In this month’s Builder Spotlight, we sat down with Davis Nunez, founder of Defi Orbit, to talk about what it actually looks like to build in DeFi day-to-day. Davis shares how firsthand experience as a liquidity provider exposed major gaps in portfolio tracking, what motivated him to build tools specifically for retail DeFi users, and where he sees the space heading next as institutions increasingly move on-chain. He also reflects on why Utah’s collaborative tech ecosystem has been the right place to build and scale his work.
UBC: To start, can you tell us a little bit about the projects you’re working on at Defi Orbit and how you got here?
Davis Nunez: I started in DeFi personally in 2023. After spending all of 2024 doing DeFi full-time as a liquidity provider, I realized how painful portfolio management was. I was losing money on opportunities I wasn’t tracking properly, making spreadsheet mistakes, and spending hours in Excel every time the market moved.
It got even worse when I started managing portfolios for family and a close friend. That’s when I realized this wasn’t scalable. I tried a lot of existing tools, paid for them, tested them, and none were really built for liquidity providers, especially people operating across multiple chains like Solana, Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Base.
Out of frustration, I interviewed about 40 liquidity providers and found that roughly 72% were dealing with the same tracking issues, which was costing them money and causing many to quit entirely. So I spent all of 2025 building Defi Orbit. Our core product is a real-time portfolio manager that gives advanced users full visibility across their investments without relying on spreadsheets. What used to take an hour now takes about 30 seconds.
UBC: Is Defi Orbit built more for retail investors or for institutional users and portfolio managers?
Davis Nunez: Right now, we’re focused primarily on retail users. There are a few platforms built for institutions and hedge funds, but everyday DeFi users are largely underserved. Because of that gap, people rely on spreadsheets and manual tracking.
Long term, Defi Orbit is being built with institutional-grade infrastructure in mind, but we’re not there yet. Today, our focus is serving as many retail users as possible. Around Q3 of 2025, we plan to expand toward institutions and hedge funds, especially with the coming wave of tokenization, which I think will be one of the biggest themes of 2026.
UBC: Can retail investors with little or no DeFi experience use your platform?
Davis Nunez: At the moment, not really. Our current users usually have at least $5,000 invested and some DeFi experience. They already know how to open positions and take loans, and they want better tracking and risk management. We also track loans, so if someone borrows against their assets, we give them the information they need to avoid liquidation.
That said, in the next few weeks we’re launching a new feature that allows users to track basic holdings, value, and growth over time. That will make the platform more accessible to newer users. We’re also investing heavily in education through YouTube and other content to help people learn how to open positions, manage risk, and understand DeFi strategies.
UBC: You do a lot of education for people new to DeFi. What challenges do you see them facing most often?
Davis Nunez: The biggest challenge is the learning curve. Before DeFi, people usually need to understand Bitcoin, then Ethereum, wallets, liquidity pools, swapping, bridging, and security. That alone takes time.
Then you get into liquidity provision. It’s not overly complex, but it’s time-consuming. I like to compare it to running a business. If you invest in a traditional business, you might wait years for returns. In DeFi, conservative returns of 15–20% are possible if you do it right.
The good thing is you don’t need a lot of money to start. I began with $100 just to learn. The real investment is education. Once people commit to that phase, things start to click.
UBC: What first got you interested in blockchain and DeFi?
Davis Nunez: My first exposure was in 2017 through a marketing platform that only accepted Bitcoin. I was buying Bitcoin just to pay for services. In 2018, I worked with clients doing ICOs, building websites and landing pages, but I still wasn’t deeply involved.
In 2020, I started buying Bitcoin seriously and mostly considered myself a Bitcoin maximalist. Then in 2023, I felt pulled toward DeFi. Around that time, I started working with Brady from Giddy, and all he talked about was DeFi.
I questioned why people would use DeFi instead of just holding Bitcoin. Someone explained that with DeFi, you can earn yield on Bitcoin without selling it. That was the moment it clicked. I saw APYs of 30–40% and thought, even if half of that is real, this changes everything. From there, I became obsessed and spent hours every day learning.
UBC: Where do you see DeFi heading next?
Davis Nunez: We’re entering a very different phase. We’ve seen perps explode, altcoins behave differently than in past cycles, and institutions enter the space in a serious way. JP Morgan is building on blockchain. Visa, Mastercard, Western Union, and others are experimenting heavily. Circle went public. Coinbase is dominating market influence.
I think the next major theme is tokenization. BlackRock is deeply focused on it, and we’re seeing real-world assets move on-chain. Tokenization isn’t just about fractional ownership; it’s about liquidity. Instead of waiting months to exit an asset, you can trade instantly.
This will bring massive liquidity and global participation into U.S. markets. I’m very bullish on tokenization and see it as a major focus for 2026 and beyond.
UBC: What made you want to build in Utah?
Davis Nunez: I love Utah. The tech ecosystem is growing, but it’s still accessible. In places like Miami, it’s hard to reach decision-makers. In Utah, there’s always someone willing to make an introduction or help.
The community feels tight-knit. Groups like UBC and the broader crypto community here make it feel possible to build something meaningful locally. I’m proud to be building something in Utah.
UBC: Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Davis Nunez: UBC is doing something really special. The growth over 2025 has been impressive, especially bringing together government, builders, and the community. I also want to shout out the partnership with Utah Crypto. Covering both traders and policymakers creates balance. You need both sides to make this ecosystem work.