The Defiant - DeFi Podcast What Crypto VCs Want Now | Aryan Sheikhalian
Oct 10, 2025
Aryan Sheikhalian, Head of Research at CMT Digital, dives into the future of crypto as an infrastructure rather than just an asset. He shares insights on tokenized equities and how they can transform traditional finance with 24/7 markets. Aryan discusses the importance of identity layers and ZK proofs for mainstream adoption, and how regulation is steering firms toward partnerships. He also highlights the potential of overlooked sectors like decentralized data, and offers sage advice for founders to focus on user needs and maintain conviction.
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Wrappers Versus Native Tokenization
- Wrappers and synthetics lack native rights like dividends and voting.
- Native tokenization can enforce dividends and governance, changing equity infrastructure.
Banks Will Adopt Better Rails, Not Vanish
- Banks still own distribution and will adopt rails to protect competitiveness.
- Crypto builders should partner with incumbents rather than assume they'll be displaced immediately.
Tokenizing Digital Commodities
- New collateral types like GPU compute and data may become tradable assets.
- Tokenizing compute and data helps hedge costs and build markets for scarce digital resources.