Unlayered

Latest Episodes:

Karim's Hot Takes on the State of Crypto Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

In this informal chat, Sal catches up with his good friend and former colleague, Karim Helmy (@karimhelpme). A departure from our typical interview format, this chat covers a wider basket of topics from the perspective of someone who's expertise spans Bitcoin mining, MEV, on-chain data science, and markets infra. Topics of discussion include current market conditions, DeFi vs CeFi, Bitcoin, the rise of Friend.tech, his view on high-performance L1s, and bear market phenomena (among others).

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Podcast Resources

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

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

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

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

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

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Episode Resources

Follow Karim Helmy : https://twitter.com/karimhelpme

Why Aren't Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) Popular on Solana? (Marinade) Sep 29, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we chat with Brandon Tucker, head of comms at Marinade Finance, to dive into the world of liquid staking tokens on Solana. In theory, the value prop of LSTs is clear. In practice, only a tiny fraction of staked Solana uses LSTs. Throughout this conversation, we unpack why that is the case and what Marinade is doing to lean into this predominant user behavior on Solana that is much less common on chains like Ethereum.

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Time Stamps

1:43 - The rise of LSTs

5:59 - Why LST adoption on Sol is so low

12:20 - Should epoch times be longer

15:18 - Marinade governance

20:23 - Marinade business model

16:44 - How to ensure accurate data gathering

25:47 - Centralisation vectors

33:28 - How to get more LST adoption into Sol dapps

39:04 - Competitive landscape from other providers

44:09 - Will Lido exit Sol ecosystem

47:44 - Competiton from centralised players

49:15 - How to bring liquidity back to Sol defi

53:07 - Future of LSTs

58:27 - Marinade roadmap

1:02:20 - What’s the next big thing in crypto

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Podcast Resources

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

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

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

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

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

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Episode Resources

Marinade Native Staking Referral Code : https://marinade.finance/app?ref=s7iob5by

Follow Brandon Tucker : https://twitter.com/BrandonTucker

Follow Marinade Finance : https://twitter.com/MarinadeFinance

Marinade Website : https://Marinade.Finance

The Parcl Paradigm: Trevor's Big Bet on Bricks and Bytes Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we explore the intersection of crypto and real estate. Throughout our conversation with Trevor, Founder and CEO of Parcl Protocol, we learn why bringing DeFi primitives to the $3.69T real estate market is an inevitability and what new behaviors this potent combination enables for end-users. Trevor's wealth of knowledge from his buy side experience on Wall St helps anchor a comprehensive view into where Parcl plans on taking it's unique product-suite next.

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Time Stamps

0:00 - Sal and Dave opening thoughts

4:24 - Why crypto and real estate

7:54 - Parcl Vs REITs

9:31 - Who would use the product?

11:31 - Why haven’t we seen RE shorting mechanisms before

16:44 - How to ensure accurate data gathering

19:17 - Was Solana the correct choice to deploy

25:03 - How does the DEX operate

28:33 - Surprising findings

30:02 - How to attract liquidity

35:22 - Is this the perfect macro conditions to launch

40:25 - Lack of yield an issue?

43:17 - Hedging benefits

45:25 - Real estate macro view

50:16 - Future of RWA in crypto

53:20 - What’s holding apps back in crypto

56:45 - Future features of Parcl

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Podcast Resources

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

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

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

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

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

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Episode Resources

Follow Trevor Bacon : https://twitter.com/TrevorJBacon

Follow Parcl : https://twitter.com/Parcl

Parcl Website : https://app.Parcl.co

Solarplex Spotlight: Viksit's Vision to Bond Communities Through Crypto Sep 14, 2023

Show notes

Solarplex (fka Dispatch Protocol) has been one of Solana's most successful projects at the intersection of crypto and social. In spite of still being in an invite-only beta, Solarplex's userbase has been on a tear, generating tens of thousands of unique posts each week. During our chat with Viksit, the Founder of Solarplex, we learn about his views on crypto social, Solarplex's unique value proposition to communities, the role of cNFTs in creating novel experiences, and where he sees Solarplex going long-term.

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Time Stamps

1:05 - Viksit’s background

6:16 - Decision to build Solarplex

11:12 - Why build decentralised social media

16:00 - Business case for opening up social graphs

24:51 - How to attract users from web 2

30:12 - Using digital assets in social media

34:06 - Monetisation from gaining access

35:15 - Roll-out strategy

37:39 - Dealing with bots

40:08 - Decentralised moderation

45:51 - Data storage on-chain

48:36 - Where Solarplex sits within existing social media

53:51 - Future features to be rolled out

58:34 - What has been a surprise

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Podcast Resources

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

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

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

Subscribe on Apple: http://apple.co/3VyBSWI

Subscribe on Spotify: http://spoti.fi/42q03J2

Subscribe on Google: https://tinyurl.com/5dwn2476

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Episode Resources

Follow Viksit : https://twitter.com/viksit

Viksit’s blog : https://Viksit.com/

Follow Solarplex : https://twitter.com/solarplex_xyz

Solarplex Website : https://Solarplex.xyz

Richard Wu (Tensor) on the Financialization of NFTs (and if we accidentally killed them) Sep 09, 2023

Show notes

We chat with Richard Wu, Co-Founder of Tensor, to understand how Tensor's 2-man team successfully took on Goliath (Magic Eden) and chipped away at Magic Eden's 95%+ market share last year. We learn about how Tensor's intense focus on power-traders gave them a beachhead market that demonstrated the viability of heavily financialized, terminal-esque trading interfaces for NFTs. We also ask Richard if Blur/Tensor killed NFTs and what he's most excited about for future NFT adoption. It's a very insightful conversation with one of the best builders in all of crypto and Solana. (0:00) - Finding the right co-founder (9:25) - Selecting the correct market to disrupt (12:03) - Building early PMF (14:59) - Has Blur ruined NFTs? (20:17) - Thinking about product design (23:59) - Building web 3 applications (33:17) - Tensorians NFTs (42:39) - Moving beyond Solana? (46:33) - Future of Eth NFT ecosystem (49:38) - Drivers for NFT adoption (55:01) - What’s exciting outside NFTs (58:00) - Next steps for Tensor (1:03:53) - Thoughts on the last year - - Podcast Resources Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/Sal_The_Bull Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod Subscribe on Apple: http://apple.co/3VyBSWI Subscribe on Spotify: http://spoti.fi/42q03J2 Subscribe on Google: https://tinyurl.com/5dwn2476 - - Episode Resources Follow Richard : https://twitter.com/0xrwu Follow Ilya : https://twitter.com/_ilmoi Follow Tensor Trade : https://twitter.com/Tensor_hq Tensor Trade Website : https://Tensor.trade

The Monad Movement: Keone's Journey from HFT Systems to EVM Scalability Aug 31, 2023

Show notes

We chat with Keone, Co-Founder & CEO of Monad.xyz, about his background in building high-performance systems for Jump Trading’s high-frequency trading and crypto divisions. We unpack how Keone is leveraging his expertise to scale the EVM. Traditionally, most approaches to scaling blockchains, such as Solana, Sui, Aptos, Sei, etc, choose to eschew the EVM in favor of maximizing performance. Keone believes that maintaining compatibility with existing EVM tooling and infra is key to long-term success. We talk about his vision for scaling the EVM to 10k TPS, the challenges of launching an L1 ecosystem, what consumer adoption looks like, and a litany of design considerations throughout this discussion. (0:52) - Monad’s vision (3:54) - Why not build out an L2? (9:56) - Parallelizing the EVM (17:19) - Hardware requirements (22:02) - Future of DEX trading (32:32) - Exciting areas of crypto (36:29) - Responding to criticism (40:13) - Where does Monad fit within Ethereum (42:21) - Horizontal scaling future for Monad (44:37) - Integration with Solana (45:44) - Benefits of single slot finality (49:00) - Go-To-Market strategy (52:36) - Privacy on blockchains - - Podcast Resources Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/sal_coin Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod Subscribe on Apple: http://apple.co/3VyBSWI Subscribe on Spotify: http://spoti.fi/42q03J2 Subscribe on Google: https://tinyurl.com/5dwn2476 - - Episode Resources Follow Keone: https://twitter.com/KeoneHD Follow Monad: https://twitter.com/Monad_xyz Galaxy Website: https://Monad.xyz

Alex Thorn (Galaxy Digital) on L1s, L2s, and Institutional Crypto Aug 26, 2023

Show notes

Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital, shares his L1 thesis and how he thinks ETH + L2s will outcompete most alt L1 platforms over time. He also comments on potential tailwinds for both mainstream and institutional adoption of crypto and shares his views on certain areas of crypto that might be overhyped. This is an entertaining conversation with a Bitcoin OG who’s been through multiple boom/bust cycles in crypto with the scar tissue to prove it. (0:54) - Ready Layer One thesis (4:02) - Will Eth win new web3 categories (17:23) - How does adoption happen (24:05) - Regulation as crypto’s final boss (26:31) - Technological change on BTC (32:30) - Could BTC lose its no. 1 spot (41:08) - Crypto drivers for next bull market (45:56) - Sol Vs Eth L2 narratives (48:05) - Base as dominant L2 (53:53) - How to avoid cynicism (58:46) - What will be top of funnel for new entrants - - Podcast Resources Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/sal_coin Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod Subscribe on Apple: http://apple.co/3VyBSWI Subscribe on Spotify: http://spoti.fi/42q03J2 Subscribe on Google: https://tinyurl.com/5dwn2476 - - Episode Resources Follow Alex Thorn: https://twitter.com/IntangibleCoins Follow Galaxy: https://twitter.com/GalaxyHQ Follow Galaxy Research: https://twitter.com/GlxyResearch Galaxy Website: https://Galaxy.com

Solana Legend on Next Generation Blockchains Aug 18, 2023

Show notes

Solana Legend (@solanalegend), managing partner of Frictionless and co-founder of monkeDAO. Spends most of his waking hours thinking about next generation blockchains. As one of Solana’s earliest and loudest supporters, Legend has a unique vantage point into how Solana and other high throughput blockchains are well-positioned to onboard the masses into crypto. This convo, is a fun mix about Solana’s early history, initial ties to FTX, its meteoric rise during the bull run of 2021, and some of Legend’s contrarian takes. (0:30) - How new L1s compete with incumbents (9:10) - What will bring new users onto L1s (15:14) - The aha moment of DePIN (19:00) - Value prop of web3 gaming (24:05) - Integration of web2 social with web3 rails (32:40) - Signal vs noise of current on-chain meta (36:31) - View on recent DeGods saga (41:55) - Ethereum’s endgame (45:18) - Most under-appreciated narratives - - Podcast Resources Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/sal_coin Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod Subscribe on Apple: http://apple.co/3VyBSWI Subscribe on Spotify: http://spoti.fi/42q03J2 Subscribe on Google: https://tinyurl.com/5dwn2476 - - Episode Resources Follow Solana Legend: https://twitter.com/SolanaLegend Follow Frictionless Capital: https://twitter.com/_Frictionless_ Frictionless Website: https://frictionless.fund

How Dynamic NFTs Will Replace Coffee Shop Punchcards (Underdog Protocol) Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

Kevin and Nick from Underdog Protocol, grand-prize winners of Solana Grizzlython 2023, are on a mission to help business integrate dynamic NFTs into their products. Their vision for the future includes blockchains as a shared data layer for both consumers and businesses. While early experiments in bringing web3 to industry incumbents like Starbucks have shown limited success, Underdog’s unique approach combines the scalability of Solana with the developer-friendliness of integrating any standard API like Stripe. In a roundtable format, Sal, Dave, Kevin, and Nick talk at-length about this emerging use-case of NFTs with an intense focus on the long-term utility of NFTs and how they tangibly add value to current user journeys. (1:12) - What is Underdog (7:50) - Why brands will share data on-chain (14:46) - The real value prop of web3 (21:44) - Issues of curation for decentralised social graphs (24:40) - Completely new marketing models (29:39) - How to build moats in an open data world (38:43) - On-chain cookies (40:25) - Which blockchains will win (44:59) - How Underdog is architected (49:40) - Future use cases of NFTs - - Podcast Resources Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/sal_coin Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod Subscribe on Apple: http://apple.co/3VyBSWI Subscribe on Spotify: http://spoti.fi/42q03J2 Subscribe on Google: https://tinyurl.com/5dwn2476 - - Episode Resources Follow Tony : https://twitter.com/TonyPlasencia3 Follow Kevin : https://twitter.com/Kevarifin Follow Underdog Protocol : https://twitter.com/BackAnUnderdog Underdog Protocol Website : https://UnderdogProtocol.com

Kyle Samani on Crypto’s Role in AI, Consumer Tech, & other Contrarian Views Aug 04, 2023

Show notes

Kyle Samani (Multicoin) joins Unlayered to share his views on a litany of topics. Mainly, what role does crypto have to play in emerging technological primitives like artificial intelligence and spatial computing. The trio also discuss why so much attention has been focused on infra vs consumer apps and the historical debate on modular vs integrated software architecture. This episode is a great way to gain a 10,000ft view of the space from the perspective of one crypto’s best, and often contrarian, thought leaders. (1:03) - State of the market (8:29) - Crypto social apps vs web2 (13:46) - Verticalisation of NFT marketplaces (18:47) - Will AI agents use crypto? (28:56) - Are AI bots a net good? (34:02) - Eth’s social scalability problems (39:15 - The merits of different blockchain designs (47:39) - Contrarian areas of interest in crypto (55:00) - Spatial computing - - Podcast Resources Follow Sal: https://twitter.com/sal_coin Follow Dave: https://twitter.com/SolBeachBum Follow Unlayered: https://twitter.com/UnlayeredPod Subscribe on Apple: http://apple.co/3VyBSWI Subscribe on Spotify: http://spoti.fi/42q03J2 Subscribe on Google: https://tinyurl.com/5dwn2476 - - Episode Resources Follow Kyle: https://twitter.com/KyleSamani Follow Multicoin: https://twitter.com/multicoincap Relevant Multicoin Blogposts: Verticalization of NFT marketplaces - https://multicoin.capital/2022/06/22/beyond-verticalization-of-nft-marketplaces AI and Crypto - https://multicoin.capital/2023/06/02/the-convergence-of-crypto-and-ai-four-key-intersections Social Scalability - https://multicoin.capital/2021/05/25/technical-scalability-creates-social-scalability Rendering the Metaverse - https://multicoin.capital/2021/12/21/rendering-the-metaverse - - Disclosures Although our guest this week is the managing partner of a registered investment adviser, nothing in this podcast should be considered an offer of Multicoin’s investment advisory services or should otherwise be confused for investment, tax, legal or other financial advice.

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