Talking Tokens

Nikil Viswanathan, the Co-founder and CEO of Alchemy, shares his insights on the vital role of blockchain infrastructure in shaping the future of finance. He explains how developer adoption, rather than market prices, signals crypto's true potential and why traditional banks must adopt blockchain to remain relevant. Nikil also discusses the transformative impact of stablecoins, their relevance in emerging markets, and how AI will reshape creative roles in software development, blending engineering with design.

Ben Nadareski, Co-founder and CEO of Solstice Labs, shares insights from his physics and trading background to explain how Solstice provides institutional-grade, permissionless yield for everyone. He discusses scaling to over $300M in TVL and why retail and institutional users access the same transparent yields. Ben warns that many DeFi projects are simply backdoors to traditional finance. He also emphasizes the importance of due diligence in yield sources and how Solana's composability drives adoption in crypto.

In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Kevin Lepsoe, Founder of ETHGas, about blockspace and how a transparent blockspace futures marketplace could redefine Ethereum’s core economic engine. Kevin explains why Ethereum’s 12-second block time creates fragmentation, poor UX, failed transactions, and institutional reluctance and how slicing blocks into millisecond-resolution windows unlocks a completely new operating model for L1s.He walks through his background as a trader during the 2008 crisis, why MEV behavior can mirror predatory high-frequency trading tactics, and why institutions won’t put billion-dollar balance sheets onchain in the current environment. Kevin also explains how ETHGas enables instant confirmations, how blockspace futures create the first native yield curve on any blockchain, and why this unlocks fixed-income products, cross-chain arbitrage, and a path toward deeper L1 liquidity.They discuss its upcoming Token Generation Event (TGE) as well as validator incentives, governance design, airdrops, its Open Gas Initiative, and how gas abstraction can onboard everyday users into an easier Ethereum experience. Kevin also shares why real-time Ethereum could support new classes of trading, lending, and insurance products and why 2026 may be the year blockspace becomes a mainstream asset class.Timestamps(00:00) – Intro (01:14) – Kevin’s path from options and volatility trading to bitcoin mining and DeFi Summer (02:29) – Seeing the full mapping from money and equities to interest rates and credit onchain (03:56) – Why big trading firms refuse to put assets onchain with MEV and liquidation risk (05:28) – How MEV behavior mirrors HFT and why 12-second latency is too exploitable (08:12) – Fragmentation across L1s and L2s and why real-time Ethereum consolidates liquidity (11:17) – What blockspace futures are and how they allow real-time Ethereum execution (13:16) – Turning a single block into hundreds of slices and fixing MEV through design (15:06) – Real-time confirmations 50 ms execution and implications for trading and lending (17:19) – Impact on DEXes, AMMs, liquidations and validator revenue with faster blocks (21:49) – ETHGas integration path validators, wallets, RPC endpoints and expanding blockspace share (23:48) – Targeting 40% of blockspace, validator incentives and economic alignment (27:06) – ETHGas upcoming token launch governance design and why users must control real-time Ethereum (31:29) – Open Gas Initiative: hiding gas from the user and rebating spend back via tokens (33:29) – Airdrops for heavy gas users and aligning with the people who built Ethereum’s demand (35:07) – Conversations with Ethereum researchers and the right vs wrong path for blockspace (38:38) – L1 and L2 dynamics bringing real-time execution across the entire Ethereum stack (41:09) – How real-time Ethereum helps ETH break major price thresholds and expand its user base (42:12) – ETH’s yield curve unlocks native fixed-income and institutional onchain markets (44:07) – Kevin’s final advice: the markets always come back and the real building is just starting EssentialsYou 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/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141Follow us on XJacquelyn: https://twitter.com/jacqmelinekTalking Tokens: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokensFollow us on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/_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.

