Episode notes
Anna, founder of Perena, joins TLD to talk about building the “stable bank of Solana” and why 2025 is the year to stop holding plain USDC & USDT. In this easy-to-follow episode she explains:
1. What Perena actually does and where the name comes from.
2. Why Solana users are accidentally sending hundreds of millions in yield to competing chains every year.
3.How USDStar gives you 12-18% APY on your stablecoins (and why it’s different from normal stablecoins)
4.The simple truth about risk, black swans, and how the yield is really made.
5. Why more competition in Solana stablecoins is good for everyone.
6. What’s next: tranching, new yield sources, and bringing real-world assets on-chain.
Perfect episode if you’re new to Solana DeFi or just want to understand where to park your stablecoins in 2025.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro & fixing the “Purina” pronunciation
00:41 – The real meaning of “Perena” (perennial = keeps coming back) 01:51 – How Anna discovered crypto in 2017 and chose Solana
03:25 – Why “Internet Capital Markets” confused everyone
06:58 – Creating the term “stable banking”
09:02 – The big pivot that changed everything in the last year
09:53 – Lesson #1: Fail fast, perfection is the enemy
15:03 – Life as a solo founder (and why too much advice hurts)
18:24 – The $500M stablecoin yield leak almost no one talks about
22:33 – Where your USDC interest actually goes (spoiler: not Solana)
27:17 – USDStar explained in simple terms
31:52 – “USDStar is NOT a stablecoin” – Anna clears it up
34:02 – How the vault works + future plans (tranches, governance, RWAs)
36:31 – Risk, black swans, and what keeps her up at night
45:05 – Why Anna wants MORE competitors on Solana
50:19 – Wake-up call for anyone still holding plain USDC/USDT
51:01 – Where to find Anna & Perena