Lauren Dresnick

Today's @_TalkingTokens is with @masonnystrom, partner at @PanteraCapital, and @danielmarinq, CEO of @NexusLabs diving into: - Demand for specialized blockchains - The state of crypto VC today vs previous cycles - What makes a winner in bull and bear markets Full episode below:

gnexus. via @DefiantNews thedefiant.io/news/defi/nexu…

Introducing USDX — the native dollar of the Nexus economy. A shared settlement layer for all apps, trades, and markets on Nexus. One asset. Unified liquidity. Protocol-native incentives. Capital is converging, and USDX is its native home. Read more: blog.nexus.xyz/introducing-us…

“We’re about to see a renaissance of crypto protocols that are deeply focused on sustainability." @danielmarinq at Multichain Day from @wrappedxyz. Joined on stage by @stellarorg, @circle, @lifiprotocol, and @gauntlet_xyz.

@WeavingWeb3 @NexusLabs @EthereumDenver Can’t wait to see what Nexus Labs is cooking up at Multichain Day next-gen L1 vibes are real!

@LindsayCasale my secret to success

Your mistakes today make you better tomorrow.

If you're building a crypto neobank or defibank, you're first competing with other top crypto apps (right), and bigger picture, your competitors are massive fintech apps and fintech neobanks (left) "Neobanks" are the wrong name for banking on crypto rails. These have been around for years by the likes of Brex, Mercury, Chime, Sofi, N26, Revolut etc. They are traditional, centralized banks with a slicker UX DeFi banks on the other hand allow for payments, remittences, earning, borrowing, and saving completely on decentralized blockchain rails. Similar USPs but - onchain capital markets means tapping into a global liquidity layer. Everything is faster, composable, permissionless, and allows for higher APR yields too.

Good research is being done on lookup and permutation arguments. The connection to shuffle proofs seems under appreciated, so I wrote up a comparison. @__zkhack__

The first day back from a holiday break feels

Marketing in crypto is growing up. Suddenly, we're seeing the rise of more seasoned marketers making the transition to the web3 space. The result is more polish, tried-and-true methods, and better results. @L2Drez took the @EFDevconnect to class this year in Buenos Aires.

Web3 marketing is growing up. At @EFDevcon 2025, the convo shifted. Less about hype cycles, more about reach, clarity, and creative discipline. From g(t)m Con to late-night strategy chats, four themes kept surfacing: • Build beyond CT • Use contrast to clarify your brand • Design for long-term users, not short-term activity • Treat AI as infrastructure — the creativity still has to come from you

Thank you to our speakers and everyone who came out to our verifiable finance brunch at @efdevcon 2025! Hot takes on TradFi adoption, next-gen DeFi infra and RWA integrations: “I lie awake at night thinking about a half-baked agent with no semblance of privacy built in taking over crypto trading. This where data verifiably in finance must play a role.” — @aisconnolly of @TACEO_IO “DeFi security needs attention. Specifically key procedures, like smart contracts. We must focus on governance and keys — not just security codes — in order to safely handle trillions of dollars on chain.” — @mpfzajac of @Nethermind “You aren’t just trusting the smart contract. You are trusting the team that’s supporting it. More industry-wide governance is essential in managing downstream effects of upgrades across composable chains.” —@LewellenMichael of @turnkeyhq “Coolest stablecoin trend: the disruption of traditional banking deposits with the likes of stablecoins like USDC.  Proof of this is USDC deposits into JPMD at JP Morgan” — @AustinBallard1 of @Offchain It was also great to see Nexus Ambassadors, like @influencerdee.

@DavidThaDegen @GenzioCo @NexusLabs @bcgame @MutantApeJack @InfluencerDee @bigshillenergy @caramoschetti @LockFryer Great work, team!

Killer event today at the @GenzioCo house hosting the @NexusLabs team. Impactful panels paired with amazing vibes. @bcgame @MutantApeJack @InfluencerDee @NexusLabs

Crypto scaries… “I lie awake at night thinking about a half-baked agent with no semblance of privacy built in taking over crypto trading. This where data verifiably in finance must play a role.” - @aisconnolly of @TACEO_IO in convo with @JensGroth16 at @NexusLabs’s verifiable finance brunch at @efdevcon 2025

Love meeting @NexusLabs Ambassador @InfluencerDee in the wild. 🔥 @EFDevcon 2025

Doors are open. See you soon.

@DavidThaDegen @yikesqq @GenzioCo @bcgame @EFDevcon Lookin’ good!

Running games before festivities with @yikesqq at the @GenzioCo house in Buenos Aires on @bcgame CHARGE IT TO THE GAME

Crypto Kitty spotted at @HouseofZK @WPReadingClub @EFDevcon

@JensGroth16 on how to reduce the cost of permutation proofs in zkVMs