
Unlayered
Think beyond Ethereum and dive deep into the world of next generation blockchains. Join us as we engage with founders, engineers, researchers, investors, and critics of high-throughput, low-fee, parallelized blockchains like Solana, Monad, Sei, and more. Unlayered is for crypto natives eager to stay updated with the latest developments, complementing shows that focus primarily on Ethereum and its layered scaling approach.
Latest episodes

May 2, 2024 • 53min
Making Fitness Accountable Using Crypto I Marbius (Moonwalk Fitness)
This week, Dave and Zen Llama talk to Marbius, head of product at Moonwalk Fitness to discuss the most hyped game on Solana at the moment, Moonwalk. The game leverages crypto payments to enforce accountability into users' exercise routines, by introducing global mini games where you pay to play, and have the opportunity to earn money should you succeed in the challenge (and others fail)! Its a simple yet brilliant concept which crypto payments help to unlock, and which could help further legitimize the space should it reach critical mass from a non crypto-native audience.
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Time Stamps
(00:00) Introduction
(02:26) The Origins of Moonwalk
(05:12) Promoting Accountability with Personal Contracts
(12:46) Using Steps as a Baseline Metric
(14:49) Designing for Trust Between Participants
(18:23) Last Man Standing?
(23:40) Exploring Sponsorship Opportunities
(28:00) Building Useful Crypto Apps
(33:40) Building Without a Token at the Centre
(38:06) Exploring Different Ways to Track Fitness Metrics
(40:50) How to Get Involved
(44:34) Financing the Project
(45:14) Benefits of Blockchain Payments
(46:30) Screen Time As a Metric
(47:11) The Benefits of Outdoor Exercise
(49:57) Tailouring Games For Different Demographics
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Podcast Resources
Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz
Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum
Follow Zen Llama : https://twitter.com/ZenLlama
Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod
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Episode Resources
Follow Marbius : https://Twitter.com/MarbiusC
Follow Moonwalk Fitness: https://Twitter.com/MoonwalkFitness

Apr 25, 2024 • 59min
MetaDAO (Pt 2) : The Start Of A World-Changing Governance Experiment ꟾ Nallok & Prophet, MetaDAO
Following our earlier episode on MetaDAO, we are once again joined by Prophet, and first time guest to the show Nallok, to talk about the early days of MetaDAO and the start of a potentially transformative form of governance. Many agree this is one of the most exciting experiments happening in crypto today and so we get into how the early months have been, how the DAO has successfully fought off several adversarial proposals, and what Robin Hanson, the father of Futarchy, really thinks about the project. The discussion concludes with an interesting discussion around the differences between futarchy and prediction markets, and how futarchy could be used to elect presidents one day.
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Time Stamps
(0:00) - MetaDAO update
(2:13) - Concept of Futarchy-As-A-Service (FAAS)
(4:28) - Fighting off adversarial proposals
(7:15) - Metanallok’s involvement with MetaDAO
(12:22) - MetaDAO’s UI troubles
(13:52) - Liquidity problems for Meta token
(18:00) - Working with the father of futarchy, Robin Hanson
(20:13) - Which projects are looking to integrate FAAS?
(22:19) - Fielding proposals to buy Meta token
(24:06) - Working with Colosseum
(27:13) - Why are there proposals to buy Meta from treasury rather than buying from market
(28:52) - How MetaDAO shows inefficiencies of voting
(31:48) - Is bribing possible with Futarchy?
(33:54) - How do the fail markets work?
(36:15) - Unforeseen challenges so far
(39:04) - How granular can futarchic voting be?
(41:36) - Need for a benevolent dictator?
(44:38) - MetaDAO in next few years
(49:15) - Futarchy vs prediction markets
(55:29) - Where are MetaDAO finding PMF?
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Podcast Resources
Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz
Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum
Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod
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Episode Resources
Follow Nallok : https://Twitter.com/MetaNallok
Follow Prophet : https://Twitter.com/MetaProph3t
Follow MetaDAO : https://Twitter.com/MetaDAOProject

Apr 18, 2024 • 1h 4min
Radix : Why Sharding is Crypto's Next 0 to 1 Moment I Piers Ridyard, RDX WorksT
This week, Sal and Zen Llama host another podcast in the "Technical" series - this time talking with Piers Ridyard who is CEO of RDX Works. The episode goes into depth around what makes Radix such a highly novel design, why sharding is the inevitable solution for horizontally scaling blockchains, and why the notion of blocks needs to be revamped to allow for full atomic composability between shards. Find out why Radix may well be the final nail in the coffin of the scalability trilemma.
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Time Stamps
(0:00) - Overview on Radix
(3:47) - How Radix reduces risk of exploits
(17:25) - Comparing Radix to Solana and Move
(28:35) - Radix’s novel approach to sharding
(43:30) - How do nodes sync up the full state
(45:09) - What are trade offs from a DevEx perspective?
(48:46) - How to onboard devs to a new programming language
(1:00:25) - How to get involved
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Podcast Resources
Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz
Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum
Follow Zen : https://twitter.com/ZenLlama
Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod
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Episode Resources
Follow Piers : https://Twitter.com/PiersRidyard
Follow Radix : https://Twitter.com/RadixDLT
Radix Website : https://RadixDLT.com

Apr 9, 2024 • 49min
Navigating Crypto Tax Season I Patrick Camuso, CPA
This week, we are joined by Patrick Camuso, a crypto-focused CPA, as we discuss the challenges of managing crypto taxes in advance of the US tax filing deadline. This conversation covers various topics related to taxes in the cryptocurrency space including how to account for NFTs, the tax implications of being hacked, the importance of tracking rolling balances, selecting a CPA and how to prepare your taxes in a manner that will appease the IRS. Its a subject that most try to ignore until the last minute - and yet can have material impacts on your annual profits - so dive in and see how best to prepare for the end of the tax year.
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(00:00) : Introduction and Technical Difficulties
(01:03) : The Unique Challenges of Crypto Taxes
(10:06) : Crypto Taxes as Property
(14:56) : Treatment of NFT Mints
(19:15) : Tracking Rolling Balances
(24:00) : When To Use a CPA
(29:04) : Filing an Extension and Preparing for Taxes
(33:41) : Tax Treatment of Hacks and Phishing Attacks
(35:55) : Other Rules People Might Not Be Aware Of
(40:22) : Pricing Data for Low Liquidity Assets
(42:27) : Importance of Consistent Methodology
(47:53) : Closing Thoughts and Importance of Compliance
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Podcast Resources
Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz
Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum
Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod
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Episode Resources
Follow Patrick: https://Twitter.com/PatrickCamuso
Patrick's Website : https://CamusoCPA.com

Apr 4, 2024 • 60min
How Quai Network Is Reinventing Proof-Of-Work I Alan Orwick (Quai Network)
This week, we speak with Alan Orwick from Quai Network who is attempting to build a completely novel Proof-Of-Work blockchain able to compete with modern Proof-Of-Stake on throughput and latency. The project uses a dual-token design which includes a highly novel stablecoin-like token used to represent energy input into the network. It's a breath of fresh air in the POW landscape and offers a glimpse into the potential future of blockchain scaling.
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Time Stamps
(0:00) - Introduction
(1:37) - Path into crypto
(3:46) - High level overview of Quai Network
(5:21) - Is Quai trying to be money?
(7:31) - What does POW enable?
(17:53) - Quai as a settlement layer?
(21:07) - Boosting POW tps using horizontal scaling
(32:29) - How is horizontal scaling different to Eth’s modular scaling
(36:28) - Wallet UX
(38:28) - Removing necessity for bridged assets
(40:32) - How to balance shards
(43:09) - 2 token design
(49:44) - Avoiding Luna comparisons
(51:56) - Go-To-Market strategy
(54:52) - Could Quai work with other L1s
(57:41) - Future milestones
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Podcast Resources
Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz
Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum
Follow Zen Llama: https://twitter.com/ZenLlama
Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod
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Episode Resources
Follow Quai Network : https://Twitter.com/QuaiNetwork

Mar 28, 2024 • 54min
How Hybrid NFTs (SPL-404) Will Be The Next Meta | Weedlechamp (Mutantmon)
We chat with Jake Randall, one of the co-founders of Mutant Mon and pioneer of the emergent 404 standard. Mutant Mon is the first SPL-404 hybrid token on Solana, bridging NFTs and fungible tokens under one primitive. The project has been incubating since 2021 and draws inspiration from the fusionmon concept in the Pokemon fan game scene. The team has developed a novel re-rolling aspect where every time an NFT is swapped for tokens, a new NFT with different stats and collectability is created. The project also introduces a 2% tax on swaps, creating a deflationary token and driving revenue for the ecosystem. The conversation explores the concerns and challenges of creating a standard for hybrid NFT collections. We close the episode chatting about the future of marketplaces and the need for change in the NFT ecosystem.
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Time Stamps
(0:00) - Introduction to Mutantmon
(4:54) - Differences to fractionalizing NFTs
(7:16) - Interplay of SPL404 with rarity
(10:52) - Will 2% tax kill velocity?
(12:38) - Tying NFT valuation to memecoins
(16:24) - Proposal to turn SMB v3 into SPL404
(21:18) - Memecoins into NFTs or NFTs into memecoins?
(22:55) - Mutantmon too similar to Pokemon?
(24:59) - Building a 404 Launchpad
(27:55) - Why NFT meta on Solana has died
(34:22) - Mutantmon tokenomics
(36:56) - Building 404 on Solana vs Eth
(39:55) - SPL404 vs SPL22
(42:17) - Future of NFT marketplaces
(44:49) - Tensor in competiton with Jupiter?
(50:21) - How will NFT space evolve
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Podcast Resources
Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz
Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum
Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod
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Episode Resources
Follow WeedleChamp : https://Twitter.com/WeedleChamp
Follow Mutantmon : https://Twitter.com/Mutantmon_Sol

Mar 23, 2024 • 51min
Building Binance On-Chain | Cindy Leow & Chris Heaney, Drift Protocol
Drift brings on-chain, cross-margined perpetual futures to Solana and is one of its most widely-used DeFi applications. The Drift team has been around since Solana's early days and has an ambitious vision to bring financial primitives historically only available on CEXs to the world of permissionless finance. Throughout this episode, we chat with Cindy and Chris to learn about Drift's architecture, strategy, differentiators, and endgame.
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Time Stamps
(0:00) - Origins of Drift
(2:27) - Why trade perps
(6:35) - Why perps never gained popularity in tradfi
(10:34) - How to manage risks around offering leverage
(12:34) - How would you handle BonkGuy’s current bet
(15:49) - Purpose of the insurance fund
(17:08) - Strategy behind product expansion
(19:27) - Sourcing maker liquidity
(26:42) - Targeting specific user segments
(29:05) - Importance of on-chain order books
(31:06) - UX strategy
(35:44) - Jup Perps vs Drift
(37:58) - Pre-token perps
(39:56) - Benefits of perps on Solana vs app chains
(41:44) - How sticky is the TVL?
(44:50) - Drift’s endgame
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Podcast Resources
Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz
Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum
Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod
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Episode Resources
Follow Cindy : https://Twitter.com/CindyLeowTT
Follow Chris : https://Twitter.com/Chrispheaney
Follow Drift Protocol : https://Twitter.com/DriftProtocol

Mar 18, 2024 • 53min
Understanding The Intersection Of Crypto & AI | Lucas Tcheyan (Galaxy)
Sal sits down with Lucas to chat about all things Crypto & AI. Lucas, a researcher at Galaxy, recently published a comprehensive report on this topic as he seeks to separate fact from fiction when it comes to where crypto can improve AI applications and vice-versa.
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Time Stamps
(0:00) - Decentralized GPU farms
(5:05) - Posting on-chain proofs of models
(8:28) - Smart agents using crypto
(11:32) - Competing with OpenAI
(15:18) - Using crypto for crowdsourced data
(13:30) - Eth value accrual
(17:52) - How web2 companies are building moats around data
(20:03) - Is MakerDao pivoting to an AI company?
(26:47) - Chat based interfaces
(32:36) - What sets BitTensor apart
(37:45) - Is ZKML overhyped?
(40:16) - Views on Solana
(42:45) - Are NFTs dead on Solana?
(47:48) - Rise of hybrid NFTs
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Podcast Resources
Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz
Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum
Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod
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Episode Resources
Follow Lucas : https://Twitter.com/UpToDateNow
Galaxy AI report : https://www.galaxy.com/insights/research/understanding-intersection-crypto-ai/

Mar 11, 2024 • 1h 13min
Why Solana Wins | Solana Legend
Solana Legend discusses why Solana is winning, the shortcomings of Ethereum, decentralized order flow on Solana, outperforming memecoins, crypto x AI, decentralizing curation, ICO comeback, infra vs apps funding, rise of Bitcoin, NFT bull run with ERC/SPL 404 standard, $10tn asset class, and the dominance of ETF flows in the bull market

Mar 4, 2024 • 1h 22min
The Father of High-Throughput Blockchains | Anatoly Yakovenko (Solana)
Anatoly Yakovenko, the mastermind behind Solana, discusses his childhood, Solana's core principles vs. Ethereum, upcoming technical upgrades, changes to fee model, handling MEV, mass adoption readiness, and decentralization initiatives. Discover the man behind the $60B Solana blockchain!