Deeply Intents

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  DisclaimerNothing 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 DisclaimerNothing 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 DisclaimerNothing 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 is censorship resistance fundamental to Ethereum and what would it take to actually achieve it? In this episode, I sit down with soispoke from the Ethereum Foundation's Robust Incentives Group (RIG) to unpack FOCIL (Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists), a proposal aimed at making transaction censorship significantly harder. We start from first principles: what does censorship even mean in Ethereum's context, and what's the difference between weak and strong censorship? From there, we break down how FOCIL works, address recent criticisms, and explore what it could unlock [from better UX to de-risking Ethereum's scaling roadmap]. Soispoke also reflects on the EIP process and where FOCIL currently stands in being scheduled for upcoming Ethereum hard forks within the context of governance.Timestamps(00:00) - From academic to applied research(05:39) - What is censorship, and why CR?(08:43) - Weak censorship on Ethereum(11:57) - Brief history of inclusion lists(17:52) -  Fork-choice enforced inclusion list (FOCIL)(20:07) - Steelmanning FOCIL(26:06) - Committee size and trust assumption(29:12) - Rainbow staking compatible(30:12) - Addressing criticism(35:15) - Improved UX for Optimistic Rollups(37:26) - Reflections on ideating FOCIL(40:19) - Communicating FOCIL(43:11) - Defending Ethereum's moat(49:03) - FOCIL improves altruism assumptions(53:03) - Glamsterdam Headliner process(58:46) - FOCIL + 6s slots, we can do both(1:01:25) - Low hanging fruit and beyond DisclaimerNothing 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 Ceteris, Head of Research at Delphi. We start by discussing Ceteris' beginnings on crypto twitter, then dig into 4 year cycles—are they still real? From there we cover metas, onboarding, privacy, capital formation, and infrastructure. We also explore why Solana has performed well "this cycle," including social factors and upcoming upgrades. Later we get into prediction markets, hyperfinancialization, and investing. We wrap up with Ceteris sharing his best advice for surviving this game long term. Timestamps(00:00) - Welcome to CT(07:22) - Unique perspectives on infrastructure(13:48) - Do cycles still exist?(17:59) - Few assets do well(23:28) - DeFi summer cycle was different(28:02) - Early in a new meta(29:47) - Onboarding into crypto(33:43) - Privacy as a king maker(37:19) - Capital formation use case(42:24) - Too much of the wrong infra(47:08) - New things take time to build(49:43) - Rollup specialization(51:16) - Why build on Solana?(53:32) - RWA issuance is a weird narrative(57:05) - Prop AMMs, BAM, ACE, MCP, Firedancer(1:00:53) - You eat what you kill(1:04:19) - Prediction markets and sports betting(1:09:38) - The whole world is becoming financialized(1:13:00) - Investing in bid ideas(1:19:07) - How to survive? Don't blow up!(1:26:12) - Try things out(1:27:38) - Shitposting on CT DisclaimerNothing 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.