Medici Presents: Level Up

About Medici Presents: Level Up

Presented by the Medici Network, Level Up is the premier podcast for institutional investors navigating liquid token markets. Hosts David Grider from Finality Capital and Sean Farrell from Fundstrat sit down with top protocol founders and crypto-native fund managers to cut through the noise. Each episode unpacks token economics, adoption trends, valuation frameworks, and key risks—giving you the insights to stay ahead in the evolving digital asset landscape.

Publisher

The Medici Network

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Mar 2025

Latest episode

5 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

30 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   5 Oct 2026

   Capital Markets Spotlight with Dennis Bree, Head of Institutional Growth at Morpho

   Capital Markets Spotlight is a new Medici series featuring the people who run investor relations, capital markets, and institutional distribution — the functions behind how a token reaches institutional investors. In this episode, Dennis Bree, Head of Institutional Growth at Morpho, joins David Grider and Sean Farrell to discuss Morpho’s vision for bringing global credit markets on-chain. Dennis explains how Morpho’s modular infrastructure separates lending markets, capital allocation, and risk management, and why that structure is designed to meet the needs of both crypto-native participants and traditional financial institutions. He breaks down Morpho Blue, vaults and curators, as well as Midnight, Morpho’s recently launched fixed-rate, fixed-maturity credit product. The conversation also covers Morpho’s key network metrics, institutional integrations with platforms including Coinbase, Robinhood, and Kraken, the role of real-world assets and the infrastructure still needed to support them, regulatory considerations surrounding vaults, and the protocol’s long-term economic model. Dennis also discusses why stablecoin adoption could help accelerate institutional credit on-chain and what risks and catalysts could shape Morpho’s next stage of growth. View the Full Level Up Podcast Disclaimer Here: https://level-up-podcast-disclaimer.super.site/ (https://level-up-podcast-disclaimer.super.site/) Timestamps: 00:00 — Why traditional institutions are beginning to move capital on-chain 01:01 — Dennis Bree’s background and why he joined Morpho 02:42 — Morpho’s thesis for an open, on-chain credit network 03:45 — Morpho Blue, vaults, curators, and Midnight 05:15 — How Midnight brings fixed-rate, fixed-maturity credit on-chain 06:12 — Why Morpho’s existing lending network gives Midnight an advantage 09:15 — Institutional risk concerns and Morpho’s modular architecture 11:51 — Who could borrow through Midnight 14:02 — Morpho’s deposits, active loans, TVL, and network economics 15:31 — Utilization rates and balancing liquidity with capital efficiency 16:22 — The evolution of Morpho’s curator ecosystem 18:07 — How the curator model compares with traditional asset management 20:03 — How institutions and allocators interact with vaults 21:25 — Regulatory considerations surrounding on-chain vaults 23:45 — Enterprise integrations and bringing DeFi into fintech platforms 25:29 — Early priorities and metrics for Midnight 26:15 — Real-world assets and the infrastructure still needed for on-chain credit 28:13 — Morpho’s economic model and the role of the MORPHO token 30:10 — Governance optionality and potential future value accrual 31:08 — When governance could consider activating protocol fees 32:19 — Economics for institutions building products on Morpho 34:28 — How distributors and curators can build different business models 36:12 — Liquidity network effects and Morpho’s long-term thesis 38:59 — How Morpho funds its current operations 40:27 — Morpho DAO, the Morpho Association, and Morpho Labs 41:13 — Revenue generation and strategic token partnerships 43:00 — Key risks and catalysts for Morpho 46:25 — Closing thoughts Links: The Medici Network: https://www.medici.network/ (https://www.medici.network/) Podcast Site: https://levelup.medici.network/ (https://levelup.medici.network/) Morpho: https://morpho.org/ (https://morpho.org/) Interested in being a Guest? Connect with Elmira on X: https://x.com/elmira_yilham (https://x.com/elmira_yilham) Co-Hosts David Grider, Finality Capital - https://x.com/David_Grid (https://x.com/David_Grid) Sean Farrell, Fundstrat Global Advisors - https://x.com/SeanMFarrell (https://x.com/SeanMFarrell) Guest Dennis Bree, Morpho X - https://x.com/dennisbree (https://x.com/dennisbree) LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-bree-9116134/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-bree-9116134/) Production and editing by The Podcast Consultant  - https://thepodcastconsultant.com/ (https://thepodcastconsultant.com/)

2. 

   16 Sept 2026

   Capital Markets Spotlight with Trevor King, Investor Relations of Lighter

   Capital Markets Spotlight is a new Medici series featuring the people who run investor relations, capital markets, and institutional distribution — the functions behind how a token reaches institutional investors. In this episode, Sean and David sit down with Trevor King, Investor Relations at Lighter, to discuss Lighter's vision for bringing financial markets onchain through perpetual futures. Trevor explains why Lighter sees perpetual decentralized exchanges as much more than trading venues, with the potential to support prediction markets, options, equities, commodities, and other financial products. He also breaks down Lighter’s approach to market makers and retail traders, its distribution strategy with partners such as Robinhood, and why the company is focused on expanding into the U.S. market. The conversation also covers the Robinhood Lighter instance, Lighter’s regulatory strategy, the Lighter EVM, token economics and buybacks, upcoming token unlocks, governance, and the biggest risks and opportunities facing the business. View the Full Level Up Podcast Disclaimer Here: https://level-up-podcast-disclaimer.super.site/ (https://level-up-podcast-disclaimer.super.site/) Key Points From This Episode: 00:00 Introduction 00:48 Trevor explains Lighter’s goal of bringing financial markets onchain and why perpetual exchanges can become broader ecosystems. 03:11 What makes perpetual futures distinct from spot, dated futures, and options, and why they serve retail and hedge funds. 06:13 Trevor compares perpetual DEX economics and infrastructure with traditional exchanges and discusses competition. 08:11 How Lighter could coexist and compete with traditional venues as perpetual futures gain adoption. 10:03 The relationship between exchanges, traders, and market makers, including Lighter’s decision not to charge retail takers. 13:00 How Lighter approaches retail execution and compares with other perpetual venues. 14:50 Trevor discusses the shift from crypto toward commodities and equities, now a meaningful share of Lighter’s volume. 17:02 How the Robinhood integration works, what drives activity, and the role of real-world assets. 19:58 Trevor explains the 50/50 Robinhood revenue split and how Lighter’s share funds token buybacks. 22:10 How Lighter could connect liquidity and market makers across multiple instances. 23:33 Why the team is building from the U.S., engaging regulators, and working within licensing frameworks. 27:40 Why Trevor sees room for both platforms to grow while Lighter focuses on U.S. expansion. 28:44 Revenue, market share, distribution, and monetization—and why the goal is a profitable business. 30:53 The team’s “white glove” approach to fintechs, wallets, exchanges, and institutions instead of simply providing an SDK. 34:46 Trevor discusses new markets and how the Lighter EVM could let builders access liquidity and experiment with applications. 37:07 How Lighter directs fees toward LIT buybacks, the scale discussed, and how the approach could evolve. 39:56 Token allocation, Robinhood incentives, investor holdings, and the January unlock schedule. 43:22 Why Lighter says value generated by its products should accrue to the token despite an equity entity. 45:01 Why Lighter operates like a traditional business rather than a DAO, and why Trevor sees execution as its biggest risk. 47:01 Why Lighter is focused on reaching the next millions of perpetual-futures users, not just today’s traders. Links: The Medici Network: https://www.medici.network/ (https://www.medici.network/) Podcast Site: https://levelup.medici.network/ (https://levelup.medici.network/) Lighter: https://lighter.xyz/ (https://lighter.xyz/) Interested in being a Guest? Connect with Elmira on X: https://x.com/elmira_yilham (https://x.com/elmira_yilham) Co-Hosts David Grider, Finality Capital - https://x.com/David_Grid (https://x.com/David_Grid) Sean Farrell, Fundstrat Global Advisors - https://x.com/SeanMFarrell (https://x.com/SeanMFarrell) Guest Trevor King, Lighter X - https://x.com/trevor_flipper (https://x.com/trevor_flipper) LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-king-a85534185/  (https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-king-a85534185/) Production and editing by The Podcast Consultant  - https://thepodcastconsultant.com/ (https://thepodcastconsultant.com/)

