Lauri 0:00

We saw the yield market so the market where people could earn on their crypto skyrocket . It went to tens of billions of dollars . But the companies offering these products weren't ready to offer these in that large scale to these retail investors . And then we saw what happened . So many of these companies then got crashed .

Joeri 0:26

Hello everyone and welcome to the Web3 CMO Stories podcast . My name is Joeri Billast and I'm your podcast host , and today I'm excited to have Lauri on the podcast . Hi Lauri , how are you doing ?

Lauri 0:41

Hi Joeri , Great to be here . I'm doing great . Nice to be at the podcast .

Joeri 0:46

Yeah , great to see you again after we met at the Web Summit a few times . Even we made some video together and you were asking the questions . Now I am asking you the questions , Lauri . So if people are now wondering who is Laurie , guys , laurie Marequia is a co-founder and CIO at Valos and actually , if you're not wondering , what is Valos ? That's a platform focused on making crypto a productive asset , part of everyone's savings strategy , and they specialize in transparent and fair returns . We'll come back to that , Lauri , but first to start with , I am always interested to know your journey for Valos , your journey into Web3 .

What inspired you to build Valos, and how did your background in crypto trading and DeFi play a role?

Joeri 1:28

What inspired you to build Valos and maybe your background in crypto trading and DeFi the role in there . So I'm curious .

Lauri 1:36

Yeah , definitely . Thanks for the intro , and funny to have the roles now reversed , with you interviewing me . I guess it's better that way . But about myself ? So I got really kicked into DeFi and crypto in 2020 after witnessing the DeFi summer that was happening back then . We saw the TVL , so the total value locked off assets in different protocols skyrocketing from under $1 billion start of the year to above $18 billion end of the year , and that actually then the first time inspired me to focus my time on crypto and especially DeFi , and since then I have been more or less professionally also involved in the space . So the first time I think I started to invest in crypto was 2018 , as probably many after the bull run , many got the volatility it offers . But then , when there were the first moves in DeFi happening , with first protocols like Compound and Aave launching , I think that showed that there is an actual use case and opportunity for founders and builders to build something meaningful in the space meaningful in the space . So since then I have been mostly passionate about DeFi and last spring , in 2024 , I founded then Valos with the mission , as you said , to make crypto a productive asset .

Lauri 3:19

I had a lot of experience in DeFi , but not all of them were positive .

Lauri 3:26

Starting in 2020 , it was still quite the Wild West , so there were a lot of protocols that got hacked and a lot of wallets that didn't have really a good user experience .

Lauri 3:38

I made my learnings mostly the hard way and paid for my education also with the investment mistakes in the early phases , but still I somehow also stayed motivated even after the more frustrating times , because I saw that architecture and technology of blockchain , of offering these composable solutions for builders and transparency in financial solutions , can actually offer something meaningful . And after then graduating from school in 24 , I have a background in finance , graduated here in Finland . I was already so long in crypto there's a saying that one year in crypto is like 10 years in TratFi and I certainly had the same experience , so I didn't feel any option to go back into any other industry . So then I started to build in DeFi with the mission to offer these safe and transparent investment products for retail and institutions , and actually had a quite good luck of then , in the same time , finding my co-founders here in Finland as well who shared quite the same mission with me . So then we combined our efforts and have been now almost for a year building .

Joeri 5:03

Valos Amazing , but it's good . You know that , with the experience that you had , this allows you to build this company . Valos ,

You mentioned making crypto a productive asset—I believe those were your words. Can you break that down? What problem are you solving, and for whom?

Joeri 5:15

you mentioned that you help make crypto become like a productive asset . I think that are the words that you are using . Can you break that down a bit ? What problem are you exactly solving and for whom ?

Lauri 5:29

Yeah , definitely . So what I see , and what we saw with my co-founders , is that there is actually quite a big problem in the crypto industry that not many are talking about . So we are relying on exchanges on board all the new users to crypto and educating users around the asset class . But mostly exchanges still focus on just trading volume on their platform and that leads investors to speculate on the asset . And what we saw is that crypto should be treated more as an actual asset class that should be invested in the long term , and we wanted to shift the focus from trading towards more passive income investing in the long term . And our mission , I think , has been now also verified with all the institutions coming into the space last year in 2024 . And now , with the ETF launches , they signal that it actually is an asset class that should be treated as the long term investment . So that has given us at the company a lot of boost because we have been in the right momentum . Now , yeah , and if we compare crypto to TradFi , in TradFi the focus has been for long term to build these structured products that are targeted towards investors with focus on building wealth , but the infrastructure hasn't been in place in crypto to offer the same kinds of products , so only now we are seeing the first products , like ETPs , coming to crypto , but , for example , last pool market , there wasn't the infrastructure in place to offer these wealth management solutions for investors . There was a huge demand , though , but the demand wasn't met in the correct way . The industry scaled too quickly wasn't met in the correct way . The industry scaled too quickly .

Lauri 7:47

So in 2022 , we saw the yield market so the market where people could earn on their crypto skyrocket . It went to tens of billions of dollars , but the companies offering these products weren't ready to offer these in that large scale to these retail investors . And then we saw what happened . So many of these companies then got crashed and a lot of people , of course , lost money in these products , which led to the industry taking a hit on these . But now we have come a long way from that , and I see that the industry right now has been able to develop a lot of new ways to generate yield .

Lauri 8:35

There is more infrastructure in place and new ways to actually generate safe yields on crypto , and I actually believe that we are already in a place where no one should actually just have their assets sitting idle when there is a way to make them productive , and I think liquidity is needed in all financial industries . It is responsible for making the market efficient . Liquidity is needed in all financial industries . It is responsible for making the market efficient . So if we don't bring these assets that are sitting idle to be efficient on various markets by providing liquidity for the traders , then crypto can't be ever as efficient as Stratify . So we are solving this problem bringing crypto for the masses in an efficient way and in a way where they understand the value of long-term investment and not only speculating on trading .

Joeri 9:52

Yeah , I love that . So it's not about speculation trading , but on the long term . So it's not about speculation trading , but on the long term . Actually , I had someone on my podcast already some time ago . It was actually the Warren Buffett of Web3 . That's how he called himself , because there are also certain , I would say , best practices that come from traditional finance that also can be like investing on long term , that can be used for Web3 .

Many in Web3 are still debating DeFi vs. CeFi. Where do you see the industry heading, and what’s your approach?

Joeri 10:15

Now many people may be listening to the podcast or that are already into Web3 . They are still debating the balance between decentralized finance and centralized finance . Yeah , where do you think that the industry is headed and what is your follow-up approach ?

Lauri 10:34

Yeah , it's a good question . I think we believe in the core principles of DeFi , which are the transparency and efficiency in the market , but I don't see DeFi being the solution for most investors . So DeFi offers the centralized players to offer designed products towards the end customers . We saw this , for example , with the launch of a borrowing product that Coinbase did in last month . So they use the infrastructure from DeFi behind their product , but they are offering it still in a simple way for investors where they don't actually need to , where they don't actually need to install the actual wallet with the private keys and need to consider where to store the keys . So it's an easy way for people to access DeFi without all the hassle and also security risks in between .

Lauri 11:44

So we are in a similar direction . We actually have launched the first version of our own platform where we also offer retail access to these yield opportunities to earn additional interest on their assets and , going forward , we are focusing more and more on using DeFi to generate the yield and to make our products more transparent , more fair to our end users . Products more transparent , more fair to our end users , and in the future we might also see some hybrid versions where actually we can provide users access to DeFi in a secure way , where we might have a shared custody of the private keys and a shared wallet where the risk of the retail people or wallet , where the risk of the retail people or investors in general is a lot smaller because we can design the wallet and experience in a way that eliminates the risks that there might come up if users would be only where users would be the only holders of the private keys .

