How KelpDAO's $290M Exploit Nearly Killed DeFi | Stani Kulechov & Mike Silagadze
This week, Stani Kulechov & Mike Silagadze join the show to discuss the aftermath of the KelpDAO exploit. We deep dive into why this hack could have potentially killed DeFi, launching the DeFi United fund, how to mitigate against future hacks, why DeFi tokens are uninvestable and more .Enjoy!
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This episode is brought to you by Fidelity Crypto. Learn more at https://Fidelity.com/crypto
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction
(04:08) How The KelpDAO Exploit Could Have Killed DeFi
(14:13) Fidelity Crypto Ad
(14:48) Launching DeFi United
(30:12) Fidelity Crypto Ad
(30:52) The Future of Aave & EtherFi
(39:00) DeFi’s Speculative Premium
(43:00) How To Prevent DeFi Hacks?
(53:00) Why DeFi Tokens Are Uninvestable
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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, Rob and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Will Aave’s New Plan Change DeFi Forever? | Stani Kulechov Explains
New Podcast with Aave founder Stani Kulechov just dropped: Aave is at a turning point - will the Aave Will Win proposal lead to innovation or chaos? Aave is navigating a pivotal moment with the recent "Aave will win" proposal. This initiative aims to redirect 100% of protocol revenue back to the Aave DAO, a move that many in the community have embraced. But with any major change comes scrutiny.Critics are questioning the governance structure, suggesting that Aave Labs may have too much influence. Stani Kulechov addresses these concerns, clarifying that no votes from Aave Labs swayed the outcome. Stani also discussed the 'Hub and Spoke' architecture of Aave V4, explaining how it will solve liquidity bootstrapping for developers and pave the way for Real World Assets (RWAs) like solar farms and GPUs. It’s clear that Aave is focused on growth and innovation. But will it be enough to keep Aave competitive in the evolving DeFi landscape?
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Stani Kulechov on Why Aave Labs Is Putting Itself at the Mercy of the DAO
Stani Kulechov unpacks Aave Labs’ “Aave Will Win” proposal, explaining why the company wants the DAO to have power over its finances.
Thank you to our sponsors!
Adaptive Security
Aave Labs has proposed a “Aave Will Win” framework that will direct all revenue to the DAO to bring the protocol under “a token-centric model.”
In this episode, Aave founder Stani Kulechov explains why Aave Labs is putting its funding at the mercy of the DAO and how the framework could drive DeFi innovation.
Plus wen Aave v4? And is Aave Labs’ requested budget too much?
Guest:
Stani Kulechov, Founder of Aave Labs
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Why Aave's Founder Is 'More Bullish on Ethereum Than Anything Else’
Why the Founders of Aave and Sky Are Still Bullish on Ethereum DeFi
Satoshi, Shorter Blocks, & Secret Plot - The Chopping Block
Stani Kulechov on Why Aave Is So Successful - Ep.212
Links:
Unchained:
Aave Revenue Overhaul Sparks Governance Clash
Aave Labs Proposes Off-Protocol Revenue Sharing With Token Holders
The Chopping Block: Aave Civil War + Flow Hack + Coinbase Super-App
Aave’s Rushed Governance Vote Draws Backlash
How Aave Labs and the DAO Should Split Ownership of the Brand – Uneasy Money
Uneasy Money: Why Token Holders Have No Rights & Why Every DAO ‘Has Failed’
‘Poison Pill’ Proposal Calls for Aave DAO to Take Over Aave Labs
AAVE Holders Question if DAO Quietly Redirected Revenue Away From Treasury
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10 Years In, Here's Why Aave's Founder Isn’t Done Betting on Ethereum - Ep. 878
Ethereum just turned 10, and Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave, one of the earliest and most influential lending protocols in DeFi, is more bullish on the OG layer 1 blockchain than ever.
In this wide-ranging interview, he reflects on Ethereum’s resilience, explains why Aave is still laser-focused on it despite the rise of competitors like Solana, and gives us a preview of Aave V4 and its institutional play, Horizon.
If you want to understand where DeFi is going, you’ll want to hear what Stani has to say.
Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
Thank you to our sponsors!
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Xapo Bank
Guest:
Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave and ETHLend
Links:
Recent episode of Unchained with EF’s co-ED Tomasz: As Ethereum Turns 10, Where Is the Foundation Focused Next?
Unchained: Aave Labs Unveils V4 Upgrade Proposal, Introducing a Unified Liquidity Layer and 'Fuzzy' Rates
DefiLlama: Aave stats
Reuters: JPMorgan considers offering loans backed by clients' cryptocurrency holdings
Timestamps:
🎬 0:00 Intro
🎉 4:58 What Ethereum’s 10-year milestone means to Stani
🏗️ 9:09 How Aave became the top lending protocol on Ethereum
🧐 13:02 Why Stani has been critical of the Ethereum Foundation
🏦 17:16 How TradFi institutions could quietly run on Aave infrastructure
💸 25:08 What Stani thinks about the complaints over Ethereum revenues and fees
🌉 30:27 Why Aave hasn’t launched on Solana
💼 35:32 How Ethereum treasury companies are putting Aave to work
🔧 41:15 What Aave V4 is bringing to the protocol and why it matters
🌍 48:18 How Horizon could bridge DeFi and real-world assets
🤝 50:43 Why DeFi might thrive even as TradFi and fintech move onchain
🗳️ 57:57 Whether DAO governance is fundamentally flawed
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What It Takes To Build In Crypto | Stani Kulechov & Jack O'Holleran
Gm! This week Stani Kulechov & Jack O'Holleran join the show to discuss what it takes to build in crypto. We deep dive into how to build a great project in web 3 vs web 2, building long term vs short term narratives, are tokens productive, advice for founders & more. Enjoy!
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Deeply rooted in its mission to advance personal freedom for all, the ZKsync technology makes digital self-ownership universally available.
To learn more about ZKsync, visit http://www.zksync.io
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Building In Crypto
(05:55) Are Tokens Productive?
(07:52) Ads (ZKSync)
(08:52) Advice For Founders
(15:06) Ads (ZKSync)
(16:11) Building Long Term vs Short Term Narratives
(20:44) Fundraising In Crypto
(22:54) Ads (Token.com. Bitwise, WalletConnect)
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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Why the Founders of Aave and Sky Are Still Bullish on Ethereum DeFi - Ep. 781
Despite the ups and downs of the Ethereum ecosystem, two of its most influential builders—Aave’s Stani Kulechov and Sky’s Rune Christensen—remain bullish.
In this episode, they discuss whether we’re witnessing a DeFi renaissance, the challenges of building on Ethereum vs. Solana, and why DeFi adoption isn’t growing as fast as some expected. They debate stablecoins, whether Solana is truly innovating, and how AI could transform DeFi by automating governance and risk management.
They also respond to some hot takes—including whether Aave is falling behind Solana-based Kamino, and why Sky deployed its USDS stablecoin on Solana despite Rune’s long-standing Ethereum advocacy.
Show highlights:
02:33 Whether Sky and Aave are experiencing a “DeFi renaissance”
11:49 How Stani and Rune are trying to appeal to a simpler audience
23:00 Whether developers overlook how easy it is to build DeFi on Ethereum
27:40 Why Stani believes there is not a lot of innovation in Solana
32:17 What would need to happen for Aave to be in Solana
33:27 Why Sky deployed USDS on Solana
40:30 Whether the Ethereum ecosystem should be worried about users going to other chains
49:19 Why Rune praises Solana’s culture
51:38 How USDS’s growth on Base happens organically, contrary to Solana
59:35 Why they believe that the combination of AI and DeFi will be so powerful
Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
Thank you to our sponsors!
Mantle
RockWallet
Kelp DAO
Guest:
Stani Kulechov, Founder and CEO of Aave
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Stani Kulechov on Why Aave Is So Successful - Unchained
The Chopping Block w/ Stani Kulechov: Operation Chokepoint 2.0, Ethereum Innovation Push, & Polymarket Whales - Unchained
Rune Christensen, Co-founder of Sky
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Can Maker’s Rune Christensen Fix the Sad State of DAO Governance?
Rune Christensen of MakerDAO Part 1: How to Keep a Crypto-Collateralized Stablecoin Afloat
Rune Christensen of MakerDAO Part 2: How Dai Stayed at $1 While ETH Crashed From $1,400 to $85
The Chopping Block: How to Manage MakerDAO, With Hasu and Rune
Rune Christensen of MakerDao on Its $15 Million From Andreessen Horowitz
Why It’s so Hard to Keep Stablecoins Stable
Links
Aave 2030 roadmap
Alex Svanevik of Nansen tweeted: “When Aave on Solana?”
Qiao Wang of Alliance DAO commenting on why he recommends people build on Solana
The First Non-EVM Deployment of Aave Protocol: Aave V3 on Aptos - General - Aptos Forum
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How to Build in Crypto: Lessons from 8 Leading Founders | Jesse Pollack, Jeremy Allaire, Anatoly Yakovenko & More
Do you think you’ve got what it takes to become a founder in crypto?
On the show today we’ve got 8 of crypto’s most famous and successful builders in crypto, each with about 15 minutes in time, giving you the wisdom they gained founding their own companies.
We’re joined by Jesse Pollack from Base, Jeremy Allaire from Circle, Anatoly from Solana, Stani from Aave, Kain from Synthetix, Mike & Jason from Blockworks, Kevin Owocki from Gitcoin and Lucas from Jito. Each one with their own perspectives, their own scars and hopefully by listening to this episode, you, the listener, can learn from their experiences to gain the confidence you need to venture into this world.
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------ ✨ Mint the episode on Zora ✨ https://zora.co/collect/base:0x4be6cd4d402fed49eb2de95fbc8e737e8ffd3e7f/8?referrer=0x077Fe9e96Aa9b20Bd36F1C6290f54F8717C5674E
------ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro 2:52 Jesse Pollack - Base 15:45 Jeremy Allaire - Circle 34:53 Anatoly Yakovenko - Solana 51:00 Stani Kulechove - Aave 1:07:48 Kain Warwick - Synthetix 1:27:06 Mike & Yano - Blockworks 1:44:16 Kevin Owocki - Gitcoin 1:59:19 Lucas Bruder - Jito
------ RESOURCES
Jesse Pollack - Base https://x.com/jessepollak
Jeremy Allaire - Circle https://x.com/jerallaire
Anatoly Yakovenko - Solana https://x.com/aeyakovenko
Stani Kulechove - Aave https://x.com/StaniKulechov
Kain Warwick - Synthetix https://x.com/kaiynne
Jason Yanowitz - Blockworks https://x.com/jasonyanowitz
Mike Ippolito - Blockworks https://x.com/MikeIppolito_
Kevin Owocki - Gitcoin https://x.com/owocki
Onchain Capital Allocation Handbook https://allobook.gitcoin.co/
Lucas Bruder - Jito https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucasbruder/
------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
The Chopping Block w/ Stani Kulechov: Operation Chokepoint 2.0, Ethereum Innovation Push, & Polymarket Whales - Ep. 717
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and special guest Stani Kulechov chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, the crew dives into the latest speculation about Satoshi Nakamoto, spurred by the just-released HBO documentary. They also discuss Ethereum’s big debate over block times and blob storage expansion, exploring whether these changes can keep Ethereum competitive. The conversation gets heated with talk of a Trump whale on PolyMarket, Operation Chokepoint 2.0, and TikTok’s role in onboarding memecoin buyers. Don’t miss this episode packed with crypto conspiracies, performance debates, and insider gossip!
Show highlights
🔹 Who is Satoshi? Speculation about the HBO documentary “Money Electric” possibly revealing Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity.
🔹 Trump Betting Whale on PolyMarket: Discussion about a large whale accumulating Trump shares in Polymarket and addresses conspiracy theories.
🔹 MEV Reduction Through Shorter Block Times: Reducing Ethereum’s block times from 12 seconds to 8 seconds could decrease MEV by making arbitrage harder, with potential UX and cost improvements for Ethereum.
🔹 Blob Space Expansion: Increasing Ethereum’s blob storage for rollups might prevent alternative data availability layers like Celestia from gaining ground, raising whether more blob space is necessary.
🔹 Operation Chokepoint 2.0: New revelations suggest that regulators, possibly spurred by Elizabeth Warren, pressured banks to unbank crypto firms without formal rulemaking, with Tom calling it “shocking” how accurate initial speculations were.
🔹 Ethereum’s Future Performance Debate: Stani suggests Ethereum should continue to innovate and improve Layer 1 performance, advocating for faster block times and more radical changes to maintain its competitive edge.
🔹 DeFi Market Dynamics: The panel dives into how competitive decentralized finance platforms like Aave and Compound maintain resilience in an ever-evolving landscape, with Stani commending Robert’s contributions to the space.
Hosts
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures
Guest:
⭐️ Stani Kulechov, Founder & CEO Avara
Disclosures
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:09 Mainnet Conference Recap
05:39 HBO & Satoshi Nakamoto
12:55 Election Betting
21:24 World Liberty Financial
31:54 Operation Chokepoint 2.0 Exposed
39:44 Challenges in Crypto Disclosures
50:18 Ethereum's Potential Upgrades
1:03:59 Future of Avara
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How Lens Network is leveraging zkSync's tech to achieve mainstream scale
Stani Kulechov is the founder and CEO of Avara — the software development company behind some of web3's biggest projects, including Aave and Lens.
In this episode, Kulechov gives an overview of the modular architecture underpinning the recently announced Lens Network and explains how a modular design is essential to helping Web3 social applications scale.
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
02:00 Onchain Media
03:40 Lens Scaling Research
07:17 Security Considerations
09:42 Lens Network Architecture
12:58 Tech Stack Considerations
18:42 Web3 Social App Developers
20:36 Lens Network Migration
22:52 Developments in Web3 Social
26:36 Web2 vs. Web3
29:15 Closing Thoughts
This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Polkadot
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How ZK Will Shatter Social Media Monopolies | Alex & Stani
In this episode, Stani from Aave and Lens Protocol and Alex from Matter Labs and ZK Sync join us to discuss the future of decentralized social networks and blockchain scaling. They dive into Lens Protocol's mission to create open and fair social spaces by leveraging zero-knowledge proofs and progressive security models. They also touch on the inevitable intersection of AI and blockchains, the evolving regulatory landscape for crypto in the US, and the importance of empowering users through data ownership and monetization. Thanks for tuning in!
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Arbitrum is a game-changer for daily Ethereum's users and developers, offering top applications and lower fees. As the leading scaling solution with 600+ apps, explore Arbitrum’s Portal to find your perfect fit. Interact with the home of DeFi, a flourishing NFT and creator ecosystem, and a rapidly growing Web3 gaming hub – Arbitrum has it all.
Get started at:
portal.arbitrum.io
- -
Avalanche is a smart contracts platform that scales infinitely and regularly finalizes transactions in less than one second. Its novel consensus protocol, Subnet infrastructure, and HyperSDK toolkit enable Web3 developers to easily launch powerful, custom blockchain solutions.
Build anything you want, any way you want, on the eco-friendly blockchain designed for Web3 devs.
Start building today at https://www.avax.network/
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This episode is brought to you by Aura, the AI-powered digital security protection app that keeps your personal information, passwords, online activity, and tech safe from digital threats. It’s all-in-one protection from identity theft, financial fraud, malware, scams, and more.
For a limited time, Aura is offering our listeners a 14-day FREE trial plus up to 55% off an Aura subscription.
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SKALE is a modular, AppChain network that offers zero gas fee transactions and instant finality. Tailored for ease of development and onboarding, SKALE's configurable EVM chains enable next-gen use cases in gaming, AI, DePin, and others. With over 20,000,000 users having saved over $6 Billion on gas fees, SKALE is the blockchain for mass adoption.
Bridge to SKALE at portal.skale.space and stay up to date with the gasless blockchain at @skalenetwork
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Timestamps:
00:00 Lens Network Origin Story
08:24 End Game Scalability is ZK
21:18 ZK Landscape
29:33 Aura Ad
30:23 Avalanche Ad
31:20 Skale Ad
32:36 Crosschain is Matter Labs
42:27 Aave on ZK Sync?
47:31 Crypto AI Intersection
53:06 Crypto's Product Market Fit
01:00:42 Best Crypto Policy Areas
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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Aave, Lens, and Avara: Stani Kulechov's Journey Through DeFi and Web3 Social
Stani Kulechov is the founder of Aave, which has become the largest lending protocol in DeFi. Aave has evolved under a new umbrella called Avara, incorporating additional projects like Lens, a Web3 social media protocol, and a family and Web3 wallet. Stani has previously discussed these developments on our show in 2020 and 2022, and with each appearance, the Avara family has expanded significantly. As a prominent leader in the DeFi and Web3 space, Stani's insights are always highly anticipated. In this podcast, we start with a refreshener on Stani and his journey, then dive into the specifics of the protocols he has developed.
0:00 Intro
1:15 Stani Kulechov
4:40 DeFi + Web3 Social
8:53 Lens Protocol
14:28 Developer Community
17:48 Lens Applications
19:58 Lens Stats
25:20 Monetization in Web3 Social
30:27 Token Integration
34:05 Permissionless
37:15 Farcaster
41:10 Lens Token
43:10 Aave
47:10 Competition
48:52 Lens + Aave
50:04 Reaching Mainstream
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Here's how the 'upheaval' of existing networks like Twitter and Threads is an opportunity for web3 social
Li Jin is the co-founder and a general partner at the VC firm Variant and has written extensively about the benefits of web3 social platforms for creators. Stani Kulechov is the creator of Aave (one of the largest decentralized finance protocols) and has been key to the development of the web3 social network platform, Lens Protocol.
In this episode, Li and Kulechov examine the problems with the existing social media landscape and explain the opportunities that exist for new web3 social media attempts such as Lens Protocol.
As Jin explains, one of the key benefits of web3 social is that "every element of the business model is totally in the creator's control."
Outline:
01:15 - Existing Social Media Landscape
08:18 - Opportunities for Web3 Social
12:35 - 'Socioeconomic Graph'
14:20 - Lens Protocol
17:44 - Financialization of Social Media
25:30 - Monetization on X (Twitter)
31:00 - Community Ownership
34:46 - 'Liquid Citizen'
38:26 - Investing in Web3 Social
40:09 - Tokens & Web3 Social
45:17 - Lens Protocol v2
The Polygon NFT Ecosystem with Frank (DeGods), Zhuoxun Yin (Magic Eden), & Stani Kulechov (Lens)
In today’s episode, we’re talking to Frank DeGods, from the DeGods project, an NFT project that’s recently migrated to Polygon. We also brought on Zhuoxun Yin, Co-Founder and COO of Magic Eden, an NFT marketplace also migrating to Polygon. And last, but certainly not least, we’re also joined by Stani Kulechov, Founder and CEO of the Aave companies, which is bootstrapping Lens, a social media ecosystem on top of Polygon.
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------ Topics Covered
0:00 Intro 7:02 Why Polygon? 13:45 Solana vs. Polygon 25:30 NFT Trajectories 35:00 Lens on Other Chains? 41:09 Supernets 43:20 The Lens & Polygon Focal Point 48:10 Ecosystem Metrics 1:00:00 Polygon #3 Community? 1:05:30 Lens, Content, & Metrics 1:12:25 Closing & Disclaimers
------ Resources:
Frank https://twitter.com/frankdegods
Zhuoxun Yin https://twitter.com/ZhuoxunYin
Stani https://twitter.com/StaniKulechov
----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
🎙 Stani Kulechov on Building a Social Network for Web3 so Users are Not the Product
This week on the Defiant Podcast we speak to Stani Kulechov, founder & CEO of Aave, one of the first lending protocols in the DeFi space. He has been around since the inception of DeFi, now Aave Labs is the leading force in this completely new side to the web3 universe; social media. Lens aims to reimagine how social networks are built; providing an open protocol for applications to flourish, and giving users the freedom to own their information and take that data with them when they from one app to the next. Creators and influencers would monetize their content by reaching their audiences directly, and applications would gain revenue from these transactions, rather than relying on ads.
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EthCC #6 | Stani Kulechov - "GHO is the Next Big Stablecoin"
🇫🇷 Welcome to the Bankless EthCC 2022 Experience 🇫🇷
With fantastic guests from all corners of the ecosystem, this 8-part series is an exploration of crypto culture and the current state of Ethereum.
In episode 6, we’re joined by Stani from Aave. With the GHO Stablecoin and Lens Protocol tackling two different corners of the crypto ecosystem, we explore the Web3 movement—where we’ve been, and where we’re headed.
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⚡️ ZKSYNC | THE LAYER 2 SCALING ENDGAME https://bankless.cc/zkSync
------ Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro 2:30 Stani Vibe Check 4:10 Analyzing the Ecosystem 7:20 Web3 Social Footprint 11:49 Non-Financial Use Cases 15:15 The Web3 Data Stack 19:24 The GHO Stablecoin
------ Resources:
Stani on Lens: https://www.lensfrens.xyz/stani.lens
----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Lens Protocol, Web3's Social Platform | Stani Kulechov
On today's episode of Empire, Stani Kulechov - founder of Aave and Lens Protocol - joins Jason and Santiago to discuss the future of Web3 social.
Stani explains how Lens Protocol will be the substrate Web3 social developers leverage to build and bootstrap their apps. Lens Protocol's modular architecture and open-data structure will enable mass experimentation, micro-communities and social composability: leading to differentiated and user-focused products.
We then explore the benefits of a user-owned social graph, monetization strategies and how identity/social credit will be the next big unlock in Web3. Tune in to explore this new medium for social!
- -
Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz
Follow Santi: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel
Follow Stani: https://twitter.com/StaniKulechov
Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod
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Learn more about them at https://www.bitmex.com/
--
Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:03) Why Stani Was Kicked Off Twitter
(04:45) Can Twitter Decentralize?
(12:36) Social Media In Crypto
(22:13) What Problem Is Lens Protocol Solving?
(25:40) Building Moats In Social Media
(28:14) Bitmex Ad
(29:30) Building Moats In Social Media
(34:36) Comparisons Between Web 2.0 & Web 3.0 Social Media
(40:28) How Does Web 3.0 Social Media Monetize?
(51:56) Negatives of Social Media On A Blockchain
(53:40) Could Lens Be Bigger Than Aave?
(59:23) The Lens Protocol Stack
--
Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
The Return of Aave | Stani Kulechov
Coming off the heels of Aave's huge v3 release a couple weeks ago, we wanted to bring on Founder and CEO, Stani Kulechov to unpack it for us. Stani is also the Founder of Lens Protocol, a permissionless, composable, & decentralized social graph that might just be the future of Web3 social platforms. How are Aave and Lens Protocol bringing this inevitable future to reality sooner than expected? What is the current state of the DeFi landscape? Buckle up because Stani will unpack these questions and so much more.
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------ Timestamps:
0:00 Intro 7:00 What's New With Stani 10:15 DeFi in 2021 14:13 Aave Portals 23:00 Maintaining Market Share 27:25 Forecasting the Future of Chains 32:57 Bridging & Security 37:38 Efficiency Mode 40:23 Isolation Mode 44:20 Stani's Thoughts on Rari 48:18 Future Aave Versions 54:30 Stani's PFP 57:15 Lens Protocol & Web3 Social 1:10:00 Lens Protocol All-Star Team & Roadmap 1:14:09 Rapid Fire Questions
------ Resources:
Stani Kulechov: https://twitter.com/StaniKulechov
Aave: https://aave.com/
Lens Protocol: https://lens.dev/
----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/bankless-disclosures
Are funds SAFU? Mitigating DeFi risk with AAVE founder Stani Kulechov
With nearly $13 billion in total value locked, Aave is certainly one of the dominant players in the DeFi lending space. However, as the protocol grows, so too does its risk factor.
In this episode of The Scoop, founder and CEO of Aave Stani Kulechov discusses the innovation brought on by the recent Aave V3 upgrade, and shares what is being done to mitigate risk.
While parameter adjustments through community governance may be sufficient to adjust a DeFi protocol’s risk curve during times of fluctuating market conditions, there are deeper, systematic risks that can still lead to devastating losses.
For example, a fork of the Aave protocol on the Gnosis blockchain named Agave recently had its smart contracts exploited by a malicious attacker, draining $8 million from the protocol.
At the moment, one of the only ways to mitigate smart contract risk at the protocol level is to submit the smart contracts to a third party for security audits. Not only does this leave potential security vulnerabilities if an attack vector is overlooked, but also given the sheer number of new protocols and their underlying smart contracts, security scaling has become a major bottleneck for the industry.
As Stani explained, “More and more smart contracts are deployed into the internet of smart contracts, and the challenge here is we need to somehow figure out a scalable way of applying security.”
Aave V3 has implemented certain design features such as “isolation mode” which mitigates risk by isolating newly listed tokens from the rest of the protocol’s liquidity.
“We understand that the stakes are getting higher and higher,” Stani said, “so we have to become more risk averse.”
Episode 23 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave.
Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime & Chainalysis
Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure. Fireblocks serves over 725 financial institutions, has secured the transfer of over $1.5 trillion in digital assets, and has a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com.
About Coinbase Prime
Coinbase Prime is an integrated solution that provides institutional investors with an advanced trading platform, secure custody, and prime services to manage all their crypto assets in one place. Coinbase Prime fully integrates crypto trading and custody on a single platform, and gives clients the best all-in pricing in their network using their proprietary Smart Order Router and algorithmic execution. For more information, visit www.coinbase.com/prime.
About Chainalysis
Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases and grow consumer access to cryptocurrency safely. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.
The Social Web3 | Protocols for a Digital Society | POAP, Lens Protocol, Disco.XYZ
Web3 social media? Decentralized identity? Digital society in the metaverse? On this episode, we unpack the future social world in the metaverse and the protocols that will help shape it. To discuss exactly that, we brought on: Evin McMullen, who's building the world of digital identity, off-chain assets, and metaverse reputation at Disco.xyz, Christina Beltramini from Lens Protocol at Aave, a brand new primitive for Web3 social media platforms, and Isabel Gonzalez, COO at POAP, the Proof of Attendance Protocol.
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🏦 GEMINI | TURN FIAT INTO CRYPTO https://bankless.cc/Gemini
🦁 BRAVE | THE BROWSER NATIVE WALLET https://bankless.cc/Brave
🦄 UNISWAP | DECENTRALIZED FUNDING https://bankless.cc/UniGrants
------ Timestamps:
0:00 Intro 5:30 Introductions & Discussion Foundation 11:42 Web2 Days Are Numbered? 16:44 Bringing More People to Web3 23:15 Preventing Social Dystopia 25:44 Disco.xyz 31:42 Lens Protocol 37:01 POAP 45:20 Web3 Roadmap Debate 53:34 Onboarding 8 Billion People via Social? 1:00:54 Web3 Social in 5 Years 1:06:30 Disclaimers
------ Resources:
Evin McMullen on Twitter https://twitter.com/provenauthority
Disco.xyz https://www.disco.xyz/
Christina Beltramini LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-beltramini/
Lens Protocol https://twitter.com/LensProtocol
Isabel Gonzalez LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/izgnzlz/
POAP https://poap.xyz/
----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/bankless-disclosures
A deep dive into Aave's DeFi ecosystem with founder Stani Kulechov
“When I started to read about smart contracts… my mind exploded.”
That's Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave, who joined host Frank Chaparro for the latest episode of The Scoop podcast to discuss his entry into the world of decentralized finance (DeFi) and offer a deep dive into Aave's ecosystem.
Among the topics: Aave Arc, the project's institutional product. During the conversation, Kulechov said that he believes smaller banks and private firms will be among the institutional world's early adopters of DeFi.
“I think the biggest banks are more in the state of actually learning and getting education on the fly, and they will not be the early movers," he said. "But the early movers will be the banks that are smaller banks, private banks, and are exposed one way into the crypto space."
'MetaFi'
As one might expect, the interview with Kulechov swung toward a popular one in the crypto space today: virtual worlds, gaming and the so-called Metaverse, the latter being a catch-all phrase for the different platforms and services that compromise an immersive digital experience.
Kulechov likened the way users spend time playing games in the Metaverse to the way people log time in a physical space like a cafe or workspace.
“Games becomes more of an economy the same way as we're spending times sitting in a cafe, workspaces or having dinners or meeting friends.” He also related the use of finance tools in DeFi protocols to playing games and shopping in a brand’s store in the metaverse.
For Aave in particular, this area is being explored via the launch of Aavegotchi, which began its first land auctions this October. “It's just like a completely new world that can be not just an experiment, but it could become reality," said Kulechov.
Beyond DeFi
While DeFi remains the focus of Aave, Kulechov sees a range of possibilities for similar architectures outside of DeFi.
Kulechov discovered that while DeFi protocols applied nicely to finance, a similar architecture could be created to build a social platform.
....
For more visit Theblockcrypto.com/podcasts
Episode 72 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Stani Kulechov, founder & CEO at Aave.
Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblockcrypto.com.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Bakkt, Kraken and Masterworks
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Stani Kulechov explains how trillion will flow into DeFi | Stani Kulechov & Santiago Santos
In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Aave founder/CEO Stani Kulechov & technology investor Santiago R Santos. Sitting at the forefront of the fast evolving DeFi ecosystem, we invited Stani & Santiago on to Empire to share their thoughts on the exponential growth and assess whether DeFi has hit escape velocity.
This conversation was fascinating and covered a range of topics including how DeFi managed to attract $100 Billion of total value during the 2020 DeFi summer, when $1 trillion of value will be locked in DeFi, how social media could be decentralised in the web 3.0 transition, NFT's, Stani & Santiago's outlook for the end of year bull market & so much more.
-
Avalanche:
Thank you to Avalanche for sponsoring Empire. Avalanche is one of the best and fastest growing smart-contract platforms in the industry.
Learn more about them at https://www.avax.network/
--
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Stani Kulechov on Why Aave Is So Successful - Ep.212
Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave, comes onto the show to discuss the lending protocol and second-biggest DeFi project by total value locked. Here are some of the highlights:
How Stani’s background studying law and his passion for fintech led him to the world of smart contracts (1:53)
Why he decided to transition ETHLend to Aave, and how that eliminated the “meme” narrative (5:55)
How Stani would explain Aave to a five-year-old, or your normie friend (9:04)
What new features were released in Aave v2 (15:54)
reducing overall gas costs
aTokens
swapping collateral
debt tokens
What Aavenomics is and how the “safety module” attempts to keep the protocol secure (20:39)
How AAVE works as a governance token
Active versus passive risk in governance staking
How Aave is transitioning from a centralized to a decentralized protocol (25:01)
what he's finding difficult about this process
issues with voting and an over-reliance on the Aave team
delegating voting power to what he calls “protocol politicians” and whether this is good or bad for DeFi
Who is using Aave and how they are using it? (37:27)
what OpenLaw is and how OpenLaw contracts work
how credit delegation, or unsecured loans enforced by law, differ in v2 vs V1
how people could use lending protocols to build credit
What Aave plans to do with the E-Money (EMI) license it obtained in the UK (50:51)
Since Aave was a pioneer in flash loans, which are responsible for the majority of DeFi attacks, whether Stani would do anything differently (53:12)
Aave’s partnership with tokenized real estate project RealT and how Aave manages it given that, in the US, RealT tokens are securities and can only be sold to accredited investors (58:42)
How Aave has been thinking about scaling given the high fees on Ethereum (1:03:57)
Why building a moat in DeFi is impossible (1:07:16)
What is next for Aave (1:11:40)
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/
Episode links:
Stani Kulechov: https://twitter.com/StaniKulechov
Aave: https://aave.com
Aave stats: https://aavewatch.com
Protocols mentioned
ETHLend: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ethlend-announces-launch-of-new-parent-company-aave-300713825.html
Aavegotchi: https://www.coindesk.com/defi-game-aavegotchi-preps-for-jan-4-mainnet-launch-with-nft-auctions
RealT: https://medium.com/aave/realt-market-coming-to-the-aave-protocol-da4499a1e965
Yearn: https://yearn.finance/
Uniswap: https://uniswap.org/
Sushiswap: https://sushiswap.fi/
Kyber: http://kyber.network/
Balancer: https://balancer.finance/
$LINK: https://chain.link/
Aavenomics
Aave’s documentation: https://docs.aave.com/aavenomics/
Safety Module: https://docs.aave.com/aavenomics/safety-module
Summary: https://aave.com/aavenomics/
More background: https://defirate.com/aavenomics-upgrade/
Decentralization concepts
Handing off admin keys: https://decrypt.co/46544/aave-officially-hands-over-governance-keys-to-defi-community + https://medium.com/aave/aave-admin-key-handover-3e09e603d348
OpenLaw: https://www.openlaw.io/
Protocol Governance: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/73336/defi-lending-aave-token + https://docs.aave.com/developers/protocol-governance/governance
Other topics
Electronic Money Licence: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/75845/aave-uk-fca-emi-license-defi
Unsecured Loans: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/70678/aave-launches-new-service-for-unsecured-peer-to-peer-loans-on-ethereum
Flash Loans: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/93740/flash-loans-as-a-capital-boost-tool
Aave Version 2: https://medium.com/aave/the-aave-protocol-v2-f06f299cee04 + https://github.com/aave/protocol-v2/blob/master/aave-v2-whitepaper.pdf
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29 - Aave to Billions | Stani Kulechov
Episode: #29 September 07, 2020
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---- Stani Kulechov is the Founder of the Aave money market, a place for lending and borrowing assets in DeFi.
Aave has marched up the DeFi leaderboard to become one of the top protocols with the most amount of value deposited into its contracts. Aave's token LEND has increased 3300% since its bear market low.
What contributed to Aave's success? What did Aave do differently? Why did Aave's community thrive when others died? What's next for Aave and Aavenomics?
We ask Stani these questions and many more, in order to get a glimpse of what is successful in this DeFi frontier!
-----
WE COVER
1) Crypto-Native Founders 2) Early days of Aave -- ETHLend and the Aave pivot 3) Sticking it out through the bear market 4) Establishing the team-community relationship 5) Rising the Ranks of DeFi 6) VC investment vs ICO investment; pros and cons 7) Aave moves FAST! 8) Aavenomics and Aave Roadmap 9) Bull Market Predictions!
----- Resources discussed:
David's article about MKR references by Stani
----- Episode Actions:
Read delegated credit explainer article
Read about Aavenomics + Aave roadmap
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----- Not financial or tax advice. This podcast is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Do your own research.
"What We're Building is Very Big and We Should Have The Least Concentration Possible:" Aave's Stani Kulechov
Stani Kulechov the founder and CEO of Aave. When we spoke Aave was the second-largest DeFi protocol, but in the days after our conversation, it rose to overtake MakerDAO and become the DeFi platform with the most assets held in its smart contracts, at over $1B in digital assets. It’s been an exponential rise for Aave, which launched just eight months ago and in that short time was able to climb the famous Defi Pulse Total Value Locked ranking to the top. It’s done so pushing DeFi forward by driving innovation in interest-generating tokens, flash loans and delegated credit lines, which are all lowering the barriers of entry to users from all corners of the world to access financial applications. We also get into all the recent yield farming craziness, which he wishes was more restrained.
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