Earlier this week we published The State of DeFi Curation 2026, the most comprehensive analysis of curated onchain markets to date.

Read the Full report: https://research.vaults.fyi/defi-curation/

Summary on X (Likes & Retweets appreciated):

Built entirely from vaults.fyi API data, the report maps $11.29B across 856 vaults, 131 curators and 18 protocols. It examines who manages the capital, what the vaults hold and how risk moves through the market.

A few findings:

• Curated TVL grew 39% over the past year while supply-side DeFi TVL fell 41.8%. Its share of the market increased from 5.24% to 12.51%.

• Five curators manage 69.3% of curated TVL. The top ten manage 79.1%.

• Morpho holds 46.2% of measured curated TVL. The remaining 53.8% is spread across 17 other protocols.

• Bitcoin-backed assets account for 54.1% of the $3.71B held by Morpho’s 25 largest curated stablecoin vaults.

• Two large vaults managed by different curators had 94.7% portfolio overlap

The report also covers underlying collateral, holder concentration, liquidity, manager discretion, yield composition and the differences between curation models.

This framework will need continued refinement. These products remain difficult to compare, the boundaries of curation are still unsettled and the market continues to change quickly.

All the data used in the report is available through the vaults.fyi API. Please get in touch if you have questions, think we missed something or would like to work with our team.

Read the full report: https://research.vaults.fyi/defi-curation/

Subscribe now

Guest Links

• Jérôme de Tychey: https://x.com/jdetychey

• EthCC: https://x.com/EthCC

• Ethereum France: https://x.com/Ethereum_France

• EIP-8363 discussion thread: https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/eip-8363-tapered-issuance-burn/29263

• Issuance research index: https://issuance.wtf/

Host Links

• Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh

• Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi

• API Docs: https://docs.vaults.fyi/

Subscribe to the Podcast

• SUBSCRIBE: https://wallfacer.io/podcast

Timestamps

[00:00] Intro

[01:13] Why issuance, and why now

[02:22] Ethereum’s history of cutting issuance, from 5 ETH blocks to the Merge

[04:29] The original curve was set before LSTs and ETFs existed

[07:17] Justin Drake on why the topic stalled, and “impossible is not French”

[09:20] How the proposal came together, and the shape of the curve

[12:44] What actually breaks above a 50 percent staking ratio

[13:35] Slashing risk, LSTs, and the bailout expectation

[18:15] Economic finality, and why 20 to 30 percent is the target

[25:48] Why the diversity of the validator set matters more than the ratio

[28:26] The Nakamoto coefficient, and contestability over concentration

[30:28] “That was our own fault”: walking back the solo staker claim

[32:58] Talking to SharpLink, Bitmine, and the ETF issuers

[35:25] The coupon versus the principal, and what Grayscale pushed for

[39:48] Store of value, looping, and what ETH actually gets used for

[45:14] Monetary neutrality, and comparing ETH issuance to Bitcoin

[50:00] What he has changed his mind on since publishing

[52:05] The missing cascade model, and early signs of convergence

[54:41] Where to follow the debate

Guest Links

• corn: https://x.com/omgcorn

• Yearn: https://x.com/yearnfi

• Connor Flanagan: https://x.com/cflan_

• Birch Hill: https://x.com/BirchHill_io

• Groma: https://x.com/GromaCorp

Host Links

• Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh

• Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi

• API Docs: https://docs.vaults.fyi/

Subscribe to Wallfacer Podcast

• https://wallfacer.io/podcast

Timestamps

• [00:31] What does the word “vault” even mean anymore?

• [02:21] Birch Hill’s thesis: bringing credit origination onchain

• [07:01] Yearn is onchain to the core. Why work on offchain collateral?

• [08:32] corn on the three tiers of vaults, and which one produced Stream Finance

• [12:09] The spectrum of discretion, and whether KYC kills composability

• [16:35] “I don’t think every vault is a security”

• [18:02] What genuinely can’t be built onchain yet

• [19:05] Which RWAs actually work onchain, and why fungibility decides it

• [22:58] Modular lending markets as the new bootstrapping mechanism

• [25:16] The Stream test: how to spot the next blowup

• [27:03] Do curators inevitably push out the risk curve until they blow up?

