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Around The Coin
Around The Coin
Author: Stephen Sargeant and Mike Townsend
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© 2026 Around The Coin
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Around The Coin is a podcast exploring finance, fintech, and the future of money. Hosted by industry experts, it features deep dives into payments, crypto, banking, and disruptive innovations shaping the global economy.
598 Episodes
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In this episode of Around The Coin podcast, host Stephen Sargeant is joined by Matt Malloy, CEO and co-founder of TruFin Labs, to explore the world of staking, liquid staking, and yield in the digital asset ecosystem. They dive into the differences between traditional and liquid staking, the evolution of blockchain technology and smart contracts, and the current state of the market. Matt also shares insights on regulatory trends in the US, the role of institutional investors, and the future o...
In this compelling episode of Around The Coin podcast, host Stephen Sargeant sits down with Rand Hindi, the CEO of Zama, a cutting-edge company pioneering Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) for Web3 infrastructure. Discover how Zama's revolutionary technology is enabling confidential transactions on public blockchains like Ethereum and Solana, providing unparalleled privacy without compromising on security or compliance. Rand, an early investor in over 100 companies, shares insights from his ...
Join Stephen Sargeant in this episode of the Around The Coin podcast as he sits down with Joe Robinson, CEO and co-founder of Hummingbird. Discover how Hummingbird is revolutionizing the way financial institutions combat financial crimes using AI and advanced analytics. Joe provides insights into emerging trends in financial crime, shares the challenges of being a CEO, and offers valuable book recommendations for anyone in the payment tech or crypto space. They also delve into Joe’s backgroun...
Join Stephen Sargeant, your host of the Around The Coin podcast, as he dives into crypto wallets used by major merchants worldwide with special guest Yolanda Liu, co-founder of Pay Protocol. Discover Yolanda's fascinating journey from AI and holographics to revolutionizing payment services in Web3. Learn how Pay Protocol offers decentralized, self-custodian wallet infrastructure, tackling key challenges like high gas fees and security risks. Yolanda also shares insights on the evolving landsc...
In this fascinating episode of the Around The Coin podcast, host Stephen Sargeant interviews Irina Chuchkina, the Chief Growth Officer at Wallet in Telegram. The discussion dives deep into the wallet infrastructure within Telegram, covering topics like stablecoins, tokenized assets, privacy, and regulation. Irina shares insights into the user adoption strategies, financial inclusion efforts, and the potential of Telegram becoming a super app. She also discusses her experiences working in vari...
Join host Stephen Sargeant on this insightful episode of the Around The Coin podcast as he chats with Jamie Elkaleh, CMO of Bitget Wallet. Discover the intricate world of crypto wallets, from technological advancements to global marketing strategies. Jamie delves into topics like TVL, investor protection, compliance, and the expanding role of Bitget Wallet in various jurisdictions. Learn about his unique journey from sports analytics to the Web3 space, and get an in-depth understanding of how...
Join host Stephen Sargeant as he sits down with Emilio Coello, a leading product manager at Aptos Labs, in this engaging episode of Around The Coin Podcast. From his extensive background in regulatory and policy work at Bitso to his current role handling payments and stablecoins at Aptos, Emilio provides deep insights into the blockchain industry. Discover what sets Aptos apart in the competitive L1 blockchain space, their focus on institutional-grade applications, and the future of crypto pa...
Join host Stephen Sargeant on the Around The Coin podcast as he interviews cryptocurrency pioneer Joël Valenzuela, a core member of the Dash DAO. Joel shares his journey from the early days of Bitcoin to living a crypto-only lifestyle, completely disengaged from traditional fiat banking. This episode dives into the challenges and evolving landscape of using crypto exclusively, Dash's unique position in the privacy coin market, and the future of the crypto industry. Joel also discusses the sig...
Join host Stephen Sargeant on this episode of the Around The Coin podcast as he sits down with Jess Houlgrave, the CEO of WalletConnect. Discover how WalletConnect is integrating hundreds of wallets and thousands of applications to build a seamless ecosystem that connects diverse elements of the crypto world. Jess shares her insights on the future of AI agent wallets, stablecoin payments, and how WalletConnect is similar to Visa in the digital space. From her early ventures into crypto, creat...
In this episode of the Around The Coin podcast, host Stephen Sargeant sits down with Itai Turbahn, co-founder and CEO of Dynamic, to discuss Dynamic's recent acquisition by Fireblocks. Itai dives deep into the details of different types of crypto wallets, comparing Fireblocks and Dynamic, and the intricacies of wallet infrastructure in the fintech and crypto industries. He explains the importance of wallets in various applications—from payroll remittances to cross-border payments, and how blo...
