Advertise on podcast: Stonks Go Moon

Quantum computing just went from “sci-fi” to “this might break things sooner than we thought.” In this episode of the Stonks Go Moon Podcast, Rocco Strydom sits down with Ian Smith (Quantum EVM) to unpack Google’s latest research and why it’s not just a crypto problem, but a global systems problem. Google’s findings suggest modern encryption could be broken within the next decade, potentially as early as 2029. That impacts far more than Bitcoin. We’re talking about: Financial systems Military infrastructure AI acceleration Global data security Crypto just happens to be the canary in the coal mine. In this episode: What Google actually revealed about quantum computing Why current encryption across industries is vulnerable The real timeline to “Q-Day” US vs China in the quantum race Why crypto communities are underestimating the risk What needs to happen before impact

Cars sit parked about 95% of the time, while people struggle with rising mobility costs. EV prices are volatile, and cities are trying to reduce emissions without building more infrastructure. So a new question is emerging: What if mobility isn't about owning bigger fleets, but unlocking the ones that already exist?In this episode, Rei Vardi, founder of Eon, shares how he built a national virtual fleet of premium electric vehicles without raising venture capital. Eon is like Airbnb for EVs, a peer-to-peer platform combined with advanced tech that makes renting shockingly easy and fully contactless.Book exactly the car you want, verify via facial scan and ID in the app, and use your phone as a Bluetooth key. No counters, no paperwork, no talking to the owner - just walk up, unlock, and drive.Rei dives deep into:• His origin story: Taking over his dad's 2015 Tesla Model S in college, trying to rent it out manually, and facing disasters (scratches, smoking, dents, late returns, and even one renter using the car in a bank robbery).• Why raw peer-to-peer car sharing is risky (like "handing someone a gun") and how Eon automates handoffs, insurance, education, and support to make it safe and passive for owners.• Why Eon focuses exclusively on EVs: to accelerate adoption, increase utilization for greater carbon impact, and leverage the most advanced in-car tech.• Bootstrapping through near-shutdowns, VC pitching struggles (wrong timing in mobility, burned investors, profitability vs. hypergrowth), living in a van in San Francisco, and why going solo allowed sustainable building.• Real impact: Thousands of cars in the network, major customers like Netflix and Four Seasons, owners earning passive income from idle cars, and renters converting to EV buyers.

DeFi was supposed to make capital more efficient. Instead, it created a new kind of fragmentation.In this episode of the Stonks Go Moon Podcast, Rocco Strydom sits down with MacBrennan Peet, founder of Project 0, to talk about why DeFi users still get stuck with scattered collateral, disconnected venues, poor capital efficiency, and unnecessary liquidation risk. Project 0 is building a prime brokerage layer on Solana designed to unify portfolio management across venues like Kamino, Drift, and Jupiter Lend.MacBrennan’s background is unusually deep for someone still so young. He started trading biotech and pharma names as a teenager, later worked on projects with Morgan Stanley and in private equity, helped build marginfi, and has spent years inside Solana DeFi infrastructure. That background shows up in this conversation because this is not a hype-driven crypto interview. It is a practical discussion about market structure, fragmented liquidity, basis trades, unified margin, and what DeFi still gets wrong.We get into:why DeFi became more fragmented even though blockchains were supposed to unify everythinghow users lose yield and capital efficiency when assets sit across multiple venueswhy “unified margin” matters more than most retail users realizehow Project 0 is approaching Kamino, Drift, and Jupiter integrationsthe difference between DeFi-native opportunities and simply rebuilding TradFi onchainwhy Solana is becoming a serious environment for more advanced trading infrastructurewhat comes next once lending and perps are tied together more efficientlyOne of the most interesting ideas in this episode is that DeFi may not win by copying traditional finance feature for feature. It may win by leaning harder into what only onchain systems can do well: composability, speed, transparency, and new forms of capital efficiency. That is where Project 0 is aiming.

Stablecoins aren't just surviving crypto winters; they're exploding into the backbone of global finance. In this episode of Stonks Go Moon Podcast, Rocco Strydom talks with Chunda McCain, Co-Founder of Paxos Labs, about how regulated stablecoins are quietly becoming the most-used digital dollars on EarthFrom powering PayPal's PYUSD (now billions in circulation) to cross-chain compliance, trust, and enterprise adoption, Chunda explains why stablecoins won over memecoins, NFTs, and much of DeFi (for now). He shares war stories from building in tough regulatory times, how Paxos navigated uncharted territory to issue branded assets, and why more branded stablecoins are coming.Key highlights:Why stablecoins are the foundational layer for all finance (faster, cheaper, better margins)Enterprise crypto is thriving while grassroots is in chaosPaxos Labs helps companies issue branded stablecoins, generate yield, borrow against assets, and go full crypto without breaking rulesChunda's journey: Bitcoin whitepaper at ~12 → DeFi epiphany inspired by his grandfather's restaurantFuture: Once companies integrate stablecoins, DeFi yields are next

