Around the Coin

Join host Stephen Sargeant on this special edition of the Around The Coin podcast as he sits down with Dyma Budorin , CEO of Core3 and co-founder/executive chairman of Web3 cybersecurity firm Hacken —to unpack security transparency, risk analytics, and accountability in crypto. Budorin recounts starting Hacken after a 2017 Kyiv competition led to an ICO, and explains why smart contracts are improv...

Host Stephen Sargeant interviews Arnold Lee , CEO and co-founder of Sphere Labs , about building stablecoin-enabled payment infrastructure during the 2022 downturn and focusing on real end-user needs rather than “stablecoin” narratives. Arnold explains how Sphere helps businesses move money cross-border faster and cheaper by optimizing banking and compliance plumbing, especially in emerging market...

Join host Stephen Sargeant interviews Lawrence Zlatkin , Vice President of Tax at Coinbase , and Wendy Walker , Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Sovos , about the fast-changing tax and regulatory landscape for digital assets heading into 2026. They discuss the rollout of US crypto information reporting including Form 1099-DA, the challenges of incomplete cost basis when assets move across w...

In this episode of the Around The Coin Podcast, host Stephen Sargeant is joined by Rick Harmsen , CTO of DataExpert , to compare key takeaways from two conferences happening at the same time: Chainalysis Links in New York and ECC in Cannes. They discuss the growing convergence of AI, regulation, tokenization, stablecoins, and compliance across both developer and blockchain analytics communities, i...

In this episode of the Around The Coin podcast, host Stephen Sargeant sits down with Vugar Usi , CEO of MEXC , to discuss his path from traditional finance and marketing to running a global crypto exchange. Vugar explains what makes MEXC stand out—serving 40M users across 170+ markets with a 99% retail user base, a “list-first” approach with 3,000+ projects, and near-zero fees that he says returne...

Stephen Sargeant interviews Ran Goldi , SVP of Payments & Network at Fireblocks , revisiting his earlier prediction that stablecoins would become a dominant payments rail and discussing 2025 as a breakout year for stablecoins. Rand shares lessons from algorithmic trading and First Digital’s rapid 2017 growth, followed by a severe downturn that forced him to cut the team from 70 to 7, and how f...

Host Stephen Sargeant interviews Jesse Knutson , Head of Operations at Bitfinex Securities , about his path from investment banking (Barclays, Macquarie) to early Blockstream work and the Blockstream Mining Note, which he describes as an early flagship tokenized security. They discuss Liquid and the Lightning Network, why stablecoins and taxation affected Bitcoin payments, and how Bitfinex Securit...

Join host Stephen Sargeant as he interviews Kevin Lehtiniitty , CEO and founder of Borderless.xyz , about stablecoin infrastructure and global payment flows, including the Genius Act and why stablecoins are more practical for payments than Bitcoin. Kevin explains Borderless’s branding, his early work launching TrueUSD, and how trust features like qualified custodians and attestations mattered befo...

Stephen Sargeant interviews Natalya Thakur , CEO and founder of Knova , about how traditional financial institutions are transitioning into digital assets. Thakur recounts her early exposure to blockchain at BlackRock, where she supported initial Bitcoin ETF work and later promoted digital-asset education for women. She explains Knova’s B2B infrastructure software, which runs on-prem or cloud-agno...

Stephen Sargeant interviews Alex Svanevik , CEO and co-founder of Nansen , on how the company evolved from NFT-era analytics into an AI-native, full-stack on-chain trading product that combines real-time intelligence, execution, and portfolio tracking in one self-custodial experience. Alex discusses his AI background, Nansen’s “New Way 2030” pillars, and how agentic workflows are changing engineer...

Join host Stephen Sargeant on a special edition of the Around The Coin Podcast as he sits down with top industry voices to unpack the biggest crypto trends of 2025 and what’s ahead for 2026. Featuring Mouloukou Sanoh , CEO and co-founder of Mansa , the conversation explores how stablecoin infrastructure is transforming global payments, enabling instant cross-border settlement, and driving adoption...

Join host Stephen Sargeant on the Around The Coin podcast as he sits down with Edward Woodford , the CEO of Zerohash . This episode delves deep into the digital asset and stablecoin infrastructure landscape, exploring how Edward built Zero Hash from the ground up, the evolution of stablecoins, and their wide-ranging use cases from payroll to prediction markets. Edward shares his unique journey fro...

