Onchain, Honestly!

How much is regulatory predictability worth when you’ve already invested in building a business?In this episode of Onchain, Honestly!, we speak with Nick Gersh, Senior Regulatory Counsel at Paxos, about the practical work behind issuing stablecoins and choosing where to operate.Nick explains why he values Europe’s regulatory certainty despite his frustrations with MiCA. His account of issuing USDG across borders shows how much work sits behind a product that should feel the same to every holder. We also explore the business case for launching your own stablecoin and what happens when reserve requirements meet the realities of finding banking partners.—LinkedIn Nick Gersh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-gersh/ Paxos: https://www.paxos.com/company Alea Research: https://alearesearch.io/ Alea Research X: https://x.com/AleaResearch Spotify: Apple:Alenka X: https://x.com/alenka_on_x Alenka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-shmalko/ Kaisa X: https://x.com/kaisakaisa_ Kaisa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-k-4aa212194/ —DISCLAIMER: This Content is Provided Solely for Informational and Educational Purposes. It does Not Constitute Financial, Investment, or Legal Advice.CHAPTERS00:00 Introduction and Europe’s changing crypto market  04:12 Issuing one stablecoin across borders  10:44 Compliance costs, competition, and partnerships  15:12 Tokenized gold and MiCA’s categories  18:31 Working with regulators in Europe  23:47 Reserve requirements and banking risk  28:25 Where the next wave of stablecoin growth could come from  31:24 Branded stablecoins and consortium models  33:55 Tokenized assets beyond stablecoins  38:37 Choosing where to build and the value of predictable rules  

What makes stablecoins worth the investment for a bank? In this episode of Onchain, Honestly!, Kaisa and Alenka speak with Ninad Nirgudkar, who leads Tempo’s work with traditional financial institutions, about turning institutional interest in blockchain into products customers can use.We explore how Tempo helps institutions move from a business case to a live product, and what motivates banks to make that investment. Drawing on its previous work and feedback from financial institutions, Ninad explains how customer needs shape what Tempo builds and how the team thinks about measuring success.—Ninad Nirgudkar LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninadnirgudkar/  Ninad Nigurdar X: https://x.com/ninadnirgudkar Tempo: https://tempo.xyz/ Alea Research: https://alearesearch.io/ Alea Research X: https://x.com/AleaResearch Spotify: Apple:Alenka X: https://x.com/alenka_on_x Alenka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-shmalko/ Kaisa X: https://x.com/kaisakaisa_ Kaisa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-k-4aa212194/ —DISCLAIMER: This Content is Provided Solely for Informational and Educational Purposes. It does Not Constitute Financial, Investment, or Legal Advice.—CHAPTERS00:00 Introduction and Tempo’s approach to payments07:16 From a business case to a live product10:46 Tempo’s relationship with Stripe and Paradigm15:20 Where institutions see opportunities onchain19:00 Why banks are exploring stablecoins23:15 Deel’s payroll use case27:03 Bringing traditional finance and crypto expertise together29:17 Account controls and privacy34:37 Moving enterprise clients into production36:59 Measuring customer outcomes39:50 What’s next for Tempo?

Can a digital asset treasury build value beyond the tokens it holds? In this episode of Onchain, Honestly!, Kaisa and Alenka speak with Laine Litman, COO of Avalanche Treasury Co. (AVAT), about AVAT’s strategy and the business case for institutional blockchain adoption.We discuss AVAT’s approach to holding and staking AVAX, its ambitions for broader involvement in the Avalanche ecosystem, and what institutions need to consider before choosing a blockchain. Drawing on examples from California’s DMV, Broadridge, and FIFA, Laine explores how blockchain fits into everyday operations and why early infrastructure choices can create costly migration work later.—Laine Litman LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laine-litman-ab143014/ Laine Litman X: https://x.com/Laine_LitmanAVAT: https://www.avat.com/  Alea Research: https://alearesearch.io/ Alea Research X: https://x.com/AleaResearch Spotify: Apple:Alenka X: https://x.com/alenka_on_x Alenka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-shmalko/ Kaisa X: https://x.com/kaisakaisa_ Kaisa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-k-4aa212194/ —DISCLAIMER: This Content is Provided Solely for Informational and Educational Purposes. It does Not Constitute Financial, Investment, or Legal Advice.—CHAPTERS00:00 Introduction and Laine’s background07:40 Digital asset treasuries and AVAT’s strategy13:11 Why Avalanche?15:02 Institutional adoption in practice18:58 Blockchain hype, migration costs, and changing attitudes24:38 Operational barriers to moving onchain29:12 How the blockchain landscape could evolve33:58 FIFA, ticketing, and consumer adoption

This episode of Onchain, Honestly! is a little different. We look back at summer 2026 and the developments that made institutional adoption more tangible.We explore the growing importance of viable operating models, the evolving US regulatory framework, and tokenization’s move from issuing assets to building the markets around them.From Tether’s first full financial statement audit and the unresolved CLARITY Act to banks entering stablecoins and new infrastructure for tokenized securities and liquidity, the market is entering a more practical phase.The question is no longer simply whether assets can move onchain, but whether they can trade, settle and be used there at scale.—Alea Research: https://alearesearch.io/reports Alea Research X: https://x.com/AleaResearch Spotify: Apple:Alenka X: https://x.com/alenka_on_x Alenka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-shmalko/ Kaisa X: https://x.com/kaisakaisa_ Kaisa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-k-4aa212194/ —DISCLAIMER: This Content is Provided Solely for Informational and Educational Purposes. It does Not Constitute Financial, Investment, or Legal Advice.

AI can analyze market data, test strategies, and produce investment analysis at a speed once available only to larger teams. As these capabilities become widely accessible, what still creates an edge for an asset manager?In this episode we speak with Matthew Snider, CEO and co-founder of Block3 Strategy Group, about how AI is changing investment analysis and what that could mean for asset managers, advisors, and their clients.We discuss how digital-asset investing is moving toward revenue and fundamental analysis, why tokenization alone does not create value or liquidity, and how AI could affect both public-market competition and the discovery of private-market opportunities. The conversation also covers institutional custody, portfolio construction, client suitability, and what happens to the asset-management business as more analysis and operational work becomes automated.—Matthew Snider LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewsniderj/ Matthew Snider X: https://x.com/bit_finance_ Block3 Strategy Group: Alea Research: https://www.block3strategy.io/ Alea Research X: https://x.com/AleaResearch Spotify: Apple:Alenka X: https://x.com/alenka_on_x Alenka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-shmalko/ Kaisa X: https://x.com/kaisakaisa_ Kaisa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-k-4aa212194/ —DISCLAIMER: This Content is Provided Solely for Informational and Educational Purposes. It does Not Constitute Financial, Investment, or Legal Advice.CHAPTERS00:00 Introduction01:10 Who is Matthew Snider?02:25 How digital-asset investing is changing06:34 What qualifies as a digital asset?08:47 How institutions access digital assets13:46 Why the investment type comes before the token15:39 How AI is being used in asset management18:48 What's the moat for asset managers21:23 How AI could affect private markets26:23 Building digital-asset portfolios for clients33:59 What happens to the asset manager’s role?