Layer One
The Layer One podcast, created in collaboration with Avalanche, features co-hosts Kelvin Sparks and John Wu as they unpack the real forces driving the crypto market forward. Through candid conversations with the industry’s true movers and shakers, the show delivers clear, grounded insights that cut through the noise.
Episodes
OpenTrade CEO cites bank lobby's $3 trillion deposit-flight warning
The day after the Clarity Act stalled in the Senate, OpenTrade co-founder and CEO David Sutter argues that the fight over stablecoin yield is the clearest signal yet that his product works.Recorded at Avalanche Summit New York 2026, this Layer One conversation is about who captures the yield when dollars move on-chain, and why the bank lobby is worried.Chapters:0:00 Intro3:16 Clarity Act:
Inside Ethena's new neobank built on AVAX
Ethena Pay, the internet-money neobank from Ethena Labs, is live exclusively on Avalanche. Founder Guy Young sits down with Ava Labs’ John Nahas to walk through a consumer app built around three jobs — save, send, spend — on stablecoin rails, and why a dollar issuer at Ethena’s scale is launching the neobank itself rather than wrapping someone else’s card program.“I want to save money, I
Avalanche Foundation Economists on Value Accrual Mechanisms | Layer One EP18
Matias Antonio (Avalanche Foundation Chief Investment Officer, ex-World Bank, ex-IMF) and Eric Lu (Avalanche Foundation Lead Economist, PhD) have built GCP and GCI — blockchain analogues of GDP and GNI — because nobody could say what value actually runs on a chain, only what volume does.The harder half is capture: on every general-purpose L1, the value the chain makes possible does not fl
Stani Kulechov on Aave V4, Avalanche, and why RWAs will hit $100 billion this year
In Episode 17 of Layer One, The Block’s Kelvin Sparks and Ava Labs President John Wu were joined by Aave Labs Founder Stani Kulechov, who explained how the protocol that processed over $3 trillion in deposits is pointing its infrastructure at tokenized real-world assets — starting with Aave V4's first non-Ethereum deployment on Avalanche and the Horizon securities market. He also breaks d
Why this Wall Street veteran is betting on Avalanche
In Episode 16 of Layer One, The Block’s Kelvin Sparks is joined by Avalanche Treasury Company CEO Bart Smith. Bart explained the thesis behind treasury companies as a way to get regulated, permanent-capital exposure to AVAX and the Avalanche ecosystem. He also covers his Wall Street/ETF background, why real-world-asset tokenization needs "productive" assets to matter, and why he thinks cr
Blockchain Capital’s Contrarian Bet on Crypto’s Next Decade
In Episode 15 of Layer One, The Block’s Kelvin Sparks and co-host Ava Labs President John Wu are joined by Blockchain Capital General Partner Spencer Bogart. The conversation explores stablecoins, prediction markets, token value accrual, privacy, public versus private blockchains and why the most valuable crypto applications of the future may not even exist today.OUTLINE00:00 - Introducti
Stablecoins Are Creating a New Financial System
In Episode 14 of Layer One, The Block’s Kelvin Sparks and co-host Ava Labs President John Wu are joined by OpenTrade CEO David Sutter and Mercury Partner Samantha Lewis to break down the rapid growth of stablecoins and why yield infrastructure could become one of the most important layers of the onchain financial economy.OUTLINE00:00 - Introduction01:26 - Bitcoin Origins02:46 - Mercury’s
Dinari’s Anna Wroblewska on Bringing US Stocks Onchain
In Episode 13 of Layer One, The Block’s Kelvin Sparks and co-host Ava Labs President John Wu are joined by Anna Wroblewska, Chief Business Officer at Dinari, to break down how tokenized equities are expanding access to U.S. capital markets globally.She explains Dinari’s custodial model, how liquidity is sourced across traditional and onchain markets, and why infrastructure, not speculatio
How Tassat and Lynq Are Rebuilding Financial Infrastructure
After appearing in recent episodes, Ava Labs President John Wu officially joins Layer One as co-host. 🥳In Episode 12, he joins Kelvin Sparks alongside Andre Frank, COO of Tassat, and Jerald David, CEO of Lynq, to discuss how Tassat and Lynq are rebuilding financial infrastructure with real-time settlement and yield-bearing assets on Avalanche.The conversation covers the shift from legacy
Inside Bitwise’s Avalanche ETP and Institutional Strategy with Matt Hougan
In Episode 11 of Layer One, The Block’s Kelvin Sparks and special co-host Ava Labs President John Wu are joined by Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise, to discuss the launch of the Avalanche ETP and how institutional investors are approaching crypto exposure.He breaks down the rapid expansion of tokenized real-world assets, the role of ETFs in onboarding capital, and why this cycle may differ fro
