The Big Why: What’s Next in 2026

Great ecosystems aren't built overnight—they're built in the right order.

In this episode of the Weekly ROAR Podcast, Dustin Hedrick and Brandon Billings walk through the strategic roadmap behind the ROAR ecosystem, explaining why every product—from wallets and NFTs to AI agents and banking infrastructure—has been intentionally designed to build on the last. Rather than chasing hype, ROAR is focused on creating real utility first, laying the foundation for a sustainable Web3 ecosystem.

The conversation explores the evolution of digital wallets into identity platforms, the growing role of NFTs as access and membership tools, the importance of infrastructure like ROAR Chain 2.0, and how AI, stablecoins, and banking rails fit together to power the next generation of decentralized applications.

•  Why building infrastructure before speculation creates stronger Web3 ecosystems 
•  How wallets, NFTs, and AI agents work together to power digital identity and participation 
•  The roadmap behind ROAR's vision for scalable blockchain infrastructure and mainstream adoption 

Resources & Links:
https://www.r0ar.io/
https://www.biznbox.io/

If this episode gave you a clearer picture of where Web3 is heading, follow the podcast, share it with someone interested in blockchain or AI, and stay connected as we continue exploring the technologies shaping the future.

Weekly ROAR Podcast with Dustin Hedrick & Brandon Billings
 Sponsored by https://www.r0ar.io/

Weekly ROAR Podcast with Dustin Hedrick & Brandon Billings
Sponsored by https://www.r0ar.io/

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:04

Welcome to your weekly Roar, where we break down what actually matters, cut through the noise, and give you something that you can use right now. I'm Dustin, and today I'm with Brandon again, and we are diving into one of the biggest questions around Roar. What about the roadmap? Why the sequence? Where are we going? And why does 2026 matter so much? Because from the outside, people may see a wallet, NFT, staking, business box, chain 2.0, banking rails, stablecoin plans, and AI agents that think that's a lot, and what's that really about? And the first thing I want to say is it isn't a lot for this period of time if you're doing it over a long period of time. And that's the thing. You didn't know what we're building for the last year and a half because we kept it under wraps. So the real story is not that Roar has a long list of products, which it does. We told you a year ago we did. The real story is that Roar has a sequence. We have a purpose: wallet first, utility next, identity and access after that, then staking, delegation, business use cases, chain infrastructure, financial rails, and AI expansion. And it's not a heavy lift from here because we didn't start yesterday. We started a year ago. So today we're going to talk about the big why behind the roadmap and why the market may be moving directly toward the kind of ecosystem that Roar has been building for the last year and a half. Let's get into it. Brandon, take us.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

This week's Spark is simple. The wallet starts it all. That may sound basic, but it is probably the most important point in the entire roadmap. Because in Web3, the wallet is not just where someone stores tokens. It is becoming the user's identity layer, access layer, payment layer, rewards layer, and eventually their gateway into AI powered activity. In the old version of crypto, people thought about wallets as storage. In the next version of crypto, wallets become operating systems. That is why the Roar Wallet 2.0 is not just being treated as an upgrade, it is being treated as a full rewrite, a frictionless, AI supported, best in class foundation for everything else in the ecosystem. And that matters because the market is changing fast. The wallet experience has to get easier. The next wave of users will not tolerate confusing seed phrases, clunky flows, broken onboarding, or having to understand five different tools before they can do one useful thing. They want the same thing users want in every major tech cycle. Make it simple, make it useful, make it secure, and make it work. That is where Roar is aiming. The wallet becomes the foundation for identity, access payments, utility rewards, platform activity, staking participation, and eventually AI agent interaction. And that brings us to platform season three. Platform season three matters because ecosystems do not grow from hype alone. They grow when activity, utility, liquidity, and rewards begin reinforcing each other. That is the key. If a token exists outside of a functioning ecosystem, it is vulnerable. It depends too much on speculation. It depends too much on attention. It can move, but it may not have enough structure underneath of it. Roar's approach is different. The idea is to make sure the platform, the wallet, the token, payments, rewards, and user activity are connected before the broader token economy is expected to carry too much weight. That is especially important as Roar expands on BASE. BASE is becoming one of the strongest environments for customer crypto, or for consumer crypto rather, stablecoin payments, builders, and emerging on-chain markets. The broader market is moving toward faster transactions, stablecoin settlement, on-chain commerce, and AI-driven activity. So when Roar talks about season three, this is not just another platform update. This is the beginning of the utility layer. This is where people start to see how the wallet connects to rewards, how rewards connect to participation, and how participation connects to liquidity and long-term ecosystem valued. The quick take here's the thing most people get wrong. They think utility is something you add later. But in a healthy ecosystem, utility needs to arrive before the market gets stuck. You want people using the system, earning in the system, accessing tools in the system, and building habits inside the system before the token is asked to do all of the heavy lifting. That is why this sequence matters. Wallet first, platform utility second. Then everything else gets stronger. Before we get into the next part of this, this might be a good moment to grab a coffee or reset for a second, because what we're about to get into goes a layer deeper.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

Now let's talk about the NFTs, because this is where a lot of people still need to update their thinking. As a matter of fact, we were at Consensus, and at the very beginning of Consensus, before we ever got there, they put an article out from the parent company at Coindesk and said that NFTs are dead and whatever, and the seasons passed and they're not useful anymore. We didn't even get two speakers into consensus, and they're saying NFTs are the future and people don't understand and they're so cutting edge or whatever. So this is where a lot of folks need to update their thinking. The BRS, which is coming out based Roar Society NFT, BRS is not just a collectible. It is the Sistri Executive Roar Society NFT, which we'll talk about in a minute. It's a part of the next access layer. It connects into identity, platform participation, rewards, and I say here future AI agenic utility, but it's already built in. Like we've already baked it in and we already do that work, but we're speaking about the releasing of that work to you is in the future. That is a big deal because the internet is moving toward a world where identity is no longer just human usernames and passwords. We're moving into a world of wallets, agents, delegated permissions, verified access, automated payments, and AI systems that may act on behalf of people or businesses. In that world, identity becomes more important, not less important. So the BRS NFT that's coming out on base chain is not only about status, it's about access, it's about eligibility, it's about being a part of the ecosystem before the next layers come online. And that's super important. You want to be positioned there before it happens. It also ties into golden ticket access and the reward structures around the liquidity multiplier and more in season three of the platforms. So that's huge. We haven't even started to talk about that yet, but that is a big, big, big reveal right here. That your BRS NFT gives you base access to Business in a box basic layer across the board. That is huge value. That's worth more than the NFT mint costs. And it also is tied into Agenic identity on the base chain, just like that. And that is a huge thing for X402 payments and more that are coming, as well as the next 10 years of development in the AI world, telling you that's huge. This is cutting edge tech. And beyond that, the rewards you get from our ecosystem, my lands, that's a lot, and there's more. So then after that, we have to talk about the ERS NFT. And you're like, Dustin, Executive War Society NFTs, that came out last year. Yes, it did. But its functionality is just getting started, as well as its access. Also has access to the base level of all business in a box and everything else we have, platform-wise. Also gives you a reward on the Ethereum blockchain for what you participate in in platform. And on top of that, it's got other features built in that we're not talking about in Pinhouse Suite, which I'll talk about in a minute. And it's whitelisting you, your wallet, for access to get into BRS first. So the ERS NFT has already had its place in the ecosystem. It's just expanding and more. But what becomes powerful is how ERS and BRS connect. Wallets can be whitelisted for BRS if you have an ERS NFT, or they are whitelisted. So there's a little surprise for you. You've made the snapshot. ERS and BRS can both function as access keys in all of our SAAS SaaS software. So Biz in a box and more. Both come with basic access to our platforms and our releases. So every time you hear a new release is coming out, we're always honoring that community first. Why do we do that? Because we told you we wouldn't forget you that you came along with us, you got your all access pass, and that's why we refer referred to it as the golden ticket. And this is a huge benefit for the OG community. So listen, you haven't even started to realize what we've given you in that. Go look at the prices of what it costs for people that are standing on the sidelines trying to get into these and realize that your subscription is included. Because Biz in a Box is not just another dashboard. Biz in a Box is designed to compress what normally takes months of development, strategy, integration, and coordination into a guided platform experience. For entrepreneurs, founders, web3 teams, communities, business owners, DAOs, and creators, that actually matters. The biggest pain in launching a Web3 business is not usually one thing. It's the entire stack. You need branding, you need token or NFT deployment, you need governance, you need treasury setup, you need analytics, you need marketing, you need community systems, you need investor discovery, you need compliance awareness, you need infrastructure, and you need legal and launching like LLCs and whatever and entities. I can tell you this there's a whole line of people that can help you do that who have booths at Consensus 2026, where we were a featured startup and one of the top finalists for the literal Super Bowl of crypto, and they can't get it done in three to four weeks. But all of that I just named, all and more, can be done in 21 minutes with our platforms. Let that just get down in your Goozle. Because most teams either spend heavily way too long or never launch because the cop the whole process is too complex. And and and I'm with them. You don't want to do it wrong because it could get hacked or something and it's fished or stolen or whatever. Biz in a box takes all of that away and attacks that problem directly. And that creates real business utility inside the Roar ecosystem. So let's go another layer deeper. The ROACHAIN Node License NFT. Yes, I'm talking about it. You've been asking. A lot of folks had questions. When do we get to do that? When do we get to use it? Well, let's just be really honest because we've gone through the development process with RAW chain 1.0. We've worked with partners to get you there. And they have even been responsible for helping us do this whole launch pad for the NFT license sale. They've also been responsible for making sure the nodes work in the system. And you know what we found out? We found out that we're never going to get there. We found out that the infrastructure wasn't being built nor supported by the core teams that had