From Meme Coins To Mainstream: Nikil Viswanathan On Crypto’s Infrastructure Shift

Listen to this episode from FYI - For Your Innovation on Spotify. Nikil Viswanathan, co-founder and CEO of Alchemy, joins Brett Winton and Lorenzo Valente to explore the evolving crypto infrastructure landscape. Alchemy, often described as the “AWS for blockchain,” is powering some of the most widely used applications in Web3. Nikil explains why we’re still in the early innings of blockchain development and draws parallels to the early internet. The conversation also covers the rapid shift in institutional sentiment toward crypto, the potential of tokenized financial assets, and why AI agents will rely on blockchain rails to transact. Nikil shares insights from working with global banks, trends in stablecoins, and why the next phase of growth could be driven by developer and user experience innovation.Key Points From This Episode:00:01:36 Why Alchemy is the AWS for blockchain—and what that means for crypto’s evolution00:04:13 Smart contracts as a better alternative to traditional financial intermediaries00:10:25 Mapping value accrual in smart contract platforms: A $5T opportunity by 203000:13:00 How Alchemy abstracts blockchain complexity and improves developer UX00:18:30 Why blockchain is still in its “green screen” era—and what comes next00:21:53 Meme coins, signal or noise? Nikil’s take on speculation vs. infrastructure00:25:03 Crowdfunding, stablecoins, and digital ownership: The real-world use cases00:29:36 Partnering with Worldcoin: Proof of personhood and bot-resistant networks00:36:44 The institutional wave: What’s changed in the last 30 days00:41:05 SAB 121 repeal, ETFs, and the regulatory unlock for banks00:45:53 The six-step playbook for banks entering crypto—from custody to stablecoins00:50:56 Will every bank launch a stablecoin and chain? A look at the fragmentation ahead00:52:04 Tokenized real-world assets and the future of user-owned financial infrastructure00:58:10 Why AI agents need crypto rails—and what that unlocks01:00:33 Smart underwriting, programmable capital, and peer-to-peer risk transformation