The Delphi Podcast

The Delphi Podcast Host and GP of Delphi Ventures Tom Shaughnessy sits down with Zhivko Todorov, co-founder of EnterDAO, a DAO focused on building products to enable new markets within the Web3 metaverse economy. The two discuss Landworks’ potential as a metaverse land rental marketplace, the utility of MetaPortal as a single entry point across the metaverse, the benefits of going DAO-first, and much more! We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Kava: Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies on DeFi’s most trusted platform. Mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely across the top crypto assets with a simple user experience and the confidence of institutional-grade security. To learn more visit kava.io Celo: Celo is a mobile-first platform that makes financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Celo supports over 1000 projects who are everyday building applications and issuing digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world. Learn more at Celo.org.  Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to get our interviews, first. Show Notes: (00:00:00) – Introduction. (00:02:40) – Zhivko’s background. (00:04:00) – The problem EnterDAO is solving.  (00:07:32) – What users are getting when they buy metaverse land.  (00:09:00) – Introduction to LandWorks.   (00:10:13) – What the LandWorks experience looks like.  (00:10:58) – The security of LandWorks.  (00:12:12) – Zhivko’s thoughts on whether people are ready for metaverse land renting. (00:15:11) – The LandWorks timeline. (00:16:10) – Balancing speed and security when building.  (00:17:03) – The market for LandWorks.  (00:17:53) – The possibility of group land rentals.  (00:18:37) – Introduction to MetaPortal.  (00:20:00) – What the MetaPortal experience looks like.  (00:21:52) – MetaPortal competitors.  (00:22:46) – The direction of EnterDAO. (00:25:41) – The decision to go DAO-first and its benefits.   (00:29:44) – The risks of code forks.  (00:31:59) – Drawing parallels between LandWorks and Airbnb. (00:33:46) – Biggest lessons from LimeChain days. (00:36:19) – $ENTR token.  (00:37:54) – EnterDAO’s call for community members. Resources: Zhivko’s Twitter Zhivko’s Linkedin EnterDAO Twitter EnterDAO Discord EnterDAO website More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q

The Delphi Podcast Host and GP of Delphi Ventures Tom Shaughnessy sits down with Gabriel Shapiro, General Counsel at Delphi Labs, Delphi’s very own project incubator. The two discuss legal differences between traditional businesses and crypto, the motivations of regulatory bodies, regulation on centralized and decentralized stablecoins and much more! We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Kava: Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies on DeFi’s most trusted platform. Mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely across the top crypto assets with a simple user experience and the confidence of institutional-grade security. To learn more visit kava.io Celo: Celo is a mobile-first platform that makes financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Celo supports over 1000 projects who are everyday building applications and issuing digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world. Learn more at Celo.org.  Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to get our interviews, first. Show Notes: (00:00:00) – Introduction. (00:02:35) – Gabriel’s background.   (00:04:17) – War stories from Gabriel’s VC days. (00:06:17) – Biggest legal differences between projects in crypto and the traditional world. (00:11:23) – Regulatory bodies that have the most impact on crypto.  (00:15:23) – How motivations to support innovation and regulatory turf wars can coexist.  (00:18:56) – Gabriel’s thoughts on pushing the boundaries of regulation. (00:22:07) – What Gabriel would say to Gary Gensler. (00:27:00) – What a regulatory attack on a big DeFi project could look like. (00:32:05) – Regulation on decentralized teams. (00:35:39) – Governments and fair launches. (00:39:03) – How much Americans’ voices matter. (00:42:13) – What regulators really care about. (00:44:13) – Personal liability and why it's important. (00:48:43) – Regulation and stablecoins. (00:51:51) – How regulating $USDC would affect DeFi. (00:54:13) – The regulatory resistance of $UST.  (00:57:06) – The optimal formation for a crypto project.  (01:01:41) – The ways other lawyers can get up to speed on crypto regulation. (01:04:44) – How crypto is disrupting the traditional legal model. Resources: Gabriel’s Twitter Gabriel’s Linkedin Gabriel’s Disclosure Gabriel’s Newsletter Delphi Labs Website More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q

The Delphi Podcast Host and GP of Delphi Ventures Tom Shaughnessy sits down with Alex Salnikov, co-founder and CPO at Rarible, the first community-owned NFT marketplace. The two discuss open-sourcing the Rarible Protocol stack, the benefits of having marketplace features on-chain, the $RARI token distribution and much more! We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Kava: Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies on DeFi’s most trusted platform. Mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely across the top crypto assets with a simple user experience and the confidence of institutional-grade security. To learn more visit kava.io Celo: Celo is a mobile-first platform that makes financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Celo supports over 1000 projects who are everyday building applications and issuing digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world. Learn more at Celo.org.  Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to get our interviews, first. Show Notes: (00:00:00) – Introduction. (00:02:30) – Alex’s journey in crypto. (00:05:05) – Rarible’s storefront vs. competitors. (00:07:37) – The focus of Rarible’s design. (00:09:12) – Rarible on multiple chains. (00:10:04) – Overview of Rarible Protocol.  (00:13:59) – Rarible’s on-chain features.  (00:16:39) –The benefits of having features on-chain.  (00:20:32) – The risks for developers on closed APIs.  (00:24:53) – The reason other teams close off their indexer. (00:25:55) – How royalties are handled on Rarible.  (00:28:17) – Alex’s thoughts on scaling Rarible.  (00:31:53) – NFTs and security on layer-2s.  (00:34:08) – Projects using Rarible Protocol to build.  (00:38:28) – The $RARI token.  (00:41:11) – Alex’s thoughts on Rarible being completely decentralized. (00:42:45) – What the team did well/poorly with the $RARI token drop. (00:45:00) – NFT projects that Alex is excited about.  (00:45:51) – What Alex would say to NFT bears. Resources: Alex’s Twitter Alex’s Linkedin Rarible Twitter Rarible Website Rarible Protocol Website More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q Access Delphi's Research Here: https://www.delphidigital.io/ Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to bu

The Delphi Podcast Host and GP of Delphi Ventures Tom Shaughnessy sits down with Haseeb Querishi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital, a cross-border crypto venture fund. The two have a philosophical discussion on the topic of decentralization, covering its core purpose, the costly trade-offs, the declining marginal utility of pursuing decentralization and much more! We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Kava: Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies on DeFi’s most trusted platform. Mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely across the top crypto assets with a simple user experience and the confidence of institutional-grade security. To learn more visit kava.io Celo: Celo is a mobile-first platform that makes financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Celo supports over 1000 projects who are everyday building applications and issuing digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world. Learn more at Celo.org.  Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to get our interviews, first. Show Notes: (00:00:00) – Introduction. (00:03:32) – Overview of Dragonfly Capital.  (00:04:05) – Inspiration for the post “Why Decentralization Isn't as Important as You Think”. (00:06:07) – Haseeb’s stance on decentralization.  (00:08:37) – Haseeb’s thoughts on progressive decentralization. (00:11:02) – The purpose of decentralization. (00:13:00) – Haseeb’s thoughts on quantifying decentralization. (00:15:46) – What if Vitalik kept control of Ethereum.  (00:18:50) – The decentralization trade-off for layer-1s.  (00:25:04) – Why projects cannot compete on being decentralized.  (00:29:18) – Censorship on layer-1s.  (00:31.01) – Adverse situations with nation-states. (00:37:21) – The declining marginal utility of being decentralized. (00:41:09) – Haseeb’s thoughts on decentralization bringing in more human capital.  (00:43:44) – Helping a team navigate decentralization as a VC. (00:46:15) – The part incentives play in decentralization.   (00:49:37) – How Haseeb would structure a DAO. (00:53:33) – Haseeb’s thoughts on mass governance. (00:57:07) – Judging founders as an investor.  (01:01:13) – What Tom disagrees with in Haseeb’s post. (01:03:09) – Imagining decentralization in a world without governments. Resources: Haseeb’s Twitter Dragonfly Capital Website Haseeb’s Article on Why Decentralization Isn’t as Important as You Think Jesse Walden's Article on Progressive Decentralization More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here:

Jose Maria Macedo sits down with Jonathan Caras, Head of Communications at Levana, a protocol on the Terra blockchain that allows any asset to be leveraged. The two discuss decentralizing perpetual swaps, leveraged tokens versus margin trading, the Levana Lore and much more! We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Kava: Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies on DeFi’s most trusted platform. Mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely across the top crypto assets with a simple user experience and the confidence of institutional-grade security. To learn more visit kava.io Celo: Celo is a mobile-first platform that makes financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Celo supports over 1000 projects who are everyday building applications and issuing digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world. Learn more at Celo.org.  Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to get our interviews, first. Show Notes: (00:00:00) – Introduction. (00:02:35) – Jonathan’s background. (00:09:46) – Why Jonathan took the leap to build Levana. (00:13:16) – Why Jonathan chose to build on Terra.  (00:20:24) – What is Levana? (00:25:00) – The possibilities on Levana.    (00:28:50) – How the leveraged tokens work.  (00:33:59) – Liquidation risk of leveraged tokens. (00:38:16) – Choosing leveraged tokens over margin trading infrastructure. (00:44:14) – Differences between perps and leverage trading. (00:50:30) – Approaching perp decentralization.  (00:59:55) – Role of the Levana token. (01:04:01) – The story behind Levana’s lore.  (01:10:09) – Easter eggs in Levana’s lore / Levana NFTs.  (01:14:51) – How NFTs will be incorporated on Levana.  (01:21:00) – Closing thoughts on Levana. Resources: Jonathan’s Twitter Jonathan’s Linkedin Levana Twitter Levana Website More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q Access Delphi's Research Here: https://www.delphidigital.io/ Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Digital may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships

The Delphi Podcast Host and GP of Delphi Ventures Tom Shaughnessy sits down with Aaron and David McDonald, founders of Altered State Machine (ASM), a world-first decentralized platform for developers and NFT owners to create, train and own intelligent NFTs. They discuss integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into NFTs and gaming, use cases for AI in DeFi, the infrastructure of ASM brains and much more! We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Kava: Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies on DeFi’s most trusted platform. Mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely across the top crypto assets with a simple user experience and the confidence of institutional-grade security. To learn more visit kava.io Celo: Celo is a mobile-first platform that makes financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Celo supports over 1000 projects who are everyday building applications and issuing digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world. Learn more at Celo.org.  Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to get our interviews, first. Show Notes: (00:00:00) – Introduction. (00:02:20) – Aaron and David’s background. (00:04:15) – Elevator pitch for Altered State Machine (ASM). (00:07:00) – The issues with NFTs today. (00:09:42) – Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) with NFTs. (00:11:07) – Overview of AI in games. (00:20:17) – The experience of gaming against an intelligent AI.  (00:31:09) – Use cases for AI in DeFi.  (00:36:19) – The ASM brain infrastructure.  (00:44:30) – The interoperability of brains. (00:51:45) – Preventing getting the “perfect” brain.  (00:54:29) – How brain training works.  (00:59:14) – The opportunity for miners with ASM. (01:02:31) – Data management for the brains. (01:08:35) – The process behind ASM’s launch. (01:13:58) – The sci-fi angle on ASM. Resources: Aaron’s Twitter David’s Twitter ASM Twitter ASM Website ASM Medium More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q Access Delphi's Research Here: https://www.delphidigital.io/ Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial

Jose Maria Macedo sits down with Do Kwon, Co-Founder and CEO of Terraform Labs, the team behind the Terra blockchain, a fully decentralized and programmable money for the internet. The two discuss decentralized stablecoin mechanisms and pitfalls, Terra’s core ethos, regulatory risk for Terra, and much more! We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Kava: Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies on DeFi’s most trusted platform. Mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely across the top crypto assets with a simple user experience and the confidence of institutional-grade security. To learn more visit kava.io Celo: Celo is a mobile-first platform that makes financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Celo supports over 1000 projects who are everyday building applications and issuing digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world. Learn more at Celo.org.  Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to get our interviews, first. Show Notes: (00:00:00) – Introduction. (00:03:04) – Do’s background.  (00:05:40) – The importance of stablecoins. (00:08:26) – An overview of stablecoins. (00:13:09) – Overcoming the challenges of an algorithmic stablecoin. (00:18:01) – Making $UST the most useful form of money.  (00:22:12) – Terra’s DeFi ecosystem.  (00:26:40) – The metaverse on Terra.  (00:29:21) – Terra’s scalability. (00:32:22) – Terra’s main goal / Getting $UST on other chains. (00:35:40) – Using $UST for payments / CHAI payments. (00:41:45) – Regulatory risk for Terra. (00:47:14) – Terraform Lab’s plan for their treasury. (00:48:53) – Sustainability of the Terra ecosystem without incentives. (00:52:08) – Managing the concentrated liquidity trade-off. (00:53:34) – Do’s biggest concerns for Terra.  (00:55:20) – Closing thoughts from Do. Resources: Do’s Twitter Terra Website Anchor Protocol Website Mirror Protocol Website More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q Access Delphi's Research Here: https://www.delphidigital.io/ Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Digital may personally own tokens or art that are ment

