CRYPTO 101 Ep. 686

"AI & DeFi: The Evolving Landscape for Retail Crypto Traders"

Date: October 28, 2025
Hosts: Bryce Paul & Brendan Viehman
Guest: Brian Huang, Co-founder of Glider

Episode Overview

In this episode, Bryce and Brendan dive deep into how DeFi and AI are transforming the trading landscape for retail crypto investors. Their guest is Brian Huang, co-founder of Glider—a platform promising true automated DeFi and customizable, no-code ETFs across chains and assets. The conversation ranges from Brian’s journey into crypto, the evolution of easy access tools for mainstream users, to bold takes on the realities and limitations of AI-driven trading and risk management.

Key Discussion Points

1. Brian’s Background and Crypto Origin Story

• Early Finance Career to Crypto:
  Brian started at Morgan Stanley (“Wolf of Wall Street without the fun”), then shifted to XTX Markets (high-frequency trading), and later to Anchorage (institutional crypto custody). [02:19]
• First Bitcoin in 2014 at MIT:
  MIT gave every student a third of a bitcoin (then ~$100), creating an early hands-on experience.

  "I sold that bitcoin at 300 bucks thinking I had tripled my money. Little did I know it would have been like 40k today." — Brian [03:47]

2. The Mission and Innovation of Glider

• Permissionless, 24/7 Markets and Programmable Money:
  The current crypto interfaces often just mimic TradFi, missing the full potential of crypto’s programmability and seamless automation.
• Glider’s Vision:
  “Glider's here to essentially solve for the gaps that can be automated away... abstracting away all the things that are really difficult about DeFi today.” — Brian [08:45]
• Own the Underlying Assets:
  Unlike traditional ETFs, with Glider users truly own the underlying tokens, enabling lending, staking, claiming airdrops, governance voting, and more.

  "That's what's different about Glider... when you own the underlying, you get that utility." — Brian [11:30]

3. Building, Managing, and Automating On-Chain Portfolios

• No-Code ETF Builder:
  Users can construct or replicate portfolios easily; can be market-cap weighted, equally weighted, or customized.
• Simplicity and User Experience:
  No wallets or technical expertise required—sign up with email or social login, fund by credit card, bank, or directly from Coinbase.

  "You don't have to come up with these ETF structures yourself. You can copy what other people have." — Brian [14:02]

• Universal Access Across Chains:
  Currently supports Ethereum mainnet and Base (L2), with Solana support on the way. Users don’t need to think about which blockchain they’re using. [15:19]
• Gas Fees:
  Glider covers gas fees for users via a “Paymaster,” eliminating one of DeFi’s biggest pain points.

  “Every app out there should be paying for your gas. Users shouldn't have to think about gas.” — Brian [16:08]

4. Automation, Customization, and Risk Management

• Automated Strategies & Triggers:
  Set rules for rebalancing, risk controls, yield maximization, or event-based trading (“If Bitcoin hits $130k, sell into stablecoins”).

  “You could hold the top 10 trending tokens on Glider and it will rotate out of what's no longer trending.” — Brian [18:52]

• Risk Management:
  Users can construct automated stop-losses, take-profits, and ensure protections are executed even if they’re away.

  “A lot of people get in, right. With Glider, you can set a very nice like okay, when this doubles... it will automatically sell out of it.” — Brian [22:47]

5. DeFi’s Future: Automation, AI, and the Access Revolution

• Singular Access Points:
  Glider allows users to access both centralized and decentralized liquidity/markets in one place.

  “Why didn't we have this sooner?” — Host [25:06]

• On AI and Financial Transaction Automation:
  Skeptical that generic AI (like ChatGPT) is ready to execute real transactions due to trust and precision risks with real money.

