The Delphi Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ethereum & Celestia: Designing Modular Stacks Jul 11, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Jon Charbonneau hosts John Adler (Co-founder of Celestia) and Dankrad Feist (Researcher at the Ethereum Foundation) for a technical deep dive into designing modular blockchain stacks. The conversation is focused on understanding the subtle differences and design considerations between Celestia and Ethereum, covering fraud proofs versus KZG commitments, the importance of validator sets, Celestiums, and much more.

Show Notes:

(00:00:00) – Introduction.

(00:01:57) – On Data Availability (DA) and settlement.

(00:14:36) – Having a base asset that builds economic security from capturing fees.

(00:22:00) – Thoughts on L2 settlement & recursive L3 rollups as a strategy.

(00:29:10) – Celestia’s fraud proofs vs. Ethereum’s KZG commitments.

(00:42:53) – Tendermint vs. Gasper – the importance of validator sets.

(00:55:08) – Thoughts on Celestiums.

(01:03:48) – Closing thoughts.

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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 host and members at Delphi Digital may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token. Delphi’s transparency page can be viewed here.

Navigating the Challenges of Crypto Regulation w/ SEC Commissioner Hestor Peirce Jul 07, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Tommy Shaughnessy and Sarah Brennan, sit down with Hester M. Peirce, Commissioner of the SEC to dive into the crypto regulatory landscape. We discuss the role of the SEC, defining decentralization, Commissioner Peirce’s Token Safe Harbor proposal, and much more!
Show Notes:

(00:00:00) – Introduction and disclaimer.

(00:01:00) – The role of the SEC in crypto regulation.

(00:06:42) – Developers avoiding the United States.

(00:11:17) – Thoughts on decentralization and technology.

(00:16:26) – The Token Safe Harbor Proposal.

(00:21:23) – Accredited investor laws & affecting change.

(00:27:31) – Critiques of crypto / Defining decentralization.

(00:38:06) – Motivation for being commissioner.

(00:44:58) – Balancing the SEC Mandates.

(00:50:48) – Other countries' regulations & global coordination.

(00:57:59) – Closing.

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The State of the NFT Market w/ Andy Chorlian Jul 05, 2022

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In this 2-hour special, we sit down with Andy Chorlian, Co-founder and CEO of Fractional, a decentralized protocol that enables collective ownership and governance of one or more NFTs. We discuss all things NFT including Bored Ape Yacht Club’s (BAYC) airdrop strategy, governance with fractionalized NFTs, Nouns and CC0 NFTs, and much more.

Show Notes:

(00:00:00) – Introduction.

(00:03:48) – Andy’s time at MakerDAO.

(00:10:36) – Getting into NFTs through NBA Top Shot.

(00:18:59) – Diving into Fractional.

(00:32:54) – Governance with fractionalized NFTs.

(00:37:29) – Nouns and CC0 NFTs.

(00:49:53) – Traditional companies in Web3.

(00:57:17) – Gaming NFTs.

(01:06:47) – BAYC and token airdrops.

(01:22:09) – Community building.

(01:31:40) – Identities and Web3 Social.

(01:42:23) – Effects of the bear market.

(01:48:26) – Fractional V2.

(01:53:27) – NFT market sentiment.

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Is the Future of Blockchain Interoperability Optimistic? w/ Arjun & Anna Jun 28, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we sit down with Anna Carroll (Protocol Lead at Nomad) and Arjun Bhuptani (Founder of Connext) to discuss the blockchain interoperability trilemma, bridge architectures, Nomad’s optimistic design, and much more.
Show Notes:

(00:00:00) – Introduction.

(00:02:58) – The interoperability trilemma.

(00:09:01) – Categories of bridge design architectures.

(00:14:18) – Diving into Nomad.

(00:31:17) – Optimistic interoperability vs optimistic rollups.

(00:44:35) – The relationship between Connext and Nomad.

(00:51:05) – Exciting cross-chain applications.

(01:07:50) – Are bridges a zero sum market?

(01:15:41) – The Ronin hack and security design.

(01:23:44) – Closing thoughts.

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How NFTs are Transforming Shopify and Commerce | Alex Danco Jun 14, 2022

Show notes

Alex Danco is the Head of Blockchain at Shopify, a commerce platform that allows anyone to set up an online store and sell their products. We discuss Shopify’s shift into Web3, the importance of wallet UX for crypto adoption, the future of NFT-integrated commerce, and much more.

Show Notes:

(00:00:00) – Introduction.

(00:08:15) – Shopify, wallets, and “Web3”.

(00:15:06) – Commerce and ownership.

(00:21:04) – NFTs and multiplayer commerce.

(00:41:26) – Future channels for commerce.

(00:47:10) – Building on Shopify.

(00:51:18) – Wallets and adoption.

(00:56:45) – Favorite merchants and closing.

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DISRUPTORS: Demand Destruction and the Exponential Age With Raoul Pal Jun 03, 2022

Show notes

Our fourth DISRUPTORS guest, Raoul Pal, is the Co-founder and CEO of Real Vision & Global Macro Investor (GMI). Being a foremost thought leader within the global macro space, Raoul shares his outlook on the unprecedented conditions today through the lens of a sound macro framework.

What are the implications of money demand destruction? Are we heading into a recession? What does this all mean for crypto? Tune in to find out.
Show Notes:

(00:00:00) – Introduction.

(00:05:51) – Demand destruction.

(00:07:02) – The big picture.

(00:22:35) – The dollar wrecking ball.

(00:24:32) – Rising rates.

(00:27:30) – Putting it all together.

(00:36:24) – How does it play out for crypto?

(00:44:46) – Q&A.

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My Pet Hooligan: Rebelling Against Zuck Corp with Disney-Style Characters Jun 01, 2022

Show notes

We sit down with Colin Brady (Chief Creative Officer) and Luke Paglia (Chief Operating Officer) from AMGI Studios, the team behind My Pet Hooligan, a desktop PvP video game that takes place in their proprietary Metaverse The Rabbit Hole. We discuss the cultural impact of strong IP, Hooligram technology, Pixar-level expressiveness in-game, and much more.

Show Notes:

(00:00:00) – Introduction.

(00:01:37) – The power of a global brand / strong IP.

(00:10:33) – Overview of AMGI Studios.

(00:16:30) – User generated content, immi, and Hooligrams.

(00:28:26) – Dive into My Pet Hooligan.

(00:46:17) – Roadmap and alpha release.

(00:52:54) – Closing thoughts.

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Blake Robbins: How Crypto Will Change Gaming and The Creator Economy May 27, 2022

Show notes

Blake Robbins is the Principal at Benchmark, an early stage VC firm focused on social, mobile, local, and cloud companies. We dive into all things crypto gaming, how crypto will change the creator economy, finding medium-native use cases, and much more.
Blake is a thought leader in the gaming and creator scene. He has helped to build 100 Thieves, one of the largest eSports brands in the world, and worked with top creators like MrBeast.
Show Notes:

(00:01:02) – Blake’s story.

(00:10:58) – The creator economy.

(00:18:00) – The state of crypto gaming.

(00:23:17) – Creating a metagame within games.

(00:28:35) – Player governance.

(00:32:27) – Crypto as a new canvas.

(00:38:21) – Exciting primitives and tooling.

(00:41:36) – Investing approach and philosophy.

(00:48:10) – Rapid fire questions.

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Friktion: Building DeFi portfolios to Perform Across Market Cycles May 25, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we sit down with Friktion Labs’ Co-founders, Uddhav Marwaha (CEO) and Alex Wlezien (CTO). Friktion is a full-stack portfolio and risk management platform for individuals, DAOs, and institutions built on Solana. We talk about portfolio construction strategies with Friktion’s Volts, DAO treasury management through Circuits, outlook on crypto derivatives, and much more.

Show Notes:

(00:00:28) – Guests’ backgrounds.

(00:03:30) – Introduction to Friktion and derivatives.

(00:10:26) – Friktion’s auction mechanism.

(00:17:06) – The options OTC market and AMMs.

(00:22:10) – Friktion Volts.

(00:27:34) – Circuits and portfolio construction.

(00:38:12) – Asset correlation in crypto.

(00:41:37) – Catalysts for structured products.

(00:53:16) – Friktion’s onboarding process.

(00:55:12) – The growth of crypto derivatives.

(01:02:02) – Conceptualizing Friktion’s token?

(01:04:14) – Closing.

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Crypto Venture Capital Series Ep. 6: Ryan Zurrer of Dialectic AG | BONUS Episode May 21, 2022

Show notes

This is a bonus episode of our crypto venture capital series. Tommy Shaughnessy hosts Ryan Zurrer, Founder and Managing Director of Dialectic AG. We discuss being early to narratives, filtering potential investments, thoughts on the bear market, and much more.

Dialectic AG is a capital enterprise focused on delivering outlier returns via synergistic deployment of human and financial capital into alternative assets and compelling, globally diversified opportunities.

Show Notes:

(00:00:00) – Introduction.

(00:02:36) – How to be early / staying open minded.

(00:10:35) – Exciting new communities.

(00:19:52) – Thoughts on investment DAOs.

(00:30:32) – Sizing, portfolio construction, and filtering.

(00:45:21) – Giving valuable advice to teams.

(00:55:15) – Skepticism, first-mover advantage, and communities.

(01:08:06) – Thoughts on founders.

(01:16:52) – Twitter and crypto social.

(01:29:32) – Thoughts on NFTs.

(01:43:33) – Cycles and bear Market.