• [30:35] The Groma launch, and rent vesting as a renter’s mortgage

• [38:22] Going live: permissioning, accredited checks, and discounted NAV oracles

• [44:21] Why Yearn curates on Morpho

• [44:35] What “institutional curator” actually means

• [48:06] What’s next: new asset classes, yearn V4, and why CLARITY timing matters

Today’s guests are Ivo Georgiev and Dimo Stoyanov, co-founders of Ambire and heyAura, who have been building together for 13 years, from Stremio to AdEx to a smart-account wallet. We get into why the “next billion” wallet thesis stalled and why Ambire instead built for the chronically on-chain, how the Ethereum Foundation’s Kohaku privacy initiative ended up built on Ambire, and why an AI agent living inside your wallet could make protocol interfaces, discovery, and even vaults obsolete. Along the way, Ivo argues that people trust user interfaces more than they trust smart contracts, and that almost everything in crypto is really just a swap.

Guest Links

• Ivo Georgiev: https://twitter.com/Ivshti

• Dimo Stoyanov: https://twitter.com/_DimoStoyanov

• Ambire: https://twitter.com/AmbireWallet

• heyAura: https://twitter.com/heyaura

Host Links

• Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh

• Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi

• API Docs: https://docs.vaults.fyi/introduction

Subscribe

https://www.wallfacer.io/podcast

Timestamps

• [00:00] Intro

• [00:34] How Ivo and Dimo met, Stremio, and the start of AdEx

• [02:03] Why the ad network had to be built on Ethereum

• [03:32] From AdEx to Ambire: onboarding people who’d never used a wallet

• [06:02] The wallet market and who Ambire is really for

• [10:10] Accounts vs. wallets, and unsustainable embedded-wallet pricing

• [12:07] Shipping EIP-7702 first, and why it enabled Ambire’s growth

• [16:06] Kohaku: the Ethereum Foundation’s privacy initiative built on Ambire

• [19:12] The Safe integration, and trusting UIs over smart contracts

• [22:47] heyAura’s origin, and putting discovery and security into the agent

• [26:47] Smart sessions, and running an agent on your existing wallet

• [29:12] Prompt injection, and finding the use case people actually want

• [32:42] Can an agent replace the vault? Personalization vs. capital efficiency

• [35:24] Local models, order flow, and opaque addresses

• [37:31] heyAura’s top use cases and the year ahead

• [40:45] The business of wallets: why everything is a swap

• [45:05] Closing

Today’s guest is David Reising, founder and CEO of Lotus Protocol. Ryan and David get into why isolated lending markets keep converging on the same handful of pairs, how Lotus prices risk on liquidation thresholds, and why the recent string of DeFi exploits (Aave, Resolv, Stream Finance) is forcing a real rethink of how curators underwrite collateral. They also cover productive debt and the LotusUSD base rate, what David learned relaunching hyETH on Morpho with Gauntlet at Index Coop, and the case for going direct to markets in an agentic world.

Guest Links

• David Reising: https://twitter.com/Davidareising

• Lotus Protocol: https://x.com/LotusFi_

• Lotus Labs: https://lotuslabs.net

Host Links

• Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh

• Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi

• API Docs: https://docs.vaults.fyi/

Subscribe to Wallfacer Podcast

https://wallfacer.io/podcast

Timestamps

• [00:00] Intro and what Lotus is

• [01:18] Pricing risk on liquidation thresholds, not collateral quality

• [04:47] The Morpho cbBTC market example and the case for tranched lending

• [08:24] Designing for borrowers, not just lenders

• [11:09] Embedded borrow, predictable rates, and what integrators want

• [16:09] Risk frameworks and the limits of curator diligence after recent exploits

• [18:43] Why collateral expansion will slow down in curated markets

• [20:08] Lotus vaults: conservative, balanced, and aggressive

• [24:24] Credora ratings and how onchain liquidity reprices risk

• [27:48] Productive debt, cascading liquidity, and the LotusUSD base rate

• [31:00] Senior vs junior demand, Ajna, and tick based lending

• [34:24] Index Coop, relaunching hyETH on Morpho, and what scaled

• [39:30] Operational intensity of the curator model

• [41:48] Going direct to markets in an agentic world

• [45:07] Launch timeline, pre-deposits, and subsidized borrow rates

Today’s guest is Joey Isaacson, co-founder and CEO of Nook, a consumer savings app that connects everyday users to DeFi lending markets on Base. Joey spent five years at Coinbase leading design on earn, staking, and lending before building Nook to reach the 99.9% of people who’ve never touched DeFi. We talk about finding users on TikTok and Reddit instead of Crypto Twitter, why Nook won’t force-rebalance your funds, and how to build a business in consumer crypto.

