Supply, demand and durability: A framework for surviving cycles

February 25, 2026, 1:33PM EST
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Supply, demand and durability: A framework for surviving cycles
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Quick Take

  • Santiago Santos explains why token prices mislead, and how stablecoins and first-principles investing drive real crypto adoption.

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Episode 8 of Layer One, hosted by The Block's Kelvin Sparks and Hypha founder Steven Gates, was recorded with Santiago R. Santos, founder of Inversion Capital.

Listen below, and subscribe to Layer One on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please send feedback and revision requests to [email protected].

In Episode 8 of Layer One, The Block’s Kelvin Sparks and Hypha founder Steven Gates were joined by Santiago R. Santos of Inversion Capital. He explains why many crypto token valuations are structurally flawed and outlines his framework for investing in durable, cash-flow-supported adoption, with a focus on B2B stablecoin use cases.

OUTLINE
00:00 - Intro
00:00:27 - Scope and disclaimer
00:01:41 - FDV and investor framing
00:04:02 - Valuation bias
00:12:23 - Investing through cycles
00:21:44 - Choosing Avalanche infrastructure
00:28:29 - Retrofitting real businesses
00:35:46 - Who’s building this model
00:41:52 - Writing, thinking and first principles
00:50:16 - Fieldwork beats theory
00:52:53 - Asking the right questions
01:00:23 - TGE and FDV reality
01:07:30 - Final takeaways

GUEST/HOST LINKS
Santiago R Santos - twitter.com/santiagoroel
Inversion Capital - twitter.com/inversion_cap
Steven Gates - ⁠⁠⁠twitter.com/stvngts⁠⁠⁠
Kelvin Sparks - ⁠⁠⁠twitter.com/imyoungsparks⁠⁠⁠

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