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

Notional is a protocol on Ethereum that facilitates fixed-rate, fixed-term crypto asset lending and borrowing. The core concept of Notional is fCash, a zero-compound bond defined by a currency type and maturity date. Notional’s liquidity pools are built by liquidity providers who contribute cTokens and fCash and act as counterparty to the lenders and borrowers that are active on the protocol.We were joined by co-founders Teddy Woodward and Jeff Wu to chat about the benefits and tradeoffs of fixed rate interest borrowing, how Notional operates, and comparisons to other lending protocols in the space.Topics covered in this episode:Teddy and Jeff's backgrounds and how they got into cryptoThe benefits of a fixed rate over a variable interest rate loanThe product from a user perspectiveThe role of liquidity providers in the protocolTradeoffs of using Notional as opposed to other lending platformsLender and borrower obligationsHow Notional maintain securityThe ERC1155 token standard which is implemented on fCashThe maturity parameter and how it's determinedThe Notional governance modelEpisode links:Notional FinanceNotional DiscordNotional on TwitterTeddy on TwitterJeff on TwitterSponsors:ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/413

Lido is a DAO that provides a liquid staking solution for Ethreum 2.0. It lets users stake their Ether, without locking assets or needing to maintain infrastructure, whilst participating in on-chain activities. Lido attempts to solve the problems associated with initial Ethereum 2.0 staking - illiquidity, minimum requirements, immovability and accessibility, by making staked Ether liquid and allowing for participation in DeFi.Vasiliy Shapovalov, Co-founder of Lido, joined us to talk about all things Ethereum staking and the benefits of liquid staking with Lido.Topics covered in this episode:Vasiliy's background and how he got into cryptoAn overview of Lido and the problem it solvesHow Ethereum 2.0 staking worksLido's fee structure and business modelLido's governance model and the LDO tokenHow the ETH/stETH peg is maintainedLiquid staking and its role in DeFiLido for other blockchain networks like SolanaThe LEGO Grant programEpisode links:LidoVasiliy's talk at EthCCLido on TwitterVasiliy on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/412

The Reserve project is on a mission to provide every person in the world access to stable currency. They are working to rebuild financial services in countries such as Argentina and Venezuela, that have suffered from high inflation and ongoing currency devaluation. The protocol is designed to host a completely decentralized stablecoin that can not be manipulated by governments, with an end goal of a fully self-sustainable platform with decentralized governance and developments.We were joined by Co-founder & CEO, Nevin Freeman, to chat about Reserve's focus in Latin America, their support of activism, and the road ahead for the project.Topics covered in this episode:Nevin's background and how he got into cryptoWhat is Reserve and what is the problem it's solvingHow do they get around regulatory pushbacks in Latin AmericaThe main components of the Reserve system - RSV and RSRTackling high gas feesReserve's go to market strategy and why the focus on Latin AmericaWhy Reserve encourage's activismReserve's goal to eradicate hyperinflationThe connection with Peter Tiel (Paypal)The Reserve business modelEpisode links:ReserveReserve on TwitterNevin on TwitterSponsors:Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/411

Hermez is an open-source ZK-Rollup optimised for secure, low-cost and usable token transfers on the wings of Ethereum. The Hermez network team is currently developing the next version of the decentralised ZK-Rollup with full support of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) by making a full set of zkEVM opcodes.Jordi Baylina, the Technical Lead at Hermez, joined us to chat about how the protocol works, the recent merge with Polygon, and the roadmap leading to Eth2.0.Topics covered in this episode:Jordi's involvement in the infamous DAO hackThe Giveth community he created with Griff GreenHow Hermez use EVM opcodes to combine zk and EVMHow the protocol works as a userHow do token transfers work?Currently the advantage is in scaling, could this also translate to privacy?Hermez's merge with Polygon - how the joint model will lookThe Hermez roadmap and how it fits with Eth2.0Jordi's views on the future of blockchainEpisode links:HermezGivethJordi at EThCC 2021Hermez on TwitterJordi on TwitterSponsors:CowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity offering the best prices on all trades and provides some UX perks (no gas costs for failed transactions!) and protects traders against MEV - https://epicenter.rocks/cowswapThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/410

Erik Voorhees, CEO & Founder of ShapeShift, joins us for his 4th appearance on the show. ShapeShift recently announced they are decentralizing the company and its products, which would see the company transition from a centralized entity and platform to a DAO. With the largest airdrop in history they distributed FOX tokens to over a million customers and DeFi community members, who will eventually fully control the exchange.In this episode we hear the reasoning behind this shift, cross-chain Interoperability, the FOX token, and the future of the Shapeshift platform as a DAO.Topics covered in this episode:The journey of ShapeShift since Erik's last appearance on the showWhat led ShapeShift to becoming decentralized and the process so farShapeShift as a product - its features and how it will be accessedThe future structure of Shapeshift as a DAOCross-chain Interoperability and the Cosmos ecosystemThe goal of the FOX tokenThe future of the ShapeShift ecosystemEpisode links:Episode 300 - ShapeShift – There’s a New Fox in TownShapeShiftShapeShift to Decentralize Entire Company; Largest Airdrop in HistoryShifts Governance to the CommunityFOX token airdropShapeShift on TwitterErik on TwitterSeb's new podcast – The Zen Crypto ShowSponsors:ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/409

