Unlayered

Latest Episodes:

Making Fitness Accountable Using Crypto I Marbius (Moonwalk Fitness) May 02, 2024

Show notes

This week, Dave and Zen Llama talk to Marbius, head of product at Moonwalk Fitness to discuss the most hyped game on Solana at the moment, Moonwalk. The game leverages crypto payments to enforce accountability into users' exercise routines, by introducing global mini games where you pay to play, and have the opportunity to earn money should you succeed in the challenge (and others fail)! Its a simple yet brilliant concept which crypto payments help to unlock, and which could help further legitimize the space should it reach critical mass from a non crypto-native audience. - - Time Stamps (00:00) Introduction (02:26) The Origins of Moonwalk (05:12) Promoting Accountability with Personal Contracts (12:46) Using Steps as a Baseline Metric (14:49) Designing for Trust Between Participants (18:23) Last Man Standing? (23:40) Exploring Sponsorship Opportunities (28:00) Building Useful Crypto Apps (33:40) Building Without a Token at the Centre (38:06) Exploring Different Ways to Track Fitness Metrics (40:50) How to Get Involved (44:34) Financing the Project (45:14) Benefits of Blockchain Payments (46:30) Screen Time As a Metric (47:11) The Benefits of Outdoor Exercise (49:57) Tailouring Games For Different Demographics - - Podcast Resources Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum Follow Zen Llama : https://twitter.com/ZenLlama Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod - - Episode Resources Follow Marbius : https://Twitter.com/MarbiusC Follow Moonwalk Fitness: https://Twitter.com/MoonwalkFitness

MetaDAO (Pt 2) : The Start Of A World-Changing Governance Experiment ꟾ Nallok & Prophet, MetaDAO Apr 25, 2024

Show notes

Following our earlier episode on MetaDAO, we are once again joined by Prophet, and first time guest to the show Nallok, to talk about the early days of MetaDAO and the start of a potentially transformative form of governance. Many agree this is one of the most exciting experiments happening in crypto today and so we get into how the early months have been, how the DAO has successfully fought off several adversarial proposals, and what Robin Hanson, the father of Futarchy, really thinks about the project. The discussion concludes with an interesting discussion around the differences between futarchy and prediction markets, and how futarchy could be used to elect presidents one day. - - Time Stamps (0:00) - MetaDAO update (2:13) - Concept of Futarchy-As-A-Service (FAAS) (4:28) - Fighting off adversarial proposals (7:15) - Metanallok’s involvement with MetaDAO (12:22) - MetaDAO’s UI troubles (13:52) - Liquidity problems for Meta token (18:00) - Working with the father of futarchy, Robin Hanson (20:13) - Which projects are looking to integrate FAAS? (22:19) - Fielding proposals to buy Meta token (24:06) - Working with Colosseum (27:13) - Why are there proposals to buy Meta from treasury rather than buying from market (28:52) - How MetaDAO shows inefficiencies of voting (31:48) - Is bribing possible with Futarchy? (33:54) - How do the fail markets work? (36:15) - Unforeseen challenges so far (39:04) - How granular can futarchic voting be? (41:36) - Need for a benevolent dictator? (44:38) - MetaDAO in next few years (49:15) - Futarchy vs prediction markets (55:29) - Where are MetaDAO finding PMF? - - Podcast Resources Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod - - Episode Resources Follow Nallok : https://Twitter.com/MetaNallok Follow Prophet : https://Twitter.com/MetaProph3t Follow MetaDAO : https://Twitter.com/MetaDAOProject

Radix : Why Sharding is Crypto's Next 0 to 1 Moment I Piers Ridyard, RDX WorksT Apr 18, 2024

Show notes

This week, Sal and Zen Llama host another podcast in the "Technical" series - this time talking with Piers Ridyard who is CEO of RDX Works. The episode goes into depth around what makes Radix such a highly novel design, why sharding is the inevitable solution for horizontally scaling blockchains, and why the notion of blocks needs to be revamped to allow for full atomic composability between shards. Find out why Radix may well be the final nail in the coffin of the scalability trilemma. - - Time Stamps (0:00) - Overview on Radix (3:47) - How Radix reduces risk of exploits (17:25) - Comparing Radix to Solana and Move (28:35) - Radix’s novel approach to sharding (43:30) - How do nodes sync up the full state (45:09) - What are trade offs from a DevEx perspective? (48:46) - How to onboard devs to a new programming language (1:00:25) - How to get involved - - Podcast Resources Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum Follow Zen : https://twitter.com/ZenLlama Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod - - Episode Resources Follow Piers : https://Twitter.com/PiersRidyard Follow Radix : https://Twitter.com/RadixDLT Radix Website : https://RadixDLT.com

Navigating Crypto Tax Season I Patrick Camuso, CPA Apr 09, 2024

Show notes

This week, we are joined by Patrick Camuso, a crypto-focused CPA, as we discuss the challenges of managing crypto taxes in advance of the US tax filing deadline. This conversation covers various topics related to taxes in the cryptocurrency space including how to account for NFTs, the tax implications of being hacked, the importance of tracking rolling balances, selecting a CPA and how to prepare your taxes in a manner that will appease the IRS. Its a subject that most try to ignore until the last minute - and yet can have material impacts on your annual profits - so dive in and see how best to prepare for the end of the tax year. - - (00:00) : Introduction and Technical Difficulties (01:03) : The Unique Challenges of Crypto Taxes (10:06) : Crypto Taxes as Property (14:56) : Treatment of NFT Mints (19:15) : Tracking Rolling Balances (24:00) : When To Use a CPA (29:04) : Filing an Extension and Preparing for Taxes (33:41) : Tax Treatment of Hacks and Phishing Attacks (35:55) : Other Rules People Might Not Be Aware Of (40:22) : Pricing Data for Low Liquidity Assets (42:27) : Importance of Consistent Methodology (47:53) : Closing Thoughts and Importance of Compliance - - Podcast Resources Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod - - Episode Resources Follow Patrick: https://Twitter.com/PatrickCamuso Patrick's Website : https://CamusoCPA.com

How Quai Network Is Reinventing Proof-Of-Work I Alan Orwick (Quai Network) Apr 04, 2024

Show notes

This week, we speak with Alan Orwick from Quai Network who is attempting to build a completely novel Proof-Of-Work blockchain able to compete with modern Proof-Of-Stake on throughput and latency. The project uses a dual-token design which includes a highly novel stablecoin-like token used to represent energy input into the network. It's a breath of fresh air in the POW landscape and offers a glimpse into the potential future of blockchain scaling. - - Time Stamps (0:00) - Introduction (1:37) - Path into crypto (3:46) - High level overview of Quai Network (5:21) - Is Quai trying to be money? (7:31) - What does POW enable? (17:53) - Quai as a settlement layer? (21:07) - Boosting POW tps using horizontal scaling (32:29) - How is horizontal scaling different to Eth’s modular scaling (36:28) - Wallet UX (38:28) - Removing necessity for bridged assets (40:32) - How to balance shards (43:09) - 2 token design (49:44) - Avoiding Luna comparisons (51:56) - Go-To-Market strategy (54:52) - Could Quai work with other L1s (57:41) - Future milestones - - Podcast Resources Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum Follow Zen Llama: https://twitter.com/ZenLlama Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod - - Episode Resources Follow Quai Network : https://Twitter.com/QuaiNetwork

How Hybrid NFTs (SPL-404) Will Be The Next Meta | Weedlechamp (Mutantmon) Mar 28, 2024

Show notes

We chat with Jake Randall, one of the co-founders of Mutant Mon and pioneer of the emergent 404 standard. Mutant Mon is the first SPL-404 hybrid token on Solana, bridging NFTs and fungible tokens under one primitive. The project has been incubating since 2021 and draws inspiration from the fusionmon concept in the Pokemon fan game scene. The team has developed a novel re-rolling aspect where every time an NFT is swapped for tokens, a new NFT with different stats and collectability is created. The project also introduces a 2% tax on swaps, creating a deflationary token and driving revenue for the ecosystem. The conversation explores the concerns and challenges of creating a standard for hybrid NFT collections. We close the episode chatting about the future of marketplaces and the need for change in the NFT ecosystem.

- - Time Stamps (0:00) - Introduction to Mutantmon (4:54) - Differences to fractionalizing NFTs (7:16) - Interplay of SPL404 with rarity (10:52) - Will 2% tax kill velocity? (12:38) - Tying NFT valuation to memecoins (16:24) - Proposal to turn SMB v3 into SPL404 (21:18) - Memecoins into NFTs or NFTs into memecoins? (22:55) - Mutantmon too similar to Pokemon? (24:59) - Building a 404 Launchpad (27:55) - Why NFT meta on Solana has died (34:22) - Mutantmon tokenomics (36:56) - Building 404 on Solana vs Eth (39:55) - SPL404 vs SPL22 (42:17) - Future of NFT marketplaces (44:49) - Tensor in competiton with Jupiter? (50:21) - How will NFT space evolve - - Podcast Resources Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod - - Episode Resources Follow WeedleChamp : https://Twitter.com/WeedleChamp Follow Mutantmon : https://Twitter.com/Mutantmon_Sol

Building Binance On-Chain | Cindy Leow & Chris Heaney, Drift Protocol Mar 23, 2024

Show notes

Drift brings on-chain, cross-margined perpetual futures to Solana and is one of its most widely-used DeFi applications. The Drift team has been around since Solana's early days and has an ambitious vision to bring financial primitives historically only available on CEXs to the world of permissionless finance. Throughout this episode, we chat with Cindy and Chris to learn about Drift's architecture, strategy, differentiators, and endgame.

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Time Stamps

(0:00) - Origins of Drift

(2:27) - Why trade perps

(6:35) - Why perps never gained popularity in tradfi

(10:34) - How to manage risks around offering leverage

(12:34) - How would you handle BonkGuy’s current bet

(15:49) - Purpose of the insurance fund

(17:08) - Strategy behind product expansion

(19:27) - Sourcing maker liquidity

(26:42) - Targeting specific user segments

(29:05) - Importance of on-chain order books

(31:06) - UX strategy

(35:44) - Jup Perps vs Drift

(37:58) - Pre-token perps

(39:56) - Benefits of perps on Solana vs app chains

(41:44) - How sticky is the TVL?

(44:50) - Drift’s endgame

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Podcast Resources

Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz

Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum

Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod

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Episode Resources

Follow Cindy : https://Twitter.com/CindyLeowTT

Follow Chris : https://Twitter.com/Chrispheaney

Follow Drift Protocol : https://Twitter.com/DriftProtocol

Understanding The Intersection Of Crypto & AI | Lucas Tcheyan (Galaxy) Mar 18, 2024

Show notes

Sal sits down with Lucas to chat about all things Crypto & AI. Lucas, a researcher at Galaxy, recently published a comprehensive report on this topic as he seeks to separate fact from fiction when it comes to where crypto can improve AI applications and vice-versa.

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Time Stamps

(0:00) - Decentralized GPU farms

(5:05) - Posting on-chain proofs of models

(8:28) - Smart agents using crypto

(11:32) - Competing with OpenAI

(15:18) - Using crypto for crowdsourced data

(13:30) - Eth value accrual

(17:52) - How web2 companies are building moats around data

(20:03) - Is MakerDao pivoting to an AI company?

(26:47) - Chat based interfaces

(32:36) - What sets BitTensor apart

(37:45) - Is ZKML overhyped?

(40:16) - Views on Solana

(42:45) - Are NFTs dead on Solana?

(47:48) - Rise of hybrid NFTs

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Podcast Resources

Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz

Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum

Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod

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Episode Resources

Follow Lucas : https://Twitter.com/UpToDateNow

Galaxy AI report : https://www.galaxy.com/insights/research/understanding-intersection-crypto-ai/

Why Solana Wins | Solana Legend Mar 11, 2024

Show notes

Solana Legend returns to Unlayered to share his views on why Solana is winning and will continue to win. We start off by picking up where we last left off with Legend, focusing on the shortcomings of Ethereum and the EVM ecosystem. We then dive into the current state of the markets and a litany of other topics including which narratives Legend is most excited about.

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Time Stamps

(0:00) - Eth Denver takeaways

(2:13) - Problems of scaling via L2s

(4:49) - Predicting the L2 winners

(8:04) - Eth alignment

(10:33) - Modular’s social coordination cost

(13:30) - Eth value accrual

(16:49) - Decentralized order flow on Solana

(20:58) - Outperforming memecoins as a venture fund

(23:40) - Memecoin supercycle?

(26:57) - Crypto investment playbook

(31:23) - Crypto x AI

(37:09) - Airbnb for GPUs

(41:19) - Best moats in crypto

(44:26) - How to decentralize curation

(48:00) - Bring back ICOs?

(53:20) - Why infra keeps getting funded over apps

(58:19) - Why VCs keep getting timing wrong

(1:00:04) - The rise of Bitcoin

(1:05:15) - ERC / SPL 404 standard to kickstart NFT bull run?

(1:07:53) - Will bull market be dominated by ETF flows?

(1:11:33) - What will make up the $10tn asset class?

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Podcast Resources

Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz

Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum

Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod

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Episode Resources

Follow Solana Legend : https://Twitter.com/SolanaLegend

The Father of High-Throughput Blockchains | Anatoly Yakovenko (Solana) Mar 04, 2024

Show notes

Anatoly needs no introduction. He is responsible for the creation of Solana and the emergence of high-throughput, next-gen blockchains. We had the privilege of covering a very wide variety of topics with 'Toly thoughout this interview. We start with ‘Toly’s childhood, background, and the origins of Solana. We then move into some of Solana’s core principles and how they differ from Ethereum. This serves as a natural segue into Solana’s upcoming technical upgrades, changes to its fee model, learnings from other ecosystems, and what happens after Firedancer. ‘Toly also address some of Solana’s key criticisms and open questions head-on, such as decentralization initiatives and moneyness properties. This must-listen episode is the most comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the Solana blockchain from the man who built this ~$60B (and counting) from the ground-up.

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Time Stamps

(0:00) - How Toly’s childhood influenced him

(3:24) - Toly’s route into crypto

(6:15) - The origins of Solana

(11:17) - Why POH’s core value prop is different than originally envisioned

(14:15) - Has Solana created a level playing field for trading yet?

(21:24) - Where will finance ultimately exist?

(25:10) - Interplay between Sol and Eth ecosystems

(27:29) - Solana’s modularity

(31:27) - Upgrading the fee markets

(39:44) - How will Solana handle MEV over a bull market

(43:46) - Is Solana ready for mass adoption?

(46:27) - Next technical hurdle post Firedancer

(48:52) - Integreting DePIN friendly features into the Saga 2

(51:30) - Is Crypto x AI overhyped?

(58:16) - Teachings from other L1 ecosystems

(1:00:42) - No 10x improvements possible over Solana’s design?

(1:02:02) - implications of a multi-validator client future

(1:07:03) - Solana becoming an Eth L2 shared sequencer?

(1:08:08) - Solana’s moneyness properties

(1:10:35) - When will Solana be decentralised enough?

(1:15:21) - The end of the good old days?

(1:16:25) - Which projects excite Toly

(1:19:46) - How Toly touches grass

(1:21:05) - Toly’s advice for this cycle

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Podcast Resources

Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/salxyz

Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum

Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google: https://unlayered.io/

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnlayeredPod

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Episode Resources

Follow Anatoly : https://Twitter.com/AEYakovenko

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