Veda CEO Sun Raghupathi discusses how on-chain yield products are moving into mainstream finance as fintechs and institutions prepare to offer crypto-based savings and income solutions.
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J.D.: Sun Raghupathi joins us now. He is the co-founder and CEO of Veda, making not just his debut on Taking Stock, but if I'm not mistaken, his first time ever down here at the Big Board. Welcome to the New York Stock Exchange.
Sun: Thanks for having me.
J.D.: Give me a bit of an introduction to Veda for any of our viewers watching who might be a bit unfamiliar and talk to me additionally about some of your top priorities here as we go further into Q1 of 2026?
Sun: Absolutely. Veda is an on-chain technology company. We help fintechs, exchanges, traditional institutions like banks and asset managers help offer crypto on-chain products to their customers. This often takes the form of yield products, right? We're finding yield is at the center of many discussions happening both in regulation and in technology. And the broad idea is that a high yield, dollar based savings account will permeate every financial interface. Every consumer on the planet should have access to this technology. It's our mission to make that happen.
J.D.: When you get these relationships going with these traditional fintech names, you sense a lot of enthusiasm for them to embrace kind of what could be viewed as new disruptive technology. Is there still a little bit of education, a little bit of hesitancy on their behalf to embrace really what you're all about?
Sun: Yeah. As with all forms of disruptive technology, you know, things move a little bit slower, especially in finance when there's money at risk. But it's been remarkable, the pace of adoption that we're seeing from fintechs. They really view this technology as a sword that they can use to conquer traditional finance.
Right. They're stealing market share. They're able to move a lot quicker. And so we're already seeing these products rolled out from traditional crypto exchanges like Kraken and Coinbase. It's going to be 6 to 12 months before we see some of the largest fintechs offering these products, but it's inevitable You can mark my words on that.
J.D.: And so you think I mean, that's a timeline that pushes up to the to the second half of 2026. It's certainly a paradigm shift. Is that a fair description of how you see the ecosystem changing in real time?
Sun: It's nothing short of a revolution. It's remarkable to see.
J.D.: Yeah,absolutely. Well, legacy institutions upgrade global finance. I mean, we talk a lot about institutions like this one, the New York Stock Exchange going with tokenized offerings for the future. Everyone's trying to figure out what these rules of the road will be. What most excites you is you see these legacy names in the world of finance say, hey, we kind of know where the puck is going a bitback.
Sun: Yeah. What I'll say is, I don't think all legacy institutions will be quick enough to adapt, but it's also been really interesting to see some of the largest players on the planet are embracing this technology. Right. The New York Stock Exchange has not announced, you know, this partnership with Polymarket, but also 24/7 instant settlement trading with tokenized equities. It'sremarkable.
And the best thing is that all of this is built for consumers, right. This isn't some posturing that they're saying, oh we're tech forward. That difference from, you know, trading on weekdays 9 to 5, T+1 settlement being able to offer 24/7 trading with instant settlement. It's a huge win for everyone.
J.D.: I got less than a minute left. What do you think is the greater risk to market stability? Is it heavy handed over regulation or continued uncertainty out of Capitol Hill?
Sun: Look, as a builder in the space, there's nothing worse than uncertainty, right? Especially at the scale that this technology is reaching. I think it's okay to accept some trade offs and some concessions, but the sooner we get regulatory clarity, the sooner us builders can do our job.
J.D.: Sun Raghupathi is the co-founder and CEO of Veda. Thanks a lot for coming down here to the show, and you're welcome back to the NYSE anytime. Great to have you.
Sun: Appreciate it, thanks.