promised to get us there in the first place. Therefore, we went back to the actual Rails, and this year we're rolling it out. But that's a later announcement. Because this is the thing. That's not good enough for you. You've been held off too long. You've been pushed back too long. And we were too. We're the ones fighting with them, saying, when are we going to get it? When do we have this? When can we tell our community this is not right? We need more for them. And we pushed back and finally they gave us something. And we said, that's not good enough. And even giving you something that's the answer that we're doing later this year is not good enough. Right here, right now. Right here, right now, RCNL is built into the staking process and what we're doing in platform season three. Let that go ahead and blow your mind. Because we decided we're not waiting any longer. It's time for the community to know that we got your back. With Roar platform, we're already building it in. So this is one of the most important infrastructure pieces in our roadmap with our future chain. So the node license NFT, we know it's designed to do staking as well as to be a node participant, which now there's going to be three different kinds of node participants in that future chain to function and roll so that everyone gets to play, everyone gets a part, and OGs get really rewarded for everything they put in and waited for. And now, in our minds, that's important because the community shouldn't have to wait so long for the future infrastructure piece that's coming before being able to use live staking utility. And it needs to begin now. So with Roar Platform 3.0, staking starts now. Boom. That's the major community moment right there, guys. That's huge. It's a major community moment because it says we're not just asking people to believe in some far-off future. We are creating ways for holders to participate earlier in the infrastructure path. And that took a lot of work. Let me tell you something. We had to do a lot just to create the delegation systems involved to make it where a non-transferable NFT can function in a system like this. But you are worth it and we've done it. And when chain 2.0 comes online, those nodes license holders have the rights tied up to running real nodes or staking for shared returns on those nodes. That's not changing at all. We're giving you that. But now we're giving you access to something immediately that gives benefit. That gives the community a clearer role in the infrastructure layer. But now that this is the important point. These tokens, since they're non-transferable, it makes Roar Safe with delegation extremely important. And you haven't even heard about that yet. Roar Safe 2.0 is extremely important because inside of it is a delegation platform we built. And you can take the wallet you currently have and through that delegation function, create delegation from that wallet where your NFTs live that can't be transferred, but it can be delegated to your new ROAR wallet, mobile wallet, your ROAR safe, or anywhere else you want to give the authority of that NFT to. You probably are starting to wrap your head around what that means for security in your holdings and assets. When the assets can live on a wallet over here, and that wallet can delegate to a front-facing public wallet that never, ever, ever exposes your assets for loss, theft, or misuse, or even misfunction in a DAP, but you have the rights of it passed on to that public wallet. What I'm telling you is you could keep everything in a safe space and delegate over. We built that, knowing that it would benefit this. So you're gonna be able to delegate over to your Roar wallet, drop that Roar wallet on the Roar platform, and it's gonna let users have that safety layer built in. And it lets you participate without forcing you into an all or nothing custody decision, how you move everything over or do everything. And in 2026, that matters more than ever. Because as wallets become smarter and agents, AI agents begin interacting with payments, platforms, and permissions, the future is not just about having the assets, the future is about managing permissions safely. So let me roll back to what I'm saying. We built Roar Safe 2.0 that's coming out in a way that has delegation platform built in that functions along with what you're dealing with with your NFT for RCNL NFTs, which is your node license. We're giving you access to a multiplier for your staking to give you more back for use and utility on that immediately, even before the chain launches. And you can do it all from your new Roar wallet, which is not an upgrade, but a full rewrite of probably the best wallet we've ever seen anywhere. Hello, we are here. So we want to make sure that you understand we see all the complexity and we are up to the challenge, and you've been worth it. It's taken a lot of work and we've taken a lot of flack in the quiet, but now you can see why it was worth it. If your wallet becomes your identity, your access pass, your staking hub, your payment layer, and eventually your AI agent control center, how important does safe delegation become or wallet delegation become? The answer is extremely important. And let me say this on top of that. Banks will need this for vaulting. And then they will be able to custody in one place, and you will be able to control all of the rights and permissions on your other place and wallet. Think about it. Banks, if you're out there listening, you can reach out to us. We built the technology, we'd love to help you. So that's why the roadmap moves from NFTs and node licenses into Roar Safe and delegation. It's not random, it is sequence. And it builds into some other releases we haven't told you about yet. That'll be late Q4 or early Q1 and two of 2027. Identity creates access. Access creates participation. Participation creates rewards. Rewards create liquidity pressure. Liquidity supports utility. Utility makes a token economy healthier. And again, this is not financial advice, nor are we speaking future ease. We built this. So before we land this, take a second to think about how this actually shows up in your world because the next piece is where it all starts to connect. Brandon.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

