The Edge Podcast

DeFi Dad
  • 5.0 (10)
  • Investing
  • Weekly

Join two seasoned crypto investors and DeFi power-users as they dive into the biggest stories shaping the future of digital assets—covering all you need to know about Ethereum, Bitcoin, and DeFi. Gain your own edge as an investor from comprehensive interviews with leading founders, investors, and developers you won’t hear elsewhere. For exclusive content, market updates, and DeFi yield opportunities, sign up for our free newsletter at the-edge.xyz.

  1. 6d ago

    The Zcash Comeback: Why Insiders Say ZEC’s Price Run Isn’t A Fluke — And Just The Beginning

    Sudo is the Project Lead and Zaki Manian is Head of Engineering at Sovright, which builds critical infrastructure for Zcash. Just a few years ago, Zcash was almost dead. The treasury was tight, the team was shrinking, and the wallet was nearly unusable. Now the price is up 30x-40x since 2024, Bitcoiners are buying, and the team says they're just getting started. In this episode, Zaki and Sudo walk through the full comeback story including the breakthrough with better wallets like Zodl, the unlock for ZEC DeFi with NEAR intents, the existential Orchard pool bug this year, quantum safety, and why they believe now is like Bitcoin in 2016. ------ 💎 THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORS 🔒 KPK | Best risk-adjusted yield through automated vaults 🏦 AXIS | The Origin Vault launched on Ethereum 🟠 APYX | The first dividend-backed stablecoin (DBS) ♾️ INFINIT | Institutional-grade trading vaults, built onchain 🐡 PUFFER INSTITUTIONAL | ETH staking solutions for scale 💰 SAFFRON FINANCE | A fixed yield layer built on Uniswap ------ ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Intro 2:46 - Zaki and Sudo’s background 7:04 - What drew Zaki and Sudo to Zcash full time 12:52 - What triggered the price run for ZEC 19:02 - Two phases of Zcash’s redemption arc 22:04 - Why Zcash is special vs other blockchains 25:10 - What the Tor/IP privacy toggle in Zodl does 29:40 - How to buy ZEC privately 32:55 - The Orchard pool vulnerability explained 43:09 - Would shielded ZEC in Zodl be safe in a PQ-world? 45:19 - Could more minted ZEC be hiding in the Orchard pool? 48:17 - The ecosystem map for Zcash 51:32 - Cypherpunk’s role (CYPH) and profitability of mining ZEC 54:50 - Proof of work vs proof of stake debate in Zcash 57:09 - How Zcash governance actually works 1:03:54 - What is Sovright building for Zcash? 1:08:37 - What DeFi might be possible for Zcash in the future? 1:13:57 - Why Zcash is the "middle thing" between Bitcoin and experimental chains 1:17:03 - Closing ------ 🔗 GUEST LINKS ► Sovright website: https://sovright.com/ ► Zodl wallet website:https://zodl.com/ ► Sovright on X: https://x.com/sovright_ ► Sudo on X: https://x.com/sudo_ml ► Zaki on X: https://x.com/zmanian ------ 🎙️ MORE FROM THE EDGE PODCAST AND EDGE NEWSLETTER ► Newsletter: https://the-edge.xyz ► Apple: https://tinyurl.com/edgepod ► Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/edgepodspotify ► Linktree: https://linktr.ee/edge_pod ► Follow DeFi Dad: https://x.com/DeFi_Dad ► Follow Nomatic: https://x.com/Nomaticcap ► Learn DeFi: http://defidad.com/ ------ DISCLAIMER: Nothing said on The Edge Podcast is a recommendation to buy or sell tokens or securities. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared here is financial advice. Any views expressed by hosts or guests on the show are solely their opinions. Always do your own research. DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and guests may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast.