While U.S. headlines obsess over ETFs and enforcement, Asia is quietly building.In this episode, Rocco Strydom sits down with Marc Liew, Head of APAC at Jito, to unpack how stablecoins, staking, and Solana infrastructure are reshaping institutional crypto adoption across Asia.Marc’s background spans R3, Ripple, PayPal, and years inside cross-border payments. He has been in the room with regulators, central banks, and financial institutions as they experimented with CBDCs, stablecoins, and blockchain settlement rails.Now at Jito, he’s focused on institutional-grade staking infrastructure on Solana.What We Cover:Why stablecoins found product-market fit in Asia before the U.S.How remittances are accelerating real crypto adoptionWhy institutions are entering crypto through ETFs instead of direct on-chain tokenizationThe difference between traditional staking and Jito’s liquid staking modelMEV rewards and how they change staking economicsSolana’s infrastructure upgrades and block assembly marketplaceWhy decentralization matters for regulatorsThe growing convergence between AI agents and crypto paymentsWhy Asia leads in retail adoption, but the U.S. still leads institutionallyFrom Payments to Web3Marc shares his early “aha” moment when blockchain settlement clicked for him:If we can send a text in milliseconds, why can’t we move money the same way?That question led him from traditional payments into Web3 in 2016, deep into CBDCs, stablecoins, and now into building yield-generating infrastructure on Solana.The Big ThemeCrypto is maturing.Stablecoins are no longer theoretical. Institutions are no longer experimenting quietly. Liquid staking is evolving into a capital efficiency tool rather than just passive yield.And Asia isn’t debating whether crypto works. They’re deciding how to deploy it.

Markets feel louder than ever, but somehow less clear.In this episode of the Stonks Go Moon Podcast, Rocco Strydom sits down with Matt Ober, Managing Partner at Social Leverage, to unpack what’s really happening beneath the surface of today’s markets.With AI-generated research flooding Twitter, Substack, and trading platforms and capital pouring into anything labeled “AI” even professional investors are struggling to separate real signal from machine-amplified noise.Matt brings a rare perspective shaped by:Building data systems inside quantitative hedge fundsBuying and operationalizing alternative data before AI was mainstreamServing as Chief Data Scientist at a major activist hedge fundNow backing early-stage founders simplifying finance instead of overcomplicating itIn this conversation, we break down:Why “alternative data” is no longer alternative, it’s just dataHow AI is changing market sentiment, research, and investor behaviorWhy email, ownership of audience, and direct distribution still matterHow consumption-based data pricing could reshape finance and AI economicsWhat founders misunderstand about AI, noise, and real leverageIt’s a grounded look at how markets, media, and investing are evolving in an AI-saturated world and what still actually matters.

Most founders still believe scale means hiring faster.Amos Bar-Joseph doesn’t.In this episode of the Stonks Go Moon Podcast, we break down how Swan AI is building what may be one of the first truly AI-native companies — a business where autonomous agents handle outbound sales, lead qualification, research, and execution, while just three humans focus on strategy and creativity.We go deep into:Why the traditional startup “hire → burn → raise” loop is breakingHow AI agents can replace entire go-to-market teams without killing qualityThe idea of revenue per employee as the real metric that matters nowWhat “zone of genius” actually means in an AI-first workplaceWhy future companies may scale intelligence instead of headcountThis isn’t theory.This is a live experiment in how businesses may actually run over the next decade.If you’re a founder, operator, or investor trying to understand where AI is really going — this conversation will challenge how you think about work, teams, and scale.

Founders love talking strategy.But strategy doesn’t break companies; people do.In this episode of the Stonks Go Moon Podcast, Rocco Strydom sits down with Chris Hallberg, a military veteran, entrepreneur, and EOS coach who has scaled and exited companies through some of the toughest economic cycles in modern history.As AI accelerates execution and pressure inside companies intensifies, Chris explains why leadership failures show up long before financial ones and how weak systems, misaligned teams, and tolerated bad behavior quietly kill growth.This is a grounded conversation about what actually breaks when companies scale.In this episode:Why the right people matter more than perfect systemsHow culture degrades when leaders avoid hard decisionsThe six core components that determine whether a business scales or stallsWhy vision without execution is hallucinationWhen remote work works and when it failsHow AI exposes leadership blind spots instead of replacing humansWhy smaller, aligned teams will outperform bloated orgs in the AI eraThis episode is for founders, operators, and leaders navigating growth without losing control of their company or themselves.

$2.7 TRILLION erased from the S&P 500 as Bitcoin plunges to a 7-month low around $88K. Is this the end of the bull run... or the perfect coiled spring for a massive rebound?In this explosive episode of the Stonks Go Moon Podcast, host Rocco Strydom goes deep with Wenny Cai, COO of SynFutures – the #1 decentralized perpetuals DEX on Base and one of the fastest-growing DeFi derivatives platforms.Wenny pulls back the curtain on what REALLY happened beneath the headlines:Why derivatives amplified the drop (and cleared out excessive leverage)The key difference between retail panic and sophisticated players' calm hedgingWhy open interest and funding rates show this is an orderly deleveraging, not a full-blown crashSmart money already bidding at $70-75K – signaling a maturing marketAltcoin season? We might have missed it (AI agents peaked, now RWAs are next)SynFutures' massive upgrades coming Q1 2026: Own infrastructure, tokenized stocks/RWAs, bridging TradFi & DeFi liquidity

On this episode of the Stonks Go Moon Podcast, host Rocco Strydom sits down with Tamara Laine, founder and CEO of MPWR, to break down how AI and behavioral data are reshaping access to credit for gig workers, freelancers, creators, and underbanked founders.Tamara started as a freelancer, won top journalism awards, and now runs a fintech startup building AI-driven lending infrastructure for the new economy. We unpack why banks still struggle with irregular income, how agentic AI models assess real creditworthiness, and why ethical AI decisions now sit squarely with founders.In this episode:Why traditional banks fail gig workersHow AI models assess thin-file and irregular incomeThe rise of agentic systems in fintechWhy female-founded companies still face funding gapsEthical AI in finance and who is accountable

Most people still think AI is just a chatbot on a screen. That era is already over. AI is now signing transactions, executing smart contracts, interacting with DAOs, and moving assets onchain without a human clicking a single button. This is not AI for Web3. This is AI becoming an onchain actor. In this episode, Dana Love, founder of Poohbah AI, joins the show to unpack what happens when autonomous AI agents can execute, transact, and govern directly on the blockchain — no middle layer, no human in the loop. We break down: How AI agents are now interacting directly with smart contracts and DAOs Why Web3 has locked out 99 percent of builders The real reason decentralization is both Web3’s biggest strength and its biggest weakness Whether AI agents can ever have legal standing or ownership Why “code is law” was always a lie How Poohbah AI turns ideas into onchain execution using low-code and no-code tools The rise of the “virtual co-founder” and what that means for startups and VCs Where AI hallucinations come from and why they are not going away Quote from the episode:“The law is law. Code is code. Have fun figuring out the difference.” — Dana Love If AI can execute, transact, and govern onchain, the real question is simple:What exactly are humans still in charge of?

In this episode, Daniel Martin, COO of JobJack, breaks down how the platform is automating frontline recruitment across South Africa. JobJack replaces travel, paper, and manual screening with mobile-first hiring, psychometric assessments built for the local market, and fast matching that connects employers with job seekers in hours instead of weeks.We unpack:Why traditional entry-level hiring fails both businesses and job seekersHow paper CVs and manual screening silently hurt retention and productivityThe hidden cost of bad hires, discipline cases, and turnoverWhy JobJack runs assessments before interviews, not afterHow mobile-based hiring removes the R900 monthly cost job seekers faceReal results from major employers in retail, logistics, and QSRWhat it takes to scale hiring tech in one of the toughest labour marketsWith over 50,000 people placed into jobs, JobJack is proving that better hiring isn’t just about speed. It’s about fairness, fit, and long-term impact on the economy.

Retail investing is having a moment. Markets are volatile, AI is everywhere, and busy professionals are trying to build wealth using tools designed two decades ago. Tradesk, led by Eric Chu, wants to change that.It is a mobile-first brokerage built for real people with real jobs. Clear design. Calm decision-making. And an AI co-pilot that supports investors instead of overwhelming them.In this episode we unpack:Why most retail platforms feel like casinosThe “intimidation gap” and why professionals freeze when markets moveHow Tradesk builds confidence with paper trading, thematic investing, and recurring strategiesWhat Eric learned from two decades on Wall Street, starting in the chaos of 2008How AI can become your investing assistant instead of another distractionWhere Tradesk fits in a world of Robinhood, eToro, and legacy brokeragesQuote to remember:“Busy professionals want clarity, not chaos. Our job is to remove fear and simplify the path to long-term wealth.” — Eric Chu

Screens are everywhere, but AR is finally breaking out of the frame. Michael Guerin, CEO of Imvizar, is building reality-layered storytelling, from European museums to immersive trails in Ireland and now a major rollout in Hollywood.In this episode, we unpack how AR is moving from gimmick to global storytelling infrastructure, why VR stumbled, and what true spatial computing means for brands, creators, and fan experiences.In this episode:Why AR creates emotional impact VR can’tSnap Spectacles, Meta glasses, and the fight for real-world computingThe Hollywood AR takeover, Chinese Theatre & Dolby Theatre experiencesSports, culture & tourism: the next multi-billion-dollar AR opportunity“AI slop” fatigue and why people crave meaningful real-world techInvisar’s new no-code platform for building location-based AR anywhere

Everyone’s talking about AI, automation, and the next big tool. But Barbara Wittmann, founder of the Digital Wisdom Collective, says the real upgrade isn’t in the tech - it’s in us.Her framework has helped over 100 tech leaders build a mindset that evolves as fast as the machines around it.In this episode, Rocco Strydom and Barbara explore:Why Accenture, Amazon, and other giants are struggling to balance AI with peopleHow companies can embed human infrastructure into digital transformationThe dangers of one-off AI consulting and why continuous training winsEmpowering the “middle layer” - the real innovators inside organizationsHow smaller firms can outpace big tech through culture and adaptabilityWhy Europe’s cautious approach to AI could actually be its secret advantageQuote to Remember:“The survival of the wisest matters more than the speed of the machine.” — Barbara Wittmann