Moderator: Aaron (@r2yield)

Speakers:

• Dylan Kawalec (@PhalaNetwork)

• Chris (Co-Founder @mcsquaredfi)

• Sydneylai (@Gaianet_AI)

• Harsh (BD manager @r2yield)

1. Over the past year, RWA (T-Bills, credit, funds) has been one of the hottest narratives. Do you think RWA has gone mainstream yet? What key challenges remain?

• RWAs are still early, with ~$60–65B TVL compared to trillions in TradFi. Key challenges include fragmented liquidity, poor UX, and regulatory gaps. Still, protocols like R2 could unlock $1–10T in growth by democratizing access to 4–12% "Wall Street" yields — all without KYC friction. (Harsh)

• UBS projects 100x RWA growth by 2030, far outpacing broader DeFi. While custody and risk automation remain key hurdles, RWA yields (7–12% in real estate) could exceed 20% on-chain through DeFi optimization. (Chris)

2. AI Agents are gaining traction in finance. What unique capabilities can AI agents bring to onchain investing—such as automated strategies, risk management, or cross-chain arbitrage?

• AI can solve RWA pain points like liquidity fragmentation through programmable agents that rebalance and optimize faster than humans, powered by edge computing hardware. (Sydneylai)

• Trusted Execution Environments and Phala’s DSTACK enable private, compliant AI-driven trades, with tools like Model Context Protocols and remote attestation to prevent prompt injection. (Dylan)

• DeFi could become "self-driving," with AI managing yield, taxes, and risk from simple user prompts — though over-optimized strategies may amplify risk during market shocks. (Chris)

3. Regulators are watching RWA tokenization closely. Do AI-driven execution layers introduce new compliance risks? How can we balance AI’s "black box" nature with the transparency expected in onchain finance?

• Spout Finance showcases private, compliant RWA settlements using ERC-3643/ERC-720 contracts with TEE co-processors and FHE decryption, while ZK tools like ZK Pass and ZK Identity enable identity-proofing without data leakage inside secure enclaves. (Dylan)

• Regulators need auditable AI systems to reduce systemic risk, much like black-box logs in self-driving cars. (Sydneylai)

• KYC silos limit RWA composability; interoperable standards are key to unlocking DeFi use cases like lending and DEX trading. (Chris)

4. If you had to describe the endgame vision of AI Agents + RWA Yield in onesentence, what would it be?

• Compliant AI agents will enable private, permissionless RWA bridging across chains using off-chain co-processing and secure enclaves for scalable, confidential yield strategies. (Dylan)

• AI will shift finance from manual trading to autonomous, self-sovereign ecosystems where programmable agents and tokenized networks drive outcome-based financial experiences. (Sydneylai)

• AI will automate risk and strategy curation in DeFi, disrupting traditional wealth management with 20%+ yields and a new user structure: quants, curators, and passive consumers. (Chris)

• AI agents will make institutional-grade yields accessible to all, proving that DeFi can move traditional returns on-chain without banks or KYC barriers, powered by better UX. (Harsh)

Huge thanks to Dylan, Chris, Sydneylai, and Harsh for sharing their valuable insights during the AMA. It was a thoughtful, forward-looking conversation — and we’re excited about what’s ahead. More updates coming soon!