Bitcoin.com News Interviews

Tokenized stocks trading 24/7 alongside crypto on one app. One European bank planning on-chain equity infrastructure by year-end. A "financial supermarket" where every asset class converges. This isn't a forecast from a think tank — it's what Vlad Maltsev, Deputy CCO at WhiteBIT, is hearing from the banks themselves.

Vlad Maltsev joins Alex Richardson at Paris Blockchain Week to unpack tokenization timelines, MiCA's real-world impact on European banks, WhiteBIT's upcoming US expansion, and why compliance is still the only door that matters for institutional adoption.

In this interview:

- Why compliance is the gateway for every institutional entrant

- How MiCA is pulling German and Dutch banks into crypto licensing

- The "financial supermarket" thesis — one app, every asset class

- Why tokenized equity could settle in seconds instead of days

- WhiteBIT's MiCA status and US expansion timeline

- What could dominate crypto narratives a year from now

Filmed at Paris Blockchain Week

Bitcoin.com News: https://x.com/BitcoinNews

WhiteBIT: https://whitebit.com

Host: Alex Richardson

Chapters:

00:19 - Welcome and Guest Introduction

00:35 - Conference Overview

01:04 - Institutional Adoption in Crypto

01:49 - WhiteBit's Ecosystem

02:30 - Sponsorships and Partnerships

03:53 - Institutional Adoption Insights

05:05 - WhiteBit's Market Focus

06:12 - Stablecoins and Tokenization

08:06 - Future of Financial Platforms

09:07 - Crypto Trading Cup

10:10 - Trading Strategies

10:59 - WhiteBit's Future Projects

12:17 - Future Use Cases in Crypto

Tokenizing an asset doesn't automatically make it liquid. After 14 years at the London Stock Exchange, KuCoin EU's Managing Director Sabina Liu has a reality check for crypto's RWA hype cycle.

Sabina joins Alexander Richardson at Paris Blockchain Week 2026 to talk through what she actually saw in digital assets that TradFi missed, where tokenization genuinely solves a problem (and where it doesn't), how MiCA has reshaped Europe's exchange landscape, and why KuCoin EU runs as a broker — not an order book — under the new regulation.

We cover:

- Why tokenization alone doesn't create liquidity or demand

- What TradFi still does really well — and why not everything needs to be on-chain

- How MiCA has reshaped the European exchange playbook

- Why KuCoin EU operates as a broker, not an exchange

- France's role in Europe's institutional crypto landscape

- Where the real bridge between TradFi and digital assets gets built

Filmed at Paris Blockchain Week 2026.

Host: Alexander Richardson

Most RWA projects bolt onto Ethereum or Solana.

Real Finance didn't — they built their own chain. VP of Ecosystem Growth Brandon Kazakoff joins Alex Richardson at Paris Blockchain Week 2026 to explain why, in his view, real-world assets aren't just another token category. Issuance, risk classification, insurance logic, and governance all need to live at the protocol layer, not on top of it.

We cover:

- Why Real Finance built its own Layer 1 instead of deploying on Ethereum or Solana

- What RWA protocols actually need that general-purpose chains can't deliver

- How issuance, risk classification, and insurance logic work on-chain

- Why 2026 is the year RWAs shift from theory to structured financial products

- What institutional interest in RWAs actually looks like right now

Filmed at Paris Blockchain Week 2026.

Host: Alex Richardson

Is Europe on a countdown clock? Bitpanda's Enterprise lead for France, Mathieu Henry, thinks so — and he's marking 2028 as the year crypto becomes fully commoditized across the continent.

Mathieu sits down with David Sencil and Alexander Richardson at Paris Blockchain Week to talk about why MiCA pulled banks off the sidelines, how Bitpanda quietly runs the full crypto stack behind Lydia (France's 8M-user payments app), and why the biggest remaining blocker to institutional adoption isn't regulation — it's trust.

We cover:

- Why crypto will be fully commoditized in Europe by mid-2028

- How Bitpanda powers Lydia's crypto product end-to-end

- The B2B pivot reshaping Bitpanda's business

- What the latest AFD report reveals about French crypto adoption

- How MiCA actually changed the institutional calculus

- The real blocker: trust between crypto-native players and banks

- Where Europe stands vs the US and Hong Kong

Filmed at Paris Blockchain Week.

Host: David Sencil | Co-host: Alexander Richardson

France has a crypto paradox. 93% of adults know what it is. Only 11% actually own any.

Bybit France Country Manager Ambroise Helaine thinks the gap has almost nothing to do with regulation — and everything to do with product.

Ambroise sits down with David Sencil and Alexander Richardson at Paris Blockchain Week 2026 to talk through what a conservative European retail market actually wants (hint: not leverage), why 50% of retail assets still sit in zero-interest cash accounts, and why MiCA alone isn't enough to unlock the full exchange playbook — three separate licenses are.

We cover:

- Why French crypto adoption plateaued despite MiCA landing

- How Bybit rebuilt its European strategy around conservative savers

- The three regulatory licenses European exchanges actually need

- Why every exchange may eventually issue its own stablecoin

- The DCA-first product line for set-and-forget investors

- Tokenized stocks and what's actually shipping

- How Europe stacks up against US and Asian crypto markets

Filmed at Paris Blockchain Week 2026.

Host: David Sencil | Co-host: Alexander Richardson

Looking for a single app that combines crypto news, trading insights, prediction markets, and wallet integration?

In this episode, Shrey Pandey (Tech Lead at Bitcoin.com) breaks down how their team built an all-in-one crypto news app designed for both beginners and advanced traders—in under 2 months using AI/ML tools.

Discover how this app simplifies crypto for the 80% of users who are still hesitant to engage, while giving power users a unified dashboard (Terminal Mode) to act on market-moving information instantly.

Inside this deep-dive demo, you’ll learn about:

- A personalized crypto news feed with 24-hour digest + audio playback

- Seamless wallet integration without confusing crypto jargon- Prediction markets directly tied to breaking news events

- Terminal Mode for real-time trading insights and execution- Satoshi Herald mode for distraction-free, ad-free reading

- Multi-platform experience across iOS, Android, Apple Watch, and Apple TV

- Social features like following wallets and tipping creators

💡 Key insight: News is emerging as the next major Bitcoin use case—giving users the ability to see what’s moving markets and act on it instantly.

Whether you're a crypto beginner, trader, or Web3 enthusiast, this episode shows how the future of crypto apps is becoming more integrated, accessible, and action-driven.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro – Shrey Pandey at Hapo-eN

00:51 15 years in software engineering, 5 years at Bitcoin.com

01:23 Why a dedicated crypto news app was needed

02:26 The problem: user hesitation in crypto

04:23 Wallet creation via social login

06:07 Content strategy: articles, videos, podcasts

08:04 Live demo begins

08:30 Market notifications explained

09:01 News tab: read, listen, digest

10:07 Video & podcast experience

10:54 Predictions markets walkthrough

12:08 Terminal Mode deep dive

13:01 Real-time timeline view

14:58 Satoshi Herald (e-ink mode)

16:21 Market categories overview

17:08 Why media is the next crypto use case

18:10 Tools for advanced traders

20:28 Social features

23:24 No direct messaging (regulation reasons)

24:34 Platform availability

26:15 Built in under 2 months

28:25 Closing thoughts

What happens when crypto payments go live in a real-world retail environment—like an airport?

In this episode, Gen Adachi shares how Netstars launched a USDC payment pilot at Haneda Airport in Japan—and saw demand exceed expectations by 10x. This isn’t theory or hype—this is one of the strongest real-world use cases for stablecoins in everyday payments today.

We dive into how USDC is being used at checkout, why QR payment infrastructure in Japan makes it easier to integrate crypto, and how Netstars is positioning itself as a major payments aggregator with access to over 700,000 merchants.

Gen also breaks down the future of crypto payments—from multi-wallet and multi-chain support to expanding pilots beyond airports, including a Pokémon card shop in Osaka and international markets like Qatar, Mongolia, and Cambodia.

