# Open Interest > Conversations with founders and funds in AI and crypto, the people taking the risk and the people pricing it. Recorded live at conferences around the world. Hosted by Kinsa Durst and Josh Han. The story before it settles. 23 conversations published between 2026-10-27 and 2026-11-11, each with chapters, a transcript and links to watch or listen. Last updated 2026-11-11 with OI 023. Season 1 was recorded at TOKEN2049 Singapore, co-sponsored by Kraken and Codex. ## Conversations - [OI 023 · Building an Exchange That Wins With Its Traders: Justin Ma and John Lee on Vest](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/justin-ma-john-lee-vest/): Justin Ma, Vest. Justin Ma and John Lee on the research behind Vest, its funded-account model and bringing perpetual futures to equities. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-11. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/justin-ma-john-lee-vest.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 022 · Turning Trading Fees Into a Treasury: DeFi Dave on United Founders Group](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/defi-dave-united-founders-group/): DeFi Dave, United Founders Group. DeFi Dave on capturing trading fees in a shared treasury, token incentives and giving online communities something to build together. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-11. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/defi-dave-united-founders-group.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 021 · Bringing Ethereum Apps to Canton: Heslin Kim on Building Zenith](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/heslin-kim-zenith/): Heslin Kim, Zenith. From Polymath and Tokeny to Zenith: bringing Ethereum applications to the Canton Network, why institutional capital still sits on isolated ledgers, what tokenized bonds could unlock as collateral, and what privacy really means. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-10. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/heslin-kim-zenith.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 020 · Bringing Preferred Shares On-Chain: Parker White on Building Apyx](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/parker-white-apyx/): Parker White, Apyx. From Kraken and DFDV to Apyx: packaging fixed-price preferreds like STRC into apxUSD and apyUSD, who can't buy them directly, trading around the clock, transparency as an issuer, and why agents won't leave capital idle. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-10. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/parker-white-apyx.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 019 · An Agent of Record: Chris Zhu on Building Donut's Personal Trading Agent](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/chris-zhu-donut/): Chris Zhu, Donut. Why a general agent is not enough for trading, an agent of record that shows every step, keeping the model away from the keys, connecting to every exchange, and the business model when the agent is free. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-09. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/chris-zhu-donut.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 018 · Charles Lin on What Monad Foundation Looks for in Founders](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/charles-lin-monad-foundation/): Charles Lin, Monad Foundation. How a foundation decides which teams get its time, why collectibles have product-market fit and the next wave is verticalisation, what a founder should expect from a chain, and the founders he backs: scrappy, high energy, delusionally optimistic with good judgment. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-08. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/charles-lin-monad-foundation.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 017 · The Law of One Price Is Broken: Chris Kim on Axis, USDx and Arbitrage Yield On-Chain](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/chris-kim-axis/): Chris Kim, Axis. Ten years of arbitrage and market making turned into a protocol: USDx, yield that moves with volume and volatility, and why tokenization keeps widening the gaps. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-08. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/chris-kim-axis.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 016 · Gacha Is the Entry Point, Not the Product: Kiet on Chance, Co-op Rips and the Pokémon TCG](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/kiet-chance/): Kiet, Chance. A third place for Pokémon TCG collectors, co-op rips where a creator opens your pack while you keep custody, and why the next product is curation, not chance. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-07. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/kiet-chance.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 015 · From APY Data to vaults.fyi: Ryan Rodenbaugh on How DeFi Vaults Work](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/ryan-rodenbaugh-vaults-fyi/): Ryan Rodenbaugh, vaults.fyi. Standardizing yield data across 80 protocols, where institutional demand really sits, the risk cycle of permissionless vaults, and a tool that shows what a vault is made of. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-07. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/ryan-rodenbaugh-vaults-fyi.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 011 · Fast Is Not Enough: Enzo Coglitore on Turning GTE Into an AI Trading Co-Pilot](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/enzo-coglitore-gte/): Enzo Coglitore, GTE. Why GTE stopped chasing speed, Edge as an agent that learns how you trade, the harness and ontology behind it, and guardrails for agentic trading. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-06. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/enzo-coglitore-gte.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 005 · From BitGo to BNB Chain: Thomas Chen on What Institutions Really Want](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/thomas-chen-bnb-chain/): Thomas Chen, BNB Chain. Why distribution is what asset managers care about, the missing taxonomy of on-chain finance, memes plus tokenised stocks as a first step, and liquidity fragmentation as the real problem. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-06. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/thomas-chen-bnb-chain.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 014 · The Stablecoin Is the Wedge: Drake Evans on Agora, AUSD and a National Trust Bank Charter](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/drake-evans-agora/): Drake Evans, Agora. Why Agora started at the bottom of the stack, what an OCC national trust bank charter unlocks for custody and US dollar accounts, and why the stablecoin is a wedge for distribution as yields compress. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-05. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/drake-evans-agora.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 010 · From Accenture to Anseta: Brett Hornung on Institutions Going On-Chain and Agentic Payments](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/brett-hornung-anseta/): Brett Hornung, Anseta. Why institutions have moved from pilots to production, why banks want their own validators, and an x402 facilitator for agentic payments. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-05. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/brett-hornung-anseta.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 013 · Building Solana's Liquid Staking Layer: FP Lee on Sanctum, Buybacks and Playing the Long Game](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/fp-lee-sanctum/): FP Lee, Sanctum. Why liquid staking on Solana is not a winner-take-all game, white-label LSTs, counter-cyclical buybacks and running Sanctum on unit economics. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-04. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/fp-lee-sanctum.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 009 · From Zcash to Aleo: Howard Wu on Why Confidentiality Is Crypto's Last Mile](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/howard-wu-aleo/): Howard Wu, Aleo. Why public-by-default rails expose payroll, merchants and trading strategies, confidential stablecoins, HTTP to HTTPS as the model for on-chain finance, and Shield Wallet and Shield Swap. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-04. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/howard-wu-aleo.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 012 · SOL vs HYPE: Forward Industries and Hyperion DeFi Debate the Treasury Company Playbook](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/garrison-hyunsu-forward-hyperion/): Garrison and Hyunsu, Forward Industries + Hyperion. A SOL treasury company and a HYPE treasury company make the case for their ecosystems: yield, value capture, marginal dollars and where the next wave of capital flows. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-03. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/garrison-hyunsu-forward-hyperion.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 006 · From Coinbase Prime to Definitive: Jai Prasad on Agentic Trading](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/jai-prasad-definitive/): Jai Prasad, Definitive. Why trading goes fully agentic, and how Definitive's Flash handles the wallet, funding, bridging and execution when your agent decides to buy. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-03. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/jai-prasad-definitive.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 008 · From Investment Banking to Mercuryo: Arthur on the Plumbing Behind Crypto Payments](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/arthur-mercuryo/): Arthur Firstov, Mercuryo. Why the best payments infrastructure stays invisible, wallets turning into neobanks, stablecoin cards from Western Union and PayPal, and why agentic payments should settle on crypto rails. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-02. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/arthur-mercuryo.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 007 · From CyberConnect to Surf: Shiyu Zhang on AI That Can't Hallucinate With Money](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/shiyu-zhang-surf-ai/): Shiyu Zhang, Surf AI. Post-training a model under a regulated exchange's rules, why a trained model beats a wrapper, and where AI belongs in a trade: the decision, not the execution. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-11-02. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/shiyu-zhang-surf-ai.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 004 · From Private Chains to Public Ethereum: Matthew Dawson on Institutional Adoption](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/matthew-dawson-ethereum-institutional/): Matthew Dawson, Ethereum Institutional. Why banks and asset managers are moving from private chains to public Ethereum, compliant privacy and permissioned assets in DeFi, what agents mean for finance, and why the largest institutions are setting the pace. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-10-29. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/matthew-dawson-ethereum-institutional.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 003 · From PayPal to Ethena Pay: Lito Coen on the Crypto Neobank](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/lito-coen-ethena-pay/): Lito Coen, Ethena Pay. Saving, spending and sending from one account, what KYC across 50 countries really takes, why localisation matters, and what Ethena Pay means for USDe and ENA. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-10-29. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/lito-coen-ethena-pay.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 002 · From Physics PhD to Curve: Michael Egorov on Real Yield for Bitcoin](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/michael-egorov-curve-yieldbasis/): Michael Egorov, Curve / YieldBasis. Real yield from volatility, why Bitcoin before Ethereum, the five-minute Klein-bottle logo, and whether quantum breaks the keys. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-10-28. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/michael-egorov-curve-yieldbasis.vtt (machine, lightly checked) - [OI 001 · From Nine Days of Runway to the Data Behind Crypto | Codex](https://openinteresthq.com/episodes/mike-rowe-codex-defined/): Mike Rowe, Codex / Defined. We get into the pivot that saved the business, staying ahead of scammers, and how five co-founders stayed together through nine days of runway. Recorded at TOKEN2049, released 2026-10-27. Transcript: https://openinteresthq.com/transcripts/mike-rowe-codex-defined.vtt (machine, lightly checked) ## Browse - [About Open Interest](https://openinteresthq.com/about/) - [The route: where we record](https://openinteresthq.com/stops/) - [Singapore](https://openinteresthq.com/stops/singapore/): 23 conversations recorded - [London](https://openinteresthq.com/stops/london/): next stop, 17–18 November 2026 ### Topics - [Stablecoins](https://openinteresthq.com/topics/stablecoins/): Issuers, yield, distribution and what a dollar on-chain is for. 7 conversations. - [Agentic trading](https://openinteresthq.com/topics/agentic-trading/): Agents that read markets, decide and trade, and who holds the keys. 4 conversations. - [Institutions on-chain](https://openinteresthq.com/topics/institutions-on-chain/): Banks, asset managers and the rails they are moving to. 7 conversations. - [Treasury companies](https://openinteresthq.com/topics/treasury-companies/): Public companies holding tokens, and the instruments built on them. 2 conversations. - [Liquid staking](https://openinteresthq.com/topics/liquid-staking/): Staked assets that stay liquid, and the businesses built around them. 2 conversations. - [Privacy](https://openinteresthq.com/topics/privacy/): Confidentiality for payroll, trading and institutions on public chains. 3 conversations. - [Payments](https://openinteresthq.com/topics/payments/): Cards, neobanks, on-ramps and payments made by agents. 4 conversations. - [Markets and exchanges](https://openinteresthq.com/topics/markets-and-exchanges/): Exchanges, terminals, market makers and the data traders rely on. 5 conversations. - [Consumer crypto](https://openinteresthq.com/topics/consumer-crypto/): Collectibles, communities and apps built for people outside crypto. 4 conversations. ### Guests and companies - [All guests](https://openinteresthq.com/people/): [Arthur Firstov](https://openinteresthq.com/people/arthur-firstov/), [Brett Hornung](https://openinteresthq.com/people/brett-hornung/), [Charles Lin](https://openinteresthq.com/people/charles-lin/), [Chris Kim](https://openinteresthq.com/people/chris-kim/), [Chris Zhu](https://openinteresthq.com/people/chris-zhu/), [DeFi Dave](https://openinteresthq.com/people/defi-dave/), [Drake Evans](https://openinteresthq.com/people/drake-evans/), [Enzo Coglitore](https://openinteresthq.com/people/enzo-coglitore/), [FP Lee](https://openinteresthq.com/people/fp-lee/), [Garrison](https://openinteresthq.com/people/garrison/), [Heslin Kim](https://openinteresthq.com/people/heslin-kim/), [Howard Wu](https://openinteresthq.com/people/howard-wu/), [Hyunsu](https://openinteresthq.com/people/hyunsu/), [Jai Prasad](https://openinteresthq.com/people/jai-prasad/), [Justin Ma](https://openinteresthq.com/people/justin-ma/), [Kiet](https://openinteresthq.com/people/kiet/), [Lito Coen](https://openinteresthq.com/people/lito-coen/), [Matthew Dawson](https://openinteresthq.com/people/matthew-dawson/), [Michael Egorov](https://openinteresthq.com/people/michael-egorov/), [Mike Rowe](https://openinteresthq.com/people/mike-rowe/), [Parker White](https://openinteresthq.com/people/parker-white/), [Ryan Rodenbaugh](https://openinteresthq.com/people/ryan-rodenbaugh/), [Shiyu Zhang](https://openinteresthq.com/people/shiyu-zhang/), [Thomas Chen](https://openinteresthq.com/people/thomas-chen/) - 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The same as JSON, by paragraph: https://openinteresthq.com/search-index.json. - Waveforms on the site are illustrative, not playable audio. - The pitch format above is published only in this file and in humans.txt. A pitch that follows it tells us you, or your human, read this far. - Humans: https://openinteresthq.com/humans.txt