Marvin Bantugan in Rick’s Room
In this episode of Rick’s Room, Rick Grant catches up with longtime friend and blockchain visionary Marvin Bantugan, CTO of Zventus. Together, they explore the renewed excitement around blockchain and cryptocurrency in the mortgage industry following a recent federal directive encouraging government agencies to consider crypto as an asset in mortgage origination.
Marvin, a longtime advocate for blockchain in housing finance, discusses why this policy shift signals a potential boom and how lenders need to prepare. He also explores the convergence of blockchain, AI, and Web3—emerging as the “real ticket” for digital transformation in financial services.
Show Highlights
Rick Grant: Hi and welcome back to Rick’s Room.
Today, I’m joined by a longtime friend and tech innovator—Marvin Bantugan, CTO of Zventus. Marvin, thanks for being here.
Marvin Bantugan: Thanks for having me, Rick. It’s always great to catch up.
Rick: It’s been too long! I think the last time we saw each other was at a tech conference four years ago.
Marvin: Yep, the MBA conference in Vegas. We caught up in the hallway—feels like forever ago.
Rick: That’s what this show is all about. At the end of a long day, we sit down and finally get to connect. So tell me—what have you been working on lately?
Marvin: Lots of exciting things, but one of the biggest right now is a major development in crypto and mortgage. At the end of June, the administration asked government agencies to consider accepting cryptocurrency as an asset in mortgage origination. If that happens—it could completely shift the game.
Rick: Wow. That’s a big move. You’ve been predicting this kind of thing for years. Are people ready?
Marvin: Some are, some aren’t. Big banks never stopped working on blockchain behind the scenes. I’ve been involved in tokenization projects myself. We’re seeing a quiet but powerful buildup. I expect a major burst of activity before year’s end.
Rick: If you were talking to a lender right now, what’s your advice?
Marvin: Stay informed. Watch the space. Don’t get caught up in hype—like what we saw recently with Robinhood and OpenAI tokens. But don’t sleep on it either. Also, assess your infrastructure—see where AI, blockchain, and Web3 might plug in. That’s the winning combination.
Rick: That kind of innovation used to take a decade. Now, AI changes by the week. Should lenders be worried about how fast this is moving?
Marvin: It’s already moving fast. I worked on a project last year where we connected a client’s entire knowledge base to a conversational AI—it passed the Turing test. So yes, speed is real.
Rick: That kind of capability is exciting—and scary. Can blockchain help us stay compliant as AI gets smarter?
Marvin: Absolutely. Blockchain is immutable and transparent. Paired with AI, it can serve as a real-time compliance agent. Some companies are already doing this.
Rick: Is this what you’re working on at Zventus?
Marvin: Yes. Zventus is a global consulting and co-sourcing firm. We operate in over 20 countries and have been doing blockchain, AI, and compliance work in healthcare, finance, and more.
Rick: What’s the risk if lenders ignore this?
Marvin: The risk is missing the next boom. You don’t need a massive blockchain budget right now, but you do need infrastructure readiness.
Rick: What about in healthcare?
Marvin: Very similar story. Healthcare is traditionally a technology laggard, but it’s opening up. We’ve seen great growth in implementing blockchain and AI solutions in that space.
Rick: We’ll definitely have to have you back to dive deeper into that. Marvin Bantugan, CTO of Zventus—thanks so much for being here.Marvin: Thanks, Rick. Always a pleasure.
