Bitcoin’s Next Frontier, DeFi’s Future & On-Chain Finance | VEDA Co-founder Sun Raghupathi

The Index Podcast

What does it take to make DeFi yield simple, transparent, and unstoppable?

In this episode of The Index, we sit down with Sunand Raghupathi, Co-founder and CEO of VEDA, to explore his journey from leaving a computer science PhD program to building one of DeFi’s fastest-growing platforms. VEDA has grown to $2 billion in assets and 100,000+ users in just over a year, proving there’s massive demand for easy, accessible crypto yield.

What sets VEDA apart from failed centralized yield platforms like Celsius and FTX is its radical commitment to transparency. “When you put things on-chain, that’s the best possible user experience,” says Raghupathi. By combining user-friendly design with on-chain verifiable constraints, VEDA eliminates the hidden leverage and risky practices that doomed its predecessors.

We also explore VEDA’s breakthrough cross-chain architecture, which lets users tap yield opportunities across multiple ecosystems without the headaches of complex bridging. As VEDA expands beyond Ethereum-compatible chains to Solana, Raghupathi highlights the unique market structures and liquidity dynamics that create fresh yield strategies and points to Bitcoin as “a massive, untapped opportunity” for DeFi to unlock.

If you’re a blockchain developer, investor, or founder looking for insights into the next phase of DeFi, this episode is packed with sharp takes on why Sunand is even more bullish on the space today than during the 2021 bull run.

Explore VEDA’s platform at https://veda.tech/.

Follow on X: https://x.com/veda_labs

Show Links
The Index
X Channel
YouTube

Chapters

1. Introduction to VEDA and Son Raghupati (00:00:00)

2. From PhD to DeFi Entrepreneur (00:01:46)

3. VEDA's Vision for Simplified DeFi Yield (00:03:37)

4. Safety and Transparency in Yield Products (00:08:47)

5. Cross-Chain Architecture and Solana Integration (00:15:15)

6. Bitcoin in DeFi and Future Opportunities (00:19:13)

7. DeFi's Inflection Point and User Experience (00:25:32)