Gm! This week, we're back with another roundup. We discuss Solana's on chain boom, why economic value reached a new all time high, Stripe's recent acquisition of Bridge & much more. Enjoy! – Follow Mert: https://x.com/0xMert_ Follow Jack: https://x.com/whosknave Follow Lightspeed: https://twitter.com/Lightspeedpodhq Subscribe to the Lightspeed News…

"Our DNA is Canadian, but if it's going to help increase the odds that we can build a terrific company hiring out of the US or hiring elsewhere in Canada, we'll do that in a heartbeat." Come for the fireside chat with Clio CEO and co-founder Jack Newton, recorded live at BetaKit Town Hall: Vancouver. Stay for the AMA with BC tech leaders. Presented…

Gm! This week, we’re joined by Daniel Lev from Coinflow! We discussed Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge, challenges faced by crypto payments businesses, and TradFi’s adoption of stablecoins. Additionally, we unpacked the impact of US regulations on the stablecoin sector, and the fees associated with on and off-ramps in crypto. Finally, we covered inte…

“We just don’t have the clout to be able to successfully push policy on top of these platforms without cooperation or partnership from other countries.” Former Google Canada and Twitter Canada exec Rory Capern joins to discuss the ongoing US Big Tech antitrust cases, the state of social media and digital advertising, and what recourse (if any) Cana…

Gm! this week, Emmett Hollyer joins the show to discuss the next chapter of Solana Mobile ahead of their latest phone release in 2025. We reflect on why the Solana Saga was successful, how to create a great product, crypto UX & how crypto can break the mobile duopoly. Enjoy! -- Follow Emmett: https://x.com/m_it Follow Jack: https://x.com/whosknave …

Gm! this week, we're live at Permissionless with a discussion on crypto's creator economy. We deep dive into capturing attention in crypto, building DRiP, why build on Solana, NFTs, meme coins & more. Enjoy! -- Follow Vibhu: https://x.com/vibhu Follow Steve: https://x.com/solanasteve_ Follow Jake: https://x.com/SolJakey Follow Jack: https://x.com/w…

“The development of AI is racing ahead from most large corporations’ ability to keep up with it. What does that mean? There’s a nice gap there. There’s a beautiful gap to create products and go fill that gap.” Founders and government capital convene to discuss the go-to-market and scaling realities for AI companies in Canada. Featuring Dwayne Dulma…

Gm! this week, we're live from Permissionless with Tristan Frizza & Jayant Krishnamurthy. We discuss the current & future state of DeFi on Solana, the rise of alt L1s, the next evolution of DeFi & what Solana can improve on in the future. Enjoy! -- Follow Tristan: https://x.com/Tristan0x Follow Jayant: https://x.com/jayantkrish Follow Jack: https:/…

Gm! this week, Leah Wald joins the show to discuss what led Cypherpunk Holdings to go all in on Solana. We deep dive into the Solana ETF outlook, investing in the ecosystem, the role of staking, TradFi demand for Solana & much more! -- Follow Leah: https://x.com/LeahWald Follow Jack: https://x.com/whosknave Follow Lightspeed: https://twitter.com/Li…

“I think we’re going to build the largest Canadian financial institution. That is a giant opportunity, and our focus on delivering that in Canada has helped us grow way faster.” Ten years in, Wealthsimple is profitable with $50 billion in AUA. How did the company get here and what comes next? Co-founders Brett Huneycutt (CPO) and Michael Katchen (C…

Gm! this week, we begin by discussing Snowden's recent comments that Solana is centralized. We then deep dive into Mert's biggest takeaways from recent conferences, the impact of Firedancer, reasons to be bullish DePin & more. Enjoy! -- Follow Mert: https://x.com/0xMert_ Follow Jack: https://x.com/whosknave Follow Lightspeed: https://twitter.com/Li…

Gm! This week Arnold Lee joins the show to discuss how Sphere is accelerating global payments for fintech companies by leveraging Spherenet built on the SVM. We deep dive into what is Spherenet, the problem with global payments, permissioned vs permissionless systems & more. Enjoy! -- Follow Arnold: https://x.com/0xdirichlet Follow Jack: https://x.…

