Epicenter - Learn About Blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin And Distributed Technologies

Avalanche is an open, scalable, and secure smart contracts platform. It targets three broad use cases; building application-specific blockchains, building and launching highly scalable decentralized applications (dapps), and building arbitrarily complex digital assets with custom rules, covenants, and riders (smart assets). It prides itself off on being blazingly fast, low cost, and eco-friendly.Emin Gün Sirer is the Founder & CEO of the Avalanche network. He is also a long time friend of the show, and joined us again for the 4th time after a 5 year break to share his journey since then, which led him to creating Avalanche. We also dove deep into the technical aspects of the protocol and how it fits into the blockchain ecosystem as a whole.Topics covered in this episode:Gun's journey over the past 5 years which led him to creating AvalancheThe unique features and trade-offs in the protocolA deep dive into bridging within AvalancheMEV extraction within the protocolAvalanche consensus - reliance on seed anc

Solana has pursued the vision of a single, fast and scalable blockchain from the start. Today, it has become one of the fastest growing ecosystems in crypto with hundreds of projects spanning DeFi, NFTs, Web3, and more.Last week 2,000 attendees descended on Lisbon for the first-ever Solana conference, Breakpoint. We caught up with Co-founder and CEO Anatoly Yakovenko at the event for a chat about the Solana journey and some of the most important questions they are facing today around decentralization, scalability, governance, and MEV.Topics covered in this episode:Solana's origin story and thesisThe current state of SolanaWhat censorship resistance is and why it mattersSolana's bottlenecks and remaining scaling challengesAnatoly's views on governanceSolana and Miner Extractable Value (MEV)Rollups as an Ethereum scaling solutionMarket and adoption cycleEpisode links:Episode 312 with AnatolyBreakpointSolana on TwitterAnatoly on TwitterSponsors:CowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps i

Coin Center is an independant not-profit research and advocacy organisation focused on the public policy issues that affect cryptocurrencies and open permisionless blockchain networks. Their mission is to build a better understanding of technologies like Ethereum and Bitcoin and to promote a regulatory climate that preserves free speech and privacy.Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh joined us for a fascinating chat about the current regulatory landscape in the US and how that might affect the crypto ecosystem going forward.Topics covered in this episode:An overview of Coin CenterHow the political and regulatory has changed in the past 2 years since the release of LibraThe regulatory topics currently impacting the USRansomware and investor protection lawIs the consumer protection force too tough?The Infrastructure BillThe US vs Europe approachThe future of the ecosystemEpisode links:Epicenter Episode 296 with JerryEpicenter Episode 227 with PeterCoin Center on TwitterJerry on TwitterPeter on TwitterSponsors

Cometh is a game on Ethereum that lets users own yield-generating NFTs, integrating both DeFi and NFT features into a single, fun gaming experience. As a player, you control spaceships (also called astronomers) orbiting around giant stars and your goal is to position yourself close to the asteroids (also known as smart asteroids) passing by. When you are close enough, you will be able to mine tokens from that asteroid.Jerome de Tychey, founder of the project, joined us to chat about how the game works, interactions with AMMs and lending protocols, and the future of blockchain gaming.Topics covered in this episode:Jerome's background and his involvement building the French Ethereum communityJerome's role at Ledger and ConsenSysAn overview of Cometh and how the game worksHow Cometh interacts with AMMs and lending protocolsThe game’s native tokens: MUST and DUSTCometh's use of Polygon and the launch of its own layer-2 networkHow Cometh taps into the existing NFT worldThe potential for games built on top of exist

Gyroscope is an "all-weather stablecoin" that is backed by a reserve portfolio that tries to diversify across many risk factors. By maintaining a reserve of many decorrelated assets, it makes Gyro Dollars more resilient, similar to how it is hard to move a spinning gyroscope. In a market where there's an explosion of new stablecoins, Gyroscope attempts to find a niche by providing a very stable and resilient option. We were joined by co-founders Lewis Gudgeon and Ariah Klages-Mundt to chat about how Gyroscope works and their strategy to try to make it a standard throughout DeFi.Topics covered in this episode:Their backgrounds and how they got into cryptoAn overview of the Gyroscope StablecoinThe collateral being usedThe mechanism used for stabilizing reservesUse cases of the GyrodollarSAMMs and PAMMsLeverage loansGovernance within the protocolThe goals of the current testnetHow to get involvedEpisode links: GyroscopeDiscordGyroscope blogTwitterLewis on TwitterAriah on TwitterSponsors: Chorus One: Chorus One r