Guest Links

• Joey Isaacson: https://twitter.com/joeyisaacson

• Nook: https://earnwithnook.com

• Nook Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nookearnapp/

Host Links

• Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh

• Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi

Subscribe

https://www.wallfacer.io/podcast

Timestamps

• [00:00] Intro

• [00:13] What is Nook and why Joey built it

• [01:13] Who the actual Nook user is

• [04:50] Distribution: TikTok, Reddit, Meta, and creator partnerships

• [08:00] Short-form content strategy and the three-second hook

• [10:24] Onboarding, trust, and starting with $5

• [13:45] Progressive disclosure: reputation scores, auto-deposits, building trust over time

• [16:21] What builds trust fastest: referrals, cash bonuses, real faces

• [19:43] Coinbase and the earn landscape: feature vs. product

• [23:19] Risk after a wild weekend: Resolv, Drift, Kelp, and Aave liquidity

• [29:05] How rebalancing works: Privy, CCTP, individual wallets vs. supervaults

• [33:21] Business model: curator revenue shares, yield compression, and exchange fees

• [40:55] Magic wand: cross-chain movement and insurance

• [44:29] Roadmap: multiple positions, multiple assets, OpenCover coverage

Today’s guests are Arthur Breitman (co-founder of Tezos), Owen (Hasheur) Simonin (CEO of Meria), and Dmitriy Kovalevskiy (founder of Hanji). Recorded live at TezDev 2026 in Cannes, the panel covers why crypto yields remain structurally higher than traditional markets, the real obstacles keeping fintechs from offering DeFi yield, and whether tokenized commodities or tokenized stocks will drive the next wave of adoption.

Guest Links

• Arthur Breitman: https://twitter.com/ArthurB

• Tezos: https://tezos.com

• Etherlink: https://etherlink.com

• Owen Simonin (Hasheur): https://twitter.com/PowerHasheur

• Meria: https://meria.com

• Dmitriy Kovalevskiy: https://twitter.com/dmitrytez

• Hanji: https://hanji.io

Host Links

• Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh

• Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi

Subscribe and share with friends:

• https://www.wallfacer.io/podcast ← Apple, YouTube, Spotify, and more!

Timestamps

• [00:00] Introductions

• [00:33] What’s still holding fintechs back from offering DeFi yield

• [02:02] Why crypto yields are structurally higher than traditional markets

• [03:35] Two types of yield seekers: high yield chasers vs. reliability seekers

• [04:26] Celsius, Resolv, and the new wave of on-chain risk

• [07:08] Fixed-term lending: is there real demand beyond institutions?

• [09:28] RWAs in the earn stack: commodities vs. real estate vs. T-bills

• [12:06] Retail is attention-driven: the case for adding oil and macro assets

• [13:25] Collateral diversity and why it starts with user demand

• [14:27] The Robinhood of DeFi yield and Meria’s approach

• [16:07] Regulator conversations: custody, staking risk categories, and MiCA

• [19:46] Who are your users in two years? B2B2C, crypto natives, and new populations

• [23:53] Etherlink’s DeFi growth and vaults.fyi integration

• [24:04] Stablecoins as the onramp: why DEX trading will be easier than brokerage trading

• [25:25] Tokenized stocks: the NVIDIA problem and long-tail assets

• [29:23] Building the everything-app vs. staying specialized

• [31:30] What each panelist is most excited about in crypto right now

Guest Links

• Jeremiah Smith: https://twitter.com/itsJeremiahS

• OpenCover: https://opencover.com

• Nexus Mutual: https://nexusmutual.io

Host Links

• Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh

• Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi

Subscribe and share with friends:

• https://www.wallfacer.io/podcast ← Apple, YouTube, Spotify, and more!