How Securitize is working with NYSE to bring equities onchain
In Episode 10 of Layer One, The Block’s Kelvin Sparks and special co-host Ava Labs President John Wu are joined by Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize, to discuss the rapid rise of tokenized financial assets and what it takes to bring them into regulated markets.The conversation also covers regulatory clarity, BlackRock’s role in accelerating the space, and how tokenized assets will reshape
Why tokenized assets are DeFi’s biggest unlock
In Episode 9 of Layer One, The Block’s Kelvin Sparks and Hypha founder Steven Gates were joined by Nicholas Kunkel (Chronicle) and Rhett Shipp (Avant) to break down the current state of DeFi and what’s actually holding the industry back. They argue that core primitives are already built, and the real unlock lies in tokenized assets, improved liquidity, and seamless integration with tradit
Supply, demand and durability: A framework for surviving cycles
In Episode 8 of Layer One, The Block’s Kelvin Sparks and Hypha founder Steven Gates were joined by Santiago R. Santos of Inversion Capital. He explains why many crypto token valuations are structurally flawed and outlines his framework for investing in durable, cash-flow-supported adoption, with a focus on B2B stablecoin use cases.The group debates how to value crypto beyond tribal narrat
Loyalty becomes lifestyle: Rain and Uptop on stablecoin rewards
In Episode 7 of Layer One, The Block’s Kelvin Sparks and Hypha founder Steven Gates were joined by Charles Yoo-Naut, co-founder of Rain, and John Gomez, co-founder and former CEO of Uptop.The group discussed the convergence of stablecoin payments and on-chain loyalty infrastructure, why rewards plus payments are becoming table stakes, and how sports and IP are driving real-world adoption.
VanEck's AVAX thesis: product-market fit, economic clarity & institutional distribution
In episode six of Layer One, The Block's Kelvin Sparks and Hypha Founder Steven Gates were joined by Ava Labs's VP of Business Development of Onchain Finance, Morgan Krupetsky and VanEck's Head of Digital Asset Research Matthew Siegel. Together, the group discussed what actually drives institutional conviction in crypto. Siegel explained why VanEck chose Avalanche for its first alt-L1 ETF
"From Sand to Stone: Two GCs on the New Legal Foundation Shaping Crypto's Future"
In episode five of Layer One, The Block's Kelvin Sparks and Hypha Founder Steven Gates were joined by Ava Labs General Counsel Lee Schneider and Plume General Counsel Salman Benaei, to discuss how the Senate bill turns crypto's legal foundation from sand to stone, and what that means for the next generation of builders.
OUTLINE
00:00 - Introduction
01:28 - Salman's Path: CFTC to Crypto
Building AI-Native Blockchain Infrastructure with Kite AI's BD Chief Lei Lei
In episode four of Layer One, The Block's Kelvin Sparks and Hypha Founder Steven Gates were joined by Kite AI's Head of Business Development and Strategy, Lei Lei, to discuss why AI agents need dedicated blockchain infrastructure rather than general purpose blockchains. The trio also touch on the recent hype around Claude Code, why enterprise giants are panicking about AI disruption, and
Jason DeSimone on The Arena's revival and the future of SocialFi
In episode three of Layer One, The Block's Kelvin Sparks and Hypha Founder Steven Gates were joined by The Arena CEO Jason DeSimone to discuss the platform’s revival and two-year growth, creator monetization via ticket rails, and the future of SocialFi, M&A, and AI-driven content.
Host/Guest links:
Jason DeSimone - x.com/jasonmdesimoneThe Arena - x.com/TheArenaSteven Gates - twitter.
Anthony Scaramucci on tokenizing Wall Street and why it's '1998 for Crypto'
In episode two of Layer One, The Block’s Kelvin Sparks and Hypha Founder Steven Gates, were joined by guest co-host and Ava Labs President John Wu, and Skybridge Founder and Managing Partner, Anthony Scaramucci to discuss we are in the crypto cycle, how Avalanche is positioned to facilitate institutional adoption, and how upcoming U.S. regulation like the Clarity Act could unlock the next
Introducing Layer One: Poker Logic Meets Crypto Reality
The Block is proud to introduce our newest podcast: Layer One — created in collaboration with Avalanche.
Hosted by The Block’s Kelvin Sparks and Hypha Founder Steven Gates, Layer One explores the people, ideas, and technologies shaping the future of crypto.
In this inaugural episode, Kelvin and Steven are joined by Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly, and Sean Lippel, General
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