Web3 with Sam Kamani

I sat down with Mehdi Lebbar, founder of yo.xyz (Yo Labs), to talk about how they're revolutionizing yield in DeFi. After raising over $10 million, Mehdi and his team built the Exponential Risk Framework—the best predictor of DeFi pool safety in the world. Pools rated A or B have a 0% probability of losing your money. We dive into how they assess risk across protocols, chains, and assets, why AI agents aren't ready for serious financial products, and why crypto offers freedom that AI never will. Mehdi shares his journey from traditional finance at Credit Suisse and the World Bank to discovering Bitcoin as the ultimate inflation hedge. We also discuss how DeFi is giving the unbanked access to savings, why Dubai's 'bubble' moments create opportunity, and what's next for multi-chain vaults. If you care about making DeFi accessible, safe, and truly decentralized, this episode is for you.
Key Points with timestamps
• [01:31] How Mehdi discovered Bitcoin in 2017 as a levered inflation hedge for his portfolio• [05:03] The gap in DeFi yield: too complicated and too risky for most people• [06:22] Exponential Risk Framework: A and B rated pools have 0% probability of loss• [07:04] Mapping DeFi as a risk graph with 100+ questions per protocol• [10:05] Building protocol-agnostic, chain-agnostic vaults for seamless yield• [14:30] Why algorithms beat curators and AI black boxes in financial products• [19:42] Founder lesson: take the ego out, sustain pain, stay optimistic• [21:43] Why crypto empowers the many while AI empowers the powerful• [24:14] Crypto is freedom—AI is control• [26:23] Real stories: how crypto enabled financial freedom during Dubai tensions• [30:26] Yo.xyz roadmap: ubiquitous multi-chain vaults and vaults-as-a-service
Connect with YO
https://www.yo.xyz/
https://x.com/yield
https://t.me/yo_protocol
Disclaimer
Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend.
Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/

In this episode, I sit down with Renee Davis from OpenMatter to explore the intersection of AI agents and blockchain infrastructure. We discuss why 51% of internet traffic is already agents, the critical security vulnerabilities in tools like OpenClaw, and how multi-party computation (MPC) enables privacy-preserving machine learning. Renee explains why crypto is essential for the agent economy—hint: credit cards can't handle micro-transactions like a two-cent payment. We also dive into OpenMatter's three pillars: masked computing, MatterML, and DataVisor, plus what's coming in the next 12 months. If you're building with AI agents or curious about the convergence of Web3 and AI, this conversation is packed with insights.

--- CONNECT ---
OpenMatter: https://onboard.openmatter.network

--- KEY POINTS WITH TIMESTAMPS ---
• [01:42] Renee's journey from enterprise analytics to DAOs and AI
• [03:11] AI and NLP have been around for decades—longer than most realize
• [04:42] OpenMatter solves agent hosting, ZK safety checks, and output compliance
• [08:17] Multi-party computation (MPC) explained: collaborative computing without sharing raw data
• [10:08] 51% of internet traffic is already agents or bots
• [14:42] Why agents need crypto: credit cards can't do micro-transactions like X402 can
• [16:29] DataVisor: one-click agent deployment with OpenClaw, IronClaw, ZeroClaw templates
• [19:17] Security guardrails for agents are still underdeveloped
• [21:52] OpenMatter is built on lattice-based cryptography—post-quantum safe
• [24:35] AI startups are in a bubble; many hinge on token prices from Claude or OpenAI
• [28:03] Roadmap: mainnet launch, MPC updates, MatterML SDK release, and hackathons
---DISCLAIMER---
Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend. Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/

In this episode, I sit down with Tony from Sumex, an OG who's been in crypto since 2016. He shares how they're tackling one of crypto's biggest problems: fragmentation. From managing 20 browser tabs to trade across exchanges, to juggling wallets across different chains, crypto is a mess for most users. Tony walks through how Sumex aggregates CEXs, DEXs, DeFi protocols, and analytics into one intuitive platform. He shares lessons from raising seven figures, hitting $100M in trading volume in just four weeks, and why simplicity beats feature bloat every time. We also dive into what's happening in 2026, why this cycle topped on apathy, and what trends like RWAs and prediction markets mean for retail adoption.
--- CONNECT ---
Sumex Website: https://sumex.io/
Sumex Platform: https://app.sumex.io/
Sumex on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/sumex

