"Building for People, Not Wallets" with Privy cofounder Henri Stern | ZEROPOD S2 E16
What if crypto products weren’t built for wallets, but for people? In this episode of ZEROPOD, Privy.io founder Henri Stern joins host Toady Hawk to talk about building user-first infra, why account abstraction matters, and what it’ll take to onboard the next billion. From his Parisian roots to Protocol Labs and now Privy, Henri shares sharp takes on fragmentation, EIP-7702, and why most crypto apps still miss the point. Come for the insights, stay for the travel tips and Italian bread slander. TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Intro: Meet Henri Stern, founder of Privy01:44 - Henri’s backstory: Growing up in Paris, moving to NYC03:55 - Adjusting to life in New York and early education04:32 - Choosing Stanford over the French education system06:00 - Discovering computer science and why it stuck07:54 - Founding Shout: a peer-to-peer marketplace experiment10:01 - What went wrong with hyperlocal marketplaces12:20 - Filecoin and Protocol Labs: Henri’s next chapter13:49 - What Filecoin taught Henri about zk, consensus, and infra19:00 - Falling in love with crypto, then falling out of it for a bit20:06 - The origin of Privy: starting with privacy, landing on onboarding24:00 - What Privy does today: abstracting onboarding, not just accounts26:10 - The nuance of account abstraction vs. 4337/770228:30 - Privy’s internal values: focus, experimentation, ownership33:00 - Wallet sprawl and the identity fragmentation dilemma36:00 - Wallets as identity tools, not just money holders39:00 - Why crypto infra must be built now, not later41:00 - Notable partnerships: Farcaster, Pump.fun, Hyperliquid & more45:10 - Privy's current roadmap: chains, funding UX, identity UX47:02 - EIP-7702: What it is and why it matters50:00 - Speculation vs stability: the real bifurcation in crypto52:40 - Henri’s vision for 2025 and hiring at Privy54:08 - Rapid-fire round: food, music, tech, travel, and more1:04:28 - Where to find out more about Privy and wrap-up--- Podcast recorded by Toady Hawk, edited by Toady Hawk. Hosted by Toady Hawk. Produced by Zero Rights Media. This content is zero rights reserved (cc0), please remix and reuse it in any way you like! #base #onchain #ethereum #privy #crypto #stripe
Plant-based eats with Shante Bartlett
In this episode, we get to know Shante Bartlett, the incredible creator behind Baked By Té, delicious handcrafted vegan cookies in Toronto. Shante works as a registered nurse, but would like to transition her baking business to a full-time venture. Shante shares the story of her Jamaican roots and how baking rum cakes with her mom inspired her journey to develop the perfect plant-based cookies. Fred and Derek offer Shante guidance into finding confidence as a new business owner, while also covering e-commerce platforms, marketing strategy, building a team (start with your family!), and how a business loan could take Baked By Té to the next level. Although there is a lack of representation of vegan bakers of colour in Canada, Baked By Té is breaking new ground.
"Take It To The BANKR" with TN100X & BANKR Founder 0xDeployer | ZEROPOD S2 E13
Welcome back, fearless Ethereum enjoyooors to another episode of ZEROPOD. And this episode is a special one because it is actually the very first podcast appearance by the elusive figure known only as 0xDeployer aka Big Daddy Ham, the creator of so many things but most recently the breakout success Bankr, an in-feed ai agent that can trade for you using natural language on X and Farcaster. Hosts Toady Hawk and JackWyldes dig in with Deployer to hear about his childhood, his crypto journey and the exhaustive lineage of all his projects leading up to Bankr, including The LP, TN100X, Hamchain and more. We learn that he taught himself to code from a book at Barnes & Noble, we hear about how he first bought Ethereum at $80 (and sold it at $90), and we get some exclusive alpha like the fact that he has a secret Bankr cofounder and fancies himself a glamper. All this and more, we hope you enjoy! If you do enjoy our content, please Like, Comment and Subscribe to help us reach more people on this app. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - The $DRB Story 2:16 - Welcome to ZEROPOD! – Special guest 0xDeployer joins the show 2:50 - First Podcast Appearance 4:06 - The Challenges of Anonymity 6:01 - Early Tech Influences – Super Nintendo, Zelda, and the 90s tech era 8:52 - Shifting Back to Quality Content – Decentralization vs. algorithmic extremes 11:42 - The Rise of AI & Misinformation – A scary but fascinating future 14:00 - Childhood Coding Journey – From Geocities to Onchain 19:18 - Learning to Code the Hard Way – A failed interview and a book from Barnes & Noble 21:16 - Falling Down the Crypto Rabbit Hole – CryptoKitties and digital ownership 24:57 - Decentralization Matters – Why blockchain beats traditional systems 31:12 - Discovering Farcaster – A decentralized social network for builders 36:04 - Onchain Tipping & Ham Token 42:02 - "The LP" Mechanic & Experimental Tokenomics 50:18 - The Ham Cult & Building a Loyal Community 53:35 - Banker’s Origin Story – The AI trading agent that took over 57:51 - How Banker Coin Was Born – A chaotic, unexpected launch 1:04:26 - The Evolution of Crypto Twitter – Real builders vs. max extraction 1:06:37 - Why Focus on X (Twitter)? – Scaling beyond Farcaster 1:08:54 - Debt Relief Bot 1:10:32 - How Bankr Became the First Clanker Deployment Method on X 1:12:45 - The Power of Viral Narratives 1:15:27 - Bankr’s Future Roadmap 1:18:14 - Introducing the Bankr Club 1:21:05 - Thoughts on AI’s Role in Ochain Space 1:24:40 - Outro --- Podcast recorded by Toady Hawk and JackWyldes, edited by Toady Hawk, JackWyldes and Santhosh. Hosted by Toady Hawk and JackWyldes. Music by Toady Hawk, SuperTightWoody & Suno AI. Ad spot by JackWyldes. Produced by Zero Rights Media. This content is zero rights reserved (cc0), please remix and reuse it in any way you like!
Social change through financial literacy with Harprit Gill
In the second episode of Bet On Yourself, Fred and Derek meet with financial entrepreneur Harprit Gill, and listen in on her journey from social work to social change, inspired by her own path to financial independence. They dig into her passion for educating and empowering everyday people when it comes to their money and finances. Change your financial literacy, change your life.
The Bull Case For Publishing Beats, Loops, and Sample Packs Onchain
Mint Season 4, Episode 23 featured two-time Grammy award-winning producer !llmind, who shared his motivation for launching Squad of Knights and explained why beats, loops, and sample packs need to be onchain. We explored how NFTs and integrations can eliminate traditional file sharing, the benefits of tracking payments onchain, and the disruptions this model creates in the music industry. !llmind also discussed building communities in crypto around NFTs, his approach to mentorship, and the roadmap for his project’s launch. This episode offers valuable insights for creators looking to leverage crypto in the music industry. I hope you enjoy this blast from the past.
Unlocking Onchain Insights: Alex Svanevik on Nansen, AI, and the Future of Crypto
Mint Season 6, Episode 3 featured Alex Svanevik, CEO of Nansen.ai, the leading blockchain analytics tool for crypto traders. In this episode, we discussed how Nansen labels wallets and tracks onchain activity, Alex’s thoughts on artists tokenizing music, and the intersection of NFTs and DeFi. We also explored the state of AI in crypto, Nansen's acquisition of Ape Board, and the vision for their chat application. Alex shared strategies for creators to leverage onchain data and reflected on lessons he’s learned since founding Nansen. This conversation offers a deep dive into the trends shaping the crypto space. Enjoy this blast from the past.
Pay it Forward with Mark Marsolais-Nahwegahbow
Most people use filtered water to make good cup of coffee… but in this episode, we learn how our entrepreneurial guest uses coffee to make clean water - particularly in service of remote reserves in Canada where some Indigenous communities lack proper water filtering systems. Mark Marsolais-Nahwegahbow, who is Ojibwe and a Band Member of Whitefish River First Nation, was frustrated that basic necessities were not being provided in his community, so he launched Birch Bark Coffee Co. with the goal of using proceeds from coffee sales to help fund clean water initiatives for First Nations people all over Canada. Community, culture, connection, and coffee are at the heart of his business. Today, he answers a few questions from Fred and Derek, gives advice for fellow entrepreneurs, and reveals the lessons he’s learned from starting and sustaining his cause-driven, pay-it-forward business.
Courtside Crypto Episode 3: Build Your Tomorrow with Moonwell
In this episode, Tristan sits down with Luke Youngblood from Moonwell to dive into their mission of bringing the world onchain with powerful financial tools designed for everyone. From Moonwell's new VISA debit card to virtual bank accounts, Luke explains how Moonwell is simplifying onchain finance and empowering people across the globe to take control of their financial futures. 00:00 - Introduction 01:44 - Who is Luke Youngblood 03:30 - Moonwell Mission and Vision 06:40 - Virtual Bank Accounts 10:54 - The Power of Stablecoin Payments 18:45 - TradFi vs. DeFi 21:00 - Saving in Moonwell Vaults 25:00 - Doing More with Moonwell 29:00 - From Memes to Onchain Finance 34:15 - Lending Made Simple 36:45 - What’s Next for Moonwell 38:42 - Starting Your Crypto Journey 📲 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell 🔔 for updates on future episodes!
