Bits + Bips: The Case for Why DATs Are Superior to Crypto ETFs - Ep. 897

Unchained

Laura Shin

News, Tech News, Business News

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

DATs aren’t done. They may just be getting started. In this episode, CoinFund’s Chris Perkins and Upexi’s Brian Rudick join Ram Ahluwalia and Steven Ehrlich to dissect why some DATs could outcompete ETFs for certain investors, the bullish accretion math behind premiums, and what makes a winning vehicle. We also dig into whether this is altcoin season or a head fake, why Galaxy’s tokenized-share move matters, and the one market unlock Perkins says could change everything. Use this episode to pressure-test your assumptions: are DATs “just banks,” or the best product-market-fit crypto has found for TradFi capital? Thank you to our sponsor ⁠Xapo Bank⁠! Xapo offers Bitcoin-backed loans of up to $1 million, so eligible members can access liquidity without selling their BTC. Hosts: Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Steve Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained Guests: Christopher Perkins, Managing Partner and President of CoinFund Brian Rudick, Chief Strategy Officer at Upexi Links: DATs: How Crypto Treasury Companies Are Turning to DeFi and TradFi to Juice Yields How Michael Saylor Plans to Ensure Strategy Keeps Its Bitcoin Forever These 4 Crypto Treasury Companies Are Primed for a Price Crash Crypto Treasury Companies Are All the Rage. Could They Cause an Industry Collapse? Tokenization: Federal Reserve to hold conference discussing crypto stablecoins, tokenization, and AI GLXY tokenized stock Ondo Finance launched over 100 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs on Ethereum CZ-owned Trust Wallet launches tokenized stocks and ETFs Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Intro ⏱ 3:00 Are markets set for another September swoon? 📈 6:03 Why the bull case for DATs isn’t over 🏦 12:41 Why Brian says “DATs are banks” 💡 18:20 Are DATs better products than ETFs for investors? 🧮 21:00 How the math behind premiums shows DATs create value 🪙 28:01 Whether this is the time for altcoins to shine 🌍 35:10 Where macro is heading and what investors should watch 🚨 37:48 Why Galaxy’s tokenized-share move on Solana is such a big deal 🔑 49:25 What the key market unlock is for altcoins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	For me, it's just this very asymmetric risk reward, which is why I like, I've placed all my bets in datland, essentially.
0:08.7	You've had dat exhaustion. There's too many dats. It's a bubble in dats.
0:14.2	If you're able to take on meme-like properties in the process of driving these fundamentals, even bigger things could happen.
0:21.0	Hi, everyone. Welcome to Bits and, exploring how crypto and macro collide one basis point at a time.
0:27.4	I'm your host, Steve Erlich, High Scribe of the Unchained Kingdom, and I'm here with Ram Alawalia,
0:32.8	maister of wealth, leader of Lumida.
0:35.4	Let's go.
0:36.5	And we have two special guests. First one is actually a repeat guest, Chris Perkins, the Golden Hand of Coin Fund. So welcome, Chris. Hey, thanks, Steve. Good to see you. I always like it when people blush with a Game of Thrones nickname. So, Brian, wait until you see what we have for you. And then we're also here with Brian Rudik, Guardian of the Salonac Crown at
0:55.8	Upexy. Very nice. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah, no problem. You can thank
1:02.3	ChatGPT for those wonderful nicknames. One early bitcoiner sold 30,000 BTC too soon,
1:08.8	missing out on over a billion dollars. Don't want to make the same mistake?
1:12.5	With Zopo Bank, eligible members can get instant cash without selling their Bitcoin.
1:17.7	Check out Zappobank.com slash Unchained for more.
1:21.4	Brian, why don't you just take a second to introduce yourself and your firm since it's your first time on the show?
1:26.6	Yes. Thank you very much.
1:28.7	I'm Brian Rudick. I'm the chief strategy officer of UPEXE. We are one of the largest Salana
1:34.6	Treasury companies, and we were actually a first mover in the space. So we did the first large-scale
1:40.1	equity pipe to create an old coin treasury company. We also did the first in-kind convertible note
1:47.3	to raise additional funds. We have about 400 million in Solana. Prior to this, I led the research
1:54.1	effort for GSR, one of the largest digital asset trading firms for four and a half years. Prior to that,
1:59.5	I spent a decade on Wall Street.
2:01.3	Willisly managing a book of bank stocks, always in a long, short construct for firms like Citadel,
	...

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