    The Zcash Comeback: Why Insiders Say ZEC’s Price Run Isn’t A Fluke — And Just The Beginning

  2. Oct 16

    You Know Zcash, But Railgun Lets You Use Any Asset Privately Across All Ethereum DeFi

    Alan is a privacy researcher and long-time contributor to Railgun. Every DeFi transaction you make is fully public. But Railgun is building the incognito mode for Ethereum. How does it actually work, and how does it compare to Zcash? Can we really access private DeFi with any shielded asset on Ethereum? What we learned will surprise you. ------💎 THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORS 🔒 KPK | Best risk-adjusted yield through automated vaults 🏦 AXIS | The Origin Vault launched on Ethereum 🟠 APYX | The first dividend-backed stablecoin (DBS) 🐡 PUFFER INSTITUTIONAL | ETH staking solutions for scale ------⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Intro1:55 - Why privacy matters4:18 - What is Railgun?5:50 - How to do a private swap on Ethereum with Railgun9:42 - Railgun is like a privacy safe, but not a mixer12:47 - Common uses of Railgun16:50 - Privacy limitations: the privacy set problem explained20:00 - Is Railgun similar to an L2?23:48 - The balancing act of unstoppable access25:49 - Railgun vs Zcash differences explained30:47 - Which apps can I use for private DeFi with Railgun?33:25 - Wallet-level privacy vs application-level privacy41:41 - Railgun’s relationship working with the Ethereum Foundation 47:43 - Will privacy become a default setting or an option?52:16 - The RAIL token: staking, governance, and yield54:32 - Closing ------🔗 GUEST LINKS ► Railgun website: https://railgun.org/► Railgun on X: https://x.com/RAILGUN_Project► Anon Inc wallet: https://anon.inc/► Railgun on X: https://x.com/tsu_kareta ------🎙️ MORE FROM THE EDGE PODCAST AND EDGE NEWSLETTER ► Newsletter: https://the-edge.xyz► Apple: https://tinyurl.com/edgepod► Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/edgepodspotify► Linktree: https://linktr.ee/edge_pod► Follow DeFi Dad: https://x.com/DeFi_Dad► Follow Nomatic: https://x.com/Nomaticcap► Learn DeFi: http://defidad.com/ ------DISCLAIMER: Nothing said on The Edge Podcast is a recommendation to buy or sell tokens or securities. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared here is financial advice. Any views expressed by hosts or guests on the show are solely their opinions. Always do your own research. DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and guests may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast.

    You Know Zcash, But Railgun Lets You Use Any Asset Privately Across All Ethereum DeFi

  3. Oct 9

    Why Fundamentals Are Finally Winning and Where This DeFi Investor's Putting His Money | The Thesis

    Kyle is an investor and now Senior Research Analyst at DefiLlama. Fundamentals are finally winning in crypto. But which sectors, which tokens, and why now? In this episode of The Thesis, Kyle walks through his complete framework for investing this cycle, including his highest conviction bets such as Venice (VVV). He also shares his take on DATs, inference capital markets, and why liquid investors are more spoiled for choice right now than at any point in the last four years. ------💎 THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORS 🔒 KPK | Best risk-adjusted yield through automated vaults 🏦 AXIS | The Origin Vault launched on Ethereum 🟠 APYX | The first dividend-backed stablecoin (DBS) 🐡 PUFFER INSTITUTIONAL | ETH staking solutions for scale ------⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Intro2:22 - Background at DeFiance Capital4:57 - Moving from memes to fundamentals11:53 - Why memecoins eventually led people back to fundamentals22:19 - The StablecoinX Ethena DAT trade, on NASDAQ25:04 - Why altcoin DATs are more interesting than MicroStrategy27:29 - DeFi yield for public markets30:53 - When investing, the founder is all that matters38:30 - Investing in inference capital markets44:50 - Why Venice (VVV) is the cleanest long on inference demand50:13 - Kyle’s degen bet on AI inference with Orbio53:21 - Ranking Kyle’s investments by sector1:02:44 - Up-and-coming tokens according to Kyle1:05:13 - Kyle’s thoughts on October and is market bottom in?1:10:45 - Closing ------🔗 GUEST LINKS ► Kyle on X: https://x.com/zeroxkyle► DefiLlama Research website: https://defillama.com/research ------🎙️ MORE FROM THE EDGE PODCAST AND EDGE NEWSLETTER ► Newsletter: https://the-edge.xyz► Apple: https://tinyurl.com/edgepod► Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/edgepodspotify► Linktree: https://linktr.ee/edge_pod► Follow DeFi Dad: https://x.com/DeFi_Dad► Follow Nomatic: https://x.com/Nomaticcap► Learn DeFi: http://defidad.com/ ------DISCLAIMER: Nothing said on The Edge Podcast is a recommendation to buy or sell tokens or securities. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared here is financial advice. Any views expressed by hosts or guests on the show are solely their opinions. Always do your own research. DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and guests may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast.

    Why Fundamentals Are Finally Winning and Where This DeFi Investor's Putting His Money | The Thesis

  4. Oct 2

    Is It Time to Buy ENA? Ethena Pay, The Equity Basis Trade, and The Token Cleanup

    Lito is the Head of Growth at Ethena Pay. Is it time to buy ENA? What is Ethena Pay and how does it compete as a DeFi neobank? What is the equity basis trade and why does it matter for USDe yield? What just happened with early ENA investor buyouts and VC unlocks? Reputable DeFi investor and builder Lito, now leading growth at Ethena Pay, answers all this and more about why Ethena is thriving in its second bull run and why it's so well positioned to challenge Circle and Tether's dominance in the stablecoin market. ------💎 THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORS 🔒 KPK | Best risk-adjusted yield through automated vaults 🏦 AXIS | The Origin Vault launched on Ethereum 🟠 APYX | The first dividend-backed stablecoin (DBS) 🐡 PUFFER INSTITUTIONAL | ETH staking solutions for scale ------⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Intro2:33 - Lito’s background in DeFi10:45 - What is Ethena Pay?14:14 - Ethena Pay’s edge as a neobank and stablecoin issuer19:45 - The mobile app breakthrough for DeFi25:05 - Competing in the DeFi neobank sector29:41 - What is Ethena’s new equity basis trade?34:18 - What other strategies underpin sUSDe yield?36:56 - ENA token cleanup: buyouts, equity, buybacks, unlocks40:23 - StablecoinX, the ENA DAT42:47 - What’s next at Ethena?45:23 - Ethena Pay's key features and expected launch in US50:26 - Closing ------🔗 GUEST LINKS ► Ethena Pay website: https://pay.ethena.fi/► Ethena Pay on X: https://x.com/ethenapay► Lito on X: https://x.com/litocoen ------🎙️ MORE FROM THE EDGE PODCAST AND EDGE NEWSLETTER ► Newsletter: https://the-edge.xyz► Apple: https://tinyurl.com/edgepod► Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/edgepodspotify► Linktree: https://linktr.ee/edge_pod► Follow DeFi Dad: https://x.com/DeFi_Dad► Follow Nomatic: https://x.com/Nomaticcap► Learn DeFi: http://defidad.com/ ------DISCLAIMER: Nothing said on The Edge Podcast is a recommendation to buy or sell tokens or securities. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared here is financial advice. Any views expressed by hosts or guests on the show are solely their opinions. Always do your own research. DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and guests may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast. DeFi Dad and Nomatic hold ENA.

    Is It Time to Buy ENA? Ethena Pay, The Equity Basis Trade, and The Token Cleanup

  5. Sep 24

    Building Citadel Securities For The Tokenized Era | DeFi Frontier

    Chris Kim is the CoFounder and CEO of Axis. Most of the volume happening in crypto still isn't visible onchain. It's a growing volume from fintechs, neobanks, CEXs, and remittance platforms bridging services between stablecoins, fiat, and tokenized assets behind the scenes, working with OTC desks for liquidity they can't source on their own. In this DeFi Frontier episode, Chris explains how Axis Prime is building the "balance sheet as a service" layer that powers these conversions, similar to Citadel Securities for the tokenized era. He explains how DeFi capital formation through USDx feeds Axis Prime's institutional arbitrage strategies, why the yield is real and where it comes from, and why this new wave of tokenization promises a much larger TAM for years to come. ------💎 THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORS 🔒 KPK | Best risk-adjusted yield through automated vaults 🟠 APYX | The first dividend-backed stablecoin (DBS) 🐡 PUFFER INSTITUTIONAL | ETH staking solutions for scale ------⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Intro1:33 - From trading commodities to cryptoasset arbitrage5:37 - What is Axis Prime?6:30 - Why do neobanks and fintechs need Axis Prime?8:39 - Balance sheet as a service10:18 - Betting on neobanks and fintech adopting stablecoins13:40 - Opportunity to serve fiat x crypto conversions16:14 - Axis’s first six-figure OTC trade for a leading CEX17:25 - Why Axis Prime benefits from the Origin Vault and sUSDx19:36 - USDx, sUSDx, and the Origin Vault21:07 - Axis yields over last 30 days22:55 - Where does sUSDx yield come from? 23:52 - Global onchain capital formation + service to licensed fintechs24:47 - Challenge of trust + transparency with actively managed yield26:34 - How do you earn the trust of DeFi lenders?29:32 - Has the market bottomed and bull run begun?31:08 - Could Axis earn from the Robinhood mania?34:04 - Closing ------🔗 GUEST LINKS ► Axis website: https://axis.to/► Axis Prime website: https://axis.to/prime► Axis on X: https://x.com/AxisFDN► Chris Kim on X: https://x.com/bidorder ------🎙️ MORE FROM THE EDGE PODCAST AND EDGE NEWSLETTER ► Newsletter: https://the-edge.xyz► Apple: https://tinyurl.com/edgepod► Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/edgepodspotify► Linktree: https://linktr.ee/edge_pod► Follow DeFi Dad: https://x.com/DeFi_Dad► Follow Nomatic: https://x.com/Nomaticcap► Learn DeFi: http://defidad.com/ ------DISCLAIMER: Nothing said on The Edge Podcast is a recommendation to buy or sell tokens or securities. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared here is financial advice. Any views expressed by hosts or guests on the show are solely their opinions. Always do your own research. DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and guests may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast. Axis is a sponsor of The Edge Podcast.

    Building Citadel Securities For The Tokenized Era | DeFi Frontier

  6. Sep 18

    Kool Krypto: The Story Behind The Anon DeFi Investor and What He's Betting On This Cycle

    Kool Krypto is an anonymous DeFi investor and fund manager who's been in crypto since 2010. In this episode, he shares his remarkable journey at just 13 mining Bitcoin, to discovering DeFi through ETHLend, and later landing a fund seeded by a prominent New York family office after a fateful poker game. We get a crash course on onchain options from someone trading millions on Derive, as he shares his very public trade setups for BTC and ETH, including the what went into his latest $3.5M Bitcoin call spread and his viral ETH call spread for March 2027 being copy-traded on Derive. One of our best guests, and longest interviews ever. Meet an investor who's self-taught, and provides insights on his real trades, real positions, and real edge. ------💎 THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORS 🔒 KPK | Best risk-adjusted yield through automated vaults 🏦 AXIS | The Origin Vault launched on Ethereum 🌐 RE | Earn real yield backed by regulated reinsurance programs 🟠 APYX | The first dividend-backed stablecoin (DBS) 🐡 PUFFER INSTITUTIONAL | ETH staking solutions for scale ------⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Intro2:25 - From mining BTC at 13, to trading, to fund manager5:25 - The light bulb moment with DeFi and Ethereum7:38 - The poker game that led to his fund10:26 - How much is TradFi “in the arena” with DeFi?14:17 - How Kool got into onchain perps: GMX, Gains, Hyperliquid20:13 - Running a liquid fund, yield generation, and a little VC23:28 - Why Kool doesn’t trade memecoins28:01 - The DRV bull thesis41:14 - Breaking down Kool’s $3.5M BTC call spread in Sept45:58 - The benefit of Derive’s RFQ-powered trading50:14 - AI agents are a massive tailwind for onchain options adoption52:50 - Options trading tools: Derivatives Monkey, DeFiLlama, Claude56:29 - Pros and cons of options vs perps1:02:37 - Managing risk and closing options trades 1:05:35 - Forecasting a bullish October, and uncertain end of year1:11:12 - His viral ETH call spread for March 2027 on Derive1:17:38 - Kool’s bull thesis for KNTQ and its Hyperliquid L21:25:07 - Derive V3’s ability to list new options markets (ie LIT)1:28:31 - What if Hyperliquid or Lighter launch options trading? 1:34:19 - Why Kool remains bullish on LIT1:38:24 - Closing ------🔗 GUEST LINKS ► Kool Krypto on X: https://x.com/koolkrypto223► Derive website: https://derive.xyz/► Derivatives Monkey: https://www.derivativesmonkey.com/ ------🎙️ MORE FROM THE EDGE PODCAST AND EDGE NEWSLETTER ► Newsletter: https://the-edge.xyz► Apple: https://tinyurl.com/edgepod► Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/edgepodspotify► Linktree: https://linktr.ee/edge_pod► Follow DeFi Dad: https://x.com/DeFi_Dad► Follow Nomatic: https://x.com/Nomaticcap► Learn DeFi: http://defidad.com/ ------DISCLAIMER: Nothing said on The Edge Podcast is a recommendation to buy or sell tokens or securities. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared here is financial advice. Any views expressed by hosts or guests on the show are solely their opinions. Always do your own research. DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and guests may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast. DeFi Dad and Nomatic hold ETH and BTC. DeFi Dad holds DRV. DeFi Dad and Nomatic were angel investors in Kinetiq's seed round.

    Kool Krypto: The Story Behind The Anon DeFi Investor and What He's Betting On This Cycle

  7. Sep 15

    Private DeFi Is Coming: Why Privacy Is Ethereum's Next Frontier | Lean Ethereum

    Thomas Thierry is a Researcher at the Ethereum Foundation. Every transaction you make onchain is trackable. And most of us have just accepted that as normal, but we shouldn't have to! In this next episode of our Lean Ethereum series, Thomas walks through what's actually broken with privacy today, how Ethereum is getting closer to native private transactions, and what private DeFi will actually look like for end users. He also covers how Ethereum compares to Zcash, why privacy is essential for institutional adoption, and why being unstoppable as a network goes hand-in-hand with privacy. ------💎 THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORS 🔒 KPK | Best risk-adjusted yield through automated vaults 🏦 AXIS | The Origin Vault launched on Ethereum 🌐 RE | Earn real yield backed by regulated reinsurance programs 🟠 APYX | The first dividend-backed stablecoin (DBS) 🐡 PUFFER INSTITUTIONAL | ETH staking solutions for scale ------⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Intro2:31 - Why Ethereum?5:11 - What is broken with privacy today?6:52 - What should be private in DeFi?11:50 - The call for privacy runs deep in Ethereum15:05 - How Ethereum gets native private transactions by next year20:53 - The importance of FOCIL for Ethereum26:51 - When will private DeFi be ready on Ethereum?30:58 -Network-based privacy vs protocol-based vs wallet-based privacy35:04 - What is unique about Aztec’s approach to privacy on Ethereum?38:14 - How will private DeFi on Ethereum compare to Zcash?41:22 - What will privacy mean for institutional investors?43:36 - The challenge with network meta data and privacy45:44 - Lack of privacy today vs future private UX on Ethereum51:22 - Closing ------🔗 GUEST LINKS ► Ethereum Research website: https://ethresear.ch/► Thomas Thierry on X: https://x.com/soispoke ------🎙️ MORE FROM THE EDGE PODCAST AND EDGE NEWSLETTER ► Newsletter: https://the-edge.xyz► Apple: https://tinyurl.com/edgepod► Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/edgepodspotify► Linktree: https://linktr.ee/edge_pod► Follow DeFi Dad: https://x.com/DeFi_Dad► Follow Nomatic: https://x.com/Nomaticcap► Learn DeFi: http://defidad.com/ ------DISCLAIMER: Nothing said on The Edge Podcast is a recommendation to buy or sell tokens or securities. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared here is financial advice. Any views expressed by hosts or guests on the show are solely their opinions. Always do your own research. DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and guests may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast. DeFi Dad and Nomatic hold ETH.

    Private DeFi Is Coming: Why Privacy Is Ethereum's Next Frontier | Lean Ethereum

  8. Sep 9

    Could Derive V3 Be "The Lighter" of Onchain Options On Ethereum? | DeFi Frontier

    Nick Forster is the CoFounder and CEO of Derive. Could Derive V3 do for options, what Lighter did for perps on Ethereum?! In this episode of DeFi Frontier, Nick returns to to walk us through what to expect when Derive V3 ships this month of September: a ZK application that collapses the exchange, execution layer, and settlement into one stack, making institutional onboarding as simple as a few lines of code. He covers the decision for where they will deploy V3 and why Ethereum seems most likely to be V3's future home. We also discuss what the new arrival of tokenized stocks and RWAs means for onchain options and how big the TAM still is for onchain options. ------ 💎 THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORS 🔒 KPK | Best risk-adjusted yield through automated vaults 🏦 AXIS | The Origin Vault launched on Ethereum 🌐 RE | Earn real yield backed by regulated reinsurance programs 🟠 APYX | The first dividend-backed stablecoin (DBS) 🐡 PUFFER INSTITUTIONAL | ETH staking solutions for scale ------ ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Intro 2:29 - Derive's building blocks for onchain options 7:56 - How big is the TAM for onchain options? 11:28 - What is Derive V3? A new ZK application 16:48 - Where will V3 launch and why Ethereum seems most likely 22:12 - Could Derive V3 be a zkRollup like Lighter? 26:37 - What is the advantage of onchain options over TradFi? 31:47 - New era of tokenized stocks and RWA markets 35:50 - Onchain options still in the early innings 42:16 - V2 settled billions, V3 is about trillions 46:06 - Closing ------ 🔗 GUEST LINKS ► Derive website: https://derive.xyz/ ► Derive on X: https://x.com/DeriveXYZ ► Nick Forster on X: https://x.com/nickforster ------ 🎙️ MORE FROM THE EDGE PODCAST AND EDGE NEWSLETTER ► Newsletter: https://the-edge.xyz ► Apple: https://tinyurl.com/edgepod ► Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/edgepodspotify ► Linktree: https://linktr.ee/edge_pod ► Follow DeFi Dad: https://x.com/DeFi_Dad ► Follow Nomatic: https://x.com/Nomaticcap ► Learn DeFi: http://defidad.com/ ------ DISCLAIMER: Nothing said on The Edge Podcast is a recommendation to buy or sell tokens or securities. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared here is financial advice. Any views expressed by hosts or guests on the show are solely their opinions. Always do your own research. DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and guests may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast. DeFi Dad bought and now holds DRV since recording this podcast.

    Could Derive V3 Be "The Lighter" of Onchain Options On Ethereum? | DeFi Frontier
See All (291)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Join two seasoned crypto investors and DeFi power-users as they dive into the biggest stories shaping the future of digital assets—covering all you need to know about Ethereum, Bitcoin, and DeFi. Gain your own edge as an investor from comprehensive interviews with leading founders, investors, and developers you won’t hear elsewhere. For exclusive content, market updates, and DeFi yield opportunities, sign up for our free newsletter at the-edge.xyz.

Information

  • Creator
    DeFi Dad
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    291
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © DeFi Dad
  • Show Website
    The Edge Podcast

You Might Also Like