Podcast
MoneyNeverSleeps
Hosted by Pete Townsend | GP at Norio Ventures · EN
MoneyNeverSleeps is a weekly show where smart people bring one big idea, and Pete Townsend breaks it down in under 15 minutes. Featuring founders, operators, and investors shaping crypto, fintech, AI, and onchain finance. After 300+ long-form episodes, the show has evolved into a sharper, faster format built for a world where insights need to travel quickly.
32episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Drive to Five: Unpacking Citi's $5.5T Tokenization Forecast
5d ago00:14:43Tap to summarizeCiti Institute's "Tokenization 2030: Wall Street OnChain" puts a number on it: $5.5 trillion in tokenized assets by 2030. Alejandro Gutierrez, who leads Solana Superteam Ireland and returns for another appearance on the show, joins me to stress-test that forecast — what Citi gets right with DTCC, NYSE and Nasdaq embedding tokenization into core infrastructure, and what we think it misses, including the stablecoin-treasury flywheel, the pressure native issuers like Ondo and Superstate are putting on incumbents, Ireland and Luxembourg's combined funds industry as an underrated jurisdictional play, and why 24/7 markets are really built for AI agents, not retail traders.Read the full report, "Tokenization 2030: Wall Street Onchain," Citi Institute, June 2026: https://www.citigroup.com/global/insights/tokenization-2030Castle DAO, the Solana builder residency at Slane Castle: https://tally.so/r/ODJv1kFollow Alejandro on X and LinkedIn: https://x.com/A_gutierrohttps://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandro-gutierrez-98979b43/Follow Superteam Ireland on X: https://x.com/SuperteamIEhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/superteam-ireland/CHAPTERS00:00 Cold open — for the agents00:37 Introduction01:18 Citi's stated case: three drivers behind $5.5 trillion02:19 Is public equities at $3.6 trillion an aggressive number?03:25 Public permissionless vs. private permissioned chains04:30 The flywheel Citi missed: stablecoins, treasuries and collateral06:28 24/7 isn't for retail — it's for the agents08:50 Ondo, Superstate and the pressure on incumbents10:53 Ireland, Luxembourg and the €12.5 trillion opportunity12:02 The wrapper problem: tokenized funds without tokenized holdings12:41 Castle DAO at Slane CastleMoneyNeverSleeps — sharp riffs, big ideas, and real insights from smart people, in under 15 minutes. Hosted by early-stage investor Pete Townsend, GP at Norio Ventures, sitting at the intersection of crypto, fintech, AI and onchain finance.Website: moneyneversleeps.ieLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petetownsendnv/X/Twitter: https://x.com/PeteTownsendNVInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/petetownsend353/Email: info@norioventures.com
Transcribe →The Onramp Bringing TradFi Onchain | Martin Watkins | Montis [EP. 317]
3w ago00:11:56Tap to summarizeMartin Watkins is CEO of Montis Group, which is building a blockchain-native central securities depository — the settlement and issuance layer that makes tokenized assets work as real financial products. With 30 years inside Euroclear, AtosEuronext and EY, Martin chose to build the infrastructure the market was missing rather than keep advising on the existing system. We get into what a digital CSD unlocks for collateral mobility, why the ECB's DLT eligibility confirmation matters, and what Luxembourg's Blockchain Law IV could mean for Ireland's €5 trillion funds industry.Find Martin at info@montis.digital or visit montis.digitalSubscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4F8uOLxiscYVWVGEfNxTndCHAPTERS00:00 The doom loop that tokenization solves00:27 Introduction01:13 Martin Watkins welcome01:18 30 years inside the plumbing of capital markets03:50 What a blockchain-native CSD does differently05:48 The Friday afternoon collateral problem06:22 The 24/7 problem in tokenized funds07:46 The Irish question: settlement finality and €5 trillion in fund assets09:27 Legal certainty, portfolio managers and the velocity of capital10:39 Why the market infrastructure isn't there yet — but nearly is11:20 How to reach Martin and MontisMoneyNeverSleeps: Sharp riffs, big ideas and real insights from smart people — all in under 15 minutes. Hosted by early-stage investor Pete Townsend with the people rebuilding money, markets, and the internet from the ground up.moneyneversleeps.ieLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petetownsendnv/X/Twitter: https://x.com/PeteTownsendNVInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/petetownsend353/Email: info@norioventures.com
Transcribe →From Lean Startup to Incorruptible | Eric Ries [EP. 316]
3w ago00:26:11Tap to summarizePete Townsend is joined by Eric Ries, author of the New York Times bestseller The Lean Startup and founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, for a conversation about the invisible structural forces that corrupt even the most mission-driven companies, and what founders can do about it before it's too late.Eric's new book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great, is out now. Get it here: https://www.amazon.com/Incorruptible-Good-Companies-Great-Stay/dp/B0FWZZBPZBEric spent 15 years teaching a generation how to build fast and learn faster. Incorruptible asks the harder question: how do you protect what you built from the forces that will eventually try to take it from you?In this special double-length episode, he walks through the concept of financial gravity, the structural tools that the world's most durable companies have used for over a century, and why good intentions are never enough.Topics covered:– Why corporate corruption is a structural failure, not an ethical one– What financial gravity is and why it's invisible until it's too late– The Anthropic Long-Term Benefit Trust and what it was designed to protect against– How Novo Nordisk built a structure 100 years ago that protected $500 billion in shareholder value– Why Silicon Valley Bank's mission statement was worthless– The one two-page filing most founders never makeCHAPTERS00:00 The More Golden the Goose00:23 Welcome Eric Ries01:06 The Founder's Wake05:08 What Did The Lean Startup Miss?08:09 What is Financial Gravity?12:50 The Right Architecture13:11 Anthropic and the Long-Term Benefit Trust14:59 The Novo Nordisk Story18:18 Are You Smarter Than a Nobel Laureate?19:28 The Vatican Panel20:46 The Public Benefit Corporation22:41 Is LTSE Incorruptible?23:39 The Guardian of the Company's SoulConnect with Eric:X: https://x.com/ericriesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/Incorruptible (book): https://incorruptible.coInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericriesactual/Newsletter: https://news.theleanstartup.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshowPodcast: https://www.ericriesshow.co Buy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Incorruptible-Good-Companies-Great-Stay/dp/B0FWZZBPZBConnect with Pete:X: @PeteTownsendNVLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petetownsendnv/Norio Ventures: https://norioventures.comMoneyNeverSleeps: https://moneyneversleeps.ie#incorruptible #leanstartup #founders #startups
Transcribe →Product Before Token | Sal Ternullo | SVRN + A100x Ventures [EP. 315]
3w ago00:14:35Tap to summarizePete Townsend is joined by Sal Ternullo, CEO of SVRN and Managing Partner at A100x Ventures, for a conversation about how to tell the difference between a token that represents ownership of the value-creating thing and one that's an accelerant bolted onto something else.Sal has been underwriting these decisions at A100x at the pre-seed and seed stage. He walks through what's actually changed in the market, what a defensible answer on value accrual sounds like in a pitch meeting, and why the race-to-TGE game that defined the last cycle is largely over.Topics covered:– Why the era of tolerating tokens with no claim on cash flows is ending– How to tell whether a founder has real conviction on decentralization or is bolting a token onto an equity business– The cap-table tensions between SAFEs, token warrants, and Series A investors who can't touch tokens– Why building the product before designing the token is the new discipline– The question Sal wishes more founders walked in with an answer toCHAPTERS:00:00 Bad Tokens Ruin Good Projects00:30 Welcome Sal Ternullo01:10 What Changed in Token Value Accrual03:00 Equity vs. Token: Where Does Value Accrue04:55 Signs a Founder Has Real Conviction06:15 Ownership or Loyalty Points08:30 Tokens After 18 Months: Pump.fun and the Lag10:00 The Race to TGE Game is Over11:30 The Cap Table Reality13:00 The Question Founders Should AskConnect with Sal:X: @sal_ternulloEmail: sal@svrn.netSVRN: https://svrn.netA100x Ventures: https://a100x.vcConnect with Pete:X: @PeteTownsendNVLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petetownsendnv/Norio Ventures: https://norioventures.comMoneyNeverSleeps: https://moneyneversleeps.ie#crypto #venturecapital #tokens
Transcribe →You Can't Code Your Way Out of Risk | Amor Sexton | Blockdaemon [EP. 314]
May 800:14:04Tap to summarizeYou Can't Code Your Way Out | Amor Sexton, BlockdaemonIn the last few weeks, Drift and Kelp lost $577 million between them. Neither one was a code exploit. Both were operational and governance failures.Amor Sexton, Chief Operating Officer at Blockdaemon, was last on MoneyNeverSleeps in October 2022 (EP 193) talking about how institutional client expectations of resilient processes would drive blockchain adoption. Three and a half years later, the industry just got an extremely expensive lesson in exactly that thesis.In this episode, Pete and Amor get into:- Why "this isn't a hack, it's a governance failure" is the conversation the industry isn't having- How compliance is a subset of risk — and why DeFi keeps confusing the two- The Web2/human layer compromise that exploits a legitimate Web3 feature- Pluto on Castle Island: "Everything that TradFi has built in terms of circuit breakers, we're just speed running relearning those things in crypto"- The Kelp configuration was a known vulnerability — and 47% of operators chose it anyway- The two or three governance questions every DeFi protocol and LP should be asking right now- Why it always comes back to people, not codeChapters:00:00 Cold open00:24 Welcome back to MoneyNeverSleeps00:55 $577M, 18 days, no code exploit02:00 Compliance is a subset of risk03:15 Guardrails and governance04:30 The Web2 layer compromise05:45 Speedrunning what TradFi already built07:30 Why 47% chose the risky configuration09:00 Three governance questions every protocol should answer12:30 It always comes back to people13:30 Sign offConnect with Amor:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amor-sexton/Blockdaemon: https://www.blockdaemon.com/About MoneyNeverSleeps:MoneyNeverSleeps is hosted by Pete Townsend, GP at Norio Ventures. Sharp riffs, big ideas, and real insights from smart people in crypto, fintech, AI, and onchain finance.Connect with Pete:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petetownsendnv/X: @petetownsendnvNorio Ventures: https://www.norioventures.comSubscribe to MoneyNeverSleeps wherever you get your podcasts:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@moneyneversleeps1814Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4F8uOLxiscYVWVGEfNxTndApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/moneyneversleeps/id1455819294#MoneyNeverSleeps #Blockdaemon #DeFi #Crypto #AmorSexton #Governance #RiskManagement
Transcribe →Making Crypto Tax Efficient | Dan Gold | Stratiphy [EP. 313]
May 100:12:30Tap to summarizeDan Gold is founder and CEO of Stratiphy, and as far as anyone knows, the only platform offering tax-efficient crypto exposure to UK retail investors right now.The path got narrow fast. The FCA lifted the retail crypto ETN ban in October 2025. HMRC then closed the stocks-and-shares ISA route at the start of this tax year, leaving crypto ETNs eligible only for Innovative Finance ISAs, which no mainstream platform offered. Stratiphy re-opened the door, partnering with 21Shares to offer bitcoin, ether, and the new BOLD bitcoin/gold hybrid inside an ISA wrapper.We get into the regulatory maze, whether Bitcoin is a lottery ticket or a real line item, and what launching into a 35% drawdown tells you about who your customers actually are. Plus: why the IFAs will come around whether they like it or not.Follow Dan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-gold-5186091b2/Learn more about Stratiphy: https://www.stratiphy.ioCHAPTERS:00:00 Tax-Efficient Crypto in the UK: The Short Story00:25 The Regulatory Sequence03:00 IFAs and the Education Gap04:00 Portfolio Construction or a Punt?05:30 Bitcoin: Lottery Ticket or Asset Allocation?08:00 Launching Into a Down Market09:30 Where Stratiphy Goes Next11:30 Sign-Off🌐 https://www.moneyneversleeps.ie/#MoneyNeverSleeps #Crypto #Bitcoin #ISA #UKInvesting #ETN #Fintech #21Shares #Stratiphy
Transcribe →Sell More or Don't Bother - The Hard Truth of Tokenization | Alejandro Gutierrez | Solana Superteam Ireland [EP. 312]
Apr 2400:14:48Tap to summarizeTokenization has a perception problem. The industry keeps selling it as an efficiency play — less friction, more transparency, better infrastructure. But if tokenization doesn't help you sell more of whatever you've tokenized, it's irrelevant.Alejandro Gutierrez leads Solana Superteam Ireland and has been building in this space since before most people knew what tokenization meant. Co-founder of the Defactor DeFi protocol. Creator of a blockchain-based supply chain financing application with Consol Freight. And the only builder on a KPMG panel last week alongside the Central Bank of Ireland, Invesco, and Dillon Eustace — in a room of over a hundred people from the heart of Irish financial services.The POC phase is long gone. Ireland has all the ingredients. Now it's time to move product — or get left behind.Also: Castle DAO is coming to Slane Castle. The TradFi Band is yet to be confirmed.Follow Alejandro on X and LinkedIn: https://x.com/A_gutierrohttps://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandro-gutierrez-98979b43/Follow Superteam Ireland on X and LinkedInhttps://x.com/superteamIElinkedin.com/company/superteam-ireland/CHAPTERS: 00:00 Sell More or Don't Bother 01:00 Is Crypto Getting Boring? 02:00 Guardrails, Governance and the Drift and Kelp Hacks 03:00 The KPMG Panel — The Builder in the Room 05:00 The Commercial Reality of Tokenization 06:00 What Defactor and Consol Freight Unlocked 08:00 The Colombian SME and Global Capital Formation 09:00 Does Ireland Have What It Takes? 11:00 The POC Phase Is Long Gone 12:00 Before We Go — Buildstation, Colosseum and Castle DAO🌐 https://www.moneyneversleeps.ie/#MoneyNeverSleeps #Tokenization #Tokenisation #Solana #Ireland #DeFi #Web3 #Crypto #Fintech #Blockchain #IrishFintech #OnchainFinance
Transcribe →VC 3.0: Venture Capital Reimagined | Brian McNulty | Lingfeng Capital [EP. 311]
