Liquid staking tokens may sound like a niche corner of crypto, but they raise a much bigger question: can regulation actually keep up with decentralized systems? Juan Ignacio Ibañez of the MiCA Crypto Alliance dicusses why LSTs are so hard to classify under MiCA, and why that ambiguity creates real compliance risk for platforms and service providers. The conversation moves beyond labels to a deeper issue: what happens when existing rules are built for assets with issuers, managers, and clearer boundaries than Web3 often provides. Listen on Spotify and Apple Music. Discover more in their working paper: Crypto-asset Taxonomy for Investors and Regulators

Congressman Troy Downing joins us to discuss what it really takes to give digital assets and AI clear rules in the United States. From the Genius Act on stablecoins and the Clarity Act on SEC vs CFTC roles, to his AI Wise Act on education for small businesses, he explains why the US cannot afford to fall behind while still protecting consumers. He also shares how financial literacy, tribal outreach, and real world use cases like title insurance and crop insurance on blockchain fit into a future where traditional banking and new rails grow side by side. 🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

This episode covers the digitization of payments and the rise of stablecoins. We discuss China’s CBDC project, the success of USD stablecoins, and the barriers to broader stablecoin adoption. We also examine how stablecoins could reshape the modern payment infrastructure. Guests: Lin William Cong (Cornell University), Simon Mayer (Carnegie Mellon University) Paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4063878 🟢https://open.spotify.com/episode/3wECfvSkePcU2sKyFayxDF 🟣 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ava-labs-x-cber-ep-13-stablecoins-and-digital-payments/id1706838957?i=1000737258244