Talking Tokens

Talking Tokens is StrataMedia's flagship podcast and newsletter, delivering two episodes per week to a rapidly growing global audience of crypto-native and traditional finance professionals. We’ve been nominated for multiple awards and have become one of the most-watched crypto podcasts in the market.Hosted by Jacquelyn Melinek, an award-nominated podcaster, founder & CEO of StrataMedia, and former senior crypto reporter at TechCrunch.For more updates, subscribe to the Talking Tokens newsletter here: https://talkingtokens.beehiiv.com/ Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens

Talking Tokens is a business podcast hosted by Talking Tokens with Jacquelyn Melinek, with 244 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Talking Tokens with Jacquelyn Melinek hosts Talking Tokens, a business show with 244 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Talking Tokens

  Why Morpho’s CEO Thinks $200 Trillion of Credit Will Move Onchain

  Aug 20, 202640 min

  Is it possible for $200 trillion in global credit to move onchain, or is DeFi still trapped in speculation? Today’s guest is Paul Frambot, Co-Founder and CEO of Morpho. We explore the evolution of onchain credit, how decentralized finance is becoming a core technology stack for traditional finance, and what it takes to build a truly global, open credit network. Paul breaks down Morpho's shift from financial origination to pure technological infrastructure, connecting borrowers directly with tens of thousands of lenders at scale. From distribution partnerships with giants like Robinhood Earn and Coinbase to high-stakes institutional deals with Wall Street heavyweights like Apollo Asset Management, regulatory meetings with the SEC in Washington, and defending against North Korea's Lazarus Group with immutable code, Paul paints a compelling, pragmatic picture of how crypto will power the future of global finance Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:47 - The Evolution of OnChain DeFi Lending 02:15 - Building Morpho: Challenges and Philosophy 04:07 - Early DeFi Traction and Growth Strategies 05:59 - Morpho: Positioning as an Open Credit Network 07:46 - Vetting Ecosystem Builders and Developers 09:47 - Robinhood Earn Partnership & Mainstream Adoption 15:07 - Institutional vs. Retail Strategies 16:40 - The Apollo Asset Management Partnership 17:35 - How Institutions Evaluate DeFi Risks 19:48 - Navigating SEC Regulation and Compliance 27:02 - Security Strategies: Addressing Lazarus Group Threats 31:56 - Morpho’s Future Roadmap & 5-Year Vision 37:01 - Core Principles for Thriving in the Crypto Industry New episodes every week https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 Follow us Jacquelyn on X: /jacqmelinek Talking Tokens on X: /_talkingtokens Talking Tokens on Instagram: /_talkingtokens Follow Paul Frambot https://fr.linkedin.com/in/paul-frambot/en 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 sponsored by Forgd, visit its Market Maker Leaderboard on Token Relations here: www.stratamedia.co/token-elations/leaderboard 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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  Talking Tokens

  Your Next Portfolio Manager Could Be an AI Agent

  Aug 18, 202640 min

  In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Rishin Sharma, Head of AI Growth at the Solana Foundation, to explore how AI agents could reshape payments, commerce, and financial markets and why Solana is positioning itself as financial infrastructure for the emerging agentic economy. Rishin breaks down how agentic payments work today, how pay.sh enables AI systems like ChatGPT and Claude to pay for services using stablecoins, and why checkout could eventually disappear into AI interfaces. They also explore the next frontier of agentic trading, from AI-assisted investing and personalized financial coaching to the possibility of having a portfolio manager in your pocket. Plus, Rishin discusses Solana's role in open, permissionless finance, the future of open-source AI, and what could emerge as AI, stablecoins, and blockchains converge. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 00:36 What is overhyped in AI? 02:28 Solana's role in the Agentic Economy 06:26 Getting started with Agentic Payments 07:48 Strategic collaboration with Google Cloud 11:08 Merchant adoption on the platform 14:50 The future vision of the agentic economy 17:17 The future of commerce: Checkouts without human intervention? 23:54 Agentic Trading: AI as a financial advisor and strategist 29:39 The open-source AI dilemma: Capitalism vs. Geopolitics 34:24 Integration of stablecoins in AI: Expectations for the next 12 months 39:18 Final advice and vision for builders in the sector New episodes every week Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 Follow us Jacquelyn on X: /jacqmelinek Talking Tokens on X: /_talkingtokens Talking Tokens on Instagram: /_talkingtokens Follow Rishin Sharma https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishinsharma This episode is a part of the Solana Sessions campaign between Token Relations and the Talking Tokens podcast, diving into founders' journeys and startups building on Solana. Check out the accompanying newsletter on www.stratamedia.co/token-relations/solana 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 Note: This podcast is for informational purposes only. Views shared are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have financial interests in the discussed content.

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  Talking Tokens

  Equity Perps Explained | Can DeFi Really Handle Traditional Stocks?

  Aug 14, 202614 min

  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

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  Talking Tokens

  Why He Left Goldman Sachs to Build an Onchain Bank | Adrian Cachinero Vasiljevic

  Aug 13, 202644 min

  In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Adrian Cachinero Vasiljevic, co-founder of Steakhouse Financial, the onchain powerhouse managing over $4.5 billion in assets and powering the yield products for giants like Coinbase, MetaMask, and Robinhood. Adrian breaks down his journey from Goldman Sachs to building the "transparent bank" of 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. Plus, we dive into how protocols like Grove and Sky are attempting to achieve the holy grail of decentralized finance: bringing the risk-free rate onchain. 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 ochain? 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.

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  Talking Tokens

  What Wall Street Really Thinks About Tokenization

  Aug 11, 202650 min

  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.

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