Wyre Talks

Anatoly Yakovenko is the co-founder and CEO of Solana, a venture to rebuild the blockchain for scale. The Solana team is designing new architecture focused on high throughput with the goal of facilitating up to 700K transactions per second on a 1Gb network—without data partitioning. Today, Anatoly joins us to discuss how his background in distributed systems attracted him to the blockchain scalability problem and introduce his proof-of-history solution to encode the passage of time as data. Anatoly explains how Solana is addressing the network synchronicity problem, maximizing bandwidth usage, and solving challenges around data storage capacity. He also shares the role validators play in the system and offers insight into the hardware necessary to run a node on Solana. Listen in to understand Anatoly’s vision for Solana to function as a smart contracts platform and learn what differentiates Solana from other blockchains in terms of scalability, security and running code in a single state. Follow Thomas (host)

Felix Feng is the CEO and Inje Yeo is the CPO of Set Protocol, the first functional asset-management protocol on the Ethereum blockchain. The team’s ultimate goal lies in bringing wealth-creation tools to a global user base. Today, Felix and Inje join us to discuss the flexibility of the Set architecture to add functionality over time and explain how the protocol allows users to source liquidity from any decentralized exchange. They also offer insight around their new product, TokenSets, sharing the particulars of its range-bound and buy-and-hold strategies and describing their intent to leverage community feedback to introduce additional rebalancing tactics. Listen in for Felix and Inje’s thoughts on tackling the oracle problem to enhance the protocol’s extensibility, the regulatory implications of introducing active management strategies, and differentiating Set from its competitors by way of access and innovation! Follow Felix (guest) on Twitter: https://twitter.com/felix2feng Follow Inje (guest) on Twitte

Today, we’re looking back on Q1 to explore the most important headlines in crypto. We start with a discussion of Facebook’s motivation to enter the space and how the introduction of ZuckBucks might impact the ecosystem as a whole. Michael shares his take on the Bitwise report, explaining why it doesn’t answer the right question and describing the SEC’s need to build surveillance infrastructure on the so-called Big 10 exchanges that matter. Louis covers the dominance of Binance, sharing their big wins early on and what they are doing to maintain market share. Finally, we talk about the growth of DeFi this quarter, examining the popularity of lending products in a market cycle characterized by idle crypto. Listen in for insight around the two protocols that focus on synthetic assets and learn how we are thinking about the rising price of crypto and the potential for another bull run. Follow Mike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelDunwort1 Follow Louis on Twitter: https://twitter.com/louAboudHogben Follow Th

By definition, margin lending is not fully collateralized. Some sort of mechanism is necessary to ensure that lenders receive their full principal, with interest, even under unforeseen circumstances. In crypto, one way to handle this is with tokens. So, what would that look like? Why are some margin lending protocols proposing a kind of ‘insurance fund’ to safeguard lender capital in the case of a black swan event? Tom and Kyle discuss how margin liquidations work on the network and how bZx incentivizes liquidators. Tom offers insight around the startup’s new Fulcrum product and how it improves the user experience, and Kyle describes the product roadmap moving forward, most notably bZx’s new integrations with Augur and ETHFINEX. Listen in to understand why bZx is sticking with the token model for monetization and otherwise keeping the platform open and rent-free—and learn about the protocol’s first big governance proposal for token holders.

Of the 7.5 billion people in the world, 40 million have used cryptocurrency. 2 million possess non-custodial service wallets, but only tens of thousands are engaged in using DeFi services, specifically. So, how do we get more people interested in decentralized finance? Will there be one principal entry point to the ecosystem or many? And how do we grow in a way that aligns with DeFi values and provides global accessibility? Follow Thomas (host): https://twitter.com/tomscaria Follow Brendan (Dharma): https://twitter.com/brendan_dharma Follow Calvin (Compound): https://twitter.com/cjl49 Follow Clay (0x): https://twitter.com/crabbylions

Andy Bromberg is the Cofounder and President at CoinList, the trusted resource for digital asset companies to manage their token sales, airdrops and online hackathons. Andy was also a founding research scientist at the Stanford Bitcoin Group. Today, he joins us to explain how the idea for CoinList came out of a collaboration between Protocol Labs and AngelList and discuss the two key pillars of the company, fundraising and community building. Follow Thomas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tomscaria Follow Louis on Twitter: https://twitter.com/louAboudHogben Follow Andy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andy_bromberg

Loong Wang is the CTO of Ren, a project working to create an ecosystem for unstoppable privacy. The protocol allows users to transfer tokens in zero-knowledge, trustlessly swap between blockchains, and trade on a dark pool. Today, Loong joins us to explain how the need for a decentralized financial infrastructure inspired the launch of Ren and discuss the evolution of the project, from developing RenEx on the protocol to their current work on end-to-end privacy via RenVM. Follow Thomas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tomscaria Follow Loong on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bzlwang

Rune is the cofounder and CEO of MakerDAO, the originator of Dai, the world’s first stablecoin built on the Ethereum blockchain. Dai serves to eliminate volatility through a system of smart contracts designed to respond to market dynamics. Today, Rune joins us to discuss the imminent launch of Multi-Collateral Dai, explaining how the team overcame the challenge of formal verification and how it impacts product quality. He shares the impetus for the recent Dai stability fee increase and offers insight on the three data points Maker uses to design monetary policy and react in real time. Follow Rune (guest) on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuneKek Follow Thomas (host) on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tomscaria Follow Louis (co-host) on Twitter: https://twitter.com/louAboudHogben

Nadav is the Founder and Project Lead at Dharma, a decentralized protocol for globally accessible lending products built on Ethereum. Today, he joins us to discuss the current audience for the Dharma Lever product and share his long-term ambitions for the platform. Nadav explains how he thinks about the problem of unsecured lending on the blockchain, from creating a reliable reputation system to making crypto usable among the general population. Follow Nadav on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NadavAHollander Follow Thomas (host) on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tomscaria Follow Louis (co-host) on Twitter: https://twitter.com/louAboudHogben

James Prestwich and Matthew Hammond are two of the three cofounders of Summa, a startup working to provide high-impact financial tools for the new economy. At present, the team is leveraging their expertise in blockchain architecture to create contracts that link assets across chains. Today, James and Matthew join us to share Summa’s mission to employ cross-chain communication to unify a fragmented ecosystem. Follow James on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_prestwich Follow Matthew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mchammond Follow Thomas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tomscaria Follow Mike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelDunwort1

Devin Finzer is the co-founder of OpenSea, the world’s largest digital marketplace for crypto collectibles. He graduated from Brown in 2013 and worked as a software engineer at Pinterest before getting into the startup space. Devin’s finance app, ClaimDog, was acquired by Credit Karma in 2016, and he started working on OpenSea at the end of 2017. Today, Devin joins us at ETHDenver to share the mission and mechanics of buying, selling and trading digital assets on the platform and his long-term vision for OpenSea as the space moves beyond gaming and collectibles to mirror economies of real value. Follow Devin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dfinzer Follow Thomas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tomscaria

We’ve come a long way, baby. In fact, it’s mindboggling to consider the progress cryptocurrency has made, as an industry, since the introduction of Bitcoin in 2009. But we’re still a long way from mass adoption. So, how can improvements in UX lower the barrier to entry? Who are the players working to push crypto adoption forward? And what potential catalysts could spark widespread use of crypto among the general public? Follow Erik on Twitter: https://twitter.com/erikvoorhees Follow Taylor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tayvano_ Follow Mike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelDunwort1 Follow Thomas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tomscaria

Today, Evan joins us to discuss the immense resources required to verify cryptocurrency and how Coda is tackling the problem. He shares the fundamentals of Coda Protocol and its side project, Snarky, explaining why they use functional programming and how the team is dealing with scalability constraints. Follow Evan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/evanashapiro?lang=en Follow Thomas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tomscaria?lang=en Follow Louis on Twitter: https://twitter.com/louAboudHogben?lang=en

David Bleznak is the founder and CEO of Totle, the world’s first on-chain order routing solution. By aggregating the liquidity of the top decentralized exchanges, Totle’s software solution makes crypto investing and asset management easy. David began his career investing in the real estate space before developing an interest in crypto in general and the DEX ecosystem specifically. A self-proclaimed ‘dexpert,’ David is committed to advocating for the mainstream adoption of decentralized finance. Follow David on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bleznak Follow Louis on Twitter: https://twitter.com/louAboudHogben Follow Thomas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tomscaria

Ryón Nixon is General Counsel at MyCrypto and Founding Partner of Horizons Law & Consulting Group, a boutique crypto and blockchain corporate and litigation law firm. Ryón’s interest in working with startups led him to Boost VC, where his exposure to entrepreneurs in the blockchain space afforded the opportunity to build a pivotal business relationship with Taylor Monahan and eventually establish his own niche practice. Ryón’s diverse experience ranges from clerking for the US District Court in California to litigating business and class action suits to serving as in-house counsel for a startup. Follow the guest, Ryón on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ryonnixon Follow the host, Thomas on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/tomscaria Follow the co-host, Jack on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/demonopolize

Today, Alex joins us to discuss Aurora’s mission to recreate the financial stack through a hybrid decentralized exchange and the company’s plans to decentralize over time. We ask Alex about AURA staking, and he speaks to the current return for running a node. He also offers insight around why IDEX has succeeded where VC-backed market darlings have not and Aurora’s ambitions to expand in terms of asset classes and customer base. Listen in to understand how the Aurora team makes decisions around which tokens to list and learn how the architecture of IDEX is designed to incentivize liquidity. Connect with the guests and hosts: Alex's Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlexWearn Thomas' Twitter: https://twitter.com/tomscaria Mike's Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelDunwort1

In this Wyre Talks, we are excited to host Steven Becker COO and President of MakerDAO. Having spent his career at various trading desks on Wall Street banks and high stakes hedge funds, Steven is no stranger to managing risk. However, a new challenge arose as he was tapped to run the decentralized risk functions at MakerDAO. Steven grasped the problem and led the decentralized organization scale and survive the downturn, all while preparing for the launch of MultiCollateral Dai -- the most intricate risk management problem. MakerDAO is many things, but it can be thought of colloquially as a decentralized central bank or more precisely as a decentralized credit facility. Maker is governed by their token holders who vote to implement the risk management around the collateral that backs their stablecoin, Dai. With decentralization center plate and a battle-tested Single Collateral Dai system, Maker is poised to make the jump into additional collateral types. We’re excited to continue rooting on their journey in

Fetch is a wallet with trade execution capabilities. Fetch is evolving into a financial services firm by pursuing the appropriate regulations to offer securities trading to their users. This will allow them to market US securities internationally and bring international securities to US citizens. Ditch the Wall Street infrastructure and keep the most popular financial assets in the world - all custodied in your pocket. You can follow the host on Twitter!  Thomas Scaria: @tomscaria

What an eventful year at Wyre and in the crypto ecosystem. Outsiders will look at the price/headlines and think the whole industry is in crisis. We don’t think that’s the case at all. Infact, we welcome the negative press since it chruns the non-believers out of the space so that the true visionaries can focus on building great product. In this special 90 minute episode with Mike, Louis and Thomas, we cover what we’ve witnessed in 2018 and how we think the industry will evolve in 2019. See below for a watered down summary but we recommend listeners tune in to hear our unadulterated, no BS outlook on the industry. Thanks again for a wonderful 2018. Happy Holidays. Much Love. You can follow the hosts on Twitter!  Thomas Scaria: @tomscaria Michael Dunworth: @MichaelDunwort1 Louis Aboud: @louAboudHogben

Less is more - keep it simple. That's the elegance of the Compound protocol. Compound has created a liquid, on-chain lending market. By keeping loan terms identical and utilizing a cohesive rate interest model, Compound has created a deep liquidity in a floating rate money market. With a long-term vision for protocol-level governance and a native model for generating revenue, the roadmap for Compound's success seems much more visible than the average protocol level project. Overview: How money markets can create better price discovery for crypto assets. How Compound can abstract away the need to own crypto and increase dApp usage How Compound’s floating rate architecture lends itself to better UX. Compound’s vision to become a DAO that organically creates value and incentives. Market neutral arbitrage opportunities in Compound and other yielding crypto projects. Compound’s position in the decentralized debt markets Compound as a monetization mechanism for dApps and as a layer for constructing financial produ