The leading DePIN podcast, brought to you by Connor Lovely and Escape Velocity Ventures.
DePIN = Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks.
The leading DePIN podcast, brought to you by Connor Lovely and Escape Velocity Ventures.
DePIN = Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks.
Copyright: © Escape Velocity Ventures, Connor Lovely, Sami Kassab
In today’s episode, we had Jonathan from SkyTrade as our guest, discussing the current state and future of air rights in the drone industry. Jonathan highlighted the use cases of air rights in real estate, views protection, and overhangs. He also emphasized the importance of drones and cargo drones in the future of low-altitude transit.
Jonathan shared insights on how SkyTrade is revolutionizing the air rights market by enabling homeowners to monetize their airspace through a marketplace and a drone radar app. He also discussed the plans for landing and refueling stations for drones, emphasizing the potential for infrastructure development in the drone industry.
Additionally, Jonathan hinted at the possibility of a native token for SkyTrade in the future, with tokenomics already in progress. Overall, the episode provided valuable insights into the evolving landscape of air rights and the role of SkyTrade in shaping the future of the drone industry.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction to SkyTrade and Air Rights Market
05:30 - Motivation Behind Writing Publicly and Building a Following
10:30 - Current State and Future of Air Rights Use Cases
19:48 - Future State of Air Rights and Use Cases
29:48 - Discussion on eVTOL Market and Concentration of Companies
35:32 - Enforcement and Regulation of Air Rights
36:34 - SkyTrade's Plans for Landing and Taking Off Stations
39:54 - SkyTrade Token Plans and Usage
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
In this episode, Connor, Sal, and Mahesh discussed the recent DePIN Summit and reflected on the highs and lows of the event. They talked about the importance of bringing the DePIN community together in person to foster collaboration and innovation and shared their experiences with recording the podcast in-person and the overall success of the Summit.
We also touched on the feedback from other founders and investors on the SBC conference and how DePIN stands out with its focus on both infrastructure and applications. The hosts highlighted the energy and optimism present at the summit, especially in sectors like telecom and energy.
Overall, the episode emphasized the importance of making noise about DePIN and the exciting developments within the community. The hosts expressed their enthusiasm for the future of DePIN and the growth potential of the sector.
00:00:00 - Intro
00:05:30 - Mahesh's Talk and Venue Atmosphere
00:10:34 - Highlights and Post-Summit Reflections
00:13:04 - Plans for Future DePIN Summits
00:16:22 - Ping Pong Tournament Recap
00:17:13 - Discussion on SBC Conference Criticism
00:20:17 - Focus on Telecom and Energy Sectors
00:21:46 - Watch the DePIN Summit Talks!!
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
In this episode, Connor and Mahesh are joined by Karam Lakshman, the founder of the Dabba Network, a wireless network project in India. Karam shared the journey of Dabba, starting from a software consulting company to the deployment of Wi-Fi hotspots across India. The unique model of decoupling hotspot ownership and deployment was highlighted, allowing for foreign investment and scalability. The founder discussed the competitive advantage of Dabba in terms of pricing and coverage compared to traditional telcos in India. The episode also touched upon the upcoming token launch for Dabba, following the buy and burn mechanic for data transfer usage. Overall, the episode provided insights into the innovative approach of Dabba in providing affordable and widespread connectivity in India.
00:00:00 - DePIN’s Expansion
00:05:30 - Global Networks and Deepin's Unique Approach
00:10:46 - Significance of Dreams and Personal Reflections
00:15:20 - India's Growing Wireless Networks
00:17:35 - Dabba’s Origin Story and Progress
00:23:44 - Considering the Helium SubDAO model
00:25:51 - Transition to Mainnet and Token Launch
00:29:08 - Location and Geography in DePIN Networks
00:31:22 - Helium’s Network of Networks Concept
00:34:02 - Supply and Deployment Model of Hotspots
00:37:44 - Demand Side and Data Usage
00:41:42 - Power of Community Assets in the DePIN Model
00:42:29 - Tokenomics Overview and TGE Plans
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
In this episode, Connor & Sal are joined by Jason from Daylight. They delve into the world of energy and blockchain technology with a focus on the Daylight Network. The conversation touched on various topics, including the concept of energy as a commodity, the challenges and opportunities in the energy industry, and the evolution of the Daylight Network from its inception to its current state.
The discussion also explored the idea of peer-to-peer energy trading, the role of liquidity in decentralized networks, and the importance of separating governance and economic rights in protocols. Jason shared insights on the Medallions model, inspired by taxi medallions, as a way to simplify operational overhead and provide a fixed amount of energy capacity to users.
Additionally, the conversation touched on the topic of fixed versus variable total token supplies and token inflation. Overall, the episode provided a deep dive into the intersection of energy, blockchain technology, and token economics, offering valuable insights and perspectives on the evolving landscape of decentralized networks.
00:00:00 - Introduction to Energy and Electricity Demand
00:01:01 - Discussion about DePIN Summit and Twitter Engagement
00:03:29 - Networking on Twitter
00:08:06 - Discussion on US Government Crypto Policy and Regulatory Changes
00:08:39 - Overview of Energy Industry and Future Infrastructure Needs
00:12:33 - Comparison of Wireless Industry and Decentralized Energy Movement
00:14:55 - Contribution of Flexible Energy Capacity and Energy-Backed Currency
00:15:34 - Discussion on Peer-to-Peer Energy and Market Structures
00:16:32 - Overview of Daylight Marketplace and Electrification Projects
00:22:38 - Evolution of React to Daylight, Bear Market Strategies, and Recent Funding
00:25:16 - Overview of Medallions Model and Separation of Governance and Economic Rights
00:30:23 - Helium Network and Sourceful HIP Discussion
00:35:16 - Insights on Sub-DAO Models and Token Economics
00:37:44 - Introduction to Medallions Model and Taxi Medallion Analogy
00:40:32 - Discussion on Medallions Model and Simplifying Operational Overhead
00:41:25 - Inflation Perspective and Token Economics for Daylight Network
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
In this episode, Mahesh and guest host John Wu are joined by Kaledora Fontana Kiernan-Linn, Co-Founder of Ostium Labs. Ostium is committed to delivering solutions around stablecoin settlement, low-latency oracle-based pricing, minimal liquidity provider exposure, and a disintermediated and unbiased trading environment.
We discuss the world of Ostium, finance, and various platforms like Interactive Brokers, LMAX, CME, and Coinbase futures. Kaledora examines the flexibility and benefits of the current trading model, highlighting institutional liquidity, potential partnerships, and the intriguing concept of "perpification."
We also explore the noncustodial perp market for commodities, the significance of funding rates, and the creation of a platform for onboarding real-world assets through synthetic products. Kaledora shares insights into the technical challenges and the project's potential to disrupt traditional markets. Additionally, we uncover the novel solution for market hours data at the node level, emphasizing the importance of quick and decisive decision-making in the startup landscape.
Gain valuable perspectives on trading strategies, decision-making, and the exciting innovations reshaping the world of finance and investment.
00:00 Prioritize quick decision-making over perfection, use intuition.
04:25 Rational decision-making process for quitting ballet.
07:33 Encouraging team trust, accepting imperfect decisions.
10:50 Constructive disagreements focus on idea generation approaches.
15:48 Trading any asset as a perpetual summary.
17:24 Innovative funding rates create balance in crypto.
23:27 Express thoughts freely, don't overthink sharing.
25:32 Advice for overcoming writer's block and perfectionism.
27:57 Accounting for market features crucial for creating oracles.
31:28 Improved solution for market hours data reporting.
36:08 Decentralized system using pool-based market making.
39:10 Excited about future opportunities in crypto markets.
41:18 Creating perpetuals, a unique onboarding approach overview.
44:34 Cryptocurrency, perpetual futures, and evolution of assets.
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Sal is joined by Tom Trowbridge, Co-Founder of Fluence Labs. Fluence’s DePIN platform frees developers from centralized clouds by offering natively decentralized, low cost, and verifiable compute. In today’s episode, we dive deep into the world of decentralized networks with real-world utility. We discuss the trade-offs of decentralization, share personal experiences transitioning into the crypto space, and explore the changing landscape of talent and innovation in the crypto industry. The conversation delves into Fluence's unique approach to attracting utility-focused compute providers to power a decentralized, fault- tolerant, low-cost cloudless computing platform. This episode is filled with valuable insights covering the benefits and challenges of decentralized governance in token economies.
00:00 - Balancing institutional background with entrepreneurial experience.
05:48 - Sal's crypto-interest sparked by the first dedicated Crypto VC funds in 2018.
11:30 - Fluence’s new-generation Aqua programming language for distributed systems.
19:00 - Approximating demand for FLT through CPU staking.
25:31 - Drawbacks against community-run governance and centralization.
38:05 - Governance-minimized DePIN protocols.
42:40 - Sal discusses decentralized energy projects he’s excited about.
49:57 - AI model training, e.g. Grass for text and Frodobots for robotics.
56:30 - Complex crypto network economics impact crypto cycles.
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
In this episode, Sal is joined by ZX and Sylvan from Parasail - the leading restaking protocol for DePIN. Parasail is the first restaking protocol to provide onchain economic guarantees for DePIN services, helping drive DePIN adoption and onchain revenues. Discover how they’re connecting established crypto assets with emerging DePIN services to backstop on-chain refunds and boost staking rewards. ZX and Sylvan discuss Parasail's origins in the Filecoin ecosystem and their vision for the future of decentralized infrastructure. Whether you're a crypto enthusiast, a DePIN founder, or just curious about web3, this episode provides an inside look into the bleeding edge of crypto-economic innovation.
0:00 - Using onchain crypto incentives to backstop offchain services.
5:19 - Decentralized storage and staking in the Filecoin ecosystem.
11:27 - DePIN restaking: leveraging BTC, ETH, and SOL for security.
20:04 - Insurance for decentralized protocols, customer acquisition strategies, and service quality.
28:40 - Lessons from decentralized finance (DeFi) and the potential risks of centralization in staking networks.
36:19 - Token delegation and future development ideas. Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
In this special episode, Connor is joined by Abhay Kumar and Joey Hiller from Helium, as well as Fredrik Ahlgren and Tobias Ohlsson from Srcful to discuss Srcful’s proposal to build a decentralized energy grid on top of Helium Network infrastructure. Helium is one of the oldest, largest DePIN projects, mostly focused on building out wireless networks but now leveraging its vast footprint and community to support DePINs in other verticals like energy and mobility. Meanwhile, Srcful is developing a community-driven virtual power plant (VPP) that utilizes distributed energy resources (DERs) like solar panels and batteries to gather real-time energy production and consumption data and sell energy back to the grid. They discuss the development of virtual power plants, the economics of energy control in a global network, and how homeowners can participate in energy markets. Listen in as they explore the challenges and opportunities of building a physical infrastructure network with tokenomics, leveraging the Helium community, and expanding their network's reach. 00:00 - The expansion of the Helium network.
04:22 - Simplifying network participation for individuals and expanding beyond wireless.
08:27 - Srcful being inspired by Helium and creating a physical infrastructure network.
09:46 - The transition to renewable energy is reshaping the energy grid.
