Sicherer Hafen 2.0 | Folge 12 | Is DeFi Dead? Crypto VC Insider Mahsa on AI, Tokenization & the 2027 Bull Run

Is DeFi dead – or just getting started? Helge and Nils talk to Mahsa, marketing manager at the Hamburg-based crypto VC CoinIX, who reviews pitch decks from blockchain startups every week.

Mahsa shares her journey from Tehran to Kiel to Hamburg, what life in Iran looks like right now – from weeks of internet blackout during the war to a quiet revolution on the streets – and how she found her way into crypto during the Covid lockdown. We also look back at Paycer, the DeFi startup we built together, which raised $1.5M and collapsed in the 2022 bear market.

In this episode:

• Why AI is stealing the spotlight from crypto – and why AI agents could be the key to mass adoption

• AI coins, hype cycles and lessons from the dotcom bubble

• Where DeFi stands in 2026: institutions, stablecoins and the end of the hype

• Tokenization: Is BlackRock's Larry Fink right?

• Why a gold-backed token in Singapore had to shut down

• How Spargold uses the Ethereum blockchain to verify gold bars

• Women in crypto, German regulation and the BaFin

• Mahsa's prediction for the next bull run

The conversation is in English.

Chapters:

00:00 How we met Mahsa at Blockchance

04:30 From Iran to Germany

05:26 War, internet blackout & a quiet revolution in Iran

11:16 How Mahsa got into crypto

16:55 Pacer: Our DeFi startup & its collapse

22:38 A fresh start at Coinix

25:27 Crypto meetups in Hamburg: From 200 to 10 people

28:42 Is AI stealing crypto's spotlight?

34:24 AI coins, hype & the dotcom bubble

36:59 Stablecoins: Money around the world in minutes

39:24 Where does DeFi stand in 2026?

40:42 How Spargold uses the Ethereum blockchain

42:59 Women in crypto

46:08 AI agents & mainstream adoption

49:53 Tokenization: Is Larry Fink right?

52:31 Gold tokens in Singapore: Why it failed

55:16 What does Coinix do?

57:26 Crypto regulation in Germany

59:09 Mahsa's advice & bull run prediction for 2027

Sicherer Hafen 2.0 is the podcast by Spargold about gold, silver, crypto, the economy and politics – every week with Helge and Nils.