Signaling Theory

Episode 8

Value Accrual and Market Reality in DeFi w/ Adrian (Steakhouse Financial)

Stakehouse cofounder Adrian Steakhouse joins Rex to unpack what “curators” actually do: turning DeFi’s powerful—but nerd-only—primitives into infrastructure that feels like a normal financial product, including the behind-the-scenes rails powering stablecoin yield inside apps like Coinbase. From there, they get honest about why innovation feels slower post-2021, where the real open problems still are (insurance, first-loss capital, and credit), and why most crypto tokens fail to hold long-term value—while a handful (like Aave and Sky) look more “investable” because they embed clearer ownership or governance rights.They close with a grounded look at stablecoin profit pools, lessons from free banking history, why “depegs” are often misunderstood, and how “yield coins” (USDAI, Daylight, Ethena) could become a major new venue for capital formation—and risk. Reference Material: Wildcat Banking - https://x.com/nic_carter/status/1950984660290613655 Fractional vs Full Reserve Business Models in Stablecoins - https://kitchen.steakhouse.financial/p/the-color-of-money Token Launches - https://kitchen.steakhouse.financial/p/token-launches-in-the-modern-era Stablecoins and Cryptodollars Hierarchy of Money - https://kitchen.steakhouse.financial/p/cryptodollars-and-the-hierarchy-of SNB Balance Sheet - https://dune.com/steakhouse/snb SNB Philosophy on Bitcoin and Stablecoins - https://x.com/adcv_/status/1915754341870272603