On today’s Talking Tokens episode, Jacquelyn sat down with Hong Sun, head of institutions at Core. Core is a bitcoin-secured, EVM-compatible L1 powering a new wave of BTCFi apps, stablecoin adoption, and yield primitives without requiring bitcoin to leave holders’ wallets.

Hong walks through how Core uses bitcoin time locks to enable staking and yield generation, what "dual staking" means for institutional safety and returns, and how Core partners with firms like Maple Finance, Copper, and DeFi Technologies to operationalize BTCFi. He breaks down the rise of liquid staking for bitcoin, how spot ETFs paved the way for the next wave of bitcoin adoption, and what new builders can expect from Core’s Rev+ model.

They also discuss how BTCFi is changing institutional strategies, bitcoin-as-treasury dynamics, and the future of composable bitcoin collateral in both DeFi and traditional finance.

Timestamps

(0:00) - Who is Hong Sun & what is Core?

(0:54) - From Paxos to BTCFi: Hong's journey

(2:01) - Why bitcoin yield matters for adoption

(2:34) - Yield without custody risk: Time locks explained

(4:03) - LSD-BTC and tokenizing yield

(5:44) - ETF buyers vs. yield seekers: the next wave

(6:51) - How institutions are thinking about BTC yield

(8:12) - Why time locks minimize risk

(10:25) - Tax efficiency & regulatory clarity

(11:08) - From gold to fixed income: Bitcoin's new narrative

(13:14) - Allocating bitcoin in portfolios

(15:01) - Is bitcoin the new real estate?

(17:14) - Growth of BTCFi across L1s

(19:28) - Core as infra for Bitcoin utility

(21:30) - New products: wBTCY, Rev+

(23:29) - Sharing gas fees with builders

(24:37) - The stablecoin connection to BTCFi

(26:28) - Monetizing distribution for issuers

(27:27) - Incentives for builders & devs on Core

(29:33) - Educating institutions on safe BTC yield

(32:24) - BTCFi: treasuries, ETFs & traders

(34:08) - Positive carry for market makers

(35:25) - What dual staking unlocks

(38:13) - BTCFi TAM & billion-dollar upside

(40:23) - Composable Bitcoin in traditional finance

(42:15) - Liquidity, volatility & macro impacts

(44:14) - Hong’s advice: think big, build aligned systems

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