#484: Karia Samaroo, Founder of xTAO, on Bittensor, Decentralized AI, Crypto in Canada, and DATs

Karia Samaroo is the founder/former CEO and Chairman of WonderFi, which is being acquired by Robinhood for $180M. Karia now heads a startup called xTAO, which is devoted to the decentralized AI network Bittensor. Karia is also a former securities lawyer who used his legal expertise to enter the crypto industry in 2016, working with firms like Galaxy Digital before going on to found WonderFi. In this conversation, we discuss:- Robinhood acquiring WonderFi for $180M - Bittensor subnets  - xTAO  - Bittensor’s AI network model- DATs raising money in the least dilutive way possible - Decentralized AI - The convergence of crypto + AI - Crypto in Canada - Q4 2025 crypto hot takes  xTAOX: @xtaohqWebsite: xtao.coLinkedIn: xTAOKaria SamarooX: @samaroo00 LinkedIn: Karia Samaroo---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.  PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Nassim Eddequiouaq is co-founder and CEO of Bastion, a pioneer in regulated stablecoin infrastructure and NYDFS-certified provider. Bastion is the stablecoin issuance platform for financial institutions and enterprises. Prior to founding Bastion, Nass was the Chief Information Security Officer at a16z Crypto, and held senior management roles across Security and Infrastructure at Facebook, Anchorage, Docker, and Apple. He received a M.S. in Computer Science from Ecole d’Ingénieurs en Informatique. In this conversation, we discuss:- What happened on the 10/10 crypto crash? - Winners and losers after the crypto crash  - Bridging traditional finance and digital assets through enterprise-ready solutions  - The diverse use cases of stablecoins  - Why stablecoins (especially USD-pegged) are poised for mass enterprise adoption  - The growing interest in branded stablecoins  - Bastion’s NYDFS trust charter  - GENIUS Act and STABLE Act  - Why regulatory clarity is critical  - Privacy for stablecoin users  BastionX: @BastionPlatformWebsite: bastion.comLinkedIn: BastionNassim EddequiouaqX: @nassyweazyLinkedIn: Nassim Eddequiouaq---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.  PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

David Carvalho, Founder, CEO, and Chief Scientist of Naoris Protocol. He is one of the most seasoned voices at the intersection of cybersecurity and blockchain. He is the founder of Naoris Protocol, the world’s first decentralized security solution powered by a post-quantum blockchain and distributed AI, backed by Tim Draper and the Former Chief of Intelligence of NATO.With over 20 years of experience as a Global Chief Information Security Officer and ethical hacker, David has operated at both technical and C-suite levels in multi-billion-dollar organizations across Europe and the UK, including as CISO of London City Airport and Global CISO of OCS Group. He has advised nation-states and critical infrastructure under NATO on cyber-warfare, cyber-terrorism, and cyber-espionage.A blockchain pioneer since 2013, David has also contributed to innovations in PoS/PoW mining and next-gen cybersecurity. His work emphasizes risk mitigation, ethical wealth creation, and value-driven advancements in crypto, automation, and distributed AI.In this conversation, we discuss:- 2028 is when all financial institutions need to be post-quantum resilient - How can we quantum-proof our assets?  - Highest risk sectors = healthcare, national security, electrical grids, telecom  - The SEC’s Post-Quantum Financial Infrastructure Framework  - What percentage of your portfolio should be in quantum-safe investments?  - Post-quantum crypto  - The future of quantum computing  - Next steps for Naoris  - Naoris’ growth  - Decentralized cybersecurity mesh  NaorisX: @NaorisProtocolWebsite: naorisprotocol.comLinkedIn: Naoris ProtocolDavid CarvalhoX: @katanationcyberLinkedIn: David Joao Vieira Carvalho---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.  PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Will Reeves co-founded Fold in 2019 and has served as Chief Executive Officer of Fold and as a Director since its inception. Over the past eight years, Mr. Reeves has held product leadership positions at Thesis, Inc., A3Ventures, LLC and BYND, leading digital transformation and the development of innovation projects for Google and other Fortune 500 technology companies. Prior to founding Fold, Mr. Reeves was the Head of Payments at Thesis, Inc. from May 2018 to September 2019, where he led the development and strategic direction of the Bitcoin venture studio’s innovative payment and financial technologies. Mr. Reeves also has extensive experience in consumer finance. Prior to joining Thesis, Inc., Mr. Reeves played a key role at A3 Ventures, advancing mobility and commerce through the corporate innovation and investment arm of American Automobile Association. Mr. Reeves holds a B.A. in Rhetoric and Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. We believe Mr. Reeves is well qualified to serve on the New Fold Board because of his background in product development, consumer finance and bitcoin and his operational and historical expertise gained from serving as Fold’s Chief Executive Officer since August 2019. In this conversation, we discuss:- Why Big Tech Wallets Didn’t Change the Economics of Spending - Fold’s Approach: Redefining the Economics - Bitcoin rewards without "buy-in" - Building a “Bitcoin-first” financial product stack - Challenges of building with Bitcoin - Crypto/Bitcoin maturity & infrastructure improving - Building Bitcoin payments + Bitcoin custody into the app - BTC All-time high - Current outlook on BTC - Bitcoin giftcards FoldX: @fold_appWebsite: foldapp.comLinkedIn: FoldWill ReevesX: @wlrvsLinkedIn: Will Reeves---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.  PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Hantao Yuan is Co-Founder of Moku, and serves as Moku's marketing growth chief and community strategist. He has been acquiring creators and users for over a decade for game publishers and gaming brands. He has also sold his own esports team through M&A to Overtime sports, and advised 2 other teams through M&A.Moku is backed by a world-class team of AI experts from MIT, IBM, and Johns Hopkins. The company has already built Web3’s largest distribution engine, driving over 8 million daily active users across partner launches and more than $7 billion in cumulative fully diluted value (FDV). With this foundation, Moku is uniquely positioned to expand Grand Arena beyond Web3 and into mainstream fantasy sports and interactive wagering markets. Grand Arena is converging the $27B fantasy sports market, the $40B prediction market, and the $50B+ AI gaming sector.In this conversation, we discuss:- Letting users speculate on gaming- AI content is getting out of control - Speculation + daily fantasy + AI - Betting on live matches - Current state of Web3 Gaming - Bridging Web2 & Web3 audiences - Speculation is the future of entertainment - Why Prediction Markets will work - Hantao selling his own esports to Overtime sports - The history of Moku Moku X: @Moku_HQDiscord: discord.gg/mokuYouTube: @MokuHQHantao YuanX: @HantaoLinkedIn: Hantao Yuan---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.  PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Sam McIngvale is the Head of Product at OP Labs, a core development team supporting Optimism’s OP Stack. Prior to joining OP Labs, he co-founded wallet infrastructure provider Turnkey and was Head of Product for Coinbase Custody. Sam studied Computer Science at Northwestern University. In this conversation, we discuss:- Optimism’s OP Stack - Moving parts of your business onchain - Fortune 500 companies will run their own blockchains - The growth of Coinbase Custody - Flashblocks - Why exchanges and fintechs are coming to Optimism - L1s vs L2s - Coinbase shareholders vs BASE token … what happens? - Providing infrastructure for stablecoins, payments - What is Superchain Optimism Website: optimism.ioX: @OptimismLinkedIn: Optimism FoundationSam McIngvale X: @sammcingvaleLinkedIn: Sam M.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.  PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Alex Shevchenko is the Co-Founder of Aurora & Defuse, pioneering next-gen UX with Intents and Chain Signatures for an agentic, user-first future. Defuse Labs develops NEAR Intents to enable seamless cross-chain interactions in an automated world, connecting AI, services, and financial applications. Alex is on a mission to make blockchain invisible, creating seamless, secure, and intuitive crypto experiences for everyday users.In this conversation, we discuss:- In crypto, we have investors, not users - AI & Intents - User-owned AI - Building Rainbow Bridge and Aurora - Decentralized Confidential Machine Learning (DCML) - The AI LLM lifecycle - How AI agents will power the crypto economy - The importance of chain abstraction - NEAR intents are unlocking autonomous finance - Creating intuitive automated agent workflows - AI agents that can transact, adapt, and execute cross-chainAurora Labs Website: auroralabs.devX: @auroraisnearDiscord: discord.gg/auroralabsAlex ShevchenkoX: @AlexAuroraDevLinkedIn: Alex Shevchenko---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.  PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

MacBrennan Peet is the Founder of Project 0, the first multi-venue, DeFi-native prime broker on Solana. Mac has built and scaled companies across finance, trading, and healthtech, with multiple successful exits and acquisitions, previously founding and exiting Temporal, selling Cabana Health, and being acqui-hired from his hedge fund, KCM. He also co-founded marginfi, a leading decentralized margin protocol, and MRGN Research. Earlier in his career, he worked on mid-market deals at MedEquity Capital and in institutional consulting at Morgan Stanley. He has also advised organizations like Late Checkout and founded two cancer-focused nonprofits. Today, Mac focuses on building systems that manage billions in value and enable more efficient capital access for decentralized finance. In this conversation, we discuss:- Creating the first DeFi-native prime broker on Solana - Borrowing against your entire DeFi portfolio - Building a credit and risk engine - Liquidity fragmentation - Simplified multi-venue portfolio management - Entertainment finance - Onchain prices are becoming better than offchain prices - Onchain vs offchain credit markets Project 0 Website: 0.xyzX: @0dotxyzTelegram: t.me/p0dotxyzMacBrennan Peet X: @macbrennan_ccWebsite: macbrennan.cc---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.  PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Czhang Lin, a seasoned crypto investor with traditional finance expertise, serves as Head of LBank Labs and Partner at LBank Exchange. Transitioning to crypto in 2017 after honing macro strategies, he led investments as Director at PreAngel and Partner at JRR Crypto, driving over 100 successful projects.As Head of LBank Labs, Czhang leads a global Web3 venture capital platform with over $100 million AUM, dedicated to early-stage investments in compliant blockchain infrastructure, regulated DeFi applications, AI integration, and scalable decentralized solutions—supporting founders and scaling innovation into real-world impact.In this conversation, we discuss:- Living in China - Chinese super apps - LBank - Crypto exchange founders are working 24/7 - LBank’s Global Blockchain Forum at Korea National Assembly - Crypto market outlook - The ongoing competition among stablecoins - CEXs launching their own Layer 2 solutions - PayFi (payment solutions) LBank Labs Website: lbanklabs.comX: @LBankLabsLinkedIn: LBank LabsCzhang Lin X: @Czhang_LBankLinkedIn: Czhang Lin---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.  PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Joseph Chalom joined SharpLink as Co-Chief Executive Officer, bringing with him over 20 years of institutional leadership at the intersection of traditional finance and digital assets. As former Managing Director and Head of Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships at BlackRock, Joseph was instrumental in driving the firm’s global strategy across digital assets, fintech innovation, and blockchain infrastructure. In this conversation, we discuss:- The Ethereum long-term investment thesis - Ethereum DATs - SBET is not just an investment - Explaining Ethereum to TradFi - The history of ETH in public markets - Staking ETH - Co-competition it great for Ethereum DATs - Generating revenue in ETH - DAT financing structures - The importance of mNAV in DATs - Institutions care about 2 things = security & liquidity SharpLink Website: sharplink.com X: @SharpLinkGamingLinkedIn: SharpLink (SBET)Joseph Chalom X: @joechalomLinkedIn: Joseph Chalom---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.  PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50