E74: Ethena Founder: Growing to a $10B Protocol Valuation in 1 Year
In this episode, we sit down with Guy Young, the founder of Ethena, to dive deep into the world of crypto and DeFi. Ethena is a groundbreaking synthetic dollar protocol built on Ethereum, and it’s shaking up the space with a crypto-native solution that doesn’t rely on traditional banking systems. In this conversation, we dive into: - The vision behind Ethena and the quest for creating a new form of money - Guy’s biggest predictions for the next 12 months in the crypto space - The story behind Ethena’s explosive growth to a $10 billion protocol in just one year - The importance of building during market lows and the contrarian mindset - Guy’s thoughts on the role of speculation, meme coins, and the future of DeFi - The challenges and innovations in the world of stablecoins and synthetic assets And more! ------------- JOIN 'KEVIN X SWISSBORG ALPHA CLUB' TO GET BEST ALPHA FROM THE BIGGEST BUILDERS 💰 https://swissborg.com/kevin-follonier/ SPONSORS 🤖 SwissBorg is Europe’s top trusted crypto app offering user-centric investment platforms and DeFi asset management with reliability and innovation. ♾ Coinsilium provides vital funding and expert advice to Web3 and AI-powered early-stage technology companies. https://www.coinsilium.com ♾️ Astar Network is a Web3 hub for innovation, offering tools and a blockchain platform for decentralized apps and smart contracts. It invites users to innovate and connect in a community-driven ecosystem, transforming ideas into reality with its robust infrastructure. https://astar.network/ ------------------ Connect with Guy 👇 Twitter: https://x.com/leptokurtic_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-young-a11914279/ Connect with Ethena 👇 Twitter: https://x.com/ethena_labs Website: https://ethena.fi/ Connect with Kevin & When Shift Happens👇 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinwshpod/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinfollonier/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/KevinWSHPod ----------------- Contents of the Video 0:00 Ethena: Guy Young 1:39 Building Discipline 5:09 Introducing Guy Young 5:28 Escaping Harsh Market Conditions 7:47 Gem Hunting in a Bear Market 9:43 What Ethena Labs do Differently and its Impact 11:51 Importance of Decentralization at Different Layers 13:03 Most Important Skills to Success and the Risk to Being the Smartest 14:55 Mindset Towards Building a $10 Billion Project 17:02 SwissBorg Partnership 19:20 Having a “Boring” Daily Routine is Key to Greatness 20:01 Fiat Stablecoins: USDT and USDC Surviving the Bear Market 22:01 Why is Synthetic Dollar so Important in DeFi 23:06 The Practical Approach to Crypto and DeFi Innovations 25:43 How was the Synthetic Dollar Created 27:34 Cash and Carry Trade within Crypto and What Can Go Wrong 29:34 USD Size at Which it Becomes Too Big for Synthetic Dollar 32:44 False Knowledge Leading to Trouble, in Ethena and in Life 34:27 Mantle Partnership 35:50 What is the Worst Thing that Could Happen to Ethena and USD 37:44 Market Structure Response on Meme Coins 39:14 Creating our Own Form of Money Within Crypto 40:01 Ethena Vision for the next 12 Months, Marketing vs Product 42:11 Synthetic Dollar: Stablecoins (ETH) and Centralized Exchanges 43:25 Astar Network Partnership 44:14 Synthetic Dollar: Possible Different Architecture 45:48 Building a Controversial Product and Dealing with Backlash 49:07 Risks to Being Crypto Founder and A Possible Failing Product 52:10 Understanding Attention Economy to Perform a Successful Token Launch 53:44 Sustainable Hype Post-Token Launch and Community Building 56:18 Why Don’t Other Founders Reward Their Users? 58:09 Crypto Alpha: What is PENDLE? 59:42 Crypto Alpha: The MANTLE Approach 01:00:56 Getting into Routine and Habit 01:01:53 Biggest Prediction for the Next 12 Months 01:03:03 Event that Tops the Current Cycle 01:04:00 Ethena Plans Through Bear Market 01:05:37 Conclusion