The Edge Podcast

DeFi Dad × Nick Forster

Derive V3 collapses execution and settlement into one ZK application, with testnet live and launch expected within the next month to month and a half.Few-lines-of-code integration, correlated Bitcoin-and-ETH margin, and verifiable collateral target institutions in a 15 billion-contract U.S. options market.Ethereum L1 remains undecided, while qualified custody and regulatory fit are key adoption milestones.

Karn Saroya

Re has moved beyond experiment, with 51 treaties, roughly 30 insurance-company clients, and “half a billion in business, going on a billion.”Its 12-person platform writes $30M of premium per head, while $80M of first-loss equity, gated tranches, and predictable collateral release address duration risk; broker adoption, RE governance, and possible underpricing in data-center insurance remain key watchpoints.

DeFi Dad × Paul Frambot

Morpho’s infrastructure-first bet is scaling through Coinbase, Robinhood Earn, and other fintech distributors.Immutable code gives partners control over risk, compliance, and fees while a neutral lender network improves rates through competition.Midnight targets institutional leverage with fixed rates, while its small launch reflects hack-related caution; Frambot calls a multi-billion-dollar onchain business in less than 6 months.

DeFi Dad × Jai Bhavnani

Royco’s pivot from collapsed incentive spending to RWA tranching targets “net new deposits,” turning 7–12% assets into roughly 6% senior and high-yield junior exposure.APYUSD’s stress test kept senior value flat while juniors absorbed 15% losses, with coverage at 31% versus a 5% break-glass threshold.Royco Dusk could improve RWA liquidity, but oracle scope and DeFi security remain pool-specific risks.

DeFi Dad × Robert Leshner

Tokenized securities could expand DeFi toward $700 trillion, a shift Leshner calls inevitable.USTB has about $900M in assets and second-by-second interest, while Invesco ($2.3T AUM) becomes manager in a couple of days.CLARITY, hoped for in July or by year-end, may catalyze institutional entry, but growth could compound gradually rather than arrive as a hockey stick.

DeFi Dad × Kash Dhanda

Jupiter has shifted from a perps monoculture to more than 18 products, generating $514M gross revenue on $1.16T of 2025 volume, with perps still 50-55%.With 50% of on-chain revenue funding JUP buybacks and 78% DAO support for net-zero emissions, the near-term catalysts are Lend DEX, JupUSD pairing, and prediction markets, while Offer Book remains more speculative.

David Reising

Lotus targets DeFi’s missing middle by pricing market risk across 8-9 liquidation-threshold tranches on BTC and ETH, rather than stacking tail-risk collateral.Uniswap V3-like ranges, cascading liquidity, Credora ratings, and a 3.5% LotusUSD yield floor underpin a 20x leverage target versus 7.1x on Morpho and 4.3x on Aave, but June launch depends on security work and a public audit.

DeFi Dad × Daniele Ugolini

Rysk has reached $60M TVL by packaging cash-secured puts and covered calls into a one-click DeFi venue, with 90% of returning funds from existing users rolling over.Users choose strikes and collect premiums—about 45% in a HYPE demo and 44% annualized—while HIP-4 and tokenized assets could broaden distribution; options’ negative bias remains an adoption risk.

DeFi Dad × Sam MacPherson

Spark now gets roughly 80% of run-rate revenue—about $18M/yr—from Sky distribution rewards, while Liquidity Layer revenue is about $4M/yr versus upwards of $80M/yr at peak.With $23M projected net returns, $13.6M opex and 30 people, Spark leaves $9.6M surplus; Savings USDT has tripled to $886M and is forecast to reach $2–4B by quarter three, quarter four, though the bear-market bottom could last.

DeFi Dad × Chaitanya Jain

Strategy’s Nasdaq-listed STRC targets a stable $100 price with an 11.5% annual yield paid monthly and tax-deferred, backed by 4-5x more Bitcoin than issued plus $2.25B in cash.Its differentiated buyer base could keep funding Bitcoin accumulation through bear markets: Strategy raised $1.6B in two weeks, but the model depends on Bitcoin appreciation, disciplined management, and eventual demand for a proposed digital-money layer.