Bell Curve

Latest Episodes:

The Rollapp Stacks | Sovereign Labs, Slush Feb 21, 2023

Show notes

Season 3 | Episode 5

In this episode of Bell Curve, Kalman Lajko and Preston Evans explain their thesis behind the optimal Rollapp stack. We start with the similarities and key differences between the Slush and Sovereign design thesis and how developers choose the optimal stack for their product. We then explore how Rollapp infrastructure projects can monetize, winner-take-all dynamics, the importance of BD and developer tooling and more!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro: Pre-Interview

(02:02) The Internet of Rollups

(04:26) Slush vs Sovereign

(28:06) Business models and monetization

(30:20) A winner-take-all market?

(34:45) Attracting developers

(36:51) Infrastructure and developer tooling

(39:09) Recap: Post-Interview

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Resources:

Sovereign

https://www.sovereign.xyz/

https://twitter.com/sovereign_labs

Slush

https://slush.dev/

https://twitter.com/SlushSDK

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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

OpenSea’s BLURred Vision, Tech’s New Paradigm & MEV Talk | Roundup Feb 17, 2023

Show notes

This episode of Bell Curve explores Blur's airdrop and attack on OpenSea's market share. We discuss Blur's business strategy, BLUR token incentives, OpenSea's precarious position and more!

We also cover the recent market rally, the SEC's qualified custodian proposal, tech's transition from growth to value and Flashbots' new MEV-Share product. Check out the Timestamps below for a full breakdown!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:34) Why are markets ripping?

(05:10) The SEC’s qualified custodian proposal

(12:16) Tech’s transition from growth to value

(23:08) Blur, OpenSea’s fall, royalties & ETH burn

(33:27) Scaling tech and new applications

(37:34) Flashbots MEV-Share, PFOF and best execution

(52:09) Max Pain

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Resources

Flasbots MEV-Share article

http://bit.ly/3S7g9TO

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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

MEV: The Economic Driver of Blockchains Feb 14, 2023

Show notes

In this episode of Bell Curve, we are joined by Nitesh Nath, Xave Meegan and Maghnus Mareneck to discuss the economic driver of blockchains: MEV. Miner Extractable Value (MEV) is often called the most exciting and complex industry within crypto. Listen to this episode, and you'll catch the fever! In this episode, we discuss how AppChains can optimize MEV, payment for order flow (PFOF), MEV value accrual, cross-chain MEV, the role of wallets and more! You won't want to miss this one.

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Timestamps

(00:00) Intro: Pre-Interview

(01:15) The MEV Value Chain

(08:35) How AppChains Can Optimize MEV

(16:24) MEV in Solana and General Purpose Chains

(25:18) Osmosis’ ProtoRev Module

(29:00) AppChains vs General Purpose Chains

(30:41) What Should Protocols Prioritize?

(37:15) Rollup MEV and Shared Sequencers

(46:30) The Value Prop for Users and Wallets

(48:06) Complexities of Cross-Chain MEV

(52:30) Wallets: The Role of Middleware

(56:44) Debating What is Good vs Bad MEV

(1:04:30) Recap: Post-Interview

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Resources:

Chorus One

https://chorus.one/

https://twitter.com/ChorusOne

DFlow

https://dflow.net/

https://twitter.com/DFlowProtocol

Skip Protocol

https://skip.money/

https://twitter.com/skipprotocol

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Operation Choke Point: Is Kraken the first domino? | Roundup Feb 11, 2023

Show notes

This episode of Bell Curve explores the implications of the SEC shutting down Kraken's US staking operations. Is the SEC coming for Coinbase next? What will be the next domino to fall? How will this impact DeFi? We discuss it all here.

We also cover Genesis' bankruptcy agreement, Uniswap's governance drama, the rise of super apps, Google's $100B mistake and more!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:17) Operation Choke Point: Kraken's Staking Service Shutters

(26:01) Genesis Reaches Agreement With DCG and Key Creditors

(31:55) Uniswap Governance Whale Games

(46:02) Stargate ReIssues Their Token Supply

(52:57) Super Apps and What’s Never Coming Back

(1:08:34) Infinity Pools, Google’s $100B Mistake and AI Value Accrual

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Resources:

Brian Armstrong's tweet on potential staking ban

https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1623459203150131201

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Competing Security Models for Appchains | Nick White, Dev Ojha Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

Season 3 | Episode 3

In this episode of Bell Curve, Nick White and Dev Ojha join us to debate the pros and cons of applications owning the full tech stack vs leveraging a modular architecture. Applications that own their full tech stack can fully customize their chain (how they process MEV, encryption, etc) but is the overhead and cost worth it? In contrast, the modular ideology supports outsourcing all non-core functions to other providers (similar to how websites outsource payments to Stripe). We cover this debate, Celestia, the role of sequencers, security tradeoffs, the idea of the "minimum viable stack" and more!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro: Pre-Interview

(02:25) Guest Backgrounds

(04:13) Application Design Philosophies

(10:01) Sequencers: Their Role and Security Tradeoffs

(27:00) Tradeoffs: Focus vs Control

(33:38) Mesh Security, ICS and Restaking

(45:51) SDK Network Effects & the “Minimum Viable Stack”

(55:13) Building Credibly Neutral Software

(1:00:41) How Applications Should Approach MEV

(1:04:02) The Path Ahead

(1:06:19) Recap: Post-Interview

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Follow Myles: https://twitter.com/MylesOneil

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Resources:

Celestia

https://celestia.org/

Osmosis

https://osmosis.zone/

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An Inside Look at Crypto Venture Firms | Roundup Feb 03, 2023

Show notes

This episode of Bell Curve explores the crypto venture capital landscape. We discuss how VC funds are managed, what separates the best funds from the pack, why fund size is so important and more! This is your chance to see how the crypto VC business really works.

