The Edge Podcast

Vish is the CoFounder & CEO of Frontera Labs, the developer behind Strata.
DeFi has an abundance of exotic yields. What's been missing is a way to transfer risk between users who want different things. So while risk tranching has existed in TradFi for decades, Strata just made it permissionless.
In this episode, Vish explains how Strata brings risk tranching fully onchain: senior tranches for conservative capital that wants protected yield, junior tranches for risk-tolerant capital earning ~2x the base rate. All enforced by smart contracts. He demos a live Strata market, walks through how the yield split mechanism works under the hood, and explains why mispriced lending yields are DeFi's biggest unsolved problem, and how tranching fixes it.
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💎 THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORS
🔒 KPK | Best risk-adjusted yield through automated vaults

🟠 APYX | The first dividend-backed stablecoin (DBS)

🏦 ALTURA | Bringing the yield institutions kept, to your wallet

🕛 NOON | The highest and safest stablecoin yield, built for the long term

👻 MANTLE | Aave V3 is live on Mantle

🐡 PUFFER INSTITUTIONAL | ETH staking solutions for scale

🏙 MAINSTREET | Bringing proven TradFi yield strategies to DeFi markets

⚔️ KATANA | Deep liquidity & real yield

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⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Intro
2:14 - Founding Strata
3:40 - What is tranching?
7:14 - Why tranching products make sense to now take off in DeFi?
13:43 - How Strata tranches risk for DeFi yields
17:05 - How Strata splits yields into junior vs senior tranches
21:49 - Screenshare demo of real Strata market
26:40 - Balancing senior vs junior TVL
29:26 - Tranching vs insurance: what’s the difference?
38:13 - How Strata works with RWAs
42:59 - Strata is addressing DeFi’s big issue: mispriced yields
46:00 - How builders can get started with Strata
49:12 - Closing
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🔗 GUEST LINKS
► Strata website: https://strata.markets/
► Strata on X: https://x.com/strata_markets
► Vish on X: https://x.com/UnQuidPro
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🎙️ MORE FROM THE EDGE PODCAST AND EDGE NEWSLETTER
► Newsletter: https://the-edge.xyz
► Apple: https://tinyurl.com/edgepod
► Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/edgepodspotify
► Linktree: https://linktr.ee/edge_pod
► Follow DeFi Dad: https://x.com/DeFi_Dad
► Follow Nomatic: https://x.com/Nomaticcap
► Learn DeFi: http://defidad.com/
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DISCLAIMER: Nothing said on The Edge Podcast is a recommendation to buy or sell tokens or securities. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared here is financial advice. Any views expressed by hosts or guests on the show are solely their opinions. Always do your own research. DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and guests may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast.

Samed Düzçay is the Founder of Tori.
DeFi yields often collapse in bear markets because they recycle crypto-native capital. But Tori generates yield from somewhere else entirely.
In this episode, Sam explains how Tori brings institutional FX carry trades onchain, borrowing in low-rate currencies, lending in high-rate emerging market currencies, and hedging the FX exposure fully back to USD. The spread that remains after hedging is 8-15% yield, generated from real economic activity in global money markets, completely uncorrelated with crypto cycles. Tori is expected to launch in May so we're getting a jumpstart with this episode of DeFi Frontier to learn more.
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💎 THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORS
🔒 KPK | Best risk-adjusted yield through automated vaults

🏙 MAINSTREET | Bringing proven TradFi yield strategies to DeFi markets

🟠 APYX | The first dividend-backed stablecoin (DBS)

🏦 ALTURA | Bringing the yield institutions kept, to your wallet

🕛 NOON | The highest and safest stablecoin yield, built for the long term

👻 MANTLE | Aave V3 is live on Mantle

🐡 PUFFER INSTITUTIONAL | ETH staking solutions for scale

⚔️ KATANA | Deep liquidity & real yield

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⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Intro
1:50 - Sam’s background
4:05 - What is Tori? Institutional FX carry trades onchain
5:13 - Why DeFi yields are falling short of investor expectations
11:23 - How Tori strategies earn yield
14:35 - Capacity to scale the Tori trade and estimated yields
16:46 - Two-token model: trUSD vs strUSD
17:27 - Coming DeFi integrations for Tori
19:14 - Risks to using Tori
26:39 - Expected launch time for Tori
27:26 - Closing
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🔗 GUEST LINKS
► Tori website: https://tori.finance/
► Tori on X: https://x.com/tori_finance
► Sam on X: https://x.com/0xNox_eth
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🎙️ MORE FROM THE EDGE PODCAST AND EDGE NEWSLETTER
► Newsletter: https://the-edge.xyz
► Apple: https://tinyurl.com/edgepod
► Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/edgepodspotify
► Linktree: https://linktr.ee/edge_pod
► Follow DeFi Dad: https://x.com/DeFi_Dad
► Follow Nomatic: https://x.com/Nomaticcap
► Learn DeFi: http://defidad.com/
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DISCLAIMER: Nothing said on The Edge Podcast is a recommendation to buy or sell tokens or securities. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared here is financial advice. Any views expressed by hosts or guests on the show are solely their opinions. Always do your own research. DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and guests may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast.

David Reising is the Founder of Lotus.
"Aave compresses risk. Morpho isolates it. Lotus clears it."
In this episode, David walks through why avoiding bad debt has become DeFi lending's biggest self-imposed constraint and how Lotus's connected tranches, cascading liquidity, and productive debt unlock a yield curve that neither Aave nor Morpho can offer.
According to David, the next battle in DeFi lending is what's inside your vault, and Lotus is the answer.
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💎 THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORS
🔒 KPK | Best risk-adjusted yield through automated vaults

🏙 MAINSTREET | Bringing proven TradFi yield strategies to DeFi markets

🟠 APYX | The first dividend-backed stablecoin (DBS)

🏦 ALTURA | Bringing the yield institutions kept, to your wallet

🕛 NOON | The highest and safest stablecoin yield, built for the long term

👻 MANTLE | Aave V3 is live on Mantle

🐡 PUFFER INSTITUTIONAL | ETH staking solutions for scale

⚔️ KATANA | Deep liquidity & real yield

⚙️ GEARBOX PROTOCOL | Onchain lending reimagined

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⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Intro
2:22 - The team behind Lotus
3:45 - The problem with shared pool design like Aave
7:23 - The “missing middle” in DeFi lending
9:31 - The problem with isolated markets like Morpho
11:17 - What does Lotus aim to solve in DeFi lending?
13:40 - The elevator pitch for Lotus
19:54 - How tranching plays a role in Lotus
24:00 - Demo of Lotus and BTC market curve explained
28:56 - Credora credit ratings and what value they add to Lotus
31:01 - How tranche-level risk ratings figure into Lotus Vaults
33:19 - Earning more consistent yield with Lotus productive debt
37:52 - How productive debt dampens rate volatility
39:50 - Will productive debt become table stakes in DeFi?
42:13 - How Lotus differs in how it handles bad debt
45:08 - Vault managers, curators, neobanks, and who else will use Lotus
48:04 - What use cases could Lotus unlock?
50:49 - Security: Audits, SEAL certification, and lessons from rsETH exploit
57:02 - Closing + Lotus launch in summer 2026
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🔗 GUEST LINKS
► Lotus website: https://www.lotuslabs.net/
► Lotus on X: https://x.com/LotusFi_
► David Reising on X: https://x.com/davidareising
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🎙️ MORE FROM THE EDGE PODCAST AND EDGE NEWSLETTER
► Newsletter: https://the-edge.xyz
► Apple: https://tinyurl.com/edgepod
► Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/edgepodspotify
► Linktree: https://linktr.ee/edge_pod
► Follow DeFi Dad: https://x.com/DeFi_Dad
► Follow Nomatic: https://x.com/Nomaticcap
► Learn DeFi: http://defidad.com/
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DISCLAIMER: Nothing said on The Edge Podcast is a recommendation to buy or sell tokens or securities. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared here is financial advice. Any views expressed by hosts or guests on the show are solely their opinions. Always do your own research. DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and guests may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast. DeFi Dad and Nomatic have been advising Lotus during their pre-launch phase.

Daniele Ugolini is the CoFounder at Rysk.
DeFi options have failed repeatedly. Ribbon, Opyn, and a long list of protocols shut down or pivoted. Rysk almost joined them, over two years ago they had no product and were close to quitting.
In this new episode of DeFi Frontier, Dan walks through how Rysk rebuilt from zero to $60M TVL in under a year by solving the one thing every previous options protocol got wrong: making it simple enough for anyone to actually use. He demos how users on Rysk use cash secured puts and covered calls, explains why 90% of users roll over their positions every Friday, and addresses the criticism around Rysk's premium vs Derive head on.
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💎 THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORS
🔒 KPK | Best risk-adjusted yield through automated vaults

🏙 MAINSTREET | Bringing proven TradFi yield strategies to DeFi markets

🟠 APYX | The first dividend-backed stablecoin (DBS)