14:07 - Entering new markets is complex and expensive.
17:38 - Focusing on Helium IoT gateways for communication.
20:17 - Utilizing existing hardware for real-world verification.
26:00 - Consumer devices now connect via WiFi and Helium.
28:23 - Srcful-driven data transfer increases the value of HNT and IoT.
30:11 - Behind the intent to expand the Helium network, seeking community approval.
34:08 - Global energy market pricing and value proposition.
39:52 - Considering revising the subDAO utility score and therefore $HNT flows to include non-wireless on-chain revenue generated by non-wireless subDAOs
42:07 - Passion for new energy data is exciting.
44:16 - Excited about energy data and demand response.
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Connor and Sal are joined by guests Houman Shadab and Wyatt Benno from NovaNet. NovaNet is building an incentive and coordination network for zero knowledge proofs that run locally and leverage the latest advances in ZK technology. The group discusses the zk yin to blockchain’s yang, how ZK proofs compare to other trustless verification methods like TEEs and secure hardware elements, and most importantly, how ZK technology will play an important role in shaping the future of the DePIN industry.
00:00 - Discussion on Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) and blockchain consensus, comparing on-chain vs. off-chain implementations.
04:16 - Exploration of the long history of ZKPs, their role in privacy, and verifiable computation.
07:48 - Appeal of ZKPs due to their verifiability, especially from a legal perspective.
10:56 - How blockchain technology ensures the verifiability of on-chain transactions.
16:23 - Introduction to an efficient folding scheme developed by a Microsoft researcher, known as Supernova.
19:18 - The concept of aggregating proofs for more efficient blockchain posting.
22:52 - Discussion on varying trust assumptions and the potential of soft enclaves.
25:44 - Incentivizing new proving schemes on NovaNet.
28:29 - Examination of multiple ZKP proving networks, each with its own limitations.
32:08 - Initial confusion about NFTs, which eventually turned into excitement.
34:27 - The potential applications of ZKPs in law and regulation.
37:42 - Anticipation of ongoing innovation in cryptocurrency and improvements in accessibility.
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Connor and Sal are joined by guests Boris Renski & Amir Haleem from Helium. The Helium project is a DePIN building wireless networks. From tackling the intricacies of the token structure to discussing strategies for increasing data flow over Helium mobile hotspots, this episode promises to be an insightful exploration of the latest developments in the crypto and telco industry. We’ll dissect the dynamics of decentralized network planning, the significance of user experience in network development, and the evolving landscape of data offload technologies.
00:00 Iggy Azalea's involvement in cryptocurrency
05:48 Marketing strategies for better penetration in the crypto sector
08:33 New security feature to prevent SIM swaps
11:22 Scammers targeting T-Mobile employees and related security concerns
15:19 Understanding and filtering data for the Mobile network
18:14 Network enhancements improving coverage and rewarding operators
21:53 Engineers' misplaced focus on user experience
25:05 The Helium team's innovative cellular network deployment
32:17 Critiques of the sub-DAO model and multi-token system
34:28 Original token ideas overlooked, voting system needs attention
37:38 Acknowledging model complexity and the need for community-driven changes
42:40 Boris’ wildest Helium community story
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Connor and Sal sit down with Harrison Hines of Fleek Network. Fleek is the lightning fast onchain cloud, powered by the Fleek Network, permissionless onchain cloud infrastructure, edge-optimized for performance.
Harrison talks about what parts of Web2 infrastructure Fleek is solving, how they think about their GTM operations vs. technical operations in a Web3 world, how they deliver a highly performant network despite the need for higher verification than Web2 alternatives, and Fleek’s upcoming mainnet and token launches.
00:00 Welcome Harrison
00:58 What is Fleek?
05:31 What problems with how Web2 infrastructure works is Fleek solving?
12:30 How Fleek balances general purpose vs. customized use cases
17:17 Distinction between Fleek and the Fleek Network
26:53 How Fleek designs and distributes its commercial ops from its technical ops
34:43 How does Fleek balance the need for automated verification against high performance?
42:04 What use cases is Harrison excited about being built on Fleek?
49:44 Wen mainnet? Wen token? What functions will the token perform?
54:00 Lightning Round
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
This week, Sal is joined by Anon Morpho, Neuratic and DNB from the Ator team. Ator is building the largest global anonymous-routing ecosystem, leveraging a decentralized privacy protocol, on-chain incentives and signature hardware to rapidly scale its network.
The team discusses why privacy is so important to them, how Ator is advancing decades-old privacy concepts, the first-party benefits their hardware provides to customers straight out-of-the-box, why privacy is still critical in web3, and the importance of token taxes in ATOR’s early fundraising.
00:00 Hello Ator!
01:27 Why Privacy?
04:16 What is Ator?
05:52 How Ator is architected for privacy
07:08 The history of Onion Routing and how Ator is iterating on the concept
14:17 How ATOR’s hardware provides rewards and first-party value
17:35 ATOR as a value-add for other web3 developers
21:19 Why privacy is still critical in web3
26:08 How ATOR bootstrapped their early token liquidity with token taxes
41:33 Where to find ATOR
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Sami and Connor are joined by Andrej Radonjic, Founder of Grass Network. Grass is a network of over 2M+ people incentivized to assist AI developers in accessing data on the internet. Grass creates a more equitable and inclusive future for the development of AI.
00:00 Connor lives in a Resort
00:34 Grass merch coming soon
01:20 Catching up with Andrej
03:15 Open source datasets for AI
06:40 Why Andrej doxx’d himself on Twitter
09:30 Deep dive on Grass and the web scraping/AI market
17:11 What has contributed to the fast growth of Grass?
20:25 Implementing points in DePIN
22:19 What goes into becoming a data layer?
34:02 Layer 2 sovereign data rollups
40:20 Discussing monetization
43:50 Grass’ future partners and competitors in the AI space
52:27 Lightning round!
1:01:44 Where to find Andrej and the Grass Network Team
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Mahesh and Sal are joined by Alireza Ghods, CEO & Co-Founder of Natix. Natix is a global mapping network of smart cameras. Natix’s 100k drivers have mapped 30M km across 170 countries.
Alireza takes on the great DePIN mapping hardware debate, making the case for smartphones over dedicated hardware, lays out the long-term vision for Natix as a camera network beyond just road mapping, and illustrates how Natix could eventually enable a wide variety of use cases, including facilitating the use of drones in forest fire rescue.
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Mahesh, Connor, and Sami are joined by Neil Chatterjee, CEO of Andrena and Ani Pai, Partner at Dragonfly Capital. Andrena is working to deliver affordable broadband to buildings by partnering with real estate owners and property managers through a revenue-share arrangement. They currently have 10,000 customers across 10 US states. Neil and Ani talk about the launch of DAWN - the first decentralized autonomous wireless network, how Andrena aligns incentives for both their employees and their customers to drive growth, and how they’re going to use their token to coordinate supply and demand across the entire wireless value chain, and their long-term views of the use cases of decentralized wireless.
0:00 What are new token launches doing to Ani’s hair?
1:12 Why is Martin Shkreli talking about Bittensor now?
4:15 Andrena’s growth in the last 12 months
5:27 How Andrena aligns the employee incentive with financial KPIs to drive growth
6:44 Does Andrena consider itself a WISP or an MSP? Or something else?
7:36 Who are Andrena’s customers and how do they fit into the broader internet provider landscape?
9:46 How Andrena is creating a better experience for both owners and residents of multi-family living buildings
12:16 How Andrena used customer referral incentives to bootstrap its earliest stage growth
13:40 How the FCC releasing 1.2 gHz of spectrum in 2020 encouraged Andrena to launch a DePIN
16:04 What is DAWN, and how does it look different from the traditional web2 internet business model?
19:29 How will Andrena fit into DAWN’s ecosystem?
22:41 What has Ani and Dragonfly seen over the past year as an investor of Andrena?
25:30 What does Ani view as what Andrena is fundamentally trying to do?
30:36 What synergies does Neil see between Andrena and other DePIN projects?
35:20 Wen Token? And what is it going to be used for
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
This week, we’re still recovering from ETH Denver. Mahesh gets Sami, Connor, and Sal to fill us in on what we missed out West, including new DePIN themes coming the rest of the year, where DePIN fits into the current wave of ATH’s and memecoins, which projects are still underhyped, and the benefits of being IRL.
0:00 Welcome Back
1:19 I guess we have to talk about memecoins, huh?
5:54 Comparing ETH Denver this year vs. last year
9:15 Why DePIN token prices don’t seem to be taking off
16:45 Are DePIN wearables the next wave?
19:46 Projects that are still underrated
24:29 GPU supply shortages
26:15 Over/Under 250 DePIN coins launching in the next 12 months?
28:08 What did the rest of us miss at ETH Denver?
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Connor, Sami, and Mahesh are joined by Raullen Chai, Co-Founder of IoTeX. IoTeX is the platform for DePIN builders, combining a fast, secure blockchain with IoT and smart devices.
Raullen talks about how he fell in love with crypto when he tried to break Bitcoin (and couldn’t do it), why he dedicated his work in crypto to supporting DePIN, the competitive landscape of DePIN-focused L1’s and where IoTeX fits in, and how IoTeX’s hardware origins help them serve founders better.
0:00 Cold Open
0:36 The State of DePIN Fundraising
2:10 How working at Google and Uber exposed Raullen to crypto
5:56 Why Raullen was moved to leave Big Tech to crypto
7:28 Raullen’s Multi-Cycle Learnings
10:04 Why DePIN?
12:18 IoTeX’s Role in the DePIN Ecosystem
15:38 The Competitive Landscape of DePIN L1’s
18:23 What are DePIN Founders looking for in L1’s?
21:32 IoTeX’s W3bstream’s Value Prop
24:22 How IoTeX’s hardware expertise adds value to projects
28:10 Dedicated Hardware vs. Consumer Mobile Device Trends in DePIN
31:00 IoTeX’s Hardware Origins and Early Adoption
34:06 The Benefit to a DePIN Builder of the Marshall DAO
36:38 Lightning Round
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Sal is joined by Matt Katz of Caldera, and Neel Somani of Eclipse. Caldera is a no-code web3 infrastructure platform, trying to simplify the process of creating app-specific blockchains so builders can create layer-2 blockchains in a matter of hours. Eclipse is Ethereum’s fastest L2, powered by the Solana Virtual Machine - a new kind of architecture built to power the next generation of decentralized applications.
0:00 Welcome Matt and Neel!
1:14 High Level Approaches of Caldera and Eclipse
6:07 Why build on Caldera or Eclipse and not directly on an L1?
13:51 The State of the Solana & SVM Infrastructure Ecosystem
15:30 The Current and Future State of Chain Feature Differentiation
27:52 The Economics of Caldera and Eclipse Over Time
38:08 How Best To Serve the DePIN Compatibility Use Case
42:40 SVM or New “Next-Gen” VM’s?
45:43 How Caldera and Eclipse Sell DePIN Founders
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Mahesh and Connor are joined by Jonathan Victor. Jonathan formerly worked on Filecoin at Protocol Labs, and left to found Ansa Research, a research firm focused on distributed infrastructure covering digital networks that aim to rebuild how internet infrastructure operates.
Jonathan talks about how his Palantir background influenced his time at Protocol Labs, why content addressing is a critical component to the future of the web, what the long-term Filecoin roadmap looks like, the protocol’s recent investments into retrieval, where Filecoin and other storage protocols fit into the broader ecosystem of enterprise storage, and clears up Filecoin’s revenue model.
0:00 Cold Brew Open
0:40 How Jon’s background at Palantir led him to Filecoin
4:28 Jon’s Decentralized Infrastructure Theses
9:42 How the Various Storage Solutions May Work Together in the Future
13:33 Filecoin’s Long-term Roadmap
20:03 Filecoin and Retrieval
24:55 Storage as a Commodity or a Differentiated Offering
29:30 Why Location Matters in Storage
34:04 IPFS and Filecoin’s Value Prop
39:33 How Filecoin Cultivated it’s robust developer ecosystem
43:42 Filecoin’s Revenue Model and Transparency
50:47 Where to find Jon’s Work
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Sami, Connor and Mahesh are joined by Ryan Selkis, Founder and CEO of Messari. Messari provides market intelligence that drives high-conviction participation in the crypto economy.
Ryan discusses his thoughts on the current state of crypto regulation, its implications on the 2024 US Presidential election, where he hopes Vivek Ramaswamy lands next, the 3 areas of DePIN that excite him most, and if it has a hat (spoiler: it does).
0:00 Is this the cold open?
0:47 Does it have a hat?
2:26 What did the term “Web3” do to Selkis?
5:47 State of crypto & the US Presidential Race
16:03 Vivek Ramaswamy’s next step
21:01 Trump’s stance on crypto
27:00 How well do US regulators understand DePIN?
37:00 The sectors of DePIN Selkis is most interested in
44:29 How to be a cockroach
50:06 Lightning round
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Sami and Mahesh are joined by Nick Emmons, CEO & Co-Founder of Upshot. Upshot is a decentralized AI network optimized for DeFi applications. The network incentivizes participants to contribute their expertise, which can include machine learning models, data, and other forms of knowledge, cultivating a cooperative ecosystem where contributors collectively strive towards achieving shared AI objectives.
Nick shares his insights on the regulatory landscape for AI, discussing the competitive edge that decentralized AI could have over traditional centralized AI systems. He also speaks about the evolution of Upshot into a platform that leverages the collective intelligence of its participants to create and improve DeFi applications. The conversation also touches on the critical role of zero-knowledge proofs for integrating AI with blockchains. Lastly, Nick highlights various use cases for Upshot, showcasing its potential to transform the DeFi space.
00:00 - Hair Routines
1:04 - Crypto and AI Regulation
2:47 - The Rapid Rate of AI Innovation
5:35 - Entering an Era of Hyperfinancilization
8:20 - Competing with OpenAI’s GPT Store
9:50 - Upshot’s Origin
15:26 - How Price Predicting Models on Upshot Work
19:30 - How Models on Upshot Work Together
20:40 - Upshot Machine Intelligence Network Architecture
25:05 - Upshot + zkML
29:05 - opML vs zkML
31:30 - Upshot Use Cases
34:40 - How the Community can Help
37:55 - Rapid Fire Questions
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Connor and Sami are joined by Jules Urbach, CEO of OTOY and Founder of Render, and Trevor Harries-Jones, COO of OTOY and Director at Render Network Foundation. The Render Network is the first decentralized GPU rendering platform, empowering artists to scale GPU rendering work on-demand to high performance GPU nodes around the world. Through a blockchain marketplace for idle GPU compute, the network provides artists the ability to scale next-generation rendering work at fractions of the cost and at orders of magnitude increases in speed when compared to the centralized GPU cloud. OTOY Inc. is the definitive cloud graphics company, pioneering technology that is redefining content creation and delivery for media and entertainment organizations around the world.
Jules and Trevor discuss the moment when artists first discover how useful the Render Network can be, how the Render Network is currently powering highly demanding projects on the world’s premier stages (like The Sphere in Las Vegas), whether our mobile devices will someday be nodes on the Render Network, and the future of immersive entertainment.
00:00 - Chrome Tab Overload
1:04 - Hello Jules and Trevor!
1:17 - The Future of Entertainment & the Metaverse
7:40 - When Jules first started thinking about a token-based GPU network
14:24 - Use cases the Render Network serves today
18:40 - Why Render vs. other GPU networks?
23:47 - The Render Network and AI
29:44 - Why Render moved to Solana
32:45 - The future of node types on the Render Network
38:46 - Render’s thinking behind partnership with general-purpose compute networks
41:43 - GPU requirements of AI projects
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Connor, Sami, and Mahesh are joined by Ariel Seidman, CEO / Co-Founder of Hivemapper. Hivemapper is building the world’s freshest map with AI and a network of drivers using dashcams. Ariel talks about why Hivemapper uses purpose-built hardware, the problems with centralized mapping today, how they designed the HONEY token design to dynamically match Hivemapper’s progress towards its long-term goals, and the weirdest things the team has seen on driver images.
0:00 - Cold Open - A TradWi Conspiracy Afoot?
0:42 - Hello Ariel!
3:00 Privacy is one of Hivemapper biggest concerns
5:38 How Ariel explains DePIN
7:30 How Ariel’s background at Yahoo and Gigwalk informed the early Hivemapper days
11:47 The emerging use cases that only a fresh, high-quality map can serve
18:31 How has centralized mapping reacted to Hivemapper’s emergence?
20:24 What the Hivemapper protocol is designed to incentivize
25:05 How the HONEY token emissions are engineered to keep the network sustainable
30:16 Hivemapper’s first customers
34:05 Why Hivemapper uses dedicated hardware
41:52 How the Hivemapper Map AI acts as the brains of the network
47:31 Hivemapper’s product suite
50:50 Ariel’s advice for DePIN founders
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Connor and Mahesh sit down with Adam Jackson, Co-Founder and CEO of Braintrust. Braintrust is the first user-owned talent network, matching enterprise employers to vetted knowledge workers. Today, Braintrust boasts over 3,000 employers hiring from a pool of 500,000 freelancers who have collectively earned over $150M on the Braintrust network.
Adam discusses Braintrust’s origins from a DePIN-focused hedge fund, what DePIN means to him, the reality of the US crypto regulatory environment, and what levers Braintrust can pull to drive growth.
0:00 - 0:20 Hello Adam!
0:20 - 5:10 Why Remote Works Makes Sense
5:10 - 10:44 Adam’s Background and How Braintrust Came to Be
10:45 - 12:38 What does DePIN mean to Adam?
13:14 - 18:24 Braintrust’s Enterprise-Grade User Experience
18:24 - 21:53 The Upside and Downside of Decentralization
21:53 - 23:07 The Vetting Process for Knowledge Workers
23:07 - 28:15 Braintrust Revenue and Governance Model
28:15 - 32:48 Braintrust’s Growth Levers
32:48 - 34:57 How Braintrust Can Pull Levers to Balance Marketplace Demand and Supply
34:57 - 37:40 Braintrust’s Clients Don’t Care about the Token
37:40 - 39:02 Crypto’s Regulatory Environment
39:02 - 44:40 Has Technology Really Improved Productivity?
44:40 - 48:30 Is Talent Happier Using Braintrust?
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Sami and Mahesh are joined by Sam Williams, Co-Founder and CEO of Arweave. Arweave is a permanent and decentralized storage network, designed for the preservation of humanity’s most important data.
Sam discussed what inspired him to work on permanent storage, why he doesn’t view Filecoin as a major competitor, how Arweave is designed to store the highest-value data, and some of the exciting projects currently using Arweave.
0:00 - 0:59 DePIN Date Night
1:00 - 7:44 How recent global events inspired Arweave
7:45 - 12:09 Why Sam doesn't view Filecoin as a behemoth
12:10 - 15:04Arweave's competition
15:05 - 19:13 Bitcoin as a storage layer
19:14 - 25:09 Arweave's PMF
25:10 - 29:27 Applications currently using Arweave
29:28 - 34:52 How Sam thinks the industry can drive user behavior
34:53 - 38:30 What Sam's most excited about in the next few years
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Sami, Connor, and Mahesh are joined by Jake Steeves, Founder of Opentensor / Bittensor. Bittensor is a decentralized protocol for the aggregation and coordination of machine intelligence, which can be applied to many use cases such as AI training and decentralized storage and compute.
Jake explains why open ownership models mark the death of the YC business model, his views on AI regulation, the most interesting use cases he’s seen for Bittensor machine intelligence so far, and why he thinks we’re entering a golden era of technological innovation and human progress.
00:00 The cold open that almost wasn’t
1:33 $TAO community as the NBA Youngboy fans of crypto
7:15 The techno-optimists/effective accelerationists vs. the decels/regulators and how Bittensor strikes a balance
8:51 Bitcoin is apolitical
9:12 The meaning behind Jake’s screen name “Const_reborn”
10:25 Why the YC business model is dead
15:25 Should AI be regulated?
18:43 How the Bittensor community regulates itself
21:01 Bittensor’s vision and purpose, inspiration from Bitcoin
23:14 Bittensor subnets / use cases
25:32 Will regulation of centralized AI development be a boon for decentralized AI?
27:20 Can open-source AI compete with closed-source?
34:30 How Bittensor uses incentives and monetization to compete with closed-source AI
35:13 Bittensor Revolution upgrade and its subnet architecture
40:40 Example Bittensor subnets
44:30 Bittensor is a DePIN
49:07 What’s your most non-consensus take?
50:52 Outro
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Connor and Mahesh are joined by John Dogru, Founder of 3DOS, the world’s largest decentralized peer-to-peer manufacturing network. John walks us through the current state of the 3D printing industry, how 3DOS’ brings a new meaning to just-in-time manufacturing, dramatically improves rates of materials waste, and empowers a new generation of creators.
00:00 Intro
1:10 Are we aliens?
3:10 3DOS founding story
4:30 Where’s the 3D printing industry at today?
8:20 Not drop-shipping, but drop-manufacturing?
13:05 End-to-end use case
17:35 How starting with higher ed strengthened 3DOS from the ground up
20:00 How 3DOS fulfils the last mile
23:00 How 3DOS helps load balance capacity across devices
26:20 Impact of democratizing manufacturing
29:40 The long-term vision for 3DOS
32:30 How 3DOS is using crypto principles to drive network activity and empower creators
27:05 How 3DOS is optimizing its incentive structure for quality
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
In this episode of the Proof of Coverage podcast, Sal interviews Maria Lima, the founder of Weaver Labs and the Adeno network. Maria shares the origin story of Weaver Labs and discusses their work in powering lab deployments across Europe. They delve into the innovative technology behind Weaver Labs, including their full-stack modular software platform for scaling wireless networks. Listeners will gain insights into the exciting advancements being made in the field of telecommunications.
Follow Maria:
[00:02:05] Demo or die approach.
[00:04:41] Decentralizing telecommunications infrastructure.
[00:08:30] Innovation in the telecom ecosystem.
[00:09:41] UK's investment in telecoms.
[00:14:50] Building a 5G private network.
[00:16:20] Using street furniture for network deployment.
[00:19:58] Neutron host model explained.
[00:23:34] Fixed wireless access trial.
[00:26:14] Residential connectivity cost analysis.
[00:30:16] Telecom sector funding scarcity.
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Join Mahesh and Connor for a thought-provoking conversation with Greg Osuri, the founder of Akash Network.
They discuss the importance of Akash and its implications as the first-ever super cloud for computing. Akash operates in a decentralized manner, utilizing crypto incentives to source compute power and providing it to those who need it through an innovative leasing framework. The conversation also touches on recent events, such as Mexico's Congress unboxing aliens, prompting reactions and thoughts on the existence of non-human life in the universe.
[01:02] Aliens and extraterrestrial life
[04:33] The cloud's influence on innovation
[07:23] Decentralized marketplace for cloud
[10:07] Aggregating latent compute resources
[12:59] Fragmenting the AI chip market
[16:17] Akash vs. competitors
[20:12] AI developers and user friction
[22:07] Network effects in crypto
[26:08] Crypto and AI convergence
[28:19] Incentivizing equitable AI
[31:43] Akash Network and community
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Join Mahesh and Connor as they dive into the world of co-owned AI services, with David Minarsch, Founder and CEO of the Olas Network.
Olas has created a general framework for developers to spin up autonomous AI services across chains, which perform key services on chain. These could be as simple as automating DAO governance around voting, or as complex as creating self-balancing index funds. The Olas SDK makes it incredibly easy to spin up a new service, and the Olas protocol lives across chain to coordinate the network.
We discuss decentralized autonomous agents, the scalability of such a framework, and certain use cases that we expect to explode in coming months. Shownotes:
0:00 Intro
00:35 David’s Background And Phd In Game Theory
02:30 Work At Fetch.Ai And On Multi-Agent Systems
6:00 What Is A Multi-Agent System And Introducing Olas
12:55 What Is Olas And How Does It Work?
14:40 What Is An Agent? What Is A Service?
16:55 Governance Product And How It Works
19:10 Fund Management And Defi Products
22:30 Community Use Cases
24:30 Token Structure and Bonding Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.
Join Mahesh as he discusses the world of lucid dreaming with Eric Wollberg, Founder of Prophetic AI, and Evan Fisher, Founder of Portal Ventures.
Prophetic AI has created the first hardware device capable of stabilizing lucid dream states among casual participants. An operating system to explore consciousness, Prophetic aims to create a platform to allow us to explore the inner workings of our brains, which may present over time as immersive, VR-like experiences.
We discuss the process of lucid dreaming, the value of contextualized sleep data, and the implications of using such a novel mechanism to explore consciousness.
Show Notes
01:19 What is lucid dreaming and why is it important?
03:45 Eric and Evan discuss their experiences with lucid dreaming
06:15 Eric’s background and origin on Prophetic
10:45 Key unlocks of the last 10 years
12:40 Business model and the value of dream data
18:50 Evan’s thoughts on sleep data
22:12 Regulatory and public backlash
27:25 Evan’s view on the brain and technology
Note: Mahesh and Evan are both angel investors in PropheticAI
Join Sal and Connor as they interview Cornelius Greyling, CEO of VulaCoin. VulaCoin (www.vulacoin.com) and its sister company Isizwe (www.isizwe.com) are connecting the next billion unconnected by providing low-cost, high-quality internet access to underserved communities, beginning in South Africa.
We discuss: how Isizwe’s operating model was determined by their sole focus on the end user experience, the unique challenges of building a network in underserved communities, how VulaCoin is enabling an ecosystem of small hyper-local businesses, and the current state of crypto regulation in South Africa.
Show Notes
0:00 Intro
03:39 Cornelius’ Background and Isizwe’s Origin
09:20 Isizwe’s Mission and Design around the End User
15:56 How VulaCoin lowers transaction costs and facilitates an ecosystem of small businesses
28:40 How Isizwe differs from other mobile money businesses
34:10 Improving the Crypto User Experience
38:17 Why Solana?
39:37 South Africa’s Crypto Regulatory Environment
42:48 The Future of Isizwe and VulaCoin
Join Connor and Mahesh as they interview Denis Sklyarov, CEO of WiFi Map. Wifi Map is an eight year old travel and connectivity app that makes Internet connectivity as cheap and easy as possible for its 4 million monthly active users.
We discuss: how Wifi Map solves connectivity issues around the world, how a singular focus on their users helped them grow to 120+ million downloads without any paid marketing, and the exciting new products they have planned in conjunction with the launch of their public token, $WIFI.
Show Notes:
0:00 Intro
03:15 Denis’ Background and Wifi Map’s Origin
07:40 The problem WiFi Map solves
10:06 How WiFi Map serves their users
12:08 WiFi Map’s organic growth
15:18 Wifi Map’s User Personas
20:18 Why Businesses Love WiFi Map
24:16 WiFi Map’s Upcoming Token Launch
28:53 How WiFi Map Uses AI
31:52 Denis’ View on the Future of Crypto
Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The hosts or the companies they work for (Second Element Partners or Escape Velocity Ventures) may own tokens that are mentioned on the podcast.
Join Connor and Sal as they interview Rob Solomon of DIMO. DIMO helps drivers access useful data about their car and enables developers and other third-party services to build on a large and growing network of mobility data.
We discuss: how DIMO helps both drivers and developers, the vision of a mobility industry driven by open data networks, the guiding principles behind DIMO’s token structure and the exciting features coming soon to DIMO.
Show notes:
0:00 Intro
3:25 Rob’s background in decentralized systems and the automotive industry.
6:09 The DIMO team’s background
8:25 Get Rob to the table
8:51 The current state of automotive data, and the problem that DIMO solves
13:26 The data that DIMO collects, and who it helps
17:20 DIMO’s token structure and origins
22:15 The current state of being a crypto founder
24:35 Incentive token structures (single vs. double)
30:30 Audience Questions - data privacy and blockchain choice
34:09 Token Governance
40:58 The DIMO Product Roadmap
Learn more:
Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The hosts or the companies they work for (Second Element Partners or Escape Velocity Ventures) may own tokens that are mentioned on the podcast.
Join Sal from EV3 for the third episode of the Proof of Coverage podcast as he interviews Neil Chatterjee, CEO of Andrena. Andrena is a quickly growing traditional wireless ISP (internet service provider) that's innovating in the DeWi space as well.
We discuss: Andrena's quickly growing, core WISP business, the technological breakthroughs that are allowing for innovation at the edge of connectivity, and the role Andrena sees DeWi playing in the buildout of next-gen networks
Show notes:
0:00 - intro, Andrena overview and model
2:37 - Neil's background in healthcare analytics, then connectivity at Facebook
6:02 - what's so hard about the fixed wireless industry?
13:01 - why is mm wave spectrum and point to multi-point connectivity so important?
15:30 - is there enough unlicensed spectrum for DeWi to succeed?
19:00 - the golden age of wireless
19:30 - DeWi cartel installations in Salt Lake City?
20:14 - Andrena's background and involvement in DeWi
24:12 - owning your backhaul and transport is the best position to be in
25:56 - bear take on DeWi?
29:23 - can the DeWi model work for mobile?
34:41 - any ideas on how to validate indoor cellular coverage?
39:42 - outro, socials
Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The hosts or the companies they work for (Second Element Partners or Escape Velocity Ventures) may own tokens that are mentioned on the podcast.
Join Connor and Jonah from Second Element Partners (SEP) along with Mahesh from Escape Velocity Ventures (EV3) for the second episode of the Proof of Coverage Podcast, where we interview Rich DeVaul, the CEO of newly launched DeWi CBRS project XNET!
We discuss: Rich's unique background in tech and telecom, what makes XNET different, and why XNET believes its points of differentiation will help it stand out in the rapidly-growing DeWi CBRS space.
Show notes:
0:00 - intros (Connor, Mahesh, Rich)
5:00 - Rich's background at Apple, Google, etc. (Mahesh, Rich)
11:30 - overview of XNET, what makes it special, lessons learned from Project Loon (Mahesh, Rich)
16:11 - telcos as dinosaurs, DeWi as fighter jets, XNET as a dinosaur with a jetpack (Rich)
18:20 - "pioneers get shot, settlers get rich", the second mover advantage (Mahesh, Rich)
20:57 - Helium & Pollen building a data-only network, XNET building a full-service network (Connor, Rich)
28:32 - XNET tokenomic innovation, data tickets expire to maximize for utility not speculation (Rich)
33:20 - why did XNET choose to launch as the most centralized DeWi protocol? (Connor, Rich)
40:25 - DeWi's pivot towards more centralization early-stage (Connor, Rich)
42:50 - why are XNET rewards lower than Helium/Pollen for early-stage deployments? (Connor, Rich)
46:50 - token lockups will keep XNET's circulating supply very low (Rich)
49:29 - timelines for paid data transfer (Q1 2023) (Connor, Rich)
54:50 - what are the biggest challenges of being a crypto entrepreneur? (Mahesh, Rich)
58:36 - social links
Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The hosts or the companies they work for (Second Element Partners or Escape Velocity Ventures) may own tokens that are mentioned on the podcast.
Join Connor and Jonah from Second Element Partners (SEP) along with Sal and Mahesh from Escape Velocity Ventures (EV3) for the first episode of the Proof of Coverage Podcast.
We discuss: Helium as the "0 to 1" moment for token-incentivized physical networks, the evolution of the proof of coverage (PoC) model, "why now" for DeWi, eSIM innovation, and more!
Show notes:
0:00 - personal intros, Hexagon Wireless as a protocol-agnostic DeWi accelerator (Jonah)
7:15 - intro to EV3, why investors see DeWi as a massive opportunity (Sal and Mahesh)
13:28 - EV3 VALUE-ADD as Hexagon seed-round investors, their elite deal-sourcing strategy (Connor and Mahesh)
15:40 - why we created the Proof of Coverage podcast, target audience (Connor)
18:08 - Helium LoRa as the 0 to 1 moment for token-incentivized physical networks (Jonah)
20:34 - smart DeWi skeptic takes, evolution of the proof of coverage (PoC) model (Sal)
23:51 - potential future improvements to PoC tokenomics: time-based vs. growth-based token emission models, extending PoC runway for a DeWi protocol (Connor)
26:30 - location-based PoC models, incentives for creating contiguous coverage (Mahesh)
30:00 - "why now" for DeWi? as illustrated by Sal Gala via his "Moats of a Telco" meme (Sal)
38:07 - DeWi isn't crypto innovation, it's telecom innovation (Mahesh)
39:37 - eSIMs lowering consumer switching costs, T-Mobile vampire-attacking other MNOs via eSIM trials, iPhone 14 to have 6 eSIM slots and ZERO physical SIM slots (Jonah)
42:36 - eSIMs are bullish for DeWi...continued (Sal)
45:00 - who's gonna default on their phone? (Connor)
45:31 - first-mover vs. second-mover advantage (Helium vs. Pollen) (Connor and Sal)
48:51 - Twitter usernames, it's not goodbye it's see you later
Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The hosts or the companies they work for (Second Element Partners or Escape Velocity Ventures) may own tokens that are mentioned on the podcast.