Episode 14 of Layer One, hosted by The Block's Kelvin Sparks and co-host Ava Labs President John Wu, was recorded with David Sutter, Chief Executive Officer at OpenTrade and Samantha Lewis, Partner at Mercury Fund.
Listen below, and subscribe to Layer One on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please send feedback and revision requests to [email protected].
In Episode 14 of Layer One, The Block’s Kelvin Sparks and co-host, Ava Labs President John Wu, are joined by OpenTrade CEO David Sutter and Mercury Partner Samantha Lewis to break down the rapid growth of stablecoins and why yield infrastructure could become one of the most important layers of the onchain financial economy.
The conversation explores tokenized treasuries, stablecoin regulation, fintech adoption in emerging markets, AI-driven commerce, and how venture investors are thinking about the intersection of blockchain and financial services.
OUTLINE
00:00 - Introduction
01:26 - Bitcoin Origins
02:46 - Mercury’s Thesis
06:09 - Stablecoins Win
08:47 - Yield Infrastructure
11:58 - OpenTrade’s Model
20:59 - Stablecoin Adoption
31:32 - Clarity Act
38:07 - AI and Blockchain
51:46 - Bear Market Builders
55:31 - Closing Thoughts
GUEST LINKS
David Sutter - https://x.com/btc_dave
Samantha Lewis - https://x.com/sjolewis
OpenTrade - https://x.com/opentrade_io
Mercury - https://x.com/mercuryfund
HOST LINKS
John Wu - https://x.com/John1wu
Kelvin Sparks - https://x.com/imyoungsparks
The Block - https://x.com/TheBlockCo
Ava Labs - https://x.com/avalabs
Avalanche - https://x.com/avax
The Block Newsletters
The Block's newsletters bring you the latest news and analysis of the fast-moving crypto and DeFi markets. To subscribe, visit theblock.co/newsletters
Are you hiring in crypto?
Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test.
Faster hiring, stronger teams.
Sign up for a trial today: theblock.co/campus
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
