The Darwin Cycles of Crypto: What Survives and Why with Aryan Sheikhalian of CMT Digital
August 14, 2025
In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Aryan Sheikhalian, Head of Research at CMT Digital, a global blockchain and Web3 proprietary trading and venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments that accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology. Together, they dive into what it really takes to build sustainable decentralized systems.
In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Aryan Sheikhalian, Head of Research at CMT Digital, a global blockchain and Web3 proprietary trading and venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments that accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology. Together, they dive into what it really takes to build sustainable decentralized systems.
What you’ll learn:
- How Aryan's early exposure to cryptography and Blockchain Research Institute shaped his investment lens
- What CMT Digital looks for in pre-seed and seed-stage startups
- Why Ethereum's shift to a data availability layer could be both a superpower and a challenge
- What modular blockchain design unlocks for institutional adoption and infrastructure composability
- Why stablecoins are the real killer use case in crypto, and how U.S. policy is accelerating their global reach
And much more!
Aryan Sheikhalian is the Head of Research at CMT Digital, a Chicago-based VC firm backing early-stage blockchain startups. With roots in cryptography, economics, and distributed systems, Aryan brings a pragmatic and research-driven lens to Web3. At CMT Digital, he plays a critical role in sourcing and managing investments while leading research efforts in blockchain technology. Aryan has worked with top blockchain organizations and is deeply involved in fostering the growth of decentralized finance and Web3.
Previous guests include: Rusty Matveev, Chief Strategy Officer at Calaxy; Andrew Lawrence, CEO and Co-Founder of Censo; Zac Townsend, CEO and Co-Founder of Meanwhile; Jesper Johansen, CEO and Co-Founder of Northstake; Tama Churchouse, COO of Cumberland Labs; Holly Wood of Boson Protocol; Sid Powell of Maple Finance; Chad Barraford of THORChain; and many others.
Check out our three most downloaded episodes:
- Laying the Groundwork for a Billion-User Blockchain with Rich Rines, Contributor at Core DAO
- Staking the Future: From Blockchain Beginnings to Institutional Innovations with Chen Zhuling of RockX
- The Unstoppable Nature of Blockchain: A Conversation with Bonart Mati of Obligate
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