Episodes

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Marc Tillement, Director of the Pyth Data Association, an independent entity pursuing decentralized financial data distribution through the Pyth Network ecosystem. Together, they explore how Pyth Network aims to transform financial data distribution through its oracle network that serves over 100 blockchains. What you’ll learn: How traditional financial data distribution is controlled by 5-6 companies generating $30...

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Josh McIntyre, Chairperson of the CCE Committee at C4, a non-profit organization advancing the understanding and adoption of Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and secure private key management. Together, they explore essential blockchain security practices that both newcomers and veterans often overlook. What you’ll learn: How to evaluate your personal security threat model and build appropriate prote...

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Sam MacPherson, CEO and co-founder of Phoenix Labs, the R&D company behind the multi-chain DeFi platform Spark. What you’ll learn: How Spark Liquidity Layer helps solve cross-chain fragmentation by automatically deploying capital across multiple L2s Why the transition from DAI to USDS represents a strategic move to capture mainstream adoption The mechanics behind Spark's APY generation through diversified yield s...

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Aaluxx Myth, co-founder of Maya Protocol, a decentralized liquidity solution enabling native L1-to-L1 token swaps. What you’ll learn: How Maya Protocol's approach to cross-chain liquidity differs from THORChain The real-world impact of crypto in Latin America How Prop 6 transformed a potential $500M ecosystem collapse into a sustainable recovery solution Why pseudonymous founding teams can enhance security and p...

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Ryan Galvankar, the founder of Plaza Finance, a platform built on Base that is specializing in programmable derivatives. What you’ll learn: How traditional finance expertise shaped Plaza's approach to building decentralized derivatives Why Base was chosen as the L2 solution for Plaza's products The mechanics behind bondETH's stable 10% annual yield through quarterly coupon payments How levETH achieves "leverage ...

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Gregory Di Prisco, co-founder and Chief Architect at M0, a platform that aims to empower builders of application-specific stablecoins. What you’ll learn: Why the future of stablecoins may lie in modular infrastructure rather than monolithic issuers like Circle and Tether How M0's extension model enables partners to launch custom stablecoins while abstracting complexity The key differences between the GENIUS Act a...

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Paul Neuner, the Founder and CEO of Telcoin, acompany leveraging blockchain technology to provide low-cost DeFi products for mobile phone users globally, to explore how their Nebraska-based digital asset bank charter is reshaping the future of payments, stablecoins, and digital banking infrastructure.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Alan Orwick, the CEO of Dominant Strategies, a development entity creating tooling and applications on the Quai Network. What You’ll Learn: Why traditional stablecoins represent an "Achilles heel" for crypto How Quai Network's dual-token model (QUAI and QI) creates a complete monetary system with a store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account The surprising environmental benefits of PoW mining, includi...

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Ingo Ruebe, the founder of Kilt Protocol, a decentralized digital identity solution serving enterprises, governments, and consumers. What You’ll Learn: Why Web2 identity is fundamentally broken The difference between identity and identification How W3C standards are reshaping digital credentials Building resilient systems for defense and enterprise The power of owning your personal data Bridging traditional in...

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by David Hoffman, the co-founder and host of Bankless, a cryptocurrency media brand and community that focuses on educating and empowering individuals to navigate the decentralized financial landscape. Together, they discuss the evolution of crypto media, the challenges of maintaining editorial independence, and the misconceptions surrounding the intersection of for-profit media and venture capital in the blockchain space.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski sits down with Patrick Young, Head of Go-to-Market at Galxe, a leading platform for Web3 community growth and engagement. From their Quest system that's processed over 1.1 billion completions to their Galxe Passport identity solution, discover how Galxe is bridging the gap between Web2 and Web3 while preparing for the future of AI integration. Whether you're a blockchain project looking to build sticky communities or a developer interested in identity solutions, this conversation offers valuable insights into the evolution of Web3 engagement and the upcoming Gravity blockchain. Tune in to learn how Galxe's suite of tools is helping onboard the first billion users to Web3.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Joe Doll, general counsel at Magic Eden, a leading cross-chain NFT marketplace. Together, they explore the evolving U.S. regulatory landscape under the new administration, Magic Eden's growth story, the future of NFTs, and why stablecoins could be the key to mass crypto adoption.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Eli Cohen, general counsel at Centrifuge, a platform for tokenized real-world assets. Together, they explore the evolving landscape of RWAs on-chain, the intersection of TradFi and DeFi, DAO governance, and the promising outlook for RWAs amid changing U.S. regulatory landscapes.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Zac Williamson, CEO and co-founder of Aztec, a startup operating in the blockchain technology space focusing on privacy. Together, they dive into the evolution of ZK technology, the importance of privacy in blockchain, and the exciting developments leading up to Aztec's Mainnet launch in 2025.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Mingchao (Fisher) Yu, co-founder and CTO of Babylon Labs, a non-custodial staking protocol that uses the underlying value of Bitcoin to secure a variety of proof-of-stake networks. Together, they dive into Bitcoin's previous limitations in providing liquidity to Defi protocols, how Babylon aims to turn Bitcoin into a first-class staking asset, Babylon's approach to bridging into other ecosystems, the team's multi-phased approach to launching its protocol, and so much more.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Alexei Zamyatin, co-founder of BOB, a Layer 2 blockchain aiming to combine the security of Bitcoin with the versatility of Ethereum. Together, they discuss how BitVM empowers building in the Bitcoin ecosystem, how Bitcoin and Ethereum mutually benefit one another, Bitcoin's developer renaissance, bridging solutions and their trust assumptions, forthcoming Bitcoin-enabled applications, and so much more.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Lombard co-founder Jacob Phillips. Together, they discuss how Bitcoin's market capitalization is an ideal solution for DeFi's need for liquidity, the differences in the mentality of deploying Bitcoin as an asset into DeFi versus deploying other assets like Ether, building on the Babylon staking protocol, upcoming Lombard releases, and much more.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by LunarCrush co-founders Joe Vezzani and Jon Farjo. Together, they discuss how social media metrics can help determine the appetite for specific digital assets, the metrics and categories that LunarCrush follows, how AI has improved the team's ability and processes, the forthcoming rise of AI agents, and so much more.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Mounir Benchemled, founder and CEO of ParaSwap, a platform in the decentralized finance landscape. Together, they explore what ParaSwap is bringing to the DeFi space, delve into the technical challenges of building on blockchain, and discuss the future of decentralized exchanges. Mounir also shares his vision for driving mass crypto adoption through scalable infrastructure and user-centric experiences.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Anthony Day, head of strategy and marketing at Midnight, a Layer 1 protocol developed by Input Output (IOHK). Together, they discuss the importance of data protection and privacy, why Web3 needs to be professionalized for mass adoption, the value of blockchain for enterprise and large-scale entities, and how Midnight is building itself to be a fourth-generation blockchain network.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Ganesh Swami, CEO and co-founder of Covalent to discuss blockchain data infrastructure, AI integration, and the evolution of Ethereum. They explore how Covalent is helping bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3, the importance of decentralized infrastructure for AI, and the development of tools like the Ethereum Wayback Machine.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by JP Thor, Founder of THORChain. They explore how close we are to mainstream crypto adoption, THORChain's user-friendly features, why SwapKit could be the key to decentralized wallet integration, and how THORChain approaches cross-chain swaps.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Fabian Gompf, Chief Executive Officer of the Web3 Foundation. They dive into Polkadot's early days, how Parity drives Polkadot's ecosystem forward, and why enterprise giants are eyeing Polkadot. Fabian also shares applicable and less applicable uses for blockchain technologies, modular versus monolithic blockchains, and the recent uproar about the Polkadot ecosystem’s treasury spending.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Ken Timsit, head of Cronos Labs. They discuss crypto as a viable solution to modern banking, the relationships between centralized exchanges and their blockchain ecosystem counterparts, and the regulatory environment and political influence on crypto policy. Ken also shares insights about the Cronos tri-blockchain ecosystem, lessons learned from building on the zkEVM and Cosmos tech stacks, and the forthcoming Cronos triple yield-bearing thesis for the zkCRO token.