Sandy Peng, co-founder of Scroll, tells us the journey of building one of the most anticipated Ethereum Layer 2s, their focus on ZK rollups for scalability, and the unique value proposition of high security, decentralization, and low costs. Sandy discusses Scroll's transition from general purpose chain design to supporting specific use cases driven by ecosystem builders and founders. They explore challenges and lessons from Scroll's recent token airdrop, emphasizing the importance of clear communication, equitable distribution, and fostering a vibrant community. Sandy highlights the Scroll Open initiative and their long-term vision to create a thriving "city" for innovation and talent in the blockchain space. Chapters 00:00 - Sandy Peng on Scroll's Rise 00:30 - Scroll’s Evolution and 2025 Vision 01:30 - The Founding Story of Scroll 02:30 - Why ZK Rollups? 04:00 - Scroll's Unique Edge in the L2 Space 07:00 - Transition to Use Case-Specific Chains 09:00 - Scroll's Vision for Builders and Founders 11:00 - Sub-Cent Costs and High Security Explained 15:00 - Decentralization: Scroll’s Progress and Plans 20:00 - Governance and the Role of Scroll Tokens 25:00 - Airdrop Lessons and Community Feedback 35:00 - Reflections on Token Distribution Trends 46:00 - Layer 2s and Ethereum’s Value Narrative 50:00 - Scroll Open: Building the Future Economy 58:00 - Scroll's Big Picture Vision Our sponsors https://node.icn.global/?utm_source=TheDefiant&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=node_sale_live https://kelpdao.xyz/gain/growth-vault/?utm_source=Defiant https://betteron.stellar.org/ ✨ Check out our new website ✨ https://thedefiant.io/ 🚀 Sign up to our newsletter 🚀 https://thedefiant.io/go-premium#pricing?utm_source=YT&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=signup 🤑 Find DeFi investment opportunities & educational primers here https://thedefiant.io/promo?utm_source=YT&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=alpha ✊ Follow The Defiant Twitter: https://twitter.com/defiantnews Discord: https://discord.com/invite/3SdRdEs5ag Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedefiant.io/ Telegram: https://t.me/DefiantNews 📬 Contact our Newsroom editorial@thedefiant.io 🤝 Sponsorships & Partnerships sponsors@thedefiant.io #TheDefiant​ #DeFi​ #Decentralized​ #Finance​ #Blockchain #Web3

Johann Kerbrat, VP and GM of Robinhood Crypto, shares insights from his journey in revolutionizing crypto for retail investors. He discusses Robinhood's evolution since 2018, their innovative features like staking and self-custody wallets, and future aspirations towards a full crypto exchange. Johann emphasizes how blockchain integration enhances efficiency while addressing regulatory concerns and user education in staking. The conversation highlights the dramatic rise in trading volume and the company's strategy to expand its DeFi offerings for improved customer experience.

In this episode, Dimitry Gusakov, Community Staking Lead at Lido, discusses the protocol’s efforts to enhance decentralization and accessibility in Ethereum staking. He explains the launch of the Community Staking Module, which lowers barriers for individual validators while addressing concerns about centralization within the Ethereum ecosystem. The conversation also explores potential impacts of proposed Ethereum staking changes and Lido’s roadmap for further decentralization in 2025. Tune in to gain insights into the evolving landscape of liquid staking and its role in securing Ethereum. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction 00:14 - What is Lido and Liquid Staking? 02:20 - Liquid Staking Use Cases in DeFi 05:33 - Addressing Centralization Concerns in Lido 08:25 - Community Staking Module: Decentralization Efforts 10:49 - Requirements to Become a Home Validator 13:26 - Rewards and Entry Barriers for Home Validators 16:12 - Hardware Setup for Validators 23:39 - Socialized Rewards and Offline Allowances 26:38 - Higher Rewards for Running a Node 34:23 - Impact of CSM on Lido’s Decentralization 41:13 - Ethereum Security and the Importance of Decentralization 52:19 - Ethereum Issuance Proposal: Implications for Lido 01:06:07 - Future Developments for Lido in 2025 Our sponsors https://stellar.org/soroban?utm_source=defiant&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=defiant_podcast http://supra.com ✨ Check out our new website ✨ https://thedefiant.io/ 🚀 Sign up to our newsletter 🚀 https://thedefiant.io/go-premium#pricing?utm_source=YT&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=signup 🤑 Find DeFi investment opportunities & educational primers here https://thedefiant.io/promo?utm_source=YT&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=alpha ✊ Follow The Defiant Twitter: https://twitter.com/defiantnews Discord: https://discord.com/invite/3SdRdEs5ag Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedefiant.io/ Telegram: https://t.me/DefiantNews 📬 Contact our Newsroom editorial@thedefiant.io 🤝 Sponsorships & Partnerships sponsors@thedefiant.io #TheDefiant​ #DeFi​ #Decentralized​ #Finance​ #Blockchain #Web3

Justin Drake, an Ethereum Foundation researcher, offers a deep dive into the groundbreaking Beam Chain proposal aimed at enhancing Ethereum's roadmap. He discusses innovations like SNARK proofs and single-slot finality, crucial for boosting decentralization and scalability. The conversation highlights incremental upgrades and addresses Ethereum's competition with Solana and Bitcoin, emphasizing its long-term commitment to robustness. Justin also touches on pre-confirmations and upcoming enhancements that promise to elevate Ethereum's performance and user experience.

Hart Lambur, co-founder of Across Protocol and UMA, dives into Ethereum interoperability and user experience. He discusses how Across aims for fast asset transfers across Ethereum layer twos using an innovative 'intent architecture.' Lambur highlights upcoming account abstraction upgrades, emphasizing their potential to unify the Ethereum network by 2025. The conversation covers the importance of seamless transactions and addresses challenges like gas fees and scalability, making a compelling case for a more cohesive blockchain ecosystem.

