235: Trustless Trading & The Future of Finance—Alexis from Yellow.com on Disrupting Markets

What if we could trade without trusting anyone? Crypto promised decentralization, but most trading still relies on centralized exchanges. In this episode of Web3 with Sam Kamani, I sit down with Alexis from Yellow.com to discuss: ✅ Why trustless trading is the missing piece in crypto ✅ How Yellow is bringing Lightning Network principles to trading ✅ The billion-dollar opportunity in building a trustless settlement layer ✅ Lessons from Bitcoin, Ethereum & early crypto pioneers ✅ Why traditional finance will soon adopt trustless trading Yellow.com is building the infrastructure to remove trust from trading—just like Bitcoin did for money. Key Timestamps [00:00:00] Introduction: Sam introduces Alexis from Yellow.com and the discussion on trustless trading, crypto innovation & finance disruption. [00:01:00] Who is Alexis? Co-founder of Yellow.com & GSR, two major crypto firms A crypto OG since 2013, involved in Bitcoin, Ethereum, & Ripple Built two companies with 500+ employees globally [00:03:00] What is Yellow.com? A trustless trading infrastructure that removes counterparty risk Uses Ethereum state channels for instant PNL settlements A missing piece in Satoshi’s vision—removing trust from trading [00:05:00] Why is Trustless Trading So Important? Trust limits financial innovation Bitcoin removed trust in money; Yellow removes trust in trading Most crypto trading still relies on trusted intermediaries [00:07:00] How Yellow Uses State Channels for Instant Profit Settlement Similar to Lightning Network but for trading Trades settle instantly without requiring counterparty trust Institutions & retail can trade against exchanges without risk [00:10:00] How Big is the Trading Industry? Payments industry: $8 Trillion per day Trading industry: $650 Trillion per day Crypto trading is tiny in comparison—trustless trading unlocks new markets [00:12:00] How Yellow Compares to Clearing Houses in Traditional Finance ClearSync smart contracts replace clearing houses Automated, trustless arbitration using Ethereum Faster, cheaper, and safer than legacy systems [00:14:00] Biggest Challenges in Building Yellow Educating institutions & traders on trustless trading Adoption curve similar to Bitcoin & Ethereum in the early days Convincing major players to shift from centralized models [00:18:00] Lessons from Bitcoin & Ethereum’s Early Days Vitalik Buterin & early Ethereum days in Barcelona The anti-system movement that fueled Bitcoin’s rise Why removing trust has always been the key innovation in crypto [00:21:00] The Future of Crypto Trading—Mergers, Acquisitions & Consolidation Major banks & exchanges will start consolidating Robinhood acquiring Bitstamp, Crypto.com buying licenses Traditional finance is preparing for the crypto wave [00:25:00] Yellow’s Growth & Future Roadmap Launching a US-regulated public sale via Republic Expanding partnerships with institutional players like HSBC Building a global community around trustless trading [00:27:00] Why the Name ‘Yellow’? Derived from the Dolch word list—one of the world’s most recognized words Instant brand recognition across all languages & cultures A branding masterstroke for a global financial infrastructure Connect https://yellow.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/yellow-com/ https://x.com/Yellow https://www.linkedin.com/in/sirkia/ https://x.com/AlexisYellow Disclaimer Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. Finally, it would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend. Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/