Well, let's bring it all together. The Penthouse suite is where ERS and BRS access begin to meet. This is where the most engaged participants can start seeing early access, AI agent launch pad elements, and smaller agentic updates before they expand more broadly across the ecosystem. That matters because every strong ecosystem needs a place where the highest conviction users can participate first, not just watch, but participate. Then comes business in a box. And business in a box may be one of the clearest real-world use cases in the entire roadmap. Because it is not only about crypto users trading tokens, it is about helping people launch businesses. That creates a different kind of demand. If businesses are using the platform, if users are signing up, if rewards are being earned, if leaderboards are driving activity, if payments become part of the flow, and if communities are launching through the ecosystem, now you have utility that feels more like an economy. That is where liquidity becomes even more important. Not liquidity as a buzzword, liquidity as the thing that lets rewards move, lets payments function, lets participants act, and lets the platform economy breathe. If you have not seen the Business in a Box review and preview videos yet, stop by the website and take a look. That's bizinbox.io. The positioning is simple but powerful. What normally takes serious money, months of development, and a team of specialized people can be compressed into a guided launch experience. That's why Business in a Box matters. It connects Roar to builders, and builders are where ecosystems become real. Then we move into Roar Chain 2.0. This is the infrastructure side of the roadmap becoming more serious. The chain is not just about having a chain for the sake of having one. It is about creating the infrastructure layer that supports the ecosystem Roar is building, wallet activities, staking, access, transactions, payments, rewards, applications, AI tools, and the future financial rails. After that, the roadmap moves towards banking rails with one Roar running. Then a new Roar stablecoin through a partner launch pad with audits, legal, and compliance support connected to that partnership. That matters because the stablecoin market is no longer just a crypto niche. Stablecoins are becoming a serious payments and settlement layer. Businesses are looking at stable coins for cross-border payments, treasury, payroll, settlement, and 24 7 money movement. Regulators are also moving more directly into the space, which means the winners will likely be the ecosystems that combine utility with compliance aware infrastructure. From there, Roar moves towards banking in a box. Then Rohr financial. Including legacy banking, one roar backed debit and credit card concepts, Web3 loans, and funding options. And then comes the broader AI agentic launchpad. This is where the market timing gets really interesting. AI agents are beginning to move from chat tools into action tools. They will search, they will compare, they will transact, they will call APIs, they will manage workflows, they will need identity, they will need wallets, they will need payment rails, and they will need permissions. That is why X402 and Agenic payments are such a big market signal. When AI agents can pay for services, access tools, and complete transactions, the wallet becomes even more important. The identity layer becomes more important. Delegation becomes more important. Stable coins become more important. And Roar is building around those same categories wallet, identity, access, delegation, payments, stable coins, business tooling, AI agents, chain infrastructure. Looking further ahead, platform season four adds Roar chain 2.0 with one Roar token as the gas token and USDC targeted around Q1 to Q2 of 2027. That is the long arc. But the important thing is this Roar is not trying to skip straight to the finish line. It is building the layers in order. Wallet first, then platform utility, then NFTs for access identity and rewards, then node licensing and staking, then delegation and safer participation, then business utility, then chain infrastructure, then banking rails, then stablecoin and financial products, then AI agentic expansion. That is the sequence, and that sequence is the strategy. The Roar line, if there's one thing to take from this, it's this. Roar is not building products that sit next to each other. Roar is building layers that make each other stronger. That is why liquidity matters. The token should not float outside the ecosystem with no support. It should sit inside a functioning ecosystem where activity, access, payments, rewards, and utility all reinforce one another. That is the big why for 2026. The market is moving towards wallets that do more, stable coins that move faster, AI agents that transact, business tools that launch faster, and platforms that turn users into participants. Roar's opportunity is to connect those pieces before the market fully understands how important that connection is.

SPEAKER_00 25:44

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