Podcast Summary: “QUADRILLIONS” Are HERE! Bitcoin & Crypto Are About to Change Forever
The Wolf Of All Streets – Host: Scott Melker
Guest: Yuval Rooz, CEO of Canton Network
Date: January 8, 2026
Episode Overview
In this episode, Scott Melker (“The Wolf of All Streets”) engages with Yuval Rooz, CEO of Canton Network, to dive deep into the explosive growth and institutional adoption of crypto—now at the scale of quadrillions of dollars. The episode centers on how the world’s major financial infrastructure is moving onto crypto rails, the technical and regulatory challenges involved, and what this means for the future of money and blockchain. Key themes include institutional tokenization, privacy, interoperability, regulatory clarity, and the transformation of finance.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Setting the Stage: Quadrillions in Crypto
[00:00–05:16]
- Scott Melker sets up the conversation around the mind-boggling numbers flowing into crypto, referencing recent news that “quadrillions” are now being tokenized.
- “I don't throw around numbers like quadrillions lightly… I actually thought I would never have to say the number quadrillions, but here we are.” (Scott, 00:05)
- Recent regulatory statements and approvals set the context:
- SEC Chairman Paul Atkins: Entire U.S. financial system to go on crypto rails by 2026.
- DTCC received an SEC “no action letter,” fast-tracking huge asset tokenization.
2. The Scale & Mechanics of Institutional Tokenization
[05:16–09:45]
- Yuval explains that the DTCC processes close to $100 trillion in assets and “quadrillions of dollars every year.”
- “We keep on talking about billions and really the opportunity is quadrillions.” (Yuval, 04:56)
- Institutional adoption required technical breakthroughs in privacy and scalability, and adopting new infrastructure is as much an operational as a technical challenge.
- “You do need to get institutional adoption… The lack of privacy on crypto rails was a huge hindrance.” (Yuval, 05:52)
- Hundreds of billions of dollars in collateral already move daily through Canton for some clients.
3. Early Institutional Use Cases & JP Morgan’s Move
[07:22–10:35]
- Highlights significant early users: Broadridge now moves roughly 10% of daily U.S. Treasury repo market volume (~$400B) on Canton rails.
- “They do over 300, I think they got close to 400 billion of daily volume last year.” (Yuval, 07:56)
- JP Morgan’s “JPM Coin” is expanding to Canton:
- “There has been a massive demand for high quality cash on ledger. JP Morgan... they're very high quality balance sheet to transact with. And if you're thinking about all the quadrillions that you need to settle, that would be a good example.” (Yuval, 11:36)
- Scott notes the shift in perception: "He [Jamie Dimon] used to be all negative, all rat poison… Now he's on TV in the last few weeks saying blockchain is real." (Scott, 10:25)
4. Systemic Change: Replacement vs. Parallel Rails
[12:06–15:36]
- Scott asks if this is a new rail parallel to legacy or a full replacement.
- Yuval envisions a “wholesale replacement” over time (10–20 years), with flexibility in settlement timing (T+best time to settle).
- “Long term, it's a wholesale replacement of the system… I think we're on the way for T + best time to settle seconds.” (Yuval, 12:50)
- Larger players will transition earlier, with smaller institutions following as “bridges” help the gradual adoption.
5. Competition, Collaboration & Protocols
[15:36–17:35]
- No exclusivity with DTCC; expectation of multi-chain interoperability per new SEC guidelines.
- Canton’s mission isn’t to displace Ethereum or Solana but to specialize in attracting institutional on-chain flows, with privacy and permissioning key differentiators.
- “We've had multiple conversations with other L1s about collaboration… there's also things that Canton can benefit from some of those communities.” (Yuval, 16:21)
6. Institutional Privacy: Essential, Not Optional
[17:35–21:30]
- Yuval emphasizes that privacy is central to institutions and individuals:
- “Privacy is a human right… your public key means that you're anonymous. It's just not true.” (Yuval, 19:43)
- Lack of privacy enables front running and undermines competitive edge; companies like Citadel would never broadcast sensitive data on public rails.
7. Decentralization, Privacy, and the "Canton" Model
[21:30–23:12]
- The Canton system is inspired by Swiss Cantons—modular, interoperable, not monolithic.
- “There is no kind of this binary view of the world… the reason for the name Canton is from the Swiss Canton system.” (Yuval, 21:30)
- Offers a spectrum from centralized to decentralized, and public to private, allowing applications to set their own standards.
8. Interoperability & Bridges: The Next Big Question
[23:12–27:19]
- Multi-chain world is inevitable but will feature only a few key players; interoperability will evolve out of necessity and real business cases.
- “Institutions today… are coming at it from a multi chain kind of approach.” (Yuval, 24:06)
- Acknowledges that “bridges” have been a big security issue and expects future solutions from leaders like LayerZero, Chainlink, with true incentives.
- “Bridges and the risk associated with them is… very valid… the next generation, if you want to call it of a bridge…” (Yuval, 26:33)
9. Market Sentiment, Institutional Buy-In & Valuation
[27:19–32:16]
- Financial giants like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are now both offering and creating crypto products, showing near-universal institutional FOMO.
- “How big is it that one of the top three wealth managers in the world has done this? I think it's pretty big.” (Yuval, 28:16)
- Despite bear market sentiment, Yuval asserts: “I don't think it goes down to zero. I think that has a zero chance.” (Yuval, 29:24)
- Both Scott and Yuval stress that many crypto valuations may get repriced as fundamentals and utility, rather than hype, become the basis for value.
- “If we are intellectually honest… a return to actually pricing them on utility and fundamentals may be much lower than where they currently are…” (Scott, 30:42)
10. Regulatory Clarity and the Global Ripple Effect
[32:16–37:14]
- Importance of legislative clarity (e.g., Clarity Act) for risk-averse institutions; timing is key before potential U.S. political turbulence.
- “A lot of times just due to the substance of the law itself, but also… it's the posture.” (Yuval, 32:49)
- The U.S. remains the leading financial center; its move to crypto rails creates momentum globally (e.g., the UK processing tokenized deposits on Canton, with more to come in Asia).
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On the “Quadrillions” Narrative:
- “I actually thought I would never have to say the number quadrillions, but here we are. And this is not hyperbole.” (Scott, 00:05)
- On Privacy as a Pillar:
- “I actually believe that privacy is a human right.” (Yuval, 19:43)
- On Institutional Adoption:
- “If you're thinking about all the quadrillions that you need to settle, [JP Morgan] would be a good example of a place where you could do that.” (Yuval, 11:36)
- On Market Sentiment vs. Reality:
- “All this is happening when we have sentiment in the dump… talking about that there's been no meaningful level of adoption… Maybe that's just because the tokens they're holding haven't gone up.” (Scott, 08:42)
- On Innovation in Adverse Conditions:
- “A lot of the best things that you see are built… are launched under the worst conditions.” (Scott, 28:56)
- On Valuing Projects by Utility:
- “I don't understand how something that doesn't have any rights and covenants… that the underlying asset processes less than a million dollars a year, can be worth billions of dollars.” (Yuval, 31:21)
- On the Importance of the U.S. as a Market Signal:
- “The US is still the leading financial center of the world and having the US have such a massive momentum does spill over and create momentum elsewhere.” (Yuval, 36:13)
Key Timestamps for Important Segments
- Introduction & “Quadrillion” Market Context: [00:00–05:16]
- Tokenization Mechanics & Institutional Adoption: [05:16–09:45]
- JP Morgan, Broadridge Use Cases: [07:22–10:35]
- Systemic Rails Replacement Discussion: [12:06–15:36]
- Competition & L1 Protocols: [15:36–17:35]
- Crypto & Institutional Privacy Debate: [17:35–21:30]
- Decentralization vs. Privacy Balance: [21:30–23:12]
- Interoperability, Multi-Chain Futures: [23:12–27:19]
- Market Sentiment & Institutional Buy-In: [27:19–32:16]
- Legislation, Global Impact: [32:16–37:14]
Tone & Style
- Conversational, witty, and direct—Scott Melker keeps the discussion rapid, occasionally irreverent, keeping complex ideas accessible.
- Yuval Rooz offers measured, technical, and optimistic insights, focused on real-world progress and the criticality of institutional needs.
Bottom Line
The episode demystifies how and why legacy finance—on the order of quadrillions—is moving onto blockchain rails, explores the necessity of privacy and interoperability for institutions, and sets expectations that this transition is both massive and gradual. Crucially, both guest and host agree that real adoption and genuine use—rather than speculation—will soon define the industry’s value, with the U.S. leading a global wave of change.
