The Gwart Show | Blockspace Media

Austin Federa, founder of Double Zero, joins us to talk about building a new internet optimized for blockchain. We dive into how Double Zero uses private fiber networks from trading firms like Jump to reduce jitter and latency for validators, why proof-of-utility beats proof-of-stake for infrastructure, how they secured a rare SEC no-action letter, and the wild token launch that had everyone screaming online.Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com# Notes:• Double Zero has 30% of Solana validators connected• Network has $23 billion in total connected value• Validators pay 5% of block rewards as fees• 50% of revenue is burned, 50% to fiber contributors• Token launched at $0.075, spiked significantly• 7.5% free float, 34% circulating supply at launchTimestamps:00:00 Start02:18 Launching DoubleZero03:37 Layered protocol stack08:00 Partnering w/ high frequency trading firms09:28 Monopolies vs Open Source12:43 What is "jitter"?15:14 Reducing jitter16:58 Current public internet market making18:13 Flash Boys comparison19:57 Fiber quality tiers21:39 Fiber vendors22:28 High quality fiber uses24:01 Fiber is actually 2/3 the speed of light24:51 Fiber uses in TradFi27:20 DoubleZero stakeholders30:00 Fiber bandwidth limits30:50 Opting into DoubleZero33:13 30% of stake weight on Solana34:57 How much faster?36:18 First mover advantage?37:13 Solana MEV & speed37:51 Is DoubleZero a blockchain?40:51 Fees & rewards42:44 Burning tokens44:22 Chain agnostic45:47 $23B in "connected value"?46:51 Holding DoubleZero tokens49:08 Legal & trust design50:25 Validator rug pulls?51:45 Malicious validators53:34 Reasons why firms would NOT use DoubleZero?55:22 Geography matters57:47 Proof of utility59:51 B2B utility token1:02:34 SEC letter1:04:45 Subject framing for the SEC1:08:22 Token sale1:08:58 Token NGU1:10:05 Binance Alpha1:12:09 Online hate a distraction?1:13:18 Initial token float?1:15:15 Token unlock schedule1:16:50 FUD fightingThe Gwart Show is sponsored by Ellipsis Labs: https://www.ellipsislabs.xyz/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facundo Werning, former Tether country manager for Latin America and now at Agora, joins us to talk about his journey from Argentine policy work to the front lines of the stablecoin wars. We dive deep into how stablecoins actually work in emerging markets, why Agora is positioning itself as the credibly neutral alternative to Tether and Circle, the real state of crypto adoption in Argentina, and why traditional banks are about to get completely upended. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com NOTES: • Argentina has more US cash per capita than America • Stablecoin yields hit 10-12% vs banks' 3% in Argentina • Agora shares revenue with partners unlike competitors • $10B in stablecoins = $400M yearly opportunity cost • Tether built dominant last-mile retail distribution Timestamps 00:00 Start 00:29 Who is Facundo? 08:56 Role at Tether 12:09 Argentina & stablecoins 17:40 Daily stablecoin use 21:17 Ellipsis Labs Ad 22:05 What is Agora? 28:13 What is Agroa (simplified)? 30:03 Will Tether be disrupted? 34:42 Stablecoin fragmented liquidity 40:34 Will stablecoins migrate to one chain? 44:25 Hyperliquid 47:24 Treasury companies (DATs) 51:58 Did you say PROFITS? 56:07 Subscribe Ad 56:44 Anacdote 57:55 Javier Milei 59:22 My dad is a central banker 1:01:27 State BTC adoption 1:04:40 Generational BTC trade The Gwart Show is sponsored by Ellipsis Labs, the builders behind Atlas, a blockchain for verifiable finance and Phoenix, an on-chain orderbook DEX with over $50 billion in unincentivized volume.If you’re interested in a mission-driven company, Ellipsis Labs is hiring engineers passionate about crypto and finance to work on Atlas. Learn more and apply on Twitter at @Ellipsis_Labs and @atlasxyz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Christoph explains why MicroStrategy can't be replicated, DATs are doomed, and crypto markets are more efficient than people think. Plus: Celestia's inflation problem, Ethena's systemic risks, and why Hyperliquid nailed their stablecoin strategy. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com NOTES: • MicroStrategy's structure makes it impossible to blow up • DATs trading at discounts lack restart mechanisms • Ethereum staking yields ~40 bps after inflation/taxes • Celestia's inflation driving price toward zero • Ethena's depeg could trigger cascade in Pendle/Aave • Hyperliquid has ~$10B USDC bridged, negotiating revenue split Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:27 Who is James Christoph? 00:49 Solana treasury companies 04:18 Tom Lee memory hole 05:42 ETH is for stablecoins :) jk 08:04 Bitmine & Sharplink Gaming 10:31 Tom Lee invested in a "fund of DATs" wat? 12:03 DATs & yield 14:29 Ok, define arbitrage? 17:03 Liquid staking tokens are stupid 20:20 Addicted to yield 24:05 Exotic derivatives 27:24 Bitcoin as a benchmark 35:03 ETH, silly silly ETH 39:58 Hyperliquid 43:50 Decentralization doesn't matter, sorry 48:26 Celestia - The Modular Blockchain TM 55:01 Athena 59:06 Fed interest rates 59:39 Circle 1:00:27 USDH The Gwart Show is sponsored by Ellipsis Labs, the builders behind Atlas, a blockchain for verifiable finance and Phoenix, an on-chain orderbook DEX with over $50 billion in unincentivized volume. If you’re interested in a mission-driven company, Ellipsis Labs is hiring engineers passionate about crypto and finance to work on Atlas. Learn more and apply on Twitter at @Ellipsis_Labs and @atlasxyz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mallesh, formerly Special Mechanisms Group and Rice University joins us to talk about his move to Tempo, Stripe's new payments-first blockchain.We dive into why they built another L1, multi-stablecoin architecture, MEV challenges in payments, with credible neutrality Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: • Tempo is designed for fast finality payments • Stablecoin agnostic w/ AMM • Reserved block space for payment txns • Cross-border wire transfers are still broken for traditional systems Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:25 Who is Mallesh? 01:50 Special Mechanisms Group 03:49 Consensys 05:34 Tempo 08:14 Advantages of Tempo 10:36 Specific Tempo designs 13:58 Fungible stablecoins 14:44 Tether & economies of scale 18:14 Validator set 22:45 Payments Only blockspace 25:51 Mallesh's title 26:58 Products 28:36 Tempo AMM 30:33 Remittance use case 35:16 International transfers & corespondent banks 41:26 Are banks cooked? 43:30 Why a new Layer 1? 48:08 Credible neutrality 50:36 Crypto Twitter is now the kiddie pool 54:45 The future of proof of Stake is... trust 1:04:03 MEV memory hole The Gwart Show is sponsored by Ellipsis Labs, the builders behind Atlas, a blockchain for verifiable finance and Phoenix, an on-chain orderbook DEX with over $50 billion in unincentivized volume. If you’re interested in a mission-driven company, Ellipsis Labs is hiring engineers passionate about crypto and finance to work on Atlas. Learn more and apply on Twitter at @Ellipsis_Labs and @atlasxyz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eric Yakes, venture capitalist at Epoch Ventures, joins us to talk about Bitcoin's path from digital gold to banking system integration. We dive deep into his 130-page report on Bitcoin banking, stablecoin dynamics as Trojan horses for Bitcoin adoption, and why he believes we're heading toward a hybrid financial system that bridges traditional finance with crypto innovation. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com NOTES: • Bitcoin lending market could 4x from 50 to 200 basis points • Trading volumes may increase 17x in next 5 years • Tether holds about 5% of reserves in Bitcoin • Bitcoin could reach $100 trillion market cap • SAB 121 repeal opens banks to crypto custody • 32,000 pounds lost in Scottish free banking century Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:41 Eric's background 11:27 Bitcoin Venture Funding 15:51 Medium of exchange 22:20 Reducing the monetary premium in other assets? 26:03 Bitcoin Banking 31:34 Bitcoin Bank Integration Model 35:45 Stablecoins 38:11 Disrupting Banking 47:57 Ellipsis Labs 48:57 Stablecoin Yield as Staking 51:49 Stablecoins: Winner take all? 53:32 Dollar Derivatives 56:32 Stablecoins vs Bitcoin 1:06:22 Money Velocity 1:14:56 Build on Bitcoin 1:24:44 Gaming 1:28:47 Predicyions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rory Murray, Director of Digital Asset Management at Cleanspark, joins us to discuss his journey from global macro investing to leading Bitcoin mining operations, the Griid acquisition, cost structures, hedging strategies, and how the business is evolving into a hybrid energy‑finance powerhouse. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: Clean Spark: “America’s Bitcoin miner” Margins shrink toward zero over cycles Hedging via covered calls at $65K Power contracts lock in multi‑million deals Bitcoin used as collateral for loans Goal: monetize megawatts, not just hash Timestamps: 00:00 Start 04:38 GRIID role 14:36 Managing BTC treasury 20:21 HODL strategy 24:09 Ellipsis Labs 25:10 Miners vs Treasury Companies 33:22 Miners could be better treasury companies 55:14 What is "cost to mine 1 BTC"? 58:50 Miners will fail 1:04:16 Future miner income diversity 👋 Watch on your podcast player of choice! Apple http://tiny.cc/e7wuwz Spotify https://tinyurl.com/aj3ymv6h RSS http://tiny.cc/wbwuwz YouTube https://tinyurl.com/4kwhu4s7 The Gwart Show is sponsored by Ellipsis Labs, the builders behind Atlas, a blockchain for verifiable finance and Phoenix, an on-chain orderbook DEX with over $50 billion in unincentivized volume. If you're interested in a mission-driven company, Ellipsis Labs is hiring engineers passionate about crypto and finance to work on Atlas. Learn more and apply on Twitter at @Ellipsis_Labs and @atlasxyz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce joins us to talk about the evolving crypto regulatory landscape—from the Clarity Act and the Howey test to protocol ownership, governance tokens, and the challenges of MEV. She shares insider perspectives on market‑structure bills, self‑custody, and what regulators really care about in decentralized finance. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: Fit‑21 introduced market‑structure framework. Clarity Act pending in House & Senate. SEC can use existing authority for interim rules. Token offerings lack suitable registration exemptions. Governance tokens may or may not be securities. MEV remains a regulatory gray area. Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:32 Market structure bills 02:22 Securities vs commodities 06:33 Why wasn't the SEC process working? 08:39 Protocols are just a set of rules 12:21 Smart contract & multisig structures 16:30 Token distribution matters 18:45 Other factors for designation 21:36 Ellipsis Labs 22:37 Custody 26:08 Bridges & multisig 27:57 Memecoins 32:38 Lobbying & education 42:22 Tokenizing equities 44:19 Governance tokens 48:56 Self custody of tokenized equities 51:47 MEV 52:59 Single sequencer 👋 Watch on your podcast player of choice! Apple http://tiny.cc/e7wuwz Spotify https://tinyurl.com/aj3ymv6h RSS http://tiny.cc/wbwuwz YouTube https://tinyurl.com/4kwhu4s7 The Gwart Show is sponsored by Ellipsis Labs, the builders behind Atlas, a blockchain for verifiable finance and Phoenix, an on-chain orderbook DEX with over $50 billion in unincentivized volume. If you're interested in a mission-driven company, Ellipsis Labs is hiring engineers passionate about crypto and finance to work on Atlas. Learn more and apply on Twitter at @Ellipsis_Labs and @atlasxyz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anatoly from Solana joins us to talk about the recently launched Seeker phone and its strategy to break Apple/Google's 30% monopoly through crypto-native distribution. We dive deep into Hyperliquid's centralized matching engine vs Solana's decentralized approach, Bitcoin as digital gold vs investment, the meme coin phenomenon, and why hardware might be key to building alternative app ecosystems. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com NOTES: • Seeker sold 150K units targeting crypto users • Apple/Google charge 3000 basis points (30%) • Spreads dropped from 5bp to sub-2bp in a year • Hyperliquid has 30K daily active traders • Bitcoin works same at $10K or $100K price • 1% terminal inflation rate discussion Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:23 SOL Secret Phone 02:31 Replacing App Stores 04:29 User migration 06:42 Why mkae hardware 08:52 Spending resources on phone dev 09:36 Hyperliquid's effect on Solana 11:12 Perp Dex on Solana? 19:30 Centralized coordinators galore! 24:39 Solana narratives 27:59 Censorship resistance, no, seriously... 