Institutional Capital and the Next Phase of On-Chain Finance with Andy Kangpan of Metalayer

Mike Cagney is the Co-Founder of Figure and a long-time fintech entrepreneur focused on rebuilding financial infrastructure on blockchain rails. Under his leadership, Figure has evolved from a blockchain-native lending platform into a public company advancing tokenized credit, stablecoins, and now on-chain equities. Founded in 2018, Figure was built on the conviction that blockchain could meaningfully reduce costs, improve liquidity, and unlock new forms of financing in traditional financial markets. The company has since brought billions of dollars of credit on-chain and is now pushing into tokenized public equities — including issuing a distinct blockchain-native version of its own stock designed to integrate directly with DeFi protocols. Through Figure's alternative trading system and decentralized finance initiatives, Mike is advancing a vision in which equities, credit, and stablecoins converge into a more efficient, self-custodied, and globally accessible financial system.

Nathan McCauley is the Co-Founder and CEO of Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered digital asset bank and infrastructure platform serving institutions across custody, trading, staking and stablecoin issuance. Anchorage operates at the core of the institutional digital asset stack, combining crypto-native technology with federal regulatory oversight. Nathan founded Anchorage in 2017 with the conviction that digital assets would ultimately be adopted by traditional financial institutions — but only if the underlying infrastructure met the highest standards for security, compliance, and usability. Under his leadership, Anchorage became the first federally chartered digital asset bank in the U.S., regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). In February 2026, Anchorage announced a $100 million strategic investment from Tether, a key partner and the sponsor of USAT, a regulated U.S. stablecoin, underscoring the firm's role as a foundational infrastructure partner in the evolving stablecoin ecosystem. This partnership strengthens Anchorage's position at the intersection of global distribution and institutional adoption. Today, Anchorage supports a broad range of institutional clients, including banks, asset managers, fintechs, public companies, and stablecoin issuers. The platform enables institutions to interact with digital assets while meeting regulatory requirements and plays a central role in the growing adoption of stablecoins, tokenized assets, and on-chain financial infrastructure. Please enjoy the following insights from Nathan McCauley of Anchorage Digital.

Adrian Cachinero Vasiljevic and Sébastien Derivaux are the co-founders of Steakhouse Financial, an internet-native asset manager focused on building non-custodial, on-chain investment products for stablecoins. Emerging from a deep DeFi-native background, Steakhouse operates at the intersection of decentralized finance, institutional asset management, and next-generation financial infrastructure. Prior to starting Steakhouse, Adrian spent time at Goldman Sachs and Bain & Company, and Sébastien created the first decentralized Core Unit at MakerDAO, focused on Real-World Asset and financial reporting. Their combined experience has helped shape some of DeFi's most influential projects, with a focus on transparency, risk management, and cryptographically enforced guarantees. At Steakhouse, they focus on vault curation as a new primitive for asset management, designing products that offer institutional-grade risk management, liquidity, and non-custodial protections. Their work currently centers on asset management products and services for the stablecoin economy and showcases how vaults can scale as a credible alternative — and complement — to traditional investment structures like ETFs. Please enjoy the following insights from Adrian Cachinero Vasiljevic and Sébastien Derivaux of Steakhouse Financial.

Andy Kangpan is a Partner at Metalayer, a crypto-native investment firm focused on backing companies building institutional-grade financial infrastructure on blockchain rails. Founded by former Two Sigma investors and operators, Metalayer plays at the intersection of venture capital, on-chain markets, and next-generation asset management. Andy brings over a decade of experience in venture capital, with a background spanning early-stage technology investing and seven years at Two Sigma, where he led the firm's crypto venture efforts. During his tenure, he worked across private investments and liquid strategies, developing a deep understanding of how blockchain technology can be applied to reinvent core financial plumbing. At Metalayer, Andy focuses on seed and early-stage investments in companies building for the institutional phase of crypto — particularly where on-chain infrastructure intersects with regulated financial services. His work emphasizes disciplined portfolio construction, long-term value creation, and expanding the venture playbook to include new, on-chain-native investment strategies. Please enjoy the following insights from Andy Kangpan of Metalayer.

Steven Venino is a Partner at Strobe, an early-stage, crypto-native venture firm focused on backing founders building long-term, sustainable businesses on blockchain rails. Formerly BlockTower Venture Capital, Strobe was spun out by Steven and his partners in 2024, bringing with it the same fund, portfolio, and investor base — and a renewed focus on disciplined venture investing in digital assets. Steven began his career in traditional finance, with experience across hedge funds and public markets, before moving into crypto during its early institutionalization. At BlockTower, he helped build and deploy a multi-year venture strategy spanning DeFi, real-world assets, consumer crypto, and on-chain financial infrastructure, with an emphasis on ownership, thoughtful token design, and long-term value creation. At Strobe, Steven focuses on leading and co-leading seed investments in companies that often look more like Web2 startups on the surface, but use blockchain infrastructure to unlock new capabilities under the hood. His work centers on applying proven venture frameworks — from portfolio construction to founder support — to a market that has historically been driven by short time horizons and speculative incentives. Operating at the intersection of traditional venture discipline and crypto-native innovation, Steven brings a pragmatic, long-term perspective on token design, capital formation, and what it will take for crypto businesses to mature beyond hype into enduring companies. Please enjoy the following insights from Steven Venino of Strobe.

