Luuk Strijers, CEO of Deribit, joins Anton Golub and Dr. Demetrios Zamboglou for an inside look at building crypto’s leading options venue and what Coinbase’s acquisition means for product, scale, and institutional trust.

We unpack Deribit’s 85% institutional mix, $266B monthly volumes, why BTC options dominate, how DVO (Deribit Volatility) and vol futures fit market structure, and what it takes to quote thousands of strikes in real time.

We go deep on matching engines, co-lo, market-maker dynamics, roadmap cadence, and the integrations now underway across custody, KYC/AML, wallets, and AI-driven tooling as Deribit aligns with Coinbase’s “most trusted” mandate.

A sharp, trading-first conversation on liquidity, risk, and where derivatives go next.

Paul Dawalibi‏, CEO of Innovation City in Ras Al Khaimah, joins Anton Golub and Dr. Demetrios Zamboglou on blockCAST podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on how free zones are evolving and why the next chapter of tech, AI, digital assets, Web3, gaming, robotics, and health tech in the UAE may be written in RAK.

Paul explains why free zones, rather than tourism, have historically been the UAE’s economic engine and why the traditional free zone model is due for disruption. He outlines Innovation City’s ambition to build a Silicon Valley style hub driven by ecosystem building, density of intensity, and sector specific enablement, moving beyond the standard license, visa, and desk formula to actively support founders and scale ups.

The discussion covers competition and collaboration across free zones, what founders actually need to succeed including bankability, compute, labs, publishing, and streamlined compliance, how AI is changing entrepreneurship by lowering barriers while increasing noise, and why gaming, virtual worlds, and digital experiences may become one of the fastest growing parts of the economy as automation expands.

A practical and forward looking episode on innovation ecosystems, founder success, and why Ras Al Khaimah is emerging as one of the most compelling growth stories in the region.

Jez Mohideen, Co-Founder and CEO of Laser Digital, joins Anton Golub and Dr. Demetrios Zamboglou for an in-depth conversation on building institutional-grade digital-asset infrastructure. Beginning his career in investment banking and quantitative trading, Jez brings decades of experience across fixed income, hedge funds, and global capital markets into the digital-asset space.

He shares how Laser Digital was built with a clear institutional focus; spanning custody, liquidity provision, financing, asset management, tokenization, and DeFi, backed by strong governance, risk management, and regulatory alignment. The discussion explores market structure, derivatives, tokenized funds and RWAs, stablecoins, AI-driven trading, and the balance between transparency and liquidity.

A focused and insightful discussion on institutional adoption, regulation, and why the UAE has emerged as a global hub for digital assets and on-chain finance.