Apr 1700:15:07Tap to summarizeBrian McNulty has been building toward this moment for a decade. When he co-founded the Post Trade Distributed Ledger Group with the London Stock Exchange back in 2015, he was helping the industry imagine what tokenized funds might one day look like. On April 21st 2026, he rings the bell at that same exchange to launch DVF — Lingfeng Capital's Digital Venture Fund — and the circle closes.In this episode, Brian and Pete trace the journey from FAC to the Apex exit to DVF, and dig into what VC 3.0 actually means: a venture fund first, a tokenized structure second, built to fix the distribution problems that have kept private markets broken for decades.They cover why the underlying investment case always has to come first, how Archax and LSEG's Digital Markets Infrastructure underpin the model, what structured transferability actually looks like in practice, who DVF is really for, and the real hurdles the industry still has to clear.DVF is Lingfeng Capital's $100 million regulated tokenized venture fund investing in Series B through pre-IPO fintech, AI, blockchain, and digital infrastructure companies across global markets.Find Brian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianmcnulty/EP 116 — the original FAC episode from 2020: https://www.moneyneversleeps.ie/116-all-these-funds-brian-mcnulty-and-fac/CHAPTERS:00:00 Introduction00:45 From PTDL to Lingfeng — The Journey02:00 What FAC Got Right and Wrong03:15 Why Tokenization Alone Is Never Enough04:00 Private Markets Distribution Is Broken05:00 Venture Fund First, Token Second07:00 How DVF Works — LSEG, Archax and VC 3.009:00 Structured Transferability vs True Liquidity09:30 Who DVF Is For — Four Investor Buckets11:30 The Real Hurdles Left to Clear13:15 Ringing the Bell at the London Stock Exchange🌐 https://www.moneyneversleeps.ie/#MoneyNeverSleeps #VentureCapital #Tokenization #PrivateMarkets #DVF #VC30 #Fintech #Blockchain #DigitalAssets #LingfengCapital #Archax #LSEG
Transcribe →Who's Watching the Agent? | Rob Viglione | Horizen Labs [EP. 310]
Apr 300:12:04Summary readyWho's watching the agent? That's the question at the heart of this episode — and it's one that's going to define the next decade of finance.Rob Viglione spent his career figuring out how machines make decisions in high-stakes environments. From the US Air Force to Afghanistan, and now as Co-founder and CEO of Horizen Labs, he's building the cryptographic trust infrastructure for the agentic economy.Every asset class will be tokenized. Agents will be trading 24/7 across all of them. Your data will be completely public. All the time. The guardrails don't exist yet — and the answer is Zero Knowledge Cryptography. The technology that lets agents prove they did what they were supposed to, without revealing how they did it.Find Rob at horizenlabs.io and follow him on X at @robviglioneMoneyNeverSleeps is on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@moneyneversleeps1814And on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/moneyneversleeps/id1455819294CHAPTERS:00:00 Who's Watching the Agent?01:30 The Stakes of Agentic Commerce03:00 What Breaks When Agents Hit Financial Rails05:00 Is TradFi Infiltrating or Integrating with DeFi?07:30 Zero Knowledge Cryptography and Privacy on Public Rails09:30 Baking Privacy into the Protocol11:00 Is This ZK's Moment?#MoneyNeverSleeps #ZeroKnowledge #AgenticEconomy #HorizenLabs #Crypto #Fintech #Web3 #Privacy #Tokenization #AI #Blockchain #ZKProofs
SummaryTalent is Equally Distributed, Opportunity is Not | John Hill | Whop [EP. 309]
Mar 2700:14:52Tap to summarizeTalent is equally distributed. Opportunity is not. John Hill, VP of Story at Whop, has spent his career watching founders in Cape Town, Lagos, and Medellín build something real — and then hit a wall the moment they try to get paid. Whop is an AI-backed platform where anyone can build a digital business in minutes, and in February 2026 it closed a $200 million investment from Tether to embed stablecoin payments across 144 countries. The shift from finding a job to being the job is already happening. This is what the infrastructure behind it looks like.We coverWhat the wall actually looks like for a founder in Lagos, Cape Town, or MedellínWhy talent is equally distributed but opportunity is notHow Whop has removed the barriers that once kept entrepreneurship out of reachWhat Tether's $200M investment means for creators and builders outside the western financial systemThe shift from finding a job to being the jobWhy the Boston Irish diaspora is the original first dollar entrepreneur storyHow two students turned one skill into $140,000 a year — while still in schoolFor full show notes and guest links visit moneyneversleeps.ie🌐 https://www.moneyneversleeps.ie/MoneyNeverSleeps explores one big idea each week in under 15 minutes with founders, operators, and investors shaping crypto, fintech, AI, and onchain finance.Subscribe and join the conversation.#Entrepreneurship #FutureOfWork #Tether
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