From Sand to Stone: Two GCs on the New Legal Foundation Shaping Crypto's Future

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 27, 2026 at 16:33  |  51:56  |  The Block
Speakers
Salman Banaei — General Counsel, Plume
Lee Schneider — General Counsel, Ava Labs
Steven Gates — Co-Host; Co-Founder, Hypha

Summary

Kelvin Sparks and Steven Gates host Ava Labs General Counsel Lee Schneider and Plume General Counsel Salman Banaei for a legal-focused discussion on the Senate market structure bill, RWA tokenization, pre-IPO tokenized shares, governance design, and TradFi adoption of blockchain. The guests see regulatory clarity as net positive for crypto despite imperfect rules, expect RWA growth led by tokenized public fund shares, and prefer simple protocol-token rules over decentralization tests. They also debate whether TradFi will build closed networks or embrace open public blockchains, with both guests ultimately favoring open blockchain infrastructure over the long run.

  • Senate market structure bill is viewed as a net positive despite compromise and beefed-up disclosures.
  • RWA disclosure standards could help investors distinguish tokenized securities from new products.
  • Tokenized public fund shares are the fastest-growing RWA segment.
  • Pre-IPO tokenization offers liquidity but faces cap-table, volatility, and securities-law friction.
  • Guests criticize a decentralization test and favor simpler protocol-token rules.
  • TradFi and exchanges are experimenting with tokenized securities and private networks.
  • Open public blockchains are expected to outcompete closed networks over the long term.
  • Banks may adopt common ledgers to reduce reconciliation and post-trade overhead.
Ideas
Salman Banaei General Counsel, Plume 9:24
RWA sector benefits from disclosure clarity.
The market structure bill's proposed standard disclosures and red lines around when a token is a tokenized version of an underlying security versus a new product would help investors evaluate legal and economic rights; this clarity is a real value add for the RWA sector.
Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) HIGH
Salman Banaei General Counsel, Plume 14:47
Tokenized public fund shares lead RWA growth.
Within RWA tokenization, the most rapid growth is in tokenized shares of managed/public investment funds because those shares primarily represent an economic interest in fund performance, making them more ready to tokenize than assets with bundled legal rights.
Tokenized public fund shares HIGH
Salman Banaei General Counsel, Plume 29:14
Crypto legislation clarity is net positive.
The Senate market structure bill is not optimal policy, but it reflects a delicate compromise and is a net positive for the crypto ecosystem because it gives builders regulatory clarity and a more stable legal foundation, even though pre-decentralization token disclosures were beefed up.
BITO HIGH
Salman Banaei General Counsel, Plume 36:22
Legal clarity boosts blockchain infrastructure adoption.
The legal certainty created by the market structure bill will extend beyond crypto-native firms: TradFi and the broader economy will increasingly view blockchain-based infrastructure as a viable solution, opening a wider adoption path.
BLCN HIGH
Lee Schneider General Counsel, Ava Labs 46:24
Public blockchains enable robust global competition.
Public blockchains—including open networks such as Avalanche C-Chain, Ethereum, and Solana—are open infrastructure that anyone with internet access can use, so they encourage robust global competition, let TradFi and crypto-native builders use the same rails, and are difficult for governments or institutions to shut off; TradFi will be one of multiple players rather than the only one.
Public blockchains ETH SOL AVAX HIGH
Salman Banaei General Counsel, Plume 49:20
Open networks will outcompete closed networks.
Open networks tend to outcompete closed networks over time; although closed/controlled systems may succeed in the short to medium term, the long-run benefits of open blockchain-based infrastructure are overwhelming, and banks will adapt and preserve optionality because they recognize the inevitability/FOMO dynamic.
Open blockchain networks HIGH
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This The Block video, published January 27, 2026, features Salman Banaei, Lee Schneider discussing Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), Tokenized public fund shares, BITO, BLCN, Public blockchains, ETH, SOL, AVAX, Open blockchain networks. 6 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Salman Banaei, Lee Schneider  · Tickers: Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), Tokenized public fund shares, BITO, BLCN, Public blockchains, ETH, SOL, AVAX, Open blockchain networks