Bridged Podcast

How does Holyheld plan on bridging the gap between on-chain primitives and TradFi?

zkSync’s Deep-Dive series aims at shedding light on projects building on zkSync and to learn from the minds behind them.

Join us as we speak with Anton, Co-Founder at Holyheld. In a few words, Holyheld is working on connecting on-chain primitives with traditional finance, offering a cash account with debit card and personal IBAN that you control from any self-custody wallet you own.

Tune in to learn about Holyheld’s cash account, what to expect from the team in 2024 and much more. Enjoy!

Link to Holyheld’s Twitter page
👉🏻 https://twitter.com/holyheld

Link to Holyheld’s website
👉🏻 https://holyheld.com/

Link to zkSync’s Twitter page
👉🏻 https://twitter.com/zksync

Link to zkSync’s website
👉🏻 https://zksync.io/

Episode Breakdown

01:00 - What was your background prior to co-founding Holyheld?

04:30 - Would you be able to provide an overview of the decentralized payments space?

08:30 - Would you be able to provide a detailed product review, highlighting key characteristics and benefits of Holyheld’s solution?

13:00 - How does Holyheld's cash account cater to the needs of both crypto-savvy users and those more accustomed to traditional banking?

20:00 - In terms of future partnerships, what can we expect going forward and what are Holyheld’s key criteria for the selection of the right partners?

24:00 - What key lessons did the Holyheld team learn from establishing operations in Europe, and how will these insights shape your expansion into new markets?

29:00 - What features of the ZK Stack are you currently leveraging?

32:00 - In terms of roadmap, what can users expect from the Holyheld team for 2024?

How does GRVT’s hybrid crypto derivatives exchange (HEX) ensure greater capital efficiency and deeper liquidity?

zkSync’s Deep-Dive series aims at shedding light on projects building on zkSync and to learn from the minds behind them.

Join us as we speak with Hong, CEO at GRVT. In a nutshell, GRVT is a hybrid crypto derivatives exchange (HEX), offering self-custody trading, lightning-fast execution, deep liquidity, capital efficiency, and competitive fees.

Tune in to learn about GRVT’s hybrid exchange and its key features, how they leverage zkSync’s Validium technology and much more. Enjoy!

Link to GRVT’s Twitter page
👉🏻 https://twitter.com/grvt_io

Link to GRVT’s website
👉🏻 https://grvt.io/

Link to zkSync’s Twitter page
👉🏻 https://twitter.com/zksync

Link to zkSync’s website
👉🏻 https://zksync.io/

Episode Breakdown

01:30 - What was your background prior to founding GRVT?

04:00 - Was the idea to start GRVT a product of some of the major failures of centralized exchanges, such as FTX, or what?

05:30 - Can you elaborate on how GRVT's hybrid exchange model combines the benefits of centralized and decentralized exchanges?

13:00 - Where does the ambition of becoming an institutional grade platform stem from?

19:30 - Would you be able to provide an overview and roadmap for the new year? What can users expect to be shipped by GRVT in 2024?

23:30 - Why do you think the current timing is right for GRVT to enter the market and hit the ground running?

27:00 - What role does zkSync’s Validium technology play in your solution and was zkSync’s focus on security one of the driving factors behind your decision to build there?

30:00 - Are you looking to leverage the amalgamation of TradFi and crypto native talent for the growing GRVT team?

33:00 - Why the name GRVT for the project?

35:00 - What are some of the main values of GRVT’s culture and ethos?

How can Vest Exchange’s zkRisk engine enabled cheaper fees compared to other DEX’s?

zkSync’s Deep-Dive series aims at shedding light on projects building on zkSync and to learn from the minds behind them.

Join us as we speak with Justin, CEO at Vest Labs. Simply put, Vest Labs is the team behind Vest Exchange, a fully trustless and autonomous decentralized perpetual futures exchange designed for secure and capital efficient trading. 

Tune in to learn about Vest Exchange’s key features, their reason to build on zkSync and much more. Enjoy!

Link to Vest’s Twitter page
👉🏻 https://twitter.com/VestExchange

Link to Vest’s website
👉🏻 https://www.vest.exchange/

Link to zkSync’s Twitter page
👉🏻 https://twitter.com/zksync

Link to zkSync’s website
👉🏻 https://zksync.io/

Episode Breakdown

01:00 - What was your background prior to founding Vest Labs?

03:00 - What made you decide to make the switch from Web3 investor to Web3 entrepreneur and builder?

05:30 - How were you able to find your niche and vertical of choice within the extremely vast and varied crypto landscape?

08:00 - Would you be able to provide an overview of the Dexes’ market and identify some of the main problems that are currently holding DeFi back?

13:00 - Was the spark that led you to found Vest fuelled by a conceptual motive or a more practical one?

16:00 - Would you be able to provide an overview of Vest Exchange’s zkRisk engine?

19:00 - What led you to develop the Premia concept and what role does this component play within the zkRisk engine?

21:00 - Would you be able to elaborate on Vest’s capacity to add tail assets compared to other dexes?

23:00 - Would you be able to provide an overview of the new product features that users can expect to be shipped from Vest at the beginning of 2024?

26:30 - What made you decide to build on zkSync?

28:00 - How did you settle on the name Vest for the project?

29:00 - How were you able to find like-minded individuals to share Vest’s vision with?

31:00 - In your role as a leader at Vest, how do you handle the responsibility of sometimes having to make tough decisions?

34:00 - What can we expect from Vest in the near future?

Will the future of computing be decentralized and serverless?

Join us as we speak with Tom, Co-Founder and CEO at Fluence Labs. Simply put, Fluence Labs has developed an institutional grade decentralized serverless compute network that frees computation from centralized cloud providers

Tune in to learn about Tom’s Web3 journey, centralized vs. decentralized computing, Fluence’s imminent launch and much more. Enjoy!

Link to Fluence’s Twitter page
👉🏻 https://twitter.com/fluence_project

Link to Fluence’s website
👉🏻 https://fluence.network/

Episode Breakdown

00:30 - How would you explain the work and vision behind Fluence Labs to a 5-year old?

02:00 - Would you be able to provide some context on the centralized vs. decentralized computing discussion?

06:30 - Do you highlight centralized computing institutions' capacity to censor content at will when you are pitching Fluence?

12:00 - Would you be able to elaborate on the relationship between Fluence and regulators to date?

15:00 - Once Fluence will go live, what applications do you think will be built on top of Fluence and what use cases do you foresee being unlocked by these applications?

22:00 - Would you be able to provide an overview of the decentralized computing market and elaborate on where Fluence Labs fits in?

26:00 - What sectors stand to benefit the most from innovation brought forward by Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks and what use cases can be unlocked by the decentralization of such infrastructure?

28:30 - In terms of what next, what can we expect from Fluence Labs in 2024?

How will Vega Protocol democratize market creation and access?

Join us as we speak with Barney, Co-Founder of Vega Protocol. Simply put, Vega is the derivatives layer for Web3 — a purpose-built appchain for decentralized derivatives trading, intended to serve as a full-stack DEX, supporting a variety of market types and assets.

Tune in to learn about Barney’s transition from TradFi to DeFi, Vega’s iterations over time, what to expect next from the protocol and much more. Enjoy!

Link to Vega’s Twitter page
👉🏻 https://twitter.com/vegaprotocol

Link to Vega’s website
👉🏻 https://vega.xyz/

Episode Breakdown

00:30 - How would you explain and present Vega to a 5-year old?

03:00 - What was your background prior to founding Vega?

05:00 - Given your transition from TradFi to DeFi, would you be able to categorise some of the main differences and similarities between the two?

08:00 - Given your experience in TradFi, how challenging was it for you to develop a DeFi protocol with particular features and characteristics?

12:00 - Has luck played a factor throughout the different iterations that Vega has experienced to date?

15:30 - Would you be able to provide a broad overview of Vega’s journey to date?

20:00 - What sort of traction has the platform seen to date?

22:00 - Would you be able to walk us through the end-to-end process if a user wanted to create a new market on Vega? 

24:00 - To what extent has the Vega community explored the possibility of creating new markets?

25:30 - What are some of the ambitions and goals for the Vega team in 2024?

29:00 - What new utilities will the Vega token unlock for holders in the future?

31:00 - What’s next for Vega?

How does the Enso team rapidly and consistently roll out new features, driven by user feedback?

Join us as we speak with Connor, Founder at Enso Finance. Simply put, Enso is a unified DeFi API that enables you to interact with all DeFi primitives conveniently.

Tune in to learn about Enso’s vision for the future of DeFi, Connor’s eventful crypto journey and much more. Enjoy!

Link to Enso’s Twitter page
👉🏻 https://twitter.com/EnsoFinance

Link to Enso’ website
👉🏻 https://www.enso.finance/

Episode Breakdown

00:30 - If you had to explain Enso to a 5-year old, how would you go about it?

01:40 - What prompted you to start Enso in the first place?

03:40 - Why the name Enso for the project?

05:00 - In terms of product development, where are you at currently?

06:40 - How many integrations has Enso been able to secure to date?

08:00 - Do you always listen to what your user base has to say when thinking about shipping new features?

10:00 - As a founder, how have you been able to develop over time a stronger ability to constructively respond to feedback mechanisms by iterating and delivering a stronger product as a result? 

13:00 - How was Enso been able to develop the ability to continuously listen to feedback provided by the users and iterate accordingly?

14:30 - How do you categorise feedback from users at Enso and is there a system in place to prioritise and address these accordingly?

18:00 - How have you been able to put together a team of individuals well-suited and well-equipped for continuously shipping new product features?

22:00 - What was your background prior to founding Enso?

27:00 - How has it been building and growing a Web3 project in Switzerland? 

30:00 - In terms of what next, what can we expect from Enso in the near future?

How has Osmosis been able to maintain its position as the top DeFi hub in the ever-evolving Cosmos ecosystem?

Join us as we speak with Aaron, Growth & Strategy Contributor at Osmosis. Simply put, Osmosis is the leading decentralized Cosmos exchange where you can swap, earn and build.

Tune in to learn about Aaron’s crypto journey, what we can expect from Osmosis in the near future and much more. Enjoy!

Link to Osmosis’ Twitter page
👉🏻 https://twitter.com/osmosiszone

Link to Osmosis’ website
👉🏻 https://osmosis.zone/

Episode Breakdown

01:00 - How would you explain Osmosis to a 5-year old?

04:30 - What was your background prior to getting involved with Osmosis?

09:00 - Where has your crypto journey brought you globally?

12:15 - What are the main responsibilities of your role at Osmosis?

16:00 - How do you juggle the ‘strategy’ component of your role between what should be done now and what will come next?

20:00 - Are you currently holding talks with Web2 enterprises to onboard them to Osmosis in the near future?

24:00 - Would you be able to provide an overview of the Osmosis ecosystem?

31:00 - Would you be able to elaborate on the Osmosis Grant Program and its success since inception?

34:00 - What are some of the main values of the Osmosis culture and community?

37:00 - In terms of next steps, what can we expect from Osmosis in the near future?

What drives Starkware's success in nurturing a committed, bottom-up community?

Join us as we speak with Louis, Ecosystem Lead at Starkware. In a few words, Starkware develops a full proof stack, using STARK technology to generate and verify proofs of computational integrity. StarkWare’s cryptographic proofs are zero-knowledge, succinct, transparent and post-quantum secure.

Tune in to learn about Louis’ past as a startup founder, his views on the future of L2s, an overview of Starknet’s architecture and much more. Enjoy!

Link to Starknet’s Twitter page
👉🏻 https://twitter.com/StarkWareltd

Link to Starkware’s website
👉🏻 https://starkware.co/

Episode Breakdown

00:30 - Would you be able to present the vision behind Starkware using a creative and illustrative analogy?

