BlockFi’s Zac Prince: Building A Fintech Platform For The Crypto Market

Jose Maria Macedo sits down with Micky Watkins, Alan Omnet and Andrew Soper from World Mobile. World Mobile is seeking to tackle one of the biggest challenges globally: connectivity. This is not your typical crypto native project, but rather a new kind of telecoms network which leverages and combines a range of technologies like mesh networking, hybrid spectrum, and renewable energies, with blockchain being used to grow and distribute its infrastructure. It also happens to be the first token on Cardano supported by IOHK itself. In this conversation, we’ll dive into World Mobile: what it is, why it matters and their experience building on Cardano so far. We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Cosmos: Cosmos is on a mission, link one million blockchains. Name brand projects like Terra, Band, Kava, and Secret use Cosmos and the Cosmos Hub to connect to every other chain in our network. Learn more at cosmos.network. Kava: With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable and secure institutional grade cross-chain engine. Learn more at kava.io.  Celo: Supporting over 1000+ projects from builders, developers, and even artists, who everyday create new applications and issue digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world, Celo’s mission is to build a financial system that creates the conditions of prosperity for everyone. Learn more at Celo.org. Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as an audio interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to gain exclusive early access to every new interview before it's published. - Show Notes: (3:22) (First Question) – Andrew, Mickey, Alan’s Background. (9:45) – The problem / almost half the world is still unconnected. (11:25) – How WMC’s solution works / how legacy infrastructure & solutions work. (20:08) – What is World Mobile Network. (27:17) – What infrastructure will WMC be putting down versus working with others and being kind of an aggregator. (34:00) – Thoughts on MMOs. (35:30) – Thoughts on Telecom. (42:30) – Why WMC choose to use blockchain / what is it that it enables that WMC couldn’t achieve without it. (47:50) – Why did WMC settle on Cardano / how WMC blockchain implementation works. (52:43) – Customer acquisition strategy / when WMC will start to roll this network out. (59:53) – WMC’s long-term vision. (1:08:40) – Where to find WMC. Resources: World Mobile Website  World Mobile Interview With Charles Hoskinson World Mobile Documentary More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q Access Delphi's Research Here: https://www.delphidigital.io/

26 Juli 20211h 12min

The Delphi Podcast Host and GP of Delphi Ventures Tom Shaughnessy sits down with Santiago Santos, General Partner at Parafi Capital, an alternative investment firm focused on blockchain and decentralized finance markets. The two discuss game theory, psychology in crypto, finding that fund-returning play, and more. We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Cosmos: Cosmos is on a mission, link one million blockchains. Name brand projects like Terra, Band, Kava, and Secret use Cosmos and the Cosmos Hub to connect to every other chain in our network. Learn more at cosmos.network. Kava: With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable and secure institutional grade cross-chain engine. Soon, USDC is coming to Kava! Learn more at kava.io.  Celo: Celo is a mobile-first platform that makes financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Celo supports over 1000 who are building applications and issuing digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world. Learn more at  Celo.org. Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to gain exclusive early access to every new interview before it's published. - Show Notes: (2:33)- First Question: Santiago's Background and Parafi Capital overview. (4:04)- How Santiago allocates his time for projects. (11:02) - Getting buy-in for a project post-investment. (12:55) - Sizing up the founding team quantitatively and qualitatively. (15:58) - How retail investors get comfortable without access to the core team. (26:28) - Concentration vs. Diversification. (28:45) - Investing in themes. (34:15) - Copying and pasting old things that worked vs. actually having a new idea. (36:25) - Making bets on other L1s despite existing L1s. (46:26) - Token incentives from an investor and user perspective. (53:04) - Santiago's process for working with a team. (58:56) - Skepticism when doing due diligence on a project. (1:01:16) - Santiago's best advice. (1:03:56) - The best advice Santiago's ever gotten. (1:11:08) - Plays that changed Santiago's life / the world / someone else's life. (1:17:02) - Santiago's favorite book on game theory. Resources: Santiago Santos: General Partner, Parafi Capital Parafi Capital Website 2020 Interview with Santiago and Ben Forman More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q Access Delphi's Research Here: https://www.delphidigital.io/ Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and

23 Juli 20211h 19min

The Delphi Podcast Host and GP of Delphi Ventures Tom Shaughnessy sits down with Andrew Kang, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Mechanism Capital, a fund interested in all aspects of the crypto ecosystem with a focus in DeFi. The two discuss token economics, value accrual, incentives for teams, and more. We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Cosmos: Cosmos is on a mission, link one million blockchains. Name brand projects like Terra, Band, Kava, and Secret use Cosmos and the Cosmos Hub to connect to every other chain in our network. Learn more at cosmos.network. Kava: With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable and secure institutional grade cross-chain engine. Soon, USDC is coming to Kava! Learn more at kava.io.  Celo: Celo is a mobile-first platform that makes financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Celo supports over 1000 who are building applications and issuing digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world. Learn more at  Celo.org. Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to gain exclusive early access to every new interview before it's published. - Show Notes: (2:50)- First Question: Andrew's Background and Mechanism Capital overview. (5:42)- How Andrew allocates his time for projects. (12:12) - Andrew's thoughts on community investing and party rounds. (14:17) - How Andrew builds conviction in a team as a retail investor. (16:50) - Founders / red flags / anonymous founders. (23:17) - Andrew’s biggest miss or loss and what he learned from it. (26:00) - Andrew's biggest edge as an investor in crypto. (30:47) - Projects that crushed their token economics from the get-go. (32:43) - Thoughts on token economics and incentives. (35:00) - Andrew's thesis on PleasrDAO and NFTs. (41:22) - DAOs maintaining their decentralization long-term. (46:25) - Thoughts on the future of VC investing in crypto. (50:29) - When Andrew thinks crypto will be not as interesting. (52:25) - Andrew's best advice. (55:23) - Who Andrew looks up to in the crypto space. Resources: Andrew Kang: Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Mechanism Capital Mechanism Capital Website More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q Access Delphi's Research Here: https://www.delphidigital.io/ Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host may personally own tokens that are mentioned on the podcast. Lets Talk Bitcoin is a distribution partner for the Chain React

22 Juli 202158min

The Delphi Podcast Host and GP of Delphi Ventures Tom Shaughnessy sits down with Michael Jordan, Vice President at Galaxy Digital, a diversified financial services and investment management innovator in the digital asset, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology sector. The two discuss types of investments, adding value to portfolio companies, token economics, and more. We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Cosmos: Cosmos is on a mission, link one million blockchains. Name brand projects like Terra, Band, Kava, and Secret use Cosmos and the Cosmos Hub to connect to every other chain in our network. Learn more at cosmos.network. Kava: With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable and secure institutional grade cross-chain engine. Soon, USDC is coming to Kava! Learn more at kava.io.  Celo: Celo is a mobile-first platform that makes financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Celo supports over 1000 who are building applications and issuing digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world. Learn more at  Celo.org. Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to gain exclusive early access to every new interview before it's published. - Show Notes: (2:42) First Question: Michael’s Intro and what does he do at Galaxy. (6:27) Michael’s thoughts on traditional funds getting access to equity deals in crypto. (9:33)  Differences between crypto equity plays today vs. a couple of years ago. (12:04) Whether projects like the OpenSeas, the Fireblocks to IPO in the NASDAQ or decentralize the community in some way. (16:40) Michael’s thoughts on party rounds vs. Galaxy taking all of a deal. (22:38) Retail vs. Institutional / what they see when they look at a project. (24:41)  Michael’s thoughts on the value flows between the equity and the token. (29:19) Are we going to go completely crypto native with tokens? / will the stock exchange go away? / Michael’s thoughts on old traditional financing methods and where we’re going with crypto. (32:09) Founding teams / the spectrum of due diligence Michael does on a founder / how Michael diligences founders on the qualitative basis. (39:00) What Michael thinks is the most important sector within crypto to invest in – from a retail perspective. (41:06) Michael’s advice on diversification versus concentration. (43:54) The best advice Michael’s ever gotten. Resources: Michael Jordan: Vice President at Galaxy Digital Galaxy Digital Website Interview with Mike Novogratz, CEO and Chairman at Galaxy Digital More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-Pd

