The Big Brain Podcast

In episode 12 of The Big Brain Podcast, Larry and Namik are joined by David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Group. The conversation explores stablecoins, collateral mobility, tokenized securities, institutional adoption, regulatory clarity, and why Mercer believes tokenization could have an impact on capital markets similar to the rise of derivatives. They also examine prediction markets, perpetuals, and the...

In episode 11 of The Big Brain Podcast, Larry and Namik are joined by Zaheer Ebtikar, Chief Strategy Officer at Plasma. Zaheer explains why stablecoins are the most important use case in crypto, the need for simplified user experiences, and why verticalized chains may outperform general-purpose blockchains. The conversation also covers token design, institutional adoption, and how the industry is...

In episode 10 of The Big Brain Podcast, Larry and Namik are joined by Gauntlet founder and CEO Tarun Chitra. Tarun recounts how an unexpected ADL event on a tiny test position pushed him to research how exchanges handle insolvency when liquidations fail, especially after October 10th. He argues the common ranking approach concentrates losses unfairly and may overshoot during cascading events. The...

In episode 9 of The Big Brain Podcast, Larry and Namik are joined by Infinex founder Kain Warwick. The trio discuss how crypto's complex user experience remains a roadblock for projects to gain broader adoption and find new users, and how Infinex aims to tackle this by being the first true "superapp." The conversation also digs into multi-chain routing, gas abstraction, fundraising, “CT mafia” dyn...

In episode 8 of The Big Brain Podcast, Lighter founder Vladimir Novakovski explains why he built a zero-fee, ZK-powered perp DEX as an Ethereum L2, how it stacks up against CEXs and rival perp chains, and what they learned from recent market stress ahead of their token launch. OUTLINE 00:00 – Introduction 04:50 – What Lighter is 06:15 – Why Ethereum L2 and ZK 11:03 – Zero-fee retail model 18:11 –...

In this episode of The Big Brain Podcast, Eli Ben-Sasson – co-founder of Zcash and Starknet – joins The Block President Larry Cermak and MegaETH CSO Namik Muduroglu. The conversation delves into the challenges of ensuring integrity in privacy payments on decentralized public blockchains, highlighting the role of ZK proofs in validating computations without compromising sensitive information. OUTLI...

In this episode of the Big Brain Podcast, Larry and Namik are joined by Wintermute Founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy to discuss the recent historic crypto crash, explaining how extreme leverage, exchange failures, and forced ADL liquidations led to market chaos and liquidity breakdowns across the ecosystem. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 00:45 What Happened? 04:46 Understanding ADL 12:25 Transparency and...

In this episode of the Big Brain Podcast, Larry and Namik are joined by Dragonfly's Tom Schmidt Alok Vasudev of Standard Crypto. They dive into current trends in venture capital within the crypto space, touching on how market conditions have evolved since 2021, the role of treasury companies, and the evolving regulatory landscape. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 01:06 Alok's Background 04:45 Tom's Back...

Jack Mallers recounts his bitcoin journey, and explains how the US government could expunge its debt by dumping USD into gold and bitcoin. OUTLINE : 00:00 Introduction 06:55 Mallers Family Office 09:50 Founding Strike 14:53 Orange-Pilling El Salvador 22:23 Bitcoin & Tether 26:18 International Bitcoin Policies 32:39 US Bitcoin Policy 53:30 Twenty One

In this episode, Paolo Ardoino delves into the factors that contributed to Tether’s USDT becoming the world’s largest stablecoin. Additionally, Ardoino discusses Tether’s strategic investment in AI, energy, biotech, and other industries, showcasing their long-term vision. OUTLINE: 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Paolo's Background 1:21 Tether's Path to Success 04:04 Stablecoin Policy 07:23 USDT Adoption...

In this episode, Guy Young & Rune Christensen discuss the evolution of DeFi, noting how it has become more grounded in reality and sustainable business models, moving away from the early hype and ideological claims. OUTLINE: 00:00 Introduction 01:23 DeFi Ain't What it Used To Be 08:27 Ethena's Success 13:01 Get $HYPE(D) 15:08 HL L1 16:38 'Ecosystem Protocols' 19:32 DeFi User Capture 21:42 DeFi...

The Big Brain Podcast is co-hosted by The Block CEO Larry Cermak and MegaETH CSO Namik Muduroglu. In this episode, Haseeb Qureshi & Jordi Alexander discuss the similarities between poker and crypto, the economics of bitcoin's endgame, the intersection of AI and crypto, and more. OUTLINE: 00:00 Introduction 02:25 Similarities between Poker & Crypto 06:33 Maintaining Crypto Conviction 12:40...

It's gonna be a big show.