Timestamps

• [00:00] Intro and OpenCover’s founding story

• [03:54] The “DeFi mullet” app that preceded OpenCover

• [06:40] Celsius, BlockFi, and why self-custody won

• [08:29] What OpenCover does and doesn’t underwrite

• [10:26] Yield compression and the challenge of scaling DeFi yield

• [13:01] How much DeFi capital is actually insured today

• [16:20] Why DeFi insurance adoption is so low

• [19:45] Tranching, TrueFi, and the structural shortage of conservative capital

• [22:14] OpenCover’s two verticals: protocol risk and transaction risk

• [26:01] How covered vaults work: stake, cover on, unstake, cover off

• [28:56] Premium streaming, rate dynamics, and whether insurance only works in high-rate environments

• [33:13] The Resolv USR fallout and contagion risk across Morpho vaults

• [34:46] The xUSD / Stream Finance claims payout, end to end

• [37:13] How underwriting and repricing works for Morpho vaults

• [40:00] Risk ratings vs. risk transfer: why insurance beats scores

• [43:37] The Nexus Mutual underwriting stack: syndicates, capacity, and claims

• [49:51] Who insures the insurers? Smart contract risk on the covered vault itself

• [51:13] What success looks like: embedded protection as the default

Today’s guest is Octave Mesnard, Head of Strategy and Consumer Products at Jumper Exchange. We discuss Jumper’s evolution from a thin cross-chain swap interface into a full on-chain consumer hub, the real challenges of building consumer DeFi products at the right time, and why Octave thinks the multi-chain future will consolidate around far fewer chains than anyone expected.

GUEST LINKS:

• Octave Mesnard: https://twitter.com/octavionotpunk

• Jumper Exchange: https://jumper.exchange

• Jumper Exchange on X: https://x.com/JumperExchange

• Jumper Earn: https://jumper.exchange/earn

Learn how Jumper leverages the vaults.fyi API: https://docs.vaults.fyi/general/case-studies/jumper-earn

HOST LINKS:

• Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh

• Vaults.fyi: https://app.vaults.fyi/

• Build with our APIs: https://docs.vaults.fyi

SUBSCRIBE:

• Apple

• Spotify

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WallfacerLabs

• Substack: https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com/s/podcast

TIMESTAMPS:

[00:00] Introduction

[00:39] What was your initial foray into crypto?

[02:17] Are there any parallels between catastrophe bonds and crypto insurance?

[05:43] Tell us about Valha and Kook Exchange — what did you set out to solve?

[09:10] You had both an API and a consumer interface — was that intentional?

[12:05] Before joining LiFi, you were already working with them. How did that come about and how did you end up joining?

[13:34] When you joined, did you already have a vision for what you wanted Jumper to become?

[15:23] How do you think about where Jumper goes from here — browser, desktop, mobile?

[19:43] Does the Robinhood comparison resonate — one place where users manage everything?

[22:07] Who actually is the “normie” user in crypto?

[23:42] So Jumper started as a thin layer on LiFi’s stack — is Earn the attempt to thicken that?

[26:21] How have you thought about curation on Jumper Earn — what gets listed and what stays out?

[29:10] How do you think about risk scoring more broadly across DeFi?

[34:46] What are your concerns around RWAs coming into DeFi?

[37:28] How do you view the competitive landscape for swapping and bridging today?

[40:22] How did you think about working with vaults.fyi and how do you approach partnerships generally?

[42:01] Outside of your role at Jumper, what’s catching your attention in DeFi right now?

[44:22] You work in interoperability — do you have a contrarian view on the multi-chain future?

[48:58] What is the origin of

GUEST LINKS:

• Sébastien Derivaux: https://twitter.com/SebVentures

• Steakhouse Financial: https://twitter.com/SteakhouseFi

• Steakhouse Financial Website: https://steakhouse.financial

HOST LINKS:

• Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh

• Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi

• Vaults.fyi X: https://x.com/vaultsfyi

• Wallfacer X: https://x.com/wallfacerlabs

SUBSCRIBE TO WALLFACER PODCAST AND SHARE WITH FRIENDS:

• Apple

• Spotify

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WallfacerLabs

• Substack: https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com/s/podcast

TIMESTAMPS:

• [00:00] Introduction & Background

• [02:20] MakerDAO’s Early RWA Experiments: Société Générale, Centrifuge & Lessons Learned

• [10:02] The Economics of RWAs: Cost Savings, Efficiency & What Actually Works On-Chain

• [16:31] Why Crypto Needs RWAs: Yield Sources, Composability & Liquidity Challenges

• [24:20] The mF-ONE Controversy: What Happened & How to Think About Private Credit Risk

• [31:00] Commercial Break

• [34:17] Risk Management Philosophy: Lenders vs. Investors & Diversification Strategy

• [42:46] Comparing RWA Risk to Crypto Collateral & Evolution of Market Perception

• [48:53] Building Steakhouse: Three Business Pillars & Becoming a Morpho Curator