Joeri 12:59

Interesting . That's all interesting discussion . Actually , at this moment also , I'm advising a company that has a solution to protect private keys or even seed phrases with an image , so that's also interesting how security is important in this space . But to continue on the discussion about Valos and investing psychologically psychology difficult word for crypto investors .

From your experience, how do crypto investors think differently from traditional ones? Any behavioral trends impacting user adoption?

Joeri 13:26

In your experience , if you see crypto investors , how do they think differently from traditional investors ? Are there certain trends , behavioral trends that you are seeing and how do they impact the user adoption ?

Lauri 13:41

Yeah , it's a great question . Actually , when we did interviews in Lisbon at Web Summit there , we also interviewed people around the sentiments they have around crypto . Do they speculate or do they actually treat it as a long term asset class ? And what we saw is that the ones that have been only for a short term in crypto they see it more as a speculative asset class . They might make some quick wins and then convert their assets back to euros or dollars .

Lauri 14:14

So I think that has a lot to do with the focus that has been in the industry , with trading being the main focus , but the ones that then have been for a longer term in crypto , they see the actual value of holding the assets for the long term , be it , then , that they see Bitcoin as an inflation hedge or just an alternative asset which gives uncorrelated returns against any other asset , or they might have been investing in altcoins Ethereum , solana and they actually believe in the underlying technology of that blockchain leave in the underlying technology of that blockchain .

Lauri 15:04

So I think it takes some time for people to understand the value , and then we will see more people actually holding than just have been driving around the speculative um , speculative behavior that volatility has also enabled , which leads then , of course course , also to the industry , which also leads then to a lower volatility for the whole industry , which makes it then even more attractive for also traditional investors that are not used to this kind of volatility levels . So overall , I think we are seeing a shift to the right direction , where it's not that speculative asset as it was previously .

Joeri 15:49

Yeah , absolutely . And , of course , you mentioned all the large institutions Now we have ETFs and BlackRock is there and people see it more . Institutions now we have etfs and blackrock is there and people see it more . Okay , this is not for speculators or for this is really something that we need to watch for . This is something that can really be a good investment . I actually I now started also see bitcoin as , yeah , you can see it as an asset , but I see it more as money , which , if it all depends how we define it now , whether it's speculation or whether there is a lot of attention going to the space , but there

With more regulations coming, it’s both helpful and challenging. How are you navigating compliance across different jurisdictions?

Joeri 16:21

is also more and more regulation coming . Probably it's good to have some regulation , but it's also a challenge for you guys . So how are you navigating these compliance challenges across the different jurisdiction that are there ?

Lauri 16:37

across the different Joeri that are there . Yeah , navigating the regulation has been actually quite an experience since the start , because I didn't expect it to be this hard to get , for example , a MICA license in Europe . So we have been now focusing on applying for the MICA license and it requires a lot of effort . So we have two full-time legal persons focusing on the applications . We need to have a lot of operational documents in place to then be able to get the required licenses . So it has been taking a lot of effort from us and I see there is a good side on it .

Lauri 17:25

But also it hinders European companies and European founders of really innovating , because everything we want to do is quite slow because of the regulation .

Lauri 17:39

So if we compare us with other Joeri , they will have an edge because they are able to react faster to new opportunities , and this has been an issue we have been and this has been something we have been struggling with .

Lauri 18:01

On the other side , it offers us to gain more trust , especially inside Europe , by then being regulated and showing our customers that we actually have been going through all these compliance tasks and we are in a unique position where I think , after this MICA process has ended , not many new companies are able to come and compete with already established companies . So I guess it's , in the long term , a good thing for the company and also for all the investors , because it makes the decision of an investment a lot easier if you see that a company is regulated in Europe . Also , the marketing effort is a lot easier , as it gives us the opportunity to treat every European country the same way as before we needed to look at each country separately , as all of the European countries as well had their own regulations . What can be said around our product ? Which product is regulated and what not ? So overall , I think it has a lot of benefits .

