BeL2 - Turn an EVM into a Bitcoin Layer 2

Josh Olszewicz, renowned crypto trader and technical analyst, joins Andy to celebrate the 500th episode of the Crypto Conversation.  Why you should listen Andy and Josh discuss Bitcoin, alts, American politics, memecoins, and Josh explains why he is serious about his $333k by July 2025 Bitcoin price target. It’s the 500th Episode of Crypto Conversation, thank-you so much for listening! Supporting links Josh on Twitter Andy on Twitter  Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.  

Rossen is a core contributor at Azuro,  an infrastructure/liquidity layer for on-chain predictions. It utilizes a new Liquidity Pool design, the Liquidity Tree, which creates and maintains market liquidity.   Why you should listen Azuro is an infrastructure/liquidity layer for on-chain predictions. It utilizes a Liquidity Pool design, the Liquidity Tree to create and maintain market liquidity. The Azuro Protocol is a decentralized protocol that enables peer-to-pool prediction markets without intermediaries. It's built on EVM-compatible blockchains and consists of several smart contracts that handle different aspects of the prediction process, such as liquidity pools, odds, live betting, and payouts. The protocol uses a hybrid oracle/ automated market maker solution to determine the odds of different outcomes and to ensure that the process is fair and transparent. Azuro supports thousands of sports markets and other games, plus a rich feature set, which can be utilized by anyone permissionlessly for the creation of apps, embedded integrations or derivative products. The human desire to take risk for a gain is more widespread than ever. A generation of degens within and outside of crypto is here. A bet was one of the first forms of contract used by ancient people. Azuro enters the space with the mission to break down the barriers, creating a protocol dependent on community participation and ownership. A piece of critical on-chain infrastructure which acts as a black hole for liquidity for decentralized predictions and gaming. Azuro’s approach to concentrating liquidity can deliver much deeper liquidity vs any centralized options. Azuro's tooling and oracle solutions can be utilized by any blockchain, starting with EVM-compatible ones. Azuro's open design will allow anyone to launch a prediction site/app with no upfront costs and zero risk management capacity needed.  Supporting links Azuro Andy on Twitter  Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.  

Farzam Ehsani is co-founder and CEO of VALR, a South African crypto exchange headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. With regulatory approval to operate in Europe, VALR has 1000 corporate and institutional clients, more than half a million users, and now is expanding globally. Why you should listen VALR has raised $55 million in equity funding from leading investors such as Coinbase Ventures, Pantera Capital, and Avon Ventures. Inspired by the adage "it is expensive to be poor," they’re committed to creating a financial ecosystem that is accessible to all, challenging the status quo and reducing the frictions imposed by outdated systems. The VALR platform is a testament to their belief in a socio-financial evolution. They envision a future where the global community is not defined by national boundaries but united by a shared vision of justice and prosperity. VALR caters to the specific needs of professional traders with a high-performance trading platform that boasts one of the industry's most advanced API systems. Their commitment to professional traders is matched by their dedication to making crypto trading accessible to everyone, ensuring a comprehensive, inclusive financial ecosystem. VALR's platform combines professional-grade tools with an intuitive interface, making it the ideal choice for traders at every level of expertise. Supporting links VALR Andy on Twitter  Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

Sasha Mitchell is Head of Operations at Bel2. Imagine if Bitcoin could talk to other blockchains, make deals, execute contracts, and expand its influence without ever compromising its integrity. That's BeL2, the Bitcoin Elastos Layer 2 Protocol. Why you should listen BeL2 transforms EVM-compatible blockchains into Bitcoin Layer 2s, without bridging BTC. It utilizes a secure ZKP data feed, enhancing Bitcoin's utility from a store of value to a foundational layer for BTC-powered applications. BeL2 allows smart contracts to communicate with Bitcoin, utilizing a specialized proof and relayer mechanism. This allows services to connect into the Bitcoin network and its liquidity. ELA, is Elastos' Layer 2 coin merged-mined with Bitcoin since 2018 with over 50% of Bitcoin's miners security. It has a total supply of 28.22 million coins by 2105 and current circulation of 21.3 million. Within BeL2, ELA is essential, serving as collateral for Relayers, powering trust and stability. Stake ELA, earn BTC contributes to network security, empowering holders to shape Bitcoins smart economy. Elacity's Decentralised Digital Rights Management (dDRM) protocol eliminates license servers using blockchain technology and edge computing, delivering secure business models to Web3. Elacity dDRM transforms digital rights and asset management in Web3. It addresses key challenges in Digital Rights Management (DRM), such as packaging, transparency, and secure playback, through the use of blockchain and peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies. By offering a decentralised, scalable networking solution, Elacity enables a digital asset marketplace which features robust IP protection and scarce, tradable access, ownership and distribution rights. Elacity delivers decentralised business models, instant royalties, and inclusive economics to owners in Web3, automating contractual challenges, optimising resource sharing, and enabling equitable control and monetisation of digital assets through a democratised online Access Economy. Supporting links Bel2 Elastos Elacity Slaugherbots Andy on Twitter  Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.  

Karim Chaib is the founder of Dopamine a "superApp" for crypto. In an era where human attention drives software revenue, 'Dopamine' stands as your tokenized web3 software license, powering businesses and Super Apps with Web 3 Code, AI, Big Data, and Compliance. Why you should listen Dopamine combines AI and compliance infrastructure with super app capabilities, deployed primarily on Solana before expanding to a multichain ecosystem, giving users the power to manage wallets, and centralized and decentralized exchanges with the latest AI and compliance advancement.  Users can connect their banks and participate into launchpads, RWA and much more. Elon is building the everything app, Dopamine built the everything app for crypto! The Dopamine token is the license token for the app and also allows banks and exchanges to access all the api and source code. Supporting links Dopamine Andy on Twitter  Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

Edward Mehrez is Co-Founder at Arrow Markets, a hybrid options protocol built on the Avalanche Blockchain   Why you should listen Arrow Markets is a hybrid options protocol built on the Avalanche Blockchain. In the traditional options market, options must be sold by a writer who receives the premium from the buyer and is responsible for paying the buyer if the option is exercised in the money. As an options protocol on Avalanche, Arrow Markets gives users the ability to buy options without the need to be matched by a middle-man. Arrow will facilitate the creation and settlement of options on popular underlying assets such as AVAX, ETH, and BTC. The name Arrow Markets is a nod to Nobel laureate economist Kenneth Arrow, who showed that options contracts form a basis for prices and payoffs of financial assets. Options make it possible to construct a wide variety of derivatives and structured products, by forming specific portfolios. Arrow Markets brings a new paradigm to options trading on Avalanche, combining centralized efficiency and on-chain transparency. The RFQ (Request for Quote) enables traders to request quotes from multiple market makers with a single click, providing a simpler, faster, and more secure trading experience. Supporting links Bitget Bitget VIP Link with BONUS 1000 USDT Bitget Academy Bitget Research Bitget Wallet Arrow Markets Andy on Twitter  Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin   If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.  

Sunil Srivatsa is the founder and CEO of Storm Labs, an open-source software development studio. They help build and maintain infrastructure for decentralized protocols like Cove. Why you should listen Storm Labs is an open-source software development studio that builds infrastructure for the next financial generation. Their mission is to build and share foundational infrastructure that enables economic empowerment for all. Storm Labs raised $3 million in pre-seed funding from leading venture capital firms and angel investors to launch their protocol Cove, the first onchain portfolio manager that addresses the challenges of Automated Market Makers (AMMs). The round was led by Electric Capital. The current scarcity of dedicated onchain management platforms forces retail crypto users to navigate DeFi's complexities and potentially lose through DIY yield-farming. According to the survey conducted by Storm Labs, 25% of investors spent 3+ hours a week manually managing their portfolios. Cove’s platform empowers users to tailor their investments to their risk appetite and goals to build their optimal DeFi portfolio without any need for manual management, while addressing the limitations of traditional AMMs and eliminating Loss-Versus-Rebalancing (LVR). They achieve this through a unique execution mechanism that guarantees fair and transparent trades, minimizing issues like price impact, slippage, MEV (Maximal Extractable Value). Trades within Cove are facilitated through a proprietary matching engine, while external trades are routed through CoW Swap for added security while still eliminating MEV and capturing positive slippage. This means the platform can seamlessly match individuals holding complementary liquidity positions, facilitating efficient trades and maximizing returns. Marking Stage 1 of the product roll-out will be the launch of Cove Boosties. Boosties is the first dedicated liquid locker and staking platform specifically designed to simplify and enhance the Yearn experience. It allows users to effortlessly earn boosted APY on Yearn vaults and mint coveYFI, with flexible dYFI rewards and early access to Cove's governance token ($COVE). Boosties is built using Yearn V3 and optimized by Gauntlet and audited by Trail of Bits, Quantstamp, and yAudit. The main protocol is slated to launch during Stage 2 later this year. Supporting links Bitget Bitget VIP Link with BONUS 1000 USDT Bitget Academy Bitget Research Bitget Wallet Cove Andy on Twitter  Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.  

Mikhil Pandey is Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Persistence Labs, building Persistence One a purpose built Layer 1 on a mission to maximize yield and security through Liquid Staking & Restaking. Why you should listen Persistence One is one of the first Cosmos app chains and has been relentlessly building at the edge of the Proof-of-Stake landscape since 2019. Ehile staking attracts a large number of participants in their pursuit to earn rewards and provide better network security, significant potential TVL and activity have been siloed away from the DeFi landscape into PoS. Reversely, the emergence of DeFi has highlighted the limited utility that staked assets provide compared to the composability and financial opportunities available in the vibrant DeFi space, thereby taking away from the attractiveness of staking to secure the chain. Liquid Staking solves this problem, enabling users and their additional liquidity to enter DeFi by allowing PoS token holders to stake and participate in DeFi at the same time. Liquid stakers receive liquid-staked representative tokens that can be used across DeFi ecosystems, while earning rewards from their underlying staked tokens and supporting the underlying networks. As Liquid Staking becomes more broadly adopted, users are looking for opportunities to put their Liquid Staked Assets to good use and generate more yield. Persistence aims to make that user journey as smooth as possible by offering a wide array of use cases within the ecosystem. Supporting links Bitget Bitget VIP Link with BONUS 1000 USDT Bitget Academy Bitget Research Bitget Wallet Persistence Andy on Twitter  Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin  If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

Jan Gorzny is the co-founder of Zircuit, a fully EVM-compatible zero-knowledge rollup powering the limitless potential of web3. Why you should listen Backed by pioneering L2 research, the network’s unique hybrid architecture combines battle-tested infrastructure with zero-knowledge proofs to give developers the best of both worlds.  With cutting-edge performance and security at the sequencer level, users can explore new frontiers with faster transactions, and reduced fees. Zircuit is in Testnet phase. While the team prepare for Mainnet, users can participate in testing on Testnet or be a part of their staking program. To learn more, visit https://stake.zircuit.com/faq. Supporting links Bitget Bitget VIP Link with BONUS 1000 USDT Bitget Academy Bitget Research Bitget Wallet Zircuit Andy on Twitter  Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.

Bill Heyn is the CEO of SOMA.finance. SOMA is building finance for the future by uniting DeFi and TradFi.  SOMA aims to be the first DEX-style trading platform that is legal and compliant in the US, and the rest of the world.     Why you should listen The non-custodial SOMA.finance platform aims to be the world's first compliant hybrid decentralized exchange and launchpad. SOMA was founded to build the technology and systems required for a platform for the issuance and purchase and sale of securities utilizing distributed ledger technology (“DLT”). As a semi-permissionless, decentralized web based platform utilizing automated peer to peer marketplace technology, the new platform is intended to combine the ease of use and accessibility of decentralized platforms with the safety and security of a regulated peer to peer platform. The SOMA.finance platform is being rolled out in stages; presently, the SOMA onboarding platform is live allowing interested parties to enroll and secure their access to the products to come. Following the $SOMA Token sale, the SOMA Starter launch pad, a globally compliant token issuance and capital raising platform will begin operations. The decentralized exchange (DEX), SOMA Swap, and additional products such as SOMA Earn will follow. The $SOMA token sale is live now via the Akemona platform. Supporting links Bitget Bitget VIP Link with BONUS 1000 USDT Bitget Academy Bitget Research Bitget Wallet SOMA Finance SOMA Token Sale Andy on Twitter  Brave New Coin on Twitter Brave New Coin   If you enjoyed the show please subscribe to the Crypto Conversation and give us a 5-star rating and a positive review in whatever podcast app you are using.