What happens when Ethereum staking outperforms U.S. Treasuries?
In this episode of Endgame, Alluvial CEO Mara Schmiedt joins Amanda Cassatt to unpack how Ethereum staking evolved from a technical mechanism into the internet’s first native yield.
They examine why traditional finance is starting to experiment with onchain systems, how liquid staking tokens are collapsing the boundary between DeFi and TradFi, and what it means when the world’s most risk-averse capital begins earning yield from a decentralized protocol instead of a central bank.
Amanda and Mara compare staking to what search ads were to Google, a sustainable revenue engine for an entire ecosystem, and trace the macro implications of that idea. If protocol-native yield exists outside government debt and monetary policy, it redefines how value is created and who controls it.
From ETF staking models to custodians bridging into DeFi, this episode unpacks how crypto’s yield engine is threading its way into the heart of global finance and what that might reveal about where the real change is happening.
Timestamps:
00:01 – Amanda & Mara Introduce the Episode
00:12 – Mara’s Crypto Origin Story
03:32 – What is Staking & Why It Matters
10:04 – Non-Correlated Yield vs. TradFi
11:27 – LSTs Explained
19:15 – The Technology Behind Secure Staking
27:31 – Defining “Institutional” in Crypto
35:28 – Who’s Not Staking Yet?
40:03 – Staking & DeFi Convergence
43:52 – Vision for the Future of Open Finance
RESOURCES:
Follow Mara: https://x.com/MaraSchmiedt
Subscribe to Endgame: https://www.youtube.com/@endgamepodcast Amanda on X: https://x.com/amandacassatt
Serotonin on X: https://x.com/serotonin
Endgame on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6iSvbKOJWoEPiAoGmiulkd
Endgame on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/endgame-with-amanda-cassatt/id1801809440
Substack: https://substack.com/@amandacassatt?utm_source=about-page