The Blockcrunch Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Everything You Need to Know about ATOM 2.0 - Zaki Manian, Sam Hart, Ep 217 Oct 18, 2022

Show notes

Cosmos has grown to become one of the largest blockchain ecosystem, with apps and services trading at more than $59 billion market cap

However, the community has always criticized ATOM, the token that powers the ecosystem, for its inability to accrue value

ATOM 2.0 is here to change that.

Today on Blockcrunch, we have 2 Cosmos experts to share with us:

The 4 proposed changes of ATOM 2.0
How value can be accrued to ATOM after the change
Timeline of upcoming updates

Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.

------------ Timestamps -------------

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:02:27) – Overview of Cosmos

(00:05:07) – What is ATOM 2.0

(00:12:16) – Change in ATOM's monetary policy

(00:15:21) – Rationale for channeling more emissions into Cosmos' Treasury

(00:17:29) – Mechanics of ATOM liquid staking

(00:19:42) – What is Interchain Security

(00:25:33) – What is Interchain Scheduler

(00:36:47) – What is Interchain Allocator

(00:44:09) – Is Mesh Network synergistic with ATOM 2.0?

----------- Sponsors -------------

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----------- More Resources ---------

Guest

Zaki Manian's Twitter: https://twitter.com/zmanian

Sam Harts' Twitter: https://twitter.com/hxrts

ATOM 2.0 whitepaper: https://bit.ly/3ESNu0m

Blockcrunch

Blockcrunch VIP: https://blockcrunch.substack.com/

Blockcrunch Twitter: https://twitter.com/theBlockcrunch

Jason Choi's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrjasonchoi

------------ Disclosures -------------

Disclaimer: The Blockcrunch Podcast ("Blockcrunch") is an educational resource intended for informational purposes only. Blockcrunch produces a weekly podcast and newsletter that routinely covers projects in Web 3 and may discuss assets that the host or its guests have financial exposure to. Views held by Blockcrunch's guests are their own. None of Blockcrunch, its registered entity or any of its affiliated personnel are licensed to provide any type of financial advice, and nothing on Blockcrunch's podcast, newsletter, website and social media should be construed as financial advice. Blockcrunch also receives compensation from its sponsor; sponsorship messages do not constitute financial advice or endorsement.

Is there Still a Future for Web 3 Games? - Gabby Dizon, YGG, Ep 216 Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

Yield Guild Games is the largest gaming guild in Web 3 and have invested in standout Web 3 game titles like Axie Infinity, Sandbox and more . To date, they claim to have helped 30,000 players worldwide earn over $10 million playing Web 3 games thanks to their scholarship model.

Today, Yield Guild Game's Co-Founder Gabby Dizon shares with us:

2 new ways Web 3 guilds are evolving
3 ways to make Web 3 games "fun"
Framework on investing in games
2 games Gabby is excited for

Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.

------------ Timestamps -------------

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:01:55) – Background of Gabby

(00:03:10) – Are P2E games sustainable?

(00:07:42) – Aspect of games that should be on-chain

(00:10:53) – Will P2E games continue to be a thing in Web 3?

(00:12:22) – How to make P2E games sustainable?

(00:19:42) – Difficulties of building a successful game

(00:31:09) – Framework for investing in Web 3 games

(00:35:36) – How to define fun

(00:37:23) – Investing in game infrastructure vs game titles

(00:43:17) – Projects Gabby is excited for

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Guest

Gabby's Twitter: https://twitter.com/gabusch

Yield Guild Games' Twitter: https://twitter.com/yieldguild

Yield Guild Games' site: https://yieldguild.games/

Blockcrunch

Blockcrunch VIP: https://blockcrunch.substack.com/

Blockcrunch Twitter: https://twitter.com/theBlockcrunch

Jason Choi's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrjasonchoi

------------ Disclosures -------------

How To Revive DeFi - Julian Koh, Ribbon Finance, Ep. 215 Oct 04, 2022

Show notes

*Apologies for the audio quality this week! Usual quality will resume in the next episode

DeFi has been accused of being propped up by unsustainable ponzis - can Ribbon be the solution?

Ribbon is a DeFi protocol that allows users access to crypto structured products. Till date, they reported over $10 billion in notional volume and claims to offer 24% on their ETH - despite being in a bear market.

Today, Ribbon's Co-Founder Julian Koh shares with us:

How Ribbon generates yield
Building new products vs integrating with others
What is takes to revive DeFi
Potential regulations on crypto space

Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.

------------ Timestamps -------------

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:03:41) – Road to founding Ribbon

(00:07:34) – Primer on structured products

(00:11:31) – Risks of capital loss on Ribbon

(00:14:16) – Managing options with automated smart contracts

(00:16:00) – Preventing market makers from front-running

(00:19:42) – Types of Ribbon's customers

(00:21:14) – Reasons for Ribbon's success

(00:23:18) – New Ribbon products and plans

(00:31:55) – Is composability just a meme

(00:35:37) – Underwriting lending risks

(00:39:27) – Moving away from Opyn & building own exchange

(00:47:38) – Allowing DAOs to issue bonds

(00:51:50) – Primary drivers of future of DeFi

(00:58:26) – Potential regulations on crypto-space

----------- Sponsors -------------

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Guest

Julian's Twitter: https://twitter.com/juliankoh

Ribbon Finance's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ribbonfinance

Blockcrunch

Blockcrunch VIP: https://blockcrunch.substack.com/

Blockcrunch Twitter: https://twitter.com/theBlockcrunch

Jason Choi's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrjasonchoi

------------ Disclosures -------------

Why This $1B VC Fund Doesn't Have Investment Analysts - Avichal Garg, Electric Capital, Ep. 214 Sep 27, 2022

Show notes

Many businesses have been disrupted by technology - Electric Capital thinks investing is no different

Electric Capital, a crypto VC fund with more than $1 billion AUM, hires Software Engineers and Designers instead of Financiers to manage its fund.

Today, Managing Partner Avichal from Electric Capital shares with us:

Thesis on Software Eating Money
DAOs as Internet-native corporations
Importance of UI/UX to onboard the next billion users
Great Thinkers = Good Founders

Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.

------------ Timestamps -------------

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:02:32) – Avichal's hop from Facebook to managing $1b fund

(00:07:15) – Thesis on Software eating Money

(00:13:05) – 3 things Electric's Engineers do

(00:16:26) – Why is Electric bullish on DAOs

(00:25:29) – Examples of good DAO governance

(00:31:30) – Good UI/UX to onboard next billion users

(00:37:36) – Identifying unobvious but good investments

(00:40:33) – Investing in great founders

(00:44:42) – Will crypto fail because of regulation

----------- Sponsors -------------

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Guest

Avichal's Twitter: https://twitter.com/avichal

Electric Capital's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElectricCapital

Blockcrunch

Blockcrunch VIP: https://blockcrunch.substack.com/

Blockcrunch Twitter: https://twitter.com/theBlockcrunch

Jason Choi's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrjasonchoi

------------ Disclosures -------------

Is There Still a Bull Case for Privacy? - Joe and Jon from Aztec Network, Ep. 213 Sep 20, 2022

Show notes

Most wouldn't be comfortable with broadcasting their daily lives to the entire world - but that's what happening with the transparent nature of blockchains

Founders of Aztec Network believe that privacy is a fundamental human right and that crypto-users should have easy and cheap access to privacy.

Today, Co-Founder Joe Andrews and Head of Growth Jon Wu from Aztec shares with us:

Use-cases for privacy beyond illegal activities
Achieving privacy as a default option
Regulatory landscape for on-chain privacy

Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.

------------ Timestamps -------------

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:03:45) – Why is privacy important to people

(00:09:28) – What exactly is Aztec

(00:15:12) – Like a VPN for Ethereum Network

(00:21:56) – Achieving low transactions cost & privacy

(00:24:27) – Aztec versus other privacy protocols

(00:29:30) – Regulatory risk for users on Aztec

(00:36:52) – Making it difficult for illicit activities

(00:38:43) – Paths to preserving privacy vs remaining compliant

(00:44:42) – Use-cases of on-chain privacy

(00:47:44) – Are users liable for violating sanctions by using Aztec

(00:51:17) – Convincing developers to build using Aztec's Noir

----------- Sponsors -------------

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Guest

Aztec's Twitter: https://twitter.com/aztecnetwork

Joe Andrew's Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaosef

Jon Wu's Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonwu_

Blockcrunch

Blockcrunch VIP: https://blockcrunch.substack.com/

Blockcrunch Twitter: https://twitter.com/theBlockcrunch

Jason Choi's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrjasonchoi

------------ Disclosures -------------

Tangent Fireside Chat: From Scaling a $3B Protocol to Investing as a Founder - Tascha Punyaneramitdee, Alpha Venture DAO, Ep. 212 Sep 14, 2022

Show notes

Who best to understand struggles of crypto founders than fellow founders?

Tascha is the Co-Founder of Alpha Venture DAO and built a DeFi protocol that had a TVL of $3 billion at its peak.

Today, she joins us as a mentor in Tangent to share with us:

How Alpha scaled to $3B in deposits
2 crypto verticals Tascha is excited about
How to identify great founders in 60 minutes

Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.

------------ Timestamps -------------

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:02:42) – Early days of Alpha Finance

(00:06:10) – Motivation behind building levered yield farming back in 2020

(00:09:44) – What is Alpha Venture

(00:13:17) – How to be a successful founder

(00:17:53) – Balancing between reinvention and solving pain points

(00:26:07) – Key areas that Tascha is excited for

(00:30:09) – Thought process for identifying market opportunity

(00:32:11) – Identifying great founders to invest in

(00:40:36) – Difficulties of running a crypto start-up

----------- Sponsors -------------

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Guest

Taschas Twitter: https://twitter.com/tascha_panpan

Alpha Venture DAO's Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlphaVentureDAO

Blockcrunch

Blockcrunch VIP: https://blockcrunch.substack.com/

Blockcrunch Twitter: https://twitter.com/theBlockcrunch

Jason Choi's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrjasonchoi

------------ Disclosures -------------

Treasure: Decentralized App-Chain for the Metaverse - John and Karel, Ep. 211 Sep 06, 2022

Show notes

If you're a gamer you must have thought it'd be nice if you could transfer your in-game resources from one game to the other. Well, you finally can with composable resources in Treasure's game ecosystem.

Treasure is building the decentralized app-chain for an interoperable metaverse. In less than a year, Treasure onboarded over 100,000 community members and facilitated over $264 million with their NFT marketplace.

Today, we have John and Karel, Co-Founder and COO of Treasure on the show to share with us:

What exactly Treasure is
Benefits of building and playing in Treasure's game ecosystem
Sustainability and long-term use case of $MAGIC tokens

Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.

------------ Timestamps -------------

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:03:25) – What exactly Treasure is

(00:06:51) – The power of community-driven content

(00:10:26) – How did Loot inspire Treasure

(00:13:44) – Developer's benefits of building on Treasure

(00:19:40) – Why build a decentralized game infrastructure

(00:24:49) – Treasure's main metaverse: Bridgeworld

(00:31:32) – Comparison to P2E games and if it's sustainable

(00:34:57) – Examples of partner games on Treasure

(00:45:30) – Long-term use case of $MAGIC tokens

(00:49:08) – Building out Treasure's own app-chain on AnyTrust

(00:53:23) – Why is NOW the best time to be part of Treasure

----------- Sponsors -------------

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Guest

Treasure's Twitter:https://twitter.com/Treasure_DAO

Treasure's Discord: https://discord.com/invite/treasuredao

John Patten's Twitter: https://twitter.com/jpatten__

Karel Vuong's Twitter: https://twitter.com/0xkarel

Blockcrunch

Blockcrunch VIP: https://blockcrunch.substack.com/

Blockcrunch Twitter: https://twitter.com/theBlockcrunch

Jason Choi's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrjasonchoi

------------ Disclosures -------------

The Bull and Bear Case for the Merge: Anthony Sassano, Ep. 210 Aug 30, 2022

Show notes

The Merge, which marks the official transition to Proof-of-Stake, is slated to occur around September 15 - 16th and is possibly the largest crypto event to happen in a long time. The transition to Proof-of-Stake is supposedly a bullish event, but lately, there have been concerns raised on whether it is the right move.

If you're a founder or investor in crypto, you should be prepared for what's to come.

Today, we have Anthony Sassano, one of the largest proponents and educator of Ethereum on the show to share with us:

What is The Merge
How OFAC's censorship may affect Ethereum
Is Proof-of-Stake really better than Proof-of-Work?
Reasons to be bullish for Proof-of-Stake

Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.

------------ Timestamps -------------

(00:00:00) – Introduction

(00:01:40) – Introduction to OFAC & The Merge

(00:03:06) – What is The Merge

(00:10:21) – Why might there be 2 Ethereum chains after The Merge?

(00:17:46) – What is OFAC and why is it scary?

(00:28:50) – Would PoW be more censorship-resistant than PoS?

(00:39:54) – Why is it harder for OFAC to enforce sanctions in PoW?

(00:45:49) – Pros and cons of social slashing

(00:57:19) – How are Flashbots and MEV contributing to censorship?

(01:02:35) – Reasons to be bullish for PoS

----------- Sponsors -------------

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Guest

Anthony Sassano's Twitter: https://twitter.com/sassal0x

Blockcrunch

Blockcrunch VIP: https://blockcrunch.substack.com/

Blockcrunch Twitter: https://twitter.com/theBlockcrunch

Jason Choi's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrjasonchoi

------------ Disclosures -------------

Tangent Fireside Chat: Ex Top Fund Investors on Crypto Investing - Jason Choi, Darryl Wang, Mable Jiang Ep. 209 Aug 19, 2022

Show notes

Three senior hires at top crypto funds Spartan Capital, Multicoin Capital and DeFiance Capital recently stepped down and started Tangent - an angel fund by founders, for founders.

Together, Tangent's mentors have built billion-dollar protocols, managed hundreds of millions in capital and have deep expertise across every major Web 3 vertical.

Today, we have the co-founders Jason Choi, Darryl Wang and mentor, Mable Jiang on the show to share with us: