The Truth About Decentralized AI and the Future of Compute

In this episode, Sohejl sits down with Greg Osuri, Founder of Akash Network, to explore the realities of building decentralized compute infrastructure in an AI-driven world. Decentralization delivers exceptional value when applied to highly inefficient networks, with compute resources representing one of the most compelling use cases. Greg argues that the current centralized cloud model faces insurmountable challenges as AI workloads strain energy infrastructure beyond capacity, creating structural opportunities for distributed solutions to emerge as necessities rather than alternatives.Greg details how data centers in major markets like San Jose are already experiencing power shutdowns, validating Gartner's prediction that 40% of data centers will face energy shortages by 2026. This crisis creates a compelling case for moving workloads to where energy exists rather than attempting to transport energy across increasingly strained grid infrastructure. Greg explains how Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) solve critical problems around confidentiality and verifiability with only 20% performance overhead, making them the most practical solution compared to alternatives like zero-knowledge proofs or fully homomorphic encryption.The discussion takes an unexpected turn into blockchain infrastructure strategy as Greg reveals Akash's planned migration away from Cosmos toward shared security models. This strategic shift reflects deeper lessons about the Cosmos ecosystem's structural challenges and the broader principle that sovereignty should follow product-market fit rather than precede it. Greg's critique of building layer-one infrastructure before achieving market validation offers valuable insights for founders navigating similar decisions across the crypto infrastructure landscape.The episode concludes with Greg's frank assessment of the decentralized AI landscape, describing many current projects as vaporware while identifying distributed training as the most promising frontier. His framework for evaluating legitimate projects focuses on verifiable utility, non-speculative demand drivers, and actual user adoption rather than tokenomics engineering or marketing sophistication.📣📣📣 Building something exciting & want to come on the show or collaborate with us? Email us at  👉👉 [email protected] 👈👈 or DM us on X: @teachmedefi▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Guest Links / Additional Material:Greg’s Twitter: https://x.com/gregosuri Akash Twitter: https://x.com/akashnet Akash’s website: https://akash.network/ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Timestamps:0:00 - Intro & Decentralization Philosophy1:01 - Network Inefficiency & AI Energy Crisis8:23 - Energy Distribution & Infrastructure Challenges11:11 - Home Computing & Solar Solutions15:24 - Confidentiality & Verifiability Solutions19:23 - Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs)21:07 - Akash Chain Migration Strategy24:47 - Cosmos Model Critique & Sovereignty Issues31:07 - L1 Economics Analysis33:40 - Akash Marketplace Overview36:26 - Burn-Mint Equilibrium Intro39:05 - BME Technical Mechanics & Economics45:06 - BME Timeline & Terra Luna Comparison47:56 - Decentralized AI Vaporware Assessment50:41 - Training vs Inference Opportunities53:07 - Industry Outlook & Future Developments--------------Disclaimer:TEACHMEDEFI is a provider of entertainment and opinions. We are neither a broker/dealer nor an investment advisor. This is not a service for issuing or receiving financial or investment advice. None of our content constitutes a recommendation – or should be understood as such – to conduct transactions in securities, cryptocurrencies, or crypto-assets, or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in our discussions or provided content. We do not provide personalized recommendations or views on whether a stock, cryptocurrency, crypto-asset, or investment approach is suitable for the financial needs of a particular individual.

Get 20% off at turbo.ar.io with code TEACHMEDEFI.In this episode, Soheil sits down with Phil, Founder of AR.IO, a critical piece of infrastructure built on Arweave, to discuss the critical vulnerabilities of centralized cloud infrastructure and how decentralized storage networks provide permanent, resilient alternatives. The conversation explores Arweave's "permanent cloud" architecture, which demonstrated its reliability during recent AWS outages that brought down large portions of the internet, including major crypto platforms.Phil's insights reveal the fundamental trade-offs between centralized convenience and systemic risk. Arweave addresses these vulnerabilities through a distributed network of nodes that provides location-independent data access, where files uploaded once remain permanently accessible without ongoing subscription costs. The technical demonstration showcases Turbo, Arweave's upload interface, alongside integration with x402 micropayment protocols using USDC on Base, enabling autonomous agents and high-volume users to pay for bandwidth dynamically while maintaining free access for basic usage.The discussion addresses infrastructure requirements for an AI-driven future where autonomous agents need reliable, permanent data storage and retrieval. AR.IO and Arweave position themselves as fundamental for this transition, offering timestamped, tamper-proof storage that agents can access and pay for programmatically, supporting the predicted growth in AI-driven internet traffic and data permanence requirements.📣📣📣 Building something exciting & want to come on the show or collaborate with us? Email us at  👉👉 [email protected] 👈👈 or DM us on X:https://www.twitter.com/teachmedefi👉 Please share this if you learned something! What should we discuss next? Comment! 👉 Fed up with crypto influencers? Follow us for quality education.▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Guest Links / Additional Material:Phil‘s Twitter: https://x.com/vilenarios/AR.IO Twitter: https://x.com/ar_io_networkAR.IO’s website: https://ar.io/ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▸ Find us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachmedefi▸ Find us on  𝕏: https://x.com/TEACHMEDEFI▸ Find us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/TEACHMEDEFI▸ Find us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachmedefi_official▸ Find us on Podcast Streaming Sites: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/teachmedefi▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction and sponsor message01:10 - Phil's background and the recent AWS outage03:25 - Arweave network resilience during the crisis06:03 - Permanent cloud economics and decentralization benefits07:58 - Weave blockchain foundation and technical architecture11:15 - Location-independent data access and node distribution15:30 - Website hosting and content delivery use cases20:10 - Developer integration tools and API access25:45 - One-time payment model versus subscription services30:30 - Gateway operator economics and reward mechanisms35:20 - Live demo: Turbo upload interface walkthrough42:01 - X402 micropayment protocol integration with Base47:07 - AI infrastructure roadmap and autonomous agent support49:22 - Closing remarks and contact information--------------Disclaimer:TEACHMEDEFI is a provider of entertainment and opinions. We are neither a broker/dealer nor an investment advisor. This is not a service for issuing or receiving financial or investment advice. None of our content constitutes a recommendation – or should be understood as such – to conduct transactions in securities, cryptocurrencies, or crypto-assets, or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in our discussions or provided content. We do not provide personalized recommendations or views on whether a stock, cryptocurrency, crypto-asset, or investment approach is suitable for the financial needs of a particular individual.

In this episode, Sohejl speaks with Warren Paul Anderson, an early Bitcoin adopter and the co-founder of Imua, a universal protocol for shared economic security across blockchains. Warren shares how his journey began in 2011 after dropping out of Harvard, and how it eventually led him to build a system that allows chains to pool validator security for off-chain services like oracles, AI, and more. The discussion covers the architecture of Imua, the risks and rewards of restaking, and how social consensus plays a role in slashing and trust. We also touch on the intersection of AI and crypto, the future of decentralized verifiability, and why Warren believes blockchain will be key to enabling AI-powered agents and even robots. 📣📣📣 Building something exciting & want to come on the show or collaborate with us? Email us at 👉👉 [email protected] 👈👈 or DM us on X: https://www.twitter.com/teachmedefi 👉 Please share this if you learned something! What should we discuss next? Comment! 👉 Fed up with crypto influencers? Follow us for quality education. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Guest Links / Additional Material: Imua Website: https://www.imua.xyz/ Imua on X: https://x.com/imua Warren on X: https://x.com/warpaul?lang=en Find us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachmedefi ▸ Find us on 𝕏: https://x.com/TEACHMEDEFI ▸ Find us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/TEACHMEDEFI ▸ Find us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachmedefi_official ▸ Find us on Podcast Streaming Sites: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/teachmedefi Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:20 - From Harvard to Bitcoin to Ripple to Imua 09:30 - Mining Bitcoin in 2011 14:15 - Joining Ripple 18:39 - The Elegance of ZK Proofs 20:40 - Imua: Bringing Trust to Off-Chain Systems 25:20 - Omnichain Restaking 30:33 - Restaking and Slashing 40:00 - Bootstrapping an L1 Chain 47:30 - Restaking And Risks 52:20 - Example Use Cases for Off-Chain Services 01:04:30- The Future of AI and Blockchain Integration -------------- Disclaimer: TEACHMEDEFI is a provider of entertainment and opinions. We are neither a broker/dealer nor an investment advisor. This is not a service for issuing or receiving financial or investment advice. None of our content constitutes a recommendation – or should be understood as such – to conduct transactions in securities, cryptocurrencies, or crypto-assets, or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in our discussions or provided content. We do not provide personalized recommendations or views on whether a stock, cryptocurrency, crypto-asset, or investment approach is suitable for the financial needs of a particular individual.

In this episode, Soheil sits down with Rowan, former Director of On-Chain Business Development at Coinbase and Co-Founder of Sapien, to discuss his journey from launching Base as a scrappy six-person team within a major public company to recognizing the critical importance of data quality in AI training and the untapped potential of applying crypto-economic incentives to solve artificial intelligence's most fundamental safety challenges.Rowan's path from Base to Sapien illustrates the evolution from blockchain infrastructure to AI safety. At Coinbase, he helped transform Base from a minimal-budget experiment into a thriving ecosystem that exceeded revenue projections by 10x, built on the OP Stack to create shared technical standards. The transition to Sapien addresses a critical gap in AI development: current industry practices rely on low-paid workers with centralized quality control, producing inferior results that scale poorly. Sapien's "Proof of Quality" protocol applies proof-of-stake economics to data creation, where contributors stake reputation and tokens against their work quality, enabling higher compensation while creating immutable records of data provenance.The stakes extend beyond efficiency to existential AI safety concerns. Poor training data can cause autonomous vehicles to miss stop signs or robots to interact dangerously with their environment, making quality a life-and-death issue. Working with clients from automotive manufacturers to the United Nations, Sapien focuses on 3D and 4D datasets where AI meets physical reality. The vision encompasses immediate improvements – enabling global workers to earn $10 per hour rather than subsistence wages – while ensuring AI development follows a path toward human flourishing rather than catastrophic outcomes.📣📣📣 Building something exciting & want to come on the show or collaborate with us? Email us at  👉👉 [email protected] 👈👈 or DM us on X:https://www.twitter.com/teachmedefi▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Guest Links / Additional Material:Rowan‘s Twitter: https://x.com/rowanrk6 Sapien Twitter: https://x.com/JoinSapien Sapien website: https://www.sapien.io/ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▸ Find us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachmedefi▸ Find us on  𝕏: https://x.com/TEACHMEDEFI▸ Find us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/TEACHMEDEFI▸ Find us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachmedefi_official▸ Find us on Podcast Streaming Sites: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/teachmedefi▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction and sponsor message01:40 - Rowan's background and on-chain business development at Coinbase04:30 - Base's origin story and OP Stack strategy08:30 - Base's scrappy launch and early success11:30 - AI safety concerns and the data quality problem13:20 - Sapien's founding and Proof of Quality protocol18:00 - Quality control through community validation21:40 - Evolution from data labeling to 3D/4D datasets27:30 - Autonomous vehicle data: Tesla vs. Waymo approaches31:50 - Gaming community's role in 3D data annotation36:00 - Economic model and token distribution40:00 - Staking rewards and DAO structure42:30 - Views on the decentralized AI landscape45:00 - Six-month roadmap and credibility building--------------Disclaimer:TEACHMEDEFI is a provider of entertainment and opinions. We are neither a broker/dealer nor an investment advisor. This is not a service for issuing or receiving financial or investment advice. None of our content constitutes a recommendation – or should be understood as such – to conduct transactions in securities, cryptocurrencies, or crypto-assets, or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in our discussions or provided content. We do not provide personalized recommendations or views on whether a stock, cryptocurrency, crypto-asset, or investment approach is suitable for the financial needs of a particular individual.

