Banks are Ditching Old Databases for Blockchains | Scott Dykstra
In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Scott Dykstra, co-founder and CTO of Space and Time, about how the crypto market has evolved from the 2021 NFT craze to the 2026 institutional era. Scott explains why almost every bank is now writing smart contracts, how Space and Time helps financial institutions connect offchain data to onchain markets, and why blockchains are fundamentally better transactional databases than traditional systems like Oracle.He walks through the shift from early crypto startups to mature DeFi protocols to enterprise clients, how banks are building pilots for stablecoins and tokenizing real-world assets, and why the Wells Fargo data manipulation case proves the need for verifiable compute. The conversation covers Space and Time's Proof of SQL technology, how the company enables stablecoin yields institutions' need for offchain data, and why AI agents buying their own services with stablecoins may be the next frontier for crypto adoption.TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Intro (01:31) How WisdomTree defines tokenization as recordkeeping technology (04:16) Growth from $30M to $770M in tokenized assets within one year (06:13) Three use cases: stablecoin reserves, treasury management, and DeFi collateral (08:01) Talking to Aave and Morpho about integrating tokenized funds as collateral (09:17) Why its tokenized money market fund could become WisdomTree's largest fund overall (10:17) SEC approval for 24/7 trading and instant settlement: the big unlock (13:11) Why 24/7 trading only works with tokenized funds, not traditional infrastructure (16:02) DeFi and TradFi convergence: partnership not competition (18:28) Customer journey: wallet-first users, not brokerage account holders (27:42) Why liquid assets benefit more from tokenization than illiquid real estateESSENTIALS 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 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 Follow us on X Jacquelyn: https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek Talking Tokens: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens Follow us on Instagram 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.
Banks are Ditching Old Databases for Blockchains | Scott Dykstra
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Why Bitcoin Really Exists | Matt Luongo and Arthur Hayes
In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Matt Luongo, co-founder of Mezo, and Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstrom and co-founder of BitMEX, about why they see bitcoin as the best collateral ever created and what it means to build a financial system on top of it. Matt explains how Mezo is rebuilding banking on bitcoin by letting holders borrow against their BTC rather than spend it, and why the lending market that blew up last cycle is now being rebuilt onchain with better infrastructure. Arthur shares why he treats bitcoin purely as a liquidity barometer, why governments will always choose to print rather than accept consequences, and why that makes bitcoin the only rational long-term savings asset. The two walk through what sustainable bitcoin yield actually looks like versus the token-printing schemes that failed in the last cycle and how institutions holding bitcoin on their balance sheet are deploying it. The conversation also covers Arthur's personal philosophy on leverage, Matt's experience financing his house with bitcoin, and why both guests believe people shouldn’t sell your BTC, just borrow against it. Arthur Hayes: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cryptohayes/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/arthur-hayes-b493b42/ Substack - https://cryptohayes.substack.com/ Web: https://www.cryptohayes.com X - https://x.com/cryptohayes Maelstrom Fund: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/maelstromfund Web - https://www.maelstrom.fund X - https://x.com/maelstromfund TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Intro (01:37) Why Matt built Mezo and what drew Arthur in with his big picture thesis (02:23) Arthur on Maelstrom, his family office, and why bitcoin needs to be useful (03:16) The state of bitcoin in 2026 (05:57) Bitcoin as a liquidity alarm: why it rises and falls with global money printing (08:47) Governments choosing bailouts over consequences, and how bitcoin can win (15:04) How to think about risk before going max long bitcoin (20:39) What macro patterns Arthur and Matt actually track (23:41) What sustainable bitcoin yield looks like versus token-printing schemes (25:24) Why a lot of bitcoin holders have never had access to standard DeFi (32:36) How institutions with BTC on their balance sheet are thinking about yield today (34:26) Why every DeFi exploit sets institutional adoption back and what changes that (37:03) Bitcoin as collateral: what it actually unlocks for holders (38:25) How Matt and Arthur each got into crypto (44:41) Is it too late to buy bitcoin? The conversations people are actually having now (45:55) Market outlook and price predictions 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 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 Follow us on X Jacquelyn: https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek Talking Tokens: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens Follow us on Instagram 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 Sky Is Building the Future of Stablecoin Yield With USDS | Rune Christensen
In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Rune Christensen, founder of Sky (formerly MakerDAO), about how the protocol is connecting hundreds of billions in idle stablecoins to institutional-grade yield through its Sky Agent Network. Rune explains why Sky evolved from MakerDAO, how USDS offers a native 3.75% savings rate with no lock-ups or fees, and why the protocol generated $338 million in annualized revenue with $158 million in net profit during recent market volatility. He walks through the Sky Agent Network enabling decentralized capital allocation across players like Spark, BlackRock, and Janus Henderson, why Sky deployed $1 billion into the first tokenized CLO, and how the protocol's seven-year track record makes it the only project institutions trust at scale. The conversation covers Sky's 74% USDS supply growth, why DeFi and TradFi will merge into one system, and how AI agents will drive the next phase of financial automation through blockchain-native stablecoins. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Intro 02:08 – Why Sky evolved from MakerDAO: rethinking DeFi for real-world scale 04:00 – Sky as infrastructure for global capital markets and capital formation 05:34 – How Sky Savings Rate works with 3.75% yield 07:06 – Sky Agent Network: decentralized businesses competing for best risk-adjusted returns 08:16 – Why Sky is different from Ethena and other yield-bearing stablecoins 11:49 – Spark protocol reaching $3 billion TVL as it grows in the lending market 14:03 – How real cash-flowing assets are coming onchain for the first time 18:32 – Why institutions like BlackRock and Janus Henderson work with Sky 27:18 – Sky’s Grove deploying $1 billion into first tokenized CLO by Janus Henderson and Centrifuge 30:10 – When DeFi and TradFi merge: stablecoins can act as super capital 34:13 – AI agents driving blockchain-native financial automation 37:35 – Sky's revenue: $338M annualized with $158M net profit during market volatility 39:05 – Growing stablecoin supply as the main opportunity ahead 50:18 – Rune's endgame: fully automating Sky through AI to finally step away 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 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 Follow us on X Jacquelyn: https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek Talking Tokens: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens Follow us on Instagram 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.
Why AI Agents Will Manage Your DeFi Portfolio Before You Do | Vik Arun
In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Vik Arun, co-founder of Superform, about why DeFi was always heading toward automation and why AI agents not humans are the natural managers of onchain portfolios. Vik, who previously co-led a $100M DeFi and yield fund at BlockTower Capital before launching Superform in 2022, explains how the protocol evolved from a yield marketplace into a user-owned neobank, and why he believes the goal is to replace banks entirely rather than work alongside them. He walks through Superform's UP token launch, why 85% of airdrop recipients sold immediately, and what teams getting ready to TGE should learn from that experience. The conversation covers the two paths left for software companies in the age of AI, and why the only thing that can stop crypto's future is believers burning themselves out. TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Intro (01:15) How Vik is using AI across Superform and what it means for team structure (03:18) Two paths for software companies: fully embrace AI or settle for margins (07:45) Superform's evolution from yield marketplace to user-owned neobank (09:12) Why DeFi was always heading toward automation, not human management (10:51) How AI agents will manage vault strategies and what guardrails are needed (11:00) Where banks can't compete and what user-owned finance actually means (14:20) Self-custody: why some people genuinely don't want it and what that costs them (15:02) The Clarity Act and why banning stablecoin yields through banks could be great for DeFi (18:00) Will banks acquire DeFi protocols or will DeFi replace them? (19:08) Superform's end goal: replace the banks (23:27) Why Superform launched its UP token in a tough market (24:34) Core governance capabilities and the first three improvement proposals (26:09) Token launch lessons: after 85% of recipients sold immediately, distribution is everything (29:03) B2C vs B2B: mobile app for consumers, super vaults for institutions (30:52) Why this cycle may be the first where institutions lead retail into DeFi (31:38) 2026 roadmap: Android launch, credit card, and agentic vault managers (39:12) Final advice: the believers who stay will build what matters 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 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 Follow us on X Jacquelyn: https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek Talking Tokens: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens Follow us on Instagram 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.