02:00 - What was your background prior to joining Starkware?

04:00 - Has your previous experience as a startup founder helped you better advise Web3 entrepreneurs?

06:30 - How would you define and characterise this new wave of Web3 entrepreneurs?

10:00 - Will crypto’s adoption be fuelled by a single, killer use case or by a series of smaller, iterative use cases?

13:00 - Would you be able to provide an overview of the architecture at Starknet?

19:30 - In terms of ecosystem development and growth, what sort of philosophy do you implement when approaching projects? Quality over quantity?

21:30 - How has Starkware been able to nurture such a bottom-up, organic culture?

23:00 - What are some of the main values found within the Starknet community and culture?

29:00 - Do you think in the future there will be many L2s or few, big ones?

30:00 - In terms of next steps, what can we expect from Starkware in the near future?

How will sustainability shape the future of Bitcoin mining?

Join us as we speak with Kent, President & COO at Sazmining. In a few words, Sazmining connects investors to renewable energy mining facilities in a simple, fully managed experience. Their vision is to transform how people relate to money and energy, enabling regular people to participate in mining ensures a bright future for Bitcoin.

Tune in to learn about Sazmining’s new operation in Paraguay, the future role of sustainability within Bitcoin mining and much more. Enjoy!

Link to Sazmining’s Twitter page
👉🏻 https://twitter.com/sazmining

Link to Sazmining’s website
👉🏻 https://www.sazmining.com/

Episode Breakdown

00:30 - Would you be able to present the vision behind Sazmining using an illustrative analogy?

05:00 - Would you be able to provide an overview of the Bitcoin mining market? 

11:00 - Would you be able to elaborate on the role of sustainability within Sazmining’s strategy?

19:00 - Would you be able to summarise the step-by-step process required to set up a Bitcoin mining operation and facility from scratch?

23:00 - Where are your mining facilities located?

27:00 - When setting up Bitcoin mining operations abroad, how are you able to establish sound and long-term relationships with local stakeholders?

29:00 - What is the hashrate capacity for your facility in the US?

32:00 - What motivated you to expand your Bitcoin mining capacity to Paraguay?

34:00 - In terms of next steps, what can we expect from Sazmining in the near future?

Will cloud computing infrastructure be both centralized and decentralized in the near future?

Join us as we speak with Bren, contributor from the Ecosystem Growth team at Cere Network. In a few words, Cere Network is the first Decentralized Data Cloud platform, built on Polkadot, optimized for service data integration and data collaboration.

Tune in to learn about Decentralized Data Clusters, a future with both centralized and decentralized cloud computing and much more. Enjoy!

Link to Cere’s Twitter page
👉🏻 https://twitter.com/cereofficial

Link to Cere’s website
👉🏻 https://cere.network/

Episode Breakdown

00:20 - Would you be able to present the work and vision behind Cere Network using a creative and illustrative analogy?

01:30 - What motivated you to pursue a career in Web3?

04:00 - How did you end up joining Cere Network?

06:30 - How does your current position at Cere Network compare to some of your previous roles?

08:00 - Would you be able to provide an overview, in Layman’s terms, of the architecture at Cere Network?

09:30 - What role does blockchain technology play in Cere’s solution?

11:30 - Why is decentralized cloud computing needed?

15:00 - Will there be a future where centralized and decentralized cloud computing will coexist?

16:30 - When will your solution be ready to go to market and what key markets will you target initially?

18:00 - Do you think there will be an educational phase when communicating the benefits of decentralized cloud computing to Web2 enterprises?

21:00 - How does Cere’s solution empower content producers and game developers?

26:00 - Have you reached out to some influencers and content creators already ahead of rolling out your solution?

28:00 - How does the Cere token ($CERE) integrate into the ecosystem?

35:00 - What role does AI play within your solution?

36:30 - In terms of next steps, what can we expect from Cere in the near future?