--- KEY POINTS WITH TIMESTAMPS ---
• [01:21] How Tony went from TradFi CFD and forex brokers into crypto in 2017
• [04:33] Running an ICO roadshow in 2018 and raising $12M during the boom
• [06:16] The core problem Sumex solves: crypto tribalism, fragmentation, and steep learning curves
• [07:17] Who Sumex is for: active crypto users across trading, investing, and DeFi
• [10:51] How they focused on building the best trading terminal first before expanding
• [15:25] Biggest technical challenge: every CEX and DEX has different APIs and documentation
• [18:45] Key trends in 2026: RWAs finally have institutional support and legal frameworks
• [22:35] Why this cycle topped on apathy and didn't bring in fresh retail blood like NFTs did
• [28:56] The feature Tony is most hyped about: the connection manager that aggregates everything
• [32:36] Four weeks in: 30,000 users, $100M in futures volume, and what's next
• [34:37] Sumex raised seven figures in pre-seed and is looking for strategic investors
Disclaimer
Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend.
Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/

I sat down with Jonathan Claudius from Asymmetric Research to talk about the security landscape in Web3. We covered the new vulnerabilities emerging from LLMs and AI agents, the easy wins every founder should implement today, and why security can't be confined to a two-week audit window. Jonathan shares real examples from their work with the Interchain Foundation, explains how to balance shipping speed with security rigor, and gives practical advice on building defense in depth. If you're building in this space, this conversation will change how you think about security.

• [01:03] How Asymmetric Research started from Jump Crypto and their shift to commercial engagements
• [04:52] Real incident: Preventing a DPRK hacking group infiltration at Interchain Foundation
• [08:18] New security threats from LLMs and AI agents - the offense vs defense arms race
• [10:08] Bug bounty programs seeing high-quality submissions from LLM-enabled attackers
• [13:46] Easy wins: Branch protection, security keys, linting, and static analysis tools
• [16:24] Balancing speed and security through defense in depth strategies
• [18:35] OpenClaw and AI agents creating new attack vectors like prompt injection
• [22:14] Laptop security basics: MDM and EDR solutions every team needs
• [25:19] Why Asymmetric focuses on human connection over productization
• [29:14] Founder lessons: Building finance and BD systems early

Asymmetric Research Website: https://asymmetric.re
Asymmetric Research Careers: https://asymmetric.re/career
Twitter/X: https://x.com/asymmetric_re

Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend.
Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/

In this episode, I sit down with William Quigley, co-founder of WAX and co-founder of Tether. We go deep into what is actually happening in crypto right now. We talk about stablecoins, gaming, startup strategy, market cycles, and why founders need insight more than hype. William shares hard-earned lessons from building early crypto products and explains where real value may come from next.
This is a must-listen for founders, builders, and anyone trying to understand where Web3 is heading. We unpack why stablecoins matter, why most internal innovation fails, why altcoin speculation looks weaker this cycle, and what kinds of businesses still have a real shot at winning.
Key points
00:00 — Intro to the episode and why this conversation matters for founders

01:24 — William’s path into crypto through virtual item trading in gaming

04:23 — Why gaming platforms resist asset portability and user ownership

05:26 — Why blockchain gaming adoption has been slower than expected

07:26 — Prediction markets, speculation, and why they are still niche

10:31 — How Tether started and the problem stablecoins were built to solve

13:28 — Why Tether’s model worked and why algorithmic stablecoins failed

17:07 — The future of stablecoins and the three models William sees winning

20:30 — Will non-USD stablecoins grow over time?

23:35 — Why FX fees are massive and how stablecoins can reduce that pain

27:06 — What recent crypto events reveal about institutional vs retail interest

29:14 — Why this cycle feels different and why altcoin season never fully arrived

34:32 — Sam’s view on AI helping chains build actual apps, not just more infra

37:42 — Why most internal innovation fails without real market insight

44:28 — How to think about fear, greed, and crypto sentiment

46:38 — If William started again today, what kind of business would he build?

50:26 — Sam on AI, quantum computing, and selling tools in the next tech wave

54:22 — Why timing matters as much as the idea itself

56:09 — Institutional capital, long-term adoption, and what may come next

Disclaimer
Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research.

It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on ApplePodcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend.
Be a guest on the podcast or contact us -⁠ https://www.web3pod.xyz/⁠