Validated

In this episode, Austin chats with Sid Powell, co-founder and CEO of Maple Finance, to explore how institutional credit is moving on-chain. Sid breaks down how Maple has facilitated over $5 billion in loans, how it manages risk and transparency in a post–Celsius world, and what’s next for tokenized private credit. We also discuss stablecoins, regulation, and how crypto finance is maturing for the long term.00:00 - Understanding Maple Finance 02:03 - Comparing Maple to Celsius 09:39 - Institutional Clientele 16:42 - Maple's Navigation of Different Blockchain Ecosystems 22:58 - The Case for Vertical Integration 23:57 - Challenges in Financial Services25:12 - Crypto's Overall Growth 26:49 - The Future of Banking and Crypto Adoption 30:57 - Stablecoins and Cross-Border Payments 38:21 - Automation and Efficiency in Crypto Lending 44:00 - Conclusion Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Kevin Bowers returns to explain Jump's expansion from trading to core infrastructure, centered on what he calls the "great inversion": the real bottleneck in tech isn't compute, but data and I/O. He introduces Shelby, a new storage network, as a direct challenge to the "Hotel California for Data" model used by cloud providers. This same focus on efficient data flow—not just processing power—was the key to scaling Solana with Fire Dancer. Finally, Kevin explains how FPGAs from high-frequency trading are the critical hardware solution, allowing blockchains to bypass software's inefficient "Tower of Babel" and "get close to the wire" for true high performance. 00:00 - Expanding Beyond Trading and the Vision for Shelby 02:31 - Challenges in Storage and Data Management 04:37 - Building High-Performance Systems 08:04 - The Evolution of Jump's Technology 11:55 - The Economics of Cloud Storage 29:07 - Fire Dancer and Frankendancer 42:03 - The Cost of Optimization 42:48 - Machine Learning and Custom Networks 43:47 - Project Prioritization and Entropy 46:48 - Challenges in High-Performance Computing 56:38 - The Role of FPGAs in Trading and Blockchain 01:13:45 - Future of Hardware Acceleration in Blockchain 01:18:54 -Conclusion and Final Thoughts Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Austin chats with Michael Repetny, a core contributor to Marinade. They discuss the history and technical details of Marinade, its role in the Solana ecosystem, and its approach to staking. Michael covers Marinade's origins in a 2021 hackathon, the development of its custom stake pool contract, and its early competition with Lido. The conversation addresses the evolution of validator economics on Solana, the impact of MEV and priority fees, and Marinade's response to sandwich attacks. They also discuss the protocol's products, including its liquid staking token (mSOL) and Marinade Native, a non-custodial delegation service. The episode concludes with a discussion on preparing for institutional adoption, the role of LSTs in ETFs, and the process of getting SOC 2 compliance. 00:00 – Marinade’s Origins and Early Days03:11 – Building on Solana07:09 – Competing with Lido and the Importance of Community10:59 – The Changing Economics of Staking14:45 – Stake Pools, Yield, and Market Transparency19:17 – The Marinade Marketplace23:21 – Protected Staking Rewards & Validator Bonds27:19 – Marinade Native32:18 – ETFs, Institutions, and the Future of Staking38:34 – Security, Compliance, and SOC 2 in Crypto43:59 – The Future of Marinade and Solana Staking46:59 – How to Get Involved with Marinade & Closing Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Brennan Watt, who works at Anza, joins Connor to dive into the complexities of Solana's decentralized finance landscape. They discuss the innovative Prop AMMs and their efficiency in trading. The two explore the challenges of market making and arbitrage, emphasizing the need for improved market structures. They tackle scalability issues and the potential downsides of centralized leadership in decentralized networks. Geographic decentralization’s impact on market dynamics and MEV's role in price discovery also take center stage in this insightful conversation.

Tristan Frezza, a key innovator at Bullet, dives into the revival of Central Limit Order Books (CLOBs) on Solana and the transformative role Bullet plays in this space. He discusses historical challenges in decentralized finance and how Bullet overcomes them with advancements in smart contracts. Tristan highlights the importance of trading efficiency and user experience, emphasizing the promise of ZK proofs for off-chain computations. The conversation also touches on the competitive landscape with centralized exchanges and the excitement surrounding Bullet's upcoming testnet.

John Charbonneau, co-founder of DBA, shares his transformative journey from traditional finance to the crypto sphere, emphasizing a shift from Ethereum maximalism to a pragmatic multi-chain approach. He discusses how the maturation of the market brings revenue and cash flow to the forefront of valuation metrics. Charbonneau highlights the contrasting cases of Hyperliquid and the evolving investor expectations regarding transparency and regulation, while stressing the need for human touch in tech-driven environments.

Kash Dhanda, an operator at Jupiter and former founding team member of Super Team, shares his journey in the crypto space. He reveals how Jupiter's unique structure accelerates product development and discusses their commitment to serving a diverse user base. Topics include the challenges of influencer relationships, innovative monetization strategies, and sustainable growth in crypto finance. Kash also highlights the importance of blending content creation with product strategy to build community trust and improve user experiences.

Peter Van Valkenburgh, executive director of Coin Center, discusses his organization's journey in advocating for sensible cryptocurrency regulations. He shares insights on navigating the evolving crypto landscape, including the challenges of recent DOJ guidance and the political implications of meme coins. The conversation also touches on critical legal issues, such as anti-money laundering measures and the ethical tensions in blockchain governance. Peter emphasizes the need for nuanced policies that foster innovation while ensuring oversight in the rapidly changing world of crypto.

In this discussion, Ouriel Ohayon, co-founder of Zengo, enlightens listeners on the complexities of crypto custody and security. He shares insights into the challenges posed by centralized custodians and the dangers of self-custody. Ouriel reveals how Zengo employs Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology to enhance security, featuring a passwordless experience and innovative recovery protocols. The conversation also covers evolving business models in crypto wallets that prioritize user experience while ensuring safety amidst rising cyber threats.

Chaofan Shou, a tech architect behind Solayer, shares insights on building a high-performance sidechain for Solana. He details Solayer's unique hybrid model, enhancing execution speeds for market makers while tackling high transaction fees. The discussion dives into the intriguing use of FPGA and SDN for optimized processing. Chaofan also explores the challenges of balancing scalability with decentralization and the potential of blockchain gaming, revealing strategies to entice major gaming firms into the ecosystem.