Epicenter - Learn about Crypto, Blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin and Distributed Technologies

In this episode, host Friederike Ernst is joined by Alex Svanevik, CEO of Nansen, to explore the platform's radical pivot from passive on-chain analytics to active, AI-driven agentic trading. Alex unpacks the technical hurdles of labeling over 500 million addresses, the transition from raw data into harmonized insights, and why true alpha now lies in attribution rather than raw data . He explains how Nansen uses ClickHouse databases and a mix of algorithmic heuristics, agentic teams, and human specialists to maintain the highest industry precision. The conversation dives deep into the intersection of LLMs and blockchain, exploring how standard AI models lack domain-specific common sense and why Nansen augments them with real-time data and visual "artifacts". Alex introduces "Nansen Gym," a simulated historical replay environment for training trading agents and teases the upcoming release of "Smart Money 2.0", which aims to predict future profitable addresses with 2-3x uplift on precision. Finally, they discuss the existential risks of AI, the striking parallels between open-source AI and early DeFi, and why Alex believes agentic trading will be the absolute default by 2028. Chapters 00:00 Intro & Context 04:15 Nansen's Evolution & Agentic Trading 09:30 Harmonizing Data & The Attribution Layer 15:00 Deterministic vs. Inferred Labeling (Uniswap vs. Binance) 21:45 Evaluating AI Agents: LLMs as Judges 27:10 User Privacy & Public Blockchain Realities 35:20 Building a Unified Trading OS 42:15 Smart Money 2.0: Predicting Which Wallets Win 49:00 The Limitations of Vanilla LLMs in Crypto 55:30 Nansen Gym & Time-Traveling AI Agents 59:45 The Open Source AI vs. DeFi Parallel Links Alex Svanevik on X: https://x.com/ASvanevik Nansen: https://www.nansen.ai/ NEAR: https://near.ai/ Sponsors: NEAR AI Cloud now lets developers deploy OpenClaw—the rapidly growing open-source AI agent platform—inside Trusted Execution Environments, providing hardware-level encryption with cryptographic attestations. With OpenClaw on NEAR AI Cloud, you can run agents with cloud convenience, but without traditional cloud data exposure. No hardware to manage. No trust assumptions required. Learn more at near.ai.

In this episode, host Friederike Ernst is joined by John Paller, founder of ETH Denver, to reflect on nine seasons of North America's largest Ethereum gathering and where the ecosystem goes next. John shares his "red pill" moment in 2016 and the subsequent realization that Ethereum was not just a corporate efficiency tool, but a way to rewire the global economic system. He discusses the evolution of the Biddle meme and how ETH Denver has become a market-driven aggregator for crypto's shifting narratives, from DeFi summer to the current era of institutional adoption. They delve into a candid critique of the Ethereum Foundation’s "Infinite Garden" philosophy, with John arguing for more "structural vision" and actionable roadmaps to compete with the aggressive narratives of chains like Solana. The conversation highlights Agentic AI as the ultimate "Trojan Horse" for mass adoption, enabling a future where users interact with sovereign bots rather than complex private keys. Finally, John explains his Regulation Membership proposal to the US Congress, aiming to provide a federal securities exemption for on-chain cooperatives and restore true economic agency to the "little man." Topics 00:00 Intro & Context 04:15 Recruitment Tech to Ethereum: John’s Genesis Story 09:30 Inventing the "Biddle" Meme at Denver 2018 15:00 Is Ethereum a "Neo Casino" or a Settlement Layer? 21:45 Critiquing Idealism: The Infinite Garden vs. Reality 27:10 Why Solana is Not "Sufficiently Decentralized 35:20 Agentic AI: The End of signing Transactions manually 42:15 The Roman Catholic Church & Institutional Co-opting 49:00 German Cooperative Culture & On-Chain Credit Unions 55:30 Regulation Membership & The SEC Challenge 59:45 Zero Knowledge Identity & Privacy Rights Links John Paller on X: https://x.com/PallerJohn ETH Denver: https://www.ethdenver.com/ Opolis: https://opolis.co/ Lido: https://lido.fi/stvaults?mtm_campaign=epicenter NEAR: https://near.ai/ Sponsors: 1. Lido V3 introduces stVaults: modular staking infrastructure that lets builders and institutions deploy custom staking vaults, while staying anchored to stETH as a shared liquidity layer. Get started building with Lido V3 today: https://lido.fi/stvaults?mtm_campaign=epicenter 2. NEAR AI Cloud now lets developers deploy OpenClaw—the rapidly growing open-source AI agent platform—inside Trusted Execution Environments, providing hardware-level encryption with cryptographic attestations. With OpenClaw on NEAR AI Cloud, you can run agents with cloud convenience, but without traditional cloud data exposure. No hardware to manage. No trust assumptions required. Learn more at near.ai.

In this episode, host Sebastian Couture is joined by Chris Yin, CEO of Plume Network, to deconstruct the current state of Real World Assets (RWAs) and why the sector is at a pivotal inflection point. Chris argues that most RWA projects today are functionally "worse on-chain" because they lack liquidity, composability, and the "crypto-native" user experience that made stablecoins successful. He details how Plume is solving this through a custom L1 stack and the Nest vault protocol, which tokenizes high-yield assets like Brazilian credit card receivables and oil production for a global market. They explore the friction between traditional finance and DeFi, highlighting why private credit's long duration makes it unsuitable for the "looping" and leverage that drives crypto demand. Chris explains the significance of Plume’s SEC Transfer Agent license and its role in bridging the gap between regulated funds and permissionless rails. Finally, the conversation tackles the "bleak" vs. "optimistic" future of crypto, asking whether the industry will maintain its core principles of self-custody and decentralization as it searches for a "new daddy" in institutional capital. Topics 00:00 Intro & Context 04:15 The Job of a Founder: Finding Change 09:30 Crypto Natives vs. TradFi Suites 15:00 Stablecoins: The Only RWA That Matters (Today) 21:45 The Bottleneck: It’s Not Tokenization, It’s Demand 27:10 Why Build an L1 for Assets? 35:20 SEC Transfer Agent License Explained 42:15 Nest Alpha: Blending Oil, Credit, and T-Bills 49:00 Is Leverage Sustainable for Institutions? 55:30 The Exodus: Will Crypto Values Survive? Links Chris Yin on X: https://x.com/chriseyin Plume Network: https://www.plumenetwork.com/ Nest: https://nest.plumenetwork.com/ NEAR: https://near.ai/ Sponsors: NEAR AI Cloud now lets developers deploy OpenClaw—the rapidly growing open-source AI agent platform—inside Trusted Execution Environments, providing hardware-level encryption with cryptographic attestations. With OpenClaw on NEAR AI Cloud, you can run agents with cloud convenience, but without traditional cloud data exposure. No hardware to manage. No trust assumptions required. Learn more at near.ai.