Going Viral Onchain
This episode welcomes Cooper Turley, Founder of Coop Records. Cooper is a recurring guest on the pod, though this time, we focus all of our attention on how to go viral onchain. Consider this a round table discussion where him and I share our insights, lessons learned, and debate our perspectives on the current state of the onchain creator economy. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
Rebuilding the Creator Economy
For centuries, creators have given up a big share of their earnings for a chance to reach audiences. In 18th century England, authors’ desires to break free of censorship and exercise the power of the written word led to the growth of modern copyright law, a key pillar of the creator economy. But to this day, publishers and distributors of content have enormous power over how creators make money and grow with their audiences.What if that didn’t have to be the case? What if, by “going onchain” through blockchain-based apps and platforms, creators could gain complete ownership over their content and create new revenue models, where they (not publishers or platforms) could set the terms?We’ll examine what it means to create, consume, and connect onchain — and find out how this next evolution of the online world could rebuild the creator economy as we know it.
"Without a Trace" featuring Anoncast founder Kartik Patel aka @slokh | ZEROPOD S2 E4
When Vitalik Buterin buys a memecoin to try your consumer zk social app, you know you’re onto something. Kartik Patel (aka @slokh) joins ZEROPOD to talk about Anoncast— the ZK-powered app that lets you post anonymously and trustlessly to Farcaster and Twitter/X from a web interface at anoncast.org. From hacking RuneScape mods as a kid to pulling endless hours at OpenSea during peak NFT chaos, Kartik shares his journey, the lore behind $ANON, and why he thinks ZK privacy is the future. Along the way: why Farcaster is the Silicon Valley of crypto, how he learned ZK programming from scratch in three weeks, and how "lore-first, product-second" might just be the future of bootstrapping. Join us to learn all about the cracked dev who made it possible to speak your mind on the internet, without a trace. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - When Vitalik tries your app 01:09 - ZEROPOD Intro 01:26 - Anon, A-non, Tomato, tomahto.03:13 - Young Kartik 04:00 - Hacking game mods 05:00 - Happy in his space (software developing) 07:13 - From defi protocols to NFTs 07:33 - Joined Opensea 08:13 - Working at Opens during peak NFT bull 09:33 - Working at Manifold and then striking out on his own 10:28 - Solo hacking 11:25 - Why was he attracted to building on Farcaster 12:13 - Better Farcaster branding 13:40 - Similar problems to Ethereum 15:13 - Building Nook farcaster client 18:23 - A Kartik Primer on the ANON Lore 21:51 - Kartik wasn’t even involved in ANON until after the CTO 23:00 - How the anoncast idea came to be 24:49 - New paradigm of products coming downstream of communities 27:13 - Why he wanted to build anoncast 28:16 - Vitalik buying $ANON and trying anoncast 29:40 - How does ZK privacy work? 31:18 - Why is ZK privacy important? 32:55 - How does anoncast work? 36:00 - The future of what curation could look like on anoncast… ZK-anon reddit? 38:00 - Favourite feature shipped on anoncast so far 41:00 - Learning ZK on the go 42:00 - Best use cases for anoncast? (Alpha?) 43:30 - How can people contribute to the project? 44:00 - Best place to learn how to use anoncast? 44:44 - What is he most excited about? 47:00 - Just build, have fun and differentiate 47:30 - What is the sloth backstory 48:00 - Outro Podcast recorded by Toady Hawk, edited by Toady Hawk and Santhosh. Hosted by Toady Hawk. Music by Toady Hawk, SuperTightWoody & Suno AI. This content is zero rights reserved (cc0), please remix and reuse it in any way you like!
Spicy pickles and lips on fire: a berlin tie affair with Varun Srinivasan
Become a producer of the show to support Los Fomos: subscribe on Hypersub! 🌶️ https://www.hypersub.xyz/dashboard/los-fomos-fm-producer-yfpf5xwg6qkg Follow Los Fomos on Farcaster: https://warpcast.com/~/channel/los-fomos Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ8MI1slzXKUv9fb0I9Ho2A X: https://x.com/LosFomos
ZEROPOD SPOTLIGHT #3: "Obsessed with the Craft of Content" feat. Cameron Armstrong of Seemore.tv
If the internet decides what’s funny, Cameron Armstrong (@cameron on farcaster) has spent his career listening closely to find out. In this edition of our popular ZEROPOD Spotlight series, the Seemore.tv founder shares how he’s helping creators escape the “content algorithm lottery” and why our completionist instinct is one of humanity’s most underrated traits. We explore Farcaster’s journey from tight-knit weirdo haven to high-value creator launchpad, the challenge of minting new platform stars, and the magic of Mandarin oranges on sticks (what?) Whether you’re trying to build a personal brand, a community, or create content like his “OK Banger” podcast, Cameron’s got plenty of advice and anecdotes and you won’t want to miss this conversation. — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - “Content Quality Arms Race” 00:47 - ZEROPOD Intro 02:05 - Crypto space needs more video content 04:15 - The Right Kind of Cringe 05:31 - The thing you can consistently do the longest is what you’ll be the best at 07:04 - The Cameron Origin Story: Military beginnings 08:32 - Harvard Business School 09:32 - E-commerce startup 10:35 - Illicit Farcaster Beginnings 11:50 - “A Bunch of Weirdos in a Room” 12:26 - Farcaster, then and now 15:09 - What is seemore.tv 17:58 - “If Linktree and Google Analytics had a baby” 20:55 - Badges for pod collectors 21:27 - Minting is a patronage behaviour for podcasts 23:00 - A minted episode is a creator tip with a lindy receipt 25:00 - The future promise of Ethereum Attestations 26:22 - The Seemore Story (pivot! pivot!) 30:00 - Problems with current business models for creators 32:00 - Conflicts of interest risk with advertising partnerships 34:00 - The advantage to bad actors in crypto 36:00 - The Seemore List 37:00 - The importance of finding values aligned sponsors for content 38:00 - Does Farcaster have enough interesting people? 40:00 - Rewarding creators is baked into the system on Farcaster 41:50 - The Content Valley of Death 43:00 - Problems with spam filters and dopamine triggers 45:18 - Cam’s got alts 46:00 - You don’t get to decide what’s funny on the internet 47:24 - Why is he bullish on Farcaster? 49:00 - OK Banger 50:53 - From Band Kid to Bangers 51:52 - Outro --- Podcast recorded by Toady Hawk, edited by Toady Hawk and Santhosh. Hosted by Toady Hawk. Music by Toady Hawk x Suno AI. This content is zero rights reserved (cc0), please remix and reuse it in any way you like!
The artist’s story with Tammy Yiu Coyne
The Bet On Yourself podcast was created to amplify the voices of BIPOC business owners who faced immense challenges during the pandemic, including systemic barriers like the lack of support from traditional banks. Led by Fred VanVleet, Derek Folk, myself, and a lineup of inspiring guests, the podcast quickly became the largest in Canadian history—a groundbreaking achievement. In this episode, we’re joined by Tammy Coyne of Partial, who shares her incredible journey and insights into building resilience and innovation in challenging times. Don’t miss this historic and impactful conversation!
Episode #001: Jesse Pollak, Creator of Base | Hosted by Rachel Onchain of Onchain Media
Welcome to Onchain Media Episode #001: Let's Touch Base with Jesse Pollak of Base! Host Rachel Onchain interviews Jesse Pollak, the visionary behind Coinbase’s Layer 2 blockchain, Base. Recorded live at Onchain Summit in San Francisco. Explore Jesse's insights on Base, highlights from the event, and how Base is reshaping financial systems. Listen to Onchain Media wherever podcasts can be found, and subscribe to @OnchainMediaCo on YouTube and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode. Stay tuned for future episodes as we continue our journey into the onchain technology space. Thanks for tuning in!
UBS Tokenized Fund On Ethereum
Succinct introducing OP Succinct with support for Celestia DA. The Argot Collective spins out from the EF. And UBS launches a tokenized fund on Ethereum. Read more: https://ethdaily.io/585
CC0 Licensing: What is it and Why it Matters
Mint Season 5, Episode 4 featured Emma-Jane Mackinnon-Lee, Founder of DIGITALAX and The Copyright Cartel, a Web3 Creative Commons DAO. Emma-Jane explored the intricacies of the CC0 license, discussing what it is, how it works, and why dedicating rights to the public domain is a compelling case for creators. She shared her journey into Web3, lessons from Wall Street, and the motivation behind starting CC0 DAO. The episode also covered examples of CC0 licensing, how to capture value with it, and untapped areas for experimentation. I hope you enjoy this blast from the past.
