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Curiosity First. Signal Over Noise.
Episode 4
Why Are Vibes So Bad This Cycle w/ Fiddy
Rex sits down with Fiddy — DeFi “trench warrior,” Curve and Lido contributor — to ask a simple but uncomfortable question: why do the vibes feel so bad this cycle? They trace the arc from the 2020 DeFi summer through Do Kwon, FTX, and the meme-coin era, and talk about what happens when years of extraction, broken experiments, and aggressive speculation finally catch up with a still-nascent ecosystem. Along the way, they dig into how Twitter’s algorithm shift and the rise of easy online gambling have siphoned energy away from “builder crypto” toward pure conflict and get-rich-quick schemes. From there, the conversation zooms out: institutions like Stripe and major banks are quietly building on crypto rails, often in ways that don’t yet feed value back to DeFi. Is that net-bullish, or does it threaten the credibly neutral, censorship-resistant core that drew so many to Ethereum in the first place? Fiddy shares his view on Ethereum as an “infinite garden,” the evolving role of the Ethereum Foundation, and why, despite ugly vibes and broken governance experiments, he’s still deeply optimistic about the long-term cultural and technical trajectory of the space.
Episode 3
A DAT for Stablecoins w/ Colin Bulter (Mega Matrix)
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.
Episode 2
Upgrading the MEV Supply Chain /w Drew Van Der Werff (Commit-Boost & Fabric)
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.
Episode 1
Stablecoins: History, Mechanics, Policy w/ Sam Kazemian (Frax Finance)
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.
Episode 1
Introducing: Signaling Theory
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.