In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek sits down with David Schamis, CEO of Hyperliquid Strategies and Atlas Merchant Capital Founding Partner and CIO. He breaks down the rapid rise of Hyperliquid, the decentralized exchange powering billions in annual free cash flow without raising a dollar of outside capital. David explains how perps became crypto’s dominant trading product, why Hyperliquid’s architecture prevents FTX-style failures, and how real token buybacks created an equity-like model for protocol growth.He also shares what US-based investors misunderstand about access, the role of Hyperliquid Strategies as a publicly listed vehicle for exposure, and why he believes Hyperliquid is becoming the “AWS of exchanges” where builders can launch everything from tokenized equities to prediction markets. David reflects on navigating the 2008 financial crisis, how those lessons shaped his conviction in non-custodial systems, why private equity is warming up to crypto, and what it means for global market structure as real-world assets move onchain.Timestamps(00:00) – Intro (02:01) – Why perpetual futures dominate crypto (03:25) – How external builders tokenized US equities on Hyperliquid and enabled global access (04:11) – Why the HYPE token functions like equity through buybacks without giving up ownership (06:00) – Why Americans cannot access Hyperliquid directly and the role of the listed vehicle PURR (07:44) – Perps vs options and why retail prefers simplicity (09:54) – David’s background in private equity and why financial services experience led him into crypto (15:16) – Why traditional private equity firms will increasingly enter crypto as the space matures (17:49) – Lessons from Merrill, Lehman and the 2008 financial crisis and why self-custody is essential after FTX (20:19) – The future of global access and why decentralized rails matter for emerging markets (22:07) – How Hyperliquid compares to centralized exchanges and why trustless execution is the point (28:12) – Traditional finance meets crypto Hyperliquid Strategies’ board mix and what it signals about maturation (33:24) – Why global investors need decentralized venues and how Hyperliquid enables trust at scale (37:11) – Competition from dYdX and Lighter and why RWAs will be Hyperliquid’s differentiator (41:13) – Macro catalysts for bitcoin, regulation, deleveraging and why stability is coming to crypto (45:09) – Prediction markets, new verticals and Hyperliquid as the backend for future applications (49:58) – David’s career advice: be smart, work hard and get along with people EssentialsYou can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple or YouTube.If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review!Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141Follow us on XJacquelyn: https://twitter.com/jacqmelinekTalking Tokens: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokensFollow us on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/_talkingtokens/Note that this podcast is for informational purposes only and any views shared are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have a direct or indirect financial interest in content mentioned.

Mary Gooneratne, co-founder of LoopScale building on-chain credit and tokenized real-world assets. She talks about why most finance is still offchain, what traits tradfi assets need to be composable, and how tokenized payment streams, fixed-rate lending, and collateral mobility enable onchain private credit. Mary explains RWA looping, securities lending, and LoopScale’s roadmap for institutional adoption.

Parker White, Chief Investment Officer at DeFi Development Corporation, discusses how digital asset treasuries (DATs) could evolve into the banking backbone of Solana's economy. He shares his journey from traditional finance to crypto, fueled by his belief in non-sovereign money and the resilience of DeFi post-FTX. Parker dives into the mechanics of Solana's growth, liquidity provisioning, and the mission to make money fairer. He also envisions DATs as crucial players in onchain credit and yield generation, hinting at a bright future for Solana.

In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Nick O’Neill, Co-Founder and CEO of BoDoggos. Nick shares how years of running The Nifty, one of the largest NFT media companies, shaped his understanding of community behavior, storytelling and internet culture  and how that experience ultimately led to BoDoggos.Nick reflects on the psychological cost of operating as a character, how satire bleeds into reality, the tension between being informative and being entertaining, and why mixing humor with truth is harder (and more effective) than playing either side cleanly. Nick also shares stories behind his most famous stunts including staged scandals, yacht controversies, fake breakups, and sketch-comedy girlfriends and why narrative arcs outperform standalone posts.Timestamps(00:00) – Intro (03:25) – Dating life, fake girlfriends and how his online persona affects relationships (06:52) – Virality, trolls and how attention works on X (09:04) – Screen time habits, muting posts and handling backlash (11:27) – Comedy versus news, satire runs and experimenting with formats (13:33) – Filming in public and New York being ideal for chaotic content (15:38) – What makes a crypto capital city (16:13) – Origin of “Choose Rich” persona and the run that blew him up (18:06) – Quote tweet culture, algorithm changes and why narrative arcs matter (21:02) – The Dubai meme, stereotypes and how jokes spread through quote tweets (22:05) – Community notes, gaming, satire, yachts and how stunts go viral (27:45) – When fans think the character is real and dealing with public reactions (33:10) – The emotional and creative load of playing a character long term (36:07) – The famous Avalanche yacht stunt, how it was staged and how the narrative exploded (41:03) – Reputation risks, brand concerns and the line between humor and harm (44:08) – His view on crypto culture, memes, trading identity and what web3 became (46:57) – Technical versus cultural crypto, NFTs, and educational content (49:20) – Why serious content doesn’t perform well and blending humor with truth (51:32) – BuzzFeed era, ads in the feed, and the collapse of journalistic integrity (53:02) – The MicroStrategy subway rant and his opinion on the company (54:46) – Bitcoin, institutional flows and how he thinks about investing (55:32) – What he wants next in life including family, audience growth and coding (56:26) – Final advice on consistency, surviving the content cycle and momentum You can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple or YouTube.If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review!Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141Follow us on XJacquelyn: https://twitter.com/jacqmelinekTalking Tokens: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokensFollow us on InstagramTalking Tokens: https://www.instagram.com/_talkingtokens/Note that this podcast is for informational purposes only and any views shared by anyone on the show are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have a direct or indirect financial interest in content mentioned.

Mert Mumtaz, Co-founder and CEO of Helius, discusses Solana's evolution from NFTs to memecoins and its vision as the internet's capital markets chain. He emphasizes the need for robust infrastructure to make Solana legible and accessible. Mert introduces Orb, a next-gen block explorer aimed at enhancing data transparency while highlighting the importance of privacy. He shares insights on exponential growth strategies for startups and reflects on how meme coins have shaped Solana's infrastructure and user experience.

In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with MacBrennan Peet, Founder of Project 0, about why DeFi has reached a point where unified margin, solvency guarantees and onchain prime brokerage are finally possible. MacBrennan explains why risk systems and smart contract securities have matured, how Project 0 unifies margin across multiple venues, and why serious DeFi users inevitably create fragmented risk when they trade across swaps, perps, lending platforms and prediction markets.They also discuss the evolution of Solana market microstructure, the shift toward institutional capital using onchain strategies, and how Project 0’s credit engine works under the hood. MacBrennan shares insights from founding multiple companies, his time at MarginFi, Temporal and MRGN Research, and why transparency, auditability and open liquidity make onchain prime brokerage structurally better than off-chain models.Timestamps(00:00) – Intro (01:07) – MacBrennan’s background in finance, trading, health tech, and DeFi (02:12) – From MarginFi to MRGN to Temporal: why prime brokerage needs persisted (03:37) – Solana’s market structure, HFT insights & liquidation solvency (04:48) – The DeFi turning point: staying power and better risk systems (06:23) – Why DeFi users create fragmented portfolios across venues (07:19) – DeFi’s inflection point: staking, onchain capital & looping (08:14) – Project 0’s two user groups: left curve vs right curve power users (10:03) – Unified margin for retail yield seekers and delta-neutral traders (11:30) – Why Solana is viable for venture-scale financial infrastructure (16:01) – Lending market risks today: isolated pools & vault disclosures (18:24) – Onchain solvency, shared liquidity & why P0 beats offchain brokers (20:11) – Prime brokerage explained & why retail users benefit too (22:18) – Anyone can use Project 0 — even if they don’t realize they need it (23:47) – Unifying credit, lending & liquidity across Drift, Camino, Jupiter (28:33) – How P0 evaluates risk: volatility, depth, liquidity, counterparties (31:42) – What real behavioral change in DeFi would look like (34:42) – Why “Project 0” means priority zero and building from first principles EssentialsYou can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple or YouTube.If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review!Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141Follow us on XJacquelyn: https://twitter.com/jacqmelinekTalking Tokens: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokensFollow us on InstagramTalking Tokens: https://www.instagram.com/_talkingtokens/Note that this podcast is for informational purposes only and any views shared by anyone on the show are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have a direct or indirect financial interest in content mentioned.

Yat Siu, Co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands, is a key player in the web3 landscape. He shares insights on why he believes altcoins will soon surpass Bitcoin, and how tokenization will revolutionize global markets by 2026. Yat discusses the emergence of utility tokens from memecoin culture, and the need for regulatory clarity to unlock mass tokenization. He delves into Animoca's public plans, the complexities of gaming and crypto performance, and why Gen Z views trading as a form of entertainment. He wraps up with advice for navigating crypto volatility.