Ep. 539 Ran Hammer | Institutions in DeFi, Yield-earning Assets and Altseason 2025 with Orbs

For episode 542 of the BlockHash Podcast, host Brandon Zemp is joined by Jacob Phillips, Co-founder of Lombard Finance.Lombard is on a mission to expand the digital economy by transforming Bitcoin’s utility from a store of value into a productive financial tool with LBTC. ⏳ Timestamps: 0:00 | Introduction0:30 | Who is Jacob Phillips?2:25 | What is Lombard Finance?6:16 | DeFi on Bitcoin7:09 | LBTC and Yield8:42 | Future of BitcoinFi12:24 | Lombard at Permissionless12:56 | Lombard website, socials & community13:14 | RAPID FIRE SESSION 🔥 🎙 Lombard Links: 🔗 Website: https://www.lombard.finance/ 🔗 X: https://x.com/lombard_finance 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lombardfinance/ 🔗 Telegram: https://t.me/+yKL57AkmSg84YTgx 🔗 Discord: https://discord.com/invite/2HG7G69twc  📢 Disclaimer: None of our content constitutes, nor is intended to act as financial advice. It’s important to always do your own research and due diligence before making any investment decision. Digital Assets and Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and carry a considerable amount of risk.

For episode 541 of the BlockHash Podcast, host Brandon Zemp is joined by Howard Wu Founder of Aleo Labs, a company focused on developing products for compliant, confidential payments and creating tools for developers to deploy and manage applications on the Aleo blockchain. ⏳ Timestamps: 0:00 | Introduction0:57 | Who is Howard Wu?2:58 | What is Aleo?4:22 | AleoBFT7:09 | Aleo Ecosystem10:20 | AI applications on Aleo11:31 | Aleo Token13:03 | Balancing Compliance & Confidentiality17:45 | Real world adoption of Blockchain20:21 | How to make Web3 UI/UX better22:26 | Aleo Roadmap23:25 | Aleo website, socials & community 🎙 Aleo Links: 🔗 Website: https://aleo.org 🔗 X: https://x.com/AleoHQ 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/1howardwu 🔗 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aleofoundation 🔗 Discord: https://discord.com/invite/aleo  📢 Disclaimer: None of our content constitutes, nor is intended to act as financial advice. It’s important to always do your own research and due diligence before making any investment decision. Digital Assets and Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and carry a considerable amount of risk.

For episode 540 of the BlockHash Podcast, host Brandon Zemp is joined by Mike Lieberman CTO and Co-Founder of Kusari.Kusari began in 2022 with the goal to secure the software supply chain. They are passionate about this problem, as they constantly faced the same issue: identifying the software they’re using and protecting against threats to that software. This led to slow response to security vulnerabilities, uncertainty about licensing and compliance, and even basic maintenance challenges. Kusari brings transparency and security to software supply chains, providing clarity and actionable insights. ⏳ Timestamps: 0:00 | Introduction1:10 | Who is Mike Lieberman?6:10 | What is Kusari?15:37 | Open-source software GUAC20:00 | Threat landscape in 202528:43 | AI for software security31:03 | Decentralized AI models32:40 | Quantum computing39:27 | Kusari roadmap 202544:32 | Kusari website, socials & community 🎙 Kusari Links: 🔗 Website: https://www.kusari.dev/ 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-lieberman-65786ba 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kusaridev/  📢 Disclaimer: None of our content constitutes, nor is intended to act as financial advice. It’s important to always do your own research and due diligence before making any investment decision. Digital Assets and Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and carry a considerable amount of risk.

For episode 539 of the BlockHash Podcast, host Brandon Zemp is joined by Ran Hammer to discuss how Orbs is bringing CeFi-level execution to DeFi.Ran currently leads Business Development, Marketing and Communities for Orbs as well as being in charge of Legal and Compliance. Prior to joining Orbs and after specializing as a corporate lawyer in the fields of high-tech, venture capital and cross border M&A, Ran founded the blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital coin practice at GKH Law Offices and was established as one of Israel’s leading blockchain law practitioners. ⏳ Timestamps: 0:00 | Introduction1:20 | Update on Orbs in 20253:10 | DeFi partnerships4:14 | Institutions getting into DeFi8:32 | SEC DeFi exemptions9:30 | U.S. landscape for DeFi16:03 | Future of Yield in DeFi20:05 | Is Altseason coming in 2025?24:00 | Bitcoin DeFi25:15 | Orbs ecosystem28:30 | Orbs roadmap31:28 | Orbs website, socials & community 🎙 Orbs Links: 🔗 Website: https://www.orbs.com/ 🔗 X: https://x.com/orbs_network 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ran-hammer-32323278/ 🔗 Telegram: https://t.me/OrbsNetwork 🔗 Discord: https://discord.com/invite/sswGDYGBt5    ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬● 📢 Disclaimer: None of our content constitutes, nor is intended to act as financial advice. It’s important to always do your own research and due diligence before making any investment decision. Digital Assets and Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and carry a considerable amount of risk.

For episode 538 of the BlockHash Podcast, host Brandon Zemp is joined by Luke Barwikowski, Founder of Pixels while at Permissionless 4.Pixels is a captivating, open-ended world of farming and exploration, built one pixel at a time. Gathering resources, advancing skills, and building relationships while exploring the story and quests woven throughout the Pixels Universe. ⏳ Timestamps: 0:00 | Introduction1:16 | Who is Luke Barwikowski?8:04 | Future of Web3 Gaming17:12 | How does Pixels work?21:07 | UI/UX issues in Web326:42 | Pixels at Permissionless32:34 | Pixels website, socials & community36:56 | RAPID FIRE SESSION 🔥 🎙 Pixels Links: 🔗 Website: https://www.pixels.xyz/ 🔗 X: https://x.com/pixels_online 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixelsxyz 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lbarwiko/ 🔗 Discord: https://discord.com/invite/pixels  📢 Disclaimer: None of our content constitutes, nor is intended to act as financial advice. It’s important to always do your own research and due diligence before making any investment decision. Digital Assets and Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and carry a considerable amount of risk.

For episode 537, Brandon Zemp is joined by Yuval Rooz, Co-founder of Digital Asset, the leading network for tokenized real-world assets. Digital Asset provides the platform, tokenization accelerators and services to join, build, run and connect regulatory-grade digital asset solutions, in a unified network. Learn more at digitalasset.com ⏳ Timestamps: 0:00 | Introduction1:00 | Who is Yuval Rooz?2:20 | Canton Network explained4:14 | Digital Asset explained5:55 | Canton Network ecosystem9:50 | What’s driving stablecoin interest14:10 | Impact of tokenization on global liquidity20:12 | Crypto regulations and legislation26:55 | Digital Asset roadmap29:10 | Digital Asset website and socials 🎙 Digital Asset Links: 🔗 Website: https://www.digitalasset.com 🔗 X: https://x.com/digitalassetcom 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digitalassetcom/ 🔗 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@digitalassetcom  📢 Disclaimer: None of our content constitutes, nor is intended to act as financial advice. It’s important to always do your own research and due diligence before making any investment decision. Digital Assets and Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and carry a considerable amount of risk.

For episode 536, Brandon Zemp is joined by Scott Stuart, Founder of Kava, a decentralized blockchain that combines the speed and interoperability of Cosmos with the developer power of Ethereum.Under Scott’s leadership, Kava has been rolling out AI-powered tools that automate multi-chain yield strategies, streamline on-chain asset management, and remove the trial-and-error guesswork from DeFi. He firmly believes this blend of AI + DeFi is what will finally knock down the barriers to entry—transforming the entire ecosystem from a niche playground into a genuine option for everyday finance.Learn more by going to https://www.kava.io  ⏳ Timestamps: 0:00 | Introduction1:07 | Who is Scott Stuart?4:27 | What is Kava?8:15 | Kava Ecosystem11:27 | Stablecoin Summer16:22 | Web3 coming back to US market23:40 | Will China allow Web3?25:32 | Kava and AI30:48 | Decentralized AI33:50 | Kava 2025 roadmap34:58 | Kava website, socials & community 🎙 Kava Links: 🔗 Website: https://www.kavalabs.io 🔗 Website: https://www.kava.io 🔗 X: https://x.com/KAVA_CHAIN 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kava-labs/ 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottcstuart 🔗 Telegram: https://t.me/kavalabs  📢 Disclaimer: None of our content constitutes, nor is intended to act as financial advice. It’s important to always do your own research and due diligence before making any investment decision. Digital Assets and Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and carry a considerable amount of risk.

For episode 535, Matthew Asbell joins Brandon Zemp to discuss IP protections on Blockchain.Matthew D. Asbell, a partner at Lippes Mathias LLP, has decades of experience advising clients globally on trademark and patent matters. As an intellectual property attorney, he’s uniquely positioned to help small businesses navigate this pivotal moment in IP law. He assists clients in clearing, obtaining, enforcing, and defending trademarks, patents, designs, and copyrights in the United States and throughout the world. He also advises on domain names, social media, and related issues.Before becoming a lawyer, Matthew developed a broad base of expertise in roles across various industries, including managing emerging singer-songwriters, training corporate employees in software applications, and studying medicine.Matthew serves as an adjunct professor of law and guest lecturer at Fordham University and The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (Yeshiva University). He has also taught at Columbia University and the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE) in Madrid, Spain, and regularly mentors new lawyers and law students.As the host of INTANGIFY, a regular podcast on the intangible aspects of business, Matthew explores the complexities of intellectual property. He co-chairs the intellectual property alumni practice group of Cardozo Law and leads Steadfast, an international network of IP practitioners. Additionally, he actively chairs and participates in bar association committees in the American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law and the International Trademark Association.⏳ Timestamps: 0:00 | Introduction1:12 | Who is Matthew Asbell?3:43 | What is Lippes Mathias?6:08 | Intellectual Property in 202511:34 | IP protection solutions20:18 | NFTs and IP22:33 | Reputation and Likeness24:14 | Client cases32:38 | INTANGIFY Podcast36:36 | 2025 plans 🎙 Matthew Asbell’s Links: 🔗 Website: https://www.lippes.com/team/matthew-d-asbell-561 🔗 Website: https://www.matthewasbell.com 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asbellesq/about/?viewAsMember=true    ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬● 📢 Disclaimer: None of our content constitutes, nor is intended to act as financial advice. It’s important to always do your own research and due diligence before making any investment decision. Digital Assets and Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and carry a considerable amount of risk.

For episode 534 of the BlockHash Podcast, host Brandon Zemp is joined by Jawad Ashraf, CEO of Vanar Chain to discuss how they are the intelligent chain for real world finance.Vanar Chain is working on their innovative Neutron AI Compression technology. Neutron introduces advanced AI-driven compression, enabling a 50MB file to fit into a mere 25-50 character seed stored directly on-chain. This innovation eliminates reliance on external storage systems, dramatically reducing costs and improving blockchain scalability and efficiency. ⏳ Timestamps: 0:00 | Introduction1:04 | Who is Jawad Ashraf?8:10 | What is Vanar Chain?16:34 | Vanar Chain ecosystem20:56 | Developer resources22:20 | Innovation in on-chain data storage25:50 | Consumer usability in Web330:57 | Future of Semantic Internet36:40 | Vanar Chain roadmap for 202538:08 | Conferences and Events38:50 | Web3 in Dubai40:48 | Vanar website, socials & community 🎙 Vanar Links: 🔗 Website: https://vanarchain.com/ 🔗 X: https://x.com/vanarchain 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jawadashrafuae/ 🔗 Telegram: https://t.me/vanarofficial 🔗 Discord: https://discord.gg/fBwPGQUwBm  📢 Disclaimer: None of our content constitutes, nor is intended to act as financial advice. It’s important to always do your own research and due diligence before making any investment decision. Digital Assets and Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and carry a considerable amount of risk.

For episode 533, Brandon Zemp is joined by Bundeep Singh Rangar, CEO of Fineqia, a digital asset business that builds and targets investments in early and growth-stage technology companies.  Fineqia provides investors with institutional grade exposure to opportunities emanating from convergence of blockchain based Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and Traditional Finance (TradFi). Bundeep is a thought leader in blockchain technologies and has spoken at influential events, including Paris Blockchain Week, Insurance 2025 in London, the South Summit in Madrid, the FinTech & InsurTech Digital Congress in Warsaw, and Rakuten's Technology Conference in Tokyo.  Learn more about the company’s products and portfolio at www.fineqia.com.  ⏳ Timestamps: 0:00 | Introduction1:26 | Who is Bundeep Singh Rangar?8:34 | What is Fineqia?12:36 | Fineqia vetting process14:25 | ETFs vs ETNs22:55 | Regulations in Europe vs U.S.30:04 | ETNs and Bitcoin36:38 | Bitcoin and AI38:37 | Fineqia portfolio companies41:26 | Fineqia roadmap50:28 | Fineqia website & socials51:22 | Events and conferences 🎙 Fineqia Links: 🔗 Website: https://www.fineqia.com/ca 🔗 X: https://x.com/fineqiaplatform 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fineqia 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rangar  📢 Disclaimer: None of our content constitutes, nor is intended to act as financial advice. It’s important to always do your own research and due diligence before making any investment decision. Digital Assets and Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and carry a considerable amount of risk.