Nana Murugesan, President of Matter Labs and former VP of Business Development at Coinbase, joins Camila Russo in this week’s podcast to discuss the latest updates from ZKsync, including the recently launched Elastic Chain. He explains how ZKsync’s approach to interoperability and customization aims to make Web3 infrastructure as seamless as Web2, emphasizing the importance of user-friendly experiences for mainstream adoption. Nana also highlights Matter Labs' partnership with Buenos Aires to bring ZK-backed digital identity to millions of citizens, showcasing a promising model for government and Web3 collaboration. Finally, he shares upcoming milestones for ZKsync, with new chains and collaborations in Latin America, gaming, and the creator economy. Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 0:17 - ZKsync and Elastic Chain 2:57 - Evolution of ZKsync 5:22 - Interoperability and Customizability in Web3 7:30 - User Experience 10:16 - The Role of Governments in Blockchain Adoption 14:41 - Digital Identity on the Blockchain 17:18 - Why Zero-Knowledge Proofs Matter 21:02 - Cost and Throughput Advantage of ZKsync 25:07 - UX and Interoperability Challenges 27:05 - ZKsync in Latin America 30:05 - Upcoming Projects on Elastic Chain 32:39 - Future Focus for Matter Labs 33:46 - Closing Remarks This episode was sponsored by: NEAR: https://redactedbangkok.ai/?utm_source=thedefiant&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=defiant&utm_content=newsletter Stellar: https://stellar.org/soroban?utm_source=defiant&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=defiant_podcast ✨ Check out our new website ✨ https://thedefiant.io/ 🚀 Sign up to our newsletter 🚀 https://thedefiant.io/go-premium#pricing?utm_source=YT&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=signup 🤑 Find DeFi investment opportunities & educational primers here https://thedefiant.io/promo?utm_source=YT&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=alpha ✊ Follow The Defiant Twitter: https://twitter.com/defiantnews Discord: https://discord.com/invite/3SdRdEs5ag Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedefiant.io/ Telegram: https://t.me/DefiantNews 📬 Contact our Newsroom editorial@thedefiant.io 🤝 Sponsorships & Partnerships sponsors@thedefiant.io #TheDefiant​ #DeFi​ #Decentralized​ #Finance​ #Blockchain #Web3

In this week’s podcast, Dylan Kawalec, Head of Developer Relations at Goat Network, discusses the Goat Founders Club, which is a new initiative aimed at empowering developers and entrepreneurs to build on the Bitcoin Layer 2 ecosystem. He explains how the program incentivizes builders through a unique points reward system that can be converted into tokens, fostering a more developer-centric community. Dylan also dives into the technical aspects of the Goat Network, including its decentralized sequencer model and use of zero-knowledge rollups, to enhance Bitcoin's scalability and interoperability. Lastly, he shares his personal story of how Bitcoin transformed his life, highlighting his unwavering passion and optimism for the future of the network. Chapters 00:00 - Dylan Kawalec and GOAT Network 00:16 - What is the GOAT Founders Club? 03:46 - About GOAT Network: Bitcoin Layer 2 Overview 05:12 - Differentiation from Other Layer 2s 07:00 - Founders Club Tracks for Developers 11:03 - Governance Token: Future Role of GOAT Token 12:28 - Role of Bitcoin on GOAT Network 15:07 - Sequencer Model and Bridging to Other Chains 21:00 - Dylan’s Personal Bitcoin Story 24:56 - Inspiration Behind Founders Club 42:11 - Conclusion and Final Thoughts ✨ Check out our new website ✨ https://thedefiant.io/ 🚀 Sign up to our newsletter 🚀 https://thedefiant.io/go-premium#pricing?utm_source=YT&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=signup 🤑 Find DeFi investment opportunities & educational primers here https://thedefiant.io/promo?utm_source=YT&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=alpha ✊ Follow The Defiant Twitter: https://twitter.com/defiantnews Discord: https://discord.com/invite/3SdRdEs5ag Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedefiant.io/ Telegram: https://t.me/DefiantNews 📬 Contact our Newsroom editorial@thedefiant.io 🤝 Sponsorships & Partnerships sponsors@thedefiant.io #TheDefiant​ #DeFi​ #Decentralized​ #Finance​ #Blockchain #Web3

Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder of Mysten Labs and a key player in the Sui blockchain, shares insights on how Sui aims to be a global coordination layer for the internet. He delves into its unique scaling solutions and the innovative Move programming language, contrasting it with traditional frameworks. Abiodun discusses Sui's recent price surge and its potential impact on DeFi and gaming. He tackles decentralization challenges while envisioning mass adoption and enhancing user experience, positioning Sui as a transformative force in the blockchain landscape.

John Avlon, a Congressional candidate from New York, discusses the critical need for bipartisan support in cryptocurrency regulation. He emphasizes the importance of clear, reasonable rules that encourage innovation while preventing partisan divides in technology. Avlon critiques the current regulatory environment, calling for collaboration between lawmakers and experts. He argues that the U.S. must remain competitive globally and warns against pushing innovation overseas, highlighting the impact upcoming elections will have on democratic processes.

Jack Booth, co-founder of TON Society, discusses the transformative potential of the TON blockchain, closely linked to Telegram. He highlights how TON aims to become a Web3 super app, simplifying access to decentralized services for a global audience. Booth also delves into TON's deflationary model, community-building efforts, and the significance of emerging markets. He emphasizes user-friendly applications designed to onboard millions to crypto and examines the balance of decentralization within the ecosystem.