The Journey From Crypto Market Maker to Financial Powerhouse with Joshua Riezman of GSR
Release Date: 06/30/2026
From Wallets to Vaults - Understanding Institutional DeFi with Aryan Sheikhalian and Matt Casto of CMT Digital
DeFi Decoded
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...
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Crypto for Me, But Not for Thee? Why the Bank Lobby Wants to Neuter Crypto Regulations with Alison Mangiero of Crypto Council for Innovation
DeFi Decoded
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...
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The Journey From Crypto Market Maker to Financial Powerhouse with Joshua Riezman of GSR
DeFi Decoded
Join Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of crypto with special guest Joshua Riezman, Chief Legal & Strategy Officer of GSR. Listen in as they discuss how crypto-native firms like GSR are evolving from market makers into full-service financial institutions, why liquidity remains essential as stablecoins, RWAs, and tokenized assets scale, and how regulation is reshaping the global digital asset landscape. Josh also explains GSR’s expansion into advisory, venture, asset management, and capital markets, why tokenization could unlock new forms of global capital formation, and how on-chain...
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Can BONK Make Crypto Fun Again? With Nom of BONK
DeFi Decoded
Join Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of crypto with special guest Nom, Core Contributor of BONK. Listen in as they discuss how BONK emerged from the depths of the post-FTX bear market to help revive energy and community across Solana, why culture and fun still matter in an industry increasingly focused on institutions, ETFs, and regulation, and how meme coins can become lasting consumer brands when paired with real products, utility, and community participation. Nom also shares how BONK’s early airdrop strategy targeted Solana power users, why crypto’s next wave may depend on making...
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The New Laws of Money with Michael Egorov of Curve Finance
DeFi Decoded
Join Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of crypto with special guest Michael Egorov, Founder of Curve Finance. Listen in as they discuss how Curve pioneered decentralized liquidity infrastructure, the evolution of stablecoins and liquid staking, and how programmable blockchains are enabling entirely new financial systems. Michael shares his journey from physics to crypto entrepreneurship, explaining how his scientific background shaped his approach to building financial protocols from first principles and why automated market makers represent new “laws of physics” for money. The...
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Why the Banking “Super App” May Actually be a “Super dApp” with Kash Dhanda of Jupiter
DeFi Decoded
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Reimagining Financial Services from First Principles with Mike Cagney of Figure
DeFi Decoded
Join Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of crypto with special guest Mike Cagney, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Figure. Listen in as they discuss how Figure is using blockchain to rebuild capital markets from the ground up, why putting loans, ownership records, custody, and secondary trading onchain can make credit markets more efficient, and how DeFi capital can lower borrowing costs for real-world consumers. They also explore the limits of tokenization, what assets actually belong onchain, why L1 token value remains difficult to underwrite, how public equities and private credit...
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Can DeFi Survive the AI Age with Macbrennan Peet of Project 0
DeFi Decoded
Join Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of crypto with special guest Macbrennan Peet, Founder of Project 0. Listen in as they discuss why DeFi remains one of crypto’s most important experiments, how recent exploits like Drift and KelpDAO exposed both the risks and resilience of onchain finance, and why AI is increasing the urgency around security, auditing, and protocol design. They also explore how DeFi can become safer than traditional finance through transparency, circuit breakers, and open-source risk monitoring, why AI agents may become major users of crypto-native financial rails,...
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Prediction Markets, Gaming and the Attention Economy with Carlos Pereira of BITKRAFT Ventures
DeFi Decoded
Join Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of crypto with special guest Carlos Pereira, General Partner of BITKRAFT Ventures. Listen in as they discuss why gaming has always seemed like a natural on-ramp for crypto, why Web3 gaming has struggled to break through despite major investment, and how the broader gaming market’s battle for active attention has made the category even harder. They also explore how AI agents, gamified consumer apps, and prediction markets are reshaping internet-native entertainment, why game mechanics like quests, rankings, rewards, and community can drive retention...
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Why Advisors Finally Care About Crypto with Matt Hougan of Bitwise
DeFi Decoded
Join Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of crypto with special guest Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise Asset Management. Listen in as they discuss why crypto adoption among financial advisors is accelerating, how Bitcoin ETFs have opened the door for mainstream portfolio allocations, and why advisor personal ownership often comes before client allocations. They also explore the growing disconnect between crypto fundamentals and price action, why stablecoins and tokenization are becoming the key institutional narratives, how the CLARITY Act could unlock the next wave of...
info_outlineJoin Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of crypto with special guest Joshua Riezman, Chief Legal & Strategy Officer of GSR. Listen in as they discuss how crypto-native firms like GSR are evolving from market makers into full-service financial institutions, why liquidity remains essential as stablecoins, RWAs, and tokenized assets scale, and how regulation is reshaping the global digital asset landscape. Josh also explains GSR’s expansion into advisory, venture, asset management, and capital markets, why tokenization could unlock new forms of global capital formation, and how on-chain markets may eventually compete with Wall Street’s traditional investment banking model.