In this episode, host Friederike Ernst is joined by Michael Svoboda, CEO of Liquid AG, to discuss Liquity V2 and the launch of the BOLD stablecoin. Michael explains how Liquity maintains a governance-free, immutable architecture to provide "sovereign dollars" that are not dependent on human committees or centralized backstops. He introduces user-set interest rates, a novel DeFi primitive where borrowers determine their own rates to balance their cost of capital against the risk of being redeemed by stablecoin holders. They explore the technical mechanics of the BOLD stablecoin, its multi-collateral backing of ETH and LSTs, and why the protocol funnels 100% of fees directly to users rather than extracting rent. Michael also shares his analogy of crypto-native stablecoins as "electric engines" that offer a fundamentally different risk profile from traditional banking rails. Finally, the conversation dives into the impact of global regulations like MiCA and why the future of finance belongs to peer-to-peer credit markets. Topics 00:00 Intro & Context 04:15 Why Banking is Under Pressure 09:30 From V1 to Liquity V2 15:00 User-Set Rates Explained21:45 Redemptions & Peg Stability 27:10 Collateral Risk: ETH & LSTs 35:20 Cefi vs. Defi Risk Spectrum 42:15 Is Immutability Dogmatic? 49:00 Revenue Distribution & Self-Sustainability 55:30 Non-USD Stables & Global Shifts Links Michael on X: https://x.com/svobodamichael Liquity: https://www.liquity.org/ Bluechip: https://bluechip.org/ Lido: https://lido.fi/stvaults?mtm_campaign=epicenter Sponsors: Lido V3 introduces stVaults: modular staking infrastructure that lets builders and institutions deploy custom staking vaults, while staying anchored to stETH as a shared liquidity layer. Get started building with Lido V3 today: https://lido.fi/stvaults?mtm_campaign=epicenter

In this episode, host Friederike Ernst is joined by Thomas Thiery, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, to discuss EIP-7805 and the implementation of FOCIL (Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists). Thomas explains how the rise of MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) has created a centralized builder market where a few actors now control over 85% of Ethereum's block production, creating a dangerous bottleneck for censorship. FOCIL addresses this by empowering a decentralized committee of 16 validators to mandate transaction inclusion, making any block that ignores these lists invalid. They explore the "Tornado Cash" moment and the risks of "silent censorship" for competitive or regulatory reasons. Thomas explains why FOCIL intentionally prioritizes the public mempool over MEV-heavy transactions to prevent the system from being co-opted. Finally, the conversation looks at the future of the Ethereum roadmap, including the Osaka fork and the technical trade-offs between inclusion lists and long-term privacy solutions like encrypted mempools. Topics 00:00 Intro & FOCIL 04:15 MEV & Centralization 09:30 The Builder-Searcher Pipeline 15:00 Silent Censorship Risks 21:45 FOCIL Architecture & Committees 27:10 Validity Rules for Attestors 35:20 Spam Protection & Invalid TXs 42:15 FOCIL vs. Encrypted Mempools 49:00 EIP-7805 Status & Fork Timelines 55:30 Future: PQC & ZK EVM Links Thomas Thiery on X: https://x.com/soispoke Ethereum Foundation: https://ethereum.foundation/ EIP-7805 (FOCIL): https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-7805 Gnosis: https://gnosis.io/ Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis has been building core decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. With the launch of Gnosis Pay last year, we introduced the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power today at http://gnosis.io

In this episode, we are joined by Zach Abrams, CEO of Bridge, to unpack the infrastructure behind the next generation of global payments. Zach discusses Bridge’s mission to move stablecoins beyond mere trading use cases and into core financial services, a vision that recently led to its landmark acquisition by Stripe . He explains how stablecoins function as an innovation at every layer of the money stack, enabling payments that are fundamentally faster and cheaper than legacy systems like ACH or SEPA. They delve into the technical "puzzle pieces" of payments, from the inefficiencies of FBO bank accounts to the "cheat code" of compounding growth in the stablecoin sector. Zach introduces the concept of Stablecoin Orchestration and details why the current USDC/USDT duopoly is unaligned with high-velocity payments due to rent-seeking burn fees and AUM-focused models . Finally, the conversation explores the future of consumer finance, where non-custodial wallets act as bank replacements and a pluralistic ecosystem of local, company-issued stablecoins challenges the dominance of the US dollar Topics 00:00 Intro & Context 04:15 Legacy Rails vs. Stablecoin Innovation 09:30 The "Cash App" Hack & Payments Creativity 15:00 Why Bridge Joined Stripe 21:45 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Startup Needs 27:10 Stablecoin Orchestration & Issuance Explained 35:20 The Duopoly Problem: Why USDC/USDT Isn't Enough 42:15 Orthogonal Competition: The "Europe" of Stablecoins 49:00 Wallets as the New Primary Bank Account 55:30 Regrets of a "Child of the Depression" Founder Links Zach Abrams on X: https://x.com/ZCAbrams Bridge: https://bridge.xyz Stripe: https://stripe.com Gnosis: https://gnosis.io/ Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis has been building core decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. With the launch of Gnosis Pay last year, we introduced the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power today at http://gnosis.io

In this episode, recorded live at Buidl Europe 2026, host Sebastian Couture leads a panel with Ben Lakoff (Bankless Ventures), Richard Muirhead (Fabric Ventures), Aurora Orellana (G20 Strategies), and Matthew Arrow (Dark Forest). Together, they tackle the existential question facing the industry: can Cypherpunk values like self-custody and permissionless survive as multi-billion dollar institutions become the primary drivers of adoption? The discussion delves into the tension between individual sovereignty and the regulatory reach of organizations like the FATF, which they describe as a "Goliath" accountable to no one. They explore the concept of the "DeFi Mullet" a centralized user interfaces powered by decentralized backends and how privacy tech is becoming essential not for institutions seeking defensible competitive moats. Finally, the conversation looks at how global competition between jurisdictions will define the next decade of financial freedom and what it truly means to be a Cypherpunk in 2026. Topics 00:00 Intro & Context 04:15 Cypherpunk Values in an Institutional World 09:30 Permissionless Deployment & Self-Custody 15:00 The Regulatory Spectrum: KYC vs. Freedom 21:45 The FATF & Global Financial Surveillance 27:10 Jurisdictional Competition & Portability 35:20 Selling Privacy to Institutions vs. Individuals 42:15 The DeFi Mullet & Atomic Settlement 49:00 Barriers to Entry: Legacy Mainframes & Career Risk 55:30 What it Means to be a Cypherpunk in 2026 Links Ben Lakoff on X: https://x.com/benlakoff Richard Muirhead on X: https://x.com/RichardMuirhead Matthew Arrow on X: https://x.com/mattarrow Bankless Ventures: https://bankless.ventures/ Fabric Ventures: https://www.fabric.vc/ Gnosis: https://gnosis.io/ Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis has been building core decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. With the launch of Gnosis Pay last year, we introduced the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power today at http://gnosis.io

In this episode, host Brian Crain is joined by Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, to discuss the exchange's rapid ascent and its ambitious roadmap for 2026. Gracy shares her journey from a mathematics background and journalism into the C-suite of a top-tier exchange, detailing Bitget's growth from a team of 150 to over 2,200 employees. She outlines the concept of the "Universal Exchange" (UEX) a unified platform where the boundaries between crypto, tokenized equities, and commodities effectively disappear. They explore how Bitget is leveraging Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and AI-driven advisory tools like Get Agent to redefine user acquisition and trading intelligence. Gracy also provides a candid outlook on the "altcoin fading" phenomenon, arguing that the market is shifting toward blue-chip assets and real-world utility. Finally, they discuss the immense challenges of global regulatory compliance, including Bitget’s priorities for securing MiCA licenses and navigating a potential entry into the complex US market. Topics - 00:00 Intro & Crypto Beginnings - 05:45 The Origin of Bitget - 10:15 The "Universal Exchange" (UEX) Vision - 16:30 Tokenized Stocks vs. TradFi Brokers - 22:00 Competition: CEX, DEX, & Robinhood - 28:15 AI in Trading: Get Agent & GEO - 34:40 The State of Altcoins in 2026 - 41:00 Global Compliance: MiCA & US Markets - 55:30 2026 Market Predictions Links - Gracy Chen on X: https://x.com/GracyBitget - Bitget: https://www.bitget.com/ - Bitget Wallet: https://web3.bitget.com/ - Gnosis: https://gnosis.io/ Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis has been building core decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. With the launch of Gnosis Pay last year, we introduced the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power today at http://gnosis.io

In this episode, hosts Sebastien Couture, Brian Crain, and Friederike Ernst gather for their annual wrap-up to discuss the end of the "infinite money glitch": the era where tokens traded at billions without proven product-market fit. They explore the 2025 "spring cleaning" that devastated the altcoin market and the quiet, efficient entry of web2 incumbents like Revolut and Stripe. The discussion centers on the industry's maturation into a space where protocols are finally judged on their ability to generate real revenue and growth. The team analyzes the 2025 "spring cleaning" of altcoins alongside Polymarket’s mainstream breakout. As giants like Stripe and Revolut scale crypto integrations, the hosts debate if consolidating distribution power is diluting the original promise of decentralized agency. Finally, they address the existential quantum threat to Bitcoin and share their 2026 "hot takes. Topics 00:00 Intro & Notable Memories 04:30 The Bybit Hack & Price Action 08:15 Polymarket & The Mainstream Breakout 12:00 The Altcoin "Spring Cleaning" 18:45 Axelar & The Circle Acquisition 25:30 Incumbents: Back-end Upgrades vs. Values 33:15 Social Media & The Economics of Attention 42:00 Staking Consolidation & Distribution Power 50:30 The Quantum Threat to Bitcoin 58:45 2026 Predictions: RWAs & Perps Links Sebastien on X: https://x.com/seb3point0 Brian on X: https://x.com/crainbf Friederike on X: https://x.com/tw_tter Gnosis: https://gnosis.io/ Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis has been building core decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. With the launch of Gnosis Pay last year, we introduced the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power today at http://gnosis.io

In this episode, host Sebastian Couture is joined by Ismael Hishon-Rezaizadeh, CEO of Lagrange, to explore the intersection of frontier cryptography and national security. Ismael discusses the transition of zero-knowledge (ZK) technology from a "token-centric" crypto tool to a vital component of defense, specifically focusing on its role in securing autonomous drone swarms and closing the hypersonic missile gap. They delve into Deep Proof, Lagrange's ZK-machine learning library, which facilitates verifiable AI execution while protecting sensitive model intellectual property and private input data. Ismael introduces the concept of "Accountable Autonomy," arguing that cryptographic proofs are necessary to ensure that lethal "kill chain" decisions are made by the correct models under verified inputs, removing the risks inherent in "black box" AI decision-making. Finally, the conversation touches on the geopolitical competition with China, the importance of domestic chip manufacturing, and why the US market's ability to align private sector innovation with military needs is a decisive strategic advantage. Topics 00:00 Intro & Context 04:15 ZKML vs. Venice 09:30 Protecting Model IP 15:00 Dual-Use Defense Pivot 21:45 The Palantir Comparison 27:10 US-China Chip Race 35:20 Drone Swarm Consensus 42:15 Accountable Autonomy Explained 49:00 Kill Chain Verifiability 55:30 EU vs. US Defense Links Ismael on X: https://x.com/Ismael_H_R Lagrange Labs: https://www.lagrange.dev/ Anduril Industries: https://www.anduril.com/ Gnosis: https://gnosis.io/ Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis has been building core decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. With the launch of Gnosis Pay last year, we introduced the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power today at http://gnosis.io

Fresh off the launch of the Ignition Chain and a successful community-led $61M token sale, Aztec Network co-founder Zac Williamson joins Friederike Ernst to unpack the "existential" journey of building programmable privacy. Zac opens up about the "sacrificial altar" moment where the team decided to kill their live product, Aztec Connect which had 60k users because they realized true decentralized privacy required rebuilding from scratch rather than iterative upgrades. They dive deep into the architecture of the new network, which utilizes a hybrid state model (encrypted UTXOs for privacy, public accounts for transparency) to enable composable applications. Zac challenges the cryptographic dogma of "don't roll your own crypto," arguing that for pioneers, relying on "battle-tested" libraries is impossible. He explains why decentralized sequencers are not just a moral choice but a security necessity to prevent government-mandated backdoors. Finally, Zac contrasts the chaotic but decentralized resistance to surveillance in the US with the increasing top-down control in the UK and Europe, framing Aztec as essential "defense in depth" for the digital age. Topics 00:00 Intro 03:45 The "Sacrificial Altar": Killing Aztec Connect 10:15 Hybrid Architecture: UTXOs vs. Accounts 16:30 Why You Must "Roll Your Own Crypto" 22:00 Decentralization as a Defense Against Backdoors 28:15 Performance: Throughput & Latency Trade-offs 34:40 Private Smart Contracts: Gaming & Identity 41:00 The Macro View: US vs. EU Surveillance Links Gnosis: https://gnosis.io/ Zac Williamson on X: https://twitter.com/Zac_Aztec Aztec Network: https://aztec.network Noir Language: https://noir-lang.org Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis has been building core decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. With the launch of Gnosis Pay last year, we introduced the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power today at http://gnosis.io

Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin joins Friederike Ernst to discuss why we are at the "end of a supercycle," a chaotic transition period where legacy institutions are finally adopting blockchain rails not just for efficiency, but for survival. They explore the "inevitable convergence" where the US government may actively rely on stablecoins to absorb debt, effectively using crypto to extend the lifespan of the dollar. At the same time, banks scramble to compete with self-custodial wallets. Joe also details the structural evolution of Consensys, from an "organic blob" incubating projects like Gnosis to a focused software powerhouse. He differentiates Linea from competitors by highlighting its commitment to permissionless innovation where anyone can deploy a rollup without a "sign-off". He shares his vision for MetaMask evolving into a user-owned "full-service bank. Topics 00:00 Intro & Paradigm Shift 04:15 Crypto-Anarchy vs. Enterprise 10:30 Banks & Stablecoins 16:00 The Economic Supercycle 24:45 Consensys History & Spin-outs 33:20 Linea & Decentralization 42:15 L1 Scaling & ZK 48:00 Permissionless Rollups 55:30 Future Optimism Links Joe Lubin on X: https://twitter.com/ethereumJoseph Consensys: https://consensys.io Linea: https://linea.build MetaMask: https://metamask.io Gnosis: https://gnosis.io/ Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis has been building core decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. With the launch of Gnosis Pay last year, we introduced the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power today at http://gnosis.io

Quantum computing is often dismissed as a distant sci-fi future, but Ethereum OG John Lilic and Oxford physicist Stefano Gogioso argue the timeline is shrinking fast with roadmaps converging around 2030. In this episode, they break down the "woeful" state of quantum readiness in crypto, explaining how Shor's algorithm could eventually shatter the elliptic curve cryptography protecting Bitcoin and Ethereum. They also explore the terrifying concept of "harvest now, decrypt later," which implies that encrypted data and privacy coins like Monero may essentially be compromised already. Finally, they introduce "Quantum Money," a revolutionary form of digital cash developed by Stefano’s startup NeverLocal, which relies on the laws of physics rather than blockchain consensus to prevent double-spending. Topics 00:00 Intro 03:00 John’s Quantum Awakening 08:00 Defining Quantum Computing 13:30 Logical Qubits Explained 18:15 Crypto’s "Woeful" Readiness 23:30 "Harvest Now" Threat 28:45 Monero’s Privacy Risk 33:15 What is Quantum Money? 40:00 Investment & Hedging Links John Lilic on X: https://x.com/LilicJohn Stefano Gogioso on X: https://x.com/StefanoGogioso NeverLocal: https://neverlocal.com Quantum.info: https://quantum.info Gnosis: https://gnosis.io/ Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis has been building core decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. With the launch of Gnosis Pay last year, we introduced the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power today at http://gnosis.io

“DevConnect 2025 was about touching and feeling Ethereum IRL”Nathan Sexer, lead of the DevConnect 2025 and Events team at the Ethereum Foundation, gives a peek into the largest iteration of Devconnect ever, with 20,000 attendees, and why the team pivoted to a "World's Fair" format, creating tangible districts for DeFi and Privacy to let attendees truly "touch and feel" the ecosystem. The conversation gets real about the friction of the physical world. He explained why Argentina’s crypto-native culture makes it the perfect host, how hyperinflation fueled bottom-up adoption, and even the venue-wide internet failure became an accidental "feature," breaking the on-screen silos and pushing genuine face-to-face connections. A massive geopolitical win was how the team worked with the government to issue 1,000+ visas for attendees from over 130 nationalities to make this event in the true spirit of borderless crypto. The Ethereum Foundation is heading to Mumbai in 2026! The goal for India is to unify a fragmented developer diaspora and bring regulatory attention to one of the world's most critical tech hubs. Topics 00:00 Intro & Scale 04:15 World's Fair Concept 09:50 Why Argentina? 14:30 Operational Challenges 18:15 Internet Blackout 22:00 Booth Renaissance 28:30 Privacy Priority 33:00 Devcon Mumbai 37:40 Indian Developers Links Devcon Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/EFDevcon Nathan Sexer on X: https://x.com/nethan_eth Ethereum Foundation: https://ethereum.org Gnosis: https://gnosis.io/ Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis has been building core decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. With the launch of Gnosis Pay last year, we introduced the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power today at http://gnosis.io

At DevConnect 2025, Sebastian and Friederike speak with Peter Van Valkenburgh about the rapidly evolving battle for digital rights. Peter challenges the industry's comfort with transparency, arguing that "transparency will destroy neutrality." He uses the history of SWIFT to illustrate how a once-neutral messaging system was captured by geopolitical interests because it wasn't "technically blind" to the data it processed. He argues that for blockchains to survive as global settlement layers, they must be "actually blind" to transactions, making neutrality a technical reality rather than a policy choice. The conversation turns to the aggressive legal tactics currently deployed against developers. Peter highlights the Pereira Bueno case, where prosecutors charged MEV searchers with wire fraud for being "dishonest validators" a concept Peter argues completely undermines the game-theoretic security of permissionless networks. He also breaks down the mixed bag of Tornado Cash litigation. While the sanctions against the protocol were successfully challenged and invalidated for Americans, the criminal conviction of developer Roman Storm for "unlicensed money transmission" sets a terrifying precedent for anyone publishing open-source code. On a constructive note, Peter introduces Coin Center's "John Hancock Project," which advocates for replacing the current, ineffective KYC/AML regime (which seizes less than 1% of illicit funds) with a system based on privacy-preserving attestations and self-sovereign risk scores. Finally, Peter shares surprising optimism regarding the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He notes that under the influence of Commissioners Hester Peirce and Paul Atkins, the agency has shifted from an aggressive adversary to a potential ally, openly discussing the benefits of full asset tokenization and the constitutional necessity of financial privacy. Topics 00:00 The Telegram vs. Signal security rant 05:15 The "Transparency Paradox": Why transparent Layer 1s cannot remain neutral in the long run 10:40 The SWIFT Analogy: How a neutral messaging layer became a politicized settlement enforcer 15:50 The Pereira Bueno Case: Why labeling MEV strategies as "wire fraud" threatens all validators 23:10 L2 Sequencing Risks: Centralization and the need for "dumb pipes" 28:30 The Failure of KYC: Why 99.8% of illicit funds are missed and the cost of mass surveillance 35:00 The "John Hancock Project": Using ZK-proofs and attestations to replace identity surveillance 42:15 Tornado Cash Update: Sanctions invalidated vs. the dangerous precedent of Roman Storm’s conviction 49:00 The SEC's 180: Hester Peirce, Paul Atkins, and the push for tokenized equities Links mentioned in the episode: Gnosis: https://gnosis.io/ Coin Center: https://www.coincenter.org Epicenter - All Episodes: https://epicenter.tv/ Report: Tear Down This Walled Garden: https://www.coincenter.org/tear-down-this-walled-garden/ Pereira Bueno Amicus Brief: https://www.coincenter.org/amicus-brief-mev-wire-fraud/ Peter on X: https://x.com/valkenburgh Sebastian on X: https://x.com/seb3point0 Friederike on X: https://x.com/tw_tter Sponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis has been building core decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. With the launch of Gnosis Pay last year, we introduced the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power today at http://gnosis.io

Captured live at Cosmoverse 2025, this episode brings host Sebastian in conversation with Michael (better known as Cryptocito, Cosmos investor via Cito Ventures) and Magnus (@0xMagmar, Co-CEO Cosmos Labs). Against a backdrop of institutional gravitas, central banks mingling alongside Revolut executives, the conversation traces Cosmos' arc across five Cosmoverses, from Medellín's raw developer fervor to the polished, enterprise-oriented event unfolding here. It's a marker of the ecosystem's maturation, one that demands Cosmos "grow up" to weave itself into the fabric of global finance, governance, and economies beyond its insular origins. Magnus lays out Cosmos Labs' forward path: Systematically acquiring and refining homegrown innovations, such as the EVM rebuild over six months into a core stack component and consolidating privacy primitives from projects like Secret Network and Penumbra into seamless, enterprise-grade tools. These advancements, long championed by Cosmos builders, now stand ready for institutional adoption. On quantum threats, enterprises show little concern for now, but the panel underscores blockchains' unique vulnerabilities: Unlike centralized systems, they require broad coordination for upgrades, where Bitcoin's inertia pales against Cosmos' app-chain flexibility, allowing isolated chain overhauls without dragging down the broader network, a resilience Ethereum lacks. Topics covered in this episode: 0:00 Introduction & Cosmoverse Vibe Check 2:30 Reflections on Five Cosmoverses 6:45 Ecosystem Maturation: Grassroots to Institutional Focus 11:20 Cosmos Labs' Roadmap: Unifying Privacy & EVM Innovations 16:50 Building Cohesive Stack Features for Enterprises 22:15 Privacy Tools: Secret Network, Penumbra, and Nym 27:40 Quantum Computing Threats & Blockchain Vulnerabilities 33:10 Coordination Challenges: Hard Forks vs. App-Chain Modularity 38:25 Sovereign Day Argentina: CBDC & Gov Sovereignty Summit 43:50 Leadership Adaptation & Community Inclusion 49:20 Future Vision: Cosmos as Global Finance Enabler 54:00 Closing Thoughts & Event Shoutouts Episode links: - Michael (@Cryptocito) (https://x.com/Cryptocito ) - Magnus (@0xMagmar) (https://x.com/0xMagmar) - Gnosis (https://gnosis.io/) - Epicenter - All Episodes (https://epicenter.tv/) - Cosmoverse 2025 (https://cosmoverse.org/) Sponsors: - Gnosis: Gnosis has been building core decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. With the launch of Gnosis Pay last year, we introduced the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power today at http://gnosis.io This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/

Brian Fabian Crain and Michael Egorov, Curve Finance founder, discuss Curve's origins: solving inefficient DAI/USDC swaps after MakerDAO borrows by creating a DeFi AMM for stablecoins and LSTs. It hit 1M TVL with a bonding curve concentrating liquidity at 1:1, more effective for pegged assets than Uniswap. Features grew to include BTC wrappers, stETH pairs, and crvUSD (a CDP stablecoin with reversible liquidations & a peg-keeper). Governance uses veCRV: Locking CRV grants voting power proportional to lock duration, a mechanism now refined in Yield Basis. Yield Basis solves impermanent loss in volatile pools (e.g., BTC/crvUSD). Users deposit BTC; the protocol borrows crvUSD, pairs it at 2x leverage (50% debt/equity), and uses LP tokens as collateral. This gives 1:1 asset tracking, while fees accrue from auto-rebalancing arbitrage. Simulations show 20%+ APY (may decline as BTC volatility drops) under a $50B TVL cap. It complements Curve by directing veCRV incentives to crvUSD pools, enhancing liquidity, fees, and DAO revenues. Key considerations: manual migrations, deterring forks, and dev support to scale. Topics Discussed 00:00 Introduction to Curve Finance and YieldBases 02:24 Understanding Curve's Unique Mechanisms 07:58 The Concept of veTokenomics 15:27 Lessons Learned from Building Curve 22:20 Exploring YieldBasis and Its Innovations 29:47 Understanding Yield Basis and Collateralization 32:25 Navigating Market Volatility and Liquidation Events 35:32 Metrics and Performance Insights of Yield Basis 38:35 Scaling Yield Basis: Future Directions 40:33 Yield Expectations and Market Dynamics 43:12 Potential Growth and Liquidity Challenges 46:18 Expanding to Other Chains and Governance Tokens 49:35 The Symbiotic Relationship with Curve 54:31 Upcoming Milestones and Future Developments Links Mentioned Michael Egorov on X Curve Finance Yield Basis Gnosis Epicenter - All Episodes Sponsors Gnosis: Building decentralized infrastructure since 2015. With Gnosis Pay, the first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power at gnosis.io This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain.

