Web3Unchained

In this episode of Web3Unchained, we sit down with Aniket Jindal, Co-Founder of Biconomy, as he shares his journey into the Web3 space and the qualities that define successful Web3 founders. Aniket discusses the dynamics of bear markets, the critical role of community management, and why user experience (UX) is key to the success of blockchain technology.

Biconomy is a multi-chain relay infrastructure and transaction network designed to make Web3 more user-friendly, accessible, and affordable. Aniket walks us through the challenges of crypto adoption, and how Biconomy is simplifying the user experience to make it easier for anyone to interact with decentralized applications. The team’s vision is to remove barriers that hinder the mass adoption of blockchain technology.

Aniket also shares pivotal lessons from Biconomy’s growth, from Polygon adoption to the importance of staying connected with customers. His insights provide a fresh perspective on building products that bridge the gap between the complexities of Web3 and the everyday user.

In this episode of Web3Unchained, we sit down with Beryl Li, Co-Founder of Yield Guild Games (YGG)—the largest decentralized network of gaming guilds in the Web3 space. Beryl takes us through her unique journey into Web3, sharing her insights on how guilds are reshaping the future of blockchain gaming, and how education and community play a crucial role in driving the adoption of blockchain technology.

YGG has revolutionized the gaming landscape, offering a platform that connects both gamers and blockchain enthusiasts while focusing on Web3 education and blockchain games. As the guild continues to grow, Beryl highlights the significance of native tokens in enabling decentralized gaming ecosystems, and the intricacies of managing such a vast and decentralized community.

Beryl's leadership in the Web3 space has earned her significant recognition. She’s been named one of J.P. Morgan's Top 100 Women-Powered Businesses in the Asia-Pacific region and is part of the inaugural cohort of Technology Pioneers and Unicorns at the World Economic Forum. Her journey serves as an inspiration, particularly for women-of-color founders navigating the Web3 world.

In this episode of Web3Unchained, we speak with Ryan Sungho Kim, a Partner at Hashed, a leading blockchain firm in Asia. Ryan specializes in Web3 investments across Asia, focusing on applications, corporate finance, and enterprise solutions.

Before joining Hashed, Ryan successfully exited his company, LOOKET—a mobile solution for SMEs—selling it to Recobell, a big data company. His work on developing recommendation systems in his previous venture revealed deep vulnerabilities in the data space, which ultimately led him to explore blockchain technology. This passion for decentralized solutions played a pivotal role in his decision to co-found Hashed.

Founded in 2017 by a team of serial entrepreneurs and engineers, Hashed has grown into the preeminent blockchain firm in Asia, with a diverse portfolio spanning the globe. Ryan shares his vision for the future of blockchain, explaining, "We saw an opportunity for blockchain to not only reinvent the global financial system, but the very fabric of the internet itself. This is one of the most consequential moments in human history—a chance to overlay the power of digital networks onto human ones, and to usher in a future where technology empowers individuals, not the other way around."

In this episode of Web3Unchained, hosts Kenzi Nakamura, Sachi Tanaka, and Diksha Mehra chat with Jiho about his early days in the Web3 space, and the journey of building Axie Infinity and Sky Mavis with co-founders Trung Nguyen, Tu Doan, Aleksander Larsen, and Andy Ho. Jiho reflects on the early challenges of building in a bear market—when they were “small and unrecognized” but still confident in their vision, team, and community.

A central theme of their journey was creating a Web3 community that not only rewarded technical knowledge but also encouraged learning. Jiho sums up their founding principle: “Something that can play into childhood nostalgia is going to be a compelling way to educate people on Web3.”

As the conversation progresses, Jiho dives into some of the biggest lessons from Axie Infinity’s growth, including working with the community on managing expectations around product features. One of his key insights is: “How do you turn your community into your best evangelists? How do you have them doing the things that are most beneficial for the network, which ultimately benefits everybody? Understanding aligned incentives, different economic models, and the cold start problem is crucial for Web3 startups.”

Today, Axie Infinity is one of the largest Play2Earn NFT games in the crypto space. Recently, Sky Mavis closed a $152 million Series B round, bringing the company's valuation to a staggering $3 billion.

In this episode, Yat Siu, Co-Founder of Animoca Brands, takes us through his fascinating journey from aspiring musician to tech entrepreneur and Web3 pioneer. From his early days writing software on his Atari ST in the 1980s to his ventures that shaped the digital landscape, Yat’s story is a testament to innovation and perseverance.

Coming from a family of musicians, Yat initially trained to be a musician. However, his passion for technology led him to create software to read music notations. While it didn’t win him any praise from his teachers, it quickly found an audience, leading to his first entrepreneurial venture. His knack for innovation eventually landed him roles at Atari, Silicon Graphics, and AT&T.

In the late '90s, Yat founded Hong Kong Cybercity, the first free web page and e-mail provider in Asia, later rebranded as Freenation. His foray into Web3 was, therefore, almost destined. In 2014, he co-founded Animoca Brands, a company now known for integrating blockchain and artificial intelligence into gaming and digital products. The key turning point for Animoca was the realization that NFTs enabled true digital ownership of assets—a belief that would drive the company's pivot to blockchain.

Yat explains: “It’s a belief and conviction that came from a theory we had, which is ownership. That’s why we always talked about digital ownership, which eventually became treated as property rights back in 2018. The principle of ownership creates network effects, and as people build and compose on top of it, the system becomes so large and robust that it essentially becomes unstoppable.”

In this episode, we’re joined by Lily Liu, the President of the Solana Foundation and a seasoned entrepreneur and investor in the cryptocurrency space. Lily brings a wealth of experience from her roles as a CFO and operating executive across the US, China, and emerging markets. She is also the Co-Founder of Anagram, part of the founding team of Osmosis, and an advisor to Brave. Previously, she co-founded Earn.com, which was acquired by Coinbase in 2018.

Lily's perspective on blockchain ecosystems is one that challenges traditional views. She believes that blockchain ecosystems are more like cities than companies, emphasizing how decentralized networks thrive when they operate with autonomy and community-driven goals. “Trying to operate a blockchain like a company is where things start and end in terms of being successful in Web3,” she explains.

Tune in to hear Lily's remarkable journey—from initial skepticism to groundbreaking success in the crypto space—and gain valuable insights into how blockchain ecosystems are reshaping the future of decentralized technology.

Polygon’s rise in the world of crypto is nothing short of extraordinary—a true underdog story that has become one of the biggest success tales in the tech industry. In this episode, Jaynti "JD" Kanani, Co-Founder of Polygon, shares his inspiring journey from humble beginnings to building one of the most influential blockchain ecosystems.

At the heart of JD's belief in Web3 is a simple but powerful philosophy: all you need is a laptop and an internet connection to build anything. As JD puts it, “You don’t need to be out there; you don’t have to put your name or face anywhere. You don’t have to go to Stanford or any big college. You don’t even have to go to school to be in Web3, because I see people in smaller villages from India building on Web3.”

In this week’s episode of Web3Unchained, hosts Kenzi Nakamura and Diksha Mehra chat with Illia Polosukhin, Co-Founder of NEAR Protocol, to explore the journey of building a next-gen Layer 1 blockchain. Illia dives deep into the creation of NEAR, its vision for true scalability in Web3, and how the protocol is designed to overcome the challenges of mass adoption.

He also shares his insights on navigating and building through a bear market, offering valuable lessons on staying resilient and focused while the industry faces downturns. Whether you're building an L1 or working in the Web3 ecosystem, this episode provides a fresh perspective on sustainable growth in crypto.

In this episode, Alex Svanevik, Co-Founder of Nansen.ai, takes us through his journey from data scientist to Web3 founder. Alex shares how his background in data science laid the foundation for building Nansen, a powerful on-chain analytics platform that helps users make informed decisions in the world of Web3. He dives into the business model behind Nansen, detailing how the platform combines cutting-edge data insights with user-centric design to scale successfully in the Web3 space.

In this episode of Web3Unchained, Kenzi Nakamura, Sachi Tanaka, and Diksha Mehra speak to Matthew Gould, the CEO of Unstoppable Domains. He discusses building a digital identity-focused Web3 company, what founders need to focus on for fundraising, and why he thinks token funding may be harmful to protocols. Here is a deep dive into the conversation, featuring edited excerpts from the podcast.