The Defiant - DeFi Podcast

For consumer crypto to thrive it needs to embrace financialization to deliver a better experience, and maker sure crypto disappears everywhere else. Projects doing this right sit in an emerging sector called fantech. In this episode of the Avalanche Ecosystem Series, we explore the rise of Fantech: a new category where sports fans, music fans, creators, and event-goers become participants in real digital economies.

From loyalty pro...

In this episode of The Defiant Podcast, Uniswap founder Hayden Adams joins us right as the UNIfication (Unification) proposal has moved to a final governance vote—a sweeping plan from Uniswap Labs + the Uniswap Foundation that would activate protocol fees, introduce a programmatic UNI burn, and realign how value accrues across the Uniswap ecosystem. We go deep on what’s actually inside the proposal (and what isn’t), why this momen...

In this episode of The Defiant podcast, Camila Russo sits down in Buenos Aires (Devconnect) with Marissa Foster (Product, Ethereum Foundation) and Yoav Weiss (security researcher, Ethereum Foundation) to unpack The Trustless Manifesto and the Ethereum Interop Layer (EIL), why “trust assumptions” are quietly creeping into Ethereum’s stack, and what it will take to preserve Ethereum’s core values while making UX actually usable.We di...

In this episode of The Defiant podcast we speak with Morgan Krupetsky, VP of OnChain Finance at Ava Labs, to break down one of the most significant shifts happening in crypto today: the rapid institutionalization of blockchain and Avalanche’s strategy to lead it.

Morgan walks us through Avalanche’s “real-world adoption first” ethos, explaining how its unique architecture enables enterprises, fintechs, banks, governments, and consume...

Robert Leshner — the mind behind Compound, and now the founder of Superstate — believes the next trillion-dollar shift will come from bringing the world’s assets on-chain.

In this episode, Cami sits down with one of DeFi’s earliest pioneers to unpack:

• Why DeFi itself shouldn’t change — but assets will

• How tokenized T-bills, basis strategies, and even equities are finally getting institutional traction

• Why regulatory “tailwinds,...

In a world of fast-advancing technology, we are told to trust in our own research. But as the crypto space matures, scams and exploits remain a constant presence. When your assets are gone, they are gone forever, with a near-zero chance of recovery. The old mantra of "Do Your Own Research" falls short against sophisticated threats like address poisoning, advanced malware, and convincing AI deepfakes. How, then, do we buil...

In the second episode of Ecosystems: Avalanche, we track the protocol’s trajectory, which included a peak valuation of $13 billion, followed by a period of consolidation and strategic redevelopment.

The Defiant founder Camila Russo and Ava Labs' Chief Strategy Officer Luigi D’Onorio DeMeo are joined by founders from BENQI, Euler Labs, and LFJ, who are building on the Avalanche protocol. The conversation covers technical upgrades...

In this conversation, May Zabaneh breaks down PayPal’s move into stablecoins with PYUSD and why it matters for financial inclusion. We explore how PYUSD could lower costs for cross-border payments, deliver faster settlement, and plug directly into PayPal’s existing ecosystem. The discussion covers why PayPal built a proprietary stablecoin, early adoption and real-world use cases, and plans for international expansion. We also exami...

In Web3, we find ourselves in an age of digital phantoms, a "click-farm" era where identity is flimsy and easily fabricated. But what if reputation could be real, portable, and valuable? Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu returns to explore this very question, detailing a vision for a trust layer built on zero-knowledge proofs.

He reveals plans for a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, a joint venture with Standard Chartered and H...

In this episode of The Defiant Podcast, Vinny sits down with Ahmad Shadid—former quant trader turned founder—who redirected the 2022 GPU crunch into a decentralized GPU network and now leads a bold push toward “sovereign superintelligence”: an AI CEO framework that can govern, fund, and scale itself transparently. 

We unpack vibe coding (building with AI at 20x speed), how zero-knowledge proofs and decentralized networks could r...

Avalanche says it can finally square the circle: sub‑second finality, a large decentralized validator set, and thousands of sovereign L1s connected through native messaging for shared liquidity.

In the genesis episode of our new ECOSYSTEMS podcast, Camila Russo and guest cohost Luigi D’Onorio DeMeo of Ava Labs unpack the Avalanche story—from Team Rocket’s probabilistic consensus and the stadium sampling intuition, to today’s “city o...

Crypto’s next chapter isn’t a shinier coin—it’s invisible rails. In this episode, we sit down with Aryan Sheikhalian, Research Lead at CMT Digital, to unpack the shift from “crypto as an asset” to crypto as infrastructure: 24/7 markets, instant clearing and settlement, and new structured products that couldn’t exist before. 

We talk about tokenized equities (wrappers vs. native tokenization and why dividends/governance matter), how ...

In this episode of The Defiant Podcast, we sit down with Paul Veradittakit, Managing Partner at Pantera Capital, to discuss the explosive growth of Solana, the future of stablecoins, and the evolution of digital asset treasury companies. Paul shares insights on Pantera's $1.2 billion Solana fund, the role of institutional capital in this crypto cycle, and why he believes Solana is poised to outperform Bitcoin and Ethereum. Tune...

In this episode of The Defiant Podcast, we sit down with Ben Nadareski, CEO and Co-Founder of Solstice Labs, to explore DeFi on Solana and why it’s becoming a magnet for institutional adoption. Ben shares how Solstice Labs is pioneering permissionless, institutional-grade yield strategies and launching the US token, a fully collateralized stablecoin designed to unlock new levels of trust and scalability in DeFi.

We dive into Solana’...

In this episode of The Defiant Podcast, we sit down with Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder and CEO of StarkWare, to explore how StarkNet is revolutionizing blockchain scalability with ZK proofs. From Bitcoin staking to the creation of an "integrity web," Eli shares groundbreaking insights into the future of decentralized finance, Bitcoin's execution layer, and the role of StarkNet in shaping the blockchain ecosystem. Tune in to discover h...

Why did Game Square, the Jerry Jones-backed media powerhouse, bet $100 million on Ethereum instead of Bitcoin? In this episode of The DeFiant Podcast, Vinny sits down with crypto pioneer Ryan Zurrer to explore the strategy behind this bold move. Ryan, who co-wrote the MakerDAO whitepaper and now leads Dialectic, shares why Ethereum dominates 5 out of 6 real-world crypto use cases, from stablecoins to DeFi, and how it’s emerging as ...

In this episode of The Defiant Podcast, Paul Faecks, CEO of Plasma Chain, discusses the platform’s approach to stablecoin payments and its potential to reshape global financial infrastructure. From gasless USD transfers to a $2 billion liquidity launch, Paul explains how Plasma Chain plans to compete with established players like Tron and Ethereum while focusing on emerging markets and decentralization. The conversation also touche...

Stablecoins are no longer just a buzzword—they’re transforming the way the world moves money. In this episode of The Defiant Podcast, we sit down with Reeve Collins, co-founder of Tether, co-founder of WeFi, and chairman at STBL, to explore the groundbreaking evolution of stablecoins.

From their early days as a simple payment solution to their role in reshaping global finance, Reeve shares insider insights on how stablecoins are bui...

In this episode of The Defiant Podcast, we sit down with Joseph Onorati, CEO of DeFi Development Corp, the second-largest Solana treasury company. Joseph shares the journey of transforming DeFi Development Corp into a Solana-focused treasury powerhouse, their innovative yield strategies, and why Solana's volatility and native yield make it a compelling treasury asset. We also dive into the broader case for crypto treasury compa...