Sci-fi titan Neal Stephenson, whose Snow Crash coined the term 'metaverse' and Cryptonomicon, which foreshadowed crypto in 1999, joins Friederike to discuss his "hard sci-fi" method: building immersive, consistent worlds, not prophecy. He's now co-founder of Lamina1, aiming to restore Web1's ethos and give creators IP sovereignty with direct micropayments, breaking free from Web2's "walled gardens." Neal unpacks Web3's promise like "intent-casting" flipping ad models while citing its critical traps: abysmal UX, criminal stigma, and the "soul-crushing" risk of just upgrading incumbent systems. Spotlighting Lamina 1's game "Artifact," he argues Web3's true success will be measured when the technology becomes invisible and safe, proving its value by restoring sovereignty to its users and creators, rather than through speculative hype. Topics discussed in this episode: (00:00) Introduction to Decentralization and Blockchain (01:20) The Role of Storytelling in Technology Prediction (03:48) The Balance of Optimism and Pessimism in Fiction (06:27) Web3: Promises and Pitfalls (08:36) The Evolution of the Web: From Decentralization to Centralization (13:37) Metrics for a Decentralized Web (15:55) Lamina One: A New Vision for the Metaverse (23:44) Creating a Financial Layer for the Creator Economy (25:08) Legal Implications of Smart Contracts (27:38) The Strength of Smart Contracts (31:04) Decentralization vs. Centralization in the Creator Economy (36:21) The Decline of Centralized Platforms (41:23) Financialization and the Creative Economy (45:47) The Future of Web3 and User Experience (51:17) Potential Failure Modes of Web3 Links mentioned in this episode: Neal Stephenson, Co-founder Lamina1: https://x.com/nealstephenson Lamina 1: https://lamina1.com/home Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis has been building core decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. With the launch of Gnosis Pay last year, we introduced the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power today at gnosis.io This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

As blockchain tech gets co-opted by legacy players for efficiency gains, has the revolution lost its edge? Crypto philosopher Paul Dylan-Ennis and Jito's Head of Governance, Dr. Nick Almond, join Friederike to probe this shift from 2017's visionary DAOs to today's Telegram-negotiated votes and whale capture. Rooted in philosophy and complex systems, they unpack mind-hacking risks via data micro-targeting, the polycentric bulwarks (full nodes, prediction markets) shielding against cultural flips, and why epistemic tools could fortify crypto against real-world censorship. Their call: Reclaim the ethos through event evangelism and normie outreach for grassroots empowerment. Topics discussed in this episode: 0:00 - Introduction 1:32 - Nick's journey: Physics to DAOs 3:59 - Paul's path: Philosophy to crypto counterculture 5:54 - Crypto's shift from niche to incumbent tool 7:37 - Governance as crypto's "soul" 10:54 - Early DAOs vs. today's backroom reality 11:45 - Diluted ideas & human workarounds 1:03:44 - Elevating better leaders & social consensus tools 1:05:05 - Hacking minds: Post-ideological vs. cypherpunk 1:07:21 - Polycentric defenses & full node bedrock 1:10:50 - Advice: Evangelize at events & outreach to normies Links mentioned in this episode: Dr. Nick Almond, Head of Governance at Jito Paul Dylan-Ennis, Crypto Philosopher Sponsors: - Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at gnosis.io This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

Brave has spent a decade building a privacy-first browser that empowers users with tools like ad-blocking and fingerprinting protection, now serving 100 million monthly active users. Security engineer Kyle Den Hartog joins Friederike to unpack the centralization traps in digital identity from email's spam-driven dominance to one-size-fits-all DeFi lending rates and how Brave counters them with BAT's user-rewarding ad model, zero-knowledge personalization, and wallets that act as privacy guardians. Kyle warns of on-chain transparency's risks to consumer behavior, advocates for intent-based "vendor relationship management" advertising, and draws historical lessons on censorship's chilling effects amid rising regulations like EU chat controls. He shares Brave's vision for seamless private payments and user-controlled algorithms to reclaim the open web from Big Tech monopolies. Topics discussed in this episode: Introduction Kyle's background in security and identity Why identity and privacy matter The history and centralization of digital identity Email as a cautionary tale for decentralization Brave's privacy-first vision and 100M users BAT: Rewarding users for attention Challenges and evolutions in Brave's ad model Zero-knowledge for intent-based ads Brave Wallet: Privacy by default On-chain privacy pitfalls and wallet solutions Browser wallets vs. built-in security Censorship, regulations, and history's lessons Fixing social media algorithms Brave's 5-year vision Links mentioned in the episode: Kyle Den Hartog, Security Engineer at Brave: https://x.com/PryvitKyle Brave Browser: https://brave.com/ Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at ⁠⁠gnosis.io ⁠⁠ This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

In this episode, Sebastien is joined by Jelena Djuric, co-founder of Noble, a generic asset issuance chain built for the Cosmos ecosystem. Jelena shares her journey into crypto, which began with an interest in political science, leading her to discover Bitcoin's potential. She describes the origins of Noble, created to solve a critical need within Cosmos: a native, fungible source of liquidity like USDC. Before Noble, assets were often bridged in fragmented ways, creating poor user experiences. Noble was designed as a simple, secure, and neutral "asset issuance hub," a purpose-built chain for natively issuing assets and distributing them throughout the Cosmos network via IBC. Jelena emphasizes that Noble is intentionally "boring," with a minimal feature set to reduce the attack surface. It operates with a proof-of-authority consensus model to meet the compliance needs of asset issuers like Circle. Jelena also discusses the importance of CCTP for moving USDC between Cosmos and other ecosystems, with Noble as the routing hub. Looking ahead, Jelena sees a future where Noble supports a diverse range of assets beyond stablecoins, including RWAs. Topics discussed in this episode: Introduction Jelena's background and entry into crypto Why fragmented liquidity is holding crypto back Noble's vision for unifying liquidity Why a "boring" chain is a more secure chain Noble's proof-of-authority model for issuer trust Bringing a single source of truth for USDC to the Interchain Using CCTP to connect liquidity across ecosystems Noble's business model The future of solving liquidity for RWAs Links mentioned in this episode: Jelena Djuric, Co-Founder, Noble: https://x.com/jelena_noble Noble: https://x.com/noble_xyz Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at gnosis.io This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture.

