In this episode, we’re joined by David Han, Institutional Research Analyst at Coinbase, to discuss the latest market trends, onchain developments, and David's journey into the crypto space. Our conversation covers the purpose of Coinbase’s research team, the state of onchain analysis, and more specifically how important access to verifiable onchain analytics is. We speak about the state of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, and where the difference in traction stems from. We touch on Bitcoin dominance, ...
Sep 24, 2024•56 min•Season 1Ep. 99
In this episode, we’re joined by Steven Goldfeder, Co-Founder and CEO of Offchain Labs, the team behind Arbitrum. We discuss the launch of Arbitrum Stylus, which significantly broadens the blockchain developer ecosystem by enabling the creation of smart contracts in programming languages that compile to WASM, such as Rust, C, C++, and many others. We talk about Arbitrum's strategic positioning in the expanding blockchain market, highlighting its value proposition against alternative ecosystems a...
Sep 17, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 97
In this episode, we're joined by Carlos Domingo, Co-Founder and CEO of Securitize – a financial services platform that specializes in the tokenization of real-world assets. We dive into the world of asset tokenization, starting with Securitize’s journey from its founding to its role today as a leader in the space. We break down our framework for asset tokenization, discussing how token issuers transform legacy assets into more dynamic, interoperable digital assets that unlock new value creation ...
Aug 22, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 98
In this episode, we’re joined by Jamie Coutts, Chief Crypto Analyst at Real Vision – a financial knowledge and education platform founded in 2014. They share honest financial insights from the smartest industry experts, along with time-efficient market tools, an AI concierge, charting, note-taking, and access to a powerful community of like-minded investors and thinkers. With a rich background in traditional finance, trading, and technical analysis. Jamie provides insights into his career progre...
Jul 31, 2024•48 min•Season 1Ep. 95
In this episode, we're joined by Sandeep Nailwal and Marc Boiron from Polygon. We discuss the notion of prediction markets and their increasing relevance in the crypto space, driven by the success of Polymarket. We then focus on both the technological and economic aspects of the evolving blockchain landscape, highlighting AggLayer, Polygon’s solution for creating an infinitely scalable blockchain ecosystem. This ecosystem aims to provide economic sovereignty for individual chains while ensuring ...
Jul 24, 2024•56 min•Season 1Ep. 94
In this episode, we’re joined by Cosmo Jiang, Portfolio Manager at Pantera Capital to discuss the details behind Pantera’s largest investment ever, into The Open Network – or TON – the Layer 1 network originally designed by Telegram. We speak about Pantera's long-term approach to fundamentals-based investing, and walk through their typical deal sourcing and due diligence processes. We explore the factors the helped Pantera build conviction for their largest investment to date, including the stra...
Jul 11, 2024•53 min•Season 1Ep. 92
In this episode of the Fundamentals Podcast, we’re joined by Zach Pandl, the Head of Research at Grayscale. Zach talks about his career transition from Wall Street to the crypto industry, the compelling reasons behind his move, and his role at Grayscale. Zach outlines the potential of digital assets, driven by large addressable markets, network technologies, and the Bitcoin macro trade. Additionally, Zach shares his insights on the macro factors impacting the crypto market today and the importan...
Jun 27, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 91
In this episode, we're joined by Unique Divine – Co-Founder and CEO of Nibiru Chain – to dive into the general-purpose L1 blockchain featuring superior throughput potentially exceeding 40k TPS. The discussion covers its core value propositions, including the use of WASM smart contracts, the upcoming high-performance EVM execution layer, and optimizations like scalable data indexing and advanced developer tooling. We explore which applications are best suited for Nibiru, current performance metri...
Jun 24, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 90
In this episode, we’re joined by Christopher Jensen, Director of Digital Asset Research at Franklin Templeton. We speak about Franklin Templeton's fundamentals-driven approach to digital asset investments research, and internal analysis to understand protocols, tokens, and value accrual. Our conversation also touches on client demand, institutional interest, and the creation of a comprehensive product suite to cater to varying levels of demand and knowledge. Christopher highlights the importance...
Jun 10, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 89
In this episode, we’re joined by Jesse Pollak, the Creator of Base. Our conversation dives into the details behind moving Coinbase onchain, building Base as a ‘company within a company’, and combining the strengths of Coinbase and Optimism to create a global onchain economy. We speak about Base’s lean and engineering-driven team structure, the purpose of economic alliances between chains, pioneering governance strategies, standardising metrics in the industry, and the paradigm shift that buildin...
May 30, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 88
Our recent conversation with Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Assets Research at VanEck, covers the state of Bitcoin ETFs, the growth of the broader Bitcoin ecosystem, understanding value accrual, differences in VanEck’s valuation models for Ethereum and Solana, the pros and cons of onchain data, key line items in blockchain P&Ls, and more. VanEck is a global investment management firm with over $100 billion in assets under management as of March this year. VanEck offers a range of investment ...
May 20, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 87
In this episode of the Fundamentals podcast, we’re joined by Ryan Rasmussen, Senior Crypto Research Analyst at Bitwise – The world's largest crypto index fund manager. Make sure to leave a comment if you have any questions 🙌 12 Real-World Stories of How Millions of People Are Using Crypto Services Today: https://bitwiseinvestments.com/crypto-market-insights/crypto-use-cases-12-real-world-stories-2024 The Year Ahead: 10 Crypto Predictions for 2024: https://bitwiseinvestments.com/crypto-market-in...
Apr 04, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 86
Tune in as Bloomberg and onchain data provider Token Terminal explore the relatively uncharted territory of onchain data. The team will talk about the sources and interpretation of this emerging form of financial data, it's unique characteristics, and how it fits into investor analysis. Participants can expect to depart the 30-minute webinar with a better understanding of how on-chain data can be used to support and enhance their investment analysis. Speakers: Alex Wenham, Digital Assets Product...
Apr 03, 2024•32 min
In this episode of the Fundamentals podcast, we’re joined by Bryan Pellegrino, the Co-Founder and CEO of LayerZero Labs – the team behind the LayerZero – an interoperability protocol that connects blockchains (50+ and counting).In this episode with Bryan, we discuss what LayerZero's core value proposition is, and why interoperability is important for the blockchain industry. We speak about the tech stack, current traction, assess market potential, and speak about value accrual.Finally, we wrap u...
Feb 22, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 86
In today’s episode, we’re joined by Arthur Breitman, the Co-Founder of Tezos, a layer 1 blockchain. In this episode, we focus on what sets Tezos apart from other blockchains on the market, and how they stack up in terms of performance, network activity, economics, and more. We speak about the network's current use cases, and vision for the future. Arthur walks us through the current challenges faced, current focus areas, the state of the blockchain market today, and his vision for Tezos' future....
Feb 08, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 85
In this episode of the Fundamentals podcast, I’m joined by Michael Nadeau, a crypto data and research analyst, and founder of the DeFi report. In this episode with Michael, we explore his recent report on zkSync, and dive into the breadth of data available on Token Terminal to assess its position within the market. We discuss the impressive growth and user retention rates of zkSync compared to other Layer 2 competitors. We cover fees, revenue, user activity, developers, trending contracts, user ...
Jan 24, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 85
In today’s episode, we’re joined by Kenny Li, the Co-Founder of Manta Network, the modular ecosystem for ZK applications. Manta offers two networks, Manta Pacific, the first EVM-equivalent ZK-application platform that is scalable and secure through Celestia DA and Polygon zkEVM - and Manta Atlantic which is a ZK L1 chain on Polkadot. In this episode, we focus on Manta Pacific and dive into its modular design. Kenny walks us through their use of the OP stack, Celestia, and Polygon’s zkEVM. We spe...
Jan 08, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 84
In this episode, we’re joined by Martin Leinweber, Digital Asset Strategist at MarketVector, for an insightful discussion on digital asset indexing. MarketVector and Token Terminal have been working together to provide institutions, advisors, and investors with access to investable products that track the breadth of data available in web3 and on blockchains. Earlier this month, we announced the launch of the MarketVector Token Terminal Fundamental Index Suite, a novel approach to creating multi-...
Jan 04, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 70
In this episode, we're joined by Devin Walsh, Co-Founder of the Uniswap Foundation. We dive into the Uniswap ecosystem, discussing the Foundation’s mission, its short- and long-term goals, and how the Uniswap Foundation is allocating capital via grants. We speak about the significance of Uniswap V4, and Hooks, the protocol pushes forward in becoming the liquidity layer of the Internet. We address the current state of Uniswap’s decentralization, and explore the composition and recent developments...
Dec 19, 2023•55 min•Season 1Ep. 82
In this episode, were joined by Adeniyi, the Co-Founder and CPO of Mysten Labs – the team behind the Sui blockchain. We dive into the intricacies of the Sui blockchain and how it is designed to achieve unprecedented levels of scalability and user experience. We explore Sui's unique technical architecture, their focus on user-centered product design, and their vision for the true mass adoption of blockchain technology. Adeniyi also highlights some of Sui's key performance indicators, rates their ...
Dec 14, 2023•50 min•Season 1Ep. 81
In this episode, we’re joined by Alex Wettermann, the Head of Gaming at Shima Capital – an early stage VC firm investing in disruptive web3 companies. Alex gives us an overview of the current state of the web3 gaming market, and walk us through the key trends, challenges and potential opportunities within the space. Alex highlights the importance of looking beyond trends like 'play to earn' and emphasizes the need to create net new experiences and novel monetization methods. He also discusses th...
Dec 07, 2023•54 min•Season 1Ep. 80
In today's episode, we’re joined by Evgeny Gokhberg – the founder of Re7 Capital – a fund that specializes in DeFi R&D and liquid crypto investment strategies. We delve into the vast arena of DeFi, exploring everything from generating yield to managing risks. We discuss the intrinsic value of crypto, how investors should approach valuing multidimensional cryptoassets, and what Re7’s edge is in the space. Tune in as we dive deep into exciting trends, case examples from Re7s portfolio, the bes...
Nov 30, 2023•56 min•Season 1Ep. 79
In this episode, we’re joined by Viktor Fischer, the Founder and CEO of RockawayX – a product VC building and investing in the Web3 space. Over the next hour, we dive into the details around the current state of the crypto market, RockawayX's unique position as builders, and users, in addition to being investors. We speak about the differences between modular and monolithic blockchains form an investors point of view, their pros and cons, what RockawayX’s framework is for assessing value accrual...
Nov 21, 2023•53 min•Season 1Ep. 78
In this episode of the Fundamentals podcast, Michael Kong, CEO/CIO of the Fantom Foundation, discusses the unique value proposition of Fantom within the blockchain landscape, its core technology, and approach to achieving scalability. We explore the structure of the blockchain market sector, how Michael sees it developing, and where Fantom fits into this vision in the long run. We delve into the architectural development of Fantom, walk through Fantom's economic model and learn how it drives net...
Nov 14, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 77
On this episode of the Fundamentals podcast, we welcome back Michael Nadeau, who runs the DeFi Report, to deepen our understanding of valuing blockchain networks. Michael has been working on deep-diving into this topic for several years and has recently published the 'Ethereum Investment Framework'. He discusses why he was inspired to create the framework, provides a high-level view of its contents, major components, and explains his approach to valuing Ethereum. In addition, this episode explor...
Nov 07, 2023•46 min•Season 1Ep. 76
In this episode of the Fundamentals podcast, we’re joined by Alex, the Co-Founder and CEO of Matter Labs – the engineering team behind zkSync – a Layer-2 blockchain protocol that scales Ethereum with zero knowledge technology. In this episode with Alex, we discuss what zkSync’s core value proposition is, and why zero-knowledge proofs are the most viable technology to enable the mainstream adoption of public blockchains. We speak about Hyperchains, and what the zkSync ecosystem will evolve into o...
Nov 01, 2023•41 min•Season 1Ep. 75
In this episode, we’re joined by Alex Wettermann, the Head of Gaming at Shima Capital – an early stage VC firm investing in disruptive web3 companies. Alex gives us an overview of the current state of the web3 gaming market, and walk us through the key trends, challenges and potential opportunities within the space. Alex highlights the importance of looking beyond trends like 'play to earn' and emphasizes the need to create net new experiences and novel monetization methods. He also discusses th...
Nov 01, 2023•54 min•Season 1Ep. 80
In this episode, we’re joined by Rennick Palley, Founding Partner at Stratos – a fund that seeds the future of crypto. Stratos focuses on both Venture, where they invest in DeFi and web3 companies, and Infra, where they provide the hardware, stake, and expertise that helps blockchains grow. We discuss Stratos, their investment strategy, and how they approach the market. We then move on to speak about the execution layer landscape, and dive into valuing Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchains – and what ...
Oct 17, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 74
In this episode we’re joined by Benjamin Mincu, the Founder and CEO of MultiversX – a Layer 1 blockchain, designed from scratch to bring a 1000-fold cumulative improvement in throughput and execution speed. To achieve this, MultiversX introduces two key innovations: a novel adaptive state sharding mechanism, and a secure proof of stake algorithm, enabling linear scalability with a fast, efficient, and secure consensus mechanism. We discuss how MultiversX works, and what sets it apart from other ...
Oct 09, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 73
In this episode of the Fundamentals podcast, we’re joined by Mathijs van Esch, who is an associate partner at Maven 11 – a crypto-native fund that partners with brave outliers challenging the status quo by redefining ownership. We discuss Maven 11, their investment strategy, and how they approach the market. The characteristics of crypto that make it an attractive asset class, and how Maven 11 analyses projects within the space. We speak about value capture and how it should be assessed, the mos...
Sep 26, 2023•43 min•Season 1Ep. 72
