#23: Maple Finance

In this episode, we spoke to Winston Zhang, one of the Co-Founders of CegaCega is building the next evolution in DeFi derivatives with safer, high-yielding products for users powered by exotic options.In this episode you'll learn:- What are exotic options? How do they differ from more "vanilla" calls and puts?- How do they achieve APY's of 13-40%?- Who are the market makers buying these options from retail users in DeFi?- How the 'worst-of' and 'best-of' payoff works- What the next stage of DeFi derivatives looks likeand so much more!As a former equity derivatives professional, this was an incredibly interesting conversation. They are building permissionless access to an investment product that was otherwise limited to the ultra-wealthy. Whilst there are certainly risks, there is plenty to learn and the opportunity for decent risk-adjusted returns.Website: cega.fiTwitter: https://twitter.com/zhangwins

It's clear that US regulators are shining a spotlight on DeFi. It's essential that we have a group that is dedicated to educating policymakers and shaping the future of DeFi.In this episode, we had the honour to speak to Miller Whitehouse-Levine, Policy Director at the DEF.You'll learn:- What different members of Congress are thinking about DeFi- Miller's insight into what happened with Tornado Cash- A great analogy he uses when educating policymakers about DeFi- An overview of the advocacy work that DEF undertakes and the grants available - How the future of regulation might play outand so much more!This is a very timely and important conversation for all users, builders and believers in Decentralised Finance.Website: https://www.defieducationfund.org/Twitter: https://twitter.com/millercwl

Bluejay Finance is a capital-efficient protocol for multi-currency stablecoins.Why?Because crypto desperately needs to move away from USD-denominated stablecoins!In this episode, we speak with Sherry Jiang, Co-Founder and CEO of Bluejay Finance.You'll learn:- How they mirror the FX market in the fiat world onto the blockchain- How locally denominated stablecoins accelerate financial inclusion- Opportunities for liquidity providers that hold DAI and other assets- Real-world lending that is already taking place in South East Asia...and much more!Website: https://bluejay.finance/Twitter: https://twitter.com/SherryYanJiang

Morpho has built an innovative p2p layer on top of AAVE and Compound, allowing enhanced yields for all users!In this episode you will learn:- The current inefficiencies in borrowing and lending markets- How you can optimise your yield on your stablecoins- The technical challenges of building DeFi on top of existing protocols- Advice for founders raising capital from the likes of a16z- Paul's thoughts on the Ethereum MergeIf you're interested in the future of DeFi, this is a must listen episode :)Website: https://www.morpho.xyz/

We were fortunate to sit with Matt Fiebach, a Research Analyst within the Blockworks DeFi Research Team.Blockworks Research is trusted by some of the largest institutions in the world to give them deep insights into the crypto space and where they could be allocated capital.This episode is packed with Alpha, that's with a capital A.You'll learn:- What his research process looks like- Why Matt is cautious about the Ethereum Merge- Opportunities in the Ethereum Middleware market- dydx moving to Cosmos- GMX and other perp providers- frxLend and frxETH- Relative value trades like long SNX / short OPas well as a lot of name-dropping. I was so impressed by Matt's deep knowledge that I immediately signed up for a Blockworks subscription out of my own pocket.If you'd like to do the same, there is a discount code of -30% for the first 30 people that use it.code: huf30Website: https://www.blockworksresearch.com/Matt's Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattFiebach

Maple is transforming the way that borrowers access on-chain credit.We had the opportunity to speak to Joe Flanagan, a Co-Founder of Maple Finance.In this episode you'll learn:- How does Maple Finance work?- Who the next generation of borrowers will be?- Lessons learnt when building a DeFi protocol- xMPL token utility- What success looks like for the Maple Team - How DeFi needs to evolveWebsite: https://www.maple.finance/Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/joe_defi

In this episode, we speak to Rob Alcorn, the CEO and Founder of clearpool.finance.Rob is an incredibly passionate DeFi builder who firmly believes that in the future all debt-based lending will take place on-chain. You will learn:- How to earn sustainable USDC yield on your USDC by providing loans to Tier 1 institutions- The risks of uncollateralised lending and how Clearpool mitigate this- How on-chain credit and risk analysis works - How their interest rate curves work- Trends that Rob sees playing out within DeFiand much more!

Dopex is by far the leading decentralised options protocol. Often, many investors overlook it as they don't fully understand what it is or how to use the protocol efficiently. However, there are huge opportunities for those that take the time to understand the power of Dopex.In this episode you will learn:- Who are the team behind Dopex?- Why do they exist? Who uses the protocol?- How do their SSOV's work underneath the hood- How can you use the platform to either earn yield or take directional bets?- What is their outlook for crypto markets?- Trends they see within the DeFi space, and the opportunities they are looking atand much more..

In this episode we had the privilege of speaking to Ryan Rasmussen, one of the lead Analysts at BitWise Investments.In this episode we go into detail about:- The breakdown of their $1.3bn in Assets- Why there are so many different stablecoins- Is there any substance to the Tether FUD? - What their institutional investors are thinking- The future of DeFi post 3AC - Ryan's macro viewsEnjoy the podcast!

Ribbon is the first and largest crypto-structured products protocol.Essentially you deposit your ETH, AVAX or any other eligible asset into one of their vaults. Under the hood, they then run an options strategy and you simply collect the yield!In this episode you will learn:- How the Ribbon vaults work under the hood- Why would an investor buy covered calls and the best market scenarios to do this- Some resources to learn more about options and derivativesand plenty more.This is a unique interview because we got to speak to one of the lead devs behind a market-leading protocol.