In this episode, Dirt sits down with Diego, co-founder and CEO of Pyra, to discuss how they're building a mobile-first neobank on Solana. Pyra is designed for DeFi natives and everyday users alike, allowing you to invest your paycheck in on-chain assets, access DeFi protocols, and still use a card to spend—all without compromising self-custody.

⏱ Timestamps

00:44 – What is Pyra? New kind of bank powered by DeFi

01:50 – Why crypto UX is broken & how Pyra fixes it

02:50 – Mobile-first: user expectations & shift from web

05:38 – Why they chose Solana over other chains

08:30 – Gasless transactions & abstracting complexity

10:00 – Smart wallets & seamless onboarding flow

12:07 – Bridging TradFi and DeFi: Visa on one side, protocols on the other

14:00 – How Pyra picks DeFi integrations (Drift, Jupiter, Sanctum)

15:55 – Risk management & audits

17:06 – Who’s using Pyra? Global DeFi natives, not just U.S.

19:33 – Strategy for mass market & future targeting

20:12 – Competitive advantage: self-custody + active yield

21:54 – Founding team mindset & the long game