36:20 Memecoin chain or not? 37:27 Tether can print unlimited tokens 41:33 Solana slashing 43:02 Special snowflake BTC 53:03 Tokenomics of SOL 58:05 SOL treasury companies 1:02:00 SOL treasury company risks 1:04:17 Base is an L1, deal with it 1:05:44 Base vs SOL 1:08:20 Memecoin supply Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to The Gwart Show! Today, Benedict Brady, former quant trader and founder of Meridian joins us to talk about Solana's dark pool ecosystem, Jupiter's market dominance, the move from traditional AMMs to sophisticated trading infrastructure, MEV wars, and how his AI-powered trading assistant is changing crypto trading interfaces. Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:19 Benedict intro 02:32 Solana focused work 05:14 Solana market evolution 13:03 RFQ vs Dark AMM 15:24 Partial RFQ Fills 17:17 Dark AMMs in practice 19:58 Define "Dark" 23:46 Why Jupyter? 27:45 Dark AMM big unlock? 30:19 Deep thoughts... 32:14 Are Solana spreads tight? 36:02 Wintermute 37:19 Why the secrecy? 40:01 Hello MEV, my old friend 45:26 Gwart the Bitcoin Maxi (or not) 49:23 SOL vs ETH 52:44 App sequencing 55:33 Perp DEX is actually an L2 58:35 BAM 59:36 Permissionless building 1:04:29 Meridian 1:07:11 LLM trading 1:09:27 AI + Crypto killer apps 👋 Watch on your podcast player of choice! Apple http://tiny.cc/e7wuwz Spotify https://tinyurl.com/aj3ymv6h RSS http://tiny.cc/wbwuwz YouTube https://tinyurl.com/4kwhu4s7 The Gwart Show is sponsored by Ellipsis Labs, the builders behind Atlas, a blockchain for verifiable finance and Phoenix, an on-chain orderbook DEX with over $50 billion in unincentivized volume. If you're interested in a mission-driven company, Ellipsis Labs is hiring engineers passionate about crypto and finance to work on Atlas.Learn more and apply on Twitter at @Ellipsis_Labs and @atlasxyz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to The Gwart Show! Today, Alex B from Ark Labs joins us to talk about the Ark protocol and Arkade implementation - a Bitcoin layer 2 that uses transaction batching and virtual UTXOs to scale Bitcoin beyond Lightning. We explore how Ark competes with roll-ups, enables Bitcoin capital markets, and could transform Lightning's UX while maintaining self-custody. Alex explains the technical innovations, use cases from payments to lending, and why this could be Bitcoin's answer to Ethereum's scaling solutions. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com NOTES: • Phoenix wallet charges 0.4% per transaction • Bitcoin market cap reached $2 trillion • Roll-ups rely on bridge security assumptions • Ark enables unlimited swap throughput Chapters: 00:00 Start 01:03 What is Ark? 13:34 Sequencers 16:15 Why rollups? 23:47 Security Counsel 28:17 Ellipsis Labs 29:18 EVM vs Ark 35:41 Arkade's killer app 51:30 Bitcoin payments 1:02:17 All innovation comes back to Bitcoin 1:12:12 Fragmented liquidity 1:15:35 Open source 1:19:42 Wen Arkade beta? 👋 Watch on your podcast player of choice! Apple http://tiny.cc/e7wuwz Spotify https://tinyurl.com/aj3ymv6h RSS http://tiny.cc/wbwuwz YouTube https://tinyurl.com/4kwhu4s7 The Gwart Show is sponsored by Ellipsis Labs, the builders behind Atlas, a blockchain for verifiable finance and Phoenix, an on-chain orderbook DEX with over $50 billion in unincentivized volume. If you're interested in a mission-driven company, Ellipsis Labs is hiring engineers passionate about crypto and finance to work on Atlas. Learn more and apply on Twitter at @Ellipsis_Labs and @atlasxyz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Felix Jauvin, Macro Economist and host of Forward Guidance podcast, joins us to talk about the regime shift from monetary to fiscal dominance, why Bitcoin and risk assets are hitting all-time highs despite high interest rates, the treasury company revolution led by MicroStrategy, and why "hyper gambling your way to wealth" has become a rational strategy in our current economic environment. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com **Notes:** • US running 7% GDP deficit during full employment • Bitcoin at ATH despite 5% interest rates • MicroStrategy's 0% coupon convertible bonds • Stablecoins can't pass yield to holders • Treasury companies trading above NAV • Fiscal dominance replacing monetary policy Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:50 Felix background 01:57 TradFi history 05:51 Current market outlook 11:48 10 yr prediction 16:37 Firing the Fed Chairman 21:29 Stablecoins 26:47 Long degens, short society 29:09 Where's my altcoin summer! 32:08 Elipsis Labs 33:09 Hyperliquid 38:21 Place your bets or eat bugs, you choose 44:40 Remember Etherium... what happened to those guys? 48:34 A black hole for capital = NGU 55:27 MSTR failure state 59:22 management teams 1:01:57 Discount to NAV, harbinger of death 1:04:11 Advice for plebs 👋 Enjoy the clip? Click below to listen on a podcasting app! Apple http://tiny.cc/e7wuwz Spotify https://tinyurl.com/aj3ymv6h RSS http://tiny.cc/wbwuwz YouTube https://tinyurl.com/4kwhu4s7 👋 The Gwart Show is proudly presented by Ellipsis Labs! Ellipsis Labs is building foundational products in DeFi. Their first product @PhoenixTrade is the leading orderbook DEX on Solana. The team is growing—visit ellipsislabs.xyz for engineering opportunities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FILL OUT THE SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE Welcome back to The Gwart Show! Today, Josh Lim from FalconX joins us to talk about the massive boom in corporate crypto treasury vehicles. We talk about how these deals work, from management teams and investment bankers structuring vehicles to raise capital, to the 45-60 day liquidity windows and 2-6x NAV premiums investors are seeing. Josh explains the Michael Saylor playbook, yield strategies, and whether this trend is sustainable or headed for a crash. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: • Treasury vehicles see 45-60 day liquidity windows • Some trade at 2-6x NAV premiums currently   • $4 billion new Bitcoin vehicle announced recently • Circle IPO traded at $230 per share peak • MicroStrategy model being widely replicated • 3-5 month timeline for SPAC conversions Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:46 Josh's background & FalconX 03:12 Arbelos Markets 04:03 Market overview 07:03 Digital asset treasury companies 11:07 Starting a treasury vehicle company 12:36 Hostile takeovers? 16:06 Deal structure 21:17 LOL "Management team" 23:09 ROI for investors 26:56 What's a healthy multiple? 28:19 Copy/Paste Strategy 29:32 Yield strategies 32:02 How does this fail? 35:40 Premium longevity 38:10 Out "Sayloring" Saylor, c'mon bro? 41:26 Alt Season go bye bye? 46:06 Trading on-chain, relic of the past? 49:30 24/7 trading 50:57 Prediction markets 53:24 Gwart's take on treasury companies 54:49 Josh's optimistic take 56:19 Circle IPO 57:29 Degen's gonna degen 59:05 Wrap 👋 Enjoy the clip? Click below to listen on a podcasting app! Apple http://tiny.cc/e7wuwz Spotify https://tinyurl.com/aj3ymv6h RSS http://tiny.cc/wbwuwz YouTube https://tinyurl.com/4kwhu4s7 👋 The Gwart Show is proudly presented by Ellipsis Labs! Ellipsis Labs is building foundational products in DeFi. Their first product @PhoenixTrade is the leading orderbook DEX on Solana. The team is growing—visit ellipsislabs.xyz for engineering opportunities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FILL OUT THE SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE Welcome back to The Gwart Show! Today, Christopher Goes, early Ethereum contributor and IBC protocol creator, joins us to talk about why Ethereum failed as a world computer, the organizational chaos at Cosmos (including a CEO who declared himself Jesus), privacy solutions like Narmada, intent-based systems, and how crypto shifted from idealistic public goods to pure attention-driven capitalism. Follow our guest on Twitter! @cwgoes Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: • Cosmos Hub generates zero revenue still • Bitcoin was $1 when Goes started mining • Anoma synthesizes Ethereum, Cosmos, Zcash • Wyvern protocol was OpenSea's backup • IBC connects all Cosmos chains today • Signal adoption shows privacy step functions Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:57 CW background 04:41 Early days of Ethereum 08:17 Cosmos 09:56 IBC protocol 10:16 Cosmos: God, Bad & Ugly 14:09 App chain thesis 15:17 Anoma 21:19 Intent-centric design 24:08 Ellipsis Labs 25:09 Namada 26:35 Goal of Namada 28:46 Anonymity set 30:44 Open ledgers vs privacy 36:15 Traders want privacy 37:20 Blockchains & the surveillance state 