Talking Tokens: Crypto, Onchain Finance, Investing

Jacquelyn Melinek, StrataMedia

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. 2d ago

    What Happens When the World’s Assets Move Onchain?

    In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Gregg Bell, Chief Investment Officer at Hashgraph, to discuss what institutional blockchain adoption of Hedera actually looks like and why some of the most important enterprise use cases may be happening outside the crypto headlines. Gregg breaks down how Hedera is being used across industries, why tokenization extends far beyond stocks and securities, and how moving assets onchain can unlock greater mobility, programmability and new forms of collateral. They explore real-world assets, enterprise adoption, supply chains, tokenized real estate, digital identity, interoperability and the infrastructure required to support global financial markets.  Also explains why institutional adoption takes longer than retail adoption, how regulatory clarity is changing the risk calculus for enterprises, the role of HBAR within the Hedera ecosystem, and why actual network usage not hype is ultimately the measure of success. Timestamps: 00:10 Gregg Bell's journey into crypto 01:06 From Bitcoin lending to onchain assets 01:53 How blockchain's user base is changing 03:06 How enterprises and governments use blockchain 04:58 Tokenizing assets beyond securities 06:28 When will more assets move onchain? 08:01 What institutional adoption actually looks like 10:19 Enterprise blockchain happening behind the scenes 12:57 Why the first wave of enterprise adoption struggled 16:09 Public, private and hybrid blockchain infrastructure 17:49 Are institutions finally comfortable with blockchain? 18:56 The role of HBAR in Hedera's ecosystem 21:11 What financial-grade blockchain infrastructure requires 23:05 Who captures the value from tokenization? 23:47 Are we entering a new era of financial access? 24:28 What success looks like for Hedera 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   New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141  Follow us  Jacquelyn on X: /jacqmelinek  Talking Tokens on X: /_talkingtokens  Talking Tokens on Instagram: /_talkingtokens  Follow Gregg Bell https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregg-bell-38b5389

    What Happens When the World’s Assets Move Onchain?

  2. 4d ago

    Why Stellar Thinks Its $4B Tokenization Milestone Is Just the Beginning

    In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Raja Chakravorti, Chief Business Officer at the Stellar Development Foundation, to discuss why the next phase of tokenization is about more than simply bringing assets onchain and how Stellar is building infrastructure for a more connected global financial system. Raja breaks down Stellar's growth from roughly $1 billion to $4 billion in tokenized real-world assets since January, why capital efficiency is one of blockchain's biggest potential unlocks, and what needs to happen after an asset is tokenized for it to become genuinely useful. They discuss Stellar's work with DTCC, Franklin Templeton, WisdomTree and MoneyGram, the arrival of Tether's USD₮0 on Stellar, and why stablecoins have found product-market fit for global money movement. Raja also explains why distribution and circulation could define the next wave of tokenization, how financial institutions are moving assets onchain, and why better access to financial services remains central to Stellar's mission. Timestamps 00:00 Raja Chakravorti's journey from banking to blockchain 05:17 Why access to financial services matters 08:04 What working at PayPal and Plaid taught Raja about financial infrastructure 10:31 The promise of moving financial assets onchain 11:23 What blockchain can solve for financial markets 13:19 Stellar crossing $4B in tokenized real-world assets 16:43 How big can tokenization get? 18:04 Should everything be tokenized? 18:49 Why DTCC is bringing assets to Stellar 21:54 Why financial institutions are choosing Stellar 24:32 Tether and USD₮0 come to Stellar 25:57 Why stablecoins matter for Stellar 27:49 The next frontier for tokenization 30:14 Building global financial access 32:30 What success looks like for Stellar  New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 Follow us  Jacquelyn on X: /jacqmelinek  Talking Tokens on X: /_talkingtokens  Talking Tokens on Instagram: /_talkingtokens  Follow Raja Chakravorti https://x.com/rajachak75 https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajachakravorti 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

    Why Stellar Thinks Its $4B Tokenization Milestone Is Just the Beginning

  3. Sep 17

    What Hyperliquid Could Change About Traditional Markets | Jake Chervinsky

    In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Jake Chervinsky, founder and CEO of Hyperliquid Policy Center, to discuss how perpetual futures could move beyond crypto and what it would take to bring regulated onchain markets to the U.S Jake breaks down why 24/7 price discovery matters, how perpetual futures could complement traditional derivatives markets, and why oil could be a natural next market for onchain trading. They discuss Hyperliquid's role as infrastructure for exchanges, the potential for regulated perpetual futures in the U.S., how onchain markets could improve liquidity and price discovery, and why not every traditional market necessarily needs to trade 24/7.  Timestamps 00:00 Jake Chervinsky and the Hyperliquid Policy Center   02:37 Why Jake believes in Hyperliquid   05:03 What makes Hyperliquid different   06:21 Taking perpetual futures beyond crypto   09:39 Perpetual futures explained   11:25 What 24/7 markets reveal about price discovery   13:01 Why pricing doesn't stop when markets close   14:08 Should every market trade 24/7?   16:01 Why oil could be the next market for perpetual futures   18:44 Who would use oil perpetuals?   19:18 What Hyperliquid could change about financial markets   21:00 Bringing regulated perpetual futures to the U.S.  New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141  Follow us  Jacquelyn on X: /jacqmelinek  Talking Tokens on X: /_talkingtokens  Talking Tokens on Instagram: /_talkingtokens  Follow Jake Chervinsky https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakechervinsky https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakechervinsky 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 brought to you by GSR, crypto’s capital markets partner, learn more at https://www.gsr.io/

    What Hyperliquid Could Change About Traditional Markets | Jake Chervinsky

  4. Sep 16

    Convergence Episode 1: How WisdomTree Went From $30M to $1 Billion in Onchain AUM

    Today we are announcing Convergence, our new institutional product for sophisticated investors, in a joint venture between StrataMedia's Token Relations product & Talking Tokens podcast alongside The Rollup, and is presented by WisdomTree.  For our debut launch, WisdomTree's Head of Digital Asset's Will Peck joins us for Episode #1 of Convergence. WisdomTree's onchain assets went from $30 million to over $1 billion, and Will Peck says money market funds did the heavy lifting. On episode one of Convergence, Will explains why tokenized funds complement stablecoins rather than compete with them, and how WisdomTree got SEC exemptive relief to let a tokenized money market fund trade 24/7 through a broker dealer. He also pushes back on the private-markets tokenization thesis, arguing illiquidity isn't a record-keeping problem.  Will Peck is the Head of Digital Assets at WisdomTree, a global asset manager and ETF sponsor with roughly $170 billion in assets under management. Convergence is powered by The Rollup and StrataMedia, covering the convergence of legacy finance and onchain finance. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:52 What Convergence Actually Means 04:30 Why WisdomTree Started In 2018 05:38 Exporting US Capital Markets 08:56 Institutional Versus Retail Distribution 10:32 The Innovation Exemption Explained 13:14 DTCC's Forty Firm Pilot 16:00 Three Models Of Tokenization 19:35 Why WisdomTree Chose Issuer-Led 21:10 Thirty Million To One Billion 22:45 What Drives The Next Era 25:05 Why Private Markets Aren't It 28:05 Who Wins The Tokenization Wave 30:14 The Perfect Storm For Adoption 33:08 WisdomTree's North Star  New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141  Follow us  Jacquelyn on X: /jacqmelinek  Talking Tokens on X: /_talkingtokens  Talking Tokens on Instagram: /_talkingtokens 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗥: 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘍𝘪 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬, 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭, 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴.

  5. Sep 15

    From Pokémon Cards to Birkins: Inside Beezie’s $200M+ Volume | Andrea Miele

    In today's episode of Solana Sessions, Jacquelyn sits down with Andrea Miele, CEO and founder of Beezie, to explore how gamification, tokenization and onchain infrastructure are changing the way consumers discover and buy collectibles. Andrea breaks down how Beezie grew from tokenized trading cards into a broader gamified commerce platform, recently crossing $200 million in volume and $100 million in total revenue. They discuss Beezie's expansion into luxury markets through its partnership with The Luxury Closet, how users can access everything from Pokémon cards to luxury handbags through its digital claw-machine experience, and why Andrea believes the future of shopping is about more than simply searching, clicking and buying. She also explains why Beezie abstracts away the blockchain experience for mainstream users, how onchain transparency can help build trust, why Solana has become a key ecosystem for the company, and where gamified commerce could expand next. Timestamps: 00:10 Andrea journey from collector to founder 02:26 How shopping behavior is changing 03:20 How Beezie's digital claw machine works 05:25 Why trading cards found product-market fit 06:49 Building through doubt as a founder 07:51 What drove Beezie's growth 08:51 Growing to $200M in volume and $100M in revenue 11:28 User growth and retention 12:35 Expanding beyond crypto-native collectors 13:03 Beezie's move into luxury 14:48 How the luxury experience works 15:49 Vaulting and securing physical assets 16:17 Authenticating luxury goods 17:16 Why Beezie is selling “the chase” 18:14 The future of gamified commerce 19:19 What Beezie learned from sneakers 20:17 What's next for tokenized commerce 21:07 Bringing luxury buyers onchain 23:25 Building trust through authentication 27:23 What traditional collectibles markets get wrong 28:46 Why onchain transparency matters 29:36 Who is the future Beezie customer? 30:10 Andrea's advice for founders 30:38 Why Beezie chose Solana 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  As part of the episode, we’re giving away one code for the fastest listener: LUX92244527. Head to solana.beezie.com/claw/Platinum-TCG-9 and sign up for an account, and apply the promo code for the premium Platinum TCG claw machine.   New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141  Follow us  Jacquelyn on X: /jacqmelinek  Talking Tokens on X: /_talkingtokens  Talking Tokens on Instagram: /_talkingtokens  Follow Andrea Miele https://x.com/AndreaMYellie https://www.instagram.com/beeziedotcom/

    From Pokémon Cards to Birkins: Inside Beezie’s $200M+ Volume | Andrea Miele

  6. Sep 14

    How Stock Tokens Fueled Robinhood Chain's Explosive Growth

    Robinhood Chain has quickly emerged as one of the fastest-growing blockchains, with roughly 620,000 average daily active users, $1.3 million in daily fees, and $4.26 billion in TVL, at the time of recording. But  Alexander, from our institutional research team, explores in his latest report that some of the most interesting activity isn’t coming from stock tokens alone but also from what happens when tokenized stocks, memecoins, and 24/7 crypto markets collide. Alexander & Jacquelyn  breaks down how Robinhood Stock Tokens work, why memecoins tied to specific stock tokens have created unusual new trading dynamics, and how one HIMS-related stock token traded more than 100% above its underlying asset before reverting. We discuss why limited minting and redemption windows can create price dislocations while crypto markets continue trading, how 24/7 equity markets could reduce those gaps, and the differences between wrapped vs issuer-led tokenization. Alex also explains what has fueled Robinhood Chain’s rapid growth and why he believes the current memecoin-driven boom may already be approaching its end. Timestamps 00:10 The Stock Token Saga and New StrataMedia Research 01:12 Why Robinhood Chain Is Growing So Fast 03:20 How Robinhood Stock Tokens Work 04:55 The Risks Behind Wrapped Stock Tokens 06:11 Why Stock Tokens Are Getting Attention 06:52 When Memecoins Meet Tokenized Stocks 07:58 How a Stock Token Traded 100%+ Above Its Underlying 09:17 The Risks for Companies and Investors 10:51 The Problem With 24/7 Stock Token Trading 12:15 Wrapped vs. Issuer-Led Tokenization 13:17 Is the Robinhood Chain Boom Ending? 13:33 Why Alex Thinks the Market Could Cool Down 15:16 What Comes Next  Follow Talking Tokens https://x.com/_TalkingTokens?lang=en https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens-crypto-onchain-finance-investing/id1743669141 https://talkingtokens.beehiiv.com/  Follow Jacquelyn https://x.com/jacqmelinek

    How Stock Tokens Fueled Robinhood Chain's Explosive Growth

  7. Sep 10

    Why Robinhood Is Betting on Tokenized Assets | Nicola White

    In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Nicola White, VP of Institutional at Robinhood, to discuss how Robinhood is expanding its institutional crypto business and why tokenized assets could reshape the way traditional financial markets operate. Nicola breaks down how Robinhood's acquisition of Bitstamp plays a role in expansion, the evolution of institutional demand from crypto pilots to real-world use cases, and the growing role of stock tokens, perpetual futures, collateral and capital efficiency. They also explore how Robinhood's stock tokens work, the path toward issuer-led tokenization, and why assets ranging from equities and private markets to money market funds, credit and FX could eventually move onchain.  Timestamps: 00:10 Nicola White's path from TradFi to crypto 03:11 Building Robinhood's institutional business 04:23 How Bitstamp expanded Robinhood's global footprint 05:57 Connecting retail and institutional markets 07:12 What TradFi professionals need to understand about crypto 08:38 What traditional finance still gets wrong 09:44 Are institutions moving beyond crypto pilots? 10:41 What's working for Robinhood 12:34 What are stock tokens? 13:51 Wrapped vs. issuer-led tokenization 14:55 Are stock tokens a bridge? 15:47 Robinhood's biggest tokenization opportunities 16:57 What does an institutional Robinhood look like? 17:48 What institutions are asking for now 18:34 Why capital efficiency matters 19:34 What could unlock the next phase of U.S. institutional adoption 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 brought to you by GSR, crypto’s capital markets partner, learn more at https://www.gsr.io/  New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141  Follow us  Jacquelyn on X: /jacqmelinek  Talking Tokens on X: /_talkingtokens  Talking Tokens on Instagram: /_talkingtokens Follow Nicola White  https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-white-b691003 https://x.com/NicolaWhite444

    Why Robinhood Is Betting on Tokenized Assets | Nicola White

  8. Sep 8

    How Stablecoins Could Double Margins for Businesses

    In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Sam Broner, CEO of The Better Money Company, to unpack what stablecoins need to become everyday payment infrastructure and why interoperability could matter more than which stablecoin ultimately wins. Drawing on his experience across Microsoft, the Federal Reserve, a16z and now building stablecoin infrastructure, Sam explains why today's payment system still has significant room for improvement. They discuss why companies are launching their own stablecoins, how a stablecoin clearinghouse could connect an increasingly fragmented market, and why consumers may eventually use stablecoins without even realizing it. Sam also breaks down the economics of card fees for merchants, whether stablecoins threaten Visa and Mastercard, and why AI agents could increasingly use stablecoins as a default way to transact online. Timestamps 00:00 — Meet Sam Broner 00:44 — From Microsoft and the Fed to stablecoins 02:21 — Why Sam saw the stablecoin opportunity early 04:54 — Is today's money system actually working? 05:23 — What is a stablecoin clearinghouse? 07:17 — Why stablecoin issuers need interoperability 10:10 — Why companies want their own stablecoins 12:25 — Why Better Money doesn't issue a stablecoin 13:40 — What happens if there are thousands of stablecoins? 17:13 — When stablecoins become everyday money 18:56 — What needs to happen for mainstream payments? 21:05 — How quickly could stablecoin payments become normal? 22:53 — The economics of credit card fees 24:41 — Do stablecoins threaten Visa and Mastercard? 26:42 — Stablecoins vs. banks and existing payment rails 28:05 — Why AI agents could pay with stablecoins 30:23 — Your AI agent may use stablecoins without you knowing 31:41 — How much money should you trust an AI agent with? 33:54 — When consumers stop thinking about stablecoins 36:43 — Sam's vision for the future of money 37:10 — Sam's career advice 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  New episodes every week  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 Follow us  Jacquelyn on X: /jacqmelinek  Talking Tokens on X: /_talkingtokens  Talking Tokens on Instagram: /_talkingtokens  Follow Sam Broner https://x.com/SamBroner?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/sambroner

    How Stablecoins Could Double Margins for Businesses
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Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
5 Ratings

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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