Unlayered

We catch up with Austin, Head of Strategy at Solana Foundation and former Head of Communications at Solana Labs. In particular, we focus on how Solana continues to differentiate itself from a fast-growing array of challenger blockchain ecosystems with token extensions. We also chat about Solana's emphasis on grassroots growth over top-down business development approaches and how Solana positions itself across a variety of strategic sub sectors within the emergent crypto economy. A great overview from the perspective of one of Solana's most prominent voices.

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Time Stamps

0:00 - Business Development strategy

5:18 - Token Extensions program

7:55 - Why build app chains anymore?

10:06 - Native L1 private transactions

14:03 - Unlocking on-chain payments

17:05 - Why Coinbase ignores Solana

19:05 - DePIN achieving PMF

24:53 - The rise of Solana-based games

30:50 - Unlocking the abundance of NFTs through compression

33:01 - Mobile strategy

38:06 - L1 governance

40:42 - Maintaining fast updates alongside decentralization  

44:12 - Surviving state-level attacks

49:57 - Human coordination is the final boss?

55:59 - What is Austin excited about?

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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 Austin : https://Twitter.com/AustinFedera

Follow Validated : https://Twitter.com/ValidatedPod

Matty is the man behind some of the biggest hackathons in all of crypto (such as Grizzlython and Hyperdrive among many others). He recently left his role as Head of Growth at Solana Foundation to build Colosseum, an organization dedicated to running Solana-centric hackathons with a built-in accelerator for select winners. Throughout this episode, we get into the nitty gritty of why hackathons have historically produced some of Solana's best projects (Tensor and STEPN for example) and how aspiring founders can best position themselves for success.

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Time Stamps

(0:00) - What is Colosseum?

(6:11) - IRL vs online hackathons

(12:00) - Why YC was superior to incubators

(15:27) - Matty’s journey before Colosseum

(18:53) - Solana projects that got their start in hackathons

(22:21) - Selecting Hackathon winners

(28:15) - Finding world changing ideas

(39:50) - Rising focus on mobile

(44:14) - Advice to builders

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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 Matty : https://Twitter.com/MattyTay

Follow Colosseum : https://Twitter.com/ColosseumOrg

In this special episode, we feature a debate of sorts between ZenLlama of Monad who's representing integrated blockchains and Dino of Fluent Labs who's representing modular blockchains. We start by defining terms relevant to both architectures and making analogies to the non-crypto world. We then evaluate the tradeoffs of both approaches with an emphasis on the design decisions Fluent and Monad each make in their quest for scalability. This episode is a great way to get a 10,000ft view of how these dominant ideologies work in practice.

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Time Stamps

(0:00) - Modular / monolithic terminology

(5:08) - Real world analogues 

(18:10) - Similarities to edge computing

(23:11) - Does modularism discourage composability?

(28:18) - Does monolithic ossification slow innovation?

(33:09) - What will drive on-chain demand

(46:12) - Content curation in decentralized systems

(47:43) - Do modular costs outweigh benefits

(57:24) - Modular and integrated designs converging  

(1:01:04) - Examining crypto case studies

(1:08:05) - Where does value accrue

(1:08:58) - Fluent and Monad overview

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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 Zen : https://Twitter.com/Zen_Llama

Follow Dino : https://Twitter.com/0xDinoEggs

Monad : https://Monad.xyz

Fluent : https://FluentLabs.xyz

Bartosz is a man on a mission to right the right the wrongs of centralized exchanges like FTX. His approach to building Cube blends the UI/UX benefits of using a CEX with the security gurantees of onchain settlement. Throughout this interview we dig into the intricacies of making this ambitious vision of creating a "tamper-proof CEX" a reality, covering topics like Cube's tech stacks, the current CEX competitive landscape, and their go-to-market strategy.

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Time Stamps

(0:00) - Reinventing CEX custody

(5:05)- Hybrid centralization model

(8:30) - CEX market landscape

(14:11) - Binance’s popularity

(17:26) - FTX-inspired motivation

(21:14) - Navigating regulations 

(24:27) - MPC wallets

(32:08) - Forking the SVM

(35:12) - Go-To-Market strategy

(39:32) - User Interface innovations

(41:41) - Advice for founders

(43:47) - Jupiter preparations 

(44:57) - Testing the product

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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 Bartosz : https://twitter.com/baalazamon

Cube Exchange : https://Cube.Exchange

0xJaypeg has been a fast-growing account in crypto Twitter over the past few months. We chat about a variety of topics that he's been commenting on such as ETH vs. SOL, NFT markets, token extensions, and predictions for 2024.

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Time Stamps

(0:00) - What’s Eth’s narrative?

(10:43) - NFT market prospects

(19:02) - Solana token extensions

(26:51) - How Larry Fink will tokenize the world

(29:19) - Portfolio allocation

(39:00) - NFTs Vs Memecoins

(49:11) - Coinbase end game

(54:20) - 2024 predictions

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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 0xjaypeg : https://twitter.com/0xJaypeg

This new episode format features a more casual conversation between Sal and Dave catching up on the latest topics in the crypto/Solana sphere. Today, we hone in on the state of memecoins, review Solana's Saga phone, talk about the points meta and why it's actually a good thing, and close things off with some $JUP airdrop commentary.

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Time Stamps

(0:00) - Memecoin Mania

(4:30) - Saga Success

(18:05) - DePIN starting to awaken

(26:30) - Points Meta

(39:07) - $JUP biggest airdrop ever?

(48:27) - Spotting the cycle top

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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

A Novel Framework for Reputation-Based Systems: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/reputation-based-systems/

Preorder the Saga (Chapter 2): solanamobile.com/refer/salxyz

Sal and Dave chat up with Karol, co-founder and lead developer of Bonkbot. In the last 2 months, Bonkbot has cemented itself as one of the top Telegram trading bots in the world, processing over $1B in swaps and earning over $10M in fees. Throughout this interview we learn about Bonkbot’s origin story, the delicate balance Bonkbot makes between security and UX, what it’s like to build crypto apps in Telegram, Bonkbot’s relationship with $BONK, and what the future of trading interfaces for retail looks like. Tons of insights packed into this interview with one of the top Telegram trading applications in the world.

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Time Stamps

(0:00) - Bonkbot’s recent growth

(6:30) - Building on Telegram

(12:51) - The rise of trading bots

(18:53) - Balancing security with UX

(27:15) - Bonk more than just a meme?

(25:15) - Working alongside Bonk team

(37:57) - Future of AI and crypto

(42:27) - Competition and building moats

(45:49) - Future of Bonkbot

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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 Karol : https://twitter.com/FutureKarol

Austin is a liquid/venture investor who previously was a partner at Coinfund and has recently launched his own fund, Relayer Capital. Throughout this discussion, Sal and Austin chat about crypto infrastructure, the bull case for chains like Avalanche, DePIN projects, and how identity primitives might change with the emergence of AI. We also touch on some of Austin's predictions for 2024.

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Time Stamps

(0:00) - Thesis behind Relayer Capital

(6:40) - How do devs choose ecosystems

(8:40) - Why bullish on Sol at the bottom

(15:45) - Alt parallelised chains

(20:06) - Modular narrative underappreciation

(25:15) - Onchain identity

(33:41) - Future of DePIN

(46:51) - 2024 predictions 

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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 Austin : https://twitter.com/AustinBarack

We close out 2023 chopping it up with Ansem (aka the King of Retail & LeBron of Solana). Throughout this riveting conversation, we unpack what's been happening in the Solana memecoin landscape, upcoming airdrops, big narratives for 2024, the future of L1s, and Ansem's process for finding good trades + alpha in an increasingly noisy market. You don't want to miss this one.

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Time Stamps

(0:00) - Sourcing Alpha

(4:17) - Solana’s memecoin mania

(9:50) - Airdrop season 

(16:24) - Rotating between L1s

(20:01) - What is Eth’s narrative?

(26:00) - Eth’s security meme

(29:50) - Biggest themes for next cycle

(34:15) - Future of L1s

(37:13) - NFT Inscriptions

(41:27) - Predicting the market top

(47:06) - Spicy 2024 predictions

(55:00) - How to stay grounded

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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/

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

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Episode Resources

Follow Ansem : https://twitter.com/blknoiz06

How is Solana so cheap AND fast? What sorcery is at play with Solana's fee markets, and what still needs to be fixed. We brought on two of the world's best experts on this topic, Jon Charb and Zen Llama, to dive into the world of Solana fee markets and how they differ from ETH + L2s. We also discuss the implications of fees on validator economics and value accrual to the $SOL token. A very insightful, albeit technical, topic.

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