ParaSwap is a DEX aggregator that aims to provide the best prices over multiple DEXes on the Ethereum blockchain. Users are able to scan dozens of exchanges for the best possible crypto price points, and get the most for their swaps.We were joined by ParaSwap Founder, Mounir Benchemled, to chat about his role in the French DeFi community, DEX aggregators in general, and what makes ParaSwap an important slice of the DeFi ecosystem.Topics covered in this episode:Mounir's background and how he got into cryptoWhy did he start a DEX aggregator?The French DeFi ecosystem and communityAn overview of DEX aggregators - the advantages and challengesThe role of the ParaSwap routerThe prospect of a ParaSwap tokenA DEX aggregator from a legal perspectiveHow ParaSwap makes moneyMounir's views on Layer 1 and Layer 2sThe future of DeFi tradingEpisode links:ParaSwapParaSwap on MediumParaSwap on TwitterMounir on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/408

Mike Novogratz is the CEO of Galaxy Digital, an investment bank targeting institutional investors, which he also founded. He was formerly a Partner and President of Fortress Investment Group LLC and prior to that Partner at Goldman Sachs. Considered quite the risk taker, he has made and lost many fortunes over the years.We chatted to Mike about the cross over between finance and blockchain, regulatory affairs, and of course, wrestling.Topics covered in this episode:Mike's background in wrestling and transition into financeHow he got into the crypto spaceHow Mike and Galaxy Digital are providing a link between crypto and traditional financeThe long term impact of crypto on the worldThe vision for Galaxy DigitalMike's views on the market cyclesEpisode links:Galaxy DigitalGalaxy Digital on TwitterMike on TwitterSponsors:Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting-edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/407

The DFINITY Foundation is a not-for-profit scientific research organization with a mission to build, promote, and maintain the Internet Computer. The IC is a layer 1 smart contract enabled blockchain which achieves remarkable scaling properties through native sharding.We were joined by Founder and Chief Scientist of DFINITY, Dominic Williams, who explained his deep support for smart contracts, gave us an insight into the Internet Computer Ecosystem, and shared his visions for its future.Topics covered in this episode:Dominic's background and an update on DFINITYThe advantages of smart contractsThe Internet Computer ecosystemHow DFINITY compares to EthereumThe concept of sharding - subnetsThe tokenomics of The Internet ComputerVision for the Internet Computer's futureEpisode links:DFINITYThe Internet Computer RoadmapDFINITY on TwitterDominic on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Martin Köppelmann. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/406

Aztec Protocol enables private transactions on Ethereum. It uses a zero-knowledge proof system, allowing users to effectively create shielded representations of tokens, which can then be sent and redeemed for the underlying token. They recently launched Aztec 2.0 and their rollup service for Ethereum, zk.money. This allows users to submit Ether to the Aztec rollup contract with the options to shield, send privately, unshield and emergency ushield (escape hatch). The latest version also allows DeFi users to save gas and participate anonymously in DeFi transactions. We were joined by Zac Williamson, Co-founder and CTO, and Joe Andrews, Head of Product, from Aztec, to give us an in-depth look into the Layer 2 project and explain how version 2 of the protocol in a game-changer in terms of privacy and scalability.Topics covered in this episode:What has happened in the last year since Aztec were last on the showHigh-level overview of AztecHow the Aztec rollup works in DeFi applicationsThe challenges privacy introduces for DeFiSNARK, the core technology that powers AztecNoir (zkSNARK DSL)Episode links: Episode 335 - Aztec Protocol – Bringing Zero-Knowledge Transactions to Ethereumzk.moneyDiscordAztec on TwitterJoe on TwitterZac on TwitterSponsors: ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - http://paraswap.io/epicenter - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Dev Ojha. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/405

Badger is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) with a single purpose: To build the products and infrastructure necessary to accelerate Bitcoin as collateral across other blockchains. BadgerDAO is extremely community focused and has succeeded in creating a seamlessly operating DAO out of a group of random people with a shared set of values and a mission.BadgerDAO's founder, Chris Spadafora, joined us to talk about how he built this decentralized community, why Bitcoin & DeFi, and the products they have created including Sett and Digg.Topics covered in this episode:Chris' background and how BadgerDAO came aboutHow they successfully built a strong communityWhy Bitcoin and DeFi?Who is the target audience for Badger?The Sett vaults - strategiesDigg - the rebase systemChris' thoughts on “DeFi on Bitcoin”Episode links:Badger websiteBadgerDAO WikiDiscordBadger on TwitterChris on TwitterSponsors:CowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity offering the best prices on all trades and provides some UX perks (no gas costs for failed transactions!) and protects traders against MEV - https://epicenter.rocks/cowswapThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/404