3. 

   13 Jul 2026

   Medici Level Up – Live at LA 26

   In this special LA 26 conference edition of Level Up, David and Sean sit down with three leading voices across institutional investing, blockchain infrastructure, and enterprise fintech. Cambridge Associates' Joe Marenda shares an allocator's perspective on blockchain venture, valuations, institutional adoption, and liquid strategies. Eigen Labs founder Sreeram Kannan discusses why blockchain is foundational to the AI agent era, the security challenges AI introduces to DeFi, and how Eigen is positioning itself for agentic commerce. Finally, Knova founder Natalya Thakur explains how financial institutions can unify traditional and tokenized assets through enterprise infrastructure designed for scalable digital asset operations. View the Full Level Up Podcast Disclaimer Here: https://level-up-podcast-disclaimer.super.site/ (https://level-up-podcast-disclaimer.super.site/) Key Points From This Episode: 00:00 Introduction & live from Medici LA 01:21 Joe Marenda (Cambridge Associates): allocator perspective 02:36 Blockchain venture valuations and market outlook 04:32 Why blockchain venture looks attractive today 06:42 Digital money as blockchain's clearest use case 08:47 Common institutional misconceptions about tokens 10:50 Institutional interest in liquid digital asset strategies 13:45 The future of institutional digital asset allocations 14:28 Sreeram Kannan (Eigen) 15:02 Building for the AI agent era 18:35 AI-driven security risks in DeFi 23:20 Restoring trust through security and settlement design 24:40 Eigen's business model and infrastructure roadmap 27:12 Natalya Thakur (Knova) 27:51 Simplifying digital asset operations for financial institutions 31:51 Enterprise adoption and key use cases 33:06 Distribution strategy and regulatory considerations 36:39 Knova’s business model 37:58 Closing remarks Links: The Medici Network: https://www.medici.network/ (https://www.medici.network/) Podcast Site: https://levelup.medici.network/ (https://levelup.medici.network/) Cambridge Associates: https://www.cambridgeassociates.com/ (https://www.cambridgeassociates.com/) Eigen Labs: https://www.eigenlabs.org/ (https://www.eigenlabs.org/) Knova: https://www.knova.finance/ (https://www.knova.finance/) Interested in being a Guest? Connect with Elmira on X: https://x.com/elmira_yilham (https://x.com/elmira_yilham) Co-Hosts David Grider, Finality Capital - https://x.com/David_Grid (https://x.com/David_Grid) Sean Farrell, Fundstrat Global Advisors - https://x.com/SeanMFarrell (https://x.com/SeanMFarrell) Guests Joe Marenda, Cambridge Associates LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-marenda (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-marenda) Sreeram Kannan, Eigen X - https://x.com/sreeramkannan (https://x.com/sreeramkannan?lang=en) Natalya Thakur, Knova LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nthakur9 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nthakur9?trk=public_post-text) Production and editing by The Podcast Consultant  - https://thepodcastconsultant.com/ (https://thepodcastconsultant.com/)

Who has been a guest on Medici Presents: Level Up

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Amir Haleem
• Jansen Teng
• Marcin Kazmierczak
• Nick White
• Rebekah Woo

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

1,803

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 38 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

36

Social presence

0

YouTube

68

Engagement

32

Contact Medici Presents: Level Up

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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