“How do we collect data so that we give it in the hands of the government in an efficient way? We’re in a democratic country. Isn’t this data supposed to inform the government?” Raesetje Sefala, research fellow at The Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR), joins to discuss her work analyzing the impacts of South African apartheid using computer …

Gm! In this episode, Sean Carey, Partner at Borderless Capital, joined us to discuss all things DePIN! We dove into DePIN selling points, the sustainability of DePIN projects, and what infrastructure makes the most sense for DePIN. Additionally, we spoke about why crypto and DePIN work so well together. Finally, we closed the episode by discussing …

Gm! In this episode, we’re joined by Andrea Fortunio, Co-founder of MagicBlock! We discussed the current state of the Solana gaming industry, AAA vs Mobile gaming, and the benefits of Ephemeral Rollups. Additionally, we dove into the security implications of utilizing optimistic rollups in onchain gaming. We ended the episode with coverage of Magic…

“This is a technology that now is directly impacting society every day and is impacting people's lives. And if we're going to help continue its development in a positive way, we actually need to be involved—not just on the technical side, but also on the policy and the societal impact side as well.” Elissa Strome, executive director of the Pan-Cana…

Gm! In this episode, Jack and Ian Unsworth from Kairos Research discuss Solana Mobile’s latest device, Seeker, and its potential impact on Solana’s growth. Additionally, they dive into the value proposition for Non-Bitcoin ETFs, and Trump’s upcoming DeFi project. They close out by asking - will Solana restaking be successful? Enjoy! Resources Heliu…

Gm! In this episode, MacBrennan, Co-founder of MarginFi, joined us to discuss the state of Solana DeFi, crypto founder exhaustion, and crypto’s image problem. We also asked ourselves, where are the new users? Finally, told us how MarginFi has navigated 2024, and what he is optimistic about in crypto today. Enjoy! Resources MacBrennan’s Take on Foun…

“This was mine. This was done. I was going to be the next Steve Jobs, I was going to be rich—everything was happening. And now they took it away.” As the young co-founder of Ottawa-based Gymtrack, Pablo Srugo had one goal: “become insanely rich.” Now a partner at Mistral VC, he joins the podcast to share what went wrong and caution founders against…

Gm! In this episode, Jack and Mert discuss the state of SocialFi, the lack of bold bets in crypto, and what it means for crypto to succeed. They also dove into how Proof of Stake systems should work, and how sandwich attacks can be reduced onchain. Finally, they covered new DePIN projects coming to market. Enjoy! -- Follow Mert: https://x.com/0xMer…

Gm! In this episode, Dan Smith from Blockworks Research joined us to discuss L2 MEV extraction, Blockworks Research’s Solana Dashboard, and Total Economic Value on Solana! Additionally, we discussed how validators earn revenue from MEV, and supporting small validators. Finally, we unpacked Sanctum's recent LST partnerships, and speculated on whethe…

“Using Canada as an excuse for why you didn’t get funding, you didn’t get to hire the right person … I think that’s bullshit.” Shopify president Harley Finkelstein joins for a brand refresh on Canadian entrepreneurship, pushing back against doom-and-gloom narratives before digging into his real issues of concern and offering proactive tips for entr…

Gm! In this episode, we’re joined by Emon Motamedi, the Head of Solana Incubator! We discussed Solana Incubator’s selection process, the first cohort of projects, and synergies with Solana Mobile. We also dove into the stories behind Sanctum and Meme Royale! Finally, Emon gave his thoughts on evaluating startups on Solana. Enjoy! Grow your company …

"Verticalized AI applications right now are available, right now accelerating industry after industry." AI is moving so fast it can be hard to keep up. The BetaKit Podcast has you covered with vantage points on AI from: Dr. Sasha Luccioni (Hugging Face), Reid Robinson (Zapier), Solon Angel (stealth startup), Darian Shirazi (Gradient Ventures), Joel…

Gm! In this episode, Jack and Mert discuss the recent arrest of Pavel Durov, and its repercussions. They also ask themselves, who does the responsibility of content moderation fall on? Additionally, they unpack the internal debate heating up within the Ethereum Community. Finally, they talk about how they view narratives, and what Solana’s next nar…

Gm! In this episode, Kyle, the CEO of Hedgehog Markets, and Nigel, the CEO of BetHog, joined us to discuss a burning question: will prediction markets survive? We covered the UI improvements prediction markets have made, how these markets are useful for surveying public opinion, and solutions for resolving gray area outcomes. Additionally, we talke…

Gm! In this episode, Ben Mills, the Co-founder of Meso, joined us to discuss peer-to-peer payments! We looked back on the early days of P2P payment apps, how crypto can improve upon these web2 systems, and building trust with users. Additionally, we discussed his journey from Venmo to Solana, and how Venmo was able to stand out amongst its peers. F…

“The world is loopy. Everything is a cycle. Everything is a product of compounding changes.” Summer is almost over, so hear from these Canadian tech leaders as you prepare to get back to work in September. Featuring insights from Michael Katchen (Wealthsimple), Daniel Eberhard (Koho), Dax Dasilva (Lightspeed), Stuart Lombard (Ecobee), and Tobi Lütk…

Gm! In this episode, Jack and Mert discuss how betting rebranded to prediction markets, and potential SocialFi and prediction market crossovers! They also dove into the EigenLayer airdrop controversy, and the conflicts of interest associated with it. Additionally, they asked - do we need fewer tokens? Are current crypto incentive models broken? Fin…

Gm! In this episode, Matthew Sigel from VanEck joined us to discuss VanEck’s Solana ETF filing, gauging customer demand for spot crypto ETFs, and an ETFs impact on the Solana network. We also dive into what Solana needs to improve on, determining the value of L1s, and bringing the NASDAQ onchain. Enjoy! Resources Recent Developments With Solana ETF…

“I think it's really important for Canadians to speak to their public officials and remind them that this is an important industry. They should be taking it seriously. They should be putting in the time to speak with industry and learn about it.” Live from the Blockchain Futurist Conference, award-winning BetaKit reporter Josh Scott moderates two i…

Gm! In this episode, Hardhat Chad from Ore joined us to discuss their mission to improve Proof of Work! We discuss Ore’s origin story, differences between Ore v1 vs Ore v2, and how Ore fits into the Store of Value narrative. Additionally, we dive into how Proof of Work concepts can solve the fair launch problem. Finally, Hardhat Chad gives us insig…

Gm! In this episode, 0xInfra joined us to discuss all things Raydium! We dove into Raydium’s volume boom, how they deter pool deployment spam, and what led to their rise to the top of the Solana DEX space. Additionally, we looked back on the early days of Raydium, where they are today, and where they are heading next! Finally, discussed Pumpfun’s i…

Gm! In this episode, Jack and Mert discuss the recent Solana patch, and how security issues are handled. Additionally, they dive into the decentralization of Solana’s validator set, why client diversity matters, and separating market movements from underlying fundamentals. Finally, they discuss Ore v2 and Proof of Work on Solana, and provide their …

“If you want to succeed and build an enduring and large business for Canadians, that has to be your focus. Nothing else. If you want to focus on Canada as an additional market or a secondary market, it’s not going to work out.” Three years after its bold expansion strategy, Revolut has a banking license in the UK, but not much to show in the US or …

We're so back! This week we invite Chris Osborn & Jon Wong to the show to discuss one of the most exciting announcements in recent weeks within crypto... Blinks. We deep dive into what are Blinks, why they're needed for the internet, attracting developers, and the roadmap for the rest of 2024 & beyond. Enjoy! -- Follow Chris: https://x.com/aliquotc…

“If you're an emerging manager on your first or second fund, you need to find winners. But realistically, the vast majority of funds here in Canada are still emerging managers.” Sand Hill North Partner Ryan Henry joins to share his family office’s unique perspective on deal activity on both sides of the border, before unpacking what feels true for …