcW14MFYzcWkyUzNRM0VlcU1IQ0JCNC1QMWpHVTFtcmhpRQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fkaisa-k-4aa212194%2F&v=YlQe1ZN3nJkhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-k-4aa212194/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-k-4aa212194/]  — DISCLAIMER: This Content is Provided Solely for Informational and Educational Purposes. It does Not Constitute Financial, Investment, or Legal Advice.

Onchain, Honestly! Ep.6 ft. Theo - How To Scale Tokenized Finance?

In this episode, Iggy Ioppe, Chief Investment Officer at Theo, discusses how Theo is building a 3.0 generation of RWA products designed to make traditional financial markets usable onchain. We cover why tokenization alone is not enough, how much of today’s financial infrastructure still runs on outdated rails, and why many early RWA products have struggled to move beyond tokenization theater into liquidity and DeFi integration. We also discuss Theo’s current product set, including tokenized treasuries, tokenized gold, and a yield-bearing stablecoin powered by a gold carry strategy. Iggy explains Theo’s business model, retail accessibility, regulatory considerations, and the company’s broader vision of building an onchain wealth management platform available globally, 24/7, with no minimums. — Iggy Ioppe LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ioppe/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ioppe/]   Iggy Ioppe X: https://x.com/iggyioppe [https://x.com/iggyioppe]  Theo: https://theo.xyz/ [https://theo.xyz/]  Alea Research:  https://alearesearch.io/ [https://alearesearch.io/]  Alea Research X: https://x.com/AleaResearch [https://x.com/AleaResearch]  Spotify:  Apple: Alenka X: https://x.com/alenka_on_x [https://x.com/alenka_on_x]  Alenka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-shmalko/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-shmalko/]  Kaisa X: https://x.com/kaisakaisa_ [https://x.com/kaisakaisa_]  Kaisa LinkedIn: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnV3TFY1a2ZlVFZaYnRud1NtbGh1V0VObGtHZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsQzlUMlJsRFFYUFpncmcwNEM1Wk9seUMyTGltdUZNeUszN29vbnVpbXZiTTItM2tWdS1NNmVxQ3NWZzdzZDZjQTdSNjIxQ3I3UFdwREpZcW14MFYzcWkyUzNRM0VlcU1IQ0JCNC1QMWpHVTFtcmhpRQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fkaisa-k-4aa212194%2F&v=YlQe1ZN3nJkhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-k-4aa212194/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-k-4aa212194/]  — DISCLAIMER: This Content is Provided Solely for Informational and Educational Purposes. It does Not Constitute Financial, Investment, or Legal Advice.

Onchain, Honestly! Ep.5 ft. Gauntlet - Is This DeFi´s Last Summer?

In this episode, Nicholas Cannon, Chief Business Officer at Gauntlet, discusses how data-driven risk curation is helping DeFi become safer, more resilient, and easier to access at scale. We cover how wallets, neo-banks, and enterprise integrations are becoming key distribution channels for onchain strategies, why Gauntlet currently sets performance fees at zero as part of a growth-first approach, and how that may evolve into sustainable monetization over time. We also discuss the growing role of institutional participants, from asset managers like Apollo to major banks, the future of crypto-native risk curators versus in-house strategies, and how recent industry hacks have shaped Gauntlet’s approach to security, resilience, and risk management. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:44 What is Gauntlet? 08:30 Distribution and adoption curve across sectors. 20:49 Business model and growth-first strategy. 30:50 Institutional adoption and the role of risk curators. 36:29 Security lessons and the future of safer DeFi. — Nicholas Cannon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inkymaze/  Nicholas Cannon X: https://x.com/inkymaze  Gauntelt: https://www.gauntlet.xyz/  Alea Reserach:  https://alearesearch.io/  Alea Research X: https://x.com/AleaResearch  Alenka X: https://x.com/alenka_on_x  Alenka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-shmalko/  Kaisa X: https://x.com/kaisakaisa_  Kaisa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-k-4aa212194/  — DISCLAIMER: This Content is Provided Solely for Informational and Educational Purposes. It does Not Constitute Financial, Investment, or Legal Advice.

Onchain, Honestly! Ep.4 ft. Serotonin - Onchain Credit: What´s Real And What´s Next?

In this episode, Patryk Krasnicki, Director of Research at Serotonin, discusses the evolving onchain credit landscape and how crypto credit markets are moving beyond short-term, crypto-native lending. We cover the main categories shaping the space, including credit issuance, capital allocation, infrastructure, and risk management, as well as why overcollateralized lending, tokenized institutional funds, and real-world credit are becoming important areas for DeFi. Resources: * Report: https://se.ro/feed/article/state-of-onchain-credit [https://se.ro/feed/article/state-of-onchain-credit] * Article on the map: https://x.com/Solofunk/status/2048827810295218642 [https://x.com/Solofunk/status/2048827810295218642] Chapters 00:00 — Introduction to onchain credit 04:37 — Mapping the onchain credit landscape 11:44 — Liquidity, yield, and institutional credit 17:29 — Growth areas and risks involved  22.22 — On-chain origination, underwriting, and credit scoring  27:32 — What comes next? — Patryk Krasnicki LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patryk-krasnicki  Patryk Krasnicki X: https://x.com/Solofunk  Serotonin: https://serotonin.co/  Alea Reserach:  https://alearesearch.io/  Alea Research X: https://x.com/AleaResearch  Alenka X: https://x.com/alenka_on_x  Alenka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-shmalko/  Kaisa X: https://x.com/kaisakaisa_  Kaisa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-k-4aa212194/  — DISCLAIMER: This Content is Provided Solely for Informational and Educational Purposes. It does Not Constitute Financial, Investment, or Legal Advice.

Onchain, Honestly! Ep.3 ft. Miden - Launching a Privacy Blockchain In 2026

In this episode, we sit down with Azeem, Co-founder of Miden, to talk about what it actually takes to build a privacy-focused blockchain from the ground up. We get into what Miden is building, how its Guardian feature works, the common misconceptions people still have about privacy in crypto, and how Miden stacks up against others in the space. Featuring: Azeem — Co-founder of Miden Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:56 Fundamentals of Miden 05:30 Misunderstandings About Privacy 09:03 What is Guardian? 15:42 Miden's Core Clients & What's Being Built on Miden 23:39 Miden's Long-term Business Model 33:00 The Future of Tokens & Digital Assets 37:29 Miden's Token Strategy 45:55 Miden vs. Competitors — Azeem X: https://x.com/azeemk Miden: https://www.miden.co/ Alea Research: https://alearesearch.io/ Alea Research X: https://x.com/AleaResearch Alenka X: https://x.com/alenka_on_x Kaisa X: https://x.com/kaisakaisa_ — DISCLAIMER: This Content is Provided Solely for Informational and Educational Purposes. It does Not Constitute Financial, Investment, or Legal Advice.