From iOS Developer to Crypto CEO: Building Rails on Kraken's Ink L2
The Smart Economy Podcast: Real-World Blockchain Applications with Crypto, DeFi, NFTs, and DAOs · 2025-10-23 · 53 min
Episode notes
In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Satraj Bambra, CEO and co-founder of Rails and managing partner at Round13 Capital. Together, they explore Rails’ hybrid trading model, its collaboration with Kraken’s Ink layer-2, and what these developments signal for the future of decentralized finance. Satraj unpacks how Rails blends on-chain user custody with centralized execution for speed, compliance, and transparency, while offering a candid take on post-FTX lessons, institutional market entry, and why Ethereum’s rally is powered more by momentum than fundamentals. What you’ll learn: How Rails’ hybrid design fuses CEX speed with DeFi-grade security Why on-chain custody and centralized matching make trading faster and safer How the Kraken Ink layer-2 partnership powers scale and trust What post-FTX lessons taught builders about custody and compliance Why KYC/KYB is unlocking institutional flow into crypto How exchange-driven liquidity shapes market momentum Why Ethereum’s rally reflects speculation, not fundamentals What’s next: Prop, cross-chain expansion, and institutional vaults driving the next wave of DeFi And much more!