Joeri 19:24

Yeah , so a short-term challenge , but once you get over the mountain , over the top , I would say , then it's down the hill , then it will be easier , or should be easier , of course . Yeah , that was actually a question . I wanted to ask about trust . Of course , when you build a new company , you have three . These days , there are so many scams out there . So many people also lose money , so it's important to have these certificates or these proofs of authenticity of regulation that you're following . Also , as you said , on the marketing side , it's important that people know about it , because you can have it all this , but they need to know about it .

Beyond what you've mentioned, do you have any specific strategies for building trust in Web3?

Joeri 20:00

Yeah , is there any specific strategy that you are using , apart from the things you already mentioned , to build trust in Web3 for your company ?

Lauri 20:09

Yeah , since founding the company , trust has been a major focus for us , and I think one approach we have had is to go out there and speak with our clients , get ourselves exposed . We have been traveling to a lot of conferences . We have been meeting their people face to face . After having already some trust , it's a lot easier to continue the discussions , and we have been then also traveling to clients , to their offices . We have been inviting them to our office .

Lauri 20:45

So it actually takes some time to build a trust as a new company , but crypto offers a lot of ways to do it , by having these crypto native conferences , for example . Then , on the retail side , I think it's important to build the brand awareness . That's something we have been now the past few months focusing on . We just launched a new website and we are now starting to push more and more content out that will educate people , that will have our own views and our advice as well to the public available , so that people actually can see us behind the product and behind the company and know who they are actually dealing with .

Joeri 21:35

Yeah , that's really important . I also think that you see the people like we met , you know , at WebSummit . Maybe you don't see it on the background , but I have the Rio below there . Rio is a coin in Japan , crypto coin , and I also have been advising them , helping them . They are , by the way , sponsoring my podcast and trust is really important . But I know those people . I saw them in real life , so that's already different than when you just see a face on the screen and with AI these days , you are never sure . Yeah , really interesting this aspect of meeting people and then be able to talk and see what everyone is building . So definitely a good strategy

Where do you see real, sustainable yield opportunities for crypto holders through tokenization?

Joeri 22:10

. Let's talk about tokenization and yield generation , because tokenization is also the future and we've seen projects experimenting with tokenized assets and yield generation . So where do you see ?

Lauri 22:29

real , sustainable opportunities for crypto holders to generate returns . Yeah , I think tokenization will be the third revolution of asset management and we are also heavily focusing and investigating the space . So what we saw , for example , with exchange traded funds happening after they had launched I think in 1993 , it was they in seven years got 1% of all funds assets under management to these ETFs . So in case we would see a similar scenario with tokenization , where stratified assets flow into blockchain by having them tokenized , it would present a huge new industry . I think , depending a bit on the case study that you read , it might be from 600 billion to 16 trillion . So it offers a lot of opportunities and where we see us playing a role is the infrastructure of these tokenized assets and maybe also tokenized fund structures . So there aren't that many people actually still in a crypto native way focusing on how actually we can make these tokenized assets product . There aren't actually that many crypto-native players focusing on how we can actually bring these tokenized assets also some utility . So for now , we have been only seeing some tokenized assets but you can't really use them . There are no use cases for them . So what we see is that it will need a whole new infrastructure where you can use tokenized assets in decentralized finance as collateral . You can only invest a fractional share in some new fund structures that were previously only accessible for accredited investors with a lot of money .

Lauri 24:34

So we see that , as a crypto native company , there are a lot of possibilities to contribute to this new industry , even though it might be also depending a lot on TradFi coming into the game . In addition , I think tokenization also offers a great way for distributing products that we are , for example , building . So we are seeing that there is a huge demand from different kinds of crypto native platforms or also platforms that are also platforms in TradFi , let's say , banks or brokers that want to offer new features to their end users . For now , it has been quite hard to integrate new features because it requires the platform to integrate the new offering , to build something around it , but what tokenization might offer is a seamless integration of these new investment products to these platforms , offering them a totally new way to activate their users and to generate some revenue . So , overall , I see that tokenization will play a big part in asset management in crypto and I think we want to also play some role in it .

