The Defiant - DeFi Podcast

Daniel Fogg is the CEO of RootstockLabs, the organization behind the Rootstock sidechain, which is a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution designed to enhance Bitcoin's capabilities with smart contract functionality. Rootstock was launched in January 2018, becoming the first Bitcoin sidechain, and is secured by Bitcoin's hashing power through a merged mining process. The sidechain leverages Bitcoin's security while enabling Ethereum compatible smart contracts, aiming to reduce transaction costs and improve scalability​ 0:00 Rootstock's Story 7:11 The Architecture 14:52 Use Cases 21:25 Bitcoin Community 27:00 Ordinals and BRC20 30:32 BitVM 36:00 Merged Mining 41:17 Competition Our sponsorhttps://stellar.org/soroban?utm_source=defiant&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=defiant_podcasthttps://zkverify.io/?utm_source=defiant&utm_medium=pd&utm_campaign=ad_1https://www.karpatkey.com/?utm_source=Youtube_des&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=Defiant ✨ 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

Suji Yan, founder of Mask Network, discusses bridging Web2 and Web3 for social media privacy. They delve into SocialFi, decentralized social media, content creation, adoption challenges, and the importance of data ownership in a decentralized space.

Gabby Dizon from YGG discusses play-to-earn gaming, on-chain reputation, and the future of Web3 gaming. Topics include YGG's mission, token economy, guild protocols, badges for reputation, NFT activity, and the growth of decentralized labor pools.

Johann Kerbrat, Crypto GM at Robinhood, talks about democratizing finance with recent launches like self-custodial wallet and staking. They discuss Web3 games, fees, regulation, DeFi, staking, and future plans including Robinhood Chain and tokenization. Robinhood aims to empower users with educational resources and crypto-native features, emphasizing accessibility and innovation in the industry.

David Schwartz, CTO of Ripple, discusses XRP tokenomics, network attacks, Ripple's legal battles with the SEC, and the launch of a new stablecoin. They explore Ripple's evolution, the future of DeFi on the XRP ledger, and plans for incorporating smart contracts.

Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Head of Crypto at PayPal, discusses PayPal's crypto journey, including their motivation for entering the space, available crypto applications, PYUSD stablecoin creation, and strategies for mass adoption of blockchain technology. Topics covered include PayPal's evolution in crypto, PYUSD stablecoin evolution, smart custody solutions, monetization strategies, passing on yield in stablecoins, PYUC integration in DeFi, and the rise of PYUSD in DeFi.

Lukas Schor is the Co-Founder of Safe, an onchain asset custody protocol, securing ~$100 Billion in assets today. Originally developed under Gnosis as a smart account for securing digital assets, Safe eventually became an independent project after spinning off on its own. Today, Safe has a TVL of over $100B. In this episode, we go over the recently launched $GNO token, its use cases, early days of Gnosis as an onchain prediction market. Later, Lukas discusses the impact of quantum computing on blockchain security and the future potential of smart accounts. He also explores the challenges and opportunities in achieving mainstream adoption of Web3 wallets. The episode concludes with insights into Safe's upcoming features aimed at supporting a billion Web3 users. 0:00 Intro 1:05 Safe Founding Story 3:30 Gnosis Prediction Markets 5:17 Lukas Schor 7:21 $GNO Token 18:47 Smart Accounts 25:16 Quantum Computing 33:33 Web3 Wallets 37:25 How is Safe safe? 39:23 New Features 47:52 Billion Web3 Users ✨ 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

Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize, discusses partnering with BlackRock to tokenize assets. Topics include onchain vs offchain, institutional investors, secondary market, future of tokenization, impact of BlackRock, use cases for tokenization, and bridging the gap between Web2 and Web3 assets in finance.

Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave, discusses the evolution of Aave into Avara, including Lens, a Web3 social media protocol. Topics include developer community, monetization in Web3 social, token integration, permissionless systems, competition with Maker, and reaching mainstream.

Chris Dixon, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, discusses Web3, tokens, and blockchain in a SXSW session. Topics include democratizing digital ownership, decentralized governance, risks of token votes, empowering creators, AI threats, and blockchain economics. Dixon advocates for productive use of blockchain, fair compensation for content creators, and embracing innovation for the future.