Dose of Alpha

Bryan Colligan

Real-time intel from the DeFi front lines. Bryan Colligan and Eric Waisanen share unfiltered perspectives exploring decentralized finance, market maneuvers, TradFi convergence, and the enduring importance of crypto in today's political and economic landscape. Bring RWAs onchain in 2026 with alphagrowth.io.

Episodes

  1. May 14

    Stablecoins for A.I. Commerce | Interview with Kory Hoang & Stably

    What if the entire stablecoin economy is built on a monetary system that works in REVERSE of the dollar? Kory Hoang, CEO and co-founder of Stably, joins Bryan and Eric to break down a brand new taxonomy for stablecoins — and why credit expansion in DeFi actually SHRINKS the money supply instead of growing it. Kory was the fifth USD stablecoin issuer in the world. He and David launched on Binance back in 2019, survived the first stablecoin liquidity war, then pivoted Stably into stablecoin-as-a-service for institutions. Now he's published a research paper proposing a top-down taxonomy — exogenous vs. endogenous, reserve-backed vs. CDP vs. strategy-backed — and mapping stablecoins to M0, M1, M2 monetary aggregates the same way central banks track fiat. The kicker: the math is inverted. Fiat credit creation grows M2 to 4.21x M0. Stablecoin credit creation pulls tokens OUT of circulation through redemptions. Right now the stablecoin multiplier is 1.13x — but as DeFi composability stacks receipt tokens, wrapped assets, and lending deposits on top of each other, the "meta money supply" is the next thing every policymaker, builder, and investor needs to understand. This is one of the most important conversations we've had on Dose of Alpha. If you're building, investing, or just trying to understand where digital dollars are going next — this is the alpha. Chapters: 0:00 Introduction to Kory Hoang and Stably 0:59 Stably's History and Mission 2:10 From Algorithmic Trading to Crypto 5:15 Competing with Tether in the Early Days 7:26 The Launch of USDS and Binance Listing 8:50 Surviving the First Stablecoin War 12:29 Pivot to Stablecoin Infrastructure 14:02 Stablecoins in the AI Agent Economy 18:15 Proposed Stablecoin Taxonomy Research 20:26 Exogenous vs. Endogenous Stablecoin Models 24:08 How Fiat vs. Stablecoin Money Is Created 28:57 Defining M0 through M4 in Traditional Finance 33:22 Applying Monetary Aggregates to Stablecoins 45:13 The Stablecoin Money Multiplier Challenge 48:05 DeFi Composability and Meta Money Supply Risks 53:14 Stably's Advisory Services and Future Outlook More alpha drops soon. Follow on X: Kory: @koryhoang | Stably: @stably | Bryan: @bryancolligan | Eric: @EricWaisanen & Alpha Growth: @alphagrowth1 The Alpha Growth team is excited to bring you real-time intel from the DeFi front lines. Catch every episode of Dose of Alpha on YouTube, Spotify, and X. Learn more at alphagrowth.io. Subscribe, like, and drop a comment to let us know what alpha you want next. #DoseOfAlpha #Stably #Stablecoins #DeFi #Tether #Aave #StablecoinTaxonomy

    56 min
  2. May 11

    Prediction Market Philosophy

    What if prediction markets aren't perps, aren't options, and aren't the gimmick everyone thinks they are? If you're still in your perps-maximalist bubble, this one's gonna sting. Prediction markets aren't perps. They're not options. They're a third thing — wisdom of crowds + insider trading + machine learning + AGI bait. Bryan calls it, "computational future projection." Eric calls it, "smart beta." The rest of crypto calls it scary. Eric Waisanen is a seasoned advantage player, a.k.a. card counter. He's got Discord receipts, advantage player chats, the whole gambit. And he tells exactly how a casino takes three months of losses on purpose to build the black book that bans every card counter in the country. That's the playbook running on the AI-native prediction market they invested in. Their take? Take the loss. Build the data. Win the long game. Other topics: Milton Friedman on price as the ultimate oracle. Dataism as the actual religion of the 21st century. Why insider trading laws are a cope. Why the Epstein files always come out eventually. We're not pulling punches. Chapters: 0:00 The Greatest Sign of Intelligence is Prediction 1:01 Prediction Markets vs. Perpetual Swaps 3:08 Why Perps Beat Options as a Financial Primitive 6:13 Lessons from Card Counting and the House Edge 10:15 Toxic Flow, Retail Flow, and the Uniswap Problem 12:22 AI as Oracle: Attack Vectors and Model Competition 13:10 Tatiana Colligan's Quote on AGI and Future Prediction 14:00 Solving the Cold Start Problem with Single Player Markets 15:24 A Thousand Ways How NOT to Make a Lightbulb 18:13 Dataism, Insider Trading, and the Free Market 21:13 Closing Thoughts The alpha drops here. Are you listening? Follow on X: Bryan: @bryancolligan | Eric: @EricWaisanen | & Alpha Growth: @alphagrowth1 The Alpha Growth team is excited to bring you real-time intel from the DeFi front lines. Catch every episode of Dose of Alpha on YouTube, Spotify, and X. Learn more at alphagrowth.io. Which episode have you liked best so far? Leave us a comment. We want to know. #DoseOfAlpha #PredictionMarkets #DeFi #AI #Perps

    21 min
  3. Apr 30

    DEX vs Perps

    The S&P 500 didn't tokenize. They didn't lend. They went straight to Hyperliquid — and made $2.5 million on a Monday. In Episode 7 of Dose of Alpha, Eric Waisanen breaks down what he actually learned at the Digital Asset Summit in New York: TradFi isn't here to validate crypto. They're here to win. And they're playing a completely different game than anyone expected. Eric and Bryan unpack the mechanics behind why institutions are skipping DEXs and lending markets entirely, what the Jelly attack reveals about the fragility underneath Hyperliquid's explosive growth, and why the rise of prop AMMs and synthetic liquidity is quietly recreating every exploit and edge case traditional finance spent decades learning the hard way. This one gets spicy. They steelman perps, strawman DEXs, dig into auto-deleveraging, contagion risk (Terra Luna → Ethena → Tether), and make the case that onchain rate discovery isn't just a DeFi thesis anymore— it's the next global financial primitive. 🔑 Topics covered: 0:00 S&P 500 Skips DeFi and Goes Straight to Hyperliquid 3:11 Why Perps Beat Spot: The Strawman Debate 6:52 The Jelly Attack Explained (and the Mr. Humpy Parallel) 11:24 Auto-Deleveraging, Bad Debt, and How Hyperliquid Manages Risk 17:16 Prop AMMs, Synthetic Liquidity, and the New MEV 20:54 Contagion Risk: From Terra Luna to Athena to Tether 23:37 TradFi Isn't Here to Validate You — They're Here to Win 27:41 When to Use Perps vs. Spot vs. Lending (Asset-by-Asset Breakdown) 34:11 Funding Rate Arbitrage and the $500K Data Gap Nobody's Filling 38:44 Onchain Rate Discovery Is the Future of Global Finance More alpha drops soon. 🌐 Alpha Growth: alphagrowth.io 📲 Follow Eric: @EricWaisanen | Follow Bryan: @bryancolligan | @alphagrowth1#DoseOfAlpha #Hyperliquid #DeFi #Perpetuals #RateDiscovery #TradFi The Alpha Growth team is excited to bring you real-time intel from the DeFi front lines, each week as we release new episodes. Stay tuned for more! And don't forget to comment and share your thoughts with us on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠X⁠⁠. Bring RWAs onchain with Alpha Growth in 2026: ⁠⁠alphagrowth.io⁠⁠. Subscribe for more unfiltered DeFi intel, market maneuvers, and alpha drops! Like & comment your biggest takeaway.

    42 min
  4. Mar 25

    Steer & Automation

    Join Alpha Growth CEO Bryan Colligan and DeFi Strategist Eric Waisanen for Ep. 4: Steer & Automation, as Alpha Growth interviews Steer Protocol on the newest podcast episode of: "Dose of Alpha." Real-time intel from the DeFi front lines. Colligan and Waisanen share unfiltered perspectives exploring decentralized finance, market maneuvers, TradFi convergence, and the enduring importance of crypto in today's political and economic landscape. Today they interview Derek Barrera of Steer Protocol, diving into Carry Trades, Hooks, Rehypothecation, and all things automation: What is a vault? What is Matador? Whether you're leveraging, farming yield, issuing tokens, or deepening your understanding of DeFi's core primitives, this episode delivers packed alpha straight from the DeFi trenches. Straight from the mouths of the builders. Chapters: Chapters: 0:00 Introduction to Derek Barrera and Steer Protocol 1:12 Lessons from Market Crashes and Volatility 2:31 The Founding and Evolution of Steer Protocol 4:10 Understanding ALMs and Uniswap V3 Liquidity 6:05 Innovations in V4 Hooks and Permissioned Pools 8:36 Solving Liquidity Challenges for RWAs 11:21 Security and Avoiding Rebalancing Exploits 14:15 Why Options are the Next Big Unlock 15:57 Global Rate Discovery and On-Chain Lending 21:19 Deep Dive into Matador: AVM Inside the EVM 27:30 Optimizing Market Microstructures and Inventory 30:00 Bitcoin Carry Trades and Vault Infrastructure 33:14 The Future of Tokenized Real-World Assets 38:00 The Five-Year Vision for On-Chain Finance The Alpha Growth team is excited to bring you real-time intel from the DeFi front lines, each week as we release new episodes. Stay tuned for more! And don't forget to comment and share your thoughts with us on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠X⁠⁠. Bring RWAs onchain with Alpha Growth in 2026: ⁠⁠alphagrowth.io⁠⁠. Subscribe for more unfiltered DeFi intel, market maneuvers, and alpha drops! Like & comment your biggest takeaway. Or continue the conversation with us on X!

    39 min
  5. Mar 13

    Money Markets vs. CDPs

    Join Alpha Growth CEO Bryan Colligan and DeFi Strategist Eric Waisanen for Ep. 3: Money Markets vs. CDPs of Alpha Growth's newest podcast: "Dose of Alpha." Get real-time intel from the DeFi front lines. Colligan and Waisanen share unfiltered perspectives exploring decentralized finance, market maneuvers, TradFi convergence, and the enduring importance of crypto in today's political and economic landscape. Dive deep into DeFi lending with a no-BS breakdown of Money Markets vs. CDPs (Collateralized Debt Positions) – which is better, when to use each, and why CDPs might be underrated infrastructure for protocols and long-term holders. In this Episode, Bryan and Eric unpack: The evolution from early Tether/Bitfinex synthetics to MakerDAO (now Sky/USDS) and modern CDPs like Liquity's BOLD Why money markets (Aave, Morpho, Compound) are straightforward, efficient, and ideal for high-frequency trading CDP strengths: No counterparty needed, potentially lower long-term borrow rates, superior peg stability in extreme volatility (e.g., the October 10, 2025 flash crash – triggered by tariff news – wiped out $19B+ in liquidations but showed CDPs holding strong while centralized systems cracked) Risks exposed: Peg maintenance & redemptions, bad debt in generalized vs isolated markets, liquidation cascades, oracle reliability Carry trades & structured products using CDPs for real yield on BTC/ETH/staked assets – borrow cheap, earn more elsewhere Who wins: High-frequency users → money markets; long-term holders, carry traders, and protocols building liquidity → CDPs Whether you're leveraging, farming yield, issuing tokens, or deepening your understanding of DeFi's core primitives, this episode delivers packed alpha straight from the trenches. Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:24 Defining Money Markets and CDPs 3:48 The Evolution of CDPs and MakerDAO 5:53 Peg Maintenance and Liquidity Challenges 8:06 Financial Analogies for Lending 8:54 Bad Debt and Bankruptcy in DeFi 11:36 Isolated vs. Generalized Lending Markets 14:55 Comparing Risks Between CDPs and Money Markets 17:14 Choosing Between Money Markets and CDPs 21:22 Hidden Risks in Lending 23:25 Understanding Carry Trades and Structured Products The Alpha Growth team is excited to bring you real-time intel from the DeFi front lines, each week as we release new episodes. Stay tuned for more! And don't forget to comment and share your thoughts with us on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠X⁠⁠. Bring RWAs onchain with Alpha Growth in 2026:  ⁠⁠alphagrowth.io⁠⁠. Subscribe for more unfiltered DeFi intel, market maneuvers, and alpha drops! Like & comment your biggest takeaway – money markets or CDPs for you?

    26 min
  6. Feb 28 ·  Video

    Risk: Are You A Gambler Or Investor?

    Alpha Growth CEO Bryan Colligan and DeFi Strategist Eric Waisanen get deep into the weeds with Alpha Growth's latest podcast: Dose of Alpha- Episode #2: Risk: Are You A Gambler or Investor? In each episode Colligan and Waisanen share unfiltered perspectives exploring decentralized finance, market maneuvers, TradFi convergence, and the enduring importance of crypto in today's political and economic landscape.  Episode #2 brings some incredible questions and answers as Bryan and Eric discuss Risk: What is risk? How do you price it? What kind of risks do you see in DeFi? How does that differ from what you see in TradFi? Classifying types of risk, government bailouts in crypto, and the fiasco that was October 10th (10/10). It's a great episode. If you enjoy it, share it with a friend. Chapters 0:00 Defining and Pricing Risk 1:10 Risk Vs. Reward, in DeFi and TradFi 2:02 Types of Risk 4:53 Speedrunning Traditional Finance 6:25 Government Bailouts and Crypto 7:19 Flight to Quality 8:16 Gambling vs. Investing: The Role of Expected Value 10:49 Scopes of EV 12:47 Risks in the Structured Products We're Building 13:09 Liquidations & Time Duration Risk 17:59 APRs and Risk-Adjusted Returns 20:18 Restaking Presentation at ETH Denver 22:23 Case Study: Analyzing October 10th 25:31 Fractional Reserves and Systemic Contagion 28:19 Centralization Risks and the Future of Risk Management The Alpha Growth team is excited to bring you real-time intel from the DeFi front lines, each week as we release new episodes. Stay tuned for more! And don't forget to comment and share your thoughts with us on YouTube, Spotify, and X. Bring RWAs onchain with Alpha Growth in 2026:  alphagrowth.io. Episode 2 Links: Am I A Degenerate Gambler Quiz Insurance & Reinusrance Through Restaking From Eric Waisanen Alpha Growth

    32 min

About

Real-time intel from the DeFi front lines. Bryan Colligan and Eric Waisanen share unfiltered perspectives exploring decentralized finance, market maneuvers, TradFi convergence, and the enduring importance of crypto in today's political and economic landscape. Bring RWAs onchain in 2026 with alphagrowth.io.