The Rollup How Austin Barack Separates Signal From Noise in DeFi
Aug 6, 2025
Austin Barack, the founder of Relayer Capital, shares insights into the evolving landscape of DeFi. He discusses how to distinguish genuine product-market fit from fleeting trends and the significance of stablecoin regulation in catalyzing growth. Barack emphasizes the shift toward revenue-focused investing, indicating a maturing market. He also highlights key metrics for evaluating DeFi networks, such as trading volume and user engagement, while touching on innovative developments like Liquid Restaking and the impact of new token launches on ecosystems.
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Network Usage Drives Valuation
- Many execution layer chains launched at high valuations without major adoption, leading to overvaluation.
- Networks with strong usage deserve valuations in the hundreds of billions, as Ethereum has shown.
Revenue as Key Metric
- Revenue is the clearest surface metric for evaluating a blockchain network's value to token holders.
- Leading indicators like trading volume and TVL growth help predict future revenue and network health.
Prioritize Real Usage Over Hype
- Focus on applications that solve real problems with sustained user activity rather than just flashy volume.
- Evaluate where real usage generates consistent revenue versus hype-driven metrics like user count.