In this episode, Sebastien Couture is joined by Benjamin, the founder of CAP, a stablecoin protocol designed to provide insured yield. The protocol features two main products: CUSD, a digital dollar, and stCUSD, its staked, yield-bearing version. Yield is generated through an "allocation engine" where third-party operators borrow from the protocol's reserve to execute yield strategies. To ensure user deposits, these operators must be vouched for by restakers on protocols like Symbiotic. If an operator defaults, the restakers who vouched for them are slashed, protecting the stablecoin holders' funds. This model shifts risk from the end-user to the restakers, who have a bilateral relationship with the operators they underwrite, often backed by legal agreements. Topics covered in this episode: Benjamin's background and perspective on China Journey into crypto and stablecoins Hot Take: Stablecoins are not as safe as you think The evolution of stablecoin models Has DeFi forgotten about decentralization? CAP's design: CUSD and stCUSD How CAP generates yield with operators and restakers The role of restakers and legal agreements Integrating with Symbiotic and views on EigenLayer The best use cases for shared security Navigating the Genius Act and global regulations Rebuilding trust in the DeFi ecosystem Why the stablecoin space is not too crowded Episode links: Benjamin on X Cap Money Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/618

TradFi FX markets are slow, expensive and often lack liquidity for direct swaps between different world currencies, having to route through USD pairs. While crypto could technically solve pairing through AMM pools, those needed to be arbitraged in order to reflect TradFi rates. With 15 fully-backed stablecoins, Mento is building the largest FX infrastructure, bringing world currencies onchain through its robust multi-currency stablecoin platform. In order to provide traders with accurate real-word FX rates, Mento employs FPMM (fixed-price market makers) which gather offchain data from multiple oracles. Instant settlement, cross-border, at a fraction of a cost of conventional remittance providers, while also avoiding traditional banking limitations. Backed by strong on- & off-ramp integrations, Mento also caters towards day-to-day use cases, empowering locals and businesses to diversify their FX exposure without the hurdles of TradFi. Mento enables smooth cross-currency transactions without traditional banking limitations, unlocking DeFi yield for a wide variety of currencies. Topics covered in this episode: Markus’ background, from TradFi to DeFi Unbanking the banked Starting a stablecoin protocol on Celo The role of stablecoins FX markets & Mento’s design FPMM vs. AMM Mento’s target audience Centralised vs. decentralised stablecoins Mento governance M0’s approach Integrating with banking systems Episode links: ⁠Markus Franke on X Mento on X Celo on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - ⁠⁠gnosis.io⁠⁠ This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

Without a doubt, the introduction of stablecoins has vastly increased overall crypto liquidity, adoption and real-world use cases as they offered a safe haven against the industry’s volatility, especially during bearmarkets. However, despite being extremely efficient, the main stablecoin actors (i.e. Circle & Tether) are centralised entities. Many attempts have been made to create a reliable decentralised stablecoin, but regulations and the resounding collapse of Terra’s UST have only pushed towards more established, yet centralised, variants. f(x) is a new generation CDP (collateralised debt position) protocol that offers on-chain perpetual trading for BTC & ETH with near-0 funding rates and a novel liquidation mechanism which protects users against hard liquidations. The leverage component is powered by emitting fxUSD, the protocol’s decentralised stablecoin, which boasts robust peg-keeping mechanisms, the main one being fxSAVE’s stability pool. The fxSAVE strategy bestows nearly 10% APY to the yield-bearing fxUSD-USDC pair. Topics covered in this episode: Cyrille’s background AladdinDAO Decentralised stablecoins f(x) perps and sharing liquidation risks The efficiency of progressive liquidations Removing funding rates fxSAVE’s stability pool yields fxUSD’s organic adoption The importance of decentralised stablecoins Winning in the perp arena Opportunities in the stablecoin adoption race Episode links: Cyrille Brière on X f(x) Protocol on X AladdinDAO on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - ⁠gnosis.io⁠ This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture.

Euler is a DeFi lending protocol built around the idea of permissionless modularity, enabling users to lend and borrow almost any crypto asset with flexible, permissionless pools, tailored to individual risk profiles. Moreover, Euler Vault Kit (EVK) and Ethereum Vault Connector (EVC) enable the creation of custom lending vaults which, in turn, can be used as collateral for other vaults. Earlier this year Euler also announced EulerSwap, a new DEX with a built-in AMM powered by Euler’s lending infrastructure and integrated with Uniswap v4’s hook architecture. EulerSwap integrates directly with Euler’s lending vaults, allowing assets to be used across multiple pools. This turns the lending protocol into a shared liquidity layer, improving capital efficiency across the ecosystem via swaps, lending yield or collateral for borrowing other assets. Topics covered in this episode: Michael’s background The history & vision behind Euler The Euler hack Euler V2 Euler vs. other lending protocols Diversifying offerings Variable vs. fixed rates How Pendle works Euler’s future RWAs Privacy in DeFi Euler roadmap The impact of AI in DeFi Episode links: ⁠⁠Michael Bentley on X⁠⁠ Euler on X⁠⁠ Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - ⁠gnosis.io⁠ Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - ⁠chorus.one⁠ This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain.

Blockchains operate as a public ledger, ‘disclosing’ the entire transaction history and associated data to everyone. While verifiability and traceability are key traits, as blockchains gain global adoption, those very features hinder the process. Self custody, on-chain identities, corporate strategies, transaction history, private deals, all represent highly sensitive information that call for provable confidentiality. Fully homomorphic encryption has long been considered the ‘holy grail’ of cryptography as it enables computation to be performed on encrypted data without the need of prior decryption. This basically translates to true end-to-end encryption, both on-chain and off-chain. As cryptographic research advances, so does the scalability and applicability of FHE. As a result of more than 5 years of work, Zama has now released Zama Protocol, which enables confidential smart contracts on top of any L1 or L2 using FHE, without any additional execution burden. By encrypting all ciphertexts with the same public key, FHE ensures composability and seamless integration across different blockchains and applications, making it a true cross-chain confidentiality layer. Through parallel execution, Zama Protocol already surpasses Ethereum’s throughput, yet future roadmap includes open-source development of FPGA & ASIC in order to scale it even further, to accommodate faster, non-EVM chains. Topics covered in this episode: Zama’s progress in FHE Zama's confidential blockchain Protocol Security guarantees of MPC coprocessors Maintaining a healthy operator set Slashing and governance Zama’s throughput Open-sourcing FPGA & ASIC development The Zama token & its implications Zama’s public testnet Private voting Zama funding Regulations Expanding use cases beyond blockchains Future goals and expectations Episode links: Rand Hindi on X Zama on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

Built primarily for institutional-grade clients, Pareto delivers customizable on-chain credit markets designed to expand DeFi liquidity and TradFi tokenization through structured yield strategies tailored to diverse risk profiles. Pareto allows its users to construct individualized credit lines in specific risk-ajusted tranches, with custom: interest rates, lockup periods, withdrawal cycles, reserve ratios, etc. In addition, Pareto’s USP is an yield-bearing synthetic stablecoin, fully backed by major stablecoins, that can be deployed into a diversified portfolio of liquid, short- and long-term credit, thus increasing capital efficiency. Topics covered in this episode: Matteo’s background Idle Finance yield optimization Pivoting to Pareto Institutional borrowers in early DeFi Competitive advantage of Pareto Outsourcing underwriting Managing defaults Customized lending KYC requirements Timeline terms ‘marketplace’ USP, Pareto’s synthetic yield-bearing dollar Legal framework & credit allocators USP yield, liquidity & integrations ‘Opaque’ credit vs. DeFi Pareto smart contracts and redeems Success in on-chain credit markets Episode links: Matteo Pandolfi on X Pareto Pareto on X Idle Finance on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

In an age when AI models are becoming exponentially more sophisticated and powerful, how does one ensure that proper results are being generated and that the AI model functions in desired parameters? This pressing concern of AI alignment could be solved through cryptographic verification, using zero knowledge proofs. ZKPs not only allow for verifying computation at scale, but they also confer data privacy. Lagrange’s DeepProve zkML is the fastest in existence, making it easy to prove that AI inferences are correct, scaling verifiable computation as the demand for AI grows. Topics covered in this episode: Ismael’s background and founding Lagrange AI x crypto convergence ZKML use cases AI inference verifiability AI safety regulations Revenue accruing tokens Pitching Lagrange to enterprise clients Assembling a dedicated team Cryptography research Episode links: Ismael Hishon-Rezaizadeh on X Lagrange on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture.

Inspired by Urbit’s minimal assembly language, Nockchain fuses Urbit’s vision of sovereign computing with a novel proof-of-useful-work consensus mechanism, creating a blockchain where every computation fuels progress and scaling. The crypto-economics behind Nockchain’s zkVM incentivise competition between zero knowledge provers, ultimately bootstrapping ZKPs as a new computational commodity. Topics covered in this episode: Logan’s background Urbit’s values Nock, Urbit's minimal assembly language Use cases for zk proofs Nockchain’s zkVM efficiency Useful proof-of-work Launching Nockchain Future roadmap for Nockchain Building apps on Nockchain Store of value vs. revenue generation The impact of quantum computing Episode links: Logan Allen on X Zorp on X Nockchain on X Urbit on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain.

Universal Market Access (UMA) was founded by 2 ex Goldman Sachs traders that wanted to make global markets universally accessible through financial smart contracts that used synthetic assets on Ethereum. However, this was taking place long before the massive boom of DeFi summer of 2020. As a result, UMA shifted to building an optimistic oracle to power prediction markets as a decentralised ‘truth machine’, thus expanding oracle use cases. Through game theoretic models, UMA managed to properly incentivise its token holders to act as voters, rewarding them for good predictions & disputes, and vice versa. Later on, Hart Lambur also co-founded Across, an intent-based optimistic bridge that set out to create a seamless UX for unifying EVM chains. Through their solver network, Across managed to achieve fast (as low as 2 seconds) and cheap bridging, abstracting away crosschain complexities, without any security tradeoffs. Topics covered in this episode: Hart’s background Universal Market Access, from synthetic assets to oracles Building Across UMA’s optimistic oracle Incentivizing voters & resolving disputes Dealing with invalid outcomes Optimistic security assumptions UMA x Across dual token interactions Across’ intent-based bridge Pricing mechanism & solver competition ZK settlement Bridging fragmentation Abstracting & unifying cross-chain bridging Bridging between rollups UMA & Across governance systems Episode links: Hart Lambur on X Across Protocol on X UMA Protocol on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

Founded in 2018, Dragonfly has quickly become one of the most prestigious crypto VCs. Dragonfly was one of the first to adopt a global approach to backing founders and disruptive tech, all while building a strong brand that allowed them to secure top-tier deals. Join us for a fascinating discussion with Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly, to learn the secrets behind running a top-tier crypto VC and what made Dragonfly succeed where others have failed. Topics covered in this episode: Haseeb’s background, from poker to crypto Effective altruism Crypto investment Developing judgement The vision behind Dragonfly Consensus vs. non-consensus deals KPIs People, Product & Markets Thoughts on the current crypto market The evolution of crypto VCs Advice for crypto founders The importance of discipline Is the golden era of crypto investing sunsetting? Episode links: Haseeb Qureshi on X Dragonfly on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain.

‘Attention Is All You Need’, co-wrote by Illia Polosukhin in 2017, laid the foundation for arguably one of the most consequential tech breakthroughs in our recent history. 1 year later, Illia founded Near AI, which later became Near Protocol. They were visionaries ahead of their time and, although AI took several more years before becoming a viable product, the experience of scaling databases would later prove valuable and applicable in blockchain world. As a result, Near Protocol aims to become the infrastructure layer for AI apps and the agentic economy. In order to achieve this, scaling was paramount, thus Near is one of the first blockchains to implement execution layer sharding, asynchronous execution and stateless validation, which brought the finality time down to 1.2 seconds, with a block time of 0.6 seconds. Topics covered in this episode: Bowen’s background Near’s pivot from AI to blockchains The role of Near One Near’s tech stack upgrades Optimizing network architecture Stateless validation & block propagation Sharding & asynchronous execution Message passing between shards & shard ‘equality’ Challenges of implementing stateless validation Applications benefiting from Near’s finality speed Intent-based infrastructure AI use cases on Near Expanding Near’s ecosystem Development challenges Near’s vision and goals Episode links: Bowen Wang on X Near One Near on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

The tradition of Epicenter x Vitalik Buterin continued this year as well at EthCC[8], where we got the chance of picking his brain about recent research, interests and Ethereum Foundation’s direction going forward. Join us for a fascinating discussion on biotech and how Vitalik’s Shiba ended up funding it, the utility of blockchains in nowadays society and Vitalik’s view on the Ethereum ecosystem and the Foundation’s response to community requests. Topics covered in this episode: Vitalik’s current interests How Shiba Inu funded biotech research The Merge and its impact Vitalik’s motivation and view on blockchain utility Ethereum Foundation’s changes Is supporting ETH price important for EF? Are L2s incentively aligned with Ethereum L1? Native L2s The risk of quantum computers Episode links: Vitalik Buterin on X Ethereum on X Ethereum Foundation on X EthCC on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sebastien Couture.

Stripe has established itself as a leading payment solution for both enterprises as well as startups and individual sellers. By abstracting away all the complexities of traditional payment rails through simple plug-and-play APIs, Stripe created a facile route for cross-border payments, simplifying e-commerce. Similarly, Stripe’s recent integration of stablecoins could further bolster the adoption of decentralised payment solutions, be them USD or other currency proxies. This allows businesses to reach more markets, at a lower cost, with near-instantaneous settlement. Topics covered in this episode: John’s background Stripe’s mission How Stripe solves the complexity of internet payments Integrating crypto for payments Supported blockchains Stripe’s Web3 services Upsides of accepting stablecoin payments Non-USD stablecoins Merchant UX Expanding crypto support outside the U.S. On- and off-ramping Acquiring Bridge and Privy The best of both worlds: CeFi & DeFi Episode links: John Egan on X Stripe on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

While L2 rollups did help scale Ethereum, they also created siloed ecosystems, all fighting over the same liquidity, users and devs. t1 Protocol is building layer-2 infrastructure to achieve seamless cross-rollup interoperability through real-time proving, powered by TEEs. t1's low-latency with 1-second block times provides faster preconfirmations, significantly improving UX, all while maintaining full Ethereum composability. Topics covered in this episode: Can’s background Why Enigma/Secret Network built on Cosmos Solving Ethereum’s liquidity fragmentation t1’s rollup & real-time proving in TEEs Sequencer setup inside the TEE Dealing with other rollup trust assumptions Integrating new L2s Permissionless TEEs Potential attack vectors TEE alternatives Asset issuance on mainnet vs. L2s t1 development Partnerships & BD Solana vs. Ethereum UX TEE misconceptions Episode links: Can Kisagun on X t1 Protocol on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

As the summer tour of European crypto conferences landed in Berlin, one of crypto’s cradles, we couldn’t miss DappCon 25, where we got to sit with Jerome de Tychey, Nixorokish & Joshua Dávila to discuss Ethereum’s restructure and whether its culture is still relevant to the wider crypto community. Join us for a fascinating discussion on the impact of crypto politicization and how Ethereum’s ecosystem evolved amidst a society with ever-changing values. Topics covered in this episode: Jerome, Nixorokish & Josh backgrounds Ethereum Foundation restructuring Ethereum’s culture & crypto politicization DAOs & the evolution of Ethereum’s ecosystem Is privacy still a societal value? User experience & account abstraction Future hopes for Ethereum Episode links: Jerome de Tychey on X Nixorokish on X Joshua Davila on X DappCon on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

Bitcoin remains an untapped source of net-new liquidity that could be injected into DeFi. This would completely reshape Bitcoin’s utilization from a mere store of value to a liquid asset that can be ported cross-chain and traded like a liquid staking derivative. Lombard’s LBTC builds upon Babylon’s Bitcoin staking primitive and aims to unlock new yield sources for the industry’s leading asset by increasing its DeFi utilization. Topics covered in this episode: Jacob’s background Lessons gathered from Polychain Focusing on Bitcoin Why Bitcoin staking is crucial for BTC DeFi Building on top of Babylon LBTC minting Sources of BTC yield PoS inflation and native token incentives BTC as a trading pair in DeFi Lombard chain Future challenges to overcome Bitcoin L2s Lombard milestones Episode links: Jacob Phillips on X Lombard on X Babylon on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain.

Apart from incentivising market participants to secure the network through inflationary rewards, many consider staking as an equivalent of stock dividend yield. As a result, although Bitcoin is regarded as digital gold, protocols are looking for ways to increase its utilisation in DeFi and, ultimately, generate yield. Nowadays, while newer networks are struggling to attract investors and sustain a healthy, decentralised validator set, more established blockchains capture the lion’s share of PoS actors. However, in a constant race for profit basis points, centralised consolidation of stakers seems inevitable. Join us for a fascinating discussion on the staking landscape and the challenges it may present to decentralisation. Topics covered in this episode: Increasing BTC utilization through BTC yield Looping yield products The maturation of the staking market Chorus One staking portfolio How to prevent staking consolidation Retail vs. institutional-grade operators Symbiotic, Eigenlayer & restaking yield Episode links: Mirko Schmiedl on X Tobias Jung on X Staking Rewards on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sebastien Couture.

After a decade of existence, Ethereum has gone a long way from its initial whitepaper, yet many efforts in scaling and finding product-market-fit have been severely criticized for falling short of their promise. However, despite numerous other ‘Ethereum killers’ being launched over the years, none has managed to attract so many developers and liquidity while sticking true to ethos that (once) powered and united this industry. This year’s ETHPrague plans to confront exactly these existential challenges and steward community culture towards addressing outside criticism and external reality checks. Ethereum’s development, while adapting to market pressures, it always aimed to stick true to its core values in order to remain a technological bedrock for the future of humanity. Topics covered in this episode: The vision for ETH Prague Takeaways from main sessions High-level overview of ETH Prague The resurgence of Polkadot European crypto summer events The general state of the Ethereum ecosystem Celo’s transition to L2 L2 liquidity fragmentation Choosing the right L2 to build Improving hackathons Lightning round Final words Episode links: Austin Griffith on X Marek Olszewski on X Brenda Loya on X Joseph Schweitzer on X BuidlGuidl DAO on X Celo on X Tellor on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

We couldn’t miss the Avalanche Summit where we sat down with Emin Gün Sirer, co-founder & CEO of Ava Labs, to discuss the evolution of Avalanche’s ecosystem and how HyperSDK ushers in a scalable, interoperable, multi-chain future. Join us for a fascinating discussion on Avalanche’s approach to decentralisation, scalability & interoperability, and learn why real-world applicability relies heavily on bespoke blockchain solutions. Topics covered in this episode: Gün x Epicenter bromance How the Avalanche ecosystem & community evolved The future vision for Avalanche Scaling Avalanche and the HyperSDK Interoperability and the multi-chain future Decentralising Avalanche L1s Use cases and institutional adoption On-chain privacy AvaCloud The impact of AI in crypto Gün’s focus in the near future Episode links: Emin Gun Sirer on X Avalanche on X Ava Labs on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain.

Blockchain architecture is constantly being forced to adapt to new technologies, as well as to meet new demands from users and builders. While the idea of apps building their own chains was first explored by Cosmos, it lacked the support and tooling to see it succeed. Later on, rollups also took the centerstage of Ethereum’s scaling roadmap, but due to their general purpose design, it led to a cannibalistic ecosystem. Initia learned from these 2 models and combined the best of both worlds: it built a full-stack framework for a seamless DevEx from the get-go and, more importantly, it designed its tokenomics in order to ensure maximum incentive alignment for its appchains. While the former decision removed the need for each separate chain to reinvent the wheel and risk ending up ‘a jack of all trades, master of none’, the latter ensured that appchains would not extract value away from the L1. Topics covered in this episode: Ezaan’s background From building on Terra to Initia How Initia is rewriting the appchain thesis Initia’s enshrined liquidity & vested interest program (VIP) Metrics & Initia’s bet on crypto innovation Solving liquidity fragmentation Delphi’s involvement in Initia Future roadmap Episode links: Ezaan Mangalji on X Jose Maria Macedo on X Anil Lulla on X Initia on X Delphi Digital on X Delphi report on Initia Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain.

As society evolves, so do its values and principles, but is that desirable for technology that seeks to build the most reliable, trustless and censorship resistant global settlement layer? Ever since the rise in popularity of Solana with its inflow of retail capital in a memecoin gold rush, Ethereum became even more criticized for sticking true to its core values despite the completely divergent demands of market participants. Moreover, the rollup centric scaling roadmap seemed to further silo attention and cause liquidity fragmentation, driving away value from Ethereum mainnet. As institutional demand is expected to grow with the introduction of staking ETFs, a new executive leadership took charge of Ethereum foundation to help steer the protocol’s narrative at the intersection between community demands and Ethereum’s ethos. Topics covered in this episode: Hsiao-Wei’s & Tomasz’ backgrounds How they became co-executive directors of Ethereum Foundation Ethereum Foundation’s role moving forward Decision making in Ethereum Foundation Shaping Ethereum’s narrative The layer 2 landscape Scaling Ethereum as the global settlement layer Sharding Rollup scalability & their trade-offs What values drive adoption L2 interoperability Future goals Episode links: Hsiao-Wei Wang on X Tomasz Stanczak on X Ethereum Foundation on X Ethereum on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

Taiko is a decentralized, Ethereum-equivalent (type I) rollup scaling solution which uses ZK technology. Taiko's goal is to scale Ethereum efficiently while maintaining security and decentralization. Being a type I zkEVM, Taiko retains full Ethereum equivalence, which creates a seamless DevEx, although this comes at the expense of UX as slower proof generation is the main trade-off. Moreover, in order to stay true to its decentralised ethos, Taiko operates as a based rollup, meaning that transaction sequencing is performed by L1 validators. Topics covered in this episode: Joaquin’s background Loopring and Taiko’s beginnings The 4 types of zkEVMs Taiko's zk circuits vs. Polygon’s Based sequencing Data availability and blob commitment Ethereum’s role in the future The L2 landscape and its compromises Sequencer security model Dealing with MEV Based preconfirmations & Taiko ecosystem UX Episode links: Joaquin Mendes on X Taiko on X Loopring on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

Founded by former Meta Diem team members, Sui is a high-performance, layer-1 blockchain designed for horizontal scaling and low-latency transactions. It uses an object-centric data model and the Move programming language to enable transaction parallelization which can handle >200,000 txs/s. Sui’s goal is to combine the benefits of blockchains with Web2’s security & frictionless UX. From account abstraction & ZKLogin, to on-chain storage & data availability solutions like Walrus, Sui rebuilds the Google/AWS stack, fully on-chain and composable. Topics covered in this episode: Adeniyi’s background, from Libra to Sui Sui’s long-term vision The tech stack of Sui & its primitives ZKLogin & account abstraction Object-based approach Transaction processing & parallelization DevEx on Move vs. EVM vs. SVM Consensus & scalability MEV Gaming & SuiPlay DeFi on Sui Walrus data storage Nautilus Future roadmap Episode links: Adeniyi Abiodun on X Mysten Labs on X Sui on X Walrus on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain.

With an extensive experience in traditional money markets, Maple Finance was envisioned as an institutional capital marketplace which combines the transparency & capital efficiency of blockchains with the regulatory framework of TradFi. Unlike many DeFi protocols that require over-collateralized loans (e.g. Aave), Maple also specializes in under-collateralized lending, enabling greater capital efficiency for institutional borrowers. With over $6b in loans since its inception, Maple plans to further expand its offerings by including RWAs as collateral assets. Topics covered in this episode: Sid’s background The vision behind Maple Finance Maple’s tech stack Deciding risk profiles Over-collateralized vs. under-collateralized loans Assets accepted as collateral Deploying to other blockchains Institutional appeal Managing defaults RWA Converging DeFi & TradFi Biggest challenges Exciting upcoming trends Future roadmap Crypto correlation or decoupling? Episode links: Sid Powell on X Maple Finance on X Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.