Episode 44 of The Crypto Beat was recorded with The Block’s Co-Hosts Kelvin Sparks and Tim Copeland, who were joined by Pantera Capital Junior Partner Mason Nystrom.
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In this episode of the Crypto Beat, Tim Copeland and Kelvin Sparks were joined by Mason Nystrom, Junior Partner at Pantera Capital, to discuss how stablecoins could be the tech that transforms fintech rails to be more internet blockchain native, what the Hyperliquid USDH bidding war signals for capturing payment flow, and the tokenization of real-world assets, including collectibles like Pokémon cards.
OUTLINE
00:00 – Introduction
01:44 – Mason’s origin in crypto
03:35 – Research vs. VC investing
04:46 – The $1T stablecoin thesis
06:31 – Tempo: Stripe/Paradigm’s payments L1
08:55 – Retail upside & neutrality questions
14:18 – Why Stripe self-disrupts
20:12 – Hyperliquid’s USDH bidding war
23:43 – RWAs: tokenized collectibles
28:48 – Launchpads & DeFi platformization
33:08 – SocFi: Pump.fun vs. FriendTech
43:59 – Prediction markets & regulation
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Guest links:
Mason Nystrom – x.com/masonnystrom
Pantera – x.com/PanteraCapital
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© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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