The DeFi Decoded Podcast

Join Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of crypto with special guest Adrian Cachinero Vasiljevic, Co-Founder of Steakhouse Financial. Listen in as they unpack the buzziest topic in DeFi right now: vaults. Adrian explains what a vault actually is (and why the word is as broad as "token"), why most vault capital sits in lending markets, and how onchain vaults can strike a NAV in real time in ways traditional funds and ETFs can't. They dig into Steakhouse's role as one of the largest risk curators in onchain finance — curating close to half the stablecoin deposits on Morpho and serving as the exclusive risk curator of Robinhood Earn — and what a curator can and can't do with your assets. Alex and Adrian also cover the "physics of DeFi," the regulatory road ahead for vaults and the CLARITY Act, who absorbs the losses when things go wrong, and why reimagining finance from first principles is the real frontier.

Join Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of crypto with special guest Eric Richmond, Country Director and CEO of Coinbase Canada. Listen in as they trade the "everything store" for the "everything exchange" — Coinbase's bet that one trusted, on-chain platform can carry a person's entire financial life. Eric explains why Canada is one of Coinbase's fastest-growing markets now that 25% of Canadians own crypto, what's actually getting used today — USDC yield, crypto derivatives, and tokenized equities that went live this week — and why 24/7 markets and instant settlement make tokenized stocks more than a repackaged brokerage account. Alex and Eric also dig into Canada's regulatory backslide: how a country that led on crypto ETFs ended up governing a new asset class through staff notices and exemption orders, why simply custodying Bitcoin turns it into a security here, and the Schrödinger's stablecoin problem the Stablecoin Act leaves unresolved. Plus: Base as evolution rather than hedge, and why the AI agent economy runs on stablecoins — agents can't open bank accounts, but they can hold wallets.

Join Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of crypto with special guest Didier Lavallée, Founder and CEO of Tetra Digital Group. Listen in as they discuss why Canada - the birthplace of Ethereum - has ceded its lead in crypto and how a Canadian dollar stablecoin could help win it back. Didier explains the launch of CADD, why domestic payments (not just cross-border remittances) are the surprise growth story, and how orchestration infrastructure lets money move across borders without friction. Alex and Didier also dig into the sovereignty stakes behind Canada's financial system - from the Moneris sale to foreign-controlled crypto apps - why a bank-heavy oligopoly makes disruption so hard, and what it means that former Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins has joined Tetra's advisory council.

Join Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of crypto with special guests Aryan Sheikhalian, Investor and the Head of Research, and Matt Casto, Head of DeFi, of CMT Digital. Listen in as they discuss how CMT evolved from a proprietary trading firm into one of crypto's earliest institutional investors, why stablecoins and RWAs are becoming platforms rather than just products, and how vaults are emerging as a new institutional primitive. Aryan and Matt also break down what regulators still need to clarify around vaults and the CLARITY Act, why blockchains excel at coordinating capital and resources, and how crypto is uniquely positioned to price novel assets — from compute to perps — as stablecoins continue eating into the legacy payments market.

Join Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of crypto with special guest Alison Mangiero, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of U.S. Policy at the Crypto Council for Innovation. Listen in as they discuss the shifting regulatory landscape in Washington, why the GENIUS Act marked a turning point for digital assets, and what the CLARITY Act could mean for market structure, stablecoins, staking, and consumer protection. Alison breaks down how CCI works with lawmakers, why the banking lobby is pushing back, what still needs to happen before crypto legislation becomes law, and why tax policy may be the next major frontier for digital asset adoption.