A 117-Year-Old Asset Manager Goes “Fully Native,” Seeing Tokenization as OS upgrade | Theo Golden
On today's Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Theo Golden, Head of Digital Assets at Baillie Gifford, to talk about BAGEY — the firm's newly launched tokenized bond fund on Solana and Ethereum that yields around 7% and settles in USDC.
Theo breaks down why he sees tokenization as an operating system upgrade rather than a reinvention of finance, how pension funds and private banks are already showing real interest in its new tokenized fund, and why he thinks AI democratizing insight and tokenization democratizing access are two themes that will collide into something nobody has fully figured out yet.
DISCLAIMER: Although our guest this week works at Baillie Gifford, nothing in this podcast should be considered an offer of its investment advisory services or should otherwise be confused for investment, tax, legal or other financial advice.
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
TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 His Journey to Digital Assets 03:33 From Journalism to Investment Theses 06:05 Learning from Successes and Failures 10:15 The Role of Independence in Baillie Gifford’s Innovation 15:19 Gradual Growth in Tokenization 20:57 Tokenization as an Operating System Upgrade 23:57 Convincing Clients of Tokenization's Value 24:50 Operational Leverage and Risk Management 27:12 The Origin of Baillie Gifford’s BAGEY Tokenized Fund 32:18 Initial Response and Market Interest 34:43 Choosing Solana and Ethereum for the Fund Launch 38:33 Solana and The Future of Internet Capital Markets 43:09 Trust and Adoption Among Institutional Investors 46:07 The Role of Traditional Institutions in Tokenization 47:59 AI and Tokenization: A Future Intersection
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 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TalkingTokens Follow us on X Jacquelyn: / jacqmelinek Talking Tokens: / _talkingtokens Follow us on Instagram / _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.
A 117-Year-Old Asset Manager Goes “Fully Native,” Seeing Tokenization as OS upgrade | Theo Golden
Subscribe & Listen
Why Plasma Bet Everything on USDT When Nobody Believed in Stablecoin Chains | Zaheer Evtakar, Plasma
Why Franklin Templeton Has Been Eyeing Tokenization for a Decade and What Comes After Money Funds | Roger Bayston
More from Talking Tokens
Why Ethereum’s Institutional Supercycle Is Already Here | Joseph Chalom, Sharplink
On today's Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Joseph Chalom, CEO of Sharplink to talk about why he and a group of Ethereum stewards including Joe Lubin and Tom Lee decided now was the moment to go back on offense for the Ethereum ecosystem. Joseph breaks down why he thinks the Ethereum institutional supercycle is already here, how Ethereum will win even amid bad price action and why the long term holders are the ones who will win this decade. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 The Evolution of Ethereum's Narrative 03:38 Ethereum’s Institutional Supercycle 05:23 Why Ethereum’s Narrative Is Changing 07:48 Building Ethereum for Institutional Adoption 09:56 The Trillion-Dollar Tokenization Opportunity 16:46 Why the Institutional Supercycle Is Already Here 23:17 From Experimentation to On-Chain Finance 30:33 Investing in Ethereum’s Long-Term Future 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 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TalkingTokens Follow us on X Jacquelyn: / jacqmelinek Talking Tokens: / _talkingtokens Follow us on Instagram / _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.
Is OUSD Really Just Stripe's Stablecoin? | Alex Beaudry, Strata Research
On this edition of Strata Research, Jacquelyn sits down with our Institutional Research Analyst Alex Beaudry to dig into the OUSD announcement that resulted in Circle's stock dropping and had the crypto world convinced a new stablecoin competitor had arrived. After looking into the details, Alex argues this is just Stripe's stablecoin wrapped in a consortium for competitive cover, then he walks through why the 140 company list is largely a marketing move before getting into which of the two paths to success for OUSD he actually thinks will play out. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Introduction to OUSD and Its Impact 02:46 The Role of Stripe in OUSD 05:33 The Consortium of 140 Companies 08:00 Market Dynamics and Competition 10:15 Investor Reactions and Market Implications 13:20 Paths to Success for OUSD Check out the associated Strata Research report for more details: https://www.token-relations.com/p/who-really-owns-ousd 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 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TalkingTokens Follow us on X Jacquelyn: / jacqmelinek Talking Tokens: / _talkingtokens Follow us on Instagram / _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.
Binance Founder CZ on what it took to build the world's largest crypto exchange and stay #1
On today's Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with CZ, founder and former CEO of Binance, on the exchange's ninth anniversary to talk about what he got right, what he missed, and why he thinks AI handling payments in crypto is coming within months, not years. CZ breaks down why he once thought stablecoins were a temporary patch job, how he sees blockchain technology as one of three foundational technologies alongside the internet and AI, and why crypto wealth penetration is still well under 1%. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 AI, Crypto, and the Future of Payments 00:33 Building Binance in 2017 and Moving Faster 03:44 How Binance Reached the Top 05:48 Building a Community-Driven Platform 08:27 Creating Products People Return To 10:31 Crypto as Foundational Technology 11:33 Where AI and Crypto Intersect 14:26 Using AI as a Productivity Tool 18:37 The Next Opportunities in Crypto 21:21 Building at the Intersection of Skills and Value 21:53 The Future of Traditional and On-Chain Finance 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 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TalkingTokens Follow us on X Jacquelyn: / jacqmelinek Talking Tokens: / _talkingtokens Follow us on Instagram / _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.