Namik is a founding and chef at MegaETH, a blockchain that aims to push the performance of Ehereum L2s to hardware limits, bridging the gap between blockchains and traditional cloud computing servers.

Timestamps

00:00 Highlight

01:33 Introduction

02:50 Namik’s View on Crypto in Different Countries

04:55 Why MegaETH Was Born for a Better Ethereum Environment

07:23 MegaETH’s Tech Stack

08:28 MegaETH’s Team

09:57 Why Namik Joined MegaETH

14:47 Why MegaETH Is Inevitable

17:56 MegaETH’s Value Proposition

19:46 Builders on MegaETH

29:55 Green Flags in Finding Builders

32:08 How MegaETH Is Different From Other Chains

34:57 MegaETH’s Consumer Apps

36:28 Building a Good Community in MegaETH

40:40 MegaETH’s Tech Stack on Other Chains

42:09 What Does “Mega” Mean in MegaETH?

50:43 Namik’s Thoughts on Crypto Dating Apps

53:53 Namik’s Favorite Apps

59:11 Namik, Are You Well?

1:02:44 Namik’s Next Steps After Mainnet Launch

Co-Hosts

Brian: @brianjhhong

Jessie: @0xJESSIE_

JW: @pillarbear_

Mo Shaikhs is the co-founder and CEO of Aptos. He is also an entrepreneur and investor with extensive experience in private equity and venture capital, focusing on blockchain, finance, and infrastructure.

00:00 Highlight

Co-Hosts

In April 2022, Luca Netz acquired Pudgy Penguins, a collection of 8,888 Ethereum-based NFTs, for 750 ETH—approximately $2.5 million at the time. Fast forward 30 months, and Pudgy Penguins has transformed into one of the most recognizable mascots in the crypto space.

Now, Igloo, the parent company of Pudgy Penguins, has acquired Frame and is building Abstract—”the blockchain leading the next generation of consumer crypto.”

Today, we explore Luca’s journey in transforming Pudgy Penguins into a global IP and crypto mascot, the rationale behind the Frame acquisition, and how Abstract aims to become the leading blockchain for consumer crypto.

Timestamps

00:00 Highlights

02:14 Introduction

03:01 The Acquisition of Pudgy Penguins

05:05 Luca’s Background and Experience

06:59 Was Pudgy Penguins' Success Just Luck?

09:02 Marketing Strategy Behind Pudgy Penguins

12:13 Breaking into Walmart and Target

14:36 Selling 1.5 Million Toys

17:06 Pudgy Toys as Trojan Horses

22:10 Biggest Risks Facing Pudgy Penguins

28:24 The Acquisition of Frame

33:41 Consumer Chains vs. General-Purpose Blockchains

38:14 Seamless 0-to-1 Consumer Journey and Onboarding

38:55 Network Effects and the Moat of a Consumer Chain

41:01 User Types and Experience on Abstract

44:17 Builders Seeking Product-Market Fit (PMF)

45:28 Abstract's Target Users

46:16 From Discretionary to Necessary Spending

48:23 Why Previous Consumer Applications Have Fallen Short

52:38 User Acquisition Strategy

1:00:45 Why Blockchain is Essential

1:04:13 Timeline for Adoption

1:10:24 Abstract’s Vision for the Next 10-15 Years

1:11:18 Outro

Co-Hosts

Brian: @brianjhhong

Jessie: @0xJESSIE_

JW: @pillarbear_

Links

Twitter: https://x.com/PFPpod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pfppod

Zon Mangalji began his journey in the Cosmos ecosystem as a smart contract development intern at Terra. While working on a new protocol on top of Luna after leaving Terra, he successfully completed a funding round. However, soon after, Terra collapsed.

A few months later, after returning the raised funds to the VCs, Zon and Stan co-founded Initia, a new Layer 1 blockchain.

Initia aims to address key challenges in blockchain, particularly with interoperability. The project seeks to streamline the process of building app-chains, improve interactions between chains, and create aligned incentives for both developers and users.

Today, we explore Zon’s path from his time at Terra to the founding of Initia, including Initia’s vision, its incentive model, and his perspective on the future of the crypto industry.

Timestamps

00:00 Highlights

01:46 Introduction

04:06 Issues with Interoperability

05:16 The Biggest Challenge in the Cosmos Ecosystem

06:24 How Initia is Enhancing the Protocol

07:45 Overview of Initia’s VIP Program

09:48 How Initia Stands Out in User Retention

12:01 Zon’s Favorite Apps

14:22 Sectors Initia is Focusing On

16:27 Current Interactions Between Layer 2s (L2s)

18:14 Initia’s Value Proposition as a Layer 1 (L1)

29:02 Why Choose Layer 1?

30:19 Is Initia the “Apple” of Blockchain?

33:38 How Initia Empowers Developers to Create Advanced Apps

37:40 What Sets the Developer Experience on Initia Apart?

40:04 Zon’s Journey to Becoming a Developer at Terra

42:34 Co-Founding Initia with Stan

46:32 Zon’s Transition from Smart Contract Developer to CBDSM

47:45 Can Initia Replicate Terra Luna’s Success?

48:46 Zon’s Thoughts on the Next Crypto Cycle

52:39 The Vision for Initia

54:55 Initia’s Community

58:32 In-House Design Team at Initia

1:00:00 Why We Need a Separate Wallet

1:04:35 How to Hire the Right Talent

01:09:40 Jessie’s Elevator Pitch

Co-Hosts

Brian: @brianjhhong

Jessie: @0xJESSIE_

JW: @pillarbear_

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2EjrWcgasA3AQlYkXFFSV8?si=dd4132dcc2ee436f

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/profile-pictures/id1762620325

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pfppod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ICeZS4bNOphbfDKuTzygy?si=c9c1815d0b5b423e

Youtube: https://youtu.be/5Nt9SV5dqyA

Before fully transitioning into the world of crypto, Sam began his journey as a medical student. In 2017, he co-founded Journal du Coin, which has since become the leading source of French-language news on crypto. Following this success, Sam went on to co-found Node Guardians, now the largest gamified learning platform for smart contract developers.

In this episode, we explore Sam's evolution from co-founding Journal du Coin to launching Node Guardians, his foray into the crypto space and angel investing, the current landscape of the cryptocurrency market, and the critical importance of maintaining a balanced life while working in the fast-paced crypto industry.

Timestamps

00:06 Introduction to Sam from Node Guardians

00:48 Sam’s journey to South Korea

03:57 How Node Guardians aligns with the local culture

06:45 Sam's Journey into the crypto

11:52 Building a crypto media platform in 2017

16:18 The importance of networking and relationships

21:01 Criteria in angel investment

25:41 Lack of demand in crypto

30:54 The dark and bright sides of crypto

33:53 Transitioning from medical student to crypto entrepreneur

35:58 The importance of maintaining balance in life

39:14 The vulnerability of people in crypto

41:52 Expectations for verifiable computing and ZK

43:50 Potential applications of blockchain

45:05 Predictions on the consolidation of DeFi

47:40 Current state of the crypto market

49:52 Preferences for credible systems and L2s

51:00 Node Guardians’ user-focused approach

53:14 Next milestones

56:40 Closing thoughts

Before fully transitioning into the crypto space, Jason Zhao was the youngest Product Manager at Google DeepMind. Now, at 25 years old, he is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Story Protocol, which recently secured $80M in a Series B funding round led by a16z.

Addressing the issue of AI utilizing data without consent and benefiting from it without sharing rewards with original creators, Story is transforming intellectual property into IP Legos—modular and programmable assets that can be licensed, managed, and monetized via blockchain.

Today, we delve into Jason’s journey as the youngest PM at Google Deepmind, his venture into crypto, solving real-world problems through Layer 1 blockchain, the challenges of IP enforcement and protection, his biggest challenge as an entrepreneur, and his ultimate goals.

__________________________________

Timestamps

00:00 Teaser

00:48 Intro

01:04 What is Story?

02:36 How Jason first started Story

02:49 Jason's work as the youngest PM at Google DeepMind

03:20 Recognizing the problem created by AI that blockchain could solve

04:56 How Jason met SY

05:23 How Jason got into crypto

06:15 Libertarianism, socialism, and capitalism of blockchain

07:24 Studying CS and philosophy as an undergrad

09:01 Favorite school of thought

11:46 Representing a company through socials

13:10 Real-world problems that Story is solving

17:35 Who are the power-users of Story

17:44 Story's ecosystem partners from both Web2 and Web3

18:43 Why open source AI is much more important than closed source AI

21:34 Explain Story like I'm five

23:36 How Story wants to become an app store

25:54 What is remixing on Story?

