=nil; Foundation - An Ethereum L2, powered by zkSharding

Phillip Alexaeev, is the Chief Growth Officer of CrossFi, Cross Finance is a next generation digital ecosystem offering cutting-edge payment solutions. Phillip shares insights into his journey in growth marketing, the importance of building during bear markets, and the innovative ecosystem of CrossFi. He discusses user acquisition strategies, the significance of user confidence, and the future trends in the crypto space, including real-world assets and interoperability.  Why you should listen CrossFi is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that blends traditional financial services with blockchain technology, operating on its proprietary Layer 1 blockchain, CrossFi Chain. This infrastructure aims to provide secure, transparent, and efficient financial solutions.  The CrossFi Chain features a modular architecture comprising two key components: a Cosmos-based component for handling consensus, block production, and transaction creation, and an EVM-based component for Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility, enabling seamless interaction with smart contracts. Within this ecosystem, CrossFi leverages a dual-token model. The Mint Power (MPX) token represents the computing power required for mining XFI coins through staking, while the CrossFi (XFI) token functions as a utility token, granting access to services, decentralized applications (dApps), and products. CrossFi offers a suite of DeFi services, including liquidity provision, staking, and borrowing of algorithmic stablecoins such as xUSD, designed to harness multi-chain benefits and provide users with diverse financial tools. To foster innovation, the CrossFi Foundation supports ecosystem development through grant programs targeting users, developers, creators, and validators. Initiatives like the CrossFi Evolution Hackathon aim to drive innovation and expand the platform’s capabilities. Additionally, the platform plans to launch the xAssets decentralized platform, allowing users to mint, trade, and swap synthetic tokens representing real-world assets such as commodities, stocks, and currencies. This feature will offer financial products like margin and options trading, typically available only in traditional markets. Complementing these innovations, CrossFi is developing a crypto banking app and a CrossFi Card, which will provide a full suite of banking services with Web3 security.  By integrating traditional financial instruments with cutting-edge blockchain technology, CrossFi seeks to redefine the financial landscape, delivering decentralized, transparent, and user-centric financial solutions. Supporting links Stabull Finance CrossFi 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.  

Mehdi and Driss are the founders of Exponential, an investment platform that makes it easy to discover, assess, and invest in decentralized finance (DeFi) yield opportunities. Why you should listen DeFi enables anyone to become a lender or market maker. When individuals have the power to grow their wealth exponentially, financial freedom is within reach for everyone. The problem is that investing in DeFi is complex and risky. Exponential is intended to help investors assess the risk of DeFi yield opportunities so they can invest with confidence. Exponential.fi is battle-tested and ready to grow your crypto. After a year of rigorous beta testing, Exponential emerged as a proven and reliable decentralized finance (DeFi) investment platform for investors of all levels — from newbies to degens. Now, crypto holders across 90 countries can access DeFi investment opportunities on a compliant platform designed to grow their crypto safely, easily, and gas-free. Exponential offers users: Vetted investment opportunities – their team of experts curates the top 5% of DeFi pools, all backed by comprehensive risk assessment and research. Institutional-grade fund safety — all funds are held 1:1 and protected by multiple layers of security. Seamless DeFi investing, no gas fees — one-click trading, streamlined performance tracking, and simplified tax reporting, all with a flat trading fee of .2% They start with risk analysis and empower DeFi investors with the tools to assess the risk of DeFi investments. That’s why they built the first advanced risk assessment system in DeFi, which distills thousands of risk vectors into a simple rating, from lowest risk to high risk. Rate My Wallet, our ground-breaking risk assessment product, has enabled crypto holders to assess the risk of $23B in asset value, to date. Supporting links Stabull Finance Exponential Fi 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.

Dmitry Meshkov is Founder and CEO of QUEX Tech. Quex are launching a next-gen Oracle which will be an alternative to Chainlink and sets the security standard for DeFi, RWA, and Prediction Markets. Why you should listen Quex is revolutionizing blockchain oracles by integrating hardware-level cryptographic security to provide secure, decentralized data transfer to blockchain platforms. Their oracle solution addresses the pressing issue of data manipulation, which costs the DeFi space $400 million yearly, by notarizing HTTPS requests and ensuring verifiable on-chain data. This approach is especially valuable for the rapidly expanding Real-World Asset (RWA) market, projected to reach $16 trillion by 2030, where secure, tamper-proof data is crucial. Using trusted execution environments (TEEs), Quex enables robust data integrity for DeFi, prediction markets, and RWA applications, creating a secure foundation for future decentralized applications. Supporting links Stabull Finance Quex 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.

Avi Zurlo is the new CEO at =nil; Foundation building an Ethereum L2 powered by zkSharding. =nil; Foundation is rolling out Testnet v1 for its Ethereum Layer 2 solution, powered by zkSharding. This launch marks a major step on their roadmap after the initial Devnet release in July. With zkSharding, =nil; Foundation’s new L2 combines the efficiency of appchains with the cohesive capabilities of a monolithic blockchain, aiming to offer unmatched scalability and interoperability for Ethereum developers. Why you should listen In this conversation, Avi Zirlo, CEO of NIL Foundation, discusses his journey in the crypto space, the vision and goals of NIL Foundation, and the significance of ZK sharding in building scalable applications on Ethereum. By enabling zero-knowledge (zk) proofs and sharding, =nil; allows developers to build scalable decentralized applications. Each shard in its architecture processes transactions independently but reports back to a primary shard, which validates and syncs data across Ethereum. This approach promises enhanced transaction efficiency, security, and low costs, making =nil; a robust framework for developing high-performance blockchain applications. Avi shares insights on the current landscape of Ethereum layer 2 solutions, the launch of NIL's testnet, and the focus on developer experience. Avi also provides his perspectives on the Ethereum ecosystem, market trends, and the future of blockchain technology. Supporting links Stabull Finance Nil Foundation 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.

Siwon Kim is the Co-Founder and CEO of Botanika, a hyper-scalable, hyper-efficient decentralized data storage platform.  Why you should listen In this conversation, Siwon Kim, co-founder and CEO of Botanica, discusses the importance of decentralized data storage and how Botanica aims to address the growing demand for data storage solutions. He explains the innovative AI-powered hardware nodes that differentiate Botanica from other providers, the tokenomics behind their native token Bonsai, and the strategies for user acquisition. Siwon Kim also highlights Botanica's role in the AI narrative and shares insights on the product rollout and future plans. The Botanika B1 device offers a decentralized solution for scalable, secure, and efficient data storage. Combining hardware optimized for AI tasks with the Botanika Protocol, it tackles high cloud costs, security risks, and inefficiencies of centralized storage by dispersing data across a global node network. Key features include AI-driven resource allocation, data sharding, and B-Code compression for significant cost savings. Botanika aims to provide high-performance, low-latency access, making it ideal for industries needing reliable, scalable, and decentralized storage solutions.  Supporting links Stabull Finance Botanika 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.

Incubated by Nvidia Inception VC Alliance, Compute Labs leverages its self-developed Compute Tokenization Protocol to financialize AI, enable direct exposure to compute assets, and create compute derivates, empowering investors to effortlessly yield from compute, the currency of the future Why you should listen Compute Labs believes that compute will become the currency of the future, they are committed to democratizing access to this advanced AI infrastructure. Their mission is to establish the financial ecosystem for compute as an emerging asset class from zero. By leveraging blockchain technology and enabling financial derivatives, Compute Labs aims to reshape AI investments and create diversified opportunities for investors interested in capturing the most fundamental infrastructure, AI compute, throughout the AGI journey. They aim to be the premier platform for compute tokenization, derivatives, and structured products. In this conversation, Albert Zhang, founder and CEO of Compute Labs, discusses the innovative approach of financializing AI through compute assets. He explains the vision behind Compute Labs, the tokenization of GPU resources, and how this model aims to democratize access to AI infrastructure. The discussion also covers the engagement of both retail and institutional investors, the collaboration with AI companies, and the roadmap for product rollout. Albert shares insights on the Nvidia Inception VC Alliance, the future of AI and AGI, and why investors should consider Compute Labs as an opportunity in the evolving landscape of AI and crypto. Supporting links Stabull Finance Compute Labs 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.

Fabian is the co-founder of Illuminodes, guiding the development of the SALUD Protocol, which aims to give individuals control over their health data. Fabian shares insights on the challenges of managing health data, the collaboration with local hospitals in El Salvador, and the integration of global standards in health data management.  Why you should listen The SALUD Protocol is a groundbreaking initiative aimed at revolutionizing the way healthcare data is managed in El Salvador, using the NOSTR protocol. The pilot project, launched at Paravida hospitals in collaboration with the Salvadoran tech initiative Illuminodes, seeks to address the growing concerns around centralized healthcare systems and patient data privacy. Currently, many healthcare data systems are controlled by large corporations, which often monetize this data at the expense of patient privacy. With the SALUD Protocol, the aim is to return control of personal health data to the individual. SALUD, which stands for "Sistema de Administración de Libertad Único y Descentralizado," offers a decentralized method of managing healthcare information. By leveraging blockchain technologies, it ensures that health data remains tamper-proof, trustworthy, and accessible only on a need-to-know basis by authorized healthcare providers. The promise of SALUD lies in its ability to provide accurate, decentralized data storage, reducing costs compared to traditional systems while also preventing single points of failure (SPOF). El Salvador has positioned itself as a leader in both financial and technological innovation, particularly under the leadership of President Nayib Bukele, who made Bitcoin legal tender. With new healthcare laws on the horizon, El Salvador offers a prime testing ground for SALUD’s pilot program. This initiative represents more than just a local change; it reflects a global shift towards decentralized control of personal data, which is increasingly being seen as a fundamental human right. The team behind SALUD is optimistic that the success of this project will serve as a model for other countries and systems worldwide, ushering in a new era of digital sovereignty and patient-controlled healthcare data. Supporting links Stabull Finance Illuminodes 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.  

Sam Williams is the founder of Arweave. The Arweave network is like Bitcoin, but for data: A permanent and decentralized web inside an open ledger. The Arweave protocol is stable, mature and widely adopted.  Why you should listen Permanent storage has many applications: from the preservation of humanity's most important data, to the hosting of truly decentralized and provably neutral web apps. In this conversation, Sam Williams, founder of Arweave, discusses the vision behind Arweave as a permanent data storage solution, its implications for information control, and the development of the Permaweb. He introduces the AO protocol, a decentralized supercomputer, and explains the economic model behind it, emphasizing the importance of liquidity in attracting users. The conversation also touches on the Universal Data License and the future of decentralized services in cyberspace Arweave is a decentralized storage network that aims to provide a permanent, tamper-proof archive of data on the blockchain. Unlike traditional cloud storage platforms that charge ongoing fees and store data temporarily, Arweave introduces a novel concept called the "permaweb." This innovation guarantees that once data is uploaded, it will be available indefinitely without requiring the uploader to keep paying to maintain access. This is achieved through a unique economic model and technical infrastructure. Data can never be taken down or censored, offering an unprecedented level of freedom for content creators and developers. Users have built platforms like decentralized social media apps, content archiving services, and even NFT marketplaces on Arweave, taking advantage of its promise of permanence. A key part of Arweave's value proposition is that users only pay a one-time fee to store data, covering the cost for its perpetual storage. The one-time payment is calculated based on the current price of AR tokens and the anticipated future costs of storage. The system is designed to scale effectively, with storage costs decreasing over time due to advancements in storage technology. Arweave has attracted attention due to its role in solving the problem of data integrity, especially in an age where information can be manipulated. By ensuring that information stored on its network can never be altered or deleted, Arweave offers a solution for organizations needing long-term data archival, such as research institutions, media outlets, and governments. Arweave represents a radical shift in how we might think about data storage, offering a decentralized, permanent solution in contrast to the fleeting nature of traditional cloud services. Supporting links Stabull Finance Arweave 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.

Michael Stroev is the CEO of Venga, a universal crypto app aimed at bridging decentralized finance and traditional banking. Why you should listen  Venga is a versatile crypto app designed to simplify how users navigate the world of Web3 and decentralized finance (DeFi). Launched with a mission to bring blockchain technologies closer to mainstream users, Venga offers an intuitive, user-friendly platform that helps people buy, sell, and swap cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and others with ease. The app stands out by providing competitive exchange rates and lower fees, making it attractive for both newcomers and seasoned crypto enthusiasts. The app aims to bridge the gap between decentralized technologies and traditional finance, addressing common issues in the crypto space such as poor user experiences, slow functionality, and a lack of trust. Venga is built on robust technology to avoid bugs and glitches, and it maintains a strong compliance-first approach. This is particularly important post-FTX, as trust in the crypto industry has become more critical than ever. Venga is fully registered as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in both Spain and Poland, ensuring it operates under strict regulations, which enhances user confidence. Venga’s long-term vision includes making crypto more accessible by improving education around blockchain technologies. The team behind the app believes that lack of understanding is one of the biggest hurdles preventing the broader adoption of Web3. In response, the app not only provides trading tools but also aims to educate users on DeFi innovations, allowing them to discover and explore new opportunities in the crypto world. Looking ahead, Venga plans to expand its offerings with features like staking, additional cryptocurrencies, and its own Venga token. The team has big plans for 2025, including launching a fully-fledged cryptocurrency exchange and more advanced DeFi products, all while maintaining a focus on security, compliance, and a seamless user experience. Supporting links Stabull Finance Venga 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.

Dr. Himanshu Tyagi is a Core Contributor at Sentient, a blockchain project enabling community-built open AGI He’s a researcher in information theory, applying its principles to solve real-world problems. Currently, he's a Professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.  Why you should listen   Sentient is an AI research organization fostering a new Open AGI Economy for AI Builders and Creators. It is building platforms and protocols to enable open-source AI developers to (1) monetize their models, data, and other innovations, (2) collaborate with each other to collectively build powerful AIs, and (3) be significant stakeholders in a new Open AGI economy. Today, the development of AI is almost entirely controlled by a few organizations and a few individuals at those organizations. These organizations are locked into a feverish race to build AGI and, in the process, make critical decisions for all of humanity. On the other side, a large fraction of humanity is working to build AI developer and user skills. They have limited ways to showcase and contribute their skills and even worse ways to be gainfully employed. Sentient has the goal of bringing ownership rights to open AI development. By inventing science and technology that enables anyone to build, collaborate, own, and monetize AI products, we will birth an era of AI entrepreneurship. Sentient is building an AI platform for builders to collaborate and monetize their innovations. AI builders are the workhorses and principal actors of this economy, the ones who innovate and collaborate to build powerful new AI offerings. The underlying blockchain protocol and incentive mechanism provide the necessary economic alignment needed for the evolution of Open AGI in this collective offering. For all this to work, it is necessary that the powerful AI models hosted on Sentient are Open, Monetizable and Loyal (OML) – “loyal” models are those which remain aligned with the community that built them, enforced by the underlying blockchain protocol. Sentient has pioneered a new ambitious field in AI research with OML models. OML models will drive a shared Open AGI economy, supporting millions of AI agents and further downstream applications for billions of AI users.  The next generation of AI will be able to reason, plan, and act strategically. This AI will be built using new innovative agents and by learning from interactions between these agents, underlying models, and humans. The Sentient AI platform will enable the community and the AI built by them to participate and learn from these interactions, with the underlying blockchain protocol ensuring everyone is incentive-aligned. Supporting links Stabull Finance Sentient 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.