The Delphi Podcast

In this podcast, we dive deep into the world of Bitcoin scalability solutions with Orkun Kilic, the co-founder and CEO of Chainway Labs, the company behind Citrea - Bitcoin's first zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup. Orkun provides a detailed background on the journey that led to the creation of Citrea, explaining how recent upgrades to Bitcoin's protocol like SegWit, Taproot, and the Ordinals protocol paved the way for new possibilities by enabling arbitrary data storage on the blockchain. This opened up a design space for building scalable layer 2 solutions on top of Bitcoin. The core innovation behind Citrea is the use of ZK proofs and the groundbreaking BitVM (Bitcoin Virtual Machine) primitive to create a trust-minimized bridge between Bitcoin's base layer and the Citrea rollup. Orkun goes into the technical depths of how BitVM works, allowing off-chain virtual machine computations to be proven valid on Bitcoin's blockchain through an interactive fraud proof verification game. Citrea's EVM compatibility and the plan to attract developers by tapping into Bitcoin's trillion-dollar liquidity are covered in-depth. Orkun envisions Citrea becoming a "programmable liquidity layer" enabling DeFi protocols, stablecoins, and innovative decentralized applications while inheriting Bitcoin's security and decentralization. With its comprehensive technical insights and forward-looking perspectives, this episode is for anyone interested in the future of programmable money on Bitcoin. Key Links Citrea: https://citrea.xyz Socials Orkun’s Twitter Can's Twitter Tommy’s Twitter Follow Delphi Digital Website: ⁠⁠https://members.delphidigital.io/home⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Delphi_Digital⁠⁠ Youtube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@Delphi_Digital⁠ Disclosures 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 Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token. Delphi’s transparency page can be viewed ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Keywords Bitcoin, Citrea, ZK Rollup, Scalability, BitVM, Optimistic Bridge, BTC, Programmable Liquidity, Developer Ecosystem, DeFi, Stablecoins, Decentralized Applications, Turing-Complete, Trust-Minimized, Ordinals, Taproot, SegWit, Data Compression, State Diffs, Throughput, Adoption, Ethereum, Layer 2 (L2), Chainway,

A discussion with Keith Singery, a Bittensor validator, on democratizing AI and countering tech giants. Topics include decentralized AI, potential for AGI emergence, crypto incentives in AI, challenges of monetizing Bittensor, and the future of decentralized intelligence.

Keone Hon, Founder of Monad, discusses Monad's key technical innovations for high-performance Ethereum-compatible blockchain. Topics include MonadBFT consensus, parallel execution, custom database, achieving 10,000+ TPS, low transaction costs, full EVM equivalence, and attracting developers.

Simon Harman, founder of Chainflip, discusses the future of trading in crypto, including decentralized exchanges, liquidity architecture, and sustainability. He also shares insights on cross-chain interoperability and the advantages of application-specific blockchains. The podcast covers topics such as on-chain trading, value capture, wallet agnosticism, AI in trading, risks in Chainflip, and founder advice.

Logan Jastremski, Co-founder of Frictionless Capital, discusses scaling solutions for high throughput blockchains with Tommy. They explore Solana vs Celestia, Layer 2 rollups, downtime vs reorgs, and where the infrastructure is heading. This podcast delves into the future of high throughput blockchains.

Guy Young joins Delphi Ventures' Yan Liberman to discuss Ethena’s novel approach to creating a stablecoin that is censorship-resistant, scalable, and yield-generating. We explore how Ethena achieves these goals through a crypto-native stablecoin called USDE that generates yield by collateralizing staked ETH and shorting ETH futures. The conversation provides unique insight into the mechanics and incentives underlying USDE's design. We also discuss second-order implications of the product capturing significant market share in the future and explore pathways for further decentralization over time. The episode sheds light on an innovative stablecoin built to be resilient across market cycles. It serves as a fascinating case study on the delicate balance between pragmatism and principles in crypto design. We also touch on future opportunities to integrate USDE's outsized yields into DeFi protocols in synergistic ways as adoption grows. Key Links Ethena Labs: https://www.ethena.fi Socials Guy’s Twitter Ethena Labs’s Twitter Yan’s Twitter Follow Delphi Digital Website: ⁠⁠https://members.delphidigital.io/home⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Delphi_Digital⁠⁠ Youtube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@Delphi_Digital⁠ Disclosures 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 Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token. Delphi’s transparency page can be viewed ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. DV is an investor in Ethena. Keywords stablecoin, yield farming, ethereum staking, futures basis trading, dual asset collateralization, decentralized finance (DeFi), total value locked (TVL), market resilience, open interest, cryptocurrency adoption, tokenomics, crypto derivatives, lending protocols, money markets, fixed income, decentralized governance, stablecoin regulations, tether, market share, proof of stake economics, staked cryptoassets, USDE, ethena, ethena labs, USDC,

Nick Emmons, CEO of Upshot, discusses decentralizing AI models, architecting coordination mechanisms, reimagining the crypto-AI stack, protecting model IP while enabling collective intelligence, whether crypto startups can compete with Big Tech, and predictions on AGI timelines and decentralization's impact on access.

Ala Shaabana, co-founder of BitTensor, discusses the vision and technical architecture of the decentralized AI network. They contrast centralized AI governance with BitTensor's community-driven approach. They explore the philosophical questions around AI development pathways and highlight intriguing use cases of BitTensor. They also discuss BitTensor's roadmap to complete the decentralized vision through self-governance.

Robert Leshner, founder of Compound and SuperState, shares SuperState's strategy to tokenize real-world assets like US Treasuries. He discusses the slow adoption of asset tokenization, the benefits of bringing real-world assets on-chain, and the institutional investor-focused approach of SuperState. Robert also provides insights on the current DeFi landscape and what he looks for when investing in early-stage founders.

Chris Burniske, partner at Placeholder VC, discusses their evolving philosophy on investing in crypto networks. He talks about building founder relationships, managing liquidity, evaluating growth vs. value, and the transition from Ethereum to Solana. The conversation also explores different strategies for value accrual, compares Solana and Ethereum, and discusses the psychology of investing in cryptocurrency.