A Discussion on the Future of Onchain Finance with Hayden Adams and Phil Daian

Thu, Oct 2, 2025, 12:00 AM

In this panel, Hayden Adams, CEO of Uniswap Labs, and Phil Daian, Co-founder of Flashbots, discuss the evolution and future of onchain finance, focusing on DeFi, L1s, L2s, and trading infrastructure. They announce the launch of Flash Blocks for Uni Chain, enabling 200ms swaps and dramatically improving user experience. The conversation explores the role of Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) for privacy, integrity, and low-latency trading, and how Uni Chain leverages these to optimize for decentralized trading and MEV (Miner Extractable Value) redistribution. They debate the merits of DeFi on L1 vs L2, the importance of decentralization as a scaling technology, and the trajectory of DeFi from its early days to mainstream adoption. The discussion also covers the technical and economic advantages of Automated Market Makers (AMMs) over order books, the integration of programmable privacy, and the potential for specialized blockspace and interoperability across domains. They conclude by highlighting the unstoppable, democratizing nature of DeFi and encourage trying the new instant trading experience. 00:00 Introduction 00:51 Flash Blocks Launch & Collaboration 02:21 Evolution of Uniswap & Uni Chain 04:40 TEEs, Sequencer Design, and L2 Innovation 06:40 User Experience, Low Latency, and DeFi Scaling 08:32 DeFi on L1 vs L2 & Decentralization as Scaling 11:00 TEEs, Privacy, and Trading Protocols 12:36 DeFi’s Progress and Mainstreaming 16:35 Challenges of Mainstream DeFi & Privacy 18:06 DeFi, the Internet Analogy, and Democratization 19:11 Future of Decentralization & Block Building 21:21 AMMs vs Order Books: Technical Perspectives 25:58 AMMs, Fair Ordering, and Specialized Blockspace 29:31 Closing Thoughts & Instant Swaps Demo 30:29 Conclusion _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma New York* Pragma New York 2025 was held on August 14th at Vesper Events in Brooklyn, New York and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma New York YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5TRLdUXjnhUVfdbBtu6z2j ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Hayden Adams X: https://x.com/haydenzadams ✅ Follow Uniswap Labs X: https://x.com/Uniswap ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _