Deeply Intents

Why does crypto keep throwing money at attention instead of products? In this episode of Deeply Intents, I chat with Dino, Co-founder of Fluent. We kick off with Dino's background and why he's learned never to bet against developer ingenuity, then get into the weeds on crypto fundraising strategies including what works, what doesn't, and where discipline matters. From there, we dissect crypto's obsession with attention and whether reputation systems can offer a real solution. We also explore Fluent's blended execution environment, touching on the history of WASM experiments and why product focus is valuable in the ecosystem. We wrap up with Dino's philosophy on building a company by exploring what an ideal idea meritocracy actually looks like and why he's chosen to build on Ethereum.

Timestamps

(00:00) - Don't bet against developer ingenuity
(04:46) - Give people skin in the game
(08:25) - Discipline in fundraising
(16:27) - One way decisions
(22:11) - Real recognizes real
(25:46) - The industry's obsession with attention
(28:19) - Reputation
(33:12) - Reputation checks and balances
(37:14) - Is reputation game-able?
(44:44) - WASM experiments
(46:23) - multi-VM products
(52:14) - Product focus in the ecosystem
(55:50) - Reflections on building a company
(58:48) - Idea meritocracy
(1:04:59) - Building on Ethereum

Disclaimer
Nothing in this episode should be interpreted as financial, technical, or legal advice. The host does contract work for Heliax, a public goods laboratory, focusing on Anoma.

In this episode of Deeply Intents, I chat with Dan Gray from Credistick. We cover a ton of ground on what venture capital actually is, how it works, and where the space is headed. We kick off by breaking down the basics of VC and the ripple effects of the low interest rate environment after the financial crisis, then move into megafund strategies (sometimes called smart beta). From there, we dig into VC compensation, fund performance metrics and incentives, and how exits actually work. We also explore how secondary transactions are changing exit liquidity for investors and employees, plus equity crowdfunding as a way to let everyday people get in on seed-stage deals. Things get really interesting when Dan explains how memes influence capital flows and why megafund strategies work so well. We wrap up by talking about the challenges facing new emerging managers and some compelling AI-related investment theses.

Timestamps

(00:00) - Finding the missing puzzle piece
(02:29) - VC is not competitive
(05:09) - What is venture capital?
(08:14) - Consequences of low interest rates
(11:49) - Concentrated bets
(16:29) - Megafund strategy - smart beta
(19:04) - VC compensation
(22:34) - Fund performance metrics and incentives
(26:49) - Fragile proposition for founders
(29:50) - One pivot is better than none
(33:17) - VC exits
(36:09) - Secondary transactions
(42:00) - Retail exit liquidity
(45:45) - Equity crowd funding
(51:14) - Memes influence the flow of capital
(55:16) - Megafund strategy is so good
(1:00:11) - Government LPs can help smaller funds
(1:02:05) - Emerging fund manager tactics
(1:05:22) - Interesting theses connected to AI

Disclaimer
Nothing in this episode should be interpreted as financial, technical, or legal advice. The host does contract work for Heliax, a public goods laboratory, focusing on Anoma.

Why does onchain liquidity matter, and what would it take to build a DEX that actually competes with centralized venues? In this episode, I sit down with Ludwig Thouvenin, Co-founder & CEO at Sorella Labs, to unpack Angstrom and the case for rethinking DEX design from first principles. We start with what drew Ludwig to MEV and DEX design in the first place. From there, we discuss Brontes, Sorella's open-source MEV analysis tool, and the impact it's had on the research community. We then break down Angstrom's architecture, topology, and affordances, including the nuances of how its mechanisms differ on L1 versus L2. Ludwig makes the case for why onchain liquidity matters and why lit venues are essential to healthy market structure. We close by discussing the future of ACE, the importance of privacy in onchain trading, and Ludwig's learnings as a first-time founder.

(00:00) - Solving CEX-DEX, LVR, and sandwiches
(01:32) - University days
(05:06) - MEV nerdsnipe
(09:57) - LVR
(12:44) - Toxic flow problem
(14:57) - Competing with arbitrageurs
(17:02) - Brontes learnings
(18:22) - Why people JIT
(22:28) - Spinning the cybernetic wheel
(24:28) - Angstrom & capital efficient LP strategies
(30:03) - Angstrom's architecture & topology
(33:26) - Robustness of the mechanisms
(37:36) - Inclusion gaurantees
(40:52) - Why not Angstrom L2?
(43:43) - Compossability with ACE
(45:37) - Bidding through priority fees on L2
(49:18) - Issuance and tokenization will drive volume
(51:42) - Setting the standards and dealing with forks
(53:30) - Lit venues
(56:46) - Product learnings
(1:00:18) - Highest impact upgrades for Ethereum
(1:03:32) - The future of ACE
(1:05:35) - Changes Ethereum should not make
(1:08:10) - Privacy is essential
(1:10:44) - Grit and delusional confidence
(1:14:39) - Degen Spartan 

Disclaimer
Nothing in this episode should be interpreted as financial, technical, or legal advice. The host does contract work for Heliax, a public goods laboratory, focusing on Anoma.

What would it actually take to make Ethereum's rollups composable like smart contracts on a single chain? In this episode, I sit down with Orest Tarasiuk, CTO at t1 Protocol, to unpack how t1 is tackling Ethereum's fragmentation problem with Real-Time Proofs and TEE-based infrastructure. We begin by discussing Orest's background as an entrepreneur across three startups, from digestive health apps to video calling. Next, we unpack his interop thesis and how t1 aims to solve Ethereum's composability and fragmentation problems. Thereafter, we discuss Real-Time Proofs, TEEs, and security, including t1's innovative value at risk counter. We then dive into encrypted mempools and solving capital efficiency for cross-chain intent solvers. We finish the episode by discussing t1's same block deposit-trade-withdraw flow and what it's been like collaborating on interoperability standards with the Ethereum community.  
Timestamps
(00:00) - Freedom maxi to startup founder arc
(04:01) - Startup helping people with digestive disease [Cara Care]
(06:01) - Kraken-Mt.Gox arbitrage
(08:15) - Founding a video calling app [Knit]
(10:39) - Time at Scroll
(13:34) - Founding t1
(15:32) - Interop thesis
(17:43) - Reading L1 from L2
(26:33) - What t1 offers end users and developers
(33:15) - Security, trust assumptions, determinism
(38:53) - The VAR counter, high demand, finality
(43:57) - Inspiration for the VAR counter
(46:00) - Security budget in AVS systems
(49:53) - t1 Sequencing AVS and architecture
(54:32) - Challenges with encrypted mempools
(57:14) - Different cryptographic primitives under the hood
(1:00:45) - Solving capital efficiency for solvers
(1:04:27) - Applications that leverage t1
(1:09:23) - Same block deposit-trade-withdraw flow
(1:15:59) - Collaborating on Ethereum interop standards

Disclaimer
Nothing in this episode should be interpreted as financial, technical, or legal advice. The host does contract work for Heliax, a public goods laboratory, focusing on Anoma.

What does real interoperability actually look like and why might the industry be solving the wrong problems? In this episode, I sit down with Noah Pravecek from ZKsync to explore the evolving landscape of L2 composability, enterprise adoption, and where crypto is actually headed. Noah shares lessons from his previous work on shared sequencing and synchronous composability, and how ZKsync's network approach differs, particularly through Prividiums and their enterprise thesis. We dig into why RWAs are commanding so much attention right now and what that signals for the future. We also swap Devconnect takeaways, discuss the L1 premium question, speculate on what Ethereum can do to improve UX and how to avoid getting nerdsniped by the wrong priorities.

Timestamps

(00:00) - Working on synchronous composability
(04:52) - Reflections on shared sequencers
(08:56) - Network of enterprise chains
(12:27) - Institutional thesis
(14:16) - Onchain capital formation
(18:27) - Scaling Ethereum's liquidity
(24:49) - RWAs as collateral
(28:48) - Different kinds of RWAs
(32:35) - Devconnect takeaways
(41:39) - Onchain credit markets
(45:31) - infoFi applications
(49:05) - L1 Premium will fade over time
(54:37) - Staying ahead of the innovation curve
(56:43) - It takes a village
(59:04) - Ethereum should focus on improving UX
(1:02:10) - Synchronous composability nerdsnipe

Disclaimer
Nothing in this episode should be interpreted as financial, technical, or legal advice. The host does contract work for Heliax, a public goods laboratory, focusing on Anoma.