Wirex News - Your Crypto Podcast

In blockchain, it’s easy to keep adding more — more features, more layers, more “innovation.” But at what point does complexity start getting in the way of real adoption? 

In this episode of the Wirex Podcast, host Lianna Adams is joined by Sam Elfarra, Community Spokesperson at TRON DAO, to explore why overengineering is one of the biggest traps in blockchain — and how founders can build products that people actually use. 

👉 Tune in to hear: 

• The most common ways founders accidentally overengineer their products 
• The one question every builder should ask before going on-chain 
• How to tell the difference between useful features and technical noise 
• Why more decentralization isn’t always better for the user experience 
• What should (and shouldn’t) make it into version one 
• Whether blockchain teams are building for users — or just for developers 
• Why requiring users to understand wallets, gas, and networks may signal a design problem 
• When blockchain might actually be the wrong solution 

If a product is too complex to use, it’s too complex to scale — and this episode shows how to avoid that trap. 

AI is no longer just a productivity tool — it’s starting to influence how leaders think, decide, and lead. So what happens when strategy, hiring, and decision-making are shaped by machines? 

In this episode of the Wirex Podcast, host Lianna Adams is joined by Sandy Carter, Chief Business Officer at Unstoppable Domains, to explore how AI is reshaping leadership — and whether today’s executives are truly prepared for the shift. From decision-making and accountability to trust and influence, this conversation challenges what it means to lead in an AI-driven world. 

👉 Tune in to hear: 

• Which parts of leadership AI can realistically replace — and what remains human 
• Whether leaders risk becoming “approvers” instead of decision-makers 
• If AI-driven decisions outperform instinct, does intuition still matter? 
• The hidden risk of leaders using AI to avoid accountability 
• Whether AI makes leaders more effective — or more replaceable 
• How trust shifts when teams rely more on AI than leadership direction 
• The leadership skills that will matter most in an AI-powered workplace 
• What will separate future-ready leaders from those left behind 

The future of leadership won’t be defined by who uses AI — but by who uses it wisely. 

Crypto moves fast — new tokens, new narratives, and new promises appear every week. But beyond the noise and hype, what actually delivers real value for users? 

In this episode of the Wirex Podcast, host Lianna Adams sits down with Colin Goltra, CEO of Morph, to explore what genuine utility in crypto looks like today. Drawing on his experience across multiple market cycles, Colin shares insights on where blockchain technology is creating meaningful impact — and where the industry still has work to do. 

👉 Tune in to hear: 

• How crypto’s core narratives have evolved over the years 
• Where the most genuine utility in the space exists today 
• What businesses and institutions are actually looking for in on-chain systems 
• Why stablecoins have become central to serious industry conversations 
• The challenges that still hold back crypto payments and broader adoption 
• The most sensible way for individuals and businesses to engage with crypto today 
• What meaningful adoption could look like over the next 5–10 years 

If crypto is going to matter long-term, it won’t be because it’s loud — it’ll be because it’s useful. 

Banks move trillions of dollars every day — yet very little of that runs on blockchain infrastructure. So what would actually need to change for a blockchain to be considered truly “bank-ready”? 

In this episode of the Wirex Podcast, host Lianna Adams sits down with Peter Bidewell, Head of Product at Rayls, to explore what banks really mean when they talk about trust, reliability, and readiness. From uptime and reversibility to privacy, regulation, and accountability, this conversation breaks down the real-world standards blockchain must meet to operate at institutional scale. 

👉 Tune in to hear: 

• What “bank-ready” actually means in plain language 
• Why banks still hesitate to use public blockchains 
• Whether infrastructure beyond the chain — custody, wallets, guarantees — matters more than the tech itself 
• How refunds or reversibility could work on-chain 
• What level of uptime and resilience banks expect 
• Who takes responsibility when something goes wrong 
• The privacy standards financial institutions require 
• What banks would realistically use blockchain for first 

If blockchain wants to serve global finance, it has to deliver reliability, accountability, and trust — at scale. 

Crypto has promised “mainstream adoption” for years — yet for most people, it still feels confusing, risky, or simply unnecessary. So what’s actually missing? 

In this episode of the Wirex Podcast, host Lianna Adams is joined by Debra Nita Ravindran, Associate Director and Head of Growth at YAP Global, to break down what needs to change for crypto to move beyond early adopters and become part of everyday life. From trust and reliability to real-world relevance, Debra shares what the industry must prioritize if it wants to reach the next wave of users. 

👉 Tune in to hear: 

• Why crypto still feels “experimental” after more than a decade 
• The biggest reason new users try crypto once — and don’t return 
• Whether the real blocker is technology, trust, or real-life usefulness 
• What insiders underestimate about how intimidating crypto feels 
• Why reliability may matter more than constant innovation 
• What needs to improve first: UX, regulation, payments, or support 
• What would make a non-crypto user genuinely say: “This is better.” 

Crypto doesn’t need to be louder to go mainstream — it needs to be clearer, more useful, and more dependable. 

Everyone says blockchain is “for everyone.” But if that’s true, why does paying with it still feel so complicated? 

In this episode of the Wirex Podcast, host Lianna Adams is joined by Sarah-Maria Kollnitzer, Interoperability Partnerships & GTM at Algorand, to unpack one of the biggest barriers to mass adoption: payments. Together, they explore why blockchain’s promise breaks down at the point users care about most — sending and spending money. 

👉 Tune in to hear: 

• Who blockchain is actually working for today 
• Why crypto payments still feel harder than tapping a bank card 
• Whether tech, UX, or incentives are really holding payments back 
• How fees, failed transactions, and friction impact user trust 
• The biggest misconceptions around “crypto payments” 
• What must change before blockchain payments are ready for everyone 

If blockchain is going to reach the mainstream, payments have to come first — and this conversation explains why. 

AI helps us decide what to read, buy, and believe — but we rarely question why we trust it. 

In this episode, Lianna Adams speaks with Stephanie Stranko, Founder & Research Lead at Ikwe.ai, about how people are quietly handing over decisions to AI without realizing it. They explore which choices should never be delegated to algorithms, why confident AI answers are so easy to accept, and what happens when we assume AI is right by default. 

They also discuss accountability — why we expect explanations from humans but not from AI, whether companies are incentivized to make AI feel trustworthy rather than actually be trustworthy, and which human skills we risk losing as AI keeps improving. 

AI doesn’t take responsibility away from us — we hand it over. 

🎧 Listen now and start questioning where your trust in AI really comes from. 

Are we witnessing the birth of a new financial system — or simply watching history repeat itself in digital form? 

In this episode of The Wirex Podcast, Lianna welcomes back artist, author, and provocateur Kane Mayfield to explore his latest sci-fi novel The Creature From Jekyll Island: Pepe Edition. Drawing inspiration from the infamous origins of the Federal Reserve, Kane reimagines the story for the blockchain age — where power, money, and myth collide once again. 

Together, they dive into the idea of a “Federal Blockchain” — a paradoxical fusion of decentralization and control — and ask whether blockchain technology is truly breaking the cycle of financial history or quietly reinforcing it. From secret meetings and modern-day power players to coders, regulators, AI, and governments, this conversation challenges how we think about transparency, monetary sovereignty, and the future of money itself. 

Is blockchain a tool for liberation, or just the next chapter in an old story? And if we’re standing at the dawn of a new monetary era, what warning signs should we be watching for? 

A thought-provoking episode for anyone questioning who really controls the financial system — and where we’re headed next. 

🎧 Tune in and decide for yourself: are we living through our own Jekyll Island moment? 

In this episode of the Wirex Podcast, host Lianna Adams sits down with Ben Bilski, Co-Founder and Core Contributor at True Labs, to explore the next frontier of crypto—beyond the headlines, hype cycles, and trading charts. 

Together, they unpack a series of bold, future-looking questions: Are we truly “still early,” or has the real innovation phase already quietly begun? Where might the biggest breakthroughs come from—unexpectedly “boring” industries, or overlooked real-world problems? Ben shares his perspective on the role speculation plays in driving progress, what a genuinely bank-beating use case could look like, and why crypto’s most important success might not involve tokens at all. 

From provocative “what if” scenarios to practical insights on where crypto is heading, this conversation challenges assumptions and spotlights the subtle ways blockchain innovation could become seamless, invisible, and woven into everyday life. 

Tune in for a thoughtful deep dive into what’s next for crypto—and what it might change about how we live, pay, and connect. 

Follow and subscribe to the Wirex Podcast for more conversations on the future of money, tech, and digital empowerment. 

In this episode of The Wirex Podcast, we dive into a question every brand should be asking: why does so much PR still feel like noise? Host Lianna is joined by Stella Friaisse, Operations Director at INPUT, to unpack what it really means to stop talking and start resonating. 

Together, they explore the biggest misconceptions about PR today, the real differences between in-house comms teams and external agencies, and how KOL/influencer marketing is evolving in Web3. Stella also shares why “humanizing” a brand so often backfires, what kinds of tech narratives are connecting right now, and which comms trends are overhyped vs. underrated. Plus, they look ahead at how AI will reshape PR and influencer campaigns — from smarter targeting to more authentic storytelling at scale. 

If you’re building in tech or Web3 and want your message to land with people (not just circulate online), this one’s for you. Tune in and rethink how you communicate — because impact starts with resonance, not repetition.