28:08 Addressing potential challenges of IP enforcement

29:40 Multiple layers of IP protection

31:42 Strategy to onboard as much IP as possible

33:46: Why Jason is in Korea

34:25 Why Korea is an important market for Story

36:48 Story's envisioned community

37:58 Tech stack of Story

39:40 Why Layer 1

43:32 Investors' and advisors' reaction when Story transitioned to Layer 1

44:26 Story as a data availability layer or a settlement layer

45:45 Not being an object of an algorithm but a controller and a subject

50:24 Constitution and spontaneous order of a blockchain

53:05 Dispute mechanism and principles of Story

56:53 End goal of Jason

1:00:53 Satisfaction is deeper than hedonistic pleasure

1:03:09 Biggest challenge

01:06:00 Closing Thoughts

__________________________________

[FOLLOW JASON & STORY👇]

• Twitter(X): https://x.com/jasonjzhao

• Twitter(X): https://x.com/StoryProtocol

[FOLLOW PFP PODCAST👇]

• Twitter(X): https://twitter.com/PFPpod

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2EjrWcgasA3AQlYkXFFSV8?si=dd4132dcc2ee436f

[FOLLOW CO-HOSTS👇]

• Brian: https://x.com/brianjhhong

• Jessie: https://x.com/0xJESSIE_

• JW: https://x.com/pillarbear_

__________________________________

[DISCLAIMER]

The information provided herein is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. The content of this video reflects the opinions of the speakers, who are not licensed financial advisors or registered investment advisors. Trading cryptocurrencies carries a significant risk of loss, and the speakers make no guarantees regarding any specific outcomes.

A few years ago, Taek, the CTO of ZeroDev, was expelled from Seoul National University (SNU), often referred to as the Harvard of South Korea. After his expulsion, Taek has since emerged as a top performer at Code4rena, a security researcher at Spearbit, and the CTO of ZeroDev.

Today, we explore Taek’s journey in crypto, the story behind his expulsion from SNU, strategies for generating recurring revenue, the biggest challenges and lessons learned as a CTO of a crypto startup, his advice for security researchers, and his insights on the landscape and interoperability of account abstraction.

[TIMESTAMPES]

0:00 Introduction

0:40 Overview of Zerodev

1:09 Starting in Crypto

2:52 Engineer's Dilemma

4:25 Working as a Security Researcher

6:56 Expelled from Seoul National University

10:34 Joining Zerodev as CTO

16:08 Why Zerodev?

17:29 Account Abstraction & Zerodev's Role

20:50 Interoperability of Account Abstraction

24:33 UX of Account Abstraction

28:36 Getting Married

32:12 Lessons from Being Expelled

32:42 Recurring Income from Code4rena

33:35 Freelancer vs. CTO

35:40 Challenges in a B2B Crypto Startup

38:27 Taek's Mission

39:05 Defining Crypto OGs

39:40 Embedded Accounts

40:56 Predicting the Future of Account Abstraction

42:26 Coinbase’s Strategy

44:32 Major Players in Account Abstraction

45:05 Next Steps

46:08 Motivation

48:47 Advice for Junior Security Researchers

50:18 Closing Thoughts

__________________________________

[FOLLOW TAEK & ZERODEV👇]

• Taek: https://x.com/leekt216

• ZeroDev: https://x.com/zerodev_app

[FOLLOW PFP PODCAST👇]

• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pfppod

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/PFPpod

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2EjrWcgasA3AQlYkXFFSV8?si=dd4132dcc2ee436f

• Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/profile-pictures/id1762620325

[FOLLOW CO-HOSTS👇]

• Brian: https://x.com/brianjhhong

• Jessie: https://x.com/0xJESSIE_

• JW: https://x.com/pillarbear_

__________________________________

[DISCLAIMER]

The information provided herein is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. The content of this video reflects the opinions of the speakers, who are not licensed financial advisors or registered investment advisors. Trading cryptocurrencies carries a significant risk of loss, and the speakers make no guarantees regarding any specific outcomes.