In this episode, Sohejl sits down with Hrish, Co-Founder of Super World, to discuss his journey from observing Pokemon Go's revolutionary success in reaching $1 billion in revenue within seven months to recognizing the untapped potential of location-based digital experiences beyond gaming. His vision led him to create Super World, a platform that divides Earth into 64 billion blocks, enabling creators to attach "phygital" content to specific real-world locations. Hrish challenges the conventional separation between virtual and augmented reality, arguing instead that these technologies exist on a spectrum that should be seamlessly integrated with real-world locations to unlock monetization opportunities for businesses, travel experiences, nonprofits, and sports teams.Hrish argues that creators currently face an artificial division between digital platforms like YouTube and Instagram and physical service platforms like Airbnb, forcing them to split their efforts across multiple ecosystems. Current creator platforms work fine for purely digital content, but they fail to capture the value of location-specific services where proximity matters. Super World's approach treats each creator's map as a channel while contributing to a shared global infrastructure, enabling discovery through both individual creator worlds and the broader public map.The platform is already positioning itself to bridge this gap through its integration of Web3 components and AI technology, supporting various forms of digital interaction including visual, audio, and data-based content tied to physical locations. Super World has launched its token (SPW) and is currently in presale phase as they prepare for broader market launch. Hrish positions this as the missing piece that could finally bring location-aware digital content creation to mainstream adoption, providing creators with a unified platform that combines the engagement benefits of digital content with the practical advantages of local proximity.📣📣📣 Building something exciting & want to come on the show or collaborate with us? Email us at  👉👉 [email protected] 👈👈 or DM us on X:▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Guest Links / Additional Material:Hrish Lotlikar Twitter: https://x.com/hrishlotlikar SuperWorld Twitter: https://x.com/superworldapp SuperWorld website: https://www.superworldapp.com/▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▸ Find us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachmedefi▸ Find us on  𝕏: https://x.com/TEACHMEDEFI▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Timestamps:01:24 – Metaverse hype to AI hardware02:22 – Tokenizing real-world human interactions04:19 – VR/AR as unified spectrum05:50 – Pokemon Go's billion dollar blueprint06:58 – Pokemon Go's $4B exit08:15 – Beyond visual AR experiences11:30 – Web3 meets location-based content14:45 – Audio and data interactions17:20 – Real-world monetization strategy19:40 – Super World's differentiation approach22:10 – Physical-digital content categories25:08 – Earth divided into 64B blocks48:08 – YouTube-style world mapping system50:25 – Creator platform limitations today52:57 – Building unified phygital marketplace53:52 – SPW token and getting started--------------Disclaimer:TEACHMEDEFI is a provider of entertainment and opinions. We are neither a broker/dealer nor an investment advisor. This is not a service for issuing or receiving financial or investment advice. None of our content constitutes a recommendation – or should be understood as such – to conduct transactions in securities, cryptocurrencies, or crypto-assets, or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in our discussions or provided content. We do not provide personalized recommendations or views on whether a stock, cryptocurrency, crypto-asset, or investment approach is suitable for the financial needs of a particular individual.

In this episode, Sohejl sits down with Howard Wu, Co-Founder of Aleo to discuss his journey from selling custom PCs and mining Bitcoin in high school to discovering zero-knowledge proofs at UC Berkeley under Professor Alessandro Chiesa (co-founder of Zcash and Starkware). His 2019 research paper on private smart contracts, called Zexe, attracted significant industry attention and led him to commercialize the technology through Aleo. Howard challenges the conventional wisdom that privacy and compliance are at odds, arguing instead that the issue lies in how technology is implemented. The conversation challenges the idea that wanting privacy means you're doing something sketchy. Howard argues that privacy and compliance actually work together through features like view keys and policy engines. Businesses have been evaluating crypto for years but keep hitting the same wall - their compliance departments can't accept transparent blockchain transactions. Current public blockchains are like having transparent bank accounts, which works fine for some uses but makes business adoption impossible.Companies like Revolut are already testing private payment rails through Aleo's partnerships. New stable coins with built-in privacy are launching this quarter through the Global Dollar Network. Howard positions this as the missing piece that could finally bring crypto to mainstream business adoption, providing the speed and cost benefits of blockchain with the privacy that traditional businesses require.📣📣📣 Building something exciting & want to come on the show or collaborate with us? Email us at  👉👉 [email protected] 👈👈 or DM us on X:https://www.twitter.com/teachmedefi👉 Please share this if you learned something! What should we discuss next? Comment! 👉 Fed up with crypto influencers? Follow us for quality education.▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Guest Links / Additional Material:Howard Wu Twitter: https://x.com/1HowardWu Aleo Twitter: https://x.com/AleoHQ Aelo website: https://aleo.org/ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▸ Find us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachmedefi▸ Find us on  𝕏: https://x.com/TEACHMEDEFI▸ Find us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/TEACHMEDEFI▸ Find us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachmedefi_official▸ Find us on Podcast Streaming Sites: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/teachmedefi▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Timestamps:0:00 - 3:00 - Early Bitcoin mining3:00 - 6:00 - Berkeley research, Zexe paper6:00 - 8:00 - Founding Aleo8:00 - 12:00 - Privacy vs compliance myths12:00 - 17:00 - Verifiable credentials, view keys17:00 - 22:00 - Regulatory gaps, demos22:00 - 27:00 - ZK simply explained27:00 - 32:00 - Performance evolution32:00 - 38:00 - Scaling advantages38:00 - 43:00 - Business privacy problems43:00 - 48:00 - ZK in AI, TEEs48:00 - 53:00 - Revolut, partnerships53:00 - 58:00 - Other blockchains' limitations58:00 - 63:00 - Aleo's approach, stable coins--------------Disclaimer:TEACHMEDEFI is a provider of entertainment and opinions. We are neither a broker/dealer nor an investment advisor. This is not a service for issuing or receiving financial or investment advice. None of our content constitutes a recommendation – or should be understood as such – to conduct transactions in securities, cryptocurrencies, or crypto-assets, or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in our discussions or provided content. We do not provide personalized recommendations or views on whether a stock, cryptocurrency, crypto-asset, or investment approach is suitable for the financial needs of a particular individual.

In this episode, Sohejl sits down with Alex Page, Co-Founder and CEO of Nillion to discuss decentralized AI and privacy-enhancing technologies. Alex explains his motivation for working on privacy tech, rooted in early lessons about government overreach and reinforced by events like Edward Snowden's revelations and Cambridge Analytica as well as the fundamental adoption challenge: people claim to care about privacy but won't sacrifice utility for it. Nillion's approach focuses on lowering barriers for developers so they can build privacy-preserving applications where the trade-off is minimal enough that consumers will choose private options when functionality is equivalent.Alex walks through Nillion's "blind computer" architecture, which maintains data security during storage, transit, and computation. The system combines multiple privacy-enhancing technologies – multi-party computation (MPC), trusted execution environments (TEEs), and fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) – strategically based on each technology's strengths and limitations.The conversation examines the coming wave of smaller, specialized AI models and agents that will require deep access to personal data for email, credit cards, calendars, and more. Alex argues that building privacy infrastructure now allows developers to create these agents in ways that serve users rather than big tech companies. He compares the current AI revolution to the Industrial Revolution: ultimately beneficial for humanity but disruptive during the transition. Nillion's upcoming Nil AI module will provide developers with tools to build the next generation of private AI applications and agents.📣📣📣 Building something exciting & want to come on the show or collaborate with us? Email us at  👉👉 [email protected] 👈👈 or DM us on X:https://www.twitter.com/teachmedefi👉 Please share this if you learned something! What should we discuss next? Comment! 👉 Fed up with crypto influencers? Follow us for quality education.▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Guest Links / Additional Material:Alex Page Twitter: https://x.com/alex4onlyNillion Twitter: https://x.com/nillionnetworkNillion website: https://nillion.com/ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▸ Find us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachmedefi▸ Find us on  𝕏: https://x.com/TEACHMEDEFI▸ Find us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/TEACHMEDEFI▸ Find us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachmedefi_official▸ Find us on Podcast Streaming Sites: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/teachmedefi▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Timestamps:00:00 – Introduction & Why Privacy Matters01:25 – What is Decentralized AI?06:11 – Privacy, Law & Healthy Skepticism of Power09:09 – Joining Nillion & Privacy Infrastructure10:10 – The Privacy Paradox: Why People Won't Trade Utility for Privacy13:52 – Nil GPT: A Private Alternative to ChatGPT15:47 – What is Nillion? The Blind Computer18:24 – Privacy Tech Stack: MPC, FHE, and TEEs22:13 – Nillion Applications: Nil GPT and Nil AI26:02 – Nil DB, Nil Compute & Decentralized Nodes30:21 – How Encrypted Storage Works in Nil DB32:08 – What's Next: Nil AI Module for Developers34:30 – The Future of AI: Specialized Models & Privacy--------------Disclaimer:TEACHMEDEFI is a provider of entertainment and opinions. We are neither a broker/dealer nor an investment advisor. This is not a service for issuing or receiving financial or investment advice. None of our content constitutes a recommendation – or should be understood as such – to conduct transactions in securities, cryptocurrencies, or crypto-assets, or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in our discussions or provided content. We do not provide personalized recommendations or views on whether a stock, cryptocurrency, crypto-asset, or investment approach is suitable for the financial needs of a particular individual.

In this episode, Sohejl sits down with Steve from RockSolid to talk about the state of DeFi, institutional adoption driven by Digital Asset Treasuries, recent announcements of Stripe, Robinhood and others, and we discuss what happens after the mainstream goes onchain. Steve tells us about RockSolid‘s work in that area, offering curated vaults for rETH built in partnership with Rocket Pool, giving users one‑click access to DeFi strategies without needing to be a DeFi expert. Steve explains why Ethereum’s credible neutrality matters as TradFi launches on‑chain efforts, how Rocket Pool’s decentralization strengthens the network, and how RockSolid targets risk‑adjusted returns using battle‑tested vault infrastructure.The discussion also dives into leverage looping and lending/borrowing strategies, fees and security, and multi‑chain deployment across EVM L2s like Base and Linea. Steve shares how curators negotiate protocol incentives for rETH, why DAT treasuries are increasingly deploying into DeFi, and what differentiates RockSolid’s transparent, on‑chain approach from traditional asset management.📣📣📣 Building something exciting & want to come on the show or collaborate with us? Email us at  👉👉 [email protected] 👈👈 or DM us on X:https://www.twitter.com/teachmedefi👉 Please share this if you learned something! What should we discuss next? Comment! 👉 Fed up with crypto influencers? Follow us for quality education.▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Guest Links / Additional Material:RockSolid Website: https://rocksolid.network/ RockSolid on X: https://x.com/rocksolidHQ Steve on X:  https://x.com/paladin_eth ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▸ Find us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachmedefi▸ Find us on  𝕏: https://x.com/TEACHMEDEFI▸ Find us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/TEACHMEDEFI▸ Find us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachmedefi_official▸ Find us on Podcast Streaming Sites: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/teachmedefi▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Timestamps:00:00 – Intro, disclaimers (educational only; not financial advice)01:30 – TradFi goes on-chain: Stripe/Tempo, Nasdaq, Robinhood07:10 – Why ETH’s credible neutrality matters12:20 – Liquid staking overview20:40 – Funding rates, LSTs, liquidations25:30 – RockSolid vaults: one-click UX33:15 – Strategy deep dive40:00 – Fees and security46:20 – Multi-chain plans51:10 – Negotiating incentives and integrations for rETH56:00 – DAT treasuries and institutional DeFi1:01:30 – Demo highlights and how to get started--------------Disclaimer:TEACHMEDEFI is a provider of entertainment and opinions. We are neither a broker/dealer nor an investment advisor. This is not a service for issuing or receiving financial or investment advice. None of our content constitutes a recommendation – or should be understood as such – to conduct transactions in securities, cryptocurrencies, or crypto-assets, or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in our discussions or provided content. We do not provide personalized recommendations or views on whether a stock, cryptocurrency, crypto-asset, or investment approach is suitable for the financial needs of a particular individual.

In this episode, Sohejl sits down with Ryan Levy, Head of Business Development at DataHaven, to talk about DataHaven, a decentralized storage platform developed by the Moonbeam Foundation. Ryan explains why decentralized storage is critical for the next wave of applications, how DataHaven ensures verifiability, encryption, and tamper-proof security, and why the project is built with AI and sensitive data use cases in mind.The discussion also dives into healthcare as a major application, the economic model behind DataHaven, and how the team is approaching community engagement with 50% of supply allocated to users. Ryan shares his perspective on why collaboration is more powerful than competition in blockchain and what makes DataHaven different from traditional storage solutions.📣📣📣 Building something exciting & want to come on the show or collaborate with us? Email us at  👉👉 [email protected] 👈👈 or DM us on X:https://www.twitter.com/teachmedefi👉 Please share this if you learned something! What should we discuss next? Comment! 👉 Fed up with crypto influencers? Follow us for quality education.▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Guest Links / Additional Material:DataHaven Website: https://datahaven.xyz/ DataHaven on X: https://x.com/datahaven_xyz Ryan on X:  https://x.com/ryanjlevy?lang=en ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▸ Find us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachmedefi▸ Find us on  𝕏: https://x.com/TEACHMEDEFI▸ Find us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/TEACHMEDEFI▸ Find us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachmedefi_official▸ Find us on Podcast Streaming Sites: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/teachmedefi▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Timestamps:00:00 - Intro02:22 - Understanding Decentralized Storage09:30 - DataHaven: An AI-First Decentralized Storage Platform19:30 - How it Works28:00 - Decentralized Storage in Healthcare31:00 - AI Inference and Data Integrity37:30 - Where do you see this growing?40:30 - Economic Model45:12 - Raising Funds and Growth46:20 - What does this mean for Moonbeam?--------------Disclaimer:TEACHMEDEFI is a provider of entertainment and opinions. We are neither a broker/dealer nor an investment advisor. This is not a service for issuing or receiving financial or investment advice. None of our content constitutes a recommendation – or should be understood as such – to conduct transactions in securities, cryptocurrencies, or crypto-assets, or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in our discussions or provided content. We do not provide personalized recommendations or views on whether a stock, cryptocurrency, crypto-asset, or investment approach is suitable for the financial needs of a particular individual.

In this episode, Sohejl sits down with Matty, co-founder of Legion, to talk about the evolving landscape of fundraising in crypto — and why the industry is moving away from chaotic ICOs toward more structured, merit-based token sales.Matty breaks down the risks of low float / high FDV launches, the problem with misaligned incentives between founders and investors, and how Legion is building a platform that rewards contribution over speculation. The conversation also covers regulatory compliance, the future role of VCs in Web3, and how the rise of AI and alternative fundraising models is changing how projects are built and funded.Whether you’re launching a project or investing in one, this episode unpacks the mechanics of modern token sales and where the industry is headed next.📣📣📣 Building something exciting & want to come on the show or collaborate with us? Email us at  👉👉 [email protected] 👈👈 or DM us on X:https://www.twitter.com/teachmedefi👉 Please share this if you learned something! What should we discuss next? Comment! 👉 Fed up with crypto influencers? Follow us for quality education.▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Guest Links / Additional Material:Legion Website: https://legion.cc/ Legion on X: https://x.com/legiondotcc Matty on X: https://x.com/mattyTokenomics ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▸ Find us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachmedefi▸ Find us on  𝕏: https://x.com/TEACHMEDEFI▸ Find us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/TEACHMEDEFI▸ Find us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachmedefi_official▸ Find us on Podcast Streaming Sites: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/teachmedefi▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀Timestamps:00:00 – Intro01:30 – Evolution of Fundraising in Crypto06:05 – Why ICOs Failed09:00 – Aligning Incentives in Token Sales12:30 – The Problem with Low Float / High FDV16:20 – Transparency, Token Disclosures & Vesting Games18:50 – How Legion’s Merit System Works24:40 – SHOWCASE: Legion’s Growth: $25M Raised, 140K+ Users27:00 – What Projects Are Best Suited for Legion28:47 – The Future of VCs, AI, and Capital Leverage36:20 – Compliance42:00 – What’s Next for Legion44:30 – How to Get Involved--------------Disclaimer:TEACHMEDEFI is a provider of entertainment and opinions. We are neither a broker/dealer nor an investment advisor. This is not a service for issuing or receiving financial or investment advice. None of our content constitutes a recommendation – or should be understood as such – to conduct transactions in securities, cryptocurrencies, or crypto-assets, or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in our discussions or provided content. We do not provide personalized recommendations or views on whether a stock, cryptocurrency, crypto-asset, or investment approach is suitable for the financial needs of a particular individual.