Santiago R. Santos of Inversion was investing in DeFi before “DeFi” was even a widely used term. As a former partner at ParaFi and an early investor in projects including Aave, Arbitrum, and Polymarket, he watched Ethereum evolve from an experimental smart contract platform into the foundation of a massive onchain economy. But the growth of crypto has also changed his investment thesis.

In this episode of Endgame, Amanda Cassatt and Santiago R. Santos examine whether Ethereum can succeed while ETH captures less of the value created on top of it, why he expresses his long-term Ethereum thesis through Robinhood stock, and why he believes crypto is increasingly becoming a distribution race. They also explore what Santiago learned from betting on Western Union over Solana, why adding stablecoins to legacy businesses is harder than it looks, whether AI agents actually need crypto-native money, and how autonomous agents could choose between blockchains without the tribal loyalties humans bring to crypto. Finally, they discuss the evolution of prediction markets, why Santiago believes market integrity matters as platforms like Polymarket grow, and how prediction markets and 24/7 crypto markets could evolve beyond speculation into tools for insurance, hedging, and real-time risk management.

Timestamps

00:00 - Can Ethereum Win While ETH Loses?

00:36 - Investing in Aave Before DeFi Summer

05:06 - What Changed Santi’s Ethereum Thesis

10:30 - Can Ethereum Win While ETH Loses?

11:40 - Hyperliquid vs. Ethereum

13:44 - Is ETH Properly Valued Today?

18:16 - Where Crypto Networks Actually Capture Value

21:10 - Why Santiago R. Santos Owns Robinhood Instead of ETH

24:02 - Crypto Is Becoming a Distribution Race

27:37 - Why Santiago R. Santos Bet on Western Union Over Solana

30:30 - Why Adding Crypto to Legacy Businesses Is Hard

35:47 - Do AI Agents Actually Need Stablecoins?

40:42 - How AI Agents Will Choose Blockchains

45:27 - Why 24/7 Crypto Markets Matter

47:59 - AI Agents, Prediction Markets and Insurance

51:26 - Does Polymarket Need Insider Trading Rules?

59:15 - Prediction Markets Beyond Speculation

🎧Stay Connected

https://x.com/amandacassatt

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Apple Podcasts & Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/show/6iSvbKOJWoEPiAoGmiulkd

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/endgame-with-amanda-cassatt/id1801809440

Follow Santiago R. Santos

https://x.com/santiagoroel?lang=en

https://mc.linkedin.com/in/santiago-rs