Talking Tokens: Crypto, Onchain Finance, Investing

Jacquelyn Melinek, StrataMedia
  • 4.8 (5)
  • Business
  • Updated Biweekly

Talking Tokens is StrataMedia’s flagship podcast and newsletter, delivering two episodes a week to a growing global audience of crypto-native and traditional finance professionals. The award-nominated show features conversations with the founders, investors, market makers, and leaders shaping the onchain economy. Hosted by Jacquelyn Melinek, founder & CEO of StrataMedia and former senior crypto reporter at TechCrunch. Subscribe: https://talkingtokens.beehiiv.com/ Follow on X: @_TalkingTokens

  1. 1d ago

    Alex Cutler | How Five Guys in Discord Built a Top Exchange

    In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Alex Cutler, CEO of Dromos Labs and a core contributor to Aerodrome, now Aero, to discuss why the decentralized exchange is expanding beyond Base blockchain and positioning itself as exchange infrastructure for the broader onchain economy. Alex breaks down Aero's multichain expansion, the rise of tokenized stocks, and why he believes onchain exchanges can increasingly compete with traditional venues like Nasdaq and the NYSE. They also discuss the relationship between centralized and decentralized exchanges, making DeFi infrastructure invisible to users, token value capture, 24/7 markets, FX and the next generation of Aero. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:55 Aerodrome Becomes Aero 01:51 Why Aero Is Going Multichain 03:27 Is Base Still the Leading L2? 04:56 Robinhood's Onchain Growth 07:30 Centralized vs. Decentralized Exchanges 09:22 Will Consumers Actually Use DEXs? 10:20 Bringing Stocks Onchain 12:00 Why Onchain Markets Can Compete With Nasdaq 13:55 Turning Stock Exchanges Into Code 15:09 $1.5B in Tokenized Stock Volume 16:01 How Fast Can Tokenized Markets Grow? 17:01 Taking Market Share From Traditional Exchanges 17:40 Bringing Exotic Assets Onchain 18:22 Why Markets Want to Be 24/7 19:24 Do Crypto Tokens Create Real Value? 21:59 Why Aerodrome Redistributes 100% of Value 24:02 What's Wrong With Traditional Token Models? 25:04 Competing With Wall Street 26:16 What Alex Would Do Differently 27:20 What's New in Aero 28:46 How Predictive Allocation Works 30:21 Building Markets From First Principles 31:23 Where Aero Could Be in One Year 🔔 New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 🌐 Follow Jacquelyn Melinek https://x.com/jacqmelinek?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynmelinek ➡️ Follow Alex Cutlerhttps://x.com/wagmiAlexander #Aero #Aerodrome #TokenizedStocks #DeFi #OnchainFinance

    Alex Cutler | How Five Guys in Discord Built a Top Exchange

  2. 2d ago

    How Chainlink Is Preparing for Trillions in Onchain Finance

    In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Liam Karwan, Head of RWAs at Chainlink Labs, to discuss how tokenization is changing global capital markets, what financial institutions need to move assets onchain, and why the next phase of adoption will require more than just blockchain technology. Liam explains how Chainlink connects banks, asset managers, blockchains and DeFi protocols through data infrastructure, cross-chain interoperability and transaction orchestration. They explore why institutions are shifting from blockchain experimentation toward measurable business outcomes, what's holding back institutional-scale liquidity, and how tokenized equities, stablecoins and fintech platforms could accelerate adoption. They also discuss the role of Robinhood, Coinbase and other financial platforms in bringing mainstream users onchain, the difference between wrapped and natively issued tokenized equities, and what it would take for blockchain to support financial markets at a much larger scale. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction  01:16 What Is Tokenization? 01:59 How Tokenization Has Changed in 12 Months 02:24 Chainlink's Role in Onchain Finance 03:13 What Financial Institutions Want From Chainlink 03:33 Why Institutional Conversations Have Changed 04:29 Are Tokenization Projects Succeeding? 04:54 Simple vs. Complex Institutional Use Cases 05:47 The Next Phase of Institutional Adoption 06:08 Private Blockchains, Compliance and Interoperability 07:25 Why Technology Isn't the Biggest Bottleneck 07:47 Making the Business Case for Blockchain 08:20 How Quickly Will Tokenization Scale? 08:37 The $100 Trillion Capital Markets Opportunity 09:05 Why Chainlink Wants to Connect Financial Networks 09:48 Which Institutions Are Adopting RWAs? 10:40 Why Hedge Funds Are Moving More Slowly 11:25 Is Onchain Finance Ready for Wall Street? 12:22 Stablecoins, Liquidity and Yield Opportunities 12:44 Why Fintechs Could Drive Mainstream Adoption 13:26 Will Consumers Know They're Using Blockchain? 14:46 Why Crypto Focused on Infrastructure First 15:45 How Onchain Finance Improves Financial Products 16:31 Institutional Adoption in South Korea 17:26 Why Tokenized Equities Matter 18:14 Are Tokenized Stocks Overhyped? 18:52 Wrapped vs. Native Tokenized Equities 19:37 How the Tokenization Industry Has Evolved 20:44 Why Asset Managers Are Focusing on Distribution 21:10 Chainlink's Long-Term Vision 21:35 What Will Drive the Next Wave of RWA Adoption? 21:54 Fintechs, Stablecoins and New Onchain Demand 🔔 New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 🌐 Follow Jacquelyn Melinek https://x.com/jacqmelinek?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynmelinek ➡️  Follow Liam Karwan https://x.com/KarwanLiam05 #Chainlink #Tokenization #RWA #OnchainFinance #TokenizedStocks

    How Chainlink Is Preparing for Trillions in Onchain Finance

  3. 3d ago

    Why R3 Chose Solana for the Next Chapter of Corda

    In today's Solana Sessions episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Todd McDonald, co-founder of R3, to discuss how institutional blockchain has evolved over the past decade and why R3 is moving from private blockchain networks toward open markets, including building the next version of Corda as a protocol on Solana.  Todd explains why he believes all markets will eventually move onchain, what banks actually want from blockchain today, why R3 concluded that open networks win, and how tokenization can connect traditional assets with capital already living onchain. They also discuss why R3 chose Solana, what institutions care about when selecting blockchain infrastructure, and why fixed income and alternative assets could be among the next major markets for tokenization. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:32 How Institutional Blockchain Has Changed 02:55 Why All Markets Will Move Onchain 04:08 Why Todd McDonald Started R3 06:25 Buying Bitcoin in the Early Days 07:37 How R3 Got Major Banks Onboard 09:56 What Crypto Gets Wrong About Banks 12:10 How Banks Are Using Blockchain Today 13:38 Why R3 Changed Its Strategy 14:00 Moving From Private to Open Networks 14:24 Why R3 Chose Solana 16:29 Bringing Corda to Solana 16:52 What Banks Care About in a Blockchain 18:18 What R3 Got Wrong 19:00 Lessons From R3's Early Network Strategy 20:05 Why Open Networks Win 22:05 What's Next for Banks Onchain 23:07 The Opportunity Beyond Tokenized Dollars 24:05 The Trillions in Tokenization 26:17 What Tokenization Actually Means 27:26 Bring the Assets to the Money 27:57 The State of Tokenization 28:57 What Has Changed in Five Years 30:12 What Banks Want From Tokenization 31:04 What's Next for Tokenization 31:59 Todd's Advice for Builders Today’s episode is sponsored by Anchorage Digital, America's first federally chartered digital asset bank and provider of regulated stablecoin issuance. To find out more, visit anchorage.com  This episode is a part of the Solana Sessions campaign between Token Relations and the Talking Tokens podcast, diving into founders' journeys and startups building on Solana. Check out the accompanying newsletter on www.stratamedia.co/token-relations/solana  This episode is sponsored by Binance, the world’s number-one crypto exchange, trusted by over 300 million people. Discover more at: https://binance.onelink.me/y874/talkingtokens . NOTE: Binance is not available in certain countries, including the U.S.; check its Terms for more information: https://www.binance.com/en/terms  🔔 New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 🌐 Follow Jacquelyn Melinek https://x.com/jacqmelinek?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynmelinek ➡️ Follow Todd McDonald https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddvmcdonald/?isSelfProfile=false #R3 #Solana #Tokenization #Corda #OnchainFinance

    Why R3 Chose Solana for the Next Chapter of Corda

  4. Oct 16

    How Mantle Plans to Compete in the Tokenized Asset Market

    In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Josh Cheong, Head of Product and Growth at Mantle, to discuss the next phase of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and why distribution is becoming as important as the technology behind it. Drawing on his experience at Citi and Parity Technologies, Joshua explains why tokenized equities are attracting attention, what banks and asset managers want from onchain finance, and how Mantle is approaching institutional adoption through partnerships and distribution. They also discuss the role of stablecoins in banking, how tokenization can expand access to financial markets, why tokenized real estate has struggled to gain comparable traction, and what it would take for RWAs to achieve mainstream institutional adoption. Timestamps  00:00 Introduction Joshua Cheong 00:36 The Current State of RWA Tokenization 01:28 Is the Infrastructure Phase Almost Over? 02:24 Why Distribution Is the Next Challenge 03:08 Bringing Institutional Assets Onchain 04:49 What Asset Managers Actually Need 05:08 Two Ways Tokenization Creates Value 06:05 Faster Settlement and Capital Efficiency 07:03 Lessons From Citi and Traditional Banking 08:51 Are Banks Finally Adopting Blockchain? 09:15 Why Stablecoins Matter to Banks 09:52 What's Slowing Institutional Adoption? 11:21 What Assets Are Worth Tokenizing? 11:50 Why Tokenized Equities Are Gaining Momentum 13:14 Who Will Win the Tokenization Market? 13:38 Why Distribution Matters More Than Ever 14:34 Mantle, Bybit and the Distribution Advantage 15:30 What Institutions Actually Want 16:32 Why Tokenized Real Estate Is Lagging 17:22 The Next Major Milestone for RWAs 🔔 New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 🌐 Follow Jacquelyn Melinek https://x.com/jacqmelinek?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynmelinek ➡️  Follow Joshua Cheong https://sg.linkedin.com/in/joshuacheong https://x.com/joshuacheong #Mantle #RWA #Tokenization #TokenizedStocks #OnchainFinance

    How Mantle Plans to Compete in the Tokenized Asset Market

  5. Oct 15

    Why Canton Is Focused on Bringing 1% of Capital Markets Onchain

    In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Yuval Rooz, co-founder and CEO of Digital Asset, the team building the Canton blockchain, to discuss what it will actually take to bring global capital markets onchain and why institutional blockchain infrastructure requires a fundamentally different approach.     Yuval explains why privacy is non-negotiable for institutional finance, why maximum decentralization isn't always the answer, and why many products called “tokenized equities” aren't actually tokenized equities. He also breaks down why moving just 1% of capital markets onchain would already represent enormous scale, which financial assets could get there first, and how blockchain could eventually make entirely new financial products economically viable. Timestamps 00:00 Intro01:14 Why Now Is the Moment for Onchain Capital Markets02:34 Building Digital Asset04:05 How Canton Differentiates Itself04:56 Why Privacy Is Non-Negotiable06:32 Why Institutions Need Privacy09:21 Does Institutional Finance Need Decentralization?10:31 Stablecoins and the Limits of Decentralization12:04 How Canton Approaches Governance13:44 What “Permissionless” Really Means14:53 How Digital Asset Talks to Institutions15:36 Selling Solutions, Not Blockchain17:45 What Institutions Actually Want18:43 Finding Blockchain Use Cases With Real ROI21:14 Which Onchain Use Cases Are Working?23:32 The State of Tokenization Today24:12 Are Tokenized Equities Really Tokenized Equities?25:36 How Early Is Onchain Finance?26:54 What Will Make Tokenization Take Off?27:22 Why 1% of Capital Markets Is Enough28:31 Which Assets Will Move Onchain First?29:10 What Finance Could Look Like in 5–10 Years29:21 Driving the Cost of Financial Infrastructure Toward Zero 🔔 New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 🌐 Follow Jacquelyn Melinek https://x.com/jacqmelinek?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynmelinek ➡️ Follow Yuval Roozhttps://x.com/YuvalRooz https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuvalrooz This episode is sponsored by Securitize, the proven leader in tokenized funds, equities, and private markets. Discover more at securitize.io  #CantonNetwork #Tokenization #OnchainFinance #CapitalMarkets #RWA

    Why Canton Is Focused on Bringing 1% of Capital Markets Onchain

  6. Oct 14

    Why Fomo Thinks Social Trading Is the Next Big Investing Shift

    In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Se Yong Park , co-founder of Fomo, a social-first trading app with about 3 million users, to discuss how social media, blockchain and changing consumer behavior are reshaping how people discover and invest in financial markets. Se breaks down why Fomo abstracts away wallets, gas, bridges and chains, how the platform is reaching users outside traditional crypto channels, and why social trading could become a much bigger part of investing. They also discuss bringing more assets onchain, tokenized equities, transparent trading activity, creator-driven market discovery and how younger investors are approaching financial markets differently. Timestamps00:00 Intro01:33 How Fomo Reached Millions of Users02:03 Why Se Yong Park  Built Fomo03:11 Making Investing Easier to Understand03:48 Making Trades Public05:03 What 3 Million Users Reveal About New Investors05:48 Reaching People Outside Crypto06:45 Why Fomo Targets Instagram and Social Audiences07:06 Making Crypto Infrastructure Invisible08:33 What Fomo Got Wrong About Consumer Behavior09:28 Is Social Trading the Future?11:35 What's Next for Fomo12:30 How Social Media Is Changing Market Discovery13:51 What Fomo Has Learned From Trader Behavior14:38 Educating and Rewarding Users16:03 Lessons From Building in Crypto17:02 Competition and Growing the Onchain Market17:40 Why Fomo Uses Blockchain18:03 What Users Are Trading19:47 How Much Are Users Trading With?20:40 Security and Risk21:31 Bringing More Assets Onchain22:00 The Next Generation of Investors22:48 Will AI Change Social Trading?23:43 Se’s Advice for Crypto Founders 🔔 New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 🌐 Follow Jacquelyn Melinek https://x.com/jacqmelinek?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynmelinek ➡️  Follow Se Yong Parkhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/se-yong-park-634782120https://x.com/seyong #Fomo #SocialTrading #Crypto #OnchainFinance #Investing

    Why Fomo Thinks Social Trading Is the Next Big Investing Shift

  7. Oct 13

    What Could Take For Ethereum to Hit $10,000

    In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Kevin Lepsoe, founder of ETHGas, to discuss how Ethereum could evolve into faster, more efficient financial infrastructure and what that could mean for institutions, DeFi and AI agents. Kevin Lepsoe breaks down ETHGas's vision for real-time Ethereum, why faster blockspace could bring liquidity back to the network, and the practical barriers institutions face when moving large amounts of capital onchain. They also discuss Ethereum's institutional comeback, why traditional credit relies on so many intermediaries, how smart contracts could reshape banking, and why AI agents may naturally gravitate toward DeFi as they begin transacting at machine speed. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:24 Ethereum's Institutional Shift 03:21 What's Still Missing From DeFi 05:43 Building Real-Time Ethereum 06:15 Why Blockspace Matters 07:21 What If Ethereum Were 100x Faster? 09:02 ETH as Strategic Infrastructure 11:51 Is Ethereum Having a Comeback? 13:19 ETHGas as Ethereum's “Supercharger” 14:40 Kevin's $10,000K ETH Thesis 16:43 Ethereum Treasury Companies 18:09 What Ethereum Needs Next 18:41 Bringing Institutional Capital Onchain 20:26 Why Institutions Want to Move Onchain 21:50 Can DeFi Cut Out Banking Middlemen? 23:54 What Institutions Want From Ethereum 25:40 AI Meets Onchain Finance 25:53 Why AI Agents Could Choose DeFi 27:15 Building Through Ethereum's Market Cycles 28:31 Ethereum's Decentralization Advantage 29:46 Where Ethereum Could Be in One Year 🔔 New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 🌐 Follow Jacquelyn Melinek https://x.com/jacqmelinek?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynmelinek ➡️  Follow Kevin Lepsoe https://x.com/lepsoe This episode is sponsored by Forgd, visit its Market Maker Leaderboard on Token Relations here: www.stratamedia.co/token-relations/leaderboard  Today’s episode is sponsored by Anchorage Digital, America's first federally chartered digital asset bank and provider of regulated stablecoin issuance. To find out more, visit anchorage.com This episode is sponsored by Binance, the world’s number-one crypto exchange, trusted by over 300 million people. Discover more at: https://binance.onelink.me/y874/talkingtokens . NOTE: Binance is not available in certain countries, including the U.S.; check its Terms for more information: https://www.binance.com/en/terms  #Ethereum #ETHGas #DeFi #OnchainFinance #ETH

    What Could Take For Ethereum to Hit $10,000

  8. Oct 8

    How Injective Is Building Financial Markets Onchain

    In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Eric Chen, co-founder and CEO of Injective Labs, the team behind the Injectivea blockchain built for financial applications, to discuss what comes next for tokenization, onchain finance and institutional adoption. Eric explains why simply tokenizing assets isn't enough, where he sees the biggest opportunities for bringing financial markets onchain, and how Injective is building infrastructure for advanced financial products. They also discuss RWA perpetual markets, tokenized stocks, capital formation, institutional adoption, AI agents and the future of blockchain & powered financial infrastructure. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:58 How Eric Chen Started Injective 03:07 Should Founders Still Drop Out of College? 05:27 Why AI Reminds Eric of Early Crypto 07:24 The Security Problem AI Can't Solve 09:27 Injective's Vision for Onchain Finance 11:21 Why Tokenization Is Accelerating 12:31 What Injective's Transfer Agent Registration Enables 14:32 $215M in RWA Perpetual Volume 16:33 Are Perpetual Markets the Future of RWAs? 17:52 Why Tokenizing Assets Isn't Enough 20:16 What's Moving Onchain Faster Than Expected 21:45 What Institutions Are Building on Injective 24:25 What Makes an Asset Useful Onchain? 27:21 Will Onchain Finance Compete With Banks? 27:52 Why Institutional Tokenization Is Accelerating 29:08 What Should Actually Move Onchain? 31:14 What Enterprises Want From Blockchain 33:48 Will Blockchain Become Invisible Infrastructure? 35:37 What Onchain Finance Could Look Like in 5–10 Years 37:26 What Injective Got Wrong 38:29 What Eric Is Watching Next 39:00 AI Agents Move From Analysis to Execution (timestamp needs verification) 41:27 What Eric Won't Trust AI With 41:40 Eric's Advice for Builders Today’s episode is sponsored by Anchorage Digital, America's first federally chartered digital asset bank and provider of regulated stablecoin issuance. To find out more, visit anchorage.com  This episode is sponsored by Forgd, visit its Market Maker Leaderboard on Token Relations here: www.stratamedia.co/token-relations/leaderboard  New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 Follow Jacquelyn  Jacquelyn on X: /jacqmelinek  Talking Tokens on X: /_talkingtokens  Talking Tokens on Instagram: /_talkingtokens  Follow Eric Chen https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-chen-b12255421 https://x.com/ericinjective?lang=en

    How Injective Is Building Financial Markets Onchain
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About

Talking Tokens is StrataMedia’s flagship podcast and newsletter, delivering two episodes a week to a growing global audience of crypto-native and traditional finance professionals. The award-nominated show features conversations with the founders, investors, market makers, and leaders shaping the onchain economy. Hosted by Jacquelyn Melinek, founder & CEO of StrataMedia and former senior crypto reporter at TechCrunch. Subscribe: https://talkingtokens.beehiiv.com/ Follow on X: @_TalkingTokens

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