In this episode of Around The Coin podcast, host Stephen Sargeant is joined by Matt Malloy , CEO and co-founder of TruFin Labs , to explore the world of staking, liquid staking, and yield in the digital asset ecosystem. They dive into the differences between traditional and liquid staking, the evolution of blockchain technology and smart contracts, and the current state of the market. Matt also sh...

In this compelling episode of Around The Coin podcast, host Stephen Sargeant sits down with Rand Hindi , the CEO of Zama , a cutting-edge company pioneering Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) for Web3 infrastructure. Discover how Zama's revolutionary technology is enabling confidential transactions on public blockchains like Ethereum and Solana, providing unparalleled privacy without compromi...

Join Stephen Sargeant in this episode of the Around The Coin podcast as he sits down with Joe Robinson , CEO and co-founder of Hummingbird . Discover how Hummingbird is revolutionizing the way financial institutions combat financial crimes using AI and advanced analytics. Joe provides insights into emerging trends in financial crime, shares the challenges of being a CEO, and offers valuable book r...

Join Stephen Sargeant , your host of the Around The Coin podcast, as he dives into crypto wallets used by major merchants worldwide with special guest Yolanda Liu , co-founder of Pay Protocol . Discover Yolanda's fascinating journey from AI and holographics to revolutionizing payment services in Web3. Learn how Pay Protocol offers decentralized, self-custodian wallet infrastructure, tackling...

In this fascinating episode of the Around The Coin podcast, host Stephen Sargeant interviews Irina Chuchkina , the Chief Growth Officer at Wallet in Telegram. The discussion dives deep into the wallet infrastructure within Telegram, covering topics like stablecoins, tokenized assets, privacy, and regulation. Irina shares insights into the user adoption strategies, financial inclusion efforts, and...

Join host Stephen Sargeant on this insightful episode of the Around The Coin podcast as he chats with Jamie Elkaleh , CMO of Bitget Wallet . Discover the intricate world of crypto wallets, from technological advancements to global marketing strategies. Jamie delves into topics like TVL, investor protection, compliance, and the expanding role of Bitget Wallet in various jurisdictions. Learn about h...

Join host Stephen Sargeant as he sits down with Emilio Coello , a leading product manager at Aptos Labs , in this engaging episode of Around The Coin Podcast. From his extensive background in regulatory and policy work at Bitso to his current role handling payments and stablecoins at Aptos, Emilio provides deep insights into the blockchain industry. Discover what sets Aptos apart in the competitiv...

Join host Stephen Sargeant on the Around The Coin podcast as he interviews cryptocurrency pioneer Joël Valenzuela , a core member of the Dash DAO . Joel shares his journey from the early days of Bitcoin to living a crypto-only lifestyle, completely disengaged from traditional fiat banking. This episode dives into the challenges and evolving landscape of using crypto exclusively, Dash's unique...

Join host Stephen Sargeant on this episode of the Around The Coin podcast as he sits down with Jess Houlgrave , the CEO of WalletConnect . Discover how WalletConnect is integrating hundreds of wallets and thousands of applications to build a seamless ecosystem that connects diverse elements of the crypto world. Jess shares her insights on the future of AI agent wallets, stablecoin payments, and ho...

In this episode of the Around The Coin podcast, host Stephen Sargeant sits down with Itai Turbahn , co-founder and CEO of Dynamic , to discuss Dynamic's recent acquisition by Fireblocks. Itai dives deep into the details of different types of crypto wallets, comparing Fireblocks and Dynamic, and the intricacies of wallet infrastructure in the fintech and crypto industries. He explains the impo...

Join Stephen Sargeant live from Money 20/20 with Clarisse Hagège , the founder and CEO of Dfns , on the Around The Coin podcast. For the first time, the podcast is featured at Money 20/20, discussing key topics such as cybersecurity, custody, and MPC (multi-party computation). Clarisse shares her founder's journey, their partnership with IBM, and how Dfns is addressing the needs of traditiona...

Join host Stephen Sargeant on the Around The Coin podcast, as he interviews Victor Orlovski , General Partner at R136 Ventures . Victor shares his unconventional journey from being a CTO of a major European bank to founding R136 Ventures, a firm focused on early growth stage FinTech and B2B enterprise startups. In this episode, Victor discusses the challenges and strategies for scaling startups, t...

In this episode of the Around The Coin podcast, host Stephen Sargeant interviews Vik Arun , CEO and co-founder of Superform , a company pioneering new levels of decentralization through their innovative app. Stephen and Vik discuss the current investment landscape, the potential impact of regulations, and the technicalities of deploying blockchain technology. Vik shares his journey from engineerin...