The DCo Podcast

Before we begin…Sid and I are sorting out our schedules for Token2049 in Singapore. I’ll also be on a panel at Breakpoint. We’re excited to connect with researchers and founders working on the cutting edge. If you’re around, respond to this email and drop us a line. We’d love to meet up in person. JoelHello! In this episode of the DCO Podcast, Rand Hindi, CEO and co-founder of Zama, presents a thought-provoking discussion on the transformative power of Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) and its potential to revolutionise the future of privacy, blockchain, and the internet itself.Rand’s first company was Snips, an AI company for voice processing. Sonos, a listed audio equipment company, acquired it. He advised the French government on AI policy and co-authored a paper analysing AI's impact. His prediction from 2017 that AI would replace 10% of jobs, leave 50% unchanged, and augment 40% of jobs by increasing productivity seems accurate in today’s AI-dominated landscape.A major focus of the episode is the groundbreaking potential of FHE, a technology that allows computations on encrypted data without exposing it. By encrypting transaction details end-to-end, FHE eliminates the opportunity for front-running and other manipulative behaviours, thus paving the way for truly private and secure financial systems.Rand explains how Zama has addressed the major challenges traditionally associated with FHE: speed, usability, and scale. Zama’s technological advances have made FHE 100 times faster and integrated it into existing developer tools, making it accessible to developers without needing a deep understanding of cryptography. A key breakthrough discussed in this episode is Zama’s work in reducing the size of FHE-encrypted data. What used to expand data sizes by 20,000x has now been compressed to just 50x. With more improvements coming, this can be brought down to 10x, making it viable for use on Ethereum and other blockchain platforms. Tune in for the latest on privacy, a fully encrypted internet and a breakdown of FHE.Recovering from fever,Saurabh Deshpande This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co

In this conversation, Pacman, the founder of Blur and Blast, an innovator in the crypto and NFT sphere, dives into the evolution of NFT marketplaces and Layer 2 solutions. He recounts his journey from Teespring to launching Blur, disrupting the NFT space dominated by OpenSea. Highlighting the need for trader-focused platforms, Pacman discusses current market dynamics and the crucial role of liquidity. He speculates on the future of NFTs, emphasizing the importance of first principles in creating effective reward systems.

Tomasz Tunguz, a seasoned venture capitalist with over 15 years of experience, dives into the evolution of venture capital, focusing on Web3. He emphasizes that brand is the only enduring moat in investments and predicts that Web3 will mirror private equity's explosive growth. Their discussion highlights Theory Ventures' investment in Allium, which addresses the growing demand for Web3 financial infrastructure. Tomasz also explores the complexities of valuing Web3 companies and the challenges of navigating funding dynamics in the crypto landscape.

We are joined by Matt Luongo from Thesis for today’s issue. Thesis is a Bitcoin oriented venture studio that is behind the likes of Fold, Acre and tBTC. Our episode, recorded last week, is an unfiltered look into the world of Bitcoin from someone who’s seen it all from the ground up.We explore the projects that Matt’s team at Thesis is spearheading, like tBTC or Threshold Network, Mezo, and Acre—all designed to expand Bitcoin’s utility while staying true to its core principles. Matt’s laser focus on user needs over technical jargon offers a grounded perspective that many in the crypto space overlook.So, if you are looking to gain a nuanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities in building on Bitcoin—and get a sneak peek into what’s next for Mezzo and Acre—tune in to this episode. It’s one you won’t want to miss. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co

Before we begin… Last week, we announced the launch of DCo.build.  As our publication grew, it was time to create a single hub for founders looking to collaborate with us on advisory, distribution and go-to-market strategies. The newsletter will continue to be the place where we showcase our research. DCo.build, will be where we put it to practice through our portfolio of companies. If you are an early-stage operator or a pre-token founder, make sure to reach out. Hey there! Last week, we wrote about how one of Compound's members raided its DAO. The lack of voter activity on-chain is partly to blame for such events. For all the surrounding noise and excitement, decentralised governance still has a long way to go. Our guest today, Steve Ngok, is one of many contributors building tooling for improving it. We had previously written about Dora Factory in Stealth Democracy. The conversation today explores how DoraHacks played a pivotal role in nurturing projects that would become major players in the space. Steve recounts stories of hosting hackathons that birthed influential protocols like Injective and Polygon, offering listeners a glimpse into the grassroots origins of today's blockchain giants.Unlike the voting you do for things like selecting a political leader, on-chain voting is public. Imagine if everybody knew who voted for whom. It might be far from ideal. Steve and his crew have been building tools to bring privacy to the equation. Imagine if civic governance ran with on-chain tools. Or if art and music were ranked with on-chain votes? How can consumer apps get better feedback from users regarding on-chain elections? We cover all of this and more in today’s episode.Tune in to learn from an operator who has closely observed the evolution of on-chain governance over the years and built critical tooling for it. Signing out,SaurabhFrom The CommunityMany of our community members have been busy shipping. Highlighting some of them below in today’s issue. * Stormzer0 from Anagram, announced the launch of Glider - a personal, customizable hedge fund that runs on-chain* Sage announced the release of Rolodex.social. Think of it as a private member directory for communities. * Aditya Shetty from Superteam announced a grant for analysts looking to explore the state of consumer applications. * Charliemarketplace.eth shipped a trending dashboard for crypto-twitter. * Saumya Saxena has been tinkering with a prediction market that runs natively on Telegram and Farcaster. Get an early preview here. * Swastik dropped a beautiful compilation on GTM strategies.Join us on Telegram to talk directly with the people behind these products and for some fun debates. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co

Robert Drost, CEO of EigenLayer Foundation and a prolific inventor with 159 patents, dives deep into the evolution of internet infrastructure. He discusses parallels between Web2 and Web3, identifying critical opportunities in the latter. Drost highlights how EigenLayer's restaking could revolutionize blockchain economics and enhance decentralized governance through the concept of intersubjectivity. The conversation also covers the transformative potential of Automated Validator Services in improving security and efficiency for decentralized applications.

Have you ever made an impulse purchase on Instagram? Our guest today may have a role to play in it. Antonio García Martínez was part of the team that helped Facebook build its ad engine.He is also the author of Chaos Monkeys—a beautiful memoir of how the startup ecosystem used to be in the early 2010s and what it took to survive it. He was also a former advisor to Twitter.Antonio’s latest startup, Spindl, helps Web3 native firms attribute users to their traffic sources. Think of it as a Web3 native ad network. In our issue today, we explore why ads as primitive are here to stay, the challenges with business models in Web3, and why a fully on-chain ad network is a necessity for scaling the industry to a billion users.Tune in to our latest episode for some distilled wisdom on what it takes to survive market cycles, the need for conviction, and why advertisements are here to stay.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co

Gin Chao, an experienced professional in the crypto space, discusses his investment philosophies, the evolution of crypto cycles, and his focus on key sectors. They touch upon successful investments, meme coins, macroeconomic impacts, emerging blockchain projects, traditional finance's influence on crypto, and price discovery metrics in the stablecoin market.

Today, we’re joined by Mike Silagadze, the CEO and founder of EtherFi. Before EtherFi, he was the founder and CEO of Top Hat, a dynamic courseware company for educators. He scaled that to over 500 employees and $60 million in revenue before switching his focus to crypto.Mike was also early to Bitcoin. His first Bitcoin purchase was at 80 cents in 2011, and he has been closely following the space ever since.Our conversation delves into the waters of the liquid restaking landscape, discussing the value and risks associated with it.  We uncover the genesis and evolution of EtherFi over the years. Mike shares how EtherFi went from being a hedge fund to becoming the largest liquid restaking protocol on Ethereum.We also get Mike’s thoughts on the difficulties of doing an airdrop and the low float high FDV meta.Listen for a crash course on liquid restaking and the road ahead for EtherFi. _________Links.1. Newsletter : Decentralised.co2. Our Twitter: https://x.com/Decentralisedco3. Saurabh Deshpande: https://x.com/desh_saurabh4. Mike Silagadze: https://x.com/MikeSilagadze This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co

Today, we are joined by one of our portfolio founders, Prasanna Sankar. We have been huge fans and investors in what he has been building with 0xppl. The product helps users know what their friends are doing on-chain. Think of it as Facebook, but for user wallets. Prior to founding 0xppl, Prasanna was involved with building Rippling - a company currently valued at $10 billion. He has been building consumer social products since the early 2010s and brings a wealth of knowledge around what it takes to go 0 to 1. We discuss why optimists win in markets, how philosophy helps persevere and the similarities between 2008 era Silicon Valley and Web3 today. Tune in for insights from a seasoned operator. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.decentralised.co