Impermanent loss: crypto's most misnamed problem that has permanently damaged countless liquidity provider portfolios. In today's episode, Curve founder Michael Egorov reveals his new project, Yield Basis, aimed at eliminating DeFi's persistent impermanent loss problem. Michael takes us through how his approach uses constant leverage on liquidity t…

AI and crypto are evolving together, but not without a few missteps along the way. In today’s episode, we chat with Wei Dai from 1kx and Tarun Chitra from Gauntlet about what went wrong with the first generation of crypto AI agents and why reasoning models are bringing about a shift. We explore DeepSeek's revolutionary approach to cost optimization…

Trump, Powell, and global tariffs are reshaping the financial system, and crypto is right in the crosshairs. Arthur Hayes and Mike Silagadze explain how these shifts could spark an even bigger DeFi boom. Arthur explains how Trump's walking back of tariffs and Fed stability commitments signal we've hit the bottom, setting up Bitcoin for a massive ra…

The AI revolution is here, but who controls the intelligence we'll all rely on? In today's episode we sit down with Emad Mostaque, founder of Intelligent Internet, to explore the intersection between AI and crypto. We cover how ChatGPT-4o's Ghibli filter signaled a fundamental shift in how we interact online, the issue of AI using "too much compute…

User retention in crypto? Huge headache. The temptation for users to jump from one chain to another can be huge. With so many settlement layers available, it's a problem that's tough to solve for new chains. In today's episode, we meet with Rachin Kalakheti and dive into Twine's approach: one execution layer that settles to multiple chains simultan…

From proof of work to proof of stake, blockchain consensus is evolving once again into something new: proof of verifiable work. In today’s episode, Tim Carstens and Jeremy Bruestle from Boundless share their insights into how this new approach works. They explain how proof of verifiable work leverages the computing power of everyday users to genera…

The race for the ultimate crypto super app is heating up. Who will own the user experience? In this episode, we chat with Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius, and Armani Ferrante, CEO of Backpack. Armani takes us through his transition from Apple to Alameda Research, and how that journey led to building one of Solana’s fastest-growing platforms. As markets …

After a majorly successful week for the Celestia ecosystem, winning Noble's new AppLayer & Ethena's 'Converge' chain, we are coming to you with an episode recorded in Denver this year with Nick White. We first touched on FUD and asked Nick to openly address the FUD from the community regarding staking, locked tokens, and the tokenomics in general. …

In today's episode, we explore TimeBoost on Arbitrum with Harry Kalodner. Arbitrum DAO has signaled a vote recently to go live with timeboost on mainnet. This innovative mechanism shifts from first-come-first-serve to a priority bidding system while maintaining transaction privacy and fairness. We examine how TimeBoost returns value to the Arbitrum…

We filmed this interview with John Patrick Mullen during consensus Hong Kong, in late Feburary 2025. From obscurity to a $13 billion market cap, OM token's 7,000% surge and recent 90% downfall has left many questioning what's really happening behind the scenes? We aim to provide some clarity from before the crash to help you all understand what was…

The shifts in cultural evolution are impacting our society in ways we can’t ignore. Today, we're joined by Robin Hanson, economist and polymath from George Mason University. Robin is known for exploring questions that often remain unanswered, from prediction markets to the possibilities of alien civilizations. In this conversation, we explore how h…

Bitcoin is so back. Institutions are talking about it more than ever and are investing at a rapid pace, while the US government is setting up a strategic Bitcoin reserve. In today's episode, we explore the "Back to Bitcoin" thesis with Hemi co-founders Jeff Garzik and Max Sanchez. Hemi takes the best from Bitcoin and Ethereum, combining Bitcoin's s…

The clash of economic superpowers is reshaping our future with AI as the ultimate battleground. Today, Arthur Hayes and Nils Pihl from Auki Labs explore how US-China trade tensions reflect a deeper struggle for dominance in physical AI and robotics – where China holds surprising advantages. We discuss with Arthur the move China will be forced to ma…

Oracles are the center of DeFi. They're not just important, they're *vital*. But with the rise of high-performance blockchains, oracles are having to rethink their entire game plan. In today's episode, we sit down with Marcin and Jakub from RedStone to explore oracles at their breaking point as blockchains get faster and more demanding. This isn't …

The competition for stablecoin market share is more complex than most realize, especially as institutional adoption heats up. In today's episode, we’re breaking down the nuances of this battle with Guy Young, founder of Ethena, Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstorm, and Omer Goldberg, founder of Chaos Labs. We mostly explore the macro landscape, which is …

Consensus is slow by design. In crypto, we’ve accepted the tradeoff: robustness at the cost of speed. Whether it’s proof-of-work or proof-of-stake, every node reprocesses every transaction, every time. It’s secure and reliable... but often overkill for most of what we actually do. What if we stopped treating every transaction like a global event? W…

What if DEXs could do more? Ekubo thinks they can. Their approach? Dedefining efficiency from the ground up, from memory architecture to fee mechanics, decreasing gas costs while unlocking features like TWAMs. In today’s episode, we sit down with Moody, Ekubo's founder and Uniswap v3 co-author, alongside Benjamin Sturisky from the Starknet Foundati…

What kind of infrastructure do we actually need to support real, global trading onchain? In today's episode, we dig into the debate between high-throughput blockchains and modular approaches with Logan and Max, both vocal Solana supporters. They share why they believe monolithic scaling is the way to go, and why Solana is aiming to replace NASDAQ, …

Now that the Crypto AI peak of inflated expectations has passed, what’s actually built to last? In today's episode, we are looking at the real infrastructure needed for long-term AI projects. We sit down with Ram Kumar of OpenLedger to explore how their team is building AI that actually understands crypto, not just slapping ChatGPT onto existing ap…

Crypto has always been a game of extremes. On one end, a memecoins casino and speculative madness; on the other, an attempt to build something more sustainable. In today's episode, we sit down with Chris Yin, co-founder and CEO of Plume Network, to cut through the noise around RWAs. Chris explains why most RWA projects are just "TradFi people doing…

While everyone's attention has been focused the current market volatility, stablecoins have been thriving. In today's episode, we take a look at Plasma and uncover what their team has been working on for stablecoins. Rather than creating another all-purpose blockchain, they've developed something specifically for stablecoin payments. Zero fee USDT …

What makes crypto so different in the East and the West? In the U.S. and Europe, teams typically focus on building the foundation: rollups, restaking, scaling solutions. In Asia, markets drive adoption, trading volume, and unique market trends. We sat with YQ, founder of AltLayer, to dive deeper. Western builders think ahead, prioritizing scalabili…

What if DeFi value flowed back to its users? In today’s episode, we’re exploring the Berachain ecosystem with its founder, Smokey The Bera, to dive into this idea and talk about the chain’s rapid growth. Berachain is different. It’s built on a unique symbiotic relationship between the chain, validators, and apps. By using game theory, it lets users…

An AI agent with no hidden motives or data harvesting. Dream or reality? In today's episode, we talk with Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol, about the idea of having your own AI. That's exactly what NEAR has created with their AI Transaction Protocol (AITP). They have an open ecosystem where AI systems can communicate and transact while…

ZK needs decentralized proving networks, or we're just moving trust to a new bottleneck. Same goes for L2s. In today's episode, we cover how EigenLayer attempts to create a new way to coordinate decentralized proving networks so no single entity controls the backbone of ZK systems. We sit down with zkSync co-inventor, Alex Gluchowski and EigenLayer…

In today's episode, we sit down with Intia co-founder, Zon, to talk about what Initia is cooking. The Initia team has been busy building their interwoven rollup ecosystem with 15 publicly announced rollups and a massive $26 million invested. Rollups on Initia have raised more than even Initia itself, showing clear interest. We look into Initia's VI…

The line between real humans and bots is blurring. In today’s episode, we chat with Terence Kwok, the founder of Humanity Protocol, to explore how they're balancing privacy and accountability. Humanity is using technology to read palm prints and vein patterns for verification, all without storing biometric data. This approach could offer a way for …

In today's episode, we talk about the Bitcoin dilemma. Despite it being crypto's foundation, it mainly sits unused in cold storage wasting away any potential. Between high fees, slow transactions, and lack of use case, Bitcoin has struggled to evolve past being a store of value. We sit down with Rich Rines of Core DAO to learn how they are unlockin…

In today's episode, we cover what happens when you tokenize attention. We sat down with Yu Hu to get the inside story of how Kaito went from tracking crypto Twitter sentiment to dropping what might be the most widely distributed token in recent history. It's completely reshaping how value flows through the crypto social layer. Kaito leans into usin…

In today's episode, we feature a conversation with the strategist behind Ethereum's early marketing initiatives—Amanda Cassatt. She covers her career progression towards becoming the influential figure who helped establish Ethereum as a recognized name in technology, rather than just a hacker project (as it was in its early days). Amanda takes us t…

Hong Kong is strategically positioning itself as a key web3 hub, and there are good reasons to watch what's happening there. A major highlight from Consensus Hong Kong is the quickly evolving regulatory landscape. Recently, Animoca Brands teamed up with Standard Chartered and Hong Kong Telecom to launch a regulated HKD stablecoin – one of the first…

In today’s episode, we take a dive through the founders journey and what it’s like to run a massive crypto fund. Clearly, crypto cycles follow a pattern. Skepticism transforms into celebration, then a cooldown period, until something innovative emerges to change the landscape. Each of these cycle presents distinct opportunities. That is what we dis…

For today’s episode, we look to answer the question “Seriously. What happened to crypto?” alongside Kain. The landscape continues to evolve rapidly as underlying dynamics shift, narratives transform, capital redirects, and new market structures emerge. In today's episode, we sit down with Kain Warwick from Infinex to cover the state of the market a…

Imagine Hyperliquid, but ZK. In today's episode, we cover the evolution of onchain trading and its core challenge: balancing speed with security. It's a constant trade-off in DeFi. Faster systems, like Hyperliquid, tend to lean towards centralization, while more secure ones often sacrifice performance. But there's a solution emerging: Boundless exe…

In today's episode, we cover how regulation meets the greater crypto economy. Treasury tokens have evolved from concept to reality, now trading actively in DeFi markets with BlackRock and Securitize leading the transformation. By converting U.S. treasuries into blockchain assets with institutional backing, they're laying groundwork for wider adopti…

In today’s episode, we explore the future of building infra for compliance, and the next era of investing following the massive infra wave of 2017-2024. Typically, in crypto there have always been tradeoffs… Want transparency? You lose privacy. Want privacy? Regulators get nervous. Join us as we chat with Wyatt from VanEck Ventures and Xiang Xie fr…

For today’s episode, we take a deep dive into native rollups. While rollups improved Ethereum's scaling, they introduced key challenges like centralized control, MEV extraction, buggy execution, and fragmented liquidity across layers. Luckily, there's a new method aiming to maintain rollup benefits while eliminating these issues. Native rollups and…

Bitcoin has dominated crypto, but has remained largely inactive in DeFi. While ETH and Solana lead in onchain activity, a significant amount of BTC remains unused. BitVM introduces a solution. Unlike traditional custodians or multi-sig bridges, it provides a trust-minimized approach to integrating BTC with DeFi – expanding Bitcoin's utility beyond …

Moving between chains is a hassle. Whether you're swapping, bridging, or managing liquidity across ecosystems, users face clunky interfaces, slow execution, and unnecessary risks. What if that friction disappeared? Enter Shogun, a trading platform that makes every chain feel like one. Using intent-based execution, automated routing, and solver-driv…

For today's episode, we dive deep into the the intersection of AI and crypto, and discuss how this sector has produced more hype than results (so far). While both fields promise decentralization, combining them effectively has proven challenging. Most projects either centralize AI decision-making or create token systems without clear utility. Bitte…

The stablecoin landscape is evolving as DeFi and traditional finance continue to merge. Today we chat with Sam Kazemian from Frax to break down what's happening in the space. We'll dive into their new FRX USD launch and explore an interesting idea: using stablecoins to bridge the gap between crypto and U.S. treasuries. Sam also walks us through how…

AI and crypto are finally converging beyond just trading bots. Purpose-built chains like Ritual are enabling AI-powered smart contracts that can adapt in real-time – think automated trading strategies that adjust to market conditions or DeFi positions that manage themselves. In our chat with Ritual founders Anish and Saneel, they explained how they…

For today’s episode, we are digging up our latest knowledge of AI and DeSci. Yesnoerror is flipping the script on research validation. Instead of traditional AI fact-checkers, they're letting the research community influence what gets verified next. Their AI agent, as co-founder Ben Parr explains, digs through millions of papers catching details hu…

Getting into crypto has never been simpler – but are we keeping users around? In our chat with Seb from Sophon, we explore why most newcomers don't venture past basic trading, despite straight forward onboarding from apps like Phantom and Moonshot. Seb proposes a fresh take: instead of focusing on speculation, use ZKTLS to seamlessly bring real-wor…

Blockchain systems face limitations with large complex datasets, as smart contracts weren't designed for intensive computations. Space and Time addresses this with their ZK Co-Processor, enabling smart contracts to process complex calculations while maintaining security. This opens up practical applications: loyalty programs with historical trackin…

Zero-knowledge proofs are evolving from complex cryptographic tools into practical blockchain solutions. Like the evolution from mainframe computers to smartphones, ZK proofs are transforming how we approach crypto technology. RiskZero and Irreducible are leading this change through innovations in binary fields and hardware acceleration, making ZK …

Today's episode takes a deep dive into the next era of Bitcoin, the network, and BTC the asset. As Bitcoin transitions from retail speculation to institutional adoption, new infrastructure is quietly reshaping its capabilities. Stacks stands at the forefront of this evolution. BitVM and its iterations are progressing faster than expected, turning t…

For today's episode, we discuss the rise of Aave and a new era of crypto in America. Trump is President! Aave turns 5! We caught up with Aave founder Stani Kulechov and Chaos Labs' Omer Goldberg to talk about the Trump Effect on DeFi, what's new in Aave V4, and where DeFAI is headed. World Liberty Finance, the Trump Family DeFi business set to laun…

Today, we're diving deep into Optimism's Superchain with Mark Tyneway, who's been leading efforts to revolutionize how blockchain networks interact. Mark shares insights from his work with the Ethereum Interop Forum and breaks down why we might be overcomplicating decentralization. The Superchain vision? Making different blockchain networks work to…

For today's episode, we explore whether or not the saying: "Most DeSci projects today are just ICOs in a lab coat" is truth or an overexaggeration. When Tarun Chitra dropped this line during our chat, the Pump.Science founder Benji Lebowitz nearly hopped out of his seat. What followed was one of the most fascinating debates we've had on the show ab…