As AI strategies split the market, this neobank is betting on autonomous finance to scale

Welcome back to Talking Tokens.

I’m excited to share that Talking Tokens crossed 200 episodes today.

When we started, crypto media was dominated by short-term reactions. The goal was to do something different: talk to the people actually building, allocating, and shaping markets. 200 conversations later, the shift in the industry is hard to ignore.

What those conversations revealed consistently is that the industry didn’t stall, it matured and the focus moved from solely retail to a mix of that with institutional interest. And increasingly we’ve moved from “crypto” as a category to “onchain” as financial infrastructure.

If the first 200 episodes were any indication of understanding the system, the next 200 will likely be about watching it scale.

Appreciate everyone who’s been part of the conversations so far. Thank you.

Was this forwarded to you? subscribe here.

While artificial intelligence is reshaping how companies operate and staff their businesses, Superform’s co-founder Vik Arun is thinking about how autonomous agents could be managing people’s money onchain not too long from now. 

It seems like every week we see a new headline about companies completely revamping their operations because of AI. Last month Jack Dorsey’s Block (home to CashApp, Square and others) laid off about 40% of its staff, and recently, Oracle cut about 30,000 jobs.

As AI adoption accelerates, Arun believes the industry is splitting into two distinct strategies: the companies going all-in on AI will grow two-fold every year, and other more traditional businesses with decent margins will grow by just 10% to 20% annually. He argues that the middle ground is disappearing, forcing founders to choose between aggressive experimentation or steady, but limited, returns.

Superform itself hasn’t taken a traditional route to developing its business model. The company originally launched as a yield marketplace, and now dubs itself as user-owned neobank that allows people to “earn more interest” on cash and crypto, offering up to 13.19% returns, according to its website. 

The company has so far secured over $130 million in deposits across 150,000 users, and allows them to earn, save, swap or send money onchain via its platform. While it has over 1,000 SuperVaults, which tout about $70 billion in “earning opportunities,” Arun believes that in the near future autonomous systems will take over the task of managing capital from professionals. 

“I think the technological goal behind Superform would be that this is infrastructure that can be used by humans’ agents, and all of your money can be managed onchain,” Arun said. 

The company has been building out its protocol over the last couple of years in its aim to provide a consumer-facing DeFi interface that could be used with a broader set of financial tools. 

Over time, Arun foresees AI agents operating continuously, reacting to market conditions in real time, which could result in greater efficiency, and ideally, higher returns. 

But like with any new tech, AI agents introduce new risks, particularly around what they can and can’t do with one’s money onchain. 

Much of crypto has historically focused on retail users, but Arun expects institutions to drive the next phase of adoption as products have matured enough and regulation is more clear. Still, he thinks it’s less likely institutional investors would dive head first into AI agent-run activities, and predicts they will instead go for safer options.

Check out the next section for more details and the full episode.

For today’s episode, I interviewed Vik Arun, co-founder of Superform, about why DeFi was always heading toward automation and why AI agents not humans are the natural managers of onchain portfolios. Vik, who previously co-led a $100M DeFi and yield fund at BlockTower Capital before launching Superform in 2022, explains how the protocol evolved from a yield marketplace into a user-owned neobank, and why he believes the goal is to replace banks entirely rather than work alongside them.

He walks through Superform's UP token launch, why 85% of airdrop recipients sold immediately, and what teams getting ready to TGE should learn from that experience. The conversation covers the two paths left for software companies in the age of AI, and why the only thing that can stop crypto's future is believers burning themselves out.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Intro

01:15 – How Vik is using AI across Superform and what it means for team structure

03:18 – Two paths for software companies: fully embrace AI or settle for margins

07:45 – Superform's evolution from yield marketplace to user-owned neobank

09:12 – Why DeFi was always heading toward automation, not human management

10:51 – How AI agents will manage vault strategies and what guardrails are needed

11:00 – Where banks can't compete and what user-owned finance actually means

14:20 – Self-custody: why some people genuinely don't want it and what that costs them

15:02 – The Clarity Act and why banning stablecoin yields through banks could beis great for DeFi

18:00 – Will banks acquire DeFi protocols or will DeFi replace them?

19:08 – Superform's end goal: replace the banks

23:27 – Why Superform launched its UP token in a tough market

24:34 – Core governance capabilities and the first three improvement proposals

26:09 – Token launch lessons: after 85% of recipients sold immediately, distribution is everything

29:03 – B2C vs B2B: mobile app for consumers, super vaults for institutions

30:52 – Why this cycle may be the first where institutions lead retail into DeFi

31:38 – 2026 roadmap: Android launch, credit card, and agentic vault managers

39:12 – Final advice: the believers who stay will build what matters

Talking Tokens episodes are released on Spotify and Apple Podcasts at 6AM EST or YouTube at 8AM EST every Tuesday and Thursday. Listen in!

Make sure to subscribe to keep up with the latest episodes. Feel free to leave a review and tell us your thoughts.

Get involved and share the newsletter. The more you refer, the more perks you could get. If you do (or don’t) like what you see, let me know by sending feedback to [email protected] or leaving a review on your preferred podcast platform.

This product was built by Token Relations. 

Please note this content is for informational and educational purposes only. Any views shared should not be considered financial advice, nor should it be used to make investment decisions. Cryptocurrencies are high risk and you should consult a financial professional before making any financial decisions. Make sure you do your own research. We may have a direct or indirect financial interest in content mentioned in this newsletter.