EPISODE
Balaji, @a1lon9, Kathryn, Chris, Kyle, Ben, Tom, Konstantin, Luca, Dylan, Brian Armstrong, Soona, Mert, Dan Romero, Shehzan, Brandon
04:21 Balaji Srinivasan is an American entrepreneur and investor known for his roles as former CTO of Coinbase and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. He co-founded several companies, including Counsyl, Earn.com, and Teleport, and authored The Network State, a book on building decentralized digital communities. Srinivasan holds multiple degrees from Stanford University and is an active angel investor in technology and crypto startups.
30:05 @a1lon9 is the co-founder of Pump.fun, a Solana-based platform that enables users to create and trade meme coins instantly. Launched in January 2024, Pump.fun has facilitated the creation of over 6 million tokens and generated significant revenue through transaction fees. They have been a vocal figure in the crypto community, advocating for the democratization of token creation while addressing criticisms regarding the platform's role in speculative trading
45:15 Kathryn Haun is the founder and CEO of Haun Ventures, a $1.5 billion crypto-focused venture capital firm. A former federal prosecutor, she led high-profile investigations into the Mt. Gox hack and Silk Road case, and created the DOJ’s first cryptocurrency task force. Haun previously served as a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and was the first independent board member at Coinbase.
01:02:25 Chris Dixon is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and founder of a16z crypto, overseeing over $7 billion in Web3 investments. He previously co-founded SiteAdvisor (acquired by McAfee) and Hunch (acquired by eBay), and was an early investor in companies like Coinbase and Oculus. Dixon authored Read Write Own (2024), a book advocating for a decentralized internet.
01:32:11 Kyle Samani is the co-founder and managing partner of Multicoin Capital, a thesis-driven investment firm specializing in cryptocurrencies, tokens, and blockchain projects. Before Multicoin, he founded Pristine, a health IT startup acquired by Upskill. Samani holds degrees in Finance and Management from NYU Stern and is recognized for his technical analysis and thought leadership in the crypto space .
01:46:02 Ben Pasternak is an Australian tech entrepreneur who gained early recognition for creating the viral game Impossible Rush and later co-founding the social apps Flogg and Monkey. At 15, he became one of the youngest tech founders to secure venture capital funding. He used to be the CEO of SIMULATE, a food technology company known for its plant-based chicken nugget alternative, NUGGS, which has raised over $57 million from investors including Alexis Ohanian and Jay-Z
02:01:25 Tom Schmidt is a General Partner at Dragonfly Capital, focusing on early-stage Web3 and crypto investments. He previously led product at 0x and held product management roles at Facebook and Instagram. Schmidt holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science from Stanford University and has advised companies like Audius and Betty Labs.
02:18:17 Konstantin Richter is the founder and CEO of Blockdaemon, a leading blockchain infrastructure provider for node management, staking, and wallet services. Before founding Blockdaemon in 2017, he held roles at Deutsche Telekom and Nokia, and built several SaaS platforms with successful exits. Under his leadership, Blockdaemon has raised over $400 million, reaching a $3.25 billion valuation, and serves major financial institutions including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Citi Ventures
02:32:24 Luca Netz (born Luca Schnetzler) is the CEO of Pudgy Penguins, an NFT brand he acquired for $2.5 million in April 2022. A former e-commerce entrepreneur, he revitalized the project by expanding into physical toys, selling over 1.5 million units through major retailers like Walmart and Target. Netz also launched the PENGU token on Solana and developed Pudgy World, aiming to establish Pudgy Penguins as a leading Web3-native IP brand
02:47:55 Dylan Abruscato is the Emmy-nominated founder of Crypto: The Game (CTG), a viral crypto survival game blending elements of Survivor and Squid Game. Launched in 2023, CTG gained traction for its social gameplay and was acquired by Uniswap Labs in 2024. Prior to CTG, Abruscato held marketing roles at HQ Trivia, Uber, and Postmates, and began his career at Saturday Night Live.
03:02:22 Brian Armstrong is the co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, which he launched in 2012 after working at Airbnb and Deloitte. A Rice University graduate with degrees in computer science and economics, he has also founded GiveCrypto.org and NewLimit, a biotech startup focused on extending human healthspan through epigenetic reprogramming. Under his leadership, Coinbase went public in 2021 and now serves over 100 million users globally .
03:33:34 Soona Amhaz is the founder and managing partner of Volt Capital, a venture firm investing in early-stage crypto startups like Nansen, Magic Eden, and LayerZero. Prior to Volt, she co-founded Token Daily and worked at Alation, with a background in engineering from the University of Michigan. Recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30, Amhaz is known for her contrarian investment approach and active participation in the crypto community.
03:48:35 Mert Mumtaz is the co-founder and CEO of Helius, a Solana infrastructure company providing developer tools like RPCs and APIs to streamline blockchain app development. Previously a software engineer at Coinbase, he identified inefficiencies in blockchain tooling and launched Helius in 2022 to address them. Known for his outspoken presence on Crypto X, Mumtaz is a prominent advocate for Solana, often engaging in technical debates and challenging misconceptions about the network .
04:02:08 Dan Romero, co-founder and CEO of Farcaster, a decentralized social network built on Ethereum, discusses the platform's evolution from a Twitter-like interface to a unique ecosystem enabling users to create mini-apps within the feed, enhancing user engagement and functionality. He highlights Farcaster's focus on the crypto-native community, supporting multiple blockchains like Ethereum, Base, and Solana, and emphasizes the importance of integrating stablecoins and embedded wallets to simplify user experience and promote broader adoption. Romero also addresses the challenges of maintaining content quality amid rapid user growth, the potential of decentralized networks to empower creators through zero take-rate models, and the platform's commitment to upholding free speech by adhering to U.S. laws and resisting censorship requests from other jurisdictions.
04:19:19 Shehzan Maredia is the founder, CEO, and CTO of Lava, a Bitcoin-native lending platform that enables users to borrow dollars while retaining full self-custody of their BTC. Previously, he worked as an engineer at Google and earned degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Math from Duke University. Under his leadership, Lava raised a Series A co-led by Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund, and introduced innovations like seedless self-custody, Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs), and Lava Free Pay for gasless blockchain transactions
04:30:03 Brandon Millman is the co-founder and CEO of Phantom, a leading self-custodial crypto wallet initially built for Solana and now supporting Ethereum and Polygon. Before founding Phantom in 2021, he was a lead engineer at 0x and held engineering roles at Twitter and Zynga. Millman holds a B.S.E. in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science from Duke University