Episodes
Recorded Live at ETH Denver 2024, this conversation explores the intersection of crypto and AI, discussing the need for decentralized AI models and the challenges of achieving this. The participants highlight the importance of keeping AI open and driven by people, rather than organizations. They discuss the potential of blockchain and Web3 technology to enable new business models and address the limitations of centralized AI companies. The conversation also touches on the role of incentives...
Published 03/13/24
Published 03/13/24
In this episode, Tommy and Santiago interview Ethan Sun, the co-founder of MyShell, a decentralized platform for creating and staking AI native applications. They discuss the evolution of AI over the past decade, the importance of consumer-facing applications, and the potential for AI to enhance daily life. Ethan explains how MyShell empowers creators to easily build AI experiences and the role of incentives in the platform's ecosystem. They also explore the future of MyShell, its...
Published 03/08/24
In this podcast, we dive deep into the world of Bitcoin scalability solutions with Orkun Kilic, the co-founder and CEO of Chainway Labs, the company behind Citrea - Bitcoin's first zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup. Orkun provides a detailed background on the journey that led to the creation of Citrea, explaining how recent upgrades to Bitcoin's protocol like SegWit, Taproot, and the Ordinals protocol paved the way for new possibilities by enabling arbitrary data storage on the blockchain. This...
Published 03/01/24
In this episode, Keith Singery, a prominent validator and thought leader in the Bittensor ecosystem sits down with Tommy and Michael to share his unique perspective on the project's mission to democratize AI and create a decentralized alternative to the centralized models dominating the field. They delve into the intricate dynamics of Bittensor, including the incentive mechanisms that fuel the network's miners and validators, the potential for a "Cambrian explosion" of specialized AI...
Published 02/20/24
In this episode, Keone Hon dives deep on Monad, a high-performance Ethereum-compatible layer 1 blockchain focused on delivering high performance and drastically lower transaction costs. We discuss Monad's key technical innovations like MonadBFT consensus, parallel execution, and a custom database enabling 10,000+ TPS. Keone explains how these breakthroughs allow complex 100K gas transactions costing just a fraction of a cent, 100x cheaper than even leading Layer 2s. We also explore how...
Published 02/13/24
Simon Harman, founder of decentralized cross-chain swap protocol Chainflip, joins us for an in-depth discussion on the future of trading in crypto. We cover the motivation behind building a decentralized exchange focused on major layer 1 assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, the technical challenges with supporting Bitcoin, and how ChainFlip achieves fast, no-slippage swaps. Simon explains ChainFlip's advanced liquidity architecture including the JIT AMM, which allows liquidity providers to...
Published 02/02/24
Logan Jastremski, Co-founder of Frictionless Capital, sits down for an in-person podcast with Tommy to discuss scaling solutions for high throughput blockchains. They dive into integrated chains like Solana versus modular approaches like Celestia, balancing decentralization and performance, Layer 2 rollups, the differences between downtime and reorgs, and more. Logan breaks down his views from a first principles perspective and where he thinks the infrastructure is heading long-term. Join...
Published 01/23/24
Guy Young joins Delphi Ventures' Yan Liberman to discuss Ethena’s novel approach to creating a stablecoin that is censorship-resistant, scalable, and yield-generating. We explore how Ethena achieves these goals through a crypto-native stablecoin called USDE that generates yield by collateralizing staked ETH and shorting ETH futures. The conversation provides unique insight into the mechanics and incentives underlying USDE's design. We also discuss second-order implications of the product...
Published 01/18/24
AI innovation is accelerating rapidly, but centralized control threatens equitable access and distribution. Can decentralized coordination unlock AI's full potential? We explore this question with Upshot CEO Nick Emmons on his mission to decentralize AI models and architect mechanisms for specialized models to work together. We dive into Upshot's network architecture, machine learning pricing models for NFT valuations and DeFi, reimagining incentives and IP protections, challenges facing...
Published 01/15/24
Ala Shaabana joins us to discuss the compelling vision behind Bittensor - a decentralized network aiming to democratize access to AI models and development. He provides an inside look at the technical architecture and incentives powering this novel system. We delve into recent events highlighting flaws in centralized AI governance, using OpenAI's board drama as a case study. Ala contrasts this with Bittensor's community-driven approach to align AI progress with shared human...
Published 11/21/23
Robert Leshner has been at the forefront of DeFi since founding Compound in 2017. Now he's on a mission to bridge traditional finance and crypto with his new venture, SuperState. In this episode, Robert provides an inside look at SuperState's plans to tokenize real-world assets like US Treasuries, allowing crypto protocols to access their yields. He explains why asset tokenization has been slower than expected, citing lack of demand for esoteric assets targeted in early experiments. They...
Published 11/13/23
How do experienced crypto investors analyze and adapt their strategies over time? Get insights from Chris Burniske, partner at Placeholder VC, on the firm's journey investing in crypto networks. From Bitcoin's early days to Ethereum's rise and now Solana, Chris explains their evolving philosophy. He shares thoughtful perspectives on building founder relationships, managing liquidity, evaluating growth vs. value, and more. For investors interested in understanding crypto networks, this...
