Podcast Summary: The Digital Executive
Episode: Cole Snell on Private Credit with AI and Blockchain | Ep 1189
Date: January 30, 2026
Host: Brian (Coruzant Technologies)
Guest: Cole Snell, Founder & CEO of Real Private Credit
Main Theme
This episode explores how emerging technologies—specifically AI and blockchain—are revolutionizing the private credit market, particularly in the sphere of small and medium business (SMB) lending. Cole Snell shares his experiences founding Real Private Credit, discusses systemic flaws within traditional credit systems, and explains how AI-driven automation and blockchain-enabled transparency are setting new standards for security, liquidity, and accountability.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Urgent Gaps in Private Credit Lending
Timestamp: [01:47]
- Cole founded Real Private Credit after observing recurring failures and blind spots in the $1.8 trillion private credit market, especially in SMB lending.
- Four primary gaps were identified:
- Lack of trust & transparency: High reliance on trust exposes lenders to fraud.
- Lag in point-in-time audits: Discrepancies often go undetected for too long.
- Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) friction: Legal complexities, especially "Article 9" issues, slow down processes.
- Information asymmetry: Fragmented communication among lenders allows duplicate pledging of collateral.
“You really need to find a gap. You need to find an SHVP—specific high value problem—with hopefully a very understandable answer to that problem.”
— Cole Snell, [02:43]
2. AI for Fraud Detection & Continuous Risk Monitoring
Timestamp: [04:37]
- Duplicate Collateral Pledging: The "lender silo" effect lets bad actors pledge the same asset to multiple lenders because of fragmented systems.
- AI's Role: Functions like a "private eye" through entity resolution, spotting discrepancies that siloed systems miss.
- Automation enables proactive prevention—not just detection—by blocking suspicious loans before funds are dispersed.
- Continuous Monitoring: Persistent vigilance (as opposed to “real-time”) replaces periodic audits. This includes a ‘risk dashboard’ for capital allocators, constantly updated via AI.
"Fraudsters exploit this lender silo effect simply because lender A doesn't talk to lender B... it's basically invisible inside of the existing system."
— Cole Snell, [05:16]
"AI monitors 24/7 looking at capital allocators. And this means that there’s like a risk dashboard kind of built in that’s actually live..."
— Cole Snell, [07:16]
3. Blockchain: From Trust to Immutable Truth
Timestamp: [08:50]
- Blockchain allows the replacement of opaque trust—with its vulnerability to manipulation—with immutable, verifiable truth.
- Smart contracts are automating compliance, replacing traditional paper with digital legal agreements (especially since the adoption of “controllable electronic records” under UCC Article 12 in many US states).
- Impact: Blockchain doesn't slow deals—it accelerates them by providing instant, unalterable proof of collateral ownership, thereby simplifying legal disputes and speeding settlements.
"Blockchain provides an unalterable ledger of who owned what and who it was pledged to... it turns the legal discovery process into a simple database query."
— Cole Snell, [11:27]
- Inspiration drawn from industry leader Mike Cagney (Figure Technologies), underlining the importance of learning from pioneers and focusing on foundational efficiencies.
"Learn from other people’s mistakes, don’t make your own."
— Cole Snell, [09:57]
4. Looking Ahead: AI, Blockchain & the Future of Private Credit
Timestamp: [13:33]
- The next decade will see a transition to instantaneous liquidity as regulatory tailwinds, DeFi primitives, and real-world asset demand converge.
- Platforms like Figure, Centrifuge, Maple Finance, Ondo, Golden Finch, Morpho, and others are already experimenting in this area.
- Real-Time Collateral Verification: Will enable loan funding in minutes rather than weeks, with risk assessed dynamically by AI.
- Rise of Programmable Credit: Credit terms will self-adjust in real time based on actual business data, democratizing access and lowering the cost of capital.
- Defining Resilient Lenders: Tomorrow’s market leaders won’t rely on relationships or gut feelings. Instead, the “winners” will be those who are data-first—transitioning from relational to computational lending, baking AI and blockchain into their core processes.
"You don’t have to have a gut feeling about a borrower anymore. The most resilient lenders will be data first. Those who have opted into proof and not relying on trust..."
— Cole Snell, [16:55]
Notable Quotes & Moments
-
On the holy grail for blockchain in credit:
"We really feel like we've uncovered the holy grail of use cases for blockchain."
— Cole Snell, [05:22] -
On the future of programmable credit:
"We see credit that self-adjusts based on real-time business performance and real-time business information."
— Cole Snell, [15:46] -
Advice to founders:
"Learn from other people’s mistakes, don’t make your own."
— Cole Snell, [09:57]
Timeline of Important Segments
| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:47 | Gaps in private credit and why Real Private Credit was founded | | 04:37 | How AI detects fraud and prevents duplicate collateral pledging | | 08:50 | Blockchain’s role: from trust to immutable truth | | 13:33 | The next decade: AI, blockchain, and the rise of programmable credit | | 16:55 | Defining “winners”: Data-first, proof-driven, computational lenders |
Tone & Style
Cole Snell speaks conversationally but with precision and the perspective of an experienced founder at the crossroads of finance, technology, and compliance. His tone blends optimism about technology’s potential with the practical wisdom of someone building transformative tools in a regulated space.
Summary Takeaways
- Private credit markets, especially for SMBs, suffer from fraud and inefficiencies due to trust gaps, lack of transparency, and fragmented data.
- AI and continuous monitoring provide proactive fraud prevention and always-on risk management.
- Blockchain—especially with emerging legal support—creates an immutable, digital origin trail for collateral, streamlining compliance and dispute resolution.
- Smart contracts are beginning to replace paper, and programmable credit will soon react dynamically to a borrower's real-time business data.
- The most resilient, competitive lenders of the future will be those who embed AI and blockchain at the core of their operations, relying on proof over trust.
This summary delivers a comprehensive overview of how Cole Snell and Real Private Credit are leading the charge to remake the private credit market using AI and blockchain, ushering in a new era of security, transparency, and efficiency for SMB lending.