#24: John Morrow & Holt Butler, Gauntlet | Vault Curation, gtUSDa, & The New DeFi Landscape

Today's guests are John Morrow, COO and Co-founder of Gauntlet, and Holt Butler, Product Lead for Gauntlet USD Alpha. We discuss Gauntlet's evolution from protocol risk consultants to direct vault operators managing $700M+, the emerging "vault curator" role in DeFi, and how they're bridging TradFi and DeFi through products like gtUSDa. We also explore the competitive dynamics reshaping DeFi lending markets and why automation beats governance for capital allocation.GUEST LINKS:* John Morrow: https://x.com/jmo_mx* Holt Butler: https://x.com/0xhotl* Gauntlet: https://x.com/gauntlet_xyz* https://gauntlet.xyz* Gauntlet USD Alpha: https://app.gauntlet.xyz/vaults/gtusdaHOST LINKS:* Ryan Rodenbaugh: https://twitter.com/ryanrodenbaugh* Vaults.fyi: https://vaults.fyi* gtUSDa on vaults.fyi: https://app.vaults.fyi/opportunity/base/0x000000000001CdB57E58Fa75Fe420a0f4D6640D5* Wallfacer: https://x.com/wallfacerlabsSUBSCRIBE SECTION: Subscribe to Wallfacer Podcast and share with friends:* Apple / Spotify: https://www.wallfacer.io/podcast* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WallfacerLabs* Substack: https://wallfacerlabs.substack.com/s/podcastTIMESTAMPS:* [00:13] Gauntlet's Evolution: From Risk Models to Vault Management* [07:14] Defining the Vault Curator Role* [14:50] Behind the Scenes: Vault Management Operations* [17:54] Aera Protocol & Gauntlet USD Alpha Launch* [25:20] Institutional vs Retail Capital Allocation* [33:04] Customer Relationships & Platform Ownership* [36:56] Real World Assets & Cross-Chain Strategies* [46:25] DeFi Lending Competition: Morpho vs Aave* [49:26] Gaming, Tokenized Assets & Future DeFi Use Cases This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wallfacerlabs.substack.com