🏦 ALTURA | Bringing the yield institutions kept, to your wallet

🕛 NOON | The highest and safest stablecoin yield, built for the long term

👻 MANTLE | Aave V3 is live on Mantle

🐡 PUFFER INSTITUTIONAL | ETH staking solutions for scale

⚔️ KATANA | Deep liquidity & real yield

⚙️ GEARBOX PROTOCOL | Onchain lending reimagined

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⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Intro
2:01 - Starting Rysk
4:13 - Why DeFi options failed before and what Rysk does differently
11:21 - Demo of Rysk cash secured puts
15:57 - What market conditions would be more ideal for covered calls?
19:24 - Rysk targets a different user than Derive
23:36 - Who’s using Rysk?
26:57 - Addressing criticisms of Rysk's premium
36:40 - What’s next for the Rysk roadmap?
42:01 - Closing
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🔗 GUEST LINKS
► Rysk website: https://rysk.finance/
► Rysk on X: https://x.com/ryskfinance
► Daniele Ugolini on X: https://x.com/DanDeFiEd
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🎙️ MORE FROM THE EDGE PODCAST AND EDGE NEWSLETTER
► Newsletter: https://the-edge.xyz
► Apple: https://tinyurl.com/edgepod
► Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/edgepodspotify
► Linktree: https://linktr.ee/edge_pod
► Follow DeFi Dad: https://x.com/DeFi_Dad
► Follow Nomatic: https://x.com/Nomaticcap
► Learn DeFi: http://defidad.com/
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DISCLAIMER: Nothing said on The Edge Podcast is a recommendation to buy or sell tokens or securities. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared here is financial advice. Any views expressed by hosts or guests on the show are solely their opinions. Always do your own research. DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and guests may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast.

Scoopy Trooples is the Founder of Alchemix.
Many DeFi protocols from 2021 are gone. But Alchemix never quit.
In this episode, Scoopy walks through the full Alchemix V3 redesign: how the new Mix-Yield Token (MYT) creates vaulted yields users can borrow against at 90% LTV, with zero interest, looping up to 10x, and how fixed-term redemptions unlock an entirely new yield primitive. Alchemix was the first protocol to use yield-bearing collateral for loans. V3 looks to be the long overdue evolution of the self-repaying loan, and we think this version can scale to be even bigger than V1.
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💎 THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORS
🔒 KPK | Best risk-adjusted yield through automated vaults

🏙 MAINSTREET | Bringing proven TradFi yield strategies to DeFi markets

🟠 APYX | The first dividend-backed stablecoin (DBS)

🏦 ALTURA | Bringing the yield institutions kept, to your wallet

🕛 NOON | The highest and safest stablecoin yield, built for the long term

👻 MANTLE | Aave V3 is live on Mantle

🐡 PUFFER INSTITUTIONAL | ETH staking solutions for scale

⚔️ KATANA | Deep liquidity & real yield

⚙️ GEARBOX PROTOCOL | Onchain lending reimagined

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⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Intro
1:30 - Alchemix V1 and the idea for self-repaying loans
6:57 - Lessons from V1
11:37 - Ideas leading into V3
16:19 - How Alchemix V1 worked
20:47 - V2’s weaknesses
24:17 - Overview of three pillars of Alchemix V3
31:31 - Pillar 1: Mix-Yield Token (MYT), Alchemix's own vaulted yields
34:27 - Pillar 2: Synthetic borrowing up to 90% LTV, zero interest, 10x leverage
36:39 - Pillar 3: Fixed term redemptions unlocking fixed yield
41:16 - Zero interest on debt but what do we pay?
42:26 - Liquidation risk in Alchemix V3
44:11 - Tracking where V3 strategies deploy money
45:24 - V2 to V3 migration
46:17 - A new fixed yield primitive
49:24 - The tradeoffs of looping in Alchemix V3
55:19 - Example of how a loan, looping, yield works in V3
59:07 - What’s a doomsday scenario for V3?
1:02:01 - Audits
1:06:51 - Could curators be involved in Alchemix V3?
1:08:11 - New ALCX tokenomics coming
1:13:25 - Closing
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🔗 GUEST LINKS
► Alchemix website: https://alchemix.fi/
► Alchemix on X: https://x.com/alchemixfi
► Scoopy Trooples on X: https://x.com/scupytrooples
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🎙️ MORE FROM THE EDGE PODCAST AND EDGE NEWSLETTER
► Newsletter: https://the-edge.xyz
► Apple: https://tinyurl.com/edgepod
► Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/edgepodspotify
► Linktree: https://linktr.ee/edge_pod
► Follow DeFi Dad: https://x.com/DeFi_Dad
► Follow Nomatic: https://x.com/Nomaticcap
► Learn DeFi: http://defidad.com/
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DISCLAIMER: Nothing said on The Edge Podcast is a recommendation to buy or sell tokens or securities. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared here is financial advice. Any views expressed by hosts or guests on the show are solely their opinions. Always do your own research. DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and guests may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast.