
The Defiant - DeFi Podcast
By Camila Russo

The Defiant - DeFi PodcastJun 27, 2020

Seamless Crosschain Interactions with Connext: The HTTP of Web3
Today we're joined by Arjun Bhuptani, founder and CEO of Connext Labs. We get an in-depth look at Connext, an important component in the Web 3 stack. In a world of many Layer 1s and Layer 2s, connecting the chains is so important, especially doing it in a secure way. We get into how they approach security, we dive into the nuance of Vitalik's post on bridging, we talk about rollups-as-a-service, how Connext abstracts away the hassle from a user standpoint around interacting with multiple chains, their proposal for bridged assets, as well as they're recent launch and so much more. But first, Arjun tells us about what he's focused on at Connext. Chapters
0:50 What is Arjun focused on?
1:37 History of Connext
4:26 Arjun's vision on Web3
8:42 Improving UX
12:54 Connext Users
14:55 Bridging
18:05 Where does Connext fit in Web3?
20:25 Connext Security
24:46 Connext Roadmap
27:33 XRC20
32:10 Competition
37:22 $NEXT Launch
40:41 $NEXT Utility
44:23 Connext DAO
46:24 What surprised Arjun the most
49:30 Decentralization
53:08 How is Arjun Defiant? ✨ Check out our new website ✨ https://thedefiant.io/ 🚀 Sign up to our newsletter 🚀 https://thedefiant.io/go-premium#pricing?utm_source=YT&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=signup 🤑 Find DeFi investment opportunities & educational primers here https://thedefiant.io/promo?utm_source=YT&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=alpha ✊ Follow The Defiant Twitter: https://twitter.com/defiantnews Discord: https://discord.com/invite/3SdRdEs5ag Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedefiant.io/ Telegram: https://t.me/DefiantNews 📬 Contact our Newsroom editorial@thedefiant.io 🤝 Sponsorships & Partnerships sponsors@thedefiant.io #TheDefiant #DeFi #Decentralized #Finance #Blockchain #Web3

Why Is dYdX Ditching Ethereum?
David Gogel is the VP of Strategy and Operations at the dYdX Foundation.
In today's podcast, David will discuss the recent milestone of the foundation operating on its independent app chain. This transition involved multiple stages and intriguing tokenomics mechanisms, marking a significant moment for the organization.
In our conversation, we will delve deeper into the evolution of this move and its implications, offering insights into dYdX's journey going forward.

Crypto has a major problem says MakerDAO Co-Founder
This conversation between The Defiant and Rune Christensen was recorded during Devconnect 2023 in Istanbul.
Chapters
0:28 Why Rune is in Istanbul
1:02 Crypto Adoption in Türkiye
5:03 Interest for DeFi in Türkiye
8:09 Emerging Markets
10:50 Regulatory Landscape in Türkiye
24:15 MakerDAO Rebrand
27:51 MakerDAO Endgame Update
33:57 MakerDAO's Exposure to T-Bills vs Macro Conditions
38:00 Different Stablecoins
47:14 MKR and Governance

Vitalik Buterin | Ethereum's Past, Present, Future & Thoughts on Türkiye
This conversation between The Defiant and Vitalik Buterin was recorded during Devconnect 2023 in Istanbul. Chapters 0:18 First time in Türkiye? 1:20 Significance of crypto in Türkiye 3:40 Key takeaways from Türkiye 4:56 Türkiye as a crypto hub 7:20 Vitalik's favorite Turkish dish 8:25 Ethereum roadmap update 12:03 Can the roadmap be dynamic? 14:25 Dencun upgrade 16:34 Rollup risks & costs 18:25 Scaling rollups 19:30 UX problems 22:27 Ethereum Security 23:25 Solution to centralized servers 26:53 Client centralization 33:18 Scaling with Plasma 39:50 L2 fragmentation 42:02 Sharding / Danksharding 44:40 Future of Ethereum 47:12 Vitalik responds to Anatoly 51:42 Ethereum's core message 56:09 Thoughts on DeFi ✨ Check out our new website ✨ https://thedefiant.io/

The Ultimate Guide to Bitcoin ETFs | Bloomberg Analyst Explains
The cryptocurrency world has been buzzing with news of a potential Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) in recent weeks.
The idea of a Bitcoin ETF has been around since 2013, with early proposals like the one from the Winklevoss twins facing repeated rejections by the SEC.
However, the recent optimism stems from BlackRock's involvement in the application process. This prominent financial institution's interest has reignited hope for the ETF's approval and sparked a new rally in the cryptocurrency market.
Investors see the ETF as a way to bridge the gap between traditional finance and crypto, potentially increasing Bitcoin's value and adoption. The market eagerly awaits the SEC's decision on BlackRock's application.

The MOST Crypto Friendly Nation In Europe?
This week's podcast features a number of interviews we conducted in Romania, during the xDay conference hosted by MultiversX.
In this podcast, we will hear from
- Beniamin Mincu - founder of MultiversX
- Bogdan Ivan - Romanian Minister of Digitalization
- Sheraz Ahmed - Managing Partner at Storm Partners
- Sunny Aggarwal - Co-Founder of Osmosis
- Sergiu Biriș - Head of Product at MultiversX
- Grigore Rosu - Founder of Runtime Verification
- Danilo Carlucci - Founder and CEO of Morningstar Ventures.
In this episode, we discuss the current state of MultiversX and the transition from Elrond, crypto adoption in Romania, Universal zkRollups and its benefits, upcoming trends and narratives, challenges lying ahead for MultiversX, and much more.
But first, Beniamin will introduce us to xDay.

Ethereum Staking: Centralization Risk, Lido vs Rocket Pool, $RPL + $RETH Utility
Darren Langley is the general manager of Rocket Pool which provides liquid staking services for ETH holders.
Liquid staking on Ethereum has been a major trend this year as it enables ETH holders to earn rewards by staking on the Ethereum network while additionally allowing stakers to seek financial opportunities with their staked ETH.
In our conversation, we will get into the Rocket Pool story since their ICO, details of what it takes to become an Ethereum validator and node operator, the utility of their native token, the issue of centralization among liquid staking protocols, and more.
But first, Darren will begin with an introduction to Rocket Pool.

Unlocking Trillions of Dollars with RWAs (Real World Assets)
Lucas Vogelsang is the founder of Centrifuge, a credit platform that brings Real World Assets onchain.
Real World Assets (RWAs) have been a growing sector in DeFi over the last year.
In our conversation, we’ll talk about how RWAs bridge the gap between tradfi and DeFi, how the process of beginning on institutional lenders and matching with real-life borrowers works, what protections are in place in case of loan defaults, and what the future looks like for this sector.
But first, Lucas will provide an overview of Centrifuge.

"Layer 2s and AppChains Will Converge" : Aurora Labs CEO Alex Shevchenko
Alex Shevchenko is the CEO of Aurora Labs, which is a Layer 2 scaling solution built on Near. Alex has a doctoral degree in math and physics.
Today, we get into the details behind Aurora Labs, the difference between Aurora Cloud and the Aurora EVM, how they have survived the market crash, Alex's vision of Ethereum Layer 2s, his conviction in an AppChain future, and so much more.
We begin our conversation with Alex's focus at Aurora Labs.

Blockchain Capital's Spencer Bogart on the Future of Crypto and DeFi
Today we're diving deep into the mind of Spencer Bogart, who is a partner at Blockchain Capital.
Spencer has played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of decentralized technologies and digital assets over the last decade.
We get into his journey impact in the blockchain sector, their investment thesis around the controversial WorldCoin, how he's continued to thrive among many economic downturns, and we get into their recent news of a $580 million for two new funds.
But first, Spencer tells us about the history of the firm.

What is MetaMask Snaps? Main Functions & Features Explained
This week, we were joined by Christian Montoya, Senior Product Manager for Metamask Snaps
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant. This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts.
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

Deep Dive into MetaMask Snaps with Director of Product Erik Marks
Erik Marks is the director of product for permissionless innovation at MetaMask.
MetaMask, the popular non-custodial wallet owned by Consensys, has been in the spotlight following the launch of Snaps on open beta. You can think of Snaps as plugins that allow developers to add new and different apps that we can use in MetaMask.
One of the biggest implications of this is that Snaps will connect MetaMask to non-Ethereum chains, including Bitcoin and Solana.
In our conversation, we dive deep into the vision and the broader implications of Snaps.

Mainstream Brands Are Joining Web3 In The Bear Market
Sean Li is the CEO and Co-founder of Magic Labs, which is a wallet that enables passwordless login and Web3 onboarding without seed phrases.
Despite not being as well known as other Web3 wallets, Magic Labs recently raised $52M from PayPal Ventures, onboarded mainstream brands like Mattel and 7-Eleven, and have over 25 million wallets installed.
In our conversation, we will dive into how they've built enterprise-friendly wallet solutions, their major collaborations, the onboarding process of Web2 brands and how they're using Web3 technology, how DeFi can be more palatable for the mainstream, and much more.
But first, Sean will get us started with Magic and describe how it's different from the other wallets.
This episode is brought to you by:
Bumper: Defend your crypto from market crashes & downside volatility

SEC Kills Stoner Cats' Buzz // friendtech Activity Surges
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant. This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts.
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

CFTC Cracks Down On DeFi
This week, we were joined by Will Warren and Ashley Ebersole from 0x to discuss the CFTC's recent enforcement actions against three DeFi protocols.
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant. This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts.
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

Exploring The State Of Solana With Anatoly Yakovenko
This week, we were joined by Anatoly Yakovenko, founder and CEO of Solana.
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant. This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts.
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

SEC Delays Bitcoin ETFs + Grayscale Ruling + Uniswap Class Action
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant. This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts.
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

Tether's CTO Explains Why USDT is Still Not Audited
In this episode of The Defiant podcast, we are joined by Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino.
We discuss Tether's banking partners, its reserve composition, its latest attestation, and why the stablecoin issuer still hasn't presented an audit. Ardoino puts some of the blame on auditing firms.

Friend Tech: Turn Your Friends Into Revenue // Tornado Cash Update
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant. This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts.
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

Reimagining Work and Community: Unveiling the Cabin Lifestyle and Polycentric Governance
Today we're joined by the driving force behind a venture that has redefined the concept of modern travel and community: Jon Hillis, the founder of Cabin, a network city for remote workers in nature, who is actively working to grow a global network of neighborhoods for people interested in community-centric living and working.
Cabin exists today and they have many different locations around the world. Cabin is a great example of merging the digital with the physical and using Web 3 tools in real life.
We delve into the purpose behind Cabin, how the COVID lockdowns inspired and allowed room for a Cabin to emerge, the shift in the remote work mindset, the different governance structures that exist within the DAO ecosystem, why Cabin chose polycentric governance, the best DAO practices, how you can get involved in Cabin communities and so much more.
But first, Jon will introduce us to Cabin.

Everything You Need To Know About Liquid Staking & LSTfi
This week, we dived into liquid staking and LSTFi, which has been the hottest narrative of 2023.
With special guests:
Amit Gajjala - cofounder, Stader Labs
Daniel Dizon - founder, Swell Network
Ken Chia - institutional sales, Pendle
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant. This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts.
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

Base: Coinbase's New Layer 2 Kicks Off
Jesse Pollak is the creator of Base, which is a Layer 2 scaling solution from Coinbase that launched last week.
Base has quickly become a trending topic this summer, attracting more than $200M of value in its short life. Coinbase is the world’s second-largest crypto centralized exchange by volume, and now it’s moving to the on-chain world, so it’s worth watching.
In our conversation, we dive into the origin story of Base, why opt for a Layer 2 and not start a new Layer 1, why go for Optimistic rollups, how Base is unique in the already crowded Layer 2 space, their decentralization road map and more.

PayPal launches stablecoin on Ethereum, Onchain Summer takes off, Fed updates
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant. This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts.
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

Revealing ONE Secret for Crypto Adoption: Art Blocks Founder Erick Calderon
Today we are joined by Erick Calderon, founder of Art Blocks. You may also know him as Snowfro. Erick is not only a talented artist but also a tech innovator and entrepreneur who has redefined the limits of artistic expression in the digital era. Today we get into how Art Blocks fosters creativity and community via the platform, how they differ from other projects, Erick's views on why you should even buy art in the first place, as well as his passion for generative art and decentralization. We also get into his views on the NFT market fluctuations and he shares a bit about the community of curators that are curating art on Art Blocks and how you can get involved there. But first, Erick will begin by telling us about his crypto origin story and early involvement in the Crypto Punks community.

WTF went down with Curve Finance?
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant. This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts.
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

Worldcoin goes Live, Bank of Italy taps Polygon, Avalanche asset tokenization
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant. This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts.
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

UniswapX, POL Token, MetaMask Snaps, Ripple Ruling
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant. This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts.
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

Red Pilling Institutions: Raising in the Bear Market and How CeFi implosions grew DeFi
Aya Kantorovich is the co-CEO and co-founder of Fractal, which is an infrastructure provider enabling institutions to clear, settle, and margin digital asset trades on-chain.
In today's podcast, Aya shares her founder journey at Fractal, the impact of the FTX collapse on institutional players, DeFi growth since many CeFi companies imploded, how Fractal is red-pilling institutions, as well as her prediction on how many institutions will be cosseting crypto and having tokens on the balance sheet in 5 to 10 years time and so much more.
But first, Aya tells us about her crypto journey thus far.

Linea is a new ZK Rollup from Consensys - but how is it different from the others?
Nicolas Liochon is the Global Lead for Linea, which is a new zkEVM rollup by Consensys. Rollups play a crucial role in scaling Ethereum as they reduce computational load on the main network by processing transactions off-chain. The two prominent rollups currently available on Ethereum are ZK Rollups and Optimistic Rollups, and Linea is the latest ZK Rollup to launch.
In our conversation, we will explore how Linea sets itself apart in the already highly competitive Ethereum Layer 2 landscape. But first, we will begin our conversation with an introduction to Linea.

Learning Linea: zkEVM from Consensys + Arkham CEO shares intel
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant. This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts.
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

Ethereum is "Terrifyingly" Centralized but there's a way out, ether.fi founder says
Mike Silagadze is the founder and CEO of ether.fi, which is a new player in ethereum staking space, which allows stakers to control their keys while delegating their stake. A reminder that Ethereum now runs on Proof of Stake, which requires users to deposit, or stake, their ETH. Ethereum’s Shapella upgrade introduced the ability for early stakers to withdraw their ETH, which made Ethereum staking and the projects around it one of the hottest themes of crypto this year. Tokens that function as a receipt of staked ETH, called Liquid Staking Tokens, grew in popularity, as did concerns about centralization. We will begin our conversation with an introduction to ether.fi, followed by their differentiation in the already competitive liquid staking sphere.
Thanking our podcast sponsors:
Parcl is the decentralized real estate trading platform that is making it easier to get exposure to global real estate. For a limited time get 10% back on your first trade.
Arch, the crypto asset management platform that helps you maximize returns with diversified and gas-efficient investment strategies. Learn more at https://www.arch.finance/best-of-web3.
IPOR Protocol, the home of interest rate benchmarks, derivatives, structured products, and some of the best stablecoin yields in DeFi.

What's Next for the Crypto Markets with Alex Krüger
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant. This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts.
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

How The World's First Web3 Company ConsenSys Is Catalyzing Ethereum’s Growth
Neal Gorevic is the Chief Marketing Officer at ConsenSys, which drives Ethereum ecosystem development. ConsenSys is behind key pieces of Ethereum infrastructure, including Metamask and Infura. In today's podcast, Neal discusses his transition from web2 marketing at Spotify, to web3 marketing. He goes into why ConsenSys is rebranding and provides insights into the strategic vision for the company. But first, we begin our conversation with an introduction on why Neal decided to make the jump to crypto.
Thanking our podcast sponsors:
- Parcl, the decentralized real estate trading platform is making it easier to get exposure to global real estate. For a limited time get 10% back on your first trade.
- Asymetrix, a decentralized, non-custodial protocol offering asymmetric yield distribution from staking. Stake your ETH for a chance to reap substantial staking rewards, while always earning ASX tokens at a solid 20% APR, no matter the outcome.
- Arch, crypto asset management platform that helps you maximize returns with diversified and gas-efficient investment strategies. Learn more at https://www.arch.finance/best-of-web3
- IPOR Protocol, the home of interest rate benchmarks, derivatives, structured products, and some of the best stablecoin yields in DeFi.

Consensys Reveals A Global Crypto Awakening
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant. This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts.
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

Wall Street Veteran Explains How US Regulators Are Protecting Incumbents
Today, we're joined by Caitlin Long, the founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, which provides payment rails and custody services for digital assets.
We explore the recent surge of institutional interest in crypto, regulatory pressure in the US, and whether US regulators are prioritizing investor protection or incumbent interest.
But first, we start by delving into Caitlin's journey as an early adopter of blockchain tech.

Uniswap V4 Deep Dive with Head of Protocols Sara Reynolds
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant.
This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts. Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

The Key to Crypto's Mass Adoption? Coinbase Says it's Wallet as a Service
Today we're joined by Coinbase's head of cryptography, Yehuda Lindell. He has big news to share as Coinbase just released WaaS which is an MPC wallet. Some are calling this one of the most exciting products from Coinbase yet. Yehuda has an impressive track record. He's a former professor and the former CEO of Unbound Tech, a cybersecurity company specializing in privacy and key management solutions. Unbound Tech, the company Yehuda co-founded, was acquired by Coinbase. Yehuda leads the cryptography team at Coinbase, driving innovation in the field of secure computation and increased privacy and data security. On today's podcast, we dive into the cryptography team at Coinbase, the new innovative wallet that might just be the key to mass adoption for crypto, bringing self-custody to the masses where we're expecting tech giants to jump on this new wallet opportunity, how WaaS compares to holding crypto on exchanges and Multisigs, Coinbase Self-Custody and beyond. We also get into Yehuda’s advice for aspiring cryptographers and so much more. But first, Yehuda tells us what he's focused on inside of Coinbase.

Ethereum Layer 2 Battle: Matter Labs CEO Explains Why He Thinks ZK-Rollups Will Win
Today we are joined by Alex Gluchowski, the co-founder and CEO of Matter Labs. Matter Labs is the initial team behind zkSync. Alex is a renowned physicist and entrepreneur. Today we dive into the founding story of zkSync, the launch of zkSync, why they chose to help scale Ethereum, and if they stand by that decision today, the zkSync mission, alpha around getting into zkSync today, when token, as well as new use cases on zkSync and so much more. But first, Alex is going to tell us the founding story of zkSync

How Arbitrum is Scaling Ethereum, Layer 2 Challenges, Governance Scandal and ZK Threats
Steven Goldfeder is the founder of OffChain Labs. OffChain Labs is a company focused on Ethereum scaling solutions and known primarily for building Arbitrum, which is currently Ethereum's biggest Layer 2. In our conversation, Steven will explain how OffChain Labs is addressing the scalability challenges of Ethereum by utilizing off-chain computation and optimistic rollups. We get into the Arbitrum airdrop, its governance drama, the big vision for Arbitrum and Layer 2s as a whole, and what the next milestones are for the scaling solution. But first, Steven starts the interview by explaining the basics of Arbitrum.

Bitcoin NFTs (Ordinals) are going crazy, LST Summer, Moonbirds Drama
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant.
This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts. Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

Ethereum's "Systemic Risk", PulseChain, Solana AI, Multichain issue, Tornado Cash
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant.
This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts. Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

Goldfinch Founders Talk Triple-Digit Growth and UX Upgrades in DeFi
Today we are joined by the cofounding forces behind Goldfinch, Blake West and Mike Sall. They share with us about what they learned from over 70 user interviews from everyone from Blackrock, Apollo to retired nurses, as well as their excitement around the user experience improvements for the entire Web3 and crypto space and how that UX and UI improvement will impact the Goldfinch Protocol. They also dive into how they saw 162% year-over-year growth in 2022 with no defaults. Blake and Mike give us insight into their thoughts on how crypto will reshape the global economy, expanding access to capital around the world and what they're building to make that possible. But first they give us the TL;DR of Goldfinch as well as what they're both focused on.

Chainlink Challenged: Competition Emerges for LinkMarines
Today we're joined by Jacob and Marcin, co-founders of RedStone. RedStone is an oracle in the crypto space picking up steam. We get into the nitty-gritty details of oracles, how RedStone is going up against the oracle monolith Chainlink, how they differentiate, and they share an exclusive update with us. But first, we begin with Jakub and Marcin's introductions and what they're working on inside of RedStone.

✨Special Guest: Ian Rogers discusses Ledger Recover. EU's MiCA, Tether Buys BTC, SEC Pushes Back
Weekly Recap is your one-stop show for the most compelling news of the week, brought to you by the writers at The Defiant.
This series delves deeper into our reports, revealing further insights and perspectives that help you make sense of the latest developments.
Every Friday, we go live on our YouTube channel, offering a unique mix of analysis and commentary. Stay informed and ahead of the curve by tuning into our weekly broadcasts. Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel for a regular dose of content that keeps you in the loop!

Polygon Co-Founder Mihailo Bjelic: Exploring Layer 3's, zkEVM, and NFL, Starbucks, Disney, Reddit, Adidas Partnerships
This week's episode stars Mihailo Bjelic, co-founder of Polygon. We get into the juicy details behind what went on with the zkEVM launch a few months back, Mihailo’s thesis on Layer 3’s, how Polygon secured brand deals with the NFL, Starbucks and others, and what he's most excited about in 2023. But first, Mihailo shares what he's been focused on at Polygon.

Blockchain Detective Taylor Monahan Explains $10M Hack and How to Stay Safe in Crypto
Taylor Monahan is the founder of MyCrypto, an Ethereum wallet, and today she’s helping build MetaMask. As part of her job, she has become a full-time blockchain detective. She’s also a character in my book, The Infinite Machine! Taylor is the first one who alerted us to the fact that in the past several months, a mysterious hack has taken over crypto wallets, draining $10 million worth of ether from OGs in the space. We begin our conversation with Taylor breaking down the hack from the beginning and also the latest in this saga. Then we go over her own, long history in the space, she gives risk management advice for crypto users and developers, and ponders some deep questions on whether code is law and whether DeFi should really be immutable.
🙏 Thanking our podcast sponsor:
Stader Labs, a multi-chain liquid staking platform with 40k+ DeFi partnerships across 6 chains, is coming to Ethereum soon. Sign up to get alpha on ETHx—their ETH LST. Be the first to know about $1M in DeFi rewards!

Binance Lists $PEPE, Coinbase International, takeaways from the Fed meeting
The Weekly Recap is where The Defiant reporters discuss the week's hottest news and share further insights from our reports.
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From AWS to Aave & Lens Protocol: Nader Dabit Explains Web 3 Social Media
Today we are joined by the all-around dev phenomenon Nader Dabit. Nader has become a household name across the developer community with his combination of to-the-point tutorials, live coding demos and interviews focused on modern web development, Web 3, AI, cloud computing and more. He's always learning and experimenting in public. Nader is currently the Director of Dev Relations at Aave/Lens. Today, he'll get to do some details behind his journey into Web 3 starting with The Graph, decentralized social media, the devs building on the Lens Protocol, Lens infrastructure and he'll give us a mini deep dive into gasless transactions via Lens. But first, Nader tells us about what it was like being early to AWS before he made his switch into Web 3 full-time.
🙏 Thanking our podcast sponsors:
- Stader Labs, a multi-chain liquid staking platform with 40k+ DeFi partnerships across 6 chains, is coming to Ethereum soon. Sign up to get alpha on ETHx—their ETH LST. Be the first to know about $1M in DeFi rewards!

Ethereum Name Service: Nick Johnson's Journey from Google to Ethereum, ENS Roadmap, and Cancel Culture
Today we are joined by the ma behind ENS - the Ethereum Name Service. Since we last chatted with Nick in 2021, he has made ENS a household name across the crypto industry and beyond. Nick and I get into the details behind the ENS roadmap, including the latest V3 announcement, what it was like for Nick to go from Google to the Ethereum Foundation to founding ENS, and the inside scoop on last year's drama with Brantly and the current culture at ENS and so much more. But first, Nick is going to tell us the founding story of ENS and how he managed to go from Google to Ethereum to founding ENS.
🙏 Thanking our podcast sponsors:
Stader Labs, a multi-chain liquid staking platform with 40k+ DeFi partnerships across 6 chains, is coming to Ethereum soon. Sign up to get alpha on ETHx—their ETH LST. Be the first to know about $1M in DeFi rewards!

Bringing Institutions and Businesses to DeFi: Maple Finance's Sidney Powell
Sidney Powell is the co-founder and CEO of Maple Finance. Maple is a DeFi platform that offers uncollateralized loans and facilitates interactions between institutional borrowers and lenders. In our conversation we dive into Sidney’s background, how uncollateralized loans work, how the bear market affected Maple, the benefits of blockchain-based financial systems and more. We begin our conversation with Sidney giving us an intro to Maple Finance.
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🙏 Thanking our podcast sponsors:
- Stader Labs is a non-custodial multi-chain liquid staking platform with 40k+ DeFi partnerships across 6 chains. Sign-up for our ETHx alpha list today and be the first to know about $1M in DeFi rewards!
- This episode is brought to you by Silo Finance, the risk-isolated lending market on Ethereum and Arbitrum. Lend and Borrow your favorite crypto without compromising on security. Learn more: https://silopedia.silo.finance/welcome/what-is-silo-finance