Onchain, Honestly is a conversation with the operators actually building crypto companies.
Kaisa and Alenka sit down with founders and leaders to talk about what the pitch decks leave out: go-to-market, hiring, revenue, real traction, and the unglamorous mechanics of turning a protocol or product into a business.
No hype, no theater. Just honest conversations about what works, what doesn't, and what it actually takes to build onchain.
Onchain, Honestly! Ep. 20 ft. Centrifuge - When Legal Becomes Product Strategy
What happens when the legal team helps design the product instead of just signing it off? In this episode of Onchain, Honestly!, Kaisa and Alenka speak with Eli Cohen, Chief Legal Officer at Centrifuge, about the operational realities of building onchain.
Eli explains why legal sits at the table from day one in crypto, how much of today’s "regulatory uncertainty" is real, and why some products, like a US version of Centrifuge’s deRWA token, get shelved once the compliance costs are counted. We also discuss who is actually buying tokenized funds, why so much of crypto is based in the Cayman Islands, and Centrifuge’s decision to turn its token holders into equity holders.
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Eli Cohen: https://blockworks.co/author/eli-cohen
Centrifuge: https://centrifuge.io/
Centrifuge X: https://x.com/centrifuge
Alea Research: https://alearesearch.io/
Alea Research X: https://x.com/AleaResearch
Spotify:
Apple:
Alenka X: https://x.com/alenka_on_x
Alenka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-shmalko/
Kaisa X: https://x.com/kaisakaisa_
Kaisa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-k-4aa212194/
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DISCLAIMER: This Content is Provided Solely for Informational and Educational Purposes. It does Not Constitute Financial, Investment, or Legal Advice.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction and Eli’s two roles at Centrifuge and Anemoy
03:17 When legal enables new products
04:34 Legal uncertainty: real obstacle or excuse?
08:55 Centrifuge’s plans for the US market
10:58 Legal as part of building the product
13:58 When compliance costs outweigh a product idea
16:14 Fund rules and who actually buys tokenized funds
19:51 White-label issuers and lessons from early pools
21:26 Why crypto gathers in the Cayman Islands
24:43 What makes tokenized fund structures hard to reuse
30:22 From token holders to equity holders
33:10 Lessons learned and what Centrifuge would do differently
8 Oct 2026
Onchain, Honestly! ep. 19 ft. Paxos - The Business Decisions Behind a Global Stablecoin
How much is regulatory predictability worth when you’ve already invested in building a business?
In this episode of Onchain, Honestly!, we speak with Nick Gersh, Senior Regulatory Counsel at Paxos, about the practical work behind issuing stablecoins and choosing where to operate.
Nick explains why he values Europe’s regulatory certainty despite his frustrations with MiCA. His account of issuing USDG across borders shows how much work sits behind a product that should feel the same to every holder. We also explore the business case for launching your own stablecoin and what happens when reserve requirements meet the realities of finding banking partners.
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LinkedIn Nick Gersh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-gersh/
Paxos: https://www.paxos.com/company
Alea Research: https://alearesearch.io/
Alea Research X: https://x.com/AleaResearch
Spotify:
Apple:
Alenka X: https://x.com/alenka_on_x
Alenka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-shmalko/
Kaisa X: https://x.com/kaisakaisa_
Kaisa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-k-4aa212194/
—
DISCLAIMER: This Content is Provided Solely for Informational and Educational Purposes. It does Not Constitute Financial, Investment, or Legal Advice.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction and Europe’s changing crypto market
04:12 Issuing one stablecoin across borders
10:44 Compliance costs, competition, and partnerships
15:12 Tokenized gold and MiCA’s categories
18:31 Working with regulators in Europe
23:47 Reserve requirements and banking risk
28:25 Where the next wave of stablecoin growth could come from
31:24 Branded stablecoins and consortium models
33:55 Tokenized assets beyond stablecoins
38:37 Choosing where to build and the value of predictable rules
1 Oct 2026
Onchain, Honestly! Ep. 18 ft. Tempo - How To Win In Institutional Adoption
What makes stablecoins worth the investment for a bank? In this episode of Onchain, Honestly!, Kaisa and Alenka speak with Ninad Nirgudkar, who leads Tempo’s work with traditional financial institutions, about turning institutional interest in blockchain into products customers can use.
We explore how Tempo helps institutions move from a business case to a live product, and what motivates banks to make that investment. Drawing on its previous work and feedback from financial institutions, Ninad explains how customer needs shape what Tempo builds and how the team thinks about measuring success.
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Ninad Nirgudkar LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninadnirgudkar/
Ninad Nigurdar X: https://x.com/ninadnirgudkar
Tempo: https://tempo.xyz/
Alea Research: https://alearesearch.io/
Alea Research X: https://x.com/AleaResearch
Spotify:
Apple:
Alenka X: https://x.com/alenka_on_x
Alenka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-shmalko/
Kaisa X: https://x.com/kaisakaisa_
Kaisa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-k-4aa212194/
—
DISCLAIMER: This Content is Provided Solely for Informational and Educational Purposes. It does Not Constitute Financial, Investment, or Legal Advice.
—
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction and Tempo’s approach to payments
07:16 From a business case to a live product
10:46 Tempo’s relationship with Stripe and Paradigm
15:20 Where institutions see opportunities onchain
19:00 Why banks are exploring stablecoins
23:15 Deel’s payroll use case
27:03 Bringing traditional finance and crypto expertise together
29:17 Account controls and privacy
34:37 Moving enterprise clients into production
36:59 Measuring customer outcomes
39:50 What’s next for Tempo?
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