Optimism Season 7 Governance
Optimism releases a guide to Season 7 governance. Anthony Sassano calls for a temp check on increasing the gas limit. And the EF seeks to hire a Protocol Security Engineer. Read more: https://ethdaily.io/596
6/9 Blob Capacity Increase Feasibility
ethPandaOps publishes research on increasing Ethereum's blob count. Arbitrim introduces Trailblazer AI grants. The EF opens applications for the Next Billion Fellowship. And Starknet v0.13.3 goes live on mainnet. Read more: https://ethdaily.io/599
Ethereum Foundation 2024 Report
The Ethereum Foundation releases its 2024 report. Fileverse releases a Devcon Collab Portal. Blockscout launches a Merits Program. And Puffer Finance launches UniFi on tetsnet. Read more: https://ethdaily.io/591
Ethereum Beacon Chain Turns 4
The Ethereum Beacon Chain turns four. The EF launches the ETH Rangers program. Jon Charbonneau writes about Ethereum’s North Star. And Coinbase integrates Apple Pay for fiat-to-crypto on-ramping. Read more: https://ethdaily.io/600
BASE Creator Jesse Pollak: Why Most Crypto Traders Lose (And What to Do Instead) | E93
Jesse Pollak is the creator of Base, Coinbase's ethereum layer 2 network offering a secure, low-cost way for anyone to build decentralized apps onchain. He is also the Lead at Coinbase Wallet and a member of the Coinbase Exec Team. In this conversation, Jesse shares his deeply personal journey of building Base, from the intense pressure of early ideation to the physical and emotional toll of its launch. He opens up about almost quitting, losing 20 pounds from stress, and how his wife's intervention helped him through the darkest moments. Beyond the struggles, Jesse discusses his ambitious vision for an onchain future, predicting that "everything will be onchain in 5 years." From his unique background in Quaker schools to his unconventional problem-solving methods, Jesse offers rare insights into what it takes to build a platform that could transform how billions of people interact with the digital world. In this episode, we explore: Jesse’s mind and struggles What gave him a big chip on the shoulder How hard the beginning of Base was on a personal level Why the most successful products in crypto DO NOT have a token The Coinbase’s centralization Paradox How Jesse built the leading Ethereum Layer 2 in the crypto space. Why Jesse owns a Cryptopunk What it takes to be a successful founder in crypto Why Jesse cuts his hair earlier this year How Jesse finds solutions to the most complex problems! And much more!
Writing, Podcasts and Minting Base Colors — JAKE
JAKE is a pseudo anonymous internet creator. Going with the classic blue, colour code #0000FF as his pfp. Host at Pod Of Jake where he’s interviewed almost 200 guests over 4 years. Most recently Jacob from Zora and others such as Vitalik Buterin, pplpleasr and Mark Cuban. Writer at Blog of Jake, where he’s published about creativity and writing, documenting his experiences as a podcaster, observing what’s happening on the internet, reviewing crypto news, thinking about how to learn and build. JAKE is also the founder of Base Colors, a new onchain collection where you can mint unique colour codes on Base and give them a name, an interesting primitive which many people are starting to play around and experiment with. We talk about the benefits of writing online. Go behind the scenes experiences of hosting a podcast. Thoughts on the crypto scene, Bitcoin and pseudo anon identities on the internet, decentralized social like Farcaster, and thinking too much about Colors. ___ UFO Sponsor Resources ↑ Higher — https://www.aimhigher.net/ 🌐 International Meme Fund — https://imf.bz/ --- @jake @ufoclub.eth @hollins For more episodes, go to ufo.fm
Electronic Music Scenes — Sound Of Fractures
Jamie Reddington is an electronic music producer, consultant and lecturer from London who recently released his debut album Scenes. His music is shaped by hiphop, UK dance music and soul. Leaning into telling stories, with textures and samples captured from his phone, featuring the sound of his daughter’s heartbeat. The record was released as a co-creation. ‘Over 350 memories were submitted and turned into Scenes, capturing a moment in time. People stopped, took time out of their lives and engaged in a process that connected music and emotions.' We talk about the past, present and future of music on the internet. What's most interesting for artists right now? ___ UFO Sponsor Resources ↑ Higher — https://www.aimhigher.net/ 🌐 International Meme Fund — https://imf.bz/ --- @soundoffractures @ufoclub.eth @hollins For more episodes, go to ufo.fm
Exploring the Memecoin Supercycle with IMF — Gami, Clouted
Gami and Clouted are core contributors from International Meme Fund (IMF) and $MONEY. Their team believes it is now crucial to have native liquidity and financial infrastructure for the meme sector. They're both from Sydney and have shared interests in defi financial engineering, game theory and the memecoin phenomonen. We talk about financial nihilism. Memes as emergent properties of the internet. Why do some meme assets succeed when the vast majority fail? How do you choose the tokens that go up? (no financial advice). The internet is stranger than you think.