How RockawayX Is Building the Actively Managed DeFi Vault | Samantha Bohbot
In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Samantha Bohbot, partner and chief growth officer at RockawayX, about why DeFi vaults have evolved from simple yield products into the foundation for actively managed, institutional-grade credit strategies. Samantha, who spent nearly four years as VP of growth at DCG before joining RockawayX, explains how the firm allocates over $2 billion across venture, liquid tokens, and onchain credit, and why it launched its own vaults on Morpho and Camino after spending years as one of the largest depositors into these products itself. She walks through what separates a serious vault from a commoditized one, why credit underwriting and risk infrastructure matter more than yield numbers, and how AI agents could reshape how capital flows into DeFi. The conversation also covers the Resolve exploit, why prediction markets are overhyped relative to actual usage, how to spot confirmation bias in crypto venture, and why building real financial infrastructure takes longer than a hackathon.
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Intro (01:14) Samantha's background at DCG and path to RockawayX (01:49) What RockawayX is: venture, liquid tokens, credit fund, and infrastructure (03:11) Why vaults are the next stage of the DeFi promise (05:24) How RockawayX differentiates its vault strategy from the crowd (07:22) Why credit underwriting and risk infrastructure are what separate real vaults (08:21) Why RockawayX decided to build vaults itself rather than wait (09:03) How the first RWA mixed pool works (13:37) Generative finance and how AI agents change vault UX and product fit (16:19) Embedding vaults into fintech products to reach non-crypto users (19:45) The Resolv exploit: how the attack worked and what curators got right (22:30) RockawayX's 2026 priorities and where to allocate time and resources (26:02) Why prediction markets are getting too much attention (27:14) Running a market-neutral strategy on Polymarket and its liquidity limits (33:16) Confirmation bias in crypto venture: pitching decks instead of businesses (40:09) OCC charters and the future of crypto banking regulation (42:37) Final advice: trust your gut on people and ideas
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 RockawayX Is Building the Actively Managed DeFi Vault | Samantha Bohbot
Subscribe & Listen
Why Public Markets Are About to Move Onchain | Michael Tannenbaum
Why AI Agents Will Manage Your DeFi Portfolio Before You Do | Vik Arun
More from Talking Tokens
Why Franklin Templeton Has Been Eyeing Tokenization for a Decade and What Comes After Money Funds | Roger Bayston
On today's Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Roger Bayston, Head of Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton, to discuss his 35-year journey at the firm and how tokenization became the focal point to his career there today. Roger breaks down how he sees blockchain less as a new financial system and more as a long overdue infrastructure replacement, why BENJI’s ability to transfer and accrue interest in real time is a bigger deal than it sounds, and why investors should stop sleeping on a specific asset class with $25 to $30 trillion in activity. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Introduction to Tokenization and Franklin Templeton 03:02 Roger Bayston's Journey in Finance 05:45 The Vision for Tokenization in Asset Management 09:11 State of Tokenization Today 11:46 The Evolution of BENJI and Its Impact 15:01 Future Outlook for Tokenization 17:57 The Integration of Traditional Finance and Blockchain 21:05 The Future of Investment Products 21:59 Resurrecting SPVs and Trust in Finance 25:07 Building Trust in Digital Assets 28:21 Institutional Interest in Blockchain 30:46 Investing in Networks and Blockchain Opportunities 33:45 Tokenization and New Asset Classes 39:31 The Future of Banking and Tokenization You can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple or YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review — it really helps. This episode is sponsored by Securitize, the proven leader in tokenized funds, equities, and private markets. Discover more at securitize.io. 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
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.
Why Plasma Bet Everything on USDT When Nobody Believed in Stablecoin Chains | Zaheer Evtakar, Plasma
On today's Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Zaheer Ebtikar, Chief Strategy Officer at Plasma, to talk about why the recent wave of DeFi exploits is forcing a necessary reset and Plasma’s decision behind building a stablecoin-optimized chain around USDT. Zaheer also dives into the recent OpenUSD launch and how it can fit into an institutional stablecoin infrastructure world,, and why he thinks the biggest unlock still ahead is making it invisible enough that billions of people just use it without knowing it's there. TIMESTAMPS: 0:36 - Thoughts on DeFi Exploits & Reconsolidation 3:59 - Plasma's Stablecoin Strategy 5:48 - Investor Pushback & Conviction 9:07 - Lessons Since Launch 12:46 - USDT & OpenUSD 17:29 - The Stablecoin Landscape 21:31 - What Makes a Durable Team 24:55 - DeFi's Future 30:49 - Advice for Founders 40:57 - Plasma's Big Bets & Token Strategy 45:53 - Long-Term Vision for DeFi 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.