Nick Cherney is Head of Innovation at Janus Henderson Investors, a global asset manager overseeing more than $400 billion in assets. With over two decades of experience in ETFs and investment product development, Nick has been deeply involved in some of the most important structural shifts in modern asset management. Nick began his career in the early days of ETFs at iShares, where he helped build the category inside what would later become BlackRock. He later founded VelocityShares in 2010, developing specialized exchange-traded products for institutional traders and hedge funds across volatility, commodities, and structured strategies. Today at Janus Henderson, Nick focuses on how blockchain and tokenization intersect with traditional asset management. His work centers on practical adoption — identifying where on-chain infrastructure can deliver real, incremental value, both through tokenized funds serving DeFi-native demand and blockchain-based efficiencies embedded within traditional investment products. Operating at the intersection of ETFs, institutional finance, and on-chain markets, Nick brings a pragmatic perspective on how tokenization can scale — and what it will take for on-chain finance to move beyond experimentation into meaningful adoption. Please enjoy the following insights from Nick Cherney of Janus Henderson.

Niklas Kunkel is the Founder and CEO of Chronicle Labs, a leading oracle infrastructure provider securing both decentralized finance and the rapidly growing market for tokenized real-world assets. Formerly a core contributor at MakerDAO, Niklas helped architect the original DAI stablecoin system — designing the first generation of Ethereum oracles and building foundational infrastructure long before DeFi existed as an industry. Today at Chronicle, Niklas focuses on the critical problem of connecting off-chain financial data to on-chain markets with the reliability, security, and transparency required by institutions. His team provides oracle infrastructure for tokenized money market funds, private credit, stablecoins, and next-generation financial products issued by firms like BlackRock, Apollo, Janus Henderson, and Superstate. Operating at the intersection of blockchain, data security, and institutional asset management, Niklas brings a rare perspective across both crypto-native and traditional financial systems. His work is helping define how tokenized assets are priced, monitored, and integrated into automated on-chain markets — and why robust oracle infrastructure is becoming core to the future of tokenized finance. Please enjoy the following insights from Niklas Kunkel of Chronicle Labs.

Thomas Cowan is the Head of Tokenization at Galaxy, a crypto-focused merchant bank bridging traditional finance and on-chain markets. Based in New York, he leads tokenization within Galaxy's investment banking arm, where his team focuses on structuring and placing tokenized products — from money market funds to on-chain debt and securitized credit. At Galaxy, Thomas works at the intersection of institutional capital and blockchain infrastructure, helping traditional financial institutions explore how blockchain can deliver faster settlement, greater transparency, and more efficient secondary markets for complex products like CLOs and other structured debt. His perspective spans both TradFi and crypto-native markets, giving him a front-row seat to how tokenization is evolving from technology experiment to core market infrastructure. Please enjoy the following insights from Thomas Cowan of Galaxy.

Tanner Taddeo is the Co-Founder and CEO of Stable Sea, a company building the infrastructure layer for stablecoin-powered cross-border payments. Stable Sea connects U.S. and emerging market businesses through stablecoin rails, enabling faster, cheaper, and more transparent international transactions. Before founding Stable Sea, Tanner led product and strategy initiatives at Plaid and Block, where he helped build core financial infrastructure powering next-generation fintech applications. His experience spans financial inclusion, enterprise payments, and Web3 infrastructure — positioning him at the intersection of traditional finance and on-chain innovation. Please enjoy the following insights from Tanner Taddeo.

Nikhil Raghuveera is the Co-Founder and CEO of Predicate, a company building on-chain policy infrastructure that enables organizations to set programmable, enforceable rules for transactions within blockchain-based financial systems. Predicate's technology underpins compliance and policy enforcement for next-generation stablecoins, privacy protocols, and real-world asset tokenization platforms. Before founding Predicate, Nikhil was Head of Strategy and Innovation at Celo, where he led many of the blockchain's early Web3 deployments and helped shape its evolution from a Layer 1 to Layer 2 network. He has also been a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, focused on digital asset policy and the future of global financial systems. Earlier in his career, Nikhil worked in economic and management consulting, including at BCG, advising on securities, antitrust, and financial innovation. Bridging deep technical expertise with a sophisticated understanding of regulation and markets, Nikhil is helping define how institutions and fintechs operate on-chain as blockchain becomes a global financial settlement layer. Please enjoy the following insights from Nikhil Raghuveera.