Epicenter - Learn about Crypto, Blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin and Distributed Technologies

Gyroscope is an "all-weather stablecoin" that is backed by a reserve portfolio that tries to diversify across many risk factors. By maintaining a reserve of many decorrelated assets, it makes Gyro Dollars more resilient, similar to how it is hard to move a spinning gyroscope. In a market where there's an explosion of new stablecoins, Gyroscope attempts to find a niche by providing a very stable and resilient option.

We were joined by co-founders Lewis Gudgeon and Ariah Klages-Mundt to chat about how Gyroscope works and their strategy to try to make it a standard throughout DeFi.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Their backgrounds and how they got into crypto
• An overview of the Gyroscope Stablecoin
• The collateral being used
• The mechanism used for stabilizing reserves
• Use cases of the Gyrodollar
• SAMMs and PAMMs
• Leverage loans
• Governance within the protocol
• The goals of the current testnet
• How to get involved

Episode links:

• Gyroscope
• Discord
• Gyroscope blog
• Twitter
• Lewis on Twitter
• Ariah on Twitter

Sponsors:

• Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusone
• ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenter

This episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/415

PieDAO is is a decentralized asset manager for tokenized portfolios and enables anyone to create allocations for both crypto and traditional assets. PIES are non-custodial pools available to anyone in the world with an internet connection. PIES require no minimum deposits for users. DOUGH is the token that governs the platform. Token holders are given voting rights on all decisions.

We were joined by the Founder of PieDAO, Alessio Delmonti, to talk about how the project works and why he is so committed to making wealth creation more accessible to all.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Alessio's background and how he got into crypto
• Alessio's views on 'financial inclusion'
• What is PieDAO and its mission
• A breakdown of the different components of PieDAO
• NFTs in PieDAO
• Using ETFs in their methodologies
• KPI options and how that plays into governance
• The PieDAO Oven
• The roadmap for the project

Episode links:

• PieDAO
• The Oven
• PieDAO Discord
• Governance Forum
• PieDAO on Twitter
• Alessio on Twitter

Sponsors:

• Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafe

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/414

Notional is a protocol on Ethereum that facilitates fixed-rate, fixed-term crypto asset lending and borrowing. The core concept of Notional is fCash, a zero-compound bond defined by a currency type and maturity date. Notional’s liquidity pools are built by liquidity providers who contribute cTokens and fCash and act as counterparty to the lenders and borrowers that are active on the protocol.

We were joined by co-founders Teddy Woodward and Jeff Wu to chat about the benefits and tradeoffs of fixed rate interest borrowing, how Notional operates, and comparisons to other lending protocols in the space.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Teddy and Jeff's backgrounds and how they got into crypto
• The benefits of a fixed rate over a variable interest rate loan
• The product from a user perspective
• The role of liquidity providers in the protocol
• Tradeoffs of using Notional as opposed to other lending platforms
• Lender and borrower obligations
• How Notional maintain security
• The ERC1155 token standard which is implemented on fCash
• The maturity parameter and how it's determined
• The Notional governance model

Episode links:

• Notional Finance
• Notional Discord
• Notional on Twitter
• Teddy on Twitter
• Jeff on Twitter

Sponsors:

• ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenter
• Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusone

This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/413

Lido is a DAO that provides a liquid staking solution for Ethreum 2.0. It lets users stake their Ether, without locking assets or needing to maintain infrastructure, whilst participating in on-chain activities. Lido attempts to solve the problems associated with initial Ethereum 2.0 staking - illiquidity, minimum requirements, immovability and accessibility, by making staked Ether liquid and allowing for participation in DeFi.

Vasiliy Shapovalov, Co-founder of Lido, joined us to talk about all things Ethereum staking and the benefits of liquid staking with Lido.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Vasiliy's background and how he got into crypto
• An overview of Lido and the problem it solves
• How Ethereum 2.0 staking works
• Lido's fee structure and business model
• Lido's governance model and the LDO token
• How the ETH/stETH peg is maintained
• Liquid staking and its role in DeFi
• Lido for other blockchain networks like Solana
• The LEGO Grant program

Episode links:

• Lido
• Vasiliy's talk at EthCC
• Lido on Twitter
• Vasiliy on Twitter

Sponsors:

• Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafe

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/412

The Reserve project is on a mission to provide every person in the world access to stable currency. They are working to rebuild financial services in countries such as Argentina and Venezuela, that have suffered from high inflation and ongoing currency devaluation. The protocol is designed to host a completely decentralized stablecoin that can not be manipulated by governments, with an end goal of a fully self-sustainable platform with decentralized governance and developments.

We were joined by Co-founder & CEO, Nevin Freeman, to chat about Reserve's focus in Latin America, their support of activism, and the road ahead for the project.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Nevin's background and how he got into crypto
• What is Reserve and what is the problem it's solving
• How do they get around regulatory pushbacks in Latin America
• The main components of the Reserve system - RSV and RSR
• Tackling high gas fees
• Reserve's go to market strategy and why the focus on Latin America
• Why Reserve encourage's activism
• Reserve's goal to eradicate hyperinflation
• The connection with Peter Tiel (Paypal)
• The Reserve business model

Episode links:

• Reserve
• Reserve on Twitter
• Nevin on Twitter

Sponsors:

• Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusone
• ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenter

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/411

Hermez is an open-source ZK-Rollup optimised for secure, low-cost and usable token transfers on the wings of Ethereum. The Hermez network team is currently developing the next version of the decentralised ZK-Rollup with full support of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) by making a full set of zkEVM opcodes.

Jordi Baylina, the Technical Lead at Hermez, joined us to chat about how the protocol works, the recent merge with Polygon, and the roadmap leading to Eth2.0.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Jordi's involvement in the infamous DAO hack
• The Giveth community he created with Griff Green
• How Hermez use EVM opcodes to combine zk and EVM
• How the protocol works as a user
• How do token transfers work?
• Currently the advantage is in scaling, could this also translate to privacy?
• Hermez's merge with Polygon - how the joint model will look
• The Hermez roadmap and how it fits with Eth2.0
• Jordi's views on the future of blockchain

Episode links:

• Hermez
• Giveth
• Jordi at EThCC 2021
• Hermez on Twitter
• Jordi on Twitter

Sponsors:

• CowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity offering the best prices on all trades and provides some UX perks (no gas costs for failed transactions!) and protects traders against MEV - https://epicenter.rocks/cowswap

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/410

Erik Voorhees, CEO & Founder of ShapeShift, joins us for his 4th appearance on the show. ShapeShift recently announced they are decentralizing the company and its products, which would see the company transition from a centralized entity and platform to a DAO. With the largest airdrop in history they distributed FOX tokens to over a million customers and DeFi community members, who will eventually fully control the exchange.

In this episode we hear the reasoning behind this shift, cross-chain Interoperability, the FOX token, and the future of the Shapeshift platform as a DAO.

Topics covered in this episode:

• The journey of ShapeShift since Erik's last appearance on the show
• What led ShapeShift to becoming decentralized and the process so far
• ShapeShift as a product - its features and how it will be accessed
• The future structure of Shapeshift as a DAO
• Cross-chain Interoperability and the Cosmos ecosystem
• The goal of the FOX token
• The future of the ShapeShift ecosystem

Episode links:

• Episode 300 - ShapeShift – There’s a New Fox in Town
• ShapeShift
• ShapeShift to Decentralize Entire Company; Largest Airdrop in History
  Shifts Governance to the Community
• FOX token airdrop
• ShapeShift on Twitter
• Erik on Twitter
• Seb's new podcast – The Zen Crypto Show

Sponsors:

• ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenter
• Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusone

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/409

ParaSwap is a DEX aggregator that aims to provide the best prices over multiple DEXes on the Ethereum blockchain. Users are able to scan dozens of exchanges for the best possible crypto price points, and get the most for their swaps.

We were joined by ParaSwap Founder, Mounir Benchemled, to chat about his role in the French DeFi community, DEX aggregators in general, and what makes ParaSwap an important slice of the DeFi ecosystem.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Mounir's background and how he got into crypto
• Why did he start a DEX aggregator?
• The French DeFi ecosystem and community
• An overview of DEX aggregators - the advantages and challenges
• The role of the ParaSwap router
• The prospect of a ParaSwap token
• A DEX aggregator from a legal perspective
• How ParaSwap makes money
• Mounir's views on Layer 1 and Layer 2s
• The future of DeFi trading

Episode links:

• ParaSwap
• ParaSwap on Medium
• ParaSwap on Twitter
• Mounir on Twitter

Sponsors:

• Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafe

This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/408

Mike Novogratz is the CEO of Galaxy Digital, an investment bank targeting institutional investors, which he also founded. He was formerly a Partner and President of Fortress Investment Group LLC and prior to that Partner at Goldman Sachs. Considered quite the risk taker, he has made and lost many fortunes over the years.

We chatted to Mike about the cross over between finance and blockchain, regulatory affairs, and of course, wrestling.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Mike's background in wrestling and transition into finance
• How he got into the crypto space
• How Mike and Galaxy Digital are providing a link between crypto and traditional finance
• The long term impact of crypto on the world
• The vision for Galaxy Digital
• Mike's views on the market cycles

Episode links:

Galaxy Digital

Galaxy Digital on Twitter

Mike on Twitter

Sponsors:

• Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting-edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusone
• ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenter

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/407

The DFINITY Foundation is a not-for-profit scientific research organization with a mission to build, promote, and maintain the Internet Computer. The IC is a layer 1 smart contract enabled blockchain which achieves remarkable scaling properties through native sharding.

We were joined by Founder and Chief Scientist of DFINITY, Dominic Williams, who explained his deep support for smart contracts, gave us an insight into the Internet Computer Ecosystem, and shared his visions for its future.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Dominic's background and an update on DFINITY
• The advantages of smart contracts
• The Internet Computer ecosystem
• How DFINITY compares to Ethereum
• The concept of sharding - subnets
• The tokenomics of The Internet Computer
• Vision for the Internet Computer's future

Episode links:

• DFINITY
• The Internet Computer Roadmap
• DFINITY on Twitter
• Dominic on Twitter

Sponsors:

• Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafe

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Martin Köppelmann. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/406