Episode page and notes: https://buildersinfintech.ai/podcast/episode-56

In this episode, I sit down with Lorenzo Romagnoli, co-founder of USDT0.

USDT0 is the interoperability layer for Tether's USDT. A smart contract on Ethereum locks USDT and, through LayerZero, the equivalent USDT0 is minted on the destination chain, so users can move USDT across more than 25 blockchains without third-party bridges or fees. Developed by Everdawn Labs in partnership with Tether, USDT0 launched in January 2025 on Kraken's Ink and has since processed more than $100 billion in cumulative volume. The same team also runs XAUt0, the omnichain version of Tether Gold.

Lorenzo is one of USDT0's three co-founders. He studied economics and finance at Queen Mary University of London, got into DeFi in 2020, and has spent the last years building within the Tether ecosystem. He is based in Lugano.

We talk about why Switzerland attracts so many crypto companies, how USDT0 works and who uses it, a business model where blockchains are the clients, becoming profitable without raising a round, working with Tether, how regulation changed the stablecoin market, whether payments will move to stablecoins, and why stablecoins matter most in emerging markets.

00:00 Intro
00:13 Lorenzo and USDT0
01:25 Why Switzerland and Lugano
03:35 What makes Switzerland work for crypto
04:51 USDT0 vs USDT: an interoperability layer
09:48 How cross-chain transfers work
12:23 Volumes and the most used chains
14:12 Who uses USDT0: funds, exchanges and retail
17:05 Not a custodian: security first
20:58 Business model: blockchains as clients
23:23 Profitable without raising
25:37 The relationship with Tether
30:09 Regulators and the stablecoin shift
34:33 Will payments move to stablecoins?
37:14 Short term vs long term
42:31 Emerging markets and dollar hegemony
46:50 Advice for founders

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Episode page and notes: https://buildersinfintech.ai/podcast/episode-55

In this episode, I sit down with Andrej Benčić, co-founder and CEO of Tenderly.

Tenderly is a blockchain development and operations platform built around the Ethereum ecosystem. Founded in 2018 in Belgrade, it started as a debugger that explained why a transaction failed and now provides simulation infrastructure, monitoring and developer tooling for teams building on-chain, from protocols to financial institutions managing capital. Tenderly has raised $58.6M, most recently a $40M Series B led by Spark Capital in 2022, with Accel and Point Nine Capital backing its earlier rounds.

Andrej, a software engineer by background, founded Tenderly with Bogdan Habić, Miljan Tekić and Nebojša Urošević after years of building projects together at hackathons.

We talk about how simulation helps developers, products and institutions manage on-chain risk, why the space needs adoption more than new innovation right now, raising in 2021, navigating bear markets, Ethereum as the "JavaScript of blockchain", a multi-chain future, stablecoins and the digital euro, and hiring talent globally.

00:00 Intro
00:23 Andrej and Tenderly
01:38 Starting Tenderly at hackathons
03:02 From transaction debugger to simulation infrastructure
06:39 Selling to developers, then to institutions
09:17 Building the simulation product
11:33 How companies use simulation
14:48 Fintech use cases: managing on-chain risk
17:22 Adoption vs innovation in blockchain
24:01 The highest high and the lowest low
26:29 Raising in 2021 and working with investors
30:43 Trends worth watching
32:25 Privacy and digital identity
33:59 Ethereum, Canton and Solana
36:27 Bank-built chains and a multi-chain future
38:48 Where stablecoins fit
40:35 The digital euro
42:35 Customers across the US and Europe
44:15 Hiring talent globally
45:12 Advice for new founders

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Episode page and notes: https://buildersinfintech.ai/podcast/episode-54

In this episode, I sit down with André Silva, co-founder and CEO of Quartz.

Quartz is a London-based AI personal banker. It connects users' bank, broker, pension and ISA accounts in one place, and its AI assistant, Charlie, turns that data into personalised insights on their wealth. The company launched in the UK in September 2026 alongside a £2.75M pre-seed round led by Daphni, with participation from Outward VC, K Fund and angels including Philippe Gelis and Gilles BianRosa.

André founded Quartz in 2025 with Mateus Mesquita Alves, former Investment Product Lead at N26. Before that, he spent six years at Revolut as Head of Global Expansion, responsible for new market launches and the group's international P&L. He started his career in M&A at HSBC in London and in equity research at BPI in Portugal. He holds an Economics degree from Porto University and an MSc in Finance from ESADE.

We talk about why financial advice is priced out for most people, why open banking covers only a small share of people's wealth, what UK investors actually hold, raising a pre-seed round, and where human advisors fit once AI does most of the work.

00:00 Intro
00:11 André's background: from investment banking to Revolut
01:00 Why Quartz: advice is priced out for most people
02:53 Three building blocks: visibility, context, advice
07:15 AI and financial advice regulation in the UK
08:38 Open banking vs in-house connectors
11:52 Who invests on Quartz: 4.5 accounts on average
16:08 Finding the first customers
20:10 Raising the pre-seed round
22:51 Working with angels and investors
25:09 International expansion: UK first
28:05 Localising an AI advisor across countries
31:34 How Quartz uses AI internally
35:30 Guardrails: what the AI must not do
38:23 The future of human financial advisors
44:51 Advice for people starting in fintech

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