For as much as we like to rag on Shopify crypto bros on the BetaKit Podcast, it’s clear that Web3 in all its iterations has some heat behind it. And that heat (or perhaps boosterism) is starting to pervade all elements of tech.
“Imagine that the bank is a program.”
– Kirill Gertman
Nowhere is this more obvious than at the recent Money 20/20 conference in Vegas. Ostensibly an FI and FinTech conference, according to our guest this week, Money 20/20 was overrun with a lot of crypto bros and a little bit of DeFi.
DeFi – that’s a Web3 thing, right? Referring to decentralized finance: breaking away from our traditional institutions towards something proponents argue will be more democratic (or if you don’t happen to live in certain parts of the world, more stable).
So how far along is this DeFi revolution, what’s pure hype, and what does it have to do with scams like Squid Coin – meme tokens that pop up overnight, collect some cold hard cash, and then see their ‘founders’ make off into the night?
Today on the BetaKit Podcast we talk to Kirill Gertman, co-founder and CEO of Diagram company Conduit about all of this.
Gertman explains the current state of the DeFi stack, how much is left to be built, and which corner of the process Conduit operates in.
A few mixed metaphors aside (mostly from me and Rob), Gertman is the most level-headed person I’ve spoken to about Web3 ever and provides clear explanations that any listener (crypto bro or otherwise) can understand to get a sense of what the hell is going on with these ‘Hello frens’ and sunglass wearers.
Let’s dig in.
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The BetaKit Podcast is hosted by Douglas Soltys & Rob Kenedi. Edited by Kattie Laur.
Sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank and Innovate BC.
