Banks Are Going Onchain. Who Trusts the Data? | Rodrigo Coelho, CEO of Edge & Node

Banks are moving money onchain. Their data teams still can't trust what they pull from it. And every extra chain makes the bill and the mess bigger. This week I speak with Rodrigo Coelho, CEO of Edge & Node, the team behind The Graph. We get into what trustworthy onchain data means, why data teams shouldn't have to learn crypto, how an early AI agent experiment with no spending controls ran up a $47,000 bill in 11 hours, and what happens next when tokenized assets start hopping between chains. What you'll learn How Edge & Node's own infrastructure costs became its product, and the design choices behind it: plain SQL and open standards Why running your own blockchain nodes is not cost effective, and why buying data by the query can reach 7 figures a year Why data teams don't need to learn crypto to use onchain data Why AI agents can query onchain data in plain English, and why they still need spending controls Why banks waited for clear rules before going all in on digital assets Why tracking a tokenized asset across different chains is a new kind of data problem What going from employee number one to CEO, and from a big team back to a startup, teaches about building a business that makes money Timestamps 00:00 — Banks go onchain and AI booms: what does that mean for data? 00:42 — Blockchains are just databases, and why Google Sheets explains them 10:16 — From The Graph to Amp: banks quietly running open-source code 17:21 — Where do institutions start? Pilots, client push and central bank pull 23:31 — What trustworthy onchain data really means 26:15 — The worst Rodrigo has seen: agents with no spending controls 28:27 — Why data teams don't need to learn crypto 31:34 — The real cost of blockchain data: build, buy or rent 38:25 — AI agents, SQL and tracking tokenized assets across chains 42:24 — From employee number one to CEO 44:55 — The reset: from token treasuries to a startup again 👉Connect with Rodrigo: Edge & Node: https://www.edgeandnode.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodrigoco/ 👉Connect with Monica: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamillares/ Purpose Driven FinTech. English: https://www.youtube.com/@monica_millares/videos Purpose Driven FinTech. Spanish: https://www.youtube.com/@MonicaMillares_Español/videos Disclaimer: This episode does not constitute professional nor financial advice and does not represent the opinion nor views of my current, past, or future employers. The guest has agreed to record and release our conversation for the use of this podcast and promotion on social media.