The Delphi Podcast Host and GP of Delphi Ventures Tom Shaughnessy sits down with Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder and CEO of Circle, a payments and treasury infrastructure for the internet and issuer of USD Coin (USDC). The two discuss building successful companies in new technologies, the regulatory climate for stablecoins, the future of Circle and much more. We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Kava: Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies on DeFi’s most trusted platform. Mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely across the top crypto assets with a simple user experience and the confidence of institutional-grade security. To learn more visit kava.io Celo: Celo is a mobile-first platform that makes financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Celo supports over 1000 projects who are everyday building applications and issuing digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world. Learn more at Celo.org.  Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to get our interviews, first. Show Notes: (00:00:00) – Introduction. (00:02:27) – Jeremy’s background. (00:09:31) – How to scale companies in new technologies quickly. (00:14:26) – Remaining flexible on the product and business plan.  (00:17:01) – Biggest lessons from Jeremy’s first two companies.  (00:20:01) – Time management as an industry leader. (00:23:12) – Deciding to double-down on USDC.  (00:32:36) – Making the call to drop losing business divisions. (00:36:54) – Team involvement in making key business decisions. (00:38:36) – The future of Circle. (00:47:32) – Regulatory concerns for USDC. (00:56:05) – Chances of complete government crackdown. (01:00:09) – Are government crackdowns bullish for Bitcoin and Ethereum? (01:02:26) – Regulation in the early internet days.  (01:07:58) – Jeremy’s thoughts on competition from decentralized stablecoins. Resources: Jeremy’s Twitter Jeremy’s Linkedin Circle Website More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q Access Delphi's Research Here: https://www.delphidigital.io/ Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Digital may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show f

The Delphi Podcast Host and GP of Delphi Ventures Tom Shaughnessy sits down with Notion, also known as Adam, Lead at GEN.ART, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) focused on shaping the future of generative art. The two discuss GEN.ART’s membership model, community involvement in projects, curating artists and much more! We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Kava: Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies on DeFi’s most trusted platform. Mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely across the top crypto assets with a simple user experience and the confidence of institutional-grade security. To learn more visit kava.io Celo: Celo is a mobile-first platform that makes financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Celo supports over 1000 projects who are everyday building applications and issuing digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world. Learn more at Celo.org.  Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as an audio interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to get our interviews, first. Show Notes: (00:00:00) – Introduction. (00:02:31) – Elevator pitch for GEN.ART. (00:03:15) – Adam’s background.  (00:04:40) – Why Adam is passionate about generative art.  (00:07:31) – Why people should be interested in generative art.  (00:10:10) – Use cases for NFTs beyond the art.  (00:12:10) – GEN.ART’s membership model for drops. (00:17:33) – Why GEN.ART is a DAO. (00:21:48) – Effects of a few owning a large percentage of memberships. (00:27:18) – GEN.ART as a collective DAO across collections. (00:31:03) – Why artists choose GEN.ART. (00:36:30) – The relationship between the community and the artists. (00:38:28) – How the $GENART token is being used.  (00:40:08) – Exploring GEN.ART on other chains.  (00:42:02) – Curating artists and art.  (00:45:39) – Drops beyond generative art. (00:47:14) – Attracting big names in the space. (00:49:53) – The future of GEN.ART. (00:55:00) – Getting the community involved in building. (00:58:48) – Where people can get involved in GEN.ART. Resources: GEN.ART’s Twitter  GEN.ART’s Website More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q Access Delphi's Research Here: https://www.delphidigital.io/ Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Digital may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be

Guest host Can Gurel from Delphi Research sits down with Chris Whinfrey, co-founder of Hop Protocol, a prominent token bridge for Ethereum’s layer-2 ecosystem that allows users to quickly send tokens from one rollup or sidechain to another. The two discuss the utility of Hop Bridge in a rollup centric Ethereum world, diving into its design properties, security model and much more! We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Kava: Kava connects the world's largest cryptocurrencies on DeFi’s most trusted platform. Mint stablecoins, lend, borrow, earn and swap safely across the top crypto assets with a simple user experience and the confidence of institutional-grade security. To learn more visit kava.io Celo: Celo is a mobile-first platform that makes financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Celo supports over 1000 projects who are everyday building applications and issuing digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world. Learn more at Celo.org.  Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to get our interviews, first. Show Notes: (00:00:00) – Introduction. (00:02:40) – Chris’ background / Why he started Hop Protocol.  (00:07:15) – How optimism and ZK rollups work.  (00:14:28) – How Hop Protocol works. (00:20:28) – How hTokens are converted into aTokens.   (00:23:03) – Why an intermediate token is needed.  (00:27:02) – Hop Protocol from a capital efficiency perspective.    (00:30:46) – How Hop Protocol defends against fraudulent transactions.  (00:32:54) – Users’ exposure to the weak links in scaling solution security.  (00:37:33) – Chris’ thoughts on concerns about rollups.  (00:41:26) – Hop Protocol’s role if rollups become efficient. (00:42:53) – Challenges with cross-chain messaging. (00:49:48) – Other layer-1s versus layer-2 solutions. (00:53:53) – Hop Protocol token. Resources: Chris Whinfrey's Twitter Hop Protocol Hop Bridge More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q Access Delphi's Research Here: https://www.delphidigital.io/ Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Digital may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsors