#332: Armani Ferrante, CEO of Backpack, on Solana and Web3 Super Apps

Tomer Pascal is the CEO and co-founder of OwnPlay, a web3 mobile gaming ecosystem that has developed CityVerse Tycoon, a PWA game allowing players to trade, buy, and sell tokenized replicas of real buildings in New York City. Tomer has extensive multi-disciplinary experience in delivering products to their appropriate markets, working with early-stage companies, businesses with new products, and well-established organizations. He combines his tech mindset, ability to create effective marketing technology platforms, and business capabilities to help companies monetize their products and achieve growth.Before founding OwnPlay, Tomer held several positions, including Chief Revenue Officer at Mohawk Group, Inc., where he focused on driving revenue and holistic growth; Chief Executive Officer at OMG Studios, where he served as a corporate strategist and worked on digital media and customer engagement; and General Manager of the Perion Lightspeed Division at Perion, overseeing the GrowMobile mobile advertising platform. With his diverse skill set and experience, Tomer leads OwnPlay in its mission to innovate in the mobile gaming industry using web3 technology.In this conversation, we discuss:- What is a PWA game?- CityVerse Tycoon = Monopoly GO + Zillow- Trade, buy, and sell tokenized replicas of real buildings- The opportunity that mobile offers for web3 gaming- Challenges of creating and operating a mobile web3 game- Mobile offering unparalleled accessibility- The "David and Goliath" struggle between crypto apps and centralized app stores- Apple and Google’s Appstore Duopoly- Building the game as a PWA rather than a traditional mobile app- PWA’s influence on distribution and monetization for mobile gamingCityVerse TycoonWebsite: cityversetycoon.comX: @CityVerseTycoonDiscord: discord.gg/cityversetycoonTomer PascalX: @TomerPascalLinkedIn: Tomer Pascal ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.  PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.   PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions.  Code: CRYPTONEWS50  This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below:  PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Spencer Farrar is a Partner at Theory Ventures. Spencer was a two-sport athlete at Berkeley (swimming and water polo). He then worked at a Web3 startup, Velocity, which processed more than $150m of volume per day, before joining Bienville, a $4b asset investing in early-stage blockchain companies.In this conversation, we discuss:- The state of Web3 funding- Web3 startups- Venture strategy and liquid strategy in crypto- AI-based Web3/blockchain companies- Go-to-market strategy- Influencers becoming VCs- Swimming and water polo- Working in trad-fi- Similarities between VC and PE- Supporting portfolio companies- Web2 vs. Web3 salesTheory VenturesWebsite: theory.venturesX: @TheoryvcLinkedIn: Theory VenturesSpencer FarrarX: @SpencerFarrarLinkedIn: Spencer Farrar  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.  PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.   PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions.  Code: CRYPTONEWS50  This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below:  PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Eduard Jubany Tur, Founder of ZKX, a decentralized perpetual futures exchange on Starknet.Eduard’s background in tech and finance has led him to tackle some of DeFi’s most pressing challenges, such as accessibility and user engagement. With the goal of making DeFi more approachable and efficient, Eduard has been at the forefront of integrating gamification into trading, enhancing the learning curve with innovative solutions. Beyond that, Eduard and ZKX are also leveraging Starknet for scalability, advancing trading with security and transparency, and fostering community governance. This multifaceted approach highlights his commitment to not only making DeFi fun and accessible, but also robust, secure, and inclusive.In this conversation, we discuss:- Perpetual futures trading- DeFi’s growth in Asia + crypto in Asia- The potential of DeFi to democratize finance- Starknet- Account abstraction- Challenges of achieving widespread adoption- Appchains- Incentivizing engagement while ensuring accessibility- Onboarding the masses- The explosion of L1s and L2sZKXWebsite: zkx.fiZ: @zkxprotocolTelegram: t.me/zkxcommunityEduard Jubany TurX: @0xEduardLinkedIn: Eduard Jubany Tur  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.  PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.   PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions.  Code: CRYPTONEWS50  This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below:  PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Armani Ferrante is the founder and CEO of Backpack. The Backpack ecosystem of companies, creators of the Backpack wallet, the Mad Lads NFT collection, the xNFT standard, and Backpack Exchange. Before founding Backpack in April 2022, he was the creator of Anchor, a groundbreaking developer tool that revolutionized programming on Solana.  Anchor has become an integral part of numerous Solana projects and protocols, and bonding its commitments to simplifying the developer experience. Armani graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Computer Science and before dedicating all his effort into crypto and web3, he used to work for Apple as a software engineer.In this conversation, we discuss:- Super Apps in crypto- Growth of the Solana ecosystem- Hill climbing business mindset- Backpack- Mad Lads NFT collection- Anchor developer tools- Solana vs Ethereum- Multi-threaded and parallel blockchains - the future of web3- Speed, security, applications - the 3 things people care about- The future of consumer cryptoBackpackWebsite: backpack.appX: @BackpackDiscord: discord.gg/backpackArmani FerranteX: @armaniferrante  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.  PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.   PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions.  Code: CRYPTONEWS50  This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below:  PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Tascha Punyaneramitdee serves as Core Contributor & Founder of INIT Capital, a Liquidity Hook Money Market designed to enhance liquidity layers. Her prior role in leading Stella, a protocol offering multi-chain leveraged strategies, highlights her significant contributions and expertise in the sector.In this conversation, we discuss:- Liquidity Hook Money Market- Addressing information asymmetry- Better management of liquidity- Innovating DeFi’s architecture- Crypto scene in Thailand- Point farming in crypto- 2024 trends- Creating new liquidity streams- Memecoins- RWA, DePIN, AI- Bitcoin L2sINIT CapitalWebsite: init.capitalX: @InitCapital_LinkedIn: INIT CapitalTascha PunyaneramitdeeX: @tascha_panpanLinkedIn: Tascha P.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.  PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.   PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions.  Code: CRYPTONEWS50  This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below:  PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Gracy Chen, the Managing Director of Bitget, oversees the growth and expansion of global markets, strategy, execution, business and corporate development of Bitget. She started her journey to the crypto world in 2014, being an investor in the early days of BitKeep (now Bitget Wallet), Asia’s leading decentralized wallet. Gracy was named a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum in 2015.Moreover, Gracy has been selected as delegate to attend the recent UN Women CSW68 conference , an event where the UN member states representative and social organizations get together to raise and discuss critical issues impacting gender equality and women’s rights in New York, and address poverty and diversity problems and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective.In this conversation, we discuss:- Post Bitcoin halving update- Memecoin mania- How coins get listed on exchanges- AI tokens outpacing Bitcoin- Immersive NFTs- Augmented reality (AR) technology in art and entertainment- The big picture of this current bull market- Life in Boston- Are we getting a rate cut?- Predictions for AI-focused crypto assets for 2024BitgetWebsite: bitget.comTwitter: @bitgetglobalLinkedIn: BitgetTelegram: t.me/bitgetENGracy ChenTwitter: @GracyBitgetLinkedIn: Gracy Chen ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.  PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.   PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions.  Code: CRYPTONEWS50  This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below:  PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Zach Bruch is the Founder and CEO of MyPrize, an online crypto casino. Zach previously held positions at Kraken and Cumberland Labs, where he ran their sales trading desk. He later created his own trading operation and became one of the most profitable individual traders of all time. Prior to founding MyPrize, Zach served as an advisor at JST Capital, a financial services firm specializing in digital asset markets.In this conversation, we discuss:- Working at Kraken and Cumberland Labs- The power and future of streaming- Stories from institutional trading desks- The evolution of crypto trading- Zach being FTX’s largest individual creditor- The next evolution of crypto casinos- MyPrize has the highest-ever pre-launch valuation for an online casino of $140M- Crypto casinos onboarding normies to web3- Creating multiplayer experiences in web3- Bringing community to web3 casinos- Community drives everything on the internetMyPrizeWebsite: myprize.com X: @myprizecomZach BruchX: @ZachBruchLinkedIn: Zach Bruch ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.  PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.   PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions.  Code: CRYPTONEWS50  This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below:  PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Ian Rogers is the Chief Experience Officer (CXO) of Ledger, the world-leading crypto and NFT hardware wallet manufacturer. Ian has spent his career exploring and innovating at intersection of music, artists, and technology.Prior to joining Ledger, he spent five years as Chief Digital Officer at LVMH, where he was responsible for building group-level digital excellence and accelerating digital transformation for LVMH maisons. Ian is also renowned for his work in the music industry, where he was the CEO of Beats Music and GM of Music at both Apple and Yahoo!.Ian Rogers also built some of the earliest music-related websites in the early 90s, including Winamp.com, and has been working with Beastie Boys since 1993.In this conversation, we discuss:- Self custody- Ledger Stax launch- New generation of hardware wallets- The need for clear signing- Increasing ease of use- The upcoming bull market, and what's different this time around- Ledger's transactional business- Launching Apple Music- Working at LVMH- Identifying trends + cultureLedgerWebsite: www.ledger.comX: @LedgerDiscord: discord.gg/ledgerIan RogersX: @iancrLinkedIn: ian rogers  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.  PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.   PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions.  Code: CRYPTONEWS50  This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below:  PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Andreas Brekken is the founder of SideShift.ai, a platform offering direct-to-wallet trading. The exchange has processed over $1.25B in volume to date. Andreas first discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and has a deep technical understanding of the cryptocurrency space. In addition to being a long-term supporter of the cryptocurrency space, Andreas has substantial hands-on industry experience. He founded Justcoin.com, a Norway-based cryptocurrency exchange in 2013 (later acquired by ANX INTL), and then worked at Kraken as a software engineer in 2015 and 2016. He is also the founder of Shitcoin.com, a wide-reaching crypto content platform.In this conversation, we discuss:- Meme coins- When will meme coin mania end?- Interacting with crypto exchanges- ETH Dencun upgrade- Eigenlayer mainnet launch- The impact of Bitcoin halving on asset liquidity- Balancing short-term optimization with long-term scalability- Meme coin trading’s impact on the limits of current protocols- How we reached the era of ‘peak degeneracy'- Which blockchain network to build meme coins on- Discovering Bitcoin back in 2011SideShift.aiWebsite: sideshift.aiX: @sideshiftaiTelegram: t.me/sideshiftAndreas BrekkenX: @abrkn LinkedIn: Andreas B.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.  PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.   PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions.  Code: CRYPTONEWS50  This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below:  PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50

Vijay Pravin is the Founder & CEO of bitsCrunch, a Blockchain Analytics and Forensics company focusing on securing the NFT ecosystem. Living in Munich, Germany for the last 10 years, and originally from India.In this conversation, we discuss:- The role of AI/ML in blockchain analytics- Data integrity and transparency in NFT Markets- Navigating the regulatory landscape- Staking mechanisms- Solana integrating bitsCrunch- Sustainable economies- Network security and anti-fraud- NFT data insights and forensics tools- Token 2049 in Dubai- Wash tradingbitsCrunchWebsite: www.bitscrunch.comX: @bitsCrunchDiscord: discord.gg/bitscrunch-officialVijay PravinX: @VijayPravinMLinkedIn: Vijay Pravin  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.  PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.   PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions.  Code: CRYPTONEWS50  This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below:  PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50