BlackRock's UNI purchase and other DeFi developments, with Lido and Chaos Labs

February 20, 2026, 6:01AM EST
BlackRock's UNI purchase and other DeFi developments, with Lido and Chaos Labs
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Quick Take

  • Chaos Labs’ Craig La Riche and Lido’s Will Shannon said BlackRock’s UNI purchase marks a turning point for institutional DeFi adoption as vaults reshape onchain capital.

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Episode 62 of The Crypto Beat was recorded with Tim Copeland, Kelvin Sparks, Lido's Head of Node Operators Will Shannon, and Chaos Labs' Head of Vaults Craig Le Riche.

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In episode 62 of The Crypto Beat, Lido's Head of Node Operators Will Shannon and Chaos Labs' Head of Vaults Craig Le Riche join the show to unpack what BlackRock buying UNI tokens means for DeFi, the CFTC's new crypto innovation panel, and Aave's proposal to return 100% of protocol revenue to its DAO. The bulk of the conversation dives into vault infrastructure and why chasing unsustainable yields remains DeFi's biggest trap.

OUTLINE
00:00 - Introduction
03:19 - BlackRock Buys UNI
05:07 - CFTC Innovation Panel
06:10 - Aave Revenue to DAO
07:12 - SafeMoon CEO Sentenced
08:36 - Vault Infrastructure 101
13:01 - Chaos x Kraken Earn Vaults
21:47 - Lido V3 & Institutional Staking
28:07 - Yield Danger Zone
39:42 - AI Agents & DeFi's Future


Guest links:
Craig Le Riche - x.com/craigleriche
Chaos Labs - x.com/chaoslabs
Will Shannon - x.com/KimonSh
Lido - x.com/LidoFinance

Tim Copeland - ⁠⁠⁠x.com/timccopeland⁠⁠⁠
Kelvin Sparks -⁠ x.com/imyoungsparks

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