• [51:45] The Future of Curation: Market Structure, Competition & Traditional Finance Entry

• [57:08] Vault Governance: Non-Custodial Design & How Morpho Captures Value

• [59:58] Grove Protocol & Sky’s Star System: Decentralized Allocation Strategy

• [1:04:33] Looking Ahead: Term Lending, Yield Curves & 10-Year Vision

GUEST LINKS:

• Andrew Keys: https://x.com/AK_EtherMachine

• The Ether Machine: https://x.com/TheEtherMachine

• DARMA Capital: https://x.com/darmacapital

HOST LINKS:

• Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh

• Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi

SUBSCRIBE SECTION: Subscribe to Wallfacer Podcast and share with friends:

• Apple/Spotify: https://www.wallfacer.io/podcast

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WallfacerLabs

• Substack: https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com/s/podcast

TIMESTAMPS:

• [00:18] Andrew's Background & Early Ethereum Journey

• [05:39] ETFs vs Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs)

• [08:15] North Star Metric: Ether Concentration Per Share

• [09:54] Institutional Investor Education & Market Response

• [10:25] Ethereum's Evolving Narrative & Stablecoin Product-Market Fit

• [12:40] Ethereum's Market Dominance in High-Quality Liquid Assets

• [16:57] DARMA Capital's Institutional Staking Business

• [20:35] Why Go Public: Philosophy vs Opportunity

• [22:46] Regulatory Environment & Long-Term Vision

• [23:54] Clean Corporate Structure Strategy

• [28:10] The Future of Altcoin DATs & Market Sustainability

• [29:36] Lessons Learned: From Naive Decentralization to Meeting People Where They Are

Rob shares insights on building automated asset-liability matching systems and his vision for bringing TradFi capital into crypto through superior yield optimization.

GUEST LINKS:

• Rob Montgomery: https://twitter.com/RobAnon94

• InfiniFi: https://infinifi.xyz

• InfiniFi on X: https://x.com/infiniFi_

HOST LINKS:

• Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://x.com/ryanrodenbaugh

• Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi

• vaults.fyi on X: https://x.com/vaultsfyi

Subscribe to Wallfacer Podcast and share with friends:

• Apple / Spotify: https://www.wallfacer.io/podcast

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WallfacerLabs

• Substack: https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com/s/podcast

TIMESTAMPS:

• [01:01] InfiniFi's Timeline & Rapid Growth

• [02:47] Capital Composition - Retail vs Institutional

• [05:52] What is InfiniFi?

• [08:00] How Duration Users Get Higher Yields

• [09:31] Tranching Analogy & How It Works

• [10:33] Portfolio Selection & Governance Process

• [17:58] Complex Governance Structure Vision

• [21:24] Risk Assessment & Due Diligence Process

• [23:34] Duration Asset Adoption in Crypto

• [27:59] The Pendle Relationship & Symbiosis

• [29:38] Background on Resonate vs Pendle

• [31:03] Why Haven't Competitors Built This?

• [33:14] Network Effects & Defensibility

• [34:35] RWA Vision & Tokenizer Strategy

• [39:14] Revenue Model & Performance Fees

• [40:54] What Haven't I Asked About?

• [41:22] Success Metrics Beyond TVL

GUEST LINKS:

• John Morrow: https://x.com/jmo_mx

• Holt Butler: https://x.com/0xhotl

• Gauntlet: https://x.com/gauntlet_xyz

• https://gauntlet.xyz

• Gauntlet USD Alpha: https://app.gauntlet.xyz/vaults/gtusda

HOST LINKS:

• Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh

• Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi

• gtUSDa on vaults.fyi: https://app.vaults.fyi/opportunity/base/0x000000000001CdB57E58Fa75Fe420a0f4D6640D5

• Wallfacer: https://x.com/wallfacerlabs

SUBSCRIBE SECTION: Subscribe to Wallfacer Podcast and share with friends:

• Apple / Spotify: https://www.wallfacer.io/podcast

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WallfacerLabs

• Substack: https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com/s/podcast

TIMESTAMPS:

• [00:13] Gauntlet's Evolution: From Risk Models to Vault Management

• [07:14] Defining the Vault Curator Role

• [14:50] Behind the Scenes: Vault Management Operations

• [17:54] Aera Protocol & Gauntlet USD Alpha Launch

• [25:20] Institutional vs Retail Capital Allocation

• [33:04] Customer Relationships & Platform Ownership

• [36:56] Real World Assets & Cross-Chain Strategies

• [46:25] DeFi Lending Competition: Morpho vs Aave

• [49:26] Gaming, Tokenized Assets & Future DeFi Use Cases

GUEST LINKS:

• Ivan Kozlov: https://x.com/Iv4n_Ko

• Resolv Protocol: https://x.com/ResolvLabs

• Resolv Journey (Roadmap): https://resolv.xyz/journey

HOST LINKS:

• Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh

• Vaults.fyi: https://twitter.com/vaultsfyi

• Wallfacer: https://x.com/wallfacerlabs

SUBSCRIBE SECTION: Subscribe to Wallfacer Podcast and share with friends:

• Apple

• Spotify

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WallfacerLabs

• Substack: https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com/s/podcast

TIMESTAMPS:

[00:00] Background & Journey from Nuclear Physics to DeFi

[03:15] Why TradFi Products Fail in Crypto

[09:39] What is Resolv Protocol

[14:56] Tranching Mechanics & Risk Segregation

[24:27] Market Segmentation & Risk Profiles

[29:53] Distribution Strategy & Go-to-Market

[40:01] Multi-Chain Expansion Philosophy

[48:17] Future Yield Sources Beyond Delta Neutral

[54:26] Five-Year Vision & Market Size Predictions

Guests:

• DeFi Dad: https://twitter.com/DeFi_Dad

• Nomatic: https://twitter.com/nomaticcap

• The Edge Podcast: https://x.com/edge_pod

• The Edge Newsletter: https://the-edge.xyz

Host:

• Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh

• Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi

Subscribe to Wallfacer Podcast and share with friends:

• Spotify:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WallfacerLabs

• Substack: https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com/s/podcast

Show Notes:

[00:00] Intro & Origins

[05:02] Nomatic's Backstory

[10:33] The Bitcoin Foundation

[16:14] Modern Blockchain Philosophy

[24:59] Ethereum Sentiment & Conviction

[31:26] Ethereum's Path Forward

[37:45] The User Advantage

[40:39] Storytelling vs. Reality Problem

[46:39] DeFi Evolution: The Curator Model

[55:20] Portfolio Examples & Strategy

[1:00:40] DeFi Tokens in Top 20 Problem

[1:11:25] Future Bets & Trends

[1:21:21] App Layer Thesis

[1:26:29] Mispriced Opportunities

[1:27:32] Wrap-up & Where to Find Them

Subscribe now

Today’s guest is Dion Chu, Co-founder and CEO of Term Finance, a fixed-rate lending protocol. Term has raised over 7mm led by Electric Capital. Their token just recently went live and is trading on top exchanges like Kraken

• Ryan: https://x.com/RyanRodenbaugh

• Wallfacer: https://x.com/wallfacerlabs

• Vaults.fyi: https://x.com/vaultsfyi

• Dion Chu: https://x.com/dionchu

• Term Labs: https://x.com/term_labs

Timestamps:

• 00:09 - Introduction to Dion Chu and Term Finance

• 00:28 - What Term Finance does and what makes it unique in the lending space

• 01:04 - The auction mechanism and insights that led to Term Finance's approach

• 06:04 - How treasury auction mechanisms were adapted for DeFi

• 09:02 - Potential for collusion in auction markets 10:29 - Supply and demand dynamics in Term Finance's market

• 13:02 - Approaches to cultivating more lending capital

• 15:03 - Impact of low variable rates across DeFi on Term's rates

• 18:18 - Overview of Term's product suite (auctions, blue sheets, meta vaults)

• 21:43 - Collateral preferences and makeup from borrowers

• 23:26 - Cross-chain expansion and differences between Ethereum and Avalanche

• 27:14 - Selling points for institutional capital and family offices

• 28:56 - Security benefits of Term's architecture

• 31:18 - Token launch learnings and advice for other founders

• 36:24 - Next innovations and improvements planned for Term

• 37:31 - Original vision of success and how goals have evolved

• Nik: https://x.com/nomos_paradox

• Chronicle: https://x.com/ChronicleLabs

• Ryan: https://twitter.com/RyanRodenbaugh

• Wallfacer: https://x.com/wallfacerlabs

• vaults.fyi: https://twitter.com/vaultsfyi

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Introduction to Nik Kunkel and Chronicle Labs

• 00:19 Nik's journey from IBM Hyperledger to MakerDAO

• 03:27 Joining MakerDAO and the origins of SAI

• 04:57 Early challenges with stablecoins and off-ramping

• 06:54 The early days at MakerDAO and infrastructure challenges

• 10:06 Introduction to Chronicle Labs and its origins

• 14:32 Oracle scalability challenges and solutions

• 17:05 Validator roles and the importance of identity

• 20:44 How validators collect and report data across protocols

• 21:58 How apps and chains choose Oracle providers

• 27:24 Metrics for comparing Oracle providers

• 30:24 Understanding Oracle business models

• 37:03 Different pricing approaches for Oracle services

• 40:33 Chronicle's focus on real-world assets (RWAs)

• 46:21 Fungible vs. non-fungible RWAs and growth potential

• 51:11 Chronicle's role in the Spark Grand Prix and Verified Asset Oracle

• 55:32 Future evolution of the Oracle space

• 58:37 The Chronicle points program and staking

• Sam: https://x.com/hexonaut

• Spark: https://x.com/sparkdotfi

• Ryan: https://twitter.com/RyanRodenbaugh

• Wallfacer: https://x.com/wallfacerlabs

• vaults.fyi: https://twitter.com/vaultsfyi

Timestamps: 

• 00:00: Introduction and Sam's Journey to MakerDAO

• 03:05: Idealism vs. Practicality in Protocol Evolution

• 09:10: The SubDAO Model and Spark's Genesis

• 15:30: The Role of Spark in the Sky Ecosystem

• 18:50: Spark Liquidity Layer Innovation

• 24:10: The Banking Analogy and Value Distribution

• 29:10: The Stablecoin Landscape and Tether's Dominance

• 34:19: Cross-Chain Expansion and Bridge Infrastructure

• 36:40: Competitive Dynamics in DeFi

• 39:40: RWA Integration and the Grand Prix

• 45:40: Spark's Future and Value Capture

• 49:50: Closing Remarks and Ways to Follow

Please like, subscribe, and share with a friend! 

Ryan chats with Luca Prosperi about reimagining the financial stack from first principles, why separation between money creation and distribution matters, and how M^0's enables both DeFi protocols and fintech apps to build better products.

Follow our guests: 

• https://x.com/LucaProsperi

• https://x.com/m0foundation

And try out Wallfacer’s latest release: https://app.vaults.fyi

Follow our host: 

• https://twitter.com/RyanRodenbaugh

• https://warpcast.com/ryanrodenbaugh.eth

Timestamps

• 00:00 - Luca's crypto red pill

• 03:03 - The philosophy of money

• 07:21 - Understanding modern banking

• 12:14 - Reflections on working with MakerDAO

• 17:24 - The current state of RWAs

• 21:52 - The belief behind M^0

• 30:28 - $M's role as wholesale money

• 38:04 - How M^0 manages collateral

• 41:40 - Composability and $M

• 44:47 - M^0's pitch for GTM success

• 47:37 - The economics of stablecoin issuers

• 53:58 - M^0's two token governance model

• 58:32 - The economics of M^0

• 1:00:52 - Levelling up crypto monetary infrastructure

• 1:04:27 - Closing predictions on DeFi

• Looking at this week's yields on the vaults.fyi app, Revert Lend USDC leads again with 16.92% APY. Savings USDS maintains 12.50% APY via the Sky Savings Rate on both mainnet and Base. Gauntlet USDC Core and Ethena Staked USDe follow at 12.05% and 11.61% respectively. Connect your wallet to the app and start earning from leading DeFi protocols in under 60 seconds!

  

• Our analytics dashboard showcases even higher opportunities, with Ajna Pool YFI/DAI leading with 65.40% APY and Yearn-Ajna DAI Vault at 40.63%. Silo crvUSD and multiple Euler vaults maintain yields above 20% APY. These high-performing vaults will be progressively integrated into the vaults.fyi app for direct deposits and position tracking!

  

• For vaults with >$50M TVL, MEV Capital Usual USDC leads at 14.78%, followed by Savings Dai on Gnosis Chain at 13.96% and Resolv USDC at 13.61%. Smokehouse and Syrup USDC round out the top 5 with 13.47% and 12.90% respectively.

  

• Blue-chip DeFi yields continue trending down amid market volatility, as shown by our USD benchmark rate (weighted average of Aave v3 USDT/USDC, Compound v3 USDC, and Savings Dai). Keep an eye on our Chart Explorer to track the benchmark and spot when this trend reverses 👀

  

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