Talking Tokens

What goes on behind $30B in tokenized assets | Jason Barraza

In this episode of Talking Tokenization, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Jason Barraza, head of institutional business development at RedStone, about why blockchain oracles are evolving from simple price feeds into the institutional intelligence layer that tokenized finance still needs. Jason, who previously served as COO at Security Token Market where he helped track over 800 tokenized real world assets, explains how RedStone powers NAV feeds for BlackRock, Apollo, and Franklin Templeton, and why the firm's acquisition of Credora for onchain risk ratings is part of building a full-stack intelligence platform. He walks through why RWAs as DeFi collateral is the next big unlock and why the buy-build-or-lease question is splitting institutions into fundamentally different infrastructure strategies. The conversation covers why private credit is gaining so much attention, how Securitize’s Computershare partnership lowers barriers for corporates wanting to tokenize, and why standardization around compliance and portable identity is the key to scaling institutional adoption. This episode is sponsored by Securitize, the proven leader in tokenized funds, equities, and private markets. Discover more at securitize.io [https://securitize.io/?utm_source=talkingtokens.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=talking-tokenization-how-robinhood-s-plan-to-bring-stocks-onchain-has-evolved]. TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Intro (01:36) What feels materially different from the last cycle (02:08) What RedStone does: oracles, risk ratings, and the institutional intelligence layer (03:13) Where oracle demand is highest right now: NAV feeds and RWAs as collateral (04:21) How Credora's risk ratings help institutions compare vaults yielding the same returns (05:16) DeFi exploits and how RWAs with transfer agents offer a safety net (07:27) Balancing speed and safety: co-creating solutions with institutions (08:49) What's coming in the next 6-18 months (10:12) Why vaults are gaining traction as streamlined fund infrastructure (12:12) Where institutional capital is being deployed today: money markets, stablecoins, and private credit (14:14) Tracking 800+ tokenized asset and what surprised him (16:01) Crypto native vs traditional institutions: the split in tokenization adoption (17:11) Buy, build, or lease: how institutions are choosing their tokenization infrastructure (20:31) What real institutional adoption looks like: full lifecycle onchain (22:10) Why collateral is the new conversation, not just tokenization for its own sake (24:40) Final advice to get educated and get on board ESSENTIALS You can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple or YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review — it really helps. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ [https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ] Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141] Follow us on X Jacquelyn: https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek [https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek] Talking Tokens: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens [https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens] Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/_talkingtokens/ [https://www.instagram.com/_talkingtokens/] Note: This podcast is for informational purposes only. Views shared are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have financial interests in discussed content.

SoFi Wants to Be the Stablecoin Liquidity Hub for Banks | Ben Reynolds

In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Ben Reynolds, SVP and head of Big Business Banking at SoFi, about why the company launched its SoFi USD stablecoin on Solana and what it means for the firm’s broader vision to become a stablecoin liquidity hub. Ben, who joined Silvergate in 2016 and helped build the Silvergate Exchange Network before the bank shut down in 2023, explains how commercial banks are finally building in the space now that the regulatory environment has changed under the current administration. He walks through why SoFiUSD reserves are held in a Fed master account with zero credit, liquidity, or duration risk and why stablecoin infrastructure is still far less mature than people think. He also explains how the next catalyst for onchain payments could come top down from banks with built-in network effects rather than bottoms up from crypto companies. The conversation covers why non-dollar stablecoins at scale would transform cross-border payments, how SoFi's 15 million users and card processing business create unique synergies, and why building stablecoin-agnostic infrastructure is the smartest strategy right now. This episode is a part of the Solana Sessions campaign that Token Relations and the Talking Tokens podcast are doing, diving into founders' journeys and startups building on Solana. Check out the accompanying newsletter on www.token-relations.com [http://www.token-relations.com] TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Intro (01:04) Ben's journey from: Silvergate in 2016 to joining SoFi six months ago (02:33) How commercial banks think about digital assets today vs 10 years ago (03:29) Launching SoFiUSD on Solana: cost, settlement speed, and throughput (04:30) Catalysts for onchain payments: non-dollar stablecoins, DeFi friction, and regulatory clarity (07:07) Stablecoin liquidity is overestimated: the emerging market conversion problem (08:07) Advice for big banks: build stablecoin-agnostic and understand the risk differences (09:26) Why SoFi USD reserves sit in a Fed master account (10:06) How Operation Choke Point 2.0 chilled bank building and why the environment is different now (10:44) Biggest realization at SoFi: how early stablecoins still are and how fast SoFi ships (12:18) The big vision: SoFi as the stablecoin liquidity hub for big business banking ESSENTIALS You can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple or YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review — it really helps. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ [https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ] Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141] Follow us on X Jacquelyn: https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek [https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek] Talking Tokens: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens [https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens] Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/_talkingtokens/ [https://www.instagram.com/_talkingtokens/] Note: This podcast is for informational purposes only. Views shared are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have financial interests in discussed content.