21 Juli 202147min

The Delphi Podcast Host and GP of Delphi Ventures Tom Shaughnessy sits down with Jason Choi, General Partner at Spartan Group, one of Asia’s first DeFi focused funds. The two discuss biggest wins and losses, due diligence, traits of successful crypto communities, and more. We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Cosmos: Cosmos is on a mission, link one million blockchains. Name brand projects like Terra, Band, Kava, and Secret use Cosmos and the Cosmos Hub to connect to every other chain in our network. Learn more at cosmos.network. Kava: With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable and secure institutional grade cross-chain engine. Soon, USDC is coming to Kava! Learn more at kava.io.  Celo: Celo is a mobile-first platform that makes financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Celo supports over 1000 who are building applications and issuing digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world. Learn more at  Celo.org. Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to gain exclusive early access to every new interview before it's published. - Show Notes: (1:52) First Question: How Jason manages his time in the crypto industry. (6:22) Jason's thoughts on trends in a multi-chain world. (10:46) Jason's thoughts on L1s. (14:06) How Jason knows whether or not a project has a killer community. (16:30) How Jason gets comfortable with a project where the community starts to take over. (19:52) Founders / how Jason sizes up founders / red flags that avoid investing in a founder. (28:33) Gaining conviction during bear markets. (30:44) How Jason gets the conviction to invest in a project. (34:17) Jason's position on cash. (38:37) The best advice Jason’s ever gotten. (40:47) Incentives beyond money that lead Jason to invest in a project. (42:26) What was Jason biggest loss or miss and what he learned from it. (46:05) Jason's biggest accomplishment. (49:51) Jason's idol in the space / who Jason looks up to. (52:03) How Jason allocates his time effectively to portfolio companies / his favorite area to allocate his time. (53:35) Jason's thoughts on the VC model long-term. (56:56) What Jason is looking for in the next one to three years. Resources: Jason Choi: General Partner, Spartan Capital Spartan Group Website 2019 Interview More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q Access Delphi's Research Here: https://www.delphidigital.io/ Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not inve

20 Juli 202159min

The Delphi Podcast Host and GP of Delphi Ventures Tom Shaughnessy sits down with Arthur Cheong, founder & portfolio manager at DeFiance Capital, Asia's largest DeFi focused crypto fund. The two discuss biggest wins and losses, effective due diligence, traits of successful crypto communities, and more. We would like to thank our sponsors for making this podcast possible. Cosmos: Cosmos is on a mission, link one million blockchains. Name brand projects like Terra, Band, Kava, and Secret use Cosmos and the Cosmos Hub to connect to every other chain in our network. Learn more at cosmos.network. Kava: With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi’s most trusted, scalable and secure institutional grade cross-chain engine. Learn more at kava.io. Celo: Supporting over 1000+ projects from builders, developers, and even artists, who everyday create new applications and issue digital currencies from 100+ countries around the world, Celo’s mission is to build a financial system that creates the conditions of prosperity for everyone. Learn more at Celo.org. Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to gain exclusive early access to every new interview before it's published. - Show Notes: (1:50) First Question: Arthur’s Intro and What is DeFiance Capital. (2:17) How long have been the fund around / how many deals have DeFiance done at a high level focus on tokens or equities. (2:48) How DeFiance works. (8:12) How Arthur draws the line on new areas to invest in. (12:30) Differences between traditional venture investing and VC in crypto. (19:36) Founders / How Arthur sizes up founders /red flags that avoid investing in a founder / anonymous founders. (31:04) Arthur’s thoughts on founders giving up control to the community. (33:26) Concentration versus diversification. (40:53) How Arthur allocates his time to funds or projects. (43:46) The best advice Arthur’s ever gotten from a crypto founder / the best advice that Arthur’s ever given someone on crypto. (46:45) How much cash Arthur has in the fund and what he thinks about it. (48:41) Arthur’s thoughts on global markets and how it affects crypto. (51:59) Arthur’s thoughts on a situation where governments take a very aggressive stance against crypto. (55:00) What was Arthur biggest loss, why did he miss it, and what is he going to do for the future so it doesn’t happen again. (58:36) Arthur’s thoughts on invest in the L1s. Resources: Arthur Cheong: Founder & Portfolio Manager, DeFiance Capital DeFiance Capital Website More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q Access Delphi's Research Here: https://www.delphidigital.io/ Disclosures: This podcas

19 Juli 20211h 1min

The Delphi Podcast Host and GP of Delphi Ventures Tom Shaughnessy sits down with Tyler Ward and Tim Kang, co-founders of Universe, a community bootstrapping engine designed to embed community building mechanics into the way you mint and monetize NFTs. The three discuss how Universe is aggregating all NFT media components to launch an NFT community, iterating faster with a community-driven approach, and much more. We would like to thank Kava for making this podcast possible through their sponsorship! Kava gives you the ability to earn more by connecting the world's largest cryptocurrencies, ecosystems and financial applications. With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable and secure institutional grade cross-chain engine. Learn more at kava.io. Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as a video interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to gain exclusive early access to every new interview before it's published. - Show Notes: (2:20) - First Question - Tyler´s Intro. (3:21) - Tim´s Intro. (4:26) - What is Universe. (10:39) - Walkthrough Universe's components. (14:18) - Differences between minting on Universe vs. other platforms. (21:23) - Chance of other NFT minting platforms rerouting the metadata to Arweave or putting it on something unstoppable. (25:03) - Universe's Auction House. (29:56) - Reason behind decentralization of Universe's components. (36:03) - Tyler's thoughts on the dichotomy between what Larva Labs does to promote punks and what the community does to promote punks. (39:33) - Differences between polymorphs and other NFTs / why people are going crazy for them right now. (41:09) - Tim and Tyler's thoughts on Rarities / How to describe rarity to somebody that understands Punks well / how does the rarity value dynamic work. (46:52) - Polymorph: Rolling and Re-rolling / how expensive is to buy it / bonding curve aspects. (52:52) - The Foundation / how to incentivize people to curate and get involved. Resources: Tyler Ward: Co-Founder of Universe Tim Kang: Co-Founder of Universe Universe Website More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q Access Delphi's Research Here: https://www.delphidigital.io/ Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host may personally own tokens that are mentioned on the podcast. Lets Talk Bitcoin is a distribution partner for the Chain Reaction Podcast, and our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token. Delphi’s transparency page can be viewed <

15 Juli 202159min

Jose Maria Macedo and Jonathan Erlich sit down with Yenwen Feng and Nicholas Tong to discuss all things Perpetual Protocol, the largest decentralized perpetuals trading platform by volume. They explore Perpetual’s success to date and dive into all the details behind the upcoming Perpetual Protocol v2. We would like to thank Kava for making this podcast possible through their sponsorship! Kava gives you the ability to earn more by connecting the world's largest cryptocurrencies, ecosystems and financial applications. With a proven track record of delivering successful projects safely, the Kava Platform is DeFi's most trusted, scalable and secure institutional grade cross-chain engine. Learn more at kava.io. Every Delphi Podcast is dropped first as an audio interview for Delphi Digital Subscribers. Our members also have access to full interview transcripts. Join today to gain exclusive early access to every new interview before it's published. - Show Notes (2:12) – (First Question) – Yenwen and Nick's background and what brought them to crypto. (5:09) – What is a perpetual future contract / Motivations for Perpetual V2. (8:41) – Perpetual V1 / vAMM architecture. (11:19) – Process to start a market in Perp V1 and what parameters are needed before creating a market. (17:34) – Reasons for the success of Perp V1 and V2 and how intense growth has been experienced from the team’s perspective. (23:40) - Biggest learnings from Perp V1. (26:07) - How Perp V2 works. (32:19) - Yenwen's thoughts on the design trade-offs and where does Perpetual sit. (34:50) - Advantage of adopting a Uniswap V3 style model versus a centralized limit order book model. (40:36) - Yenwen's thoughts on scaling perp long-term. (41:48) - Decentralized vs. centralized derivatives (44:35) - How the decentralized derivatives market will look like in 5–10 years from now. (47:44) - Where to find Perpetual Protocol. Resources: Yenwen Fang: Co-Founder at Perpetual Protocol Nick Tong: Head of Strategy at Perpetual Protocol Perpetual Protocol Website More Our Video interviews Can Be Viewed Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q Access Delphi's Research Here: https://www.delphidigital.io/ Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host may personally own tokens that are mentioned on the podcast. Lets Talk Bitcoin is a distribution partner for the Chain Reaction Podcast, and our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token. Delphi’s transparency page can be viewed here.   Music Attribution: Cosmos by From The Dust | <a href='https://soundcloud.com/ftdm

13 Juli 202149min