The Ultimate Solana Thesis With Michael Marcantonio

Gm! This week Michael Marcantonio joins the show to discuss the future of Solana & DeFi. We deep dive into Michael's thesis for internet capital markets, Solana's decentralized Nasdaq end state, the role of DATs in DeFi, the Galaxy business model & more. Enjoy! -- Follow Michael: https://x.com/marcryptonio Follow Jack: https://x.com/whosknave Follow Lightspeed: https://twitter.com/Lightspeedpodhq Subscribe to the Lightspeed Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed Join the Lightspeed Telegram: https://t.me/+QUl_ZOj2nMJlZTEx -- Crypto’s premiere institutional conference returns to London in October 2025. Use code LIGHT100 for £100 off at checkout: https://blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-2025-london -- Katana directs chain revenue back to DeFi users for consistently higher yields. It starts with VaultBridge, which turns bridged assets into yield streams that back a perpetually funded real yield, boosting rewards for DeFi users. Katana is pioneering Productive TVL, assets actually being used in DeFi and reinforces this with Chain-owned Liquidity, permanent liquidity the chain controls. Stop sleeping on your bags: https://app.katana.network/?utm_source=BW-Pod -- Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Timestamps: (0:00) Introduction (1:59) The Ultimate Solana Thesis (5:27) DeFi At Galaxy (7:21) Solana's Decentralized Nasdaq Thesis (12:32) Katana Ad (13:35) Forward Industries & Solana DATs (34:22) Integrating DeFi With Solana DATs (42:18) Internet Capital Markets (52:51) Katana Ad (53:54) The Rise of Prop AMMs (1:04:33) The Galaxy Business Model & Launching GalaxyOne (1:12:11) L1s, L2s & Scalability (1:27:40) What Does Solana Need To Improve? -- Disclaimers: Lightspeed was kickstarted by a grant from the Solana Foundation. Nothing said on Lightspeed is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Jack, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.