Still Early Podcast

The dynamic duo - Grant and 563 - hosts Andy, a return guest, as they chat about various concepts in crypto, including modular scaling, execution environments, and user experience (UX). The conversation covers various layers of the stack, including execution, data availability, and consensus.  They also touch on the importance of changing the execution layer, the need for more infrastructure, and...

Grant hosts Sam, from Frax - a modular rollup - who shares his insights on the importance of DeFi and how it's the foundation for a successful ecosystem. The podcast discusses the current state of the crypto industry, specifically focusing on Ethereum and DeFi (Decentralized Finance).  Sam critiques the current narrative around Ethereum, arguing that it's being valued as a business rathe...

Grant hosts Su Zhu and Lukas as they discuss an emerging industry in blockchain: Sperm Fi. The discussion revolves around sperm donation and its potential as a market opportunity. The speakers explore the current state of the sperm market, including the competition, pricing, and the varying demands of women seeking donor sperm. They also discuss the stigma surrounding sperm donation and the potent...

Grant brings on Joey from DYAD as they dive into the unique aspects of the DYAD protocol and its innovative approach to stablecoin design. He discusses recent efforts to enhance user engagement and simplify the protocol's documentation.  In this episode, you will learn the differences between yield-oriented and money-oriented stablecoins. They also examine the limitations of traditional CDP m...

Grant welcomes Cait back from Moonwalk to talk about blockchain consumer apps and how Moonwalk uses blockchain and gamification to help people build accountability and healthy habits.  The chat covers the behavioral impact of these incentives, the social dynamics of group challenges, and the hurdles of creating a seamless onboarding experience.  Cait shares her vision for making crypto-based apps...

Grant and Graeme dive into the world of meme coins, focusing on Harry Potter Obama Sonic 10 Inu, otherwise known as ticker BITCOIN, the thicker ticker, etc.  They explore how merchandise shapes digital identities, tracing the coin's journey from its mysterious beginnings to its prominence in the crypto meme space. They discuss the shift towards community-owned and fair launch initiatives, mar...

Grant welcomes back a regular on the Still Early Podcast. Sami returns to share major updates on his company's rebrand from Redacted to Dinero.  The discussion covers their efforts to simplify product offerings for better clarity and appeal. Sami details their shift towards institutional clients, introduces PXUSD as a new stablecoin, and explains the real vs. fake world asset implications. He...

In this Still Early episode, Grant chats with Cain, a prominent DeFi builder, about the revolutionary potential of Infinex, a decentralized exchange designed to replace centralized platforms like Binance and Coinbase. Cain shares the journey from developing smart contracts to creating a user experience comparable to traditional exchanges.  The conversation touches on the challenges of user onboard...

In this Still Early episode, Grant has a chat with Brian from Phantom, a digital wallet reimagined for DeFi within the Solana ecosystem. Brian shares insights into Phantom's origins, the challenges they faced, and the strategic decisions that led to their success. Brian explains how Phantom prioritizes features based on user feedback, real-time inputs, and the importance of community engageme...

In this Still Early episode, Grant is joined by Vaibhav Chellani from Socket Protocol to discuss tectonic shifts and developments in the blockchain landscape. They address challenges like rollup scaling and chain fragmentation, emphasizing the need for seamless user experiences and chain abstraction. The conversation explores the technical and economic reasons for the rise of L2s and L3s, drawing...

In this episode of Still Early, Dom shares updates on his recent developments in the NFT space. Dom offers insights into the shifting focus from NFTs to more liquid and accessible meme coins, using major events like Pepe's rise as examples. He also discusses the challenges faced by NFT project founders in this changing landscape and the potential of SocialFi, citing examples like 404s and Pan...

In this episode of Still Early, Grant and 563 analyze AI and Crypto projects to bring you projects that are worth their salt. They stress the importance of distinguishing between real innovations and mere hype, especially regarding AI projects that use blockchain.  The discussion spans various aspects of AI training, data, computing power, and DePINs. They dive into four major projects, highlighti...

In this episode of Still Early, Grant chats with Dewpey from Karak about the innovative restaking protocol they're developing. The conversation delves Karak’s flexibility and composability, which allow for a wide range of assets to be restaked, reducing capital costs and fostering the emergence of new services.  They explore the operational mechanics of Delegated Staking Systems (DSSs), inclu...

In this episode of Still Early, we’re venturing into the Berachain universe. Grant sits down with Yu Kimura from Sunrise, a company specializing in proof of liquidity data layers. They dive deep into the role of data availability in secure transactions, and its importance for rollups. Yu elaborates on Sunrise’s innovative fee abstraction mechanism, which enables liquidity provision instead of dire...

In this episode of Still Early, it’s all about DeFI. Grant is joined by returning guest Captain Jack to discuss DeFi and how Berachain is playing a role in the landscape . They discuss Captain Jack's recent move to Berachain and the complexities of fostering a balanced DeFi ecosystem, balancing collaboration and competition. They explore the role of proof of liquidity in Berachain, comparing...

In this episode, Grant is joined by Sankha from Babylon as he shares their innovative approach to integrating staking with Bitcoin in the Cosmos ecosystem. The conversation also explores Bitcoin’s resurgence, highlighting the impact of ETF approvals and the enduring trust in Bitcoin as a secure asset. Additionally, they discuss the backward compatibility of Babylon's technology with existing...

In this episode of Still Early, Grant is joined by Aug from MOG Coin. This episode is a treasure trove for anyone curious about how meme coins come to life and thrive in the crazy world of cryptocurrencies. They dive deep into the nitty-gritty of what it takes to make meme coins work with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. They talk about innovative marketing tricks for building a passionate...

In this episode of Still Early, Grant and 563 are back again with major alpha on projects upcoming in Q2 2024. They delve into innovations across diverse ecosystems from Solana to Ethereum, BTC to Arbitrum, EVMs and Layer 2s. The discussion highlights each project's unique features, potential challenges, and investment prospects, offering valuable insights into how to get positioned to take a...

In this episode of Still Early, we venture into the spick-and-span realm of social-fi. From Solana to DeSo, social apps are being built all across the blockchain. Grant and 563 dig into the players in the social-fi scene and what they’re doing uniquely across their blockchain networks. They cover the Trojan horse strategy for mainstream adoption and the balance between innovation and practicality...

In this episode of Still Early we hone in on the rollercoaster journey of a social-fi powerhouse nestled within the Avalanche blockchain. Grant chats with Jason from the Arena. Jason sheds light on what drove them into the social-fi realm, highlighting their deep-rooted belief in blockchain's game-changing potential. They unravel the exciting prospects that crypto rails bring to social-fi pla...

In this episode of Still Early, Grant is joined by Blue from Trader Joe as they cover recent events, updates from Trader Joe, and strategies for community growth. They also delve into Layer 2 solutions, the delicate balance between acquisition and retention, and the essence of community culture. One standout is Mantle's innovative use of NFTs and personalization to foster growth. They convers...

In today’s episode Grant and 563 sit down with io.net’s COO Tory Green. The three kick things off by breaking down the GPU gold rush and centralized cloud challenges, before going into io.net's value-prop, as well as the Web3 efficiencies of cloud-compute. Tory then outlines io.net’s rates, drops a date on wen $I0 token, and discuss the future of the Solana ecosystem. They then dig into IO Ve...

In this episode of Still Early, Grant sits down with Charles from Nifty Island to dive deep into the exciting changes and buzz surrounding this virtual paradise. Charles chimes in with some valuable nuggets about Nifty's course, how they're getting newcomers on board, and what keeps everyone engaged. Plus, Charles sheds light on the uncharted waters of NFTs and spills the beans on what&a...

Grant is joined by 0xMoonbags to talk all things AVAX ERC-404. The two kick things off by breaking down 404 and the future of NFTs. They then discuss what lies ahead for 404s; will there be a focus on marketplace and infrastructure development or further product features? 0xMoonbags touches on the current 404 challenges, the KINGSHIT roadmap, builders in the ecosystem, the meme cycle cultural mome...

In today’s episode Grant sits down with Sei Labs Co-Founder Jay Log to talk all things Sei V2. The two kick things off with a review of meme coins and their role in the current cycle. Jay then gives us the backstory on Sei, before diving into parallel EVM execution challenges, V2 portability, the parallel stack, Sei V2 hardware requirements, Sei’s 2024 roadmap and much, much more!