Coming off the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas, Laura and Kevin sit down with Eliézer Ndinga, the Global Head of Research at 21Shares, a Switzerland-based financial services company that issues cryptocurrency exchange-traded products, to unpack what they heard, what actually matters, and what’s still just noise.

We get into Eli’s background and how he’s been navigating the intersection of crypto, infrastructure, and real-world adoption, then use that lens to pressure test some of the biggest themes coming out of the conference. Where is the signal versus the hype? What felt different this year compared to prior cycles? And what are people still getting wrong?

The conversation moves from big-picture trends into more practical territory. We talk about where institutional interest is real versus performative, how regulation is shaping behavior behind the scenes, and what it actually looks like for companies trying to build in this space right now. Eli shares where he’s seeing momentum, where things are stuck, and what he’s personally paying attention to over the next 12–18 months. We then spend time on the human side of all of this. How do you build conviction in a space that constantly resets the narrative? What separates people who stick around and compound knowledge from those who chase cycles? And how should someone adjacent to crypto be thinking about getting involved without getting burned?

Eliézer Ndinga is the Global Head of Research at 21Shares, where he leads the firm’s efforts to analyze digital asset markets, blockchain innovation, and the evolving role of crypto in global finance. A founding team member who joined in 2020, he has played a key role in shaping the company’s research perspective as it grew into one of the world’s largest issuers of crypto exchange-traded products. Eli is known for connecting the technical foundations of blockchain with real-world applications across enterprises, financial systems, and emerging technologies like DeFi and tokenization. His work focuses on identifying where digital assets are gaining meaningful traction, how regulatory shifts are influencing adoption, and where the next wave of growth is likely to emerge.