In this episode of Signaling Theory, Rex sits down with Colin Butler, co-founder of Mega Matrix, a digital asset treasury (DAT) focused on becoming the world’s leading publicly traded stablecoin company. They dig into why stablecoins might be a multi-trillion-dollar market by 2028, how value actually accrues across the stablecoin stack, and why governance tokens and cash-generating protocols could offer very different return profiles than today’s “number go up” narratives.
From Ethena’s USDe and the basis-trade stablecoin model, to novel structures like STBL and ideas like GPU-backed stablecoins, Colin walks through where he thinks the next wave of innovation will come from—and how DATs can serve as the bridge between DeFi and traditional capital markets. The conversation also zooms out to talk about UX, interoperability, the role of big institutions like JPMorgan, Stripe, and DTCC, and why rewiring global collateral and payments rails with crypto is both incredibly exciting and inherently risky.
Rex sits down with Drew Van Der Werff, founder of Commit-Boost and Fabric, to talk about the future of Ethereum block production: from validator autonomy and pre-confirmations to full-slot auctions, inclusion lists, and what a more robust PBS pipeline might look like. They dig into how Commit-Boost turns the validator stack into an “app store” for block construction, why derivatives on blockspace could actually stabilize Ethereum, and where TEEs fit (or don’t) alongside ZK. The conversation zooms out to the state of the Ethereum social layer, the role of the EF and client teams, and why Drew splits his time between cutting-edge protocol work and running a very real-world American machine shop.
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Stablecoins, then and now. Host Rex Kirshner sits down with Sam Kazemian, founder of Frax, to trace the anthropology of stablecoins from seigniorage-share thought experiments and DeFi flywheels to today’s issuer platforms, “genius-compatible” collateral, and vertically-integrated payment rails. They unpack lessons from the Terra collapse, why Frax split payment vs. yield-bearing units (FRAX vs. sFRAX), and how issuance partnerships became the new Curve wars.
The second half gets spicy: stock (TVL/yield) vs. flow (payments/settlement) business models, whether branded stables like Hyperliquid’s USDH make sense, and a pragmatic take on CBDCs (“good” vs. Orwellian versions), exit/rage-quit guarantees back to credibly neutral chains, and what real decentralization must withstand—both technically and societally.
Introducing Signaling Theory, a new podcast by Rex Kirshner (LogarithmicRex). Signaling Theory cuts through crypto’s noise to find the real signals. Host Rex Kirshner joins builders, thinkers, and researchers who are shaping the space for deep, nuanced and informed conversations. Curiosity first, signal over noise.
New Episodes every Thursday
Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts
More info: SigTheory.com