Technology

The Rollup

Where digital assets and finance converge. Live from the financial capital of the world.

Website: https://therollup.co/

Latest Episodes:

How To Prepare For The AI Freight Train - Illia Polosukhin Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

Illia Polosukhin breaks down why AI needs blockchain as its backend, how formal verification could rewrite every line of code online, and what a post-labor economy looks like.

We cover:

- The Near.com Unified Interface Launch

- Why Financial AI Needs Verifiable Privacy

- The AI Agent Marketplace Explained

- Chinese Open-Source Models vs. US Frontier Models

- Cloud Inference Without the CapEx or Data Exposure

- Will AI Break the Power Grid?

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:12 NEAR's Unified Commerce Layer

02:39 Agentic Chain Abstraction

04:50 Convergence of AI & Crypto

07:49 Why Blockchain Is Built For Bots

08:36 Crypto's Reputation Problem in AI

10:04 Intent Infrastructure & Partnerships

13:30 Consumer Product Distribution Strategy

15:43 infiniFi, Relay Ads

16:30 Formal Verification & Code Rewriting

20:09 Self-Replicating Agents Debate

23:33 Post-AGI Economics & GDP

24:02 Hibachi Ad

27:17 Will Agents Create Their Own Currency?

28:42 Tech Workforce & Gig Economy Shift

31:18 DoorDash Is Cooked: Agent Marketplaces

Website: https://therollup.co/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd...

Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcast

Follow Rob on X: https://www.x.com/robbie_rollup

Follow Andy on X: https://www.x.com/ayyyeandy

Join our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZh

The Rollup Disclosures: https://goodidea.ventures

𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗥: 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘍𝘪 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬, 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭, 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴.

The $650M Bet on Crypto's AI Future with Haseeb Qureshi Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

Haseeb from Dragonfly explains why Visa and Mastercard aren't cooked yet, why most crypto x AI plays will fail, and where the real opportunity sits.

We cover:

- Stablecoins to $2.7 Trillion?

- Why AI Agents Won't Use Credit Cards

- The "Two Track" Future of Agent Payments

- Are Wallets & Front-Ends Cooked?

- Micropayments & The SaaS Apocalypse

- China Caught Distilling US AI Models

- Why Decentralized AI's Real Moment Is Still Ahead

- Where Dragonfly's $650M Fund Is Betting

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:37 Stablecoin Growth to Multi-Trillion

02:24 The Viral Credit Card Crisis Article

03:42 Why Visa & Mastercard Aren't Cooked Yet

09:25 Agent Payments & KYC Guardrails

10:32 Just Give It $20 & See What Happens

12:51 Hibachi, Relay Ads

13:09 Wallets Get Disintermediated

15:10 Micropayments & The SaaS Apocalypse

18:15 Dragonfly's $650M Fund Allocation

18:50 infiniFi Ad

19:21 Flash-in-the-Pan AI Products

22:16 Where Crypto x AI Actually Converges

24:41 China Distilling US AI Models

26:58 The Case for Decentralized AI

29:06 Closing Thoughts

Website: https://therollup.co/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd...

Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcast

Follow Rob on X: https://www.x.com/robbie_rollup

Follow Andy on X: https://www.x.com/ayyyeandy

Join our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZh

The Rollup Disclosures: https://goodidea.ventures

How Tokenization Is Disrupting Legacy Finance (...And What Comes Next) - Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

There is a massive change happening in the world of finance, led by tokenization.

Tokenized ETFs, vaults, and new products are moving at lightspeed.

Bitwise's Matt Hougan breaks down why institutional DeFi isn't coming, but is already here. He explains why vaults will do to ETFs what ETFs did to mutual funds, and what "neo finance" actually means for your portfolio.

We cover:

- Why Tokenizing All ETFs is Inevitable

- Apollo + Morpho: What Institutions Actually Want From DeFi

- How Vaults Will Drastically Change ETFs As We Know Them

- The Ghost of Gary Gensler Still Haunting Token Value Accrual

- Fat Wallet Thesis: Who Really Owns the Customer

- What "Neo Finance" Actually Means

The Rollup

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:20 BlackRock x Uniswap & Apollo x Morpho Reaction

04:10 Tokenizing All ETFs

07:30 Permissioned DeFi

10:39 Hibachi, Relay Ads

11:09 Chain-Centric vs. Asset-Centric Mental Model

16:45 Fat Protocol vs. Fat Wallet Thesis

21:24 infiniFi ad

21:55 Where Bitwise Sits in the Stack

26:00 Vaults vs. ETFs: History Rhyming

32:00 Token Value Accrual

36:30 Aave's "Will Win" Proposal Breakdown

41:00 Treasury Companies & Market Bottoms

44:30 Catalysts for the Next Bull Run

47:45 Defining Neo Finance

Website: https://therollup.co/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd...

Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcast

Follow Rob on X: https://www.x.com/robbie_rollup

Follow Andy on X: https://www.x.com/ayyyeandy

Join our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZh

The Rollup Disclosures: https://goodidea.ventures

How Gmoney Mastered OpenClaw to Run His Business Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

Gmoney built an algorithmic trading engine, a personal legal team, an automated content pipeline, and a full website. All of this was done through OpenClaw running on a Mac Mini in his house.

He walks us through his full Discord setup, how he spawned sub-agents like Saul Goodman for contracts and Milhouse for research, and why his OpenClaw pitches him new business ideas every morning like a daily Shark Tank.

We cover:

- Why He Ditched Telegram and Built OpenClaw on Discord

- How He Structures Channels: Health, Legal, Trading, Content & More

- His OpenClaw "Shark Tank" That Pitches Money-Making Ideas Daily

- Spawning Sub-Agents

- OpenClaw + Interactive Brokers

- Auto-Generating Tweets in His Voice

- The Gateway Restart Bug That Still Catches Him Off Guard

- Why OpenClaw's Real Unlock Is Working From Anywhere

The Rollup

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:34 Near Ad

00:51 Gmoney's OpenClaw Journey

01:14 Telegram's Limits

03:56 Gateway Bugs & Response Time

04:50 Relay Ad

05:50 Early Friction

08:17 Where Opus 4.5 Differs

09:33 Buying a Mac Mini & First Setup

10:24 OpenClaw's Mobile Productivity

11:34 Building Websites Through OpenClaw

11:56 Agent-First Websites

16:35 Creating Auto Content

20:55 Hibachi Ad, infiniFi Ad

21:42 Backtesting 88,000 Trading Strategies

23:24 Connecting OpenClaw to Interactive Brokers

26:35 The Polymarket Bot That Lost $200

30:25 Sub-Agent Framework

33:02 Whoop Integration & Health Channel

33:41 OpenClaw Upgrades Its Own Skills

35:38 Curation Over Knowledge

38:34 Whisper Flow & Closing Thoughts

Website: https://therollup.co/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd...

Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcast

Follow Rob on X: https://www.x.com/robbie_rollup

Follow Andy on X: https://www.x.com/ayyyeandy

Join our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZh

The Rollup Disclosures: https://goodidea.ventures

Banks Are Fighting To Block Stablecoin Yield and Why That's Bullish with Sean Kelley Feb 17, 2026

Show notes

Banks are actively fighting to block yield-bearing stablecoins because they know what's coming.

We sit down with Sean Kelley, VP at Frax, to cover how frxUSD is bridging DeFi and TradFi, why RWA looping is attracting institutional capital, and what the GENIUS Act means for stablecoin payments.

We cover:

- Why Banks Are Terrified of Yield-Bearing Stablecoins

- The RWA Looping Strategy Institutions Are Racing Into

- How frxUSD Is Backed by Multiple RWA Issuers

- The GENIUS Act's Real Impact on Stablecoin Competition

- ATW's $50M Bet on frxUSD

- Frax's Play to Cross the TradFi Chasm

The Rollup

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:10 Frax Update & Growth Strategy

04:56 Institutional Vaults & RWA Backing

07:25 Hibachi, Infinify Ads

08:08 RWA Looping Thesis

11:16 Why Institutions Are Looping On Chain

12:43 Growing Stablecoin Supply

14:25 Genius Act & Regulatory Landscape

16:48 Yield Passthrough & Bank Workarounds

18:18 Trezor, YEET Ads

18:42 Capital Flight From Banks

20:59 Banks vs. Stablecoins Dynamic

22:52 Repo Markets & Large Capital Flows

24:18 Canton, LayerZero & Tempo Partnerships

25:29 Institutional FOMO & Pipeline Evolution

27:20 Engineering Acceleration & Bottlenecks

28:38 Roadmap: Aave, Ether.fi & Mobile App

31:05 Closing Thoughts

Website: https://therollup.co/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd...

Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcast

Follow Rob on X: https://www.x.com/robbie_rollup

Follow Andy on X: https://www.x.com/ayyyeandy

Join our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZh

The Rollup Disclosures: https://goodidea.ventures

The Aave Will Win Framework with Stani Kulechov Feb 13, 2026

Show notes

Aave Labs is at its most critical crossroads.

The "Aave Will Win Framework" proposes sending 100% of product revenue to the DAO in exchange for annual funding unifying Labs and token holders under one vision.

Stani Kulechov breaks down how v4, consumer apps, and brand governance position Aave to finance the future.

We cover:

- The "Aave Will Win" Framework Explained

- How v4's Modular Architecture Changes Everything

- 100% Revenue Share: Labs to DAO

- Consumer Apps, Cards & Enterprise Products

- Brand Governance & Foundation Structure

- Financing the Future vs Tokenizing the Past

- Why This Is Aave's Defining Moment

The Rollup

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:29 DeFi's Maturation & Token Design

04:55 Aave's ICO Origins & Evolution

10:48 Regulatory Uncertainty's Impact on DeFi

11:45 YEET, Trezor Ads

12:21 The Aave Will Win Proposal

21:42 Token-Centric Alignment Strategy

23:10 Why v4 Unlocks New Revenue Streams

31:27 Financing the Global Transition

32:44 inFiniFi Ads, Hibachi Ad

33:11 High-Margin Opinionated Products

39:01 Brand Governance Explained

42:12 Current Economics vs New Model

47:05 What Happens Next

Website: https://therollup.co/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd...

Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcast

Follow Rob on X: https://www.x.com/robbie_rollup

Follow Andy on X: https://www.x.com/ayyyeandy

Join our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZh

The Rollup Disclosures: https://goodidea.ventures

Santiago Santos: My New Crypto Investing Playbook Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

Crypto's valuation disconnect is real.

Santiago Roel Santos breaks down why tokens don't compound value like equities, how infrastructure became commoditized, and where actual value capture happens now.

DeFi applications are criminally undervalued while L1s trade at 90% of market cap despite shrinking fee share.

We cover:

- Why Infrastructure Became Commoditized

- The Token vs Equity Design Flaw

- DeFi Apps Are Criminally Undervalued

- L1s Capture 10% of Fees But Hold 90% of Market Cap

- Hyperliquid's Equity-Like Model

- What Crypto-Enabled Businesses Will Win

- The Next Wave Beyond Stablecoins & Perps

The Rollup

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:40 The Great Valuation Disconnect

04:29 Adoption vs Value Capture Problem

06:30 Equities Using Crypto Outperform Tokens

08:39 L1 Fee Share Collapse

11:40 Why Tokens Don't Compound Value

14:17 The Ethereum Fee Burn Misconception

17:51 infiniFi, Hibachi Ads

18:23 How Tokens Should Be Designed

21:17 Security Markets & Tax Rates

23:56 Infrastructure Commoditization Thesis

24:45 YEET, Trezor Ads

27:26 The Supply Dynamics Everyone Ignores

29:00 Stablecoin Growth Trajectory

32:56 Crypto vs Equity Decision Framework

34:39 DeFi's Underappreciation Problem

37:15 Speed of Decision-Making Matters

38:38 Closing Thoughts

Website: https://therollup.co/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd...

Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcast

Follow Rob on X: https://www.x.com/robbie_rollup

Follow Andy on X: https://www.x.com/ayyyeandy

Join our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZh

The Rollup Disclosures: https://goodidea.ventures

Iron Claw & the Future of Privacy-First AI Agents with NEAR, Dash & Starkware Feb 11, 2026

Show notes

Open source AI agents are leaking credentials within days of launch.

In today's NEAR Intents privacy panel, Illia Polosukhin, NEAR Co-founder, unveils Iron Claw, a security-first framework isolating credentials from prompt injections. Joel Valenzuela from Dash explores privacy in agentic payments, and Eli Ben-Sasson from Starkware discusses post-quantum security.

Together, they reveal why privacy infrastructure determines whether AI works for you or exploits you.

We cover:

- Iron Claw: Privacy-Protecting AI Framework

- How OpenClaw's Security Flaws Got Patched

- Agent-to-Agent Commerce & Marketplaces

- Why Chain Abstraction Matters for AI

- Post-Quantum Crypto Security

- HTTP 402: Internet-Native Micropayments

The Rollup

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:36 Introducing Iron Claw

02:35 Iron Claw Overview

05:21 NEAR AI's Privacy Stack

07:05 Iron Claw's Security Architecture

08:22 Prompt Injection Vulnerabilities

10:04 Agent Commerce on Blockchain

13:13 NEAR's Generic Marketplace

14:28 Privacy in Agent Economies

16:39 Trezor, YEET Ads

17:45 Starknet's Agent Infrastructure

20:39 Chain Abstraction for Agents

23:00 Software Abstraction Layer

25:50 SaaS Repricing & Agent Economy

28:02 Custody & Recovery Challenges

28:30 Hibachi, infiniFi Ads

29:28 Quantum Computing Threats

31:20 Post-Quantum Cryptography

35:20 HTTP 402 & Micropayments

38:31 Starknet's Native Account Abstraction

Website: https://therollup.co/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd...

Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcast

Follow Rob on X: https://www.x.com/robbie_rollup

Follow Andy on X: https://www.x.com/ayyyeandy

Join our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZh

The Rollup Disclosures: https://goodidea.ventures

Why ETH-Backed Stablecoins Will Beat Bank-Backed Stablecoins with Michael Svoboda Feb 10, 2026

Show notes

What if your stablecoin didn't depend on banks or any centralized entity?

Michael Svoboda, Liquity CEO, explains the case for fully decentralized stablecoins: peer-to-peer credit markets where borrowers pay holders directly, 8-15% yields with zero counterparty risk, and true sovereignty.

We cover:

- The Hidden Counterparty Risk in Treasury-Backed Stables

- Why ETH-Backed Stablecoins Offer True Sovereignty

- $10T Monthly Stablecoin Volume Explained

- Peer-to-Peer Credit Markets: Zero Middlemen

- 8-15% Yields Without Banking System Exposure

- Freedom Stablecoins vs Regulated Models

- The Case Against Centralized Control

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:42 Stapled Up Welcome & Frax Intro

01:43 Michael's Liquity Journey Since 2019

02:15 The Evolution from 2019 to 2026

04:22 Two Models of Stablecoins

05:44 What is a Sovereign Stablecoin?

07:58 Three Key Value Propositions

10:03 Vitalik's Take on DeFi & Algo Stables

12:36 ETH-Backed Resilience Long Term

14:26 Ad Break

15:28 Yield Sources Explained

18:25 The Peer-to-Peer Finance Model

19:49 Who Should Use Sovereign Stables?

21:51 Collateral Universe Limitations

23:19 Trezor Ad

24:01 $10T Monthly Stablecoin Volume

27:54 Stablecoin Chain Economics

29:32 Freedom vs Regulation Trade-offs

30:34 Why Build Decentralized Stablecoins?

33:25 The Genius Act & Market Maturity

36:09 Navigating Legacy Finance Integration

38:42 Closing Thoughts

Website: https://therollup.co/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd...

Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcast

Follow Rob on X: https://www.x.com/robbie_rollup

Follow Andy on X: https://www.x.com/ayyyeandy

Join our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZh

The Rollup Disclosures: https://goodidea.ventures

The Privacy Problem No One's Talking About in AI with George Zeng Feb 06, 2026

Show notes

Open Claw hit 163,000 GitHub stars in days, but most people are setting it up wrong and risking total financial ruin by having their data harvested.

George Zeng from NEAR breaks down why both OpenAI and Anthropic harvest your data, how to run AI agents securely, and why local models cost 90% less.

We cover:

- Why Anthropic's Super Bowl Ads Expose The Real Problem

- Open Claw's Vertical Growth (0 to 163K GitHub Stars)

- The Security Mistakes Everyone's Making

- How To Run AI Agents Without Losing Everything

- Why Local AI Models Are 90% Cheaper Than OpenAI

- NEAR Intents + AI Agents = The Agentic Economy

- When AI Agents Start Teaching Each Other

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:07 George's Background at NEAR

02:15 Anthropic's Super Bowl Commercials

06:02 Data Privacy: The Glass House Problem

09:28 NEAR AI's Privacy-First Approach

13:03Trezor, Halliday, Infinifi ads

13:45 How Private Chat Works with TEEs

18:16 Claude Bot to Open Claw Journey

22:38 Security Best Practices for Open Claw

25:47 Setting Up Open Claw with NEAR AI

29:15 YEET, Kalshi, Hibachi ads

29:41 NEAR Intents + AI Agents = Magic

34:18 George's Daily AI Agent Workflow

37:04 The Case for Local-First AI

42:21 AI Agents Creating Other AI Agents

45:03 Memory & Context Management

45:44 NEAR Token's Role in AI Infrastructure

Website: https://therollup.co/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd...

Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcast

Follow Rob on X: https://www.x.com/robbie_rollup

Follow Andy on X: https://www.x.com/ayyyeandy

Join our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZh

The Rollup Disclosures: https://goodidea.ventures

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Rollup

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected