AVAX's Emin Gun Sirer Says Blockchains Should be Scalable at Their Core; Layer 2s Mean Giving Up

AVAX's Emin Gun Sirer Says Blockchains Should be Scalable at Their Core; Layer 2s Mean Giving Up

When Emin Gun Sirer first came on The Defiant in May 2020, Avalanche was not even on mainnet yet. Since then, it has risen to become one of the leading smart contract networks, while the AVAX token has risen over 7x in the last 12 months. We talk about how the project got here and how it wants to create a path for faster and more scalable decentralized network, amid heavy competition from other Layer 1 blockchains.

Emin makes the case for Avalache’s novel consensus mechanism, paired with subnets with their own virtual machines, and he also has scathing criticism for Ethereum and other Layer 2 scaling solutions. To him, once a platform starts building Layer 2s, it means they’ve run out of ideas on how to make a good Layer 1. We also discuss the big picture goal for Avalanche; Bitcoin centers around digital gold, Ethereum strives to create the world computer, and Avalanche wants to digitize all assets. If it's on a balance sheet, Emin says, it can be on a blockchain, and we discuss what it will take for it to get there.

Thanking our podcast sponsors:

  • Zerion Zerion is Mission Control for Web3: an intuitive DeFi portfolio manager, multichain tracking & trading and the best place to show off your NFT collection
  • Matcha: Matcha makes sure you’re getting the best possible price by routing orders across all the various DeFi exchanges, now with an integrated fiat on-ramp. Start trading at matcha.xyz/defiant
  • Nexo.io: Nexo is a crypto lending and exchange platform where you can buy cryptocurrencies at the touch of a button and start earning double-digit annual interest that is paid out daily.
  • Unstoppable Domains: Go to unstoppabledomains.com and replace your long, complex wallet address with YourName dot crypto, dot x, dot nft or a range of other endings for as low as $5.

Jaksot(325)

Rebuilding Global Payments with Stablecoins | Circle & USDC with Nikhil Chandhok

Rebuilding Global Payments with Stablecoins | Circle & USDC with Nikhil Chandhok

Stablecoins have quietly become the most successful use case in crypto.In this episode, Nikhil Chandhok, Chief Product & Technology Officer at Circle, explains why USDC is more than a digital dollar —...

6 Helmi 45min

Crypto’s Point of No Return: Institutions are Finally Here, with Brett Tejpaul

Crypto’s Point of No Return: Institutions are Finally Here, with Brett Tejpaul

2025 marked a turning point for crypto.In this episode, Brett Tejpaul, head of Coinbase Institutional, sits down with Camila Russo to explain why institutional adoption accelerated last year. From ETF...

4 Helmi 49min

Why OG DeFi Failed | Kain Warwick, Founder of Synthetix

Why OG DeFi Failed | Kain Warwick, Founder of Synthetix

Kain Warwick—DeFi OG and founder of Synthetix and Infinex—is back on The Defiant Podcast with Camila Russo for a no-BS conversation at a pivotal moment: Infinex just ran its INX token sale and is head...

30 Tammi 54min

Ethereum is for Institutions: Danny Ryan Says Tokenization Isn't Enough

Ethereum is for Institutions: Danny Ryan Says Tokenization Isn't Enough

In this interview, Camila Russo sits down with Danny Ryan — former Ethereum Foundation researcher and a key leader behind Ethereum’s shift to proof of stake — now Co-Founder & President at Etherealize...

29 Tammi 26min

How Stablecoins Are Rewiring Global Payments | Borderless CPO Alex Garn

How Stablecoins Are Rewiring Global Payments | Borderless CPO Alex Garn

In this episode of The Defiant Podcast, Chris Storaker sits down with Alex Garn, Chief Product Officer at Borderless, to unpack how stablecoins are quietly transforming cross-border payments — and wha...

9 Tammi 25min

The Rise of the Fan Economy | Consumer Crypto | Avalanche Ecosystems Ep. 4

The Rise of the Fan Economy | Consumer Crypto | Avalanche Ecosystems Ep. 4

For consumer crypto to thrive it needs to embrace financialization to deliver a better experience, and maker sure crypto disappears everywhere else. Projects doing this right sit in an emerging sector...

5 Tammi 18min

Uniswap is about to “turn on the switch.” with Hayden Adams

Uniswap is about to “turn on the switch.” with Hayden Adams

In this episode of The Defiant Podcast, Uniswap founder Hayden Adams joins us right as the UNIfication (Unification) proposal has moved to a final governance vote—a sweeping plan from Uniswap Labs + t...

22 Joulu 20251h 8min

Ethereum’s “HTTP Moment” with Marissa Posner & Yoav Weiss

Ethereum’s “HTTP Moment” with Marissa Posner & Yoav Weiss

In this episode of The Defiant podcast, Camila Russo sits down in Buenos Aires (Devconnect) with Marissa Foster (Product, Ethereum Foundation) and Yoav Weiss (security researcher, Ethereum Foundation)...

19 Joulu 202540min