In this episode, I’m joined by Nick Forster, founder ofDerive, a decentralized crypto options exchange. We discuss his journey in launching Derive and his vision for the platform.

We also exchange thoughts on the uniqueness of this market cycle, the impact of Coinbase’s acquisition of Deribit, U.S. regulations, Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, traders’ sentiment aboutBitcoin’s price on Derive, and more.

Nick Forster founded Derive bout 5 years ago. Before that, he worked as an equity options trader at Susquehanna International Group.  He studied mathematics and economics at the St. Paul’s College, University of Sydney.

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00:00 Opening Remarks
00:38 Nick’s Background and Introduction
02:04 Introduction to Derive and How It Differs from Deribit
04:34 Initial Challenges and Hurdles in Launching Derive
06:32 Where Nick Found Tech Talent and Funding
09:08 Competition
10:17 Coinbase’s Acquisition of Deribit and Its Implications
11:20 DEX vs. CEX and Derive’s Target Users
13:57 Tremendous Growth Potential for DEXs
17:15 Addressing Technical Limitations Like Execution Speed
18:43 Ethereum Layer 2 vs. Layer 1
19:41 The Role of AI in DEXs
21:44 U.S. Regulations and their Impact
25:59 U.S. Market vs. Other Markets
27:45 Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
28:38 Where Bitcoin’s Price Is Headed This Cycle
29:45 Is This Cycle Different from Previous Ones?

In this episode of World Ledger, I sit down with Dr. Sam Seo, Chairman of the Kaia DLT Foundation, to discuss the evolution of Kaia Blockchain. Dr. Seo traces the history and challenges of two independent blockchains: Klaytn, launched by South Korea’s Kakao, and Finschia, developed by Japan’s LINE, their decision to merge, and the creation of Kaia.

Kaia leverages the reach of Kakao and LINE, two leading SuperApps in Asia with a combined user base of approximately 250 million. Dr. Seo shares Kaia’s vision, strategies, and tactics for driving Web3 mass adoption after the merge.  We alsoexamine the obstacles to Web3 adoption, strategies to overcome them, and the differing mindset and approaches between U.S. and Asian companies in building Web3 businesses.

Timestamps:

00:00 Opening

01:12 Meet Dr. Sam Seo: Journey into Blockchain and Kaia

03:23 The Birth of Kaia: Merging Klaytn and Finschia

07:55 Comparing Kakao, LINE, Facebook, Telegram, and WeChat

08:51 Post-Merger Restructuring and Positioning

14:21 Applications Building on Kaia

16:54 Improving UI/UX: Private Keys, Gas Fees, and Other Practices

20:30 Kaia’s Strategies to Attract Web2 Users

22:41 Major Hurdles to Web3 Mass Adoption

25:09 Kaia and Stablecoins

26:07 How Kaia Generates Revenue

28:45 Differing Mindsets and Approaches to Web3: U.S. vs. Asia

31:27 Building a New Chain vs. Using Existing Ones

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In this episode, I'm joined by Rachel Lin, CEO of Singapore-based SynFutures, a decentralized derivatives exchange (DEX). 

We dive into the competitive landscape of crypto derivatives and explore both the strength and weakness of centralized and decentralized exchanges and the potential of AI integration with DeFi.  Rachel also offers valuable insights into DeFi regulations, token issuance strategies and RWAs. 

She highlights the dilemma she and her team are facing: on one hand, they aim to uphold their commitment to true Web3 principles—full on-chain operations, transparent trading, and decentralized product listings; on the other hand, they grapple with slow execution times caused by the lengthy block intervals of existing public chains.

She closes with reflections on the unique advantages and hurdles of being a female founder in the blockchain space.

Episode Timestamps:

00:32: Guest Background: From TradFi to Derivatives DEX
01:55: Founding SynFutures
02:30: Decentralized vs. Centralized Exchanges
03:46: How SynFutures Compares to Deribit & dYdX
06:47: Building a Derivatives DEX with the Amazon Model
09:25: Key Challenges for Derivatives DEXs
12:35: Why Product-Market Fit Is Crucial
14:14: AI Integration with DeFi: Hype or Real Impact?
21:44: Real-World Assets (RWA): Potential and Limitations
27:03: Token Issuance: Smart Strategies and Pitfalls to Avoid
29:00: DEX Regulations in particular what the Future Holds for SynFutures in the U.S. and Base’s Verified Pools
31:28: Centralized vs. Decentralized: Strengths, Weaknesses & Lessons from SynFutures
34:03: The Female Founder Experience: Unique Advantages and Challenges

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My X: @keeglobal

In this conversation with Luca Prosperi, Co-founder and CEO of M^0, we discuss how M^0 is helping builders create stablecoins different from most of the existing ones such as Tether and Circle. M^0 is backed by Pantera Capital, Bain Capital, Galaxy Digital, Wintermute, SCB10X, GSR and others.

Follow Luca's blog Dirt Roads: https://dirtroads.substack.com/

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https://worldledger.substack.com/

Timestamps:

00:00: Introduction

00:49: From TradFi to DeFi, from surviving blood cancer to becoming an entrepreneur

03:28: From Maker to M^0, successful fund raise

06:43: Maker‘s innovation and its limitations

07:51: M^0‘s vision and aspiration 

12:23: Use Stripe as an example to illustrate how M^0 works

15:22: Differences between Paxos and M^0

16:54: Clients and real use cases

18:46: Opportunities and challenges with DeFi and traditional companies

20:59: Address counterparty risks of traditional banks

25:14: Real-time attestation of reserves

25:46: Fees, yields, spread

28:14: Embrace regulations and understand their limitations

31:00: Tether and its future

32:34: M^0 and its markets

34:38: MiCA and GENIUS Stablecoin Bill

37:26: Regulations and their potential impact on M^0’s growth

38:08: Closing remarks

No better time than now to take a step back and explore the global economy from a broader perspective. In this engaging new episode, I sit down with Shengbei Guo, CEO of New York-based GSB Podium Advisors, to unpack some of the most critical economic developments shaping the world. With his unique experience spanning the U.S., Japan, and China, Shengbei brings a global lens to these complex topics.

Here is what we cover in this episode:

Converting or swapping assets between Bitcoin and other blockchains has never been easy. Often, people rely on third parties or bridges for assistance. These bridges are typically centralized and operated by a small number of validators, making them vulnerable to hackers and fraud. Moreover, Bitcoin asset owners must relinquish self-custody.

I was joined by Niusha and Mahyar, Co-founders of TeleSwap, to discuss how they conceived the idea of TeleSwap and why they believe they have a better solution. Enjoy our conversation!

Follow Niusha (@__nemo__omen), Mahyar (@mahyar_daneshpajooh) and TeleSwap (@Tele_Swap) on X

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Show Notes:

01:00 Introductions

01:20 Two co-founders’ educational & professional backgrounds

06:21 TeleSwapbusiness concept genesis and development

07:17 Pain points that TeleSwap addresses

10:00 Differences between trustless and centralized bridges;

11:27 Mechanism how TeleSwap works as a trustless bridge

19:36 Expanding TeleSwap's reach

22:09 Meme coins on Bitcoin

24:27 Teleswap’s user profile and hurdles to overcome

33:50 Its competitors

34:39 Investors and backers

36:32 Recommendations for founders in different market cycles

30:00 Their plans for TST

39:44 Future vision, market sentiment, AI

43:10 Closing remarks

Welcome back. I am Coco. BlockchainAsia has been rebranded as World Ledger.

I am excited to share this new podcast episode featuring Xin Yan, co-founder of Sign. We discuss his journey from training as an electrical engineer to co-founding Sign, an omni-chain attestation protocol.

We explore Sign’s product offerings, clients, and revenue model — yes, we talk about how to make money! Xin also shares his vision for Sign and the industry and the company’s fundraising experience, and offers advice for fellow founders.

Founded in 2021, Sign is already profitable! Tim Draper wrote a blank check for the pre-seed round, and Sequoia’s U.S., China, and India entities all participated in its Seed Round. Most recently, Binance’s venture arm led Sign’s $16M Series A round. Notably, Sign does not have a token.

Enjoy our conversation and discover why such prominent investors readily invested in Sign.

01:35 Introduction and launch of the business

03:50 Sign Protocol and Product Offerings – EthSign, SignPass, Token Table

08:21 How EthSign works

14:56 How SignPass works and its clients

17:48 Adoption of blockchain technology and its impact on developing countries

21:02 Examples of EthSign users

22:44 Sign’s business model

23:42 Token Table’s business model in detail

26:49 How Token Table can help improve airdrop mechanism

28:24 The role of Token Table in global markets outside of crypto

32:17 The dynamics of different roles played by Sign Protocol and Token Table

34:02 Target markets

34:37 Fundraising journey from pre-seed to seed to Series A

36:45 Advice for fellow founders

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I officially launched BlockchainAsia Podcast in February 2024. Since then, I have interviewed eight insightful guests from the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

These include the former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, two C-suite executives of Taiwanese companies that deliver real-world use cases of blockchain, the founder of a Web3 incubator in Hong Kong, a partner from a VC Fund headquartered in Singapore, the Founder and CEO of Malaysia’s first

I've collected some highlights to showcase these engaging conversations.

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The information in the podcast is for educational and informational purposes only, not investment or financial advice, and the speakers' views are their own.

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Many people still remember Silicon Valley Bank's sudden collapse affected a significant number of technology companies, including the stablecoin platform Circle, which had $3.3 billion in cash reserves deposited at SVB.

In this episode, I sit down with Ken Wilcox to understand the root causes of Silicon Valley Bank’s downfall and some lingering questions, e.g. why all the lines of defense failed, and why regulators were not more forceful despite being aware of the warning signs.

Ken Wilcox was the CEO of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) from 2001 to 2011, then the CEO of SVB's joint venture with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB-SVB) in Shanghai until 2015, followed by four years as its Vice Chairman.

He is the author of "Leading Through Culture: How Real Leaders Create Cultures That Motivate People to Achieve Great Things" and The China Business Conundrum (Wiley, 2024)

Ken’s Substack Musing on the Middle Kingdom and More

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Show notes

-Introduction

-Understanding loan-to-deposit ratio

-Impact of COVID-19 on Silicon Valley Bank

-Problem of excess Deposits

-Long-term Treasury Bonds

-Bank run and social media

-Reflections on failures across all lines of defense

-Importance of banking culture and risk control

-Alternatives to Silicon Valley Bank and the joint venture in Shanghai

-Conclusion and new book announcement