Joeri 26:10

Yeah , exciting . And in general , Lauri your vision for Valos this year , the beginning of the year , or maybe , if you can see so far , because

You said one year in crypto feels like ten—where do you see Valos in the next 12–24 months? Any big milestones ahead?

Joeri 26:21

I think one year I think you mentioned it , one year in crypto is 10 years in the real world how do you see Valos in the next , let's say , 12 , 24 months ? Any big developments , any milestones on the horizon ?

Lauri 26:35

Yeah , good question . So right now we have the platform that has been in a closed beta environment . We are going live with that . We are going live with that . We want to bring there more features that also offer our products more transparently , and I think it will be a journey where we will iterate a lot , depending on the feedback we get from users . So I see our platform playing a role in the next 12 to 24 months . I also see us playing a bigger role on the institutional side , where wealth management has been already identified , ways like tokenization to meet the requirements our end users have . Yeah , I'm really excited about the upcoming months and years . After having also the regulation in place , we can start doing some marketing , which has been still lacking of our journey . So I think that will make things a lot easier as well .

Joeri 27:52

Absolutely yes . We are the Web3CMO Stories podcast , so , of course , marketing is always a topic . Now

For Web3 entrepreneurs and marketers listening, what’s one key piece of advice you’d give on building and communicating in this space?

Joeri 28:01

indeed , for maybe for our listeners , web3 entrepreneurs or maybe marketers that are now listening to these episodes , do you have one piece of advice , Lauri , that you would give to these people that want to build something in this space , and maybe to entrepreneurs or marketers , how to communicate about this ? So I'm curious .

Lauri 28:22

Yeah , I think we are now in the last phases where founders have the possibility to come into crypto and disrupt the industry . In a few years , I believe , there will be so large , established players , it will be a lot harder for newcomers to gain a large share of the market . So I would just give the advice of now taking the step and come and build in crypto , as there is still a lot of problems to be solved and , even though it might look like too big of an industry already , we are still in the early phases and there is still so many things that need to be solved , be it around asset management or any other type of industry inside crypto . There is still so many things that need to be solved , be it around asset management or any other type of industry inside crypto . So I think , yeah , now is still a great time to come and build .

Joeri 29:19

Absolutely , and I think this is a really good motivating message for people now listening to the podcast . So go and do it and solve problems that are still there in the space . It feels maybe for some people that are in there early that it's already a long time , but for a lot of people it's still very new . Talk to people on the street , I still need to explain what is Web3 and so on still very early . Lauri

If our listeners want to learn more about you and Valos, where should they go?

Joeri 29:44

, if now the listeners to the podcast here , they want to know more about you , they want to know more about Valos , everything that you're doing , where would you like me to send them ?

Lauri 29:55

Yeah , so we have a website it's valos . io , and LinkedIn it's Valos , and on Twitter we are also active , so it's valos , underscore IO . So , yeah , there we might have more and more content now in the coming months .

Joeri 30:11

So , absolutely , and this podcast , yeah , this podcast can be a part of it , of your content . So , laurie , it was really a pleasure to have you on the show .

Lauri 30:22

Yeah , thanks , Joeri , for the invitation .

Joeri 30:25

Guys , what an amazing episode . As there are show notes , all the links that Laurie mentioned will be in there in the show notes , in the blog article . So if you think that this episode is useful for people around you investors , entrepreneurs , people that just want to learn about Web3 , be sure to share this episode with them . If you're not yet following the show , this is a really good moment to do this . If you haven't given me a review yet , yeah , please do that , because these five stars can give me an opportunity to reach an even bigger audience and , of course , I would like to see you back next time . Take care .