PieDAO is is a decentralized asset manager for tokenized portfolios and enables anyone to create allocations for both crypto and traditional assets. PIES are non-custodial pools available to anyone in the world with an internet connection. PIES require no minimum deposits for users. DOUGH is the token that governs the platform. Token holders are given voting rights on all decisions.We were joined by the Founder of PieDAO, Alessio Delmonti, to talk about how the project works and why he is so committed to making wealth creation more accessible to all.Topics covered in this episode:Alessio's background and how he got into cryptoAlessio's views on 'financial inclusion'What is PieDAO and its missionA breakdown of the different components of PieDAONFTs in PieDAOUsing ETFs in their methodologiesKPI options and how that plays into governanceThe PieDAO OvenThe roadmap for the projectEpisode links:PieDAOThe OvenPieDAO DiscordGovernance ForumPieDAO on TwitterAlessio on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smar

Notional is a protocol on Ethereum that facilitates fixed-rate, fixed-term crypto asset lending and borrowing. The core concept of Notional is fCash, a zero-compound bond defined by a currency type and maturity date. Notional’s liquidity pools are built by liquidity providers who contribute cTokens and fCash and act as counterparty to the lenders and borrowers that are active on the protocol.We were joined by co-founders Teddy Woodward and Jeff Wu to chat about the benefits and tradeoffs of fixed rate interest borrowing, how Notional operates, and comparisons to other lending protocols in the space.Topics covered in this episode:Teddy and Jeff's backgrounds and how they got into cryptoThe benefits of a fixed rate over a variable interest rate loanThe product from a user perspectiveThe role of liquidity providers in the protocolTradeoffs of using Notional as opposed to other lending platformsLender and borrower obligationsHow Notional maintain securityThe ERC1155 token standard which is implemented on fCashThe

Lido is a DAO that provides a liquid staking solution for Ethreum 2.0. It lets users stake their Ether, without locking assets or needing to maintain infrastructure, whilst participating in on-chain activities. Lido attempts to solve the problems associated with initial Ethereum 2.0 staking - illiquidity, minimum requirements, immovability and accessibility, by making staked Ether liquid and allowing for participation in DeFi.Vasiliy Shapovalov, Co-founder of Lido, joined us to talk about all things Ethereum staking and the benefits of liquid staking with Lido.Topics covered in this episode:Vasiliy's background and how he got into cryptoAn overview of Lido and the problem it solvesHow Ethereum 2.0 staking worksLido's fee structure and business modelLido's governance model and the LDO tokenHow the ETH/stETH peg is maintainedLiquid staking and its role in DeFiLido for other blockchain networks like SolanaThe LEGO Grant programEpisode links:LidoVasiliy's talk at EthCCLido on TwitterVasiliy on TwitterSponsors:Gno

The Reserve project is on a mission to provide every person in the world access to stable currency. They are working to rebuild financial services in countries such as Argentina and Venezuela, that have suffered from high inflation and ongoing currency devaluation. The protocol is designed to host a completely decentralized stablecoin that can not be manipulated by governments, with an end goal of a fully self-sustainable platform with decentralized governance and developments.We were joined by Co-founder & CEO, Nevin Freeman, to chat about Reserve's focus in Latin America, their support of activism, and the road ahead for the project.Topics covered in this episode:Nevin's background and how he got into cryptoWhat is Reserve and what is the problem it's solvingHow do they get around regulatory pushbacks in Latin AmericaThe main components of the Reserve system - RSV and RSRTackling high gas feesReserve's go to market strategy and why the focus on Latin AmericaWhy Reserve encourage's activismReserve's goal

Hermez is an open-source ZK-Rollup optimised for secure, low-cost and usable token transfers on the wings of Ethereum. The Hermez network team is currently developing the next version of the decentralised ZK-Rollup with full support of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) by making a full set of zkEVM opcodes.Jordi Baylina, the Technical Lead at Hermez, joined us to chat about how the protocol works, the recent merge with Polygon, and the roadmap leading to Eth2.0.Topics covered in this episode:Jordi's involvement in the infamous DAO hackThe Giveth community he created with Griff GreenHow Hermez use EVM opcodes to combine zk and EVMHow the protocol works as a userHow do token transfers work?Currently the advantage is in scaling, could this also translate to privacy?Hermez's merge with Polygon - how the joint model will lookThe Hermez roadmap and how it fits with Eth2.0Jordi's views on the future of blockchainEpisode links:HermezGivethJordi at EThCC 2021Hermez on TwitterJordi on TwitterSponsors:CowSwap: CowSwap is a

Erik Voorhees, CEO & Founder of ShapeShift, joins us for his 4th appearance on the show. ShapeShift recently announced they are decentralizing the company and its products, which would see the company transition from a centralized entity and platform to a DAO. With the largest airdrop in history they distributed FOX tokens to over a million customers and DeFi community members, who will eventually fully control the exchange.In this episode we hear the reasoning behind this shift, cross-chain Interoperability, the FOX token, and the future of the Shapeshift platform as a DAO.Topics covered in this episode:The journey of ShapeShift since Erik's last appearance on the showWhat led ShapeShift to becoming decentralized and the process so farShapeShift as a product - its features and how it will be accessedThe future structure of Shapeshift as a DAOCross-chain Interoperability and the Cosmos ecosystemThe goal of the FOX tokenThe future of the ShapeShift ecosystemEpisode links:Episode 300 - ShapeShift – There’s

ParaSwap is a DEX aggregator that aims to provide the best prices over multiple DEXes on the Ethereum blockchain. Users are able to scan dozens of exchanges for the best possible crypto price points, and get the most for their swaps.We were joined by ParaSwap Founder, Mounir Benchemled, to chat about his role in the French DeFi community, DEX aggregators in general, and what makes ParaSwap an important slice of the DeFi ecosystem.Topics covered in this episode:Mounir's background and how he got into cryptoWhy did he start a DEX aggregator?The French DeFi ecosystem and communityAn overview of DEX aggregators - the advantages and challengesThe role of the ParaSwap routerThe prospect of a ParaSwap tokenA DEX aggregator from a legal perspectiveHow ParaSwap makes moneyMounir's views on Layer 1 and Layer 2sThe future of DeFi tradingEpisode links:ParaSwapParaSwap on MediumParaSwap on TwitterMounir on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to def

Mike Novogratz is the CEO of Galaxy Digital, an investment bank targeting institutional investors, which he also founded. He was formerly a Partner and President of Fortress Investment Group LLC and prior to that Partner at Goldman Sachs. Considered quite the risk taker, he has made and lost many fortunes over the years.We chatted to Mike about the cross over between finance and blockchain, regulatory affairs, and of course, wrestling.Topics covered in this episode:Mike's background in wrestling and transition into financeHow he got into the crypto spaceHow Mike and Galaxy Digital are providing a link between crypto and traditional financeThe long term impact of crypto on the worldThe vision for Galaxy DigitalMike's views on the market cyclesEpisode links:Galaxy DigitalGalaxy Digital on TwitterMike on TwitterSponsors:Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting-edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates a

The DFINITY Foundation is a not-for-profit scientific research organization with a mission to build, promote, and maintain the Internet Computer. The IC is a layer 1 smart contract enabled blockchain which achieves remarkable scaling properties through native sharding.We were joined by Founder and Chief Scientist of DFINITY, Dominic Williams, who explained his deep support for smart contracts, gave us an insight into the Internet Computer Ecosystem, and shared his visions for its future.Topics covered in this episode:Dominic's background and an update on DFINITYThe advantages of smart contractsThe Internet Computer ecosystemHow DFINITY compares to EthereumThe concept of sharding - subnetsThe tokenomics of The Internet ComputerVision for the Internet Computer's futureEpisode links:DFINITYThe Internet Computer RoadmapDFINITY on TwitterDominic on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicen

Aztec Protocol enables private transactions on Ethereum. It uses a zero-knowledge proof system, allowing users to effectively create shielded representations of tokens, which can then be sent and redeemed for the underlying token. They recently launched Aztec 2.0 and their rollup service for Ethereum, zk.money. This allows users to submit Ether to the Aztec rollup contract with the options to shield, send privately, unshield and emergency ushield (escape hatch). The latest version also allows DeFi users to save gas and participate anonymously in DeFi transactions. We were joined by Zac Williamson, Co-founder and CTO, and Joe Andrews, Head of Product, from Aztec, to give us an in-depth look into the Layer 2 project and explain how version 2 of the protocol in a game-changer in terms of privacy and scalability.Topics covered in this episode:What has happened in the last year since Aztec were last on the showHigh-level overview of AztecHow the Aztec rollup works in DeFi applicationsThe challenges privacy introdu

Badger is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) with a single purpose: To build the products and infrastructure necessary to accelerate Bitcoin as collateral across other blockchains. BadgerDAO is extremely community focused and has succeeded in creating a seamlessly operating DAO out of a group of random people with a shared set of values and a mission.BadgerDAO's founder, Chris Spadafora, joined us to talk about how he built this decentralized community, why Bitcoin & DeFi, and the products they have created including Sett and Digg.Topics covered in this episode:Chris' background and how BadgerDAO came aboutHow they successfully built a strong communityWhy Bitcoin and DeFi?Who is the target audience for Badger?The Sett vaults - strategiesDigg - the rebase systemChris' thoughts on “DeFi on Bitcoin”Episode links:Badger websiteBadgerDAO WikiDiscordBadger on TwitterChris on TwitterSponsors:CowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity offering the bes

VitaDAO is a decentralized collective funding early stage longevity research. Their mission is to extend human lifespan by researching, financing, and commercializing longevity therapeutics in an open and democratic manner.We were joined by Tyler Golato and Paul Kohlhaas, co-founders of Molecule and initiators of VitaDAO to talk about how drug discovery and approval currently works, what the status of longevity research is, what role IP plays -- and how all of this could change in the future with DAOs like VitaDAO.Topics covered in this episode:Paul and Tyler's backgrounds and how they came to work on VitaDAOLongevity - thinking of aging as a diseaseWhere is the research at today?How longevity research currently takes place in the pharmaceutical industryHow VitaDAO is alleviating patency issuesThe first funded project with the Knudsen lab in Copenhagen - MoleculeHow DAOs make the decisionsEpisode links:The Molecule blogVitaDAOGoldman asks: 'Is curing patients a sustainable business model?'VitaDAO DiscordVitaD

Vitalik Buterin joins us for an in-depth conversation at EthCC 4 in Paris. During his keynote presentation, he expressed his hope for Ethereum to go beyond DeFi as he wishes to see more non-financial applications built on the platform. From better social media platforms to novel approaches for funding public goods, from his perspective, Ethereum has the potential to change the world for the better, beyond financial applications.Topics covered in this episode:How has the past year been for Vitalik and EthereumThe state of crypto todayWhat interesting experiments are in crypto now defining membershipHas Ethereum gone too far into financial applicationsVitalik's views on using rollups on non-DeFi applicationsWhat are the biggest problems of the world today?NFTs and social mediaThe concept of retroactive public goods fundingThe future of DAOsEpisode links:Episode 171 - DAO Lessons, Casper and Blockchain InteroperabilityVitalik's talk at EthCC 4Vitalik on TwitterSponsors:CowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator b

EthCC is back and stronger than ever! Despite the pandemic, ongoing travel restrictions and sanitary passes, the Ethereum France team hosted the fourth edition of the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris. Over 1,000 people attended the week-long affair, which saw an impressive number of side events and, as always, legendary parties. For many attendees, it was their first conference since last year's edition, and the first time they were able to embrace their fellow Etherians since the beginning of the pandemic.For this EthCC recap panel, we're joined by Kaiko CEO Ambre Soubiran, Ethereum France President Jerome de Tychey, and ParaSwap Founder Mounir Benchemled. We discussed the conference, how the ecosystem has evolved this past year, the rapid growth of DeFi and NFTs, and what to look forward to as the community continues to grow.Episode links:KaikoParaSwapEthereum FranceSponsors:ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest s

Recently launched Osmosis is a Cosmos based and IBC enabled AMM protocol that allows for a high level of customization by liquidity providers. As the main dex on the Cosmos network, Osmosis provides liquidity for IBC-enabled Cosmos assets like AKT and ATOM for the first time.Head of the Osmosis development team, Sunny Aggarwal, joined us for a chat about why the protocol was built and the problem it solves, the wider Cosmos ecosystem, and the roadmap for the protocol.Topics covered in this episode:Why the Osmosis project was builtHow Osmosis works on CosmosWhat is IBC?What the ecosystem looks likeWhat the AMM landscape looks like on CosmosWhat the roadmap of Osmosis looks likeThe Gravity BridgeHow was the chain bootstrapped?What is the ION?The Osmosis communityEpisode links: OsmosisCosmosOsmosis on MediumOsmosis on TwitterSunny on TwitterSponsors: Solana: Solana is the high performance blockchain supporting over 50k transactions per second to power the next generation of decentralized applications. - https://