We then discuss Bitcoin's NFT drama, why Bitcoin mining sucks and a little bit of politics. You won't want to miss this one!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:38) Is the bull market back?

(12:27) The private fundraising landscape

(21:29) Behind the scenes look at VC funds

(43:09) Bitcoin NFT drama (Ordinals)

(50:43) Being a Bitcoin mining business ain’t easy

(55:13) Charlie Munger, Nikki Haley and election predictions

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Resources:

Illegitimate bitcoin transactions (Ordinals)

https://read.pourteaux.xyz/p/illegitimate-bitcoin-transactions

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Fat Apps: Aggregation Theory in Crypto Networks | Zaki Manian, Sam Hart Jan 31, 2023

Show notes

Season 3 | Episode 2

In this episode of Bell Curve, Zaki Manian and Sam Hart join us to discuss how Aggregation Theory applies to crypto protocols. We explore if applications can covert user relationships into sticky profits, crypto moats, blockspace as a commodity, the benefits of controlling the full tech stack and more!

PS: don't miss the "Smiling Curve" section of the episode - it's an under-discussed idea that will start appearing in crypto value-capture debates!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro: Pre-Interview

(02:29) The AppChain Thesis

(09:31) Aggregation Theory

(25:31) Do Moats Exist?

(31:34) Is Blockspace a Commodity?

(38:25) The Smiling Curve

(47:04) Will dYdX Validate the AppChain Thesis?

(52:28) Controlling the Entire Stack

(1:01:22) Recap: Post-Interview

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Follow Myles: https://twitter.com/MylesOneil

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Resources:

Ben Thompson's Aggregation Theory

https://stratechery.com/aggregation-theory/

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Unraveling Crypto’s Credit Crisis | Roundup Jan 27, 2023

Show notes

This episode of Bell Curve explores the complex money trail from crypto's warped credit market. We know the players - 3AC, DCG, Genesis, Alameda and FTX - but how were these parties tied together and what exposure did they all (carelessly) take?

We then discuss how ecosystem funds work, why we're bullish dYdX and Circle, the Blockworks Research degens, why we're pulling a boomer on social media, Doodles controversy and more!

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:51) Crypto's [Dead] Credit Market

(17:18) How Ecosystem Funds Work

(24:30) dYdX Token Unlocks

(29:32) Circle’s CCTP = Bullish

(34:21) Canto, Blockworks Research and How to “Make It”

(48:44) Stargate Psyops?

(52:01) Doodles Controversy

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The Case for Sovereign Blockchains | Sunny Aggarwal, Dmitriy Berenzon Jan 24, 2023

Show notes

Season 3 | Episode 1

In this episode of Bell Curve, Sunny Aggarwal and Dmitriy Berenzon join us to discuss the pros and cons of building a sovereign AppChain. AppChains enable developers and protocols to customize consensus, cryptography, MEV rules, fees and more. But is this customization worth the fragmentation, start-up costs, lack of tooling and other challenges AppChains face? Tune in to find out.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro: Pre-Interview

(02:33) The AppChain Thesis

(10:52) Reasons to Build an AppChain

(28:28) The Downsides and Challenges

(42:04) What is Permissioned Blockspace?

(48:49) Cosmos vs Ethereum

(1:02:09) Solving Interoperability

(1:07:54) User Lock-in: Wallets

(1:13:42) Recap: Post-Interview

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Follow Myles: https://twitter.com/MylesOneil

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Follow Sunny: https://twitter.com/sunnya97

Follow Dmitriy: https://twitter.com/dberenzon

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Resources:

Dmitriy's blog

https://dberenzon.medium.com/

Osmosis

https://osmosis.zone/

1k(x)

https://1kx.network/

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Peak ETH: Ethereum's Monetary Policy Explained | Roundup Jan 21, 2023

Show notes

This episode of Bell Curve explores the bear market rally and ETH’s monetary design. We start with our views on the recent market rally - have prices bottomed, or are we witnessing a dead cat bounce? What should we expect for 2023?

We then discuss ETH's unique monetary policy, MakerDAO’s counterparty risk, Optimism vs Arbitrum, private fundraising, Su Zhu's false redemption arc and more!

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Timestamps

(00:00) Introduction

(01:00) A Bear Market Rally

(12:10) Optimism vs Arbitrum

(17:20) Genesis Bankruptcy Rumors

(22:28) MakerDAO’s Counterparty Risk

(28:28) Raising Funds in a Bear Market

(34:30) ETH’s Monetary Policy

(48:01) ETH Staking Withdrawal Queue

(50:05) Bitzlato and Bitcoin Narratives

(1:00:50) Su Zhu and Kyle are Back

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Follow Vance: https://twitter.com/pythianism

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Resources

Ryan Watkins tweet on Ethereum innovation cycles

https://bit.ly/3ZPirug

ETH 7.5% APR tweet

https://bit.ly/3Wmua0w

ETH withdrawal queue thread (by Westie)

https://twitter.com/WestieCapital/status/1613645213792366595

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