What Risk Frameworks are Needed for Institutional Adoption | Mike Silagadze & Joseph Chalom

In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Mike Silagadze, founder and CEO of EtherFi, and Joseph Chalom, CEO of SharpLink, following SharpLink’s deployment ofed $200 million of its $2 billion ether treasury into EtherFi in January and what the due diligence process actually looked like from both sides. Mike explains why EtherFi is building a ‘DeFi bank,’ an end-to-end self-custody alternative to traditional banking with hundreds of thousands of users and over $5 billion in deposits.Joseph, who spent two decades at BlackRock before joining SharpLink, walks through how his team hired people from Bridgewater and FalconX specifically to underwrite DeFi risk, why tail risk is still risk, and how its permanent capital gives SharpLink an advantage most crypto allocators don't have. The conversation covers why the recent wave of DeFi exploits could have been stopped with basic intervention tools, why stablecoin rails will be the main way crypto reaches the real economy, and tokenization growing as NYSE and Nasdaq opens for 24/7 trading. TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Intro (01:30) The relationship between EtherFi and SharpLink and why they work together (01:46) What EtherFi is building: the DeFi bank with $5-6 billion in deposits (02:24) SharpLink's $2 billion Ethereum treasury and why they deployed $200 million into EtherFi (03:38) Balancing speed and safety: why the DeFi risk playbook hasn't been written yet (05:28) Why institutions move slow deploying, but go fast when monitoring problems (07:25) How EtherFi approaches security: in-office teams, formal verification, and constant audits (08:26) Decentralization theater: why performative decentralization makes protocols less safe (09:17) Why EtherFi is building an emergency “red button” intervention system without compromising self-custody (10:53) How SharpLink's team underwrites DeFi risk (13:28) Why institutions are still in the first inning of DeFi adoption (17:28) How tokenized securities will unlock DeFi at a scale far beyond bitcoin and ether (22:11) Qualified custody with Anchorage and why ops alpha matters for institutional DeFi (23:09) What's next for EtherFi: global licensing and becoming a viable alternative to banks (25:56) Stablecoin rails as the main way crypto reaches the real economy (28:31) Tokenization about to expand as NYSE, Nasdaq, and DTCC opening up 24/7 (29:44) Final advice: stay safe, don't chase yield, and invest in young builders ESSENTIALS You can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple or YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review — it really helps. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ [https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ] Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141] Follow us on X Jacquelyn: https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek [https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek] Talking Tokens: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens [https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens] Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/_talkingtokens/ [https://www.instagram.com/_talkingtokens/] Note: This podcast is for informational purposes only. Views shared are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have financial interests in discussed content.

What's Overhyped, Underhyped, and Actually Happening in Crypto Right Now

In this special episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek sits down with eight crypto leaders at an event in Miami hosted by StrataMedia alongside GSR and Alpaca for a rapid-fire mini interview series. Each guest is asked a similar set of questions: what their company is working on, how they describe the state of the crypto market, whether bearish sentiment is overhyped, what they would tokenize if they could tokenize anything, and what else they're paying attention to that listeners should be watching too. Guests include Asheesh Birla (CEO, Evernorth), Phil Fogel (CEO and co-founder, Cork Protocol), Neil Chopra (head of strategy and BD, Fireblocks), Scott Dykstra (co-founder and CTO, Space and Time), David Reising (founder and CEO, Lotus Protocol), Yoshi Yokokawa (co-founder and CEO, Alpaca), Tom Murphy (head of communications, Securitize), and Jakob Palmstierna (president, GSR). Answers range from wanting to tokenize chickens and avocados to entire balance sheets, and the through line is clear: institutions are here, the infrastructure is maturing, and the people still building through a tough market are the ones who will define what comes next. TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Intro (00:32) Asheesh Birla, CEO of Evernorth, on active XRP treasury management and tokenizing compute (05:48) Phil Fogel, CEO and co-founder of Cork Protocol, on risk infrastructure DeFi is still missing (12:08) Neil Chopra, head of strategy and BD at Fireblocks, on convergence of crypto native and traditional markets (18:10) Scott Dykstra, co-founder and CTO of Space and Time, on its new institutional Virtual Vvaults and decentralization after exploits (21:56) David Reising, founder and CEO of Lotus Protocol, on tranched lending and DeFi insurance (24:36) Yoshi Yokokawa, co-founder and CEO of Alpaca, on tokenization infrastructure and the paradigm shift ahead (28:11) Tom Murphy, head of communications at Securitize, on its new Jump and Jupiter partnership, Computershare announcement, and tokenized stocks (34:38) Jakob Palmstierna, president of GSR, on market structure evolution and tokenized equities trading 24/7 ESSENTIALS You can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple or YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review — it really helps. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ [https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ] Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141] Follow us on X Jacquelyn: https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek [https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek] Talking Tokens: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens [https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens] Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/_talkingtokens/ [https://www.instagram.com/_talkingtokens/] Note: This podcast is for informational purposes only. Views shared are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have financial interests in discussed content.

How Crypto Is Slowly Taking Over Wall Street Territory | Kevin Beardsley

In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek does an exclusive interview with Kevin Beardsley, the new head of institutional growth at Jito Foundation, in his first interview since announcing the role. Kevin, who previously held senior positions at Kraken and Ctrl Wallet, explains why institutions want Solana exposure but still struggle to actually use the technology, and how the 18-month education process behind every big institutional deal is invisible from the outside. He walks through the process of liquid staking tokens solving the trade-off between earning yield and maintaining capital efficiency, why crypto-native companies are increasingly taking territory from traditional banks rather than the other way around, and what Jito's institutional integrations with Anchorage, FalconX, and others actually look like in practice. The conversation also covers why meme coins created real perception damage for institutional adoption, the branding problem crypto still hasn't fixed, and why AI-enabled wallets are the next thing worth watching. TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Intro (00:33) How Xin defines tokenization (02:46) GSR's origin story as a market maker for Ripple's XRP in 2013 (06:00) How options evolved from a backwater to a core crypto market (09:12) The crypto gap GSR is trying to fill: building a full-service investment bank (14:29) Acquisitions of Architech and Autonomous and his bear market M&A thesis (17:27) Why the infrastructure bridge between traditional finance and onchain markets still needs work (21:24) Who tokenization actually serves: the underbanked, 24/7 traders, and AI agents (24:28) Will tokenized assets steal market share from bitcoin over time? (27:57) Stablecoin proliferation post-Genius Act and the yield pass-through debate (30:13) How GSR's role evolves as more real world assets get tokenized (33:49) Tokenized equities: wrapped vs issuer-led approaches and what's winning (41:17) Standard Chartered Ventures investment and what banking rails unlock for crypto (49:46) What Xin is watching: AI and blockchain intersection (52:07) Final advice: grit, patience, and keep building through the lows ESSENTIALS You can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple or YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review — it really helps. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ [https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ] Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141] Follow us on X Jacquelyn: https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek [https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek] Talking Tokens: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens [https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens] Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/_talkingtokens/ [https://www.instagram.com/_talkingtokens/] Note: This podcast is for informational purposes only. Views shared are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have financial interests in discussed content.