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Why TradFi Has to Come to Crypto, Not the Other Way Around, with Richard Brown from R3 Labs
Episode 3318th May 2026 • Unblock'd • Dr Jemma Green
00:00:00 00:45:55

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Richard Brown is the CEO of R3, the company behind the Corda blockchain, one of the most widely deployed permissioned blockchains in institutional finance. In this episode, Richard explains why R3 has pivoted from private enterprise blockchain to building on-chain distribution infrastructure for real-world assets, and why Solana is where that bet is being placed. We cover:

  • Why $300 billion in stablecoins are earning near-zero yield, and what's actually blocking the fix
  • How Corda enables private institutional networks to connect to permissionless chains
  • The Corda protocol: what "packaging off-chain yield for on-chain investors" actually means in practice
  • Why Solana has overtaken Ethereum in RWA growth rate
  • The compliance-first approach to RWA distribution, and why the gray-area strategy doesn't work for R3
  • The "mustard problem": how curation, not choice, will decide who wins RWA distribution
  • Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs), what MicroStrategy-style vehicles actually are, and where the model breaks

What it means that banks are finally treating crypto as a normal business line Richard has been in this space since before most institutions were allowed to say the word Bitcoin in a meeting. His perspective on how much has changed, and how much hasn't, is one of the most grounded takes you'll hear. R3: https://r3.com

Unblock'd podcast with Dr. Jemma Green

Unblock'd is hosted by Dr. Jemma Green, founder of Powerledger, one of the world's leading blockchain-based energy trading platforms. Subscribe for conversations at the intersection of Web3, crypto, AI, and the real economy.

For more information:

Visit: https://www.powerledger.io/

Or connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jemmagreen/

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