Base Layer

In this episode of Base Layer, we dive deep with Jansen Teng, co-founder of Virtuals Protocol, exploring how their framework is revolutionizing AI agent development and deployment. Key Discussion Points: Origins in blockchain gaming and evolution to autonomous AI agents Technical architecture including memory systems and planning engines Revenue model with 1% tax system and distribution structure Infrastructure challenges and scaling solutions Focus on quality over quantity with agent development Vision for creating a "network state" with human-AI cooperation Technical Insights: Infrastructure costs and advantages of cooperative model API limitations and scaling considerations Model routing capabilities and memory management Future Vision: Creation of physical-digital integrated societies Focus on productive economic output Development of agent-to-agent cooperation standards Evolution toward autonomous business creation More can be found here on Virtuals: https://whitepaper.virtuals.io/

Squads Labs is a core contributor to Squads Protocol, the leading multisig infrastructure on Solana. In addition to helping maintain the protocol, Squads Labs makes the Squads platform, an institutional-grade multisig platform for Solana-based teams. The Squads platform helps web3-native teams manage and secure digital assets on-chain. To learn more about Squads Labs, please visit https://www.sqds.io/. About Squads Protocol Squads is a multisig protocol that helps web3-native teams manage and secure digital assets on-chain. Squads Protocol v3 is the first formally verified program on Solana. Squads Protocol v4 introduces time locks, spending limits, roles, sub-accounts, fee relayers, multiple-party payments, support for SquadsX and more. Squads v4 has already been audited by Neodyme, OtterSec, and Trail of Bits. It is currently undergoing two formal verifications, one by OtterSec and the other by Certora. To learn more about Squads Protocol, please visit https://squads.so/protocol

Axelar is for Web3 what Stripe is for mobile and internet applications: it works on the back end, connecting various networks into one-click experiences for all users. Come listen to co-founder Sergey Gurbunov on what purpose Axelar plays in an ever-expanding web3 world with various L1 & L2 blockchain ecosystems.

What an episode! Avery joins us and tells us his story of helping to launch Aptos from the early innovations of Meta's former project, Diem and Libra. This is a technical deep dive into what makes Aptos different from other blockchains, like Ethereum or Solana. We discuss their choice not to slash (negative economic incentives others have used), sharded storage, the Quorom Store protocol, first class asset design, the choice not to use dynamic dispatch and more. Learn more here: https://aptoslabs.com/

Robert, a real OG legend and co-founder of Compound, joins us today on Base Layer for a special show, introducing his new company, Superstate. Superstate is an asset management firm modernizing the infrastructure of investment funds. They offer investment products that benefit from the speed, programmability, and compliance advantages of blockchain tokenization. We discuss Superstate, his thoughts on rates and the move from the fringes of DeFi in early 2019-2020 to his new company.

Austin Federa joined me for a great conversation about what Solana learned over the past year to harden their infrastructure as they see surges in interest in their NFT & DeFi ecosystem, plus how their phone, the Saga, has been doing in the market to redefine how blockchains can not just be software, but hardware running digital asset codebase. More about Solana here: https://solana.com/

Built as a minimal extension to existing Ethereum software, OP Mainnet's EVM-equivalent architecture scales your Ethereum apps without surprises. If it works on Ethereum, it works on OP Mainnet at a fraction of the cost. How has Optimism jumped to become the infrastructure for new consumer apps like Farcaster? Hear from Ben in what I am calling a masterclass on why L2's exist and the function they play in a growing blockchain industry. Learn more here: https://www.optimism.io/

Algorand, a layer one blockchain first brought to market by esteemed cryptographer Silvio Micali, is going through rapid transformation, from the developer language it uses to mechanisms of incentivizing validator work and much more. All of this can be found in more detail here. John, Algorand CTO, joins us to talk through these points and the effect they could have on the ecosystem in 2024 and beyond.

In 1908, Henry Ford unveiled the first Model T. In the span of 116 years, we have entered the next phase of the automobile -- car owners getting ownership of their automobile information and data. DIMO is a new company that aims to be empowering rather than confusing or limiting— stating that apps and connected devices should serve people first instead of corporations, and giving developers useful tools in the real world to build better products for us all. Come learn from Andy, co-founder of DIMO, on their journey. And YES!! You can try it out too! Learn more here: https://dimo.zone/ Download app here: https://drivedimo.com/

Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform that delivers a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to scale digital asset operations securely through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves thousands of financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $4 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage and transit. Learn more here: https://www.fireblocks.com/

Rene, the co-founder of Celo joins me for a great conversation about all the happenings there. Recently, Celo has moved to become an L2, so we talk about the why and what that entails. We also discuss their partnership with Opera, a browser touting 500M monthly active users. With this partnership, we also discuss MiniPay, a new initiative to bring web3 tools like DeFi and mobile payments to the masses. Do you to better understand real-world cases and usage? Listen to this episode.

I had such a great conversation with Luigi, who heads up business development & ecosystem at Ava Labs. We discussed everything from the initial design of Avalanche to the growth of Evergreen subnets, which could lead to companies like JP Morgan, Citi, and others directly connecting on the blockchain. We also discussed their work in Gaming, with upcoming releases from Gunzilla and Off the Grid, an AAA game that is due to be available on PS5, Xbox, and other consoles. So much good stuff in here; check it out!

What a show! Illia, co-founder of Near and CEO of Near Foundation joins us to talk about massive shifts in the way we think about blockchains. From their new Blockchain Operating System to FastAuth and more, we discuss in-depth about the new user experience coming to digital assets - taking away the backend complexities of blockchains from the everyday user to give them amazing, frictionless experiences. You can learn more about Near here: https://near.org/ More about Blockchain Operating System here.

Asta Li, co-founder at Privy, joins me for a fantastic talk about the movement happening in digital assets, focused on building delightful consumer-centric products. Privy is the easiest way for developers to onboard all users to web3, regardless of whether they already have a wallet, across mobile and desktop. At Privy, the team spends a lot of time obsessing over how to help developers unlock better UX in web3 without sacrificing the ownership primitives that make the space special. Ownership is at the root of web3, but to this day, it has been reserved for only the most technical users. For web3 to go mainstream, the industry must make it easy to bake self-custody into products: web2-caliber UX with web3 ownership and consent. More on Privy here.

SKALE is a limitlessly scalable, fast, on-demand blockchain network with zero gas fees, allowing quick deployment of interoperable EVM-compatible chains without compromising security or decentralization. SKALE is a fully decentralized, open-source, community-owned network. Listen to CEO Jack O'Holleran talk about their work and their 2024 vision to win the gaming sector.

What a show! Marc, the CEO of Polygon Labs, joins me to break down all the new elements of Polygon 2.0 and how they aim to build an empire in the blockchain industry. You'll learn about many new pieces to the puzzle, including CDK, zkEVM, Miden, validiums, and much more. Here, you can learn about Polygon 2.0, from vision to design.

Immutable is a global leader in gaming on a mission to bring digital ownership to every player by making it safe and easy to build great web3 games. The Immutable Group consists of the Immutable Platform, the preferred developer platform for building & scaling web3 games on Ethereum, and Immutable Games, a global leader in web3 game development and publishing with leading titles Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians. Robbie Ferguson, co-founder of Immutable, joins us to talk about 2024's breakout year for Gaming. More on Immutable here.

In 2022, storms worldwide caused more than 130 billion U.S. dollars in damage. Cybercrime is predicted to cost the world USD 8 trillion in 2023. We are starting to see demand for insurance against these events outpace supply. The reinsurance market was valued at $560 billion as of 2022. A solution is needed to meet these new demands with new sources of supply and CatX has been building for that, leveraging the tools of AI and digital assets. Learn from their founder today on this great show. You can also earn more about CatX.

What an episode! Evan Cheng, formerly working on Meta's Diem and digital asset infrastructure, is now Co-Founder of Mysten Labs, which has brought to the market Sui, an L1 blockchain. Evan sheds light on key differences in the architecture and design of Sui vs. Ethereum and other blockchains. What is an account vs. an object? Why is that important when discussing smart contracts? Can your ETH-based NFT really be dynamic and evolve in a game? Can NFTs using Sui and its native language, Move, create optimal, adaptable NFTs? Much more on this, feel free to learn more here.

Sreeran Kannan, Founder of Eigenlayer, is an assistant professor at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he runs the information theory lab focussing on information theory and its applications in communication networks, machine learning, and blockchain systems. He was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, and a visiting postdoc at Stanford University between 2012-2014, before which he received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering and M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. His team has built EigenLayer, a protocol built on Ethereum that introduces restaking, a new primitive in cryptoeconomic security. This primitive enables the reuse of ETH on the consensus layer. SUsers that stake ETH natively or with a liquid staking token (LST) can opt-in to EigenLayer smart contracts to restake their ETH or LST and extend cryptoeconomic security to additional applications on the network to earn additional rewards. Join us to learn more about Eigenlayer and new systems being built in digital assets.