Wallfacer Podcast

#32: David Reising, Lotus Protocol | Tranched Lending and the Missing Middle in DeFi Credit

Episode Description Today’s guest is David Reising, founder and CEO of Lotus Protocol. Ryan and David get into why isolated lending markets keep converging on the same handful of pairs, how Lotus prices risk on liquidation thresholds, and why the recent string of DeFi exploits (Aave, Resolv, Stream Finance) is forcing a real rethink of how curators underwrite collateral. They also cover productive debt and the LotusUSD base rate, what David learned relaunching hyETH on Morpho with Gauntlet at Index Coop, and the case for going direct to markets in an agentic world. Guest Links * David Reising: https://twitter.com/Davidareising [https://twitter.com/Davidareising] * Lotus Protocol: https://x.com/LotusFi [https://x.com/LotusFi]_ * Lotus Labs: https://lotuslabs.net Host Links * Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh [https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh] * Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi * API Docs: https://docs.vaults.fyi/ Subscribe to Wallfacer Podcast https://wallfacer.io/podcast [https://wallfacer.io/podcast] Timestamps * [00:00] Intro and what Lotus is * [01:18] Pricing risk on liquidation thresholds, not collateral quality * [04:47] The Morpho cbBTC market example and the case for tranched lending * [08:24] Designing for borrowers, not just lenders * [11:09] Embedded borrow, predictable rates, and what integrators want * [16:09] Risk frameworks and the limits of curator diligence after recent exploits * [18:43] Why collateral expansion will slow down in curated markets * [20:08] Lotus vaults: conservative, balanced, and aggressive * [24:24] Credora ratings and how onchain liquidity reprices risk * [27:48] Productive debt, cascading liquidity, and the LotusUSD base rate * [31:00] Senior vs junior demand, Ajna, and tick based lending * [34:24] Index Coop, relaunching hyETH on Morpho, and what scaled * [39:30] Operational intensity of the curator model * [41:48] Going direct to markets in an agentic world * [45:07] Launch timeline, pre-deposits, and subsidized borrow rates This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wallfacerlabs.substack.com [https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

#31: Joey Isaacson, Nook | Building a DeFi Savings App for Non-Crypto Users

Episode Description Today’s guest is Joey Isaacson, co-founder and CEO of Nook, a consumer savings app that connects everyday users to DeFi lending markets on Base. Joey spent five years at Coinbase leading design on earn, staking, and lending before building Nook to reach the 99.9% of people who’ve never touched DeFi. We talk about finding users on TikTok and Reddit instead of Crypto Twitter, why Nook won’t force-rebalance your funds, and how to build a business in consumer crypto. Guest Links * Joey Isaacson: https://twitter.com/joeyisaacson * Nook: https://earnwithnook.com * Nook Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nookearnapp/ Host Links * Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh * Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi Subscribe https://www.wallfacer.io/podcast Timestamps * [00:00] Intro * [00:13] What is Nook and why Joey built it * [01:13] Who the actual Nook user is * [04:50] Distribution: TikTok, Reddit, Meta, and creator partnerships * [08:00] Short-form content strategy and the three-second hook * [10:24] Onboarding, trust, and starting with $5 * [13:45] Progressive disclosure: reputation scores, auto-deposits, building trust over time * [16:21] What builds trust fastest: referrals, cash bonuses, real faces * [19:43] Coinbase and the earn landscape: feature vs. product * [23:19] Risk after a wild weekend: Resolv, Drift, Kelp, and Aave liquidity * [29:05] How rebalancing works: Privy, CCTP, individual wallets vs. supervaults * [33:21] Business model: curator revenue shares, yield compression, and exchange fees * [40:55] Magic wand: cross-chain movement and insurance * [44:29] Roadmap: multiple positions, multiple assets, OpenCover coverage This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wallfacerlabs.substack.com [https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

#30: TezDev: Beyond Crypto-Natives: The Next Era of Earn w/ Tezos, Meria, and Hanji

Episode Description Today’s guests are Arthur Breitman (co-founder of Tezos), Owen (Hasheur) Simonin (CEO of Meria), and Dmitriy Kovalevskiy (founder of Hanji). Recorded live at TezDev 2026 in Cannes, the panel covers why crypto yields remain structurally higher than traditional markets, the real obstacles keeping fintechs from offering DeFi yield, and whether tokenized commodities or tokenized stocks will drive the next wave of adoption. Guest Links * Arthur Breitman: https://twitter.com/ArthurB [https://twitter.com/ArthurB] * Tezos: https://tezos.com * Etherlink: https://etherlink.com * Owen Simonin (Hasheur): https://twitter.com/PowerHasheur [https://twitter.com/PowerHasheur] * Meria: https://meria.com * Dmitriy Kovalevskiy: https://twitter.com/dmitrytez [https://twitter.com/dmitrytez] * Hanji: https://hanji.io Host Links * Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh [https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh] * Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi Subscribe and share with friends: * https://www.wallfacer.io/podcast [https://www.wallfacer.io/podcast] ← Apple, YouTube, Spotify, and more! Timestamps * [00:00] Introductions * [00:33] What’s still holding fintechs back from offering DeFi yield * [02:02] Why crypto yields are structurally higher than traditional markets * [03:35] Two types of yield seekers: high yield chasers vs. reliability seekers * [04:26] Celsius, Resolv, and the new wave of on-chain risk * [07:08] Fixed-term lending: is there real demand beyond institutions? * [09:28] RWAs in the earn stack: commodities vs. real estate vs. T-bills * [12:06] Retail is attention-driven: the case for adding oil and macro assets * [13:25] Collateral diversity and why it starts with user demand * [14:27] The Robinhood of DeFi yield and Meria’s approach * [16:07] Regulator conversations: custody, staking risk categories, and MiCA * [19:46] Who are your users in two years? B2B2C, crypto natives, and new populations * [23:53] Etherlink’s DeFi growth and vaults.fyi integration * [24:04] Stablecoins as the onramp: why DEX trading will be easier than brokerage trading * [25:25] Tokenized stocks: the NVIDIA problem and long-tail assets * [29:23] Building the everything-app vs. staying specialized * [31:30] What each panelist is most excited about in crypto right now This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wallfacerlabs.substack.com [https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

#29: Jeremiah Smith, OpenCover | Why 99.95% of DeFi Is Uninsured

Today’s guest is Jeremiah Smith, co-founder and CEO of OpenCover. Jeremiah explains why less than 0.05% of DeFi TVL is insured, walks through how OpenCover’s new “covered vaults” primitive eliminates the upfront cost and manual renewal problems that killed DeFi insurance adoption, and breaks down the Nexus Mutual underwriting stack that backs it all. Ryan and Jeremiah also discuss the Resolv USR fallout, the xUSD claims payout, and why embedded risk transfer is becoming table stakes for any product offering DeFi yield. Guest Links * Jeremiah Smith: https://twitter.com/itsJeremiahS [https://twitter.com/itsJeremiahS] * OpenCover: https://opencover.com [https://opencover.com] * Nexus Mutual: https://nexusmutual.io [https://nexusmutual.io] Host Links * Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh [https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh] * Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi [https://vaults.fyi/] Subscribe and share with friends: * https://www.wallfacer.io/podcast [https://www.wallfacer.io/podcast] ← Apple, YouTube, Spotify, and more! Timestamps * [00:00] Intro and OpenCover’s founding story * [03:54] The “DeFi mullet” app that preceded OpenCover * [06:40] Celsius, BlockFi, and why self-custody won * [08:29] What OpenCover does and doesn’t underwrite * [10:26] Yield compression and the challenge of scaling DeFi yield * [13:01] How much DeFi capital is actually insured today * [16:20] Why DeFi insurance adoption is so low * [19:45] Tranching, TrueFi, and the structural shortage of conservative capital * [22:14] OpenCover’s two verticals: protocol risk and transaction risk * [26:01] How covered vaults work: stake, cover on, unstake, cover off * [28:56] Premium streaming, rate dynamics, and whether insurance only works in high-rate environments * [33:13] The Resolv USR fallout and contagion risk across Morpho vaults * [34:46] The xUSD / Stream Finance claims payout, end to end * [37:13] How underwriting and repricing works for Morpho vaults * [40:00] Risk ratings vs. risk transfer: why insurance beats scores * [43:37] The Nexus Mutual underwriting stack: syndicates, capacity, and claims * [49:51] Who insures the insurers? Smart contract risk on the covered vault itself * [51:13] What success looks like: embedded protection as the default This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wallfacerlabs.substack.com [https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

#28: Octave Mesnard, Jumper | A consumer hub vision, building for prosumers & multi-chain myths

EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Today’s guest is Octave Mesnard, Head of Strategy and Consumer Products at Jumper Exchange. We discuss Jumper’s evolution from a thin cross-chain swap interface into a full on-chain consumer hub, the real challenges of building consumer DeFi products at the right time, and why Octave thinks the multi-chain future will consolidate around far fewer chains than anyone expected. GUEST LINKS: * Octave Mesnard: https://twitter.com/octavionotpunk [https://twitter.com/octavionotpunk] * Jumper Exchange: https://jumper.exchange [https://jumper.exchange/] * Jumper Exchange on X: https://x.com/JumperExchange [https://x.com/JumperExchange] * Jumper Earn: https://jumper.exchange/earn [https://jumper.exchange/earn] Learn how Jumper leverages the vaults.fyi API: https://docs.vaults.fyi/general/case-studies/jumper-earn [https://docs.vaults.fyi/general/case-studies/jumper-earn] HOST LINKS: * Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh [https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh] * Vaults.fyi: https://app.vaults.fyi/ [https://app.vaults.fyi/] * Build with our APIs: https://docs.vaults.fyi [https://docs.vaults.fyi/] SUBSCRIBE: * Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wallfacer-podcast/id1709530326] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2PNkM1JiIZCvvPLfdRYrb4] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WallfacerLabs [https://www.youtube.com/@WallfacerLabs] * Substack: https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com/s/podcast [https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com/s/podcast] TIMESTAMPS: [00:00] Introduction [00:39] What was your initial foray into crypto? [02:17] Are there any parallels between catastrophe bonds and crypto insurance? [05:43] Tell us about Valha and Kook Exchange — what did you set out to solve? [09:10] You had both an API and a consumer interface — was that intentional? [12:05] Before joining LiFi, you were already working with them. How did that come about and how did you end up joining? [13:34] When you joined, did you already have a vision for what you wanted Jumper to become? [15:23] How do you think about where Jumper goes from here — browser, desktop, mobile? [19:43] Does the Robinhood comparison resonate — one place where users manage everything? [22:07] Who actually is the “normie” user in crypto? [23:42] So Jumper started as a thin layer on LiFi’s stack — is Earn the attempt to thicken that? [26:21] How have you thought about curation on Jumper Earn — what gets listed and what stays out? [29:10] How do you think about risk scoring more broadly across DeFi? [34:46] What are your concerns around RWAs coming into DeFi? [37:28] How do you view the competitive landscape for swapping and bridging today? [40:22] How did you think about working with vaults.fyi and how do you approach partnerships generally? [42:01] Outside of your role at Jumper, what’s catching your attention in DeFi right now? [44:22] You work in interoperability — do you have a contrarian view on the multi-chain future? [48:58] What is the origin of Octavio Not Punk [https://substack.com/profile/103728946-octavio-not-punk] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wallfacerlabs.substack.com [https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]