Fireside Chat I Kain Warwick, Synthetix, and Kartik Talwar, ETHGlobal | Pragma New York 2023

Mon, Oct 2, 2023, 12:00 AM

Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix, joins Pragma New York 2023 for a deep fireside chat exploring the evolving landscape of DeFi. In this conversation, Kain reflects on how decentralized finance has matured, the transition from yield farming to sustainable protocols, and the real-world potential of permissionless markets. He discusses Layer 2s, DEX vs CEX dynamics, real-world asset integration, and the growing complexity of governance, including Synthetix’s unique council model and the launch of Infinex. Whether you're a founder building in a bear market or a TradFi veteran curious about crypto’s next frontier, this is a must-watch for understanding what’s next in DeFi and how user experience and infrastructure are aligning for mass adoption. 00:00 Intro to Kain Warwick and Synthetix 00:36 How DeFi has changed in the last 5 years 01:49 Layer 2s unlock DeFi innovation 02:55 DeFi’s perp protocols and CEX competition 04:37 From Ponzi yields to real protocol revenue 06:02 Feature parity between DeFi and TradFi 07:00 Novel opportunities DeFi can unlock 08:01 Real world assets and tokenized finance 09:30 Will DeFi apps spin out into app chains? 10:56 Managing liquidity and revenue across chains 11:56 App chain pros and cons for DeFi governance 13:21 Why L2 fragmentation is inevitable 14:18 EVM compatibility and dydx leaving Ethereum 15:52 Synthetix vs CEX: liquidity and market coverage 17:27 UX and onboarding are DeFi’s bottlenecks 18:56 Users still live on centralized exchanges 20:19 Infinex: improving UX for Synthetix trading 21:19 Synthetix V3 enables permissionless markets 22:46 Building financial primitives faster with V3 23:18 Synthetix council governance model 24:52 Measuring governance success in DAOs 26:18 Specialized councils and governance mining 27:51 Earning governance from trading activity 28:20 Risks of going fully decentralized 29:22 Regulatory resistance through decentralization 30:58 Advice for founders building in bear markets 32:30 Bear markets are ideal for wild experimentation 34:31 Advice for TradFi professionals entering DeFi 36:05 How to out-innovate slow incumbents 37:35 Don’t believe the “AMMs are solved” psyop 38:01 Final thoughts and closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma New York* The fifth edition of Pragma took place in New York in September 2023 with a curated series of high-quality talks that sparked thought and discussion. 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. Watch the full Pragma New York 2023 playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh6xsRbmx2niHEDyOyt1mddu&si=6Ic960b2hQyz9RGw ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Ever since we first introduced our new event series, Pragma, in Tokyo in the spring of 2023, we have been fostering a curated, global community of individuals who deeply care about web3. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Kain Warwick* X: https://x.com/kaiynne ✅ *Follow Synthetix* X: https://x.com/synthetix_io ✅ *Follow Kartik Talwar* X: https://x.com/therealkartik Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/kartik ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _