

The DCo Podcast
Saurabh Deshpande
Stories with depth, insight & data covering all things Web3.
For builders. By builders. www.decentralised.co
For builders. By builders. www.decentralised.co
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 17, 2026 • 49min
Inverting the Perps Playbook with Brett Harrison from Architect
Brett Harrison helped scale FTX US before founding Architect and its exchange AX. AX is the first regulated centralised exchange for perpetual futures on traditional assets like gold, currencies, single stocks, and GPU compute, all settled on crypto rails. We talk about why perpetuals never took off in traditional finance, the innovator's dilemma facing CME, and how crypto infrastructure is quietly reshaping the $15T/day futures market. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co

Feb 10, 2026 • 52min
All Assets, Everywhere with Philipp from LI.FI
In this episode, LI.FI Founder and CEO Philipp Zentner joins Saurabh to unpack where crypto is headed as tokenised assets proliferate across chains, standards, compliance rails and execution venues. They talk about why fragmentation is the default, why distribution is the hard part of tokenisation, and how LI.FI is building the orchestration layer that makes “asset A to asset B in one click” possible.We also go deeper into how LI.FI evolved from aggregation into a broader coordination layer, including its multi-chain transaction rail, a domain-specific execution layer (Composer), and an open solver marketplace for intents. If the next era of crypto looks like more rails, more standards, and more asset representations, the winners may be the systems that can route reliably across all of it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co

Jan 29, 2026 • 48min
The House Doge Built with Timothy Stebbing
Timothy Stebbing is CTO of House of Doge and Director at the Dogecoin Foundation. He spent 25 years in open source development before joining Dogecoin in 2021.In this episode, we discuss:• Why Timothy tells his friends and family to stay away from crypto• How 2% inflation was accidentally good design• Why Bitcoin lost the payments battle• The growth from five developers to over a hundred• Managing a community of memers and institutional investors• What Dogecoin is actually building This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co

Nov 28, 2025 • 42min
Building a Brain and Hands for Blockchains with Mike from Talus Network
AI is shifting from chat interfaces to agents that act, earn, and participate in real economic activity. Mike Hanono, CEO of Talus Network, explains how this agentic economy takes shape and why it needs crypto rails. We explore idol.fun as the first live example of agents competing and generating value. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co

Nov 20, 2025 • 1h 6min
Building for Institutions with Eric Saraniecki
Eric Saraniecki has spent the past decade building the infrastructure that large financial institutions need to participate in crypto. As the Co-Founder and Head of Product at Digital Asset and a core builder behind Canton Network, Eric has a perspective that few operators in this industry share. He works directly with banks, asset managers, and market operators on the problems that define institutional adoption. This conversation outlines what those institutions actually require and why most blockchain systems were not designed for their needs. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co

Nov 5, 2025 • 1h 8min
Zynga's Founder Justin Waldron
The conversation with Justin Waldron, co-founder of Zynga and now founder of Open Game Protocol, is a masterclass in how distribution models evolve in games and how Web3 could power the next one. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co

Oct 28, 2025 • 54min
EP 47 — Solving the AI Curation Problem with Andrew Hill from Recall
AI agents are cheap to launch and impossible to trust. This episode is for people building and backing growth-stage crypto startups: how do you pick between thousands of on-chain “trading bots,” research assistants, and execution agents when most collapse in live conditions? Andrew Hill, CEO of Recall, lays out how Recall is trying to become crypto’s neutral trust layer for agents with live competitions, skill markets, and a ranking system you can actually underwrite.Key Moments00:00:00 - Introduction to Recall00:01:26 - Introduction to Andrew Hill and Recall00:01:45 - The Need for a Curation Layer for AI Models00:03:08 - Recall's Vision and Functioning00:05:26 - The Role of Competitions in Recall00:10:45 - The Future of Recall and AI Agents00:15:26 - Demand for Agentic Systems in Trading00:17:47 - The Evolution of AI Agents and Their Capabilities00:20:17 - The Growing Role of AI Agents in Crypto Trading00:26:51 - The Approach to Evaluating Subjective Skills00:28:29 - The Behavior of AI Models00:32:45 - The Role of Curators and Boosters in Recall00:36:11 - The Future of AI Evaluation and Alignment00:41:05 - The Role of Recall's Token in the AI Marketplace00:43:38 - Revenue Lines for Recall00:45:41 - The Role of Human Judges in Recall00:48:11 - Challenges for Agent Builders and Future Prospects00:49:08 - Potential Risks and Fears for Recall00:49:20 - The Battle of Decentralized vs Centralized Intelligence00:50:43 - The Future of AI Agents and Complex Tasks00:51:19 - The Threat of a Single, All-Powerful Agent00:52:13 - Recall's Achievements and What to Look Forward To This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co

Aug 27, 2025 • 1h 1min
Ep 46 — Turning a Dead NFT Collection into a $50M Empire ft. Luca Netz
In this episode, Luca Netz shares how he took a failing NFT collection and turned it into one of the fastest-growing Web3 brands. We dive into his three-pillar model of ecosystem, attention, and revenue; and explore how Pudgy has sold over 1.5M toys through Walmart and Target, signed 45+ licensing deals, and built a business where culture and cash flow compound.In the episode, talk about: • How 80% of Pudgy’s revenue comes from licensing (45+ active deals) • Why arcade machines, toys, and games beat token drops in driving brand value • What “tokenized culture” actually means—and how it becomes a moat • The future of consumer crypto and Luca’s bet on Abstract’s Portal • Why the next big crypto success might not feel like crypto at all • How to fix crypto’s broken consumer journey • How to turn IP into retail + social currency without losing the core community. Chapters 0:00 – Intro 2:45 – Tokenising Culture, Memes & Influence 10:48 - The role of speculation 15:30 – The Three Pillars of Crypto Value: Ecosystem, Attention & Revenue 21:55 – The Pudgy Playbook: Community, Marketing & $50M Revenue 27:56 – What Luca knew when he bid $2.5 million on Pudgy IP 30:45 – What's Broken in Consumer Crypto 38:20 – Fixing Onboarding: Abstract Portal & The Future of Adoption 49:43 – Building for Gen Z & Gen Alpha 51:10 – Lessons from $PENGU Airdrop 54:09 – Is Token a Product? If you want to know more about Luca, we recently published a story on him here — https://www.thetokendispatch.com/p/the-luca-netz-story 👥 Guest: Luca Netz – CEO at Pudgy Penguins and Igloo Twitter: https://x.com/LucaNetz 🎙️ Host: Saurabh Deshpande – DCo Podcast Twitter: https://x.com/desh_saurabh 📬 Stay Updated: Subscribe to DCo Newsletter → https://www.decentralised.co/subscribe Follow DCo on Twitter → https://x.com/Decentralisedco This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co

Aug 19, 2025 • 1h 5min
EP 45 — Making Debt Move Faster with Androo and Andy from HypurrFi
We sit down with Androo and Andy from HypurrFi who are building at the intersection of on-chain credit and real-world usability.While most DeFi protocols treat borrowing as a one-time action, HypurrFi is making debt dynamic. Think refinancing, real-time spending, and routing capital across markets—without closing your position.We cover:— Why HypurrFi is focused on active debt management— How they're using USDXL (a synthetic dollar) as a programmable debt rail— Why their on-chain card integration changes how crypto holders can spend— How they’re thinking about traders, tax-advantaged holders, and capital efficiency— Why building on Hyperliquid gives them a unique edge, and what the challenges are— What “debt servicing” really means (and how it differs from basic lending)Timestamps —00:00: Introduction01:30 Backgrounds02:00: The Hyperliquid Ecosystem10:20: "Everyone Is Coming" Thesis20:00: HyperFi's Core Products & Vision32:00: The Card & The Philosophy of Debt46:00: Debt Servicing58:00: Competition👥 Guest:Androo Lloyd – Co-Founder at HypurrFiTwitter: https://x.com/androolloydAndy – Head of Growth at HypurrFiTwitter: https://x.com/andyhyfi🎙️ Host: Saurabh Deshpande – DCo PodcastTwitter: https://x.com/desh_saurabh📬 Stay Updated:Subscribe to DCo Newsletter → https://www.decentralised.co/subscribeFollow DCo on Twitter → https://x.com/Decentralisedco This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co

Jul 29, 2025 • 1h 11min
Ep 44 — How to Stake HYPE Permissionlessly with Omnia from Kinetiq
Kinetiq co-founder and Hyperliquid contributor Omnia joins to unpack how Hyperliquid evolved from a DEX into a liquidity layer, what HIPs unlock, and why apps like Phantom and Kinetiq are treating it as default.Chapters —00:00 Podcast Opening & Disclaimer00:19 Kinetic's Launch & Market Context03:20 Hyperliquid's Core Thesis11:33 Hyperliquid Technical Architecture20:30 Understanding Hyperliquid Improvement Proposals (HIPs)36:10 Kinetiq's Staking Solutions & Platform Decentralisation46:06 Custody and Compliant Staking on Hyperliquid01:01:24 Builder Codes and On-Chain Asset Growth👥 Guest: Omnia – Co-founder at Kinetiq Twitter: https://x.com/0xOmnia🎙️ Host: Saurabh Deshpande – DCo Podcast Twitter: https://x.com/desh_saurabh📬 Stay Updated: Subscribe to DCo Newsletter → https://www.decentralised.co/subscribeFollow DCo on Twitter → https://x.com/Decentralisedco This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co