  "We don't think that AI is very good at doing things that have finality. [...] That accuracy, especially when it's real money... is something that we feel like users are going to have some difficulty gaining that trust." — Brian [29:13]

• AI for Ideas, Not Execution:
  AI can help with research and positioning ideas, but “from idea to execution, a lot of it is still handled manually, and for good reason.” — Brian [31:34]

6. ETFs, Fees, and the Institutional vs. On-Chain Model

• Traditional ETF Fees Are Outdated:
  Example: Grayscale’s GDLC ETF charges 0.59% for five tokens with no yield for investors, while Glider offers similar baskets with no management fees and added yield.

  “We could offer the same exact portfolio at zero cost.” — Brian [34:26]

• Business Model:
  Glider monetizes via yield splits and B2B integrations; their core app is subsidized.
• Scalability & Distribution:
  Plan to embed Glider portfolios in major wallets like Uniswap, Metamask, Phantom, allowing those platforms to curate their own baskets and share revenue.

7. Regulation, Self-Custody, and the Talent Gap

• Ease of Building as a Startup:
  Big institutions are hampered by lack of crypto-native talent; startups move much faster.

  “If you're in crypto, you probably don't want to work there.” — Brian [39:22]

• Non-Custodial and User-Driven:
  Glider doesn’t custody funds or make financial decisions for you. Users set rules and parameters themselves, reducing legal frictions and aligning with DeFi’s censorship-resistant ethos.

  “There's no management of funds here. It is simply a way to automate the steps that you set out in the first place.” — Brian [40:49]

8. The Democratization of “Institutional-Grade” Tools

• Powerful, Accessible Automation:
  Hosts marvel at how retail users can now access portfolio tools formerly reserved for big institutions, without the technical hurdles.

  “Now we're kind of having this sort of democracy of technology where people can kind of get access to this stuff in a much more simpler way, which, again, to me is fascinating.” — Host [43:36]

• Seamless User Experience:
  Brian underscores that Glider’s interface is as easy as major fintech apps—and that “real value for real investors” is finally possible on-chain. [44:05]

Notable Quotes

• “You don't need to know how an oven works to use it, right? Like, somehow it works, people use it. That's really how it is.” — Brian [18:52]
• “When you hold the S&P 500 ETF, you don't get all of the benefits of the underlying stocks... Owning the underlying is actually really, really important and something that we think is a huge unlock for investors.” — Brian [11:30]
• “Every app out there should be paying for your gas. Users shouldn't have to think about gas.” — Brian [16:08]
• “I think anyone can pick a winner, but not everyone can manage risk and know when to get out and figure all that out.” — Host [21:56]
• “If you're a savvy investor, you should be looking for a place where fees are low or if not zero. And the only way to do that is if you can do it on chain.” — Brian [35:11]
• “If you're in crypto, you probably don't want to work [for a bank or legacy institution].” — Brian [39:22]
• “There's no management of funds here. It is simply a way to automate the steps that you set out in the first place.” — Brian [40:49]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:19] — Brian’s career path and MIT Bitcoin experiment
• [08:45] — The genesis & mission of Glider
• [12:38] — How no-code ETF building works
• [14:02] — User experience: onboarding and funding
• [15:19] — Cross-chain support and gas abstraction
• [18:52] — Automated strategies and risk management
• [22:47] — Long-term vs. trading uses for Glider
• [29:13] — Reality check: AI, automation, and execution in DeFi
• [34:26] — Critique of traditional ETF fees versus on-chain solutions
• [39:22] — Why big institutions lag: talent and regulatory angle
• [44:05] — The app experience and the new “democracy” of advanced tools

Final Thoughts & Calls to Action

• Glider Contact:
  Website: glider.fi
  Socials: X @gliderfi | Discord, Telegram, LinkedIn, TikTok in linktree

"We're trying to build real value for real investors here. And that I think is far more exciting and far more fun to build than, you know, some crazy niche little product that far and few will understand in the long term." — Brian [44:43]

Summary by CRYPTO 101 Summarizer — for retail investors hungry for the edge in new DeFi and AI-driven crypto tools.