Join Stephen Sargeant live from Money 20/20 with Clarisse Hagège, the founder and CEO of Dfns, on the Around The Coin podcast. For the first time, the podcast is featured at Money 20/20, discussing key topics such as cybersecurity, custody, and MPC (multi-party computation). Clarisse shares her founder's journey, their partnership with IBM, and how Dfns is addressing the needs of traditional financial institutions as they adopt digital assets. Discover insights on the current state of cyberse...
Join host Stephen Sargeant on the Around The Coin podcast, as he interviews Victor Orlovski, General Partner at R136 Ventures. Victor shares his unconventional journey from being a CTO of a major European bank to founding R136 Ventures, a firm focused on early growth stage FinTech and B2B enterprise startups. In this episode, Victor discusses the challenges and strategies for scaling startups, the rapid adoption of stablecoins in developing countries, and the future of AI in various industrie...
In this episode of the Around The Coin podcast, host Stephen Sargeant interviews Vik Arun, CEO and co-founder of Superform, a company pioneering new levels of decentralization through their innovative app. Stephen and Vik discuss the current investment landscape, the potential impact of regulations, and the technicalities of deploying blockchain technology. Vik shares his journey from engineering to finance to crypto, revealing insights about Superform's mission to make DeFi accessible and se...
In this episode of Around The Coin, host Stephen Sargeant sits down with Anthony Day, Marketing Director at VeChain, to discuss the future of blockchain applications. Anthony emphasizes the need for purpose-filled, impactful applications over simply creating more blockchains. They delve into VeChain's journey, its significant partnerships like UFC, and the innovative V Better platform, which hosts over 50 applications aimed at promoting sustainability and community growth. Anthony also shares...
Join host Stephen Sargeant on the Around The Coin Podcast as he converses with Ido Ben Natan, the CEO and Co-founder of Blockaid. Discover the story behind significant hacks like the Buy Bit incident and the ongoing cybersecurity challenges in DeFi. Ido discusses his journey from traditional cybersecurity to Web3, the persistent vulnerabilities in the crypto space, and Blockaid's innovative solutions to proactively prevent hacks. The episode also delves into the future of AI-driven payments a...
In this episode of the Around The Coin podcast, host Stephen Sargeant speaks with Angie Walker, the commercial head of Apex Digital. Angie discusses the launch of Apex Digital's 3.0 platform, which focuses on tokenizing all asset classes, making them available 24/7, and bridging traditional finance with digital assets. They dive into Angie's rich experience with R3, Corda, and Chainlink, as well as the regulatory landscape and upcoming trends in real-world asset tokenization, stablecoins, and...
Welcome to another edition of the Around The Coin podcast! In this episode, host Stephen Sargeant sits down with Federico Brokate, Head of US Business at 21Shares, to discuss the dynamics of crypto ETFs and ETPs, focusing on the regulatory landscape and the challenges faced by the industry. Federico delves into his journey from BlackRock to 21Shares, highlighting their pioneering role in bringing the world’s first Solana ETP to market in 2021. The conversation covers everything from the evolu...
Join host Stephen Sargeant in an insightful conversation with Roberto Kafati (Reks), the CEO and founder of DEUNA, about the future of payments in North, Central, and Latin America. Roberto shares his journey from DEUNA's inception to becoming an innovative payment infrastructure that leverages AI and agentic intelligence. They discuss the challenges and opportunities in the payment industry, the integration of stablecoins, and the impact of digital adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gain...
Join host Stephen Sargeant as he engages in an enlightening conversation with Lee Bratcher, the president and founder of the Texas Blockchain Council. Dive deep into the current landscape of Bitcoin mining in Texas, the intersection of politics and crypto, and the impact of digital assets. Lee discusses the regulatory environment, the future of land administration through blockchain, and Texas's strategic Bitcoin reserve. Learn about the upcoming North American Blockchain Summit featuring ind...
In this episode of Around The Coin, host Stephen Sargeant welcomes Taylor Lauber, CEO of Shift4. They discuss Shift4's journey into the payment processing space, its work with e-commerce companies, and its involvement in the cryptocurrency world. The conversation also covers Shift4's philanthropic endeavors, such as the Giving Block and the Care for Crypto campaign, which have donated over $20 million. Taylor shares insights on the nuances of regulatory compliance, the future of fintech, and ...























