The Rollup

In today's episode, we chat with Alex Tapscott, co-author of "Blockchain Revolution" – the book that kicked off so many crypto journeys back in 2016. Alex shares how a ski trip conversation with his father evolved into pioneering work that shaped the industry. We explore crypto's path dependency through major events and why Trump's election could be the final domino for Bitco...

Impermanent loss: crypto's most misnamed problem that has permanently damaged countless liquidity provider portfolios. In today's episode, Curve founder Michael Egorov reveals his new project, Yield Basis, aimed at eliminating DeFi's persistent impermanent loss problem. Michael takes us through how his approach uses constant leverage on liquidity tokens to produce Bitcoin yield, without the usual...

AI and crypto are evolving together, but not without a few missteps along the way. In today’s episode, we chat with Wei Dai from 1kx and Tarun Chitra from Gauntlet about what went wrong with the first generation of crypto AI agents and why reasoning models are bringing about a shift. We explore DeepSeek's revolutionary approach to cost optimization, the potential of MCP as "HTTP for agent...

Trump, Powell, and global tariffs are reshaping the financial system, and crypto is right in the crosshairs. Arthur Hayes and Mike Silagadze explain how these shifts could spark an even bigger DeFi boom. Arthur explains how Trump's walking back of tariffs and Fed stability commitments signal we've hit the bottom, setting up Bitcoin for a massive rally. Meanwhile, Mike claims ETH has finally bottom...

The AI revolution is here, but who controls the intelligence we'll all rely on? In today's episode we sit down with Emad Mostaque, founder of Intelligent Internet, to explore the intersection between AI and crypto. We cover how ChatGPT-4o's Ghibli filter signaled a fundamental shift in how we interact online, the issue of AI using "too much compute for too little intelligence,&quo...

User retention in crypto? Huge headache. The temptation for users to jump from one chain to another can be huge. With so many settlement layers available, it's a problem that's tough to solve for new chains. In today's episode, we meet with Rachin Kalakheti and dive into Twine's approach: one execution layer that settles to multiple chains simultaneously. Build once, then tap into...

From proof of work to proof of stake, blockchain consensus is evolving once again into something new: proof of verifiable work. In today’s episode, Tim Carstens and Jeremy Bruestle from Boundless share their insights into how this new approach works. They explain how proof of verifiable work leverages the computing power of everyday users to generate ZK proofs, enabling true blockchain scalability...

The race for the ultimate crypto super app is heating up. Who will own the user experience? In this episode, we chat with Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius, and Armani Ferrante, CEO of Backpack. Armani takes us through his transition from Apple to Alameda Research, and how that journey led to building one of Solana’s fastest-growing platforms. As markets deal with tariff tensions, institutional adoption...

After a majorly successful week for the Celestia ecosystem, winning Noble's new AppLayer & Ethena's 'Converge' chain, we are coming to you with an episode recorded in Denver this year with Nick White. We first touched on FUD and asked Nick to openly address the FUD from the community regarding staking, locked tokens, and the tokenomics in general. The technical discussion start...

In today's episode, we explore TimeBoost on Arbitrum with Harry Kalodner. Arbitrum DAO has signaled a vote recently to go live with timeboost on mainnet. This innovative mechanism shifts from first-come-first-serve to a priority bidding system while maintaining transaction privacy and fairness. We examine how TimeBoost returns value to the Arbitrum DAO, eliminates latency racing, and builds a more...

We filmed this interview with John Patrick Mullen during consensus Hong Kong, in late Feburary 2025. From obscurity to a $13 billion market cap, OM token's 7,000% surge and recent 90% downfall has left many questioning what's really happening behind the scenes? We aim to provide some clarity from before the crash to help you all understand what was happening. The most revealing is what hap...

The shifts in cultural evolution are impacting our society in ways we can’t ignore. Today, we're joined by Robin Hanson, economist and polymath from George Mason University. Robin is known for exploring questions that often remain unanswered, from prediction markets to the possibilities of alien civilizations. In this conversation, we explore how his Futarchy concept, after 26 years, has found...

Bitcoin is so back. Institutions are talking about it more than ever and are investing at a rapid pace, while the US government is setting up a strategic Bitcoin reserve. In today's episode, we explore the "Back to Bitcoin" thesis with Hemi co-founders Jeff Garzik and Max Sanchez. Hemi takes the best from Bitcoin and Ethereum, combining Bitcoin's security with Ethereum's programmability. How? They...

The clash of economic superpowers is reshaping our future with AI as the ultimate battleground. Today, Arthur Hayes and Nils Pihl from Auki Labs explore how US-China trade tensions reflect a deeper struggle for dominance in physical AI and robotics – where China holds surprising advantages. We discuss with Arthur the move China will be forced to make: devaluing the Yuan to create an independent cu...

Oracles are the center of DeFi. They're not just important, they're *vital*. But with the rise of high-performance blockchains, oracles are having to rethink their entire game plan. In today's episode, we sit down with Marcin and Jakub from RedStone to explore oracles at their breaking point as blockchains get faster and more demanding. This isn't just another Chainlink competitor story, it's abou...

The competition for stablecoin market share is more complex than most realize, especially as institutional adoption heats up. In today's episode, we’re breaking down the nuances of this battle with Guy Young, founder of Ethena, Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstorm, and Omer Goldberg, founder of Chaos Labs. We mostly explore the macro landscape, which is now plagued with tariffs, and how Ethena's...

Consensus is slow by design. In crypto, we’ve accepted the tradeoff: robustness at the cost of speed. Whether it’s proof-of-work or proof-of-stake, every node reprocesses every transaction, every time. It’s secure and reliable... but often overkill for most of what we actually do. What if we stopped treating every transaction like a global event? What if the base layer didn’t have to decide who bo...

What if DEXs could do more? Ekubo thinks they can. Their approach? Dedefining efficiency from the ground up, from memory architecture to fee mechanics, decreasing gas costs while unlocking features like TWAMs. In today’s episode, we sit down with Moody, Ekubo's founder and Uniswap v3 co-author, alongside Benjamin Sturisky from the Starknet Foundation. We explore why they chose Starknet over Et...

What kind of infrastructure do we actually need to support real, global trading onchain? In today's episode, we dig into the debate between high-throughput blockchains and modular approaches with Logan and Max, both vocal Solana supporters. They share why they believe monolithic scaling is the way to go, and why Solana is aiming to replace NASDAQ, not Ethereum. (Yes!) We discuss how global dat...

Now that the Crypto AI peak of inflated expectations has passed, what’s actually built to last? In today's episode, we are looking at the real infrastructure needed for long-term AI projects. We sit down with Ram Kumar of OpenLedger to explore how their team is building AI that actually understands crypto, not just slapping ChatGPT onto existing apps. OpenLedger is designing intelligence that’s na...

Crypto has always been a game of extremes. On one end, a memecoins casino and speculative madness; on the other, an attempt to build something more sustainable. In today's episode, we sit down with Chris Yin, co-founder and CEO of Plume Network, to cut through the noise around RWAs. Chris explains why most RWA projects are just "TradFi people doing TradFi stuff on chain" and why that...

While everyone's attention has been focused the current market volatility, stablecoins have been thriving. In today's episode, we take a look at Plasma and uncover what their team has been working on for stablecoins. Rather than creating another all-purpose blockchain, they've developed something specifically for stablecoin payments. Zero fee USDT transfers in a system built for speed,...

What makes crypto so different in the East and the West? In the U.S. and Europe, teams typically focus on building the foundation: rollups, restaking, scaling solutions. In Asia, markets drive adoption, trading volume, and unique market trends. We sat with YQ, founder of AltLayer, to dive deeper. Western builders think ahead, prioritizing scalability and decentralization. Eastern markets excel at...

What if DeFi value flowed back to its users? In today’s episode, we’re exploring the Berachain ecosystem with its founder, Smokey The Bera, to dive into this idea and talk about the chain’s rapid growth. Berachain is different. It’s built on a unique symbiotic relationship between the chain, validators, and apps. By using game theory, it lets users create strategies based on the tokens they want t...

An AI agent with no hidden motives or data harvesting. Dream or reality? In today's episode, we talk with Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol, about the idea of having your own AI. That's exactly what NEAR has created with their AI Transaction Protocol (AITP). They have an open ecosystem where AI systems can communicate and transact while you maintain complete control. NEAR isn't just de...