Published 11/06/23
Co-founders of Offchain Labs, Ed Felten and Steven Goldfeder take us back to 2014, when a classroom idea sparked their vision for scaling before Ethereum even launched. Learn why they believe interactive fraud proofs provide unparalleled security guarantees compared to ZK-rollups, and dive into how these fraud proofs technically work. Gain valuable perspective from Felten and Goldfeder on the flaws plaguing zero knowledge proofs and the overly optimistic claims made about their...
Published 10/31/23
Eli Ben-Sasson, Co-founder and President of StarkWare, joins this podcast episode to discuss scaling blockchains like Ethereum with ZK proofs and validity rollups. He provides an in-depth look at how StarkWare is using its Cairo language and ZK-VM to enable scalability, privacy, and computational integrity on Ethereum. Topics covered include: The role of Ethereum and validity rollups in the future ZK landscape Surprises and innovations in ZK proof research Pros and cons of ZK-EVMs vs...
Published 09/28/23
On this episode of the Delphi Podcast, Tommy and Jose spoke with Antonio Juliano, founder of dYdX, about their goal to build the largest crypto exchange through a focus on decentralization and derivatives trading. They discussed dYdX's ambitious vision and the risks they are taking to achieve it, including building their own Cosmos-based blockchain called dYdX Chain. Antonio explained how this custom blockchain will allow them to optimize performance and features specifically for trading...
Published 09/25/23
Christopher Goes, co-founder of Anoma and Nomad, joins Tommy and Can to discuss how he envisions intents becoming the primary interface for blockchain applications. They explore how Anoma is building an architecture focused on user intents, rather than transactions, and how this enables greater composability, privacy, and flexibility. Chris provides his unique insight on the evolution of privacy, comparing privacy as an asset, service, and eventually default. They also discuss mechanics...
Published 09/18/23
In this episode Tommy is joined by Travis Kling, founder of Ikigai Asset Management, he discusses his investigation into Binance. Travis breaks down the timeline of events at Binance over the past year, including large BTC transfers, executives leaving, and getting banned in multiple countries. He also explains why he believes there could be a liability mismatch and "hole" in Binance's balance sheet, similar to what happened with FTX, and how this could impact the chances of a Bitcoin...
Published 09/07/23
Jose, Yan, Duncan and Ceteris discuss the craze of friend.tech, what it is, how it works and what it might bring to the table, as well as talk about Coinbase's new L2 and their views on ETFs, liquidity and the markets. Subscribe to the Hivemind podcast here Disclosures: Nothing said on The Hivemind is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. The podcast is strictly for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not...
Published 09/04/23
In this spirited debate podcast episode, Tommy is joined by Kyle Samani, Co-Founder of Multicoin Capital, and Nick White, COO of Celestia Labs, to discuss the future of blockchain infrastructure. Kyle lays out the case for integrated blockchain platforms like Solana and Aptos that optimize for scalability, while Nick argues for the flexibility of modular networks like Celestia. They dive deep into the core philosophies underpinning modular versus monolithic designs when it comes to topics...
Published 09/01/23
In this episode, Tommy speaks with James Seyffart, Scott Johnsson, and Hal Press about the latest developments in the long-running saga to get Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) approved by the SEC. They discuss the current filings from major players like Grayscale, BlackRock, and ARK Invest, provide analysis on Grayscale's lawsuit against the SEC, and debate the timeline and likelihood of approval. The experts also examine the potential market impact and discuss how an ETH...
Published 08/23/23
In this episode, we delve into the fascinating world of blockchain security and the intersection of artificial intelligence with the crypto space. Join us for an insightful conversation with the co-founders of Test Machine, a company dedicated to making smart contracts safer by utilizing advanced AI technology for vulnerability detection. Matt and Andrew share their experiences, insights, and expertise in the realm of smart contract security. They discuss the challenges of identifying...
Published 08/10/23
In this thought-provoking podcast episode, we discuss the mysteries surrounding Large Language Models (LLMs) and their implications for the future of artificial intelligence (AI) with Stephen Wolfram, creator of Mathematica, Wolfram | Alpha & Wolfram Language. We dive into the fascinating world of Large Language Models (LLMs) and their surprising capabilities. He also discusses the underlying scientific principles behind LLMs, including the concept of computational irreducibility, and...
Published 07/27/23
Podcast description In this episode we talk to Jesse Pollak, Head of Protocols at Coinbase where he leads the development of Base, Coinbase’s L2 built on the OP Stack. Prior to leading Protocols, he led retail engineering at Coinbase for many years, building Coinbase, Coinbase Pro, and Coinbase Wallet. We explore how Base went from idea to product inside of Coinbase, how Base and Coinbase will reconcile their differences in technical and social centralization, how Base compares to other...
Published 07/24/23
In this episode, we discuss the impact of AI with Andriy Mulyar, co-founder of AtlasAI and creator of GPT4All. We explore how running local private language models can provide competitive benefits over using public models like ChatGPT without confidential data. Additionally, we delve into the importance of embeddings in AI and their potential impact on understanding data semantically. Finally, Andriy shares his thoughts on crypto/AI overlap, specifically focusing on data provenance as a key...
Published 06/22/23