38:51 Evolution of ETH theory 42:48 ETH fails at "global computer" 45:02 Source of failure 47:37 L1 vs L2 scaling 51:30 The state of interoperability 59:02 People following incentives 1:03:34 Innovation fragmentation 👋 Enjoy the clip? Click below to listen on a podcasting app! Apple http://tiny.cc/e7wuwz Spotify https://tinyurl.com/aj3ymv6h RSS http://tiny.cc/wbwuwz YouTube https://tinyurl.com/4kwhu4s7 👋 The Gwart Show is proudly presented by Ellipsis Labs! Ellipsis Labs is building foundational products in DeFi. Their first product @PhoenixTrade is the leading orderbook DEX on Solana. The team is growing—visit ellipsislabs.xyz for engineering opportunities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FILL OUT THE SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE Welcome back to The Gwart Show! Today, Carl Dong, founder of Obscura VPN and former Bitcoin Core developer at Chain Code Labs, joins us to talk about his transition from Bitcoin development to building privacy infrastructure. We discuss his work on reproducible builds, supply chain security, the funding dynamics of Bitcoin development, and why he created the first multi-hop VPN that eliminates single points of trust. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Timestamps: 00:00 Start 01:09 Carl's professional background 02:54 Personal background 07:50 Open source vs product dev 18:14 Chaincode's influence 23:05 Ellipsis Labs 24:06 Funding open source work 30:21 Obscura VPN 36:07 The state of TOR 40:30 VPN user base 45:10 Easy personal privacy steps 47:57 Privacy in Bitcoin 53:21 Simplicity 58:02 Innovations from the "crypto" space 1:00:21 Wrap up 👋 Enjoy the clip? Click below to listen on a podcasting app! Apple http://tiny.cc/e7wuwz Spotify https://tinyurl.com/aj3ymv6h RSS http://tiny.cc/wbwuwz YouTube https://tinyurl.com/4kwhu4s7 Newsletter https://blockspace.media/newsletter/ 👋 The Gwart Show is proudly presented by Ellipsis Labs! Ellipsis Labs is building foundational products in DeFi. Their first product @PhoenixTrade is the leading orderbook DEX on Solana. The team is growing—visit ellipsislabs.xyz for engineering opportunities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FILL OUT THE SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE Welcome back to The Gwart Show! Today, Robert Chang, crypto trader and prolific Twitter shitposter, joins us to talk about his wild ride through crypto's highs and lows - from being a Luna lunatic to losing everything on Hyperliquid, navigating AI agent metas, getting rugged by VCs stealing his ideas, and why internet capital markets might just be elaborate poker chips with better marketing. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com • Luna looping strategy led to total account loss • Hyperliquid refunded liquidation due to oracle issues   • AI agent tokens hit incredible market caps in 2024 • Worm project went from idea to 4M market cap • A16Z agent reached peak before January market top • Most crypto VCs are "incredibly stupid" mercenaries Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:24 Robert's background 01:20 Working in crypto 05:11 Lately 07:07 Traders vs users 11:07 Hyperliquid early days 13:10 Markets recently 15:05 Bigger names enter market 16:27 Current market 20:50 AI agents 22:48 WORM 26:12 WORM goes to zero 28:47 Elipsis Labs 29:48 VCs sniping ideas 32:43 ICM 36:08 ICM (this time is different) 44:05 AI16z value proposition? 47:15 Base 50:05 The future 54:15 Bullish VC coins? 58:28 Alliance DAO 1:01:28 Bullish on what? 1:04:32 Ryan Park 1:07:28 ETH (don't call it a comeback) 1:08:23 BTC is mid 1:09:16 Wrap up 👋 Enjoy the clip? Click below to listen on a podcasting app! Apple http://tiny.cc/e7wuwz Spotify https://tinyurl.com/aj3ymv6h RSS http://tiny.cc/wbwuwz YouTube https://tinyurl.com/4kwhu4s7 Newsletter https://blockspace.media/newsletter/ 👋 The Gwart Show is proudly presented by Ellipsis Labs! Ellipsis Labs is building foundational products in DeFi. Their first product @PhoenixTrade is the leading orderbook DEX on Solana. The team is growing—visit ellipsislabs.xyz for engineering opportunities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FILL OUT THE SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE Welcome back to The Gwart Show! Today, Doug Colkitt, co-founder of Fogo and Ambient Finance joins us to talk about building the fastest Solana-based blockchain for trading. Doug explains why order books are winning over AMMs, how Fogo's 21-validator set enables 40ms blocks, and why verifiability matters more than full decentralization for perp DEXs. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:13 Doug history 02:28 What is Fogo? 02:53 Why not L2? 06:29 Ambient perps 09:07 Are blockchains the right database? 10:00 Why DEX at all? 12:32 Composability as an unlock? 16:17 AMMs 19:18 Decentralization doesn't matter 24:19 Problems with perps on orderbooks 25:51 Fogo vs Hyperliquid 27:35 Ellipsis Labs 29:35 MEV & flashloans 32:42 Tragedy of the commons 35:00 MEV of Perp DEX 37:44 Opportunities for innovation 41:22 Coinbase launching Perps 44:24 Is no KYC an unloack? 46:24 Verifiability 49:00 Liquidity injection 51:41 24/7 markets 52:36 Perp-ify THE WORLD! 54:05 Zero Day Futures 55:08 Ambient Perps elevator pitch 58:10 Gold oracle price origin 👋 Enjoy the clip? Click below to listen on a podcasting app! Apple http://tiny.cc/e7wuwz Spotify https://tinyurl.com/aj3ymv6h RSS http://tiny.cc/wbwuwz YouTube https://tinyurl.com/4kwhu4s7 👋 The Gwart Show is proudly presented by Ellipsis Labs! Ellipsis Labs is building foundational products in DeFi. Their first product @PhoenixTrade is the leading orderbook DEX on Solana. The team is growing—visit ellipsislabs.xyz for engineering opportunities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to The Gwart Show! Today, Liam from Through (formerly Fire Dancer engineer) joins us to talk about building a high-performance L1 blockchain from scratch. We dive into why Solana has structural limitations, his leaderless consensus design, proof-of-burn mechanisms, and why economic security is overrated. Plus takes on trading, Fire Dancer's progress, and the future of DeFi. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com NOTES: • Fire Dancer has ~10% of Solana network • Through team is only 5 people currently • Testnet launching in 1-2 months timeline • SDK support targeting July release • Solana chain halts if clients disagree • Economic security was higher than ETH Timestamps 00:00 Start 00:12 Liam's background 02:18 Early trading 03:13 Firedancer experience 03:58 What's Unto? 05:40 Solana L1 limitations 08:07 Applications 09:51 CLOB wars 11:58 Proof of stake flaws 18:23 Multiple concurrent proposers 21:38 Burn design 25:27 Improvements in trading 27:47 Commodities on chain 30:08 Onto chain performance 32:52 Performant L1 chain competition 35:38 Desired apps 38:00 Firedancer progress & marketshare 42:10 Decentralization & price discovery 45:57 The value of a market 50:10 MEV on Solana 53:56 L1 token value 1:01:28 Through updates 1:03:42 Wrap up The Gwart Show is sponsored by Ellipsis Labs. Ellipsis Labs is building Atlas, the blockchain purpose-built for verifiable finance. You may know of Ellipsis Labs by their first product Phoenix, a fully on-chain orderbook DEX that’s done over 50 billion dollars in unincentivized volume.They are one of the strongest teams I know in crypto. If you’re interested in working for a mission-driven company, Ellipsis Labs is hiring engineers passionate about crypto and finance to work on Atlas. You can learn more and apply on Ellipsis Labs’ Twitter “at Ellipsis_Labs”. Don’t forget to check out Atlas too, @atlasxyz on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to The Gwart Show! Today, Bitcoiner Post Capone joins us to talk about the risks of OP_CAT activation, MEV extraction concerns on Bitcoin, how increased expressivity could lead to mining centralization, the promise of scaling solutions like Arc and Spark, and why constrained covenants like CTV might be a better path forward than unlimited expressivity. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:27 Who is Post Capone? 03:05 OP_CAT 07:11 Erosion of MEV 11:29 Expressivity of OP_CAT 20:56 Execution on L2 23:33 Elipsis Labs 24:33 OP_CAT vs CTV 28:20 What should be on Bitcoin? 35:32 Stablecoin Maxi 38:42 Programmatic lending contracts 40:30 Ark 44:14 BitVM 47:02 Scaling solution adoption 50:07 Oden.fun54:12 Rollups The Gwart Show is sponsored by Ellipsis Labs, which is building Atlas, a blockchain for verifiable finance. Ellipsis Labs is known for Phoenix, an on-chain orderbook DEX with over $50 billion in unincentivized volume. They are a top crypto team. Ellipsis Labs is hiring engineers passionate about crypto and finance for Atlas. Learn more and apply on Twitter at @Ellipsis_Labs. Check out Atlas at @atlasxyz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to The Gwart Show! Today, Wilson Huang from DRW Cumberland joins us to talk about the explosive growth of Bitcoin options markets, why crypto volatility attracts both miners and hedge funds, how ETFs are reshaping institutional adoption, and why traditional finance principles are finally making sense in digital assets. We dive deep into market structure, OTC trading, and the future of crypto derivatives. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: • Bitcoin dominates 90% of crypto options volume • DRW started 30 years ago in CME trading pits • ETF volumes reached historic highs recently • Crypto vol trades in 40-60% range typically • Cumberland handles thousands of BTC clips OTC • Mining companies hedge at specific cost levels Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:48 Background 02:04 Crypto options markets 04:52 Requirements for a good options market 10:13 How exposed are miners? 19:05 OTC 21:24 Custody 29:53 Spot selling 36:13 Coinbase buying Deribit 41:40 Options & DeFi 45:02 Perpetuals 49:11 The future 👋 The Gwart Show is sponsored by Ellipsis Labs. Ellipsis Labs is building Atlas, the blockchain purpose-built for verifiable finance. You may know of Ellipsis Labs by their first product Phoenix, a fully on-chain orderbook DEX that’s done over 50 billion dollars in unincentivized volume. They are one of the strongest teams I know in crypto. If you’re interested in working for a mission-driven company, Ellipsis Labs is hiring engineers passionate about crypto and finance to work on Atlas. You can learn more and apply on Ellipsis Labs’ Twitter “at Ellipsis_Labs”. Don’t forget to check out Atlas too, @atlasxyz on Twitter. Enjoy the show? Check out our website and newsletter by clicking here. Questions or want to sponsor? hello@blockspace.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to The Gwart Show! Today, Smac, partner at Compound VC, joins us to talk about why stablecoins have become the dominant crypto narrative despite being "boring fintech," DePIN opportunities in energy and water networks, venture capital market structure issues with massive fund sizes, the lack of creativity in crypto development, and why most social crypto apps are features not companies.  Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Follow our guest on Twitter: @0xsmac Notes: • Compound VC focuses on pre-seed/seed stage investments • $100M checks at $3B valuations more like growth investing • Stablecoins captured outsized narrative due to lack of innovation • Virtual power plants represent distributed energy networks • Crypto needs more non-crypto native talent for creativity Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:16 Who is Smac? 01:53 Market overview 03:25 Are stablecoins the killer use case? 06:09 Stablecoin are just FinTech 09:51 Let a thousand stablecoins bloom 13:16 Decentralization & stablecoins 16:04 Users don't care about centralization 21:47 Worldcoin 24:20 DePin 25:19 Virtual power plants 30:20 ElLipsis Labs 31:21 Water harvesting 34:17 Venture funding is too high 41:21 Funding NOT infrastructure projects 43:25 What's interesting? 52:23 Friend.Tech 1:01:24 Wrap up 👋 The Gwart Show is sponsored by Ellipsis Labs. Ellipsis Labs is building Atlas, the blockchain purpose-built for verifiable finance. You may know of Ellipsis Labs by their first product Phoenix, a fully on-chain orderbook DEX that’s done over 50 billion dollars in unincentivized volume. They are one of the strongest teams I know in crypto. If you’re interested in working for a mission-driven company, Ellipsis Labs is hiring engineers passionate about crypto and finance to work on Atlas. You can learn more and apply on Ellipsis Labs’ Twitter “at Ellipsis_Labs”. Don’t forget to check out Atlas too, @atlasxyz on Twitter. Enjoy the show? Check out our website and newsletter by clicking here. Questions or want to sponsor? hello@blockspace.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices