WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.759
<v Speaker 1>Currently settlement for a transaction on Solan it's about four

2
00:00:03.799 --> 00:00:06.519
<v Speaker 1>hundred milliseconds, but there's another new technology being built which

3
00:00:06.519 --> 00:00:08.640
<v Speaker 1>will re reduce that to about one hundred fifty milliseconds.

4
00:00:08.679 --> 00:00:11.560
<v Speaker 1>And the reason that is so important is two hundred

5
00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:13.919
<v Speaker 1>milliseconds is the point at which a human feels something

6
00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:18.039
<v Speaker 1>is generally instantaneous. Since the first Solona ETFs went live

7
00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:20.679
<v Speaker 1>a few weeks ago, they have seen inflows every single

8
00:00:20.679 --> 00:00:23.559
<v Speaker 1>trade and day since, and I think it really shows

9
00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:27.719
<v Speaker 1>the demand and interest in Solana, which is really exciting

10
00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:28.199
<v Speaker 1>to see.

11
00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:30.239
<v Speaker 2>Why did you pick Solana, you know, as opposed to

12
00:00:30.280 --> 00:00:32.679
<v Speaker 2>go work and there's a lot of blockchain projects out there.

13
00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:36.039
<v Speaker 1>Bilan is the fastest and cheapest, most scalable Layer one blockchain.

14
00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:43.920
<v Speaker 2>This episode is brought to you by Uphold, which is

15
00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:47.000
<v Speaker 2>a great crypto platform that makes it easy to buy, sell,

16
00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:51.920
<v Speaker 2>and stay crypto assets. Uphold has over three hundred plus cryptocurrencies,

17
00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:54.880
<v Speaker 2>including Bitcoin in all the top all coins, and they

18
00:00:54.920 --> 00:00:59.399
<v Speaker 2>offer a crypto staking on over nineteen crypto assets. I've

19
00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:01.920
<v Speaker 2>been a user of the platform for many years. They

20
00:01:01.960 --> 00:01:05.159
<v Speaker 2>are safe and reliable. They don't commingle or lend out

21
00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:08.560
<v Speaker 2>your crypto funds. And they are one hundred percent reserve.

22
00:01:08.840 --> 00:01:12.719
<v Speaker 2>You can review their transparency report. Uphold also offers an

23
00:01:12.760 --> 00:01:15.560
<v Speaker 2>amazing rewards program where you can earn up to five

24
00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:19.280
<v Speaker 2>point two five percent on stable coins. This rewards program

25
00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:22.319
<v Speaker 2>also allows you to get twenty four hour early access

26
00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:25.599
<v Speaker 2>to new tokens that they list, and to participate, you

27
00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:28.079
<v Speaker 2>just simply have to open the app once per month,

28
00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:31.200
<v Speaker 2>deposit fifty dollars once per month, and trade fifty dollars

29
00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:33.840
<v Speaker 2>once per month. And the stable coins that they support

30
00:01:33.959 --> 00:01:36.719
<v Speaker 2>includes Ripples, r L USD. You can earn up to

31
00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:39.959
<v Speaker 2>five percent on that stable coin and five point two

32
00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:43.400
<v Speaker 2>five percent on USBC. So if you'd like to learn

33
00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:46.040
<v Speaker 2>more about Uphold and all the great services they offer,

34
00:01:46.359 --> 00:01:49.680
<v Speaker 2>visit the link in the description. Hey folks, welcome into

35
00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:52.519
<v Speaker 2>the Thinking Crypto podcast. I'm your host, Tony Edward and

36
00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:54.879
<v Speaker 2>joining me today is Nick Dukof, who is the head

37
00:01:54.920 --> 00:01:58.359
<v Speaker 2>of Institutional Growth at the Salona Foundation. Nick, great to

38
00:01:58.359 --> 00:01:58.920
<v Speaker 2>have you.

39
00:01:58.959 --> 00:01:59.959
<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much for having me.

40
00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:02.760
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Nick, I am excited to dive into the latest

41
00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:06.599
<v Speaker 2>and greatest around Solana. Lots happening in the Slana ecosystem,

42
00:02:06.599 --> 00:02:07.799
<v Speaker 2>but I would love to kick it off with your

43
00:02:07.799 --> 00:02:09.960
<v Speaker 2>background tell us a bit about yourself, where you're from,

44
00:02:09.960 --> 00:02:11.080
<v Speaker 2>and your professional background.

45
00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:14.560
<v Speaker 1>Sure well, thanks again for having me on the podcast.

46
00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:17.479
<v Speaker 1>Really excited to join you today. My name is Nick

47
00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:20.800
<v Speaker 1>dukov I, Lead Institutional Growth, Salona Foundation. I joined the

48
00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:24.080
<v Speaker 1>Salana Foundation in the summer of twenty twenty three, so

49
00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:28.039
<v Speaker 1>about six months after FTX, which was a really interesting

50
00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:30.800
<v Speaker 1>time to join Salana and it's incredible to see how

51
00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:36.199
<v Speaker 1>far the ecosystem has come since then. Prior to joining Solana,

52
00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:39.319
<v Speaker 1>I was a venture capitalist working at a Jill's Fund

53
00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:42.719
<v Speaker 1>leading crypto investments, and prior to that I had a

54
00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:46.080
<v Speaker 1>couple careers. But I started my career as a securities lawyer,

55
00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:49.479
<v Speaker 1>working out deals like the MySpace acquisition by Fox. I

56
00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:53.400
<v Speaker 1>then left the practice in twenty ten to take a

57
00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:57.080
<v Speaker 1>shot at entrepreneurship, and it was very fortunate that I

58
00:02:57.120 --> 00:03:02.479
<v Speaker 1>had a couple modest successes. I started a company with

59
00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:04.719
<v Speaker 1>some guys in twenty ten and we sold it in

60
00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:08.439
<v Speaker 1>twenty fourteen, and then I did another one in twenty

61
00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:13.080
<v Speaker 1>seventeen that we sold in twenty twenty one. And I

62
00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:17.439
<v Speaker 1>have been interested in crypto since the early twenty tens.

63
00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:21.800
<v Speaker 1>The co founders of my first company were actually big,

64
00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:24.719
<v Speaker 1>bigcoinners they started. They went on to start a company

65
00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:29.199
<v Speaker 1>called Unchained Capital, which is multi sig custody for bitcoin,

66
00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:31.879
<v Speaker 1>and that's what really sent me down the rabbit hole.

67
00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:35.080
<v Speaker 1>And then another friend of mine here in Boston, which

68
00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:38.080
<v Speaker 1>is where I live now, started a company called flip

69
00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:42.080
<v Speaker 1>Side Crypto in twenty seventeen, and that's what really got

70
00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:47.080
<v Speaker 1>me interested in the all chains. And then I also,

71
00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:50.719
<v Speaker 1>in between bitcoin and alts, was exposed to ethereum during

72
00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:54.000
<v Speaker 1>the mint. I was sitting next to a friend when

73
00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:58.680
<v Speaker 1>he bought ethereum in the in the auction, and you know,

74
00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:03.280
<v Speaker 1>I'll never forget it because I recall it. The price

75
00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:06.479
<v Speaker 1>went up every some period of time I don't remember.

76
00:04:06.520 --> 00:04:09.879
<v Speaker 1>You had to have bitcoin obviously to buy by ethan

77
00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:12.879
<v Speaker 1>the auction, and I had bitcoin and everything, and the

78
00:04:12.919 --> 00:04:15.240
<v Speaker 1>price had just doubled when I met up with him

79
00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:17.439
<v Speaker 1>at his apartment and I was like, ah, you know,

80
00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:20.120
<v Speaker 1>I missed, I missed the low price. And then this

81
00:04:20.279 --> 00:04:23.879
<v Speaker 1>was like, you know, I don't know pennies and ethereum token,

82
00:04:23.959 --> 00:04:27.160
<v Speaker 1>but it's incredible to see how the industry has come

83
00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:27.879
<v Speaker 1>along from there.

84
00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:32.519
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, amazing journey. Nick, you know, as a founder and

85
00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:35.319
<v Speaker 2>you exited those companies and you sold them and so forth,

86
00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:40.079
<v Speaker 2>and uh, you know, coming across crypto, you know, how

87
00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:42.399
<v Speaker 2>did you end up at? Why did you pick Solana

88
00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:43.759
<v Speaker 2>you know as a place to go work? And there's

89
00:04:43.800 --> 00:04:45.920
<v Speaker 2>a lot of blockchain projects out there. Maybe you can

90
00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:47.439
<v Speaker 2>tell a little a bit about, you know, for the

91
00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:50.160
<v Speaker 2>newcomers who are maybe watching and listen to this, what

92
00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:52.079
<v Speaker 2>is Solona and why is why is it better in

93
00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:52.600
<v Speaker 2>the others?

94
00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:55.600
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so, so Solona is the fastest and cheapest, most

95
00:04:55.639 --> 00:04:59.759
<v Speaker 1>scalable layer one blockchain and uh with with the best

96
00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:03.560
<v Speaker 1>ecosystem too. I think that's really really important. It was

97
00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:05.120
<v Speaker 1>it was really clear to me when I was in

98
00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:11.600
<v Speaker 1>venture capital that the ecosystem that Solana had, you know,

99
00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:13.439
<v Speaker 1>been building and it was still very early. This is

100
00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:17.920
<v Speaker 1>like twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two, was really sticky,

101
00:05:18.279 --> 00:05:21.120
<v Speaker 1>and the people that were building the Salona ecosystem were

102
00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:25.959
<v Speaker 1>there because you know, they really firmly believed that it

103
00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:30.920
<v Speaker 1>was the best technology and that they had you know,

104
00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:36.279
<v Speaker 1>the best approach to scalability. Of course, scalability on Salona

105
00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:39.040
<v Speaker 1>is at the layer one. There's no fragmentation of liquidity,

106
00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:43.879
<v Speaker 1>and that is really a key part of the Salona thesis,

107
00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:48.160
<v Speaker 1>which is all assets, same chain, global market participants twenty

108
00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:50.560
<v Speaker 1>four to seven. And I think we even saw that,

109
00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:53.839
<v Speaker 1>you know today, with the launch of Monad tokens on

110
00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:56.959
<v Speaker 1>the Salona network at the same time as they they

111
00:05:57.040 --> 00:06:00.720
<v Speaker 1>were live everywhere else. And you know, some people may say, well,

112
00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:03.360
<v Speaker 1>isn't that's kind of weird. You know, Monad is an

113
00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:07.480
<v Speaker 1>EVM chain. And the idea, though, is is is that

114
00:06:07.480 --> 00:06:10.160
<v Speaker 1>Solana has been very consistent, you know, from its inception,

115
00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:16.720
<v Speaker 1>which is all assets, one chain, you know, single liquidity venue,

116
00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:19.360
<v Speaker 1>global art participants twenty for seven, all assets, I mean

117
00:06:19.399 --> 00:06:22.319
<v Speaker 1>all assets, and it was just really clear to me

118
00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:25.279
<v Speaker 1>that the people building on Solana were there because they

119
00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:29.000
<v Speaker 1>really believed in technology, really believed in in in what

120
00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:31.360
<v Speaker 1>totally rushed and the founders had built. And then as

121
00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:34.399
<v Speaker 1>a user, if you had ever used any blockchain, you know,

122
00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:36.839
<v Speaker 1>in that twenty twenty one twenty two time frame, and

123
00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:39.600
<v Speaker 1>then you use Solana, you're just like, this is wicked fast,

124
00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:42.800
<v Speaker 1>this is incredible. It's incredibly fast, it's incredibly cheap. The

125
00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:46.680
<v Speaker 1>ux is just so good, and you know, it's funny, like,

126
00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:49.240
<v Speaker 1>didn't in my opinion, take a genius to see that,

127
00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:54.240
<v Speaker 1>but Solana has always been the underdolf, even then when

128
00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:56.639
<v Speaker 1>it was so clear, you know, at least to me,

129
00:06:56.759 --> 00:06:59.639
<v Speaker 1>that that Solana was building something that was really durable.

130
00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:02.279
<v Speaker 1>I have friends asking me, you know what, you're going

131
00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:04.360
<v Speaker 1>to the Salona Foundation, you know, And this again was

132
00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:07.160
<v Speaker 1>summer of twenty three and FTX it happened six months ago.

133
00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:13.279
<v Speaker 1>But it's incredible the people that came before me, and

134
00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:15.480
<v Speaker 1>there were many people that were building on Salona much

135
00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:18.600
<v Speaker 1>before I joined the foundation, And boy do I give

136
00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:20.600
<v Speaker 1>them a lot of credit because they really, they really

137
00:07:20.600 --> 00:07:24.759
<v Speaker 1>got it. And I'm just so glad that they exposed

138
00:07:24.759 --> 00:07:28.639
<v Speaker 1>me to it, because it's just an incredible it's an

139
00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:33.240
<v Speaker 1>incredible platform, it's an incredible ecosystem. It's an incredible place

140
00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:33.839
<v Speaker 1>to build.

141
00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:36.399
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, for sure. And I remember years ago, Nick, I

142
00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:39.879
<v Speaker 2>was testing Solana, looking to build like a social token.

143
00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:41.720
<v Speaker 2>It had no value to it, and it was so

144
00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:44.839
<v Speaker 2>fast and so easy. So I can certainly attest to that.

145
00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:47.560
<v Speaker 2>So Nick, you know, you mentioned, you know, it's it's

146
00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:50.720
<v Speaker 2>a layer one and you have this ecosystem, you got

147
00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:54.000
<v Speaker 2>retail participants, people are doing NFTs, meme coins, pumped out

148
00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:56.439
<v Speaker 2>fund and all that, and you have institutions building on it.

149
00:07:56.800 --> 00:08:00.839
<v Speaker 2>So my question is how is Solana a to handle

150
00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:03.800
<v Speaker 2>the volume of transactions not just now but future as

151
00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:05.720
<v Speaker 2>there's more demand and more people come on chain.

152
00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:09.920
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's a that's a great question. And so the

153
00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:12.360
<v Speaker 1>thing that makes Selana unique there's kind of two main things.

154
00:08:12.399 --> 00:08:14.879
<v Speaker 1>One is parallel execution and this is what really helps

155
00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:18.959
<v Speaker 1>with scalability. Currently, the theoretical throughput of the network is

156
00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:24.639
<v Speaker 1>about sixty five thousand transactions per second. And the there's

157
00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:29.000
<v Speaker 1>a new upgrade to the CAN. The new independent validator

158
00:08:29.079 --> 00:08:31.439
<v Speaker 1>client is being built called fired Answer by Jump Crypto,

159
00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:33.679
<v Speaker 1>and that has a million tps, which is more than

160
00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:36.720
<v Speaker 1>enough to handle you know, just I mean a million

161
00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:40.639
<v Speaker 1>can current transactions per second, which is more enough for

162
00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:43.840
<v Speaker 1>the NASDAC of the blockchain, which was which was the

163
00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:46.480
<v Speaker 1>founding vision of Solana. And then the second thing that's

164
00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:49.440
<v Speaker 1>really important is the fees. Is how does Salona keep

165
00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:53.000
<v Speaker 1>fees down even amidst you know this the scaling nature

166
00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:55.960
<v Speaker 1>of the utilization of the network, and this is thanks

167
00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:59.399
<v Speaker 1>to a concept called local fee markets. So on Ethereum

168
00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:02.000
<v Speaker 1>and other ev chains, they have this idea of global

169
00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:05.360
<v Speaker 1>fee markets. If there's a spike in demand, all of

170
00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:07.559
<v Speaker 1>the transaction fees for that network go up. And this

171
00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:10.960
<v Speaker 1>is what you saw in October during the flash crash,

172
00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:14.200
<v Speaker 1>where you know, it was hundreds, if not thousands of

173
00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:17.120
<v Speaker 1>dollars to transact on Ethereum, and then you know, in

174
00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:20.279
<v Speaker 1>some cases many tens of dollars to transact on Layer twos,

175
00:09:20.679 --> 00:09:23.519
<v Speaker 1>whereas on Solana the media and fee was still you know,

176
00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:27.320
<v Speaker 1>in the in the sets and normally Slona is one

177
00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:31.000
<v Speaker 1>thousandth of a cent per transaction. And that is really

178
00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:34.000
<v Speaker 1>imperative because it's not just about having low fees, but

179
00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:38.200
<v Speaker 1>it's having predictably low fees for institutions in particular that

180
00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:40.120
<v Speaker 1>need to know they need to be able to budget

181
00:09:40.279 --> 00:09:44.039
<v Speaker 1>for you know, what things are going to cost, to

182
00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:47.159
<v Speaker 1>know what they should charge for various products that they're

183
00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:48.519
<v Speaker 1>building on the blockchain.

184
00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:55.559
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Absolutely, Now you being head of institutional right grow

185
00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:59.600
<v Speaker 2>that is I'm curious, what are institutions building on slaoner

186
00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:03.519
<v Speaker 2>they took organizing money market funds or toognizing other types

187
00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:06.759
<v Speaker 2>of assets, and you know, what's what's the conversation been

188
00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:08.679
<v Speaker 2>like over the past year, given the change in the

189
00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:10.279
<v Speaker 2>regulatory environment and so forth.

190
00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:13.759
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so let's start with the change in the regulatory environment.

191
00:10:13.799 --> 00:10:18.320
<v Speaker 1>I can't say enough how important the passage of the

192
00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:24.279
<v Speaker 1>Genius Act bill was. Obviously, we have an incredibly blockchain

193
00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:28.759
<v Speaker 1>forward president in Donald Trump, who's who's done all kinds

194
00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:32.679
<v Speaker 1>of helpful things in the administrative branch, you know, the

195
00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:37.919
<v Speaker 1>which he controls. But what I think was particularly exciting

196
00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:41.960
<v Speaker 1>was that the legislative branch, in kind of a bipartisan action,

197
00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:47.399
<v Speaker 1>passed the Genius Act, which which made stable coins something

198
00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:51.279
<v Speaker 1>that everyone has very clear guidelines on which they can

199
00:10:51.320 --> 00:10:54.279
<v Speaker 1>build on. And that has really led, I think, to

200
00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:57.519
<v Speaker 1>an influx of institutional interest in the blockchain, and I

201
00:10:57.559 --> 00:11:00.919
<v Speaker 1>think the Clarity Act will only continue to to accelerate that.

202
00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:04.559
<v Speaker 1>But what are institutions doing on Solana? Well, you've got

203
00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:07.240
<v Speaker 1>all sorts of different institutions doing different kinds of things.

204
00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:10.759
<v Speaker 1>On the payment side, you've got the likes of Visa

205
00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:15.679
<v Speaker 1>and MasterCard and PayPal and Stripe Square cash App recently

206
00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:22.919
<v Speaker 1>also announced that they're using Solana PayPal on the tomization side.

207
00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:26.279
<v Speaker 1>On the asset management, you've got Hamilton Lane Breb and

208
00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:29.480
<v Speaker 1>Howard Apollo. On the private side, you've got you know,

209
00:11:29.559 --> 00:11:34.480
<v Speaker 1>black Rock, Van Eck, Franklin Templeton Wellington and others. On

210
00:11:34.519 --> 00:11:37.840
<v Speaker 1>the money fund side, you've got all sorts of commodities,

211
00:11:37.960 --> 00:11:43.799
<v Speaker 1>you know, gold, wine, art, even whiskey and everything under

212
00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:45.720
<v Speaker 1>the sun. You know, as as I mentioned when we

213
00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:50.039
<v Speaker 1>started the podcast, all assets, same liquidity venue, global market

214
00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:52.360
<v Speaker 1>that has spends twenty four seven. And so we're really

215
00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:58.399
<v Speaker 1>working to bring institutions on Solana with all different kinds

216
00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:01.879
<v Speaker 1>of assets. And then there's also so banks are building

217
00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:04.200
<v Speaker 1>on Salona as well. You've got Societe General which has

218
00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:09.240
<v Speaker 1>stable coin, fi Serve recently announced that they're building stable

219
00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:12.360
<v Speaker 1>coins on Solana. And then you've got money transmitters like

220
00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:16.159
<v Speaker 1>Western mean, who's who's building on Salona. So the institutional

221
00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:19.639
<v Speaker 1>utilization of Solona really runs the gamut, and I think

222
00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:23.240
<v Speaker 1>it's increasingly being seen as a place that institutions feel

223
00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:27.879
<v Speaker 1>incredibly comfortable building and are are increasingly choosing Salona as

224
00:12:27.879 --> 00:12:31.080
<v Speaker 1>a first chain or only chain that they're building on.

225
00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:34.759
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's incredible adoption. And you mentioned the most recent

226
00:12:34.759 --> 00:12:37.879
<v Speaker 2>move was Western Union looking to launch their stable coin

227
00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:42.519
<v Speaker 2>on Solana, which which is incredible. You know, when these

228
00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:45.159
<v Speaker 2>institutions are using Solana, and this may be a question

229
00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:48.240
<v Speaker 2>that goes for every blockchain, you know, how are they

230
00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:51.720
<v Speaker 2>integrating it or plugging into solon. I'm curious about that

231
00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:54.240
<v Speaker 2>and maybe technical where you know, it may go over

232
00:12:54.279 --> 00:12:56.480
<v Speaker 2>the heads of some folks, but I'm curious, what is

233
00:12:56.519 --> 00:12:59.279
<v Speaker 2>the step of hitting the ground running from a conversation

234
00:12:59.320 --> 00:12:59.960
<v Speaker 2>to hitting the ground.

235
00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:03.279
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so I would say, you know, institutions take a

236
00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:05.399
<v Speaker 1>few different approaches to how they build on the blockchain.

237
00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:09.480
<v Speaker 1>It depends in part on you know, the level of

238
00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:11.799
<v Speaker 1>investment that they're able to make and also kind of

239
00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:16.080
<v Speaker 1>how technology, how comfortable they are with the new technologies.

240
00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:20.919
<v Speaker 1>So some some institutions you know, want to recruit and

241
00:13:20.919 --> 00:13:23.600
<v Speaker 1>and or train you know, current engineers that they have

242
00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:26.879
<v Speaker 1>and and have them you know, do the build eternally.

243
00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:30.600
<v Speaker 1>And then others, you know, might look to a partner,

244
00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:33.480
<v Speaker 1>like a tokenization partner, like on the stable point side

245
00:13:33.480 --> 00:13:36.240
<v Speaker 1>that could be a Circle or a Paxos or somebody

246
00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:40.960
<v Speaker 1>like that. Or on the tokenization side for real world

247
00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:44.679
<v Speaker 1>assets that could be you know, Securitized or Republic or

248
00:13:44.759 --> 00:13:47.679
<v Speaker 1>alpha Ledge or Sentrifuge or or somebody like that. And

249
00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:51.399
<v Speaker 1>it really depends on how quickly they want to move,

250
00:13:51.879 --> 00:13:53.519
<v Speaker 1>you know, do they want to build it in the house.

251
00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:57.200
<v Speaker 1>Do they want to maintain it in house? But but

252
00:13:57.279 --> 00:14:01.000
<v Speaker 1>I think that increasingly institutions are saying we have to

253
00:14:01.080 --> 00:14:04.600
<v Speaker 1>have this capability, we have to be on chain. And

254
00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:07.639
<v Speaker 1>that's really exciting to see because once these guys move,

255
00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:09.799
<v Speaker 1>they don't move fast, but once they move, they move

256
00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:10.440
<v Speaker 1>with size.

257
00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:15.279
<v Speaker 2>Oh. Absolutely, you mentioned earlier upgrades such as fire Dancer.

258
00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:17.559
<v Speaker 2>Correct me if I'm wrong. Is that live or is

259
00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:18.759
<v Speaker 2>that in the works?

260
00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:23.159
<v Speaker 1>So fire Dancer is live partially on Maine. There's also

261
00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:26.840
<v Speaker 1>different versions of it that are live and being tested.

262
00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:32.600
<v Speaker 1>Fire Dancer will be I think fully live hopefully sometime

263
00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:34.919
<v Speaker 1>next year. I'm sure we'll get an update on that

264
00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:40.080
<v Speaker 1>next month in Abu Dhabi at our big conference Breakpoint, Tony,

265
00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:42.879
<v Speaker 1>I hope you're joining us and others listeners. We'd love

266
00:14:42.919 --> 00:14:45.320
<v Speaker 1>to see you in Abu Dhabi. Lots of alpha will

267
00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:47.879
<v Speaker 1>be shared at Breakpoint, as it always is.

268
00:14:48.919 --> 00:14:51.919
<v Speaker 2>That's exciting. We'll talk offline about that. I would love

269
00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:55.240
<v Speaker 2>to attend. You know, what are you and the team

270
00:14:55.559 --> 00:14:57.440
<v Speaker 2>you know? As far as your vision board, so to speak,

271
00:14:57.600 --> 00:14:59.679
<v Speaker 2>for twenty thirty, let's say five years from now, what's

272
00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:01.679
<v Speaker 2>Salon I may look like. What do the adoption of

273
00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:04.120
<v Speaker 2>retail applications, but also institutions.

274
00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:07.000
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so I think Salona is powering the financial Internet

275
00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:09.480
<v Speaker 1>in twenty thirty, and you may or may not even

276
00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:12.679
<v Speaker 1>know that it is doing that. Right as a user,

277
00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:18.200
<v Speaker 1>we want applications built on Solana to be as fast

278
00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:21.919
<v Speaker 1>and performant as any other application, and I think you're

279
00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:24.840
<v Speaker 1>seeing that increasingly, where you know, people will use a

280
00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:28.120
<v Speaker 1>dex or they'll use you know, per peer, you know,

281
00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:31.600
<v Speaker 1>payments app and they're just amazed that it's even you know,

282
00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:35.879
<v Speaker 1>blockchain underneath, because it just feels so fast, almost instantaneous.

283
00:15:36.360 --> 00:15:40.799
<v Speaker 1>And currently settlement for a transaction on Solon it's about

284
00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:44.320
<v Speaker 1>four hundred milliseconds, but there's a new technology and other

285
00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:47.240
<v Speaker 1>new technology being built called out and Glow, which will

286
00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:49.399
<v Speaker 1>reduce that to about one hundred fifty milliseconds. And the

287
00:15:49.440 --> 00:15:52.840
<v Speaker 1>reason that is so important is two hundred milliseconds is

288
00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:56.000
<v Speaker 1>the point at which a human feels something is generally instantaneous.

289
00:15:56.279 --> 00:15:59.600
<v Speaker 1>So we're going from something that's already really really fast

290
00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:02.120
<v Speaker 1>to something that to the human eye will appear as

291
00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:07.240
<v Speaker 1>nearly instantaneous. And you know, that's that's really exciting. And

292
00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:12.399
<v Speaker 1>I think twenty thirty, you know, virtually every financial application

293
00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:14.720
<v Speaker 1>on the Internet will be powered on Solana.

294
00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:19.639
<v Speaker 2>So on that note, Nick, the transition for many companies

295
00:16:19.639 --> 00:16:21.919
<v Speaker 2>from Web two to Web three, it's in the progress,

296
00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:23.919
<v Speaker 2>right and there's still people who are skeptics. They're still

297
00:16:23.919 --> 00:16:26.639
<v Speaker 2>on the fence. So I'm curious what your strategy is

298
00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:28.399
<v Speaker 2>to approach some of these companies, you know, like the

299
00:16:28.440 --> 00:16:31.480
<v Speaker 2>Googles and the facebooks and and other you know, companies

300
00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:34.120
<v Speaker 2>that are running primarily Web two. And to your point,

301
00:16:34.440 --> 00:16:37.720
<v Speaker 2>you know, eventually people won't know Solona is powering the

302
00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:39.679
<v Speaker 2>back end, just that it works right at the end

303
00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:42.519
<v Speaker 2>of the day, the average Joe and Jane. So I'm curious,

304
00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:44.879
<v Speaker 2>how are you. I don't know if you can reveal this,

305
00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:47.440
<v Speaker 2>but what's your pitch to these folks, Like, Hey, you

306
00:16:47.480 --> 00:16:49.840
<v Speaker 2>need to get on here. This is this is what's happening.

307
00:16:50.840 --> 00:16:53.279
<v Speaker 2>Not necessarily you have to advertise it to the end consumer,

308
00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:54.799
<v Speaker 2>but you have to build it into your background.

309
00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:58.480
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, well, I think it's it's really simple. If you

310
00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:01.120
<v Speaker 1>are a large institution, you wanted to be early in

311
00:17:01.159 --> 00:17:03.879
<v Speaker 1>the cloud, you wanted to be early in mobile, you

312
00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:06.839
<v Speaker 1>wanted to be early in social and now I think

313
00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:08.720
<v Speaker 1>you want to be early in blockchain, and I think

314
00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:11.759
<v Speaker 1>it is still early. You know, if you look at

315
00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:18.359
<v Speaker 1>who accrued, you know, market share, Aws, Cloud, you know Facebook,

316
00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:25.720
<v Speaker 1>you know social and then mobile, Apple and Google. Right,

317
00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:29.519
<v Speaker 1>and you want to be early in blockchain? I think

318
00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:33.000
<v Speaker 1>you know the visas, the paypals, the squares, you know,

319
00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:37.359
<v Speaker 1>the Western unions, the black Rocks, the Franklin Timpletons. These

320
00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:41.559
<v Speaker 1>folks that are building on the blockchain. Now you'll see

321
00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:47.160
<v Speaker 1>them really I think benefit from that in terms of,

322
00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:50.920
<v Speaker 1>you know, their their market performance over the coming years.

323
00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:57.759
<v Speaker 2>And then certainly payments has been something that's really been

324
00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:00.000
<v Speaker 2>at the forefront of innovation when it comes to blockchain

325
00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:04.279
<v Speaker 2>and so forth. Right, But what about tracking certain things

326
00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:09.160
<v Speaker 2>on the blockchain or putting certain data and information? How

327
00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:11.680
<v Speaker 2>where do you see that at? This is a hard

328
00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:13.960
<v Speaker 2>question to answer because it's very open end. You know,

329
00:18:13.960 --> 00:18:16.559
<v Speaker 2>different industries operated in different ways. But what do you

330
00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:19.440
<v Speaker 2>see folks looking at beyond payments to do other things

331
00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:23.119
<v Speaker 2>like I don't know, supply chain management and things like that. Yeah, listen,

332
00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:25.880
<v Speaker 2>I think I think blockchain has all sorts of really

333
00:18:26.119 --> 00:18:30.559
<v Speaker 2>interesting use cases and I think you know, we've seen

334
00:18:30.920 --> 00:18:36.240
<v Speaker 2>innovation and experimentation, you know, in lots of different utility

335
00:18:36.279 --> 00:18:39.720
<v Speaker 2>of the blockchain. I think where it's got unequivocally clear

336
00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:43.440
<v Speaker 2>product market fit is for financial rails. Right.

337
00:18:43.720 --> 00:18:46.039
<v Speaker 1>We've seen this with stable coins. There's now three hundred

338
00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:49.599
<v Speaker 1>plus billion dollars of stable coins on chain. We've seen

339
00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:51.640
<v Speaker 1>this with art of u A. There's now thirty billion

340
00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:55.160
<v Speaker 1>plus in art of vua on chain. And these these

341
00:18:55.240 --> 00:18:59.279
<v Speaker 1>numbers are growing extraordinarily. I'm sure we'll get to a

342
00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:02.359
<v Speaker 1>trillion dollars some stable points next year and one hundred

343
00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:05.480
<v Speaker 1>billion dollars of our w A. And I think that's

344
00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:08.759
<v Speaker 1>where there's unequivocally clear a product our g iFIT and

345
00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:13.640
<v Speaker 1>why you're seeing you know, financial institutions in particular, you know,

346
00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:16.680
<v Speaker 1>coming coming to the blockchain very very quickly.

347
00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:20.920
<v Speaker 2>Now institutions they very much care about security and privacy,

348
00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:23.880
<v Speaker 2>right and not having certain data out there to the

349
00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:26.599
<v Speaker 2>open and in a while. So how does Solana meet

350
00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:27.039
<v Speaker 2>that need?

351
00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:30.559
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Well, so there's kind of two ways. One there's

352
00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:35.559
<v Speaker 1>the protocol itself and then there's third party applications built

353
00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:39.960
<v Speaker 1>on top of the protocol. Okay, so the protocol itself, Uh,

354
00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:43.440
<v Speaker 1>there's there's a token program that was released last year

355
00:19:44.039 --> 00:19:48.559
<v Speaker 1>called Token extensions and token extensions has UH the ability

356
00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:54.759
<v Speaker 1>to add various configuration settings to to tokens that are

357
00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:57.440
<v Speaker 1>issued on in the Salon of blockchain. One of those

358
00:19:57.599 --> 00:20:01.640
<v Speaker 1>is this idea of confidential balances, and PayPal actually uses

359
00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:04.720
<v Speaker 1>this token extension for their p y u s D

360
00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:08.559
<v Speaker 1>stable coin. So if I send you uh y u

361
00:20:08.599 --> 00:20:11.960
<v Speaker 1>s d stable coin tony, other people won't be able

362
00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:14.839
<v Speaker 1>to see how much I sent you. They'll see that

363
00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:17.519
<v Speaker 1>I sent you as the stable coin, but they won't

364
00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:19.559
<v Speaker 1>be able or they they'll see that wallet A sent

365
00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:22.279
<v Speaker 1>wallet b p y u s D, but they won't

366
00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:26.160
<v Speaker 1>be able to see the amount that was transferred. And

367
00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:32.480
<v Speaker 1>there's all sorts of ways also to you know, make

368
00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:36.279
<v Speaker 1>wallets difficult to identify as to who is the owner.

369
00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:40.119
<v Speaker 1>So for example, like if you send something from Coinbase

370
00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:42.680
<v Speaker 1>to your phantom wallet, and then something from your phantom

371
00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:45.839
<v Speaker 1>wallet back to Coinbase, and and then you send that

372
00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:48.599
<v Speaker 1>from Coinbase somewhere else, UH, you won't be able to

373
00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:51.480
<v Speaker 1>really be able to track you know, who who all

374
00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:54.319
<v Speaker 1>that was sent to if you're looking at the public ledger.

375
00:20:54.599 --> 00:20:57.319
<v Speaker 1>So long story short is you can use kind of

376
00:20:57.400 --> 00:21:02.160
<v Speaker 1>the existing capabilities of the Salon protocol you know, to

377
00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:05.079
<v Speaker 1>do a lot of what you're talking about with respect

378
00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:08.240
<v Speaker 1>to confidentiality and privacy. But then there's also third party

379
00:21:08.279 --> 00:21:15.319
<v Speaker 1>providers like RCM and Umbra that are adding additional confidentiality

380
00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:19.279
<v Speaker 1>and privacy at the application layer, and and so I

381
00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:25.279
<v Speaker 1>think you'll see both. But you know, Salona is a public,

382
00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:30.440
<v Speaker 1>permissionless blockchain, and so by nature, you know, all data is.

383
00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:37.720
<v Speaker 2>Accessible via block explorer. Oh for sure, look to your point,

384
00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:39.599
<v Speaker 2>you can see a transaction happen, but you may not

385
00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:43.640
<v Speaker 2>know the details, right right, Yeah, talk to us a

386
00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:46.759
<v Speaker 2>bit about bridging to let's say, private chains, because we

387
00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:49.319
<v Speaker 2>see some of these institutions they have their wall garden

388
00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:53.440
<v Speaker 2>permission private blockchains, but they want to communicate with public blockchains.

389
00:21:53.720 --> 00:21:56.160
<v Speaker 2>What are you seeing on that front? And is it

390
00:21:56.200 --> 00:21:58.200
<v Speaker 2>easy for them to plug into salonim.

391
00:21:58.920 --> 00:22:02.640
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, So, I mean there's an number of bridges that

392
00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:06.759
<v Speaker 1>connect to private blockchains and public blockchains. I think among

393
00:22:06.839 --> 00:22:12.160
<v Speaker 1>them are you know, chain link, wormhole, I believe, uh,

394
00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:16.839
<v Speaker 1>layer zero as well. So for example, if you're looking

395
00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:19.880
<v Speaker 1>to connect you know, JP Morgan connects us to Solana

396
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:22.880
<v Speaker 1>or to another public blockchain like base, you can use

397
00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:26.160
<v Speaker 1>something like chain link to do that. Of course, the

398
00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:30.839
<v Speaker 1>private blockchain needs to allow the data to be passed,

399
00:22:31.559 --> 00:22:36.119
<v Speaker 1>you know, because that's the whole idea they control, you know,

400
00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:40.319
<v Speaker 1>their their networks. But I think you are going to

401
00:22:40.359 --> 00:22:46.039
<v Speaker 1>see an increasing move towards interoperability. What what I'm hearing

402
00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:49.400
<v Speaker 1>is institutions, you know, ultimately want to settle on public

403
00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:54.039
<v Speaker 1>blockchains and that's where the liquidity is. And so I

404
00:22:54.039 --> 00:22:55.599
<v Speaker 1>think I think that's, you know, one of the many

405
00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:59.160
<v Speaker 1>reasons you're going to see more institutions come to Solana Nick.

406
00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:00.880
<v Speaker 2>I don't know if you sure these thoughts, but it's

407
00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:03.279
<v Speaker 2>amazing to see at in for the ward is capitulation.

408
00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:06.039
<v Speaker 2>But many of these institutions, they tried to bypass the

409
00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:08.839
<v Speaker 2>public blockchains for years, build their own version, you know.

410
00:23:08.920 --> 00:23:12.000
<v Speaker 2>JP Morgan did a private version of etherorem Quorum or

411
00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:14.480
<v Speaker 2>whatever they call it. But now they realize, to your point,

412
00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:16.759
<v Speaker 2>the liquidities on the public blockchains and they want to

413
00:23:16.759 --> 00:23:17.519
<v Speaker 2>settle it there.

414
00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:22.079
<v Speaker 1>Well. So, I in fairness to the institutions that were

415
00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:27.000
<v Speaker 1>building on private blockchains, I think it was as much

416
00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:31.559
<v Speaker 1>because of the lack of regulatory clarity. You know, until

417
00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:36.319
<v Speaker 1>January twentieth of this year, crypto was a four letter

418
00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:39.640
<v Speaker 1>word in the United States, and you know, that has

419
00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:44.119
<v Speaker 1>been just an absolute sea change in you know, where

420
00:23:44.279 --> 00:23:47.599
<v Speaker 1>what institutions can do. You know, in the United States

421
00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:49.920
<v Speaker 1>they could do things you know, in other markets, in

422
00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:54.440
<v Speaker 1>Switzerland and Singapore and and and and in some other

423
00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:57.920
<v Speaker 1>markets as well where there where there were more friendly regulators,

424
00:23:57.920 --> 00:24:00.799
<v Speaker 1>but in the US they really couldn't. And and many

425
00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:03.160
<v Speaker 1>of the institutions that are global, of course are also

426
00:24:04.119 --> 00:24:06.359
<v Speaker 1>UH in many cases have a US presence, and they

427
00:24:06.359 --> 00:24:09.839
<v Speaker 1>didn't want to, you know, create any issues with the

428
00:24:09.880 --> 00:24:15.039
<v Speaker 1>SEC or OCC or whoever their regulators were. But now

429
00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:19.559
<v Speaker 1>that that they you know, have a green light, you know,

430
00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:22.839
<v Speaker 1>the cars are absolutely racing around the track to build

431
00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:23.960
<v Speaker 1>on public blockchains.

432
00:24:24.519 --> 00:24:27.519
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's amazing to see how things have changed on

433
00:24:27.559 --> 00:24:29.960
<v Speaker 2>that front. Now there's been a lot of demand for

434
00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:33.480
<v Speaker 2>Solona as an asset for ETPs as well as digital

435
00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:36.720
<v Speaker 2>asset treasury companies. Tell us a bit about those products

436
00:24:36.759 --> 00:24:38.799
<v Speaker 2>that are being going live and how you've been interacting

437
00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:39.440
<v Speaker 2>with those folks.

438
00:24:39.799 --> 00:24:43.000
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so that's another really exciting development that again, you know,

439
00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:45.640
<v Speaker 1>I think was really made possible this year thanks to

440
00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:52.279
<v Speaker 1>friendlier regulation, UH specifically the SEC in in in that instance.

441
00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:55.039
<v Speaker 1>So the way that I look at it is the

442
00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:59.559
<v Speaker 1>ETFs or ways for people to access the soul token

443
00:24:59.640 --> 00:25:02.799
<v Speaker 1>pass and dat's are a way for people to access

444
00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:05.119
<v Speaker 1>UH this oul token, you know, in more of an

445
00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:10.000
<v Speaker 1>actively managed vehicle, and so on the ETF side, UH

446
00:25:10.920 --> 00:25:13.799
<v Speaker 1>a couple of weeks ago the first ones came out

447
00:25:14.119 --> 00:25:17.200
<v Speaker 1>for Solana. Bit Wise and Grayscale were the first two

448
00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:22.200
<v Speaker 1>to launch with staking, and then a number followed van K,

449
00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:26.200
<v Speaker 1>Canary and Fidelity UH just this past week, and there's

450
00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:28.680
<v Speaker 1>a few others that are filed I believe Franklin, Templeton

451
00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:32.000
<v Speaker 1>and Vesco maybe some others. And then on the DAT side,

452
00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:37.799
<v Speaker 1>Forward Industries raised one point sixty five billion dollars to

453
00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:41.000
<v Speaker 1>deploy into Solana and then into DeFi Strategies, and there's

454
00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:45.880
<v Speaker 1>a number of other dats as well. The Salona Company

455
00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:51.759
<v Speaker 1>sold me Upex, DeFi dev sold Strategies and and others,

456
00:25:51.799 --> 00:25:53.839
<v Speaker 1>and you know, I think it's great that there's all

457
00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:57.359
<v Speaker 1>these teams now that are in large institutions like Fidelity

458
00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:00.240
<v Speaker 1>and and and and n K and and b guys

459
00:26:00.279 --> 00:26:03.480
<v Speaker 1>that are out there really educating the market about h Solana,

460
00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:06.480
<v Speaker 1>and I think that will only bring more and more

461
00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:09.759
<v Speaker 1>people into the Salona ecosystem. You know, if they invest

462
00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:12.720
<v Speaker 1>in Solana and they haven't used the blockchain, maybe that'll

463
00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:14.960
<v Speaker 1>drive them to you know, download a fine and wallet,

464
00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:17.759
<v Speaker 1>try it out and really see how incredible it is,

465
00:26:18.319 --> 00:26:19.279
<v Speaker 1>you know, to use Solana.

466
00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:23.160
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's a great point. Those are great on ramps. Great,

467
00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:25.759
<v Speaker 2>uh you know, way for folks that dip their their

468
00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:28.279
<v Speaker 2>toes in the water, right and before they plunge in.

469
00:26:28.359 --> 00:26:31.680
<v Speaker 2>And I've heard, you know, from a few folks anecdotally

470
00:26:31.720 --> 00:26:33.680
<v Speaker 2>that you know, who have bought let's say ETFs and

471
00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:35.000
<v Speaker 2>they're like, yeah, I want to go see if I

472
00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:37.440
<v Speaker 2>can set up a wallet and do some cool things

473
00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:40.480
<v Speaker 2>defy you know, any any type of Web three activity

474
00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:41.119
<v Speaker 2>and things like that.

475
00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:44.960
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely well, by the way, if you want to mention

476
00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:48.640
<v Speaker 1>that since the first Salona ETFs went live a few

477
00:26:48.680 --> 00:26:51.880
<v Speaker 1>weeks ago, they have seen inflows every single trade and

478
00:26:51.920 --> 00:26:55.839
<v Speaker 1>day since. So while Bitcoin and ethereum have had outflows

479
00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:58.680
<v Speaker 1>to the tunes of billions of dollars, Solana has seen

480
00:26:58.720 --> 00:27:01.400
<v Speaker 1>nothing but inflows that I think it really shows the

481
00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:06.440
<v Speaker 1>demand and interest in Solana, which is really exciting to see.

482
00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:09.079
<v Speaker 2>Oh. Absolutely, yeah. I've been tracking some of the et

483
00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:11.720
<v Speaker 2>inflows and you know, my friends a bit wise looking

484
00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:15.640
<v Speaker 2>at b Soul and all that. So, yeah, it's really exciting.

485
00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:17.920
<v Speaker 2>What's on your role map that you can share. I

486
00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:19.400
<v Speaker 2>know some things might be on the wrap, but I'm

487
00:27:19.400 --> 00:27:21.400
<v Speaker 2>curious what you got, you know, maybe twenty twenty six

488
00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:22.079
<v Speaker 2>and things like that.

489
00:27:22.599 --> 00:27:24.240
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, So one of the things that I say all

490
00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:27.799
<v Speaker 1>the time is it's it's you know, Solana has been

491
00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:32.039
<v Speaker 1>true to the same North Star vision since inception, which is,

492
00:27:32.279 --> 00:27:36.799
<v Speaker 1>you know, all assets trading twenty four to seven globally

493
00:27:37.240 --> 00:27:42.319
<v Speaker 1>anybody can can trade in a single liquidity venue. And

494
00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:44.720
<v Speaker 1>and so we're just going to keep doing it. We're

495
00:27:44.759 --> 00:27:47.319
<v Speaker 1>just gonna keep doing it. You're gonna see more assets,

496
00:27:47.319 --> 00:27:49.240
<v Speaker 1>You've got to see more applications, You're going to see

497
00:27:49.240 --> 00:27:53.319
<v Speaker 1>more tokens, and and we're going to continue to attract

498
00:27:53.400 --> 00:27:56.319
<v Speaker 1>you know, the best founders and builders and institutions in

499
00:27:56.359 --> 00:27:59.599
<v Speaker 1>the world to build on Solana such that you know,

500
00:27:59.640 --> 00:28:02.000
<v Speaker 1>in twenty twenty six, twenty twenty seven, and twenty thirty

501
00:28:02.039 --> 00:28:05.359
<v Speaker 1>and beyond, you know, there'll be more assets, more liquidity,

502
00:28:05.960 --> 00:28:11.440
<v Speaker 1>more counter parties for you to build with together in

503
00:28:11.480 --> 00:28:13.319
<v Speaker 1>the salon of ecosystem.

504
00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:16.079
<v Speaker 2>So Nick, you know, it's amazing to see the adoption

505
00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:18.960
<v Speaker 2>of Solana and all the things that are happening. And

506
00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:23.680
<v Speaker 2>you know, in regards to the market structure building, I

507
00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:26.319
<v Speaker 2>think you alluded to it earlier. Do you foresee that

508
00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:29.000
<v Speaker 2>once that is passed into law there may be an

509
00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:31.799
<v Speaker 2>explosion of innovation and building on slana that some people

510
00:28:31.880 --> 00:28:34.599
<v Speaker 2>might still be on the sidelines waiting for that clarity.

511
00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:39.799
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think so. I think every piece of legislation

512
00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:43.400
<v Speaker 1>that that moves crypto in the blockchain, you know, kind

513
00:28:43.440 --> 00:28:49.480
<v Speaker 1>of further into acceptance, into general acceptance is better. But

514
00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:51.559
<v Speaker 1>I think we also have a lot to work with

515
00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:55.799
<v Speaker 1>even if Clarity Act isn't passed. So I think that,

516
00:28:56.160 --> 00:29:00.160
<v Speaker 1>you know, the big puzzle pieces are in place, you know,

517
00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:03.720
<v Speaker 1>thanks to the Trump administration for institutions to build on

518
00:29:03.720 --> 00:29:08.519
<v Speaker 1>the blockchain. Just this past week, those who see shed

519
00:29:08.599 --> 00:29:13.359
<v Speaker 1>light on how babies can hold you know, small amounts

520
00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:16.960
<v Speaker 1>of tokens to you know, make transactions on the blockchain,

521
00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:20.359
<v Speaker 1>And I think that's great. And so I think you're

522
00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:24.640
<v Speaker 1>gonna continue to see you know, administrative action to help

523
00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:28.680
<v Speaker 1>clarify what institutions and others can do on the blockchain,

524
00:29:28.759 --> 00:29:31.720
<v Speaker 1>even the absence of the Clarity Act. Legislation. But I do,

525
00:29:31.799 --> 00:29:34.559
<v Speaker 1>of course hope we see the clarity acts. As you know,

526
00:29:34.599 --> 00:29:38.720
<v Speaker 1>more legislation provides even clearer guidelines and rules and a

527
00:29:38.839 --> 00:29:41.599
<v Speaker 1>level playing field for everyone to build on. And anything

528
00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:44.759
<v Speaker 1>that happens here domestically in the United States drives innovation

529
00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:48.920
<v Speaker 1>everywhere else in the world forward. So, you know, really

530
00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:52.480
<v Speaker 1>exciting to see that the US is now leading innovation

531
00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:55.960
<v Speaker 1>on blockchain versus you know, making it difficult for builders

532
00:29:56.720 --> 00:29:59.880
<v Speaker 1>to to grow their companies on the blockchain.

533
00:30:00.880 --> 00:30:03.960
<v Speaker 2>Now we're seeing blockchain is starting to penetrate different industries

534
00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:07.759
<v Speaker 2>and aspects of life. And I'm curious, what do you

535
00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:10.359
<v Speaker 2>guys see down the line. And this is a hard

536
00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:13.480
<v Speaker 2>question to answer, right, you know, is it the gaming world,

537
00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:16.559
<v Speaker 2>is it social media? I don't know what that may be.

538
00:30:16.640 --> 00:30:19.200
<v Speaker 2>But what do you think might be the next driver

539
00:30:19.319 --> 00:30:20.440
<v Speaker 2>of adoption and building?

540
00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:24.359
<v Speaker 1>I mean barely scratching the surface in terms of like

541
00:30:24.440 --> 00:30:29.440
<v Speaker 1>the the use case for you know, the Internet, capital markets,

542
00:30:29.480 --> 00:30:33.799
<v Speaker 1>for you know, financial assets on chain today, and so

543
00:30:33.880 --> 00:30:38.440
<v Speaker 1>I think it's you know, really widening, widening the wedge

544
00:30:38.519 --> 00:30:42.880
<v Speaker 1>that we have there. You know, there's just so much

545
00:30:42.920 --> 00:30:45.039
<v Speaker 1>more to go. Like I said, there's only thirty billion

546
00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:48.920
<v Speaker 1>of RWA on chain. There's something like three plus trillion

547
00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:52.359
<v Speaker 1>dollars of investable assets maybe more on Earth. So you're

548
00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:58.559
<v Speaker 1>talking about one percent penetration at most today, and so

549
00:30:58.680 --> 00:31:01.160
<v Speaker 1>I think, you know, we're going to see a lot

550
00:31:01.200 --> 00:31:04.240
<v Speaker 1>more of that as well as other use cases too.

551
00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:07.279
<v Speaker 1>But I think that where there's clear product market fit,

552
00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:09.640
<v Speaker 1>you'll see more and more people come in and build

553
00:31:09.640 --> 00:31:12.440
<v Speaker 1>that out further such that, you know, over the next

554
00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:14.400
<v Speaker 1>few years, I really think you'll be able to do

555
00:31:14.519 --> 00:31:18.440
<v Speaker 1>pretty much any financial transaction of any kind on Solana.

556
00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:20.559
<v Speaker 1>You could pretty much do that already, but I think

557
00:31:20.599 --> 00:31:24.119
<v Speaker 1>you'll you'll really be able to do that increasingly over

558
00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:25.119
<v Speaker 1>the next few years.

559
00:31:25.559 --> 00:31:28.920
<v Speaker 2>Oh absolutely, Nick, I gotta ask you about the market, man,

560
00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:34.079
<v Speaker 2>it's been brutal. We've been in a pretty big correction

561
00:31:34.519 --> 00:31:36.920
<v Speaker 2>and everybody is getting a little bit dismade. What is

562
00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:39.680
<v Speaker 2>your personal outlook is have we topped out? I know,

563
00:31:40.039 --> 00:31:42.039
<v Speaker 2>you know you're a builder, so long term this is

564
00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:45.160
<v Speaker 2>this is a blimp right on the on the screen here,

565
00:31:45.519 --> 00:31:48.359
<v Speaker 2>But you know, what would you say, are we topped

566
00:31:48.359 --> 00:31:50.319
<v Speaker 2>out or there's more to go? In twenty twenty six?

567
00:31:50.759 --> 00:31:55.000
<v Speaker 1>You know, I'm a permeable Tony I'm always bullish. I

568
00:31:55.039 --> 00:32:00.880
<v Speaker 1>think I think we're so early, it's just crazy. So

569
00:32:01.200 --> 00:32:03.200
<v Speaker 1>you know, I I try not to pay attention to

570
00:32:03.319 --> 00:32:06.759
<v Speaker 1>short term movements in in in the market, and and

571
00:32:06.920 --> 00:32:10.799
<v Speaker 1>just look at, you know, where we are today versus

572
00:32:10.799 --> 00:32:13.039
<v Speaker 1>where we were a few years ago, versus where I

573
00:32:13.079 --> 00:32:15.640
<v Speaker 1>think we'll be, you know, in in the next few years.

574
00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:17.759
<v Speaker 1>And I think we're gonna be higher.

575
00:32:18.559 --> 00:32:21.960
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it seems like, you know, crypto is certainly following

576
00:32:21.960 --> 00:32:24.440
<v Speaker 2>the liquidity cycle as kind of like all you know,

577
00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:27.119
<v Speaker 2>assets on the macro and I guess we just got

578
00:32:27.160 --> 00:32:29.039
<v Speaker 2>to be patient. But the building continues that there's a

579
00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:33.079
<v Speaker 2>lot of great stuff on the horizon. You know, there

580
00:32:33.160 --> 00:32:34.759
<v Speaker 2>was a question I wanted to ask in it is

581
00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:37.920
<v Speaker 2>escaping me? Okay, here we go. I'm curious if anyone

582
00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:42.599
<v Speaker 2>is building let's say that digital identity uh on Solana

583
00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:44.319
<v Speaker 2>that you can share. I know, some things may be

584
00:32:44.400 --> 00:32:44.920
<v Speaker 2>on the tops.

585
00:32:45.880 --> 00:32:48.920
<v Speaker 1>So there there there is an initiative called the Solana

586
00:32:49.000 --> 00:32:53.960
<v Speaker 1>Attestation Service, which makes it really easy for folks to

587
00:32:54.119 --> 00:32:58.240
<v Speaker 1>connect identity, you know, to their projects on Solana. And

588
00:32:58.559 --> 00:33:01.400
<v Speaker 1>I believe if you googles on at testation service, there's

589
00:33:01.440 --> 00:33:03.720
<v Speaker 1>a landing page on Salona dot com where you can

590
00:33:03.759 --> 00:33:04.480
<v Speaker 1>learn more about that.

591
00:33:05.599 --> 00:33:07.400
<v Speaker 2>Okay, got it? Yeah, because you know, one of the

592
00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:10.839
<v Speaker 2>things one of the pain points I experienced, and I

593
00:33:10.839 --> 00:33:13.559
<v Speaker 2>think a lot of people, it's impersonations online and not

594
00:33:13.720 --> 00:33:18.079
<v Speaker 2>being able to have blockchain verified social profiles. And you've

595
00:33:18.079 --> 00:33:20.319
<v Speaker 2>got scammers they create one hundred versions of you and

596
00:33:20.440 --> 00:33:23.240
<v Speaker 2>messaging people trying to scam people. But also, if I

597
00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:25.839
<v Speaker 2>can have my digital identity all in one app, and

598
00:33:26.319 --> 00:33:28.680
<v Speaker 2>you know, it's interoppable everywhere, that would make my life

599
00:33:28.720 --> 00:33:30.519
<v Speaker 2>a lot easier and I'm sure many people as well.

600
00:33:30.880 --> 00:33:32.559
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think we'll get going in that direction.

601
00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:35.119
<v Speaker 2>All right. Well, as things progress there, I'm going to

602
00:33:35.160 --> 00:33:36.839
<v Speaker 2>have to have you back on to talk about it.

603
00:33:37.759 --> 00:33:40.160
<v Speaker 1>We should have one of my engineering colleagues who can

604
00:33:40.240 --> 00:33:41.799
<v Speaker 1>share all the ins and outs of it.

605
00:33:42.240 --> 00:33:45.319
<v Speaker 2>Perfect. Perfect, So Nick, got some wrap up questions here

606
00:33:45.359 --> 00:33:47.480
<v Speaker 2>for you. First, if you could create your own metaverse,

607
00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:50.400
<v Speaker 2>will the theme be so I'm a big tennis player

608
00:33:50.960 --> 00:33:54.000
<v Speaker 2>and I this was actually pretty cool back in the

609
00:33:54.400 --> 00:33:57.960
<v Speaker 2>you know, when NFTs were really popping. The Australian Open,

610
00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:00.880
<v Speaker 2>which is the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the

611
00:34:00.920 --> 00:34:02.359
<v Speaker 2>calendar year. It's in January.

612
00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:06.920
<v Speaker 1>You could buy an NFT for the Australian Open, which

613
00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:09.800
<v Speaker 1>was a square of the tennis court and if the

614
00:34:09.880 --> 00:34:13.199
<v Speaker 1>last point of the match fell on your square, they

615
00:34:13.239 --> 00:34:17.320
<v Speaker 1>would send you the ball. But they had a watching

616
00:34:17.400 --> 00:34:20.840
<v Speaker 1>party for the Australian Open for NFT holders in the metaphorse.

617
00:34:21.280 --> 00:34:23.920
<v Speaker 1>And I can't remember which metaverse project it was, if

618
00:34:23.920 --> 00:34:26.920
<v Speaker 1>it was a sandbox or another one, but I did it,

619
00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:29.840
<v Speaker 1>you know, and it was kind of cool. So yeah,

620
00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:34.079
<v Speaker 1>tennis and the metaverse. Nice rapid fire questions, favorite food,

621
00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:41.599
<v Speaker 1>favorite food avocado, favorite musician or band Pearl Jam, favorite

622
00:34:41.599 --> 00:34:48.119
<v Speaker 1>movie clue, favorite book Snow Leopard by Peter Matheson.

623
00:34:48.559 --> 00:34:50.519
<v Speaker 2>And when you're not working at the Salona Foundation, what

624
00:34:50.559 --> 00:34:51.280
<v Speaker 2>are you doing for fun?

625
00:34:51.639 --> 00:34:53.679
<v Speaker 1>I'm playing tennis or with my kids.

626
00:34:53.960 --> 00:34:57.960
<v Speaker 2>Nice Nick, great stuff, pleasure chatting with you. I'm looking

627
00:34:58.000 --> 00:34:59.960
<v Speaker 2>forward to the future. Up bates, Aron Salana, thank you

628
00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:02.159
<v Speaker 2>so much for joining me. Thanks so much for having me.