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. 3d ago

    Equity Perps Explained | Can DeFi Really Handle Traditional Stocks?

    Trading Wall Street stocks 24/7 in DeFi sounds like the ultimate financial unlock, but as Alexander Beaudry from our institutional research team points out, the reality is far more complex. In this episode, we dive into Alex's latest report, "Equity Perps Are Nothing Without Equity Spot," to explore why the infrastructure behind tokenized equities is still catching up to the hype. Alex breaks down the staggering 265% YTD growth in the tokenized spot equity market and explains why Equity Perpetual Futures (Perps) have become the most debated trend in DeFi.  While crypto markets can predict TradFi pricing with 85% accuracy over weekends, Alex identifies the critical bottlenecks from centralized Oracle vulnerabilities to the $24M Ostiam exploit that continue to keep institutional capital on the sidelines. We discuss the market consensus on risk and what it will take for tokenized equities to move from a frontier trading tool to a cornerstone of global finance. Timestamps 00:00 The Rise of Equity Perps 01:15 What Are Equity Perpetual Futures? 02:57 Where Equity Perps Work and Where They Fail 04:40 The Biggest Risk With Equity Perps 05:46 How Oracles Determine Equity Prices 07:03 The Risk of Oracle Manipulation 07:40 Why Arbitrageurs Matter for Healthy Markets 09:22 The Problem With Tokenized Equities 10:31 Can Tokenized Equities Become Truly 24/7? 11:44 Why Equity Perps Could Expand Global Market Access 12:26 Final Thoughts Check out the full report: Web: https://stratamedia.co/token-relations/article?slug=stratamedia-research-equity-perps-are-nothing-without-equity-spot-3faff8781eab4cf2X: https://x.com/TokenRelations/status/2088337441979539709?s=20 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/equity-perps-nothing-without-spot-stratamedia-zybhe 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 #RWA #Tokenization #DeFi #Crypto #EquityPerps #OndoFinance #Web3 #TalkingTokens #CryptoNews #WallStreet

    Equity Perps Explained | Can DeFi Really Handle Traditional Stocks?

  2. 4d ago

    Why DeFi Works Best When it Does the Least

    In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Adrian, who breaks down his journey from Goldman Sachs to building in DeFi. He reveals why traditional banks are secretly terrified of stablecoins, the brutal reality of why tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) actually takes months, and why the safest smart contracts are often the "dumbest" ones.  Timestamps:  00:10 Stablecoins, DeFi Risk & the Future of Finance 00:47 Meet Adrian, Co-Founder of Steakhouse Financial 01:16 From Goldman Sachs to DeFi 02:15 Building a Better Financial System with MakerDAO 03:41 How Mature Is DeFi Today? 05:15 When Will Institutional Finance Move OnChain? 06:15 Bringing Tokenized Assets OnChain with Grove 07:25 What Does an OnChain Asset Manager Actually Do? 08:50 Will Stablecoins Become the Future of Payments? 10:47 Are Traditional Banks Ready for Stablecoins? 13:23 Why Banks See Stablecoins as a Threat 15:28 How Coinbase & Robinhood Evaluate DeFi Products 17:40 Bringing Non-Crypto Companies OnChain 19:06 Why DeFi Still Misunderstands Risk 21:43 Why Simpler DeFi Is Safer 23:57 Why DeFi Vaults Are Exploding 27:16 Will the DeFi Vault Market Keep Expanding? 28:42 How Big Can OnChain Credit Become? 31:30 Could DeFi Vaults Replace Traditional Lending? 32:55 Building DeFi Products for Institutions vs. Retail 34:44 Grove, RWAs & the Future of OnChain Finance 37:33 Why Crypto Needs Real-World Assets 39:06 Building an OnChain Risk-Free Rate 40:24 What the Next Generation Will Expect From Money 42:16 Adrian 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 also brought to you by Forgd. Visit its Market Maker Leaderboard on Token Relations here: www.stratamedia.co/token-relations/leaderboard 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 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 DeFi Works Best When it Does the Least

  3. 6d ago

    What Wall Street Really Thinks About Tokenization

    On today's episode of Talking Tokenization, Jacquelyn sits down with John D’Agostino (Head of Strategy at Coinbase Institutional) and Rebecca Rettig (COO & CLO at Jito Labs) for a masterclass on the real state of institutional crypto adoption. They discuss what it actually takes to bridge the gap between TradFi and Crypto, ranging from why Wall Street is actively resisting tokenization, to how perpetual contracts (perps) are secretly solving the pre-IPO liquidity crisis for companies like SpaceX, to why the crypto user experience desperately needs a "Venmo" moment. John and Rebecca also break down the surprising parallels between the current AI boom and crypto's early days, explaining why Artificial Intelligence ultimately needs blockchain to survive its hallucination problem. Finally, they share a contrarian take on how stablecoins might actually be the ultimate secret weapon for preserving U.S. dollar dominance globally. Timestamps: 00:10 The Future of Tokenization 00:40 What Is Tokenization? 03:19 Why Traditional Finance Is Resisting Tokenization 07:37 Perpetual Futures and the Crypto Advantage 11:06 The Rise of Pre-IPO Perpetual Markets 16:18 Who Is the Future Investor? 19:47 Crypto vs. Blockchain: The Reputation Problem 24:34 Why Are Crypto Products Still So Complicated? 29:25 What Happens If the Clarity Act Passes? 31:20 Can Crypto Grow Without Regulatory Clarity? 35:24 AI and Crypto: Competitors or Partners? 39:23 Can Blockchain Solve AI’s Trust Problem? 41:55 Why Blockchain Adoption Is Inevitable 45:05 Stablecoins, Cross-Border Payments & Global Markets 47:20 What Will Crypto Look Like a Year From Now? 49:52 Final Advice: Build Useful Things Follow Talking Tokens  https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141?l=nb https://x.com/_TalkingTokens?lang=en This episode is sponsored by Securitize, the proven leader in tokenized funds, equities, and private markets. Discover more at securitize.io.  Follow Jacquelyn https://x.com/JacqMelinek 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.

    What Wall Street Really Thinks About Tokenization

  4. Aug 6

    Stablecoins, RWAs & DeFi: What Institutions Actually Want

    On today's Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Jillian Friedman, Chief Operating Officer at Symbiotic, to talk about what it actually takes to make tokenization work at scale, ranging from why 94% of tokenized real-world assets are still bought directly from the issuer, to how Symbiotic's LiquidLane gives investors an instant exit from illiquid RWAs, to why she doesn't see CeFi and DeFi as opposing camps. Jillian Friedman breaks down why she thinks institutions are tokenizing the easiest assets first instead of the most useful ones, what actually makes an asset "digitally native," and her honest answer for what it really takes to get a risk committee to say yes. Timestamps:  00:00 Introduction to Jill Friedman and her background 02:50 Why Jill transitioned from law to crypto and her early interest in Bitcoin 03:32 The appeal of DeFi and Symbiotic's focus on both C-Fi and DeFi 05:30 The future integration of centralized and decentralized finance 06:56 How digital native assets differ from off-chain assets 08:35 The spectrum of digital nativeness and tokenization challenges 11:25 Market readiness and infrastructure needs for tokenized assets 14:33 Long-term outlook: the inflection point for tokenization and DeFi 17:42 Regulatory and risk considerations for institutional adoption 21:24 LiquidLane: solving liquidity and exit challenges for RWAs 27:34 Future of tokenized assets and market evolution 28:40 Jill's advice for navigating the crypto space 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. 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/id1743669141YouTube: 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.

    Stablecoins, RWAs & DeFi: What Institutions Actually Want

  5. Aug 4

    Why Binance Wants to Replace Banks for Everyday Payments | Thomas Gregory, Binance

    On today's Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Thomas Gregory, VP of Payments at Binance, to talk about what it actually looks like to build a global payment infrastructure from the inside, ranging from QR code rollouts in Argentina to the Binance Card hitting the market across 20 countries and B-Stocks hitting $2 billion in trading volume in a single weekend.  Thomas breaks down why he sees domestic payments in Latin America and Africa as the real unlock for the next wave of adoption, why crypto and fiat are becoming indistinguishable in Binance's super app vision, and why his ultimate benchmark for success is the day isn’t what you’d think it is. TIMESTAMPS:  00:00 Introduction to Binance's Payments Vision 03:46 Lessons from Fintech Disruptors  06:52 Consumer Acceptance of Crypto Payments 10:26 Hyper-Localization in Payment Solutions 12:19 Metrics for Binance’s Payment Success and Regional Focus 13:35 Binance Card: Flexibility and Usage 17:00 The Future of Crypto as a Payment Medium 26:57 Industry Milestones and Investor Demand 36:55 Addressing Local Currency Preferences and Education 39:10 The Road Ahead for Payments and User Adoption 42:14 Parting Advice 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.  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.

  6. Aug 3

    Strata Research Survey: What Five Industry Leaders Have to Say About Agentic Payments

    On this edition of Strata Research's Analyst Insights, Jacquelyn sits down with Institutional Research Analyst Alex Beaudry to break down the results of Strata's first industry survey where they asked five leaders across the agentic payments space, including the CEOs of Alchemy and Anchorage and Circle's Chief Product and Technology Officer, who all weighed in on where it actually stands today. The consensus is pretty clear: institutions are adopting this first, not consumers, and the reason has less to do with the technology and more to do with the fact that most people still don't want an AI agent touching their money, which Alex points out is basically the perfect combination of the two things the general public fears most. TIMESTAMPS: 0:01 Introduction to Strata Surveys 1:22 Why Revisit Agentic Payments Now 3:42 Institutional vs. Consumer Adoption 7:22 What the Survey Responses Agreed vs Disagreed On 9:59 Trust, Risk, and the Path to Adoption Research Link: https://www.token-relations.com/p/stratamedia-survey-agentic-payments 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.

  7. Jul 30

    Why Crypto Has a Brain Drain Problem | Dom & Phil Kwok

    On today's Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Dom & Phil Kwok, co-founders of EasyA, a platform that teaches developers and consumers how to actually build and use blockchain technology.  The brothers also run some of the biggest hackathons in the space at events like Consensus Miami and Consensus Hong Kong.  Dom & Phil explain why so much of crypto's top talent drifted to AI over the past few years, why they think the sentiment around crypto is starting to shift, and how their new Kickstart product is trying to do for funding what AI did for building.  TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Sibling Entrepreneurs: The Journey Begins 02:31 Identifying Market Gaps in Blockchain Education 05:22 Trends in Consumer and Developer Interest 09:24 The Shift from AI to Crypto: A New Era 12:40 AI's Impact on the Workforce and Startups 15:50 Long-Term Vision: Balancing Roadmaps and Market Cycles 18:09 The Importance of Founder-Led Marketing 23:25 Getting Started on Social Media 24:38 Overcoming Fear of Posting 26:47 The Impact of AI on Content Creation 28:07 The Evolution of Startup Development 31:55 The Role of AI in Lowering Barriers to Entry 33:09 Bridging the Gap Between Wall Street and Crypto 35:45 The Growing Interest in Crypto on Wall Street 39:08 The Future of Tokenization and On-Chain Finance 43:11 Advice for Navigating the Crypto Landscape 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.  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.

  8. Jul 28

    Why Tokenized Equities Need Another BlackRock Moment and Who Could Trigger It | Suzy Singh, Securitize

    On today's Talking Tokenization, Jacquelyn sits down with Suzy Singh, Deputy Chief Operating Officer at Securitize, to pull back the curtain on what institutional tokenization interest looks like day to day. Suzy outlines why everything you're seeing announced publicly has been in the works for six to twenty-four months behind the scenes, then breaks down why Securitize tokenized its own equity on day one of going public.  Then Suzy gets into what its recent Cantor Fitzgerald partnership is really trying to unlock for blockchain-based IPOs, and why she thinks the next major wave of adoption in this space isn't going to come from institutions.  TIMESTAMPS: 0:01 What tokenization means and why it matters 01:03 Why more institutions are talking about tokenization 03:25 Where demand is coming from across financial firms 05:28 The long timeline from first conversation to launch 09:11 How going public changed Securitize’s credibility 14:20 Why issuer-sponsored tokenized equities matter 19:56 IPOs, retail adoption, and the future of onchain markets 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.

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4.8
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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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