If you're interested in crypto adoption, stablecoins like USDC, real-world blockchain use cases, or the future of digital payments in Asia, this conversation is packed with insights.

Topics covered:

- USDC payments in real-world retail

- Haneda Airport crypto payment pilot

- Stablecoin adoption in Japan

- QR code payment systems and Web3

- Multi-wallet, multi-chain payment infrastructure

- Netstars and Japan’s payment ecosystem

- Global expansion of crypto payments

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

01:11 – Netstars: Aggregating 60 Payment Methods

01:26 – USDC Live Pilot at Haneda Airport

02:28 – Multi-Wallet, Multi-Chain Future

04:06 – 10x Results: Pilot Performance Beat Expectations

06:53 – Market Position: 700K Merchants in Japan

07:29 – Second POC: Pokémon Card Shop in Osaka

11:45 – International Expansion: Qatar, Mongolia, Cambodia

What does it take for Web3 social media to achieve real adoption?

In this episode, Raul Velazquez discusses how ENVO has grown to over 500,000 users and what this means for the future of decentralized social platforms. As the shift from Web2 to Web3 continues, platforms like ENVO are exploring new ways to combine user-friendly design, creator monetization, and global accessibility.

This conversation covers the key challenges that have held back Web3 social media in the past—and the strategies now being used to overcome them. Topics include user onboarding, creator economies, AI-powered translation, token-based incentives, and regional growth strategies across Asia.

Whether you're interested in blockchain technology, cryptocurrency adoption, or the evolution of digital communities, this episode provides insight into how social platforms may evolve in a decentralized future.

🔍 Topics Covered:

- Web3 social media and decentralized platforms

- User adoption and onboarding in crypto apps

- Creator monetization and token economies

- AI translation and global accessibility

- Asia-first growth strategies and gaming partnerships

- The future of Web2 vs Web3 social platforms

In this episode, Even Realities CEO Will Wang breaks down why smart glasses may be closer to mainstream adoption than we think. From subtle, everyday design to powerful AI features and developer-driven ecosystems, this conversation explores how wearable tech is evolving beyond novelty into something genuinely useful.

We dive into the Even G2 and EvenHub platform, unpacking real-world use cases like live translation, teleprompting, and AI-powered meeting summaries. Will also shares why developers are excited about agent workflows on eyewear, how a ring-based control system changes the user experience, and why the company made bold design decisions—like skipping the camera entirely.

If you're curious about the future of ambient computing, hands-free interfaces, and where AI meets hardware, this episode is worth a listen.

Featuring:

Will Wang (CEO, Even Realities)

Hosted by Matthew Owens

Topics include:

- Smart glasses design that blends into everyday life

- AI-powered features that actually matter

- The role of developers in shaping wearable tech

- New interaction models (including ring controls)

- Why the future of computing may be more invisible

Listen now and explore how wearable AI is becoming part of daily life.

Follow Bitcoin.com News for more: https://x.com/BitcoinNews

What is the real endgame for crypto?

Phillip Pon, CEO of EMURGO, joins David Sencil to explore why the future of crypto lies in building onchain banking systems that function as real financial infrastructure—especially for emerging markets.In this episode, Phillip shares insights on why self-custody, stable value, and distribution are critical to crypto adoption, and why the industry must move beyond speculative, casino-style use cases.

He also discusses how blockchain can coexist with traditional finance, the importance of compliance and privacy, and how real-world utility will define the next phase of growth.

The conversation also covers institutional adoption, the role of Japan in the global blockchain ecosystem, and why crypto may have a unique advantage in an AI-driven world.

Topics include: onchain banking, crypto adoption, blockchain infrastructure, Cardano ecosystem, EMURGO, digital finance, emerging markets, self-custody, stablecoins, and the future of money.

⏱️ Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction & Phillip Pon’s Journey

05:02 – EMURGO & the Cardano Ecosystem

09:52 – Onchain Banking & Real-World Use Cases

14:58 – Privacy, Compliance & Blockchain

20:12 – Institutional Adoption25:06 – Japan & Regulatory Challenges27:57 – Future Outlook