The MSV Podcast: Recent Episodes

Szabi

If you want to learn more about crypto, investments, new projects, the market, and the blockchain industry overall, then this podcast is for you!Don’t miss our weekly content with our MSV host Szabi and other well-respected industry experts, covering interesting topics and conversations.Ensure to subscribe not to miss an episode. Enjoy!

Chain Abstraction - The Key to Mass Adoption

Guest: Burnt Banksy, Co-founder & CEO of XION
Host: Njani Ruetsch, Senior Comms Manager at Morningstar Ventures

**Top 3 Takeaways from Our Guest:

XION Ecosystem Expansion and Scalability**

The speaker highlighted the project's commitment to growing a dynamic and scalable blockchain ecosystem. He mentioned that Zion prioritizes scalability, ensuring it maintains a balance between security, decentralization, and speed as the ecosystem grows.

He also pointed out that this approach will enable Zion to evolve from a simple NPM package into a larger, interconnected platform. With the upcoming Mainnet launch, he hinted at exciting developments, positioning Zion to handle significant user growth while improving user experience. Banksy also discussed how this ecosystem expansion will allow for more innovative projects and stunts, amplifying Zion’s reach and impact.

2. Chain Abstraction as A New Crypto Frontier

The guest expressed enthusiasm about chain abstraction, portraying it as a breakthrough for blockchain technology. He explained that this innovation simplifies how users interact with multiple blockchains, making the process more intuitive and accessible to a global audience. By abstracting the complexities of different chains, he believes the technology can reach billions rather than just a niche group of users.

Banksy also discussed Zion’s partnership with Barachain, revealing their plans to build a cutting-edge multi-chain application to enhance chain abstraction further. This collaboration, he noted, is a key step toward realizing the vision of a more interconnected and user-friendly crypto space.

3. Interoperability to Break Down Barriers

The speaker underscored the critical role of interoperability in the blockchain industry. He remarked on the importance of breaking down the silos between different networks, enabling seamless communication and interaction across blockchains. By fostering this interconnectedness, the guest emphasized, Zion is aligning with forward-thinking projects like Blackbird and Hyperlane and contributing to a more unified blockchain ecosystem. Banksy explained that this approach to interoperability is set to redefine how users and developers engage with blockchain technology, making it more adaptable and scalable.

Through these efforts, he believes Zion is helping to build a future where blockchain technology isn’t just limited to individual chains but serves as a foundation for greater collaboration and innovation across the space.

Guests:

Darcy Sordo, Head of Partnerships at Sonic
Andy P. Lee, Executive Producer at Legend of Arcadia
Jon Hook, Co-Founder of PlayEmber

**Top 3 Key Takeaways from Our Guests

Optimizing CPI, Retention, and Monetization is crucial for a game's success.**
The guests started by sharing that game developers prioritize ensuring that the Cost per Install (CPI) is lower than the revenue generated per user, allowing the game to scale effectively; this was explicitly important to the Playember team. They continuously test and optimize CPI, retention, and engagement to achieve long-term success. High retention (how often players return) and extended playtime are essential metrics, with developers using data to identify and fix drop-off points.

2. Platforms like Google Play and Apple Store are becoming more open to Web3 games.

The conversation was about different gaming platforms. The guests agreed that platforms like Google Play are becoming more open to Web3 games, allowing integrations like play-to-earn mechanics (e.g., rewarding players with Satoshis). Apple is slower and more restrictive but shows signs of loosening its stance. On the other hand, Steam remains resistant to Web3 games. Despite this, developers see new distribution opportunities, including cloud gaming and decentralized networks.
3. Casual and collection-based games are highly effective.Finally, given the background of two of the projects on the panel, the guests shared with the listeners that simple and highly collectible games, like "Hyper Cards," perform exceptionally well, especially with Web3 users. These games tap into a natural human desire to complete collections, driving repeat play and increased spending. Players are more likely to return to complete their sets of items or cards, making the collection mechanism a robust engagement tool.

Disrupting Web3 with Modular Move-Based Blockchain

Guest: Shahaf Bar-Geffen, CEO of COTI
Host: Njani Ruetsch, Senior Communications Manager at Morningstar Ventures

**Top 3 Takeaways from Our Guest:

A strong community and ecosystem contribute to growth and adoption.**

During the interview, Rushi highlighted the significance of community in nurturing the project and facilitating its expansion and collaboration with other projects like Covalent, Nexio, and OKX. Such partnerships are crucial in the project's overall growth and adoption. As a result, the team aims to form more partnerships and is also developing an EVM solution for the TON ecosystem due to its recent growth.

2. Building a unique Testnet environment can lead to staggering milestones.

Rushi mentioned the recent launch of the team's testnet. Unlike other infrastructure projects, the team made the testnet a fun and interactive user environment. In the first week of the launch, there were 12 million transactions and 1.1 million unique wallet addresses. Additionally, the testnet has 40 operational apps for users to explore and will continue to grow in subsequent phases. The strong performance of the testnet is a great starting point for the team as they prepare for the mainnet launch at the end of the year.

3. Founders in the space need to be prepared for volatility and much more.

During the interview, Rushi was asked to share three pieces of advice for founders in the crypto space when building a project. He emphasized the importance of being prepared for challenges and volatility, as the crypto space can be complex and unpredictable. Additionally, Rushi stressed the significance of having a strong and trustworthy team for a startup to succeed. Lastly, he highlighted the importance of maintaining a sense of urgency and being open to pivoting and adapting to changing narratives, emphasizing that the product and team should be able to keep up with these changes.

Guests:

Jose F Pereira, Head of Web3 at GAIMIN
Julian Peh, CEO and Co-Founder at KIP Protocol
Gav N, Co-founder of Tevaera
Ethan Francis, Developer Relations at Particle Network

**Top 3 Key Takeaways from Our Guests

Solutions such as Chain Abstraction can enhance user experience**The discussion started by emphasizing the need to improve user experience by addressing blockchain fragmentation. Particle Network and KIP Protocol both focus on chain abstraction to provide a better user experience, with Particle Network's universal accounts allowing users to interact across chains with one account and balance, therefore eliminating the need for manual bridging. Similarly, KIP Protocol simplifies AI deployment by reducing wallet prompts and enhancing developer interfaces. Tavera also explained that it implements session keys and paymaster systems to minimize wallet interactions in gaming, aiming for a future where gas fees are sponsored and users can create wallets with simple logins – again allowing users a more seamless experience.

2. Seamless technical integration for blockchain interactions creates cohesive ecosystemsThe discussion focused on the technical integration of different blockchain solutions to create a cohesive ecosystem. As already mentioned Particle Network and KIP Protocol are collaborating on technologies such as Chain Obstruction, which enable cross-chain transactions and universal accounts. Additionally, as both Gaimin and Tevaera are focused on the infrastructure gaming space, they elaborate on how gaming projects are exploring methods to monetize unused computing power for customers needing processing power, showcasing the potential of decentralized computing.

3. The success of Web3 projects relies on strong community engagement and effective user retention strategies.The discussion focused on the importance of community retention in creating a strong infrastructure project. For example, gaming platforms utilize initiatives like fan loyalty memberships and daily quests to acquire and retain users, emphasizing the pivotal role of the community in strengthening platform infrastructure and governance. The discussion highlighted efforts to make Web3 technologies more accessible and user-friendly while emphasizing the community's role in driving adoption and growth.

Guests:

Benny, Founder of TAP Protocol
Jan, CEO of XVerse
Sam Jenkins, Head of BD at Bitfinity

**Top 3 Key Takeaways from Our Guests

Bitcoin sidechains have helped bootstrap the development of the ecosystem**

The roundtable started with the speakers telling us why the ecosystem took so long to gain traction. They all concurred that the growth of the Bitcoin ecosystem was fueled by projects building on top of Bitcoin, like Bitcoin sidechains and meta-protocols (e.g., Lightning Network, Liquid), and how this has helped bootstrap development by providing more programmability and capabilities compared to base layer Bitcoin. This has attracted builders and capital and changed the culture to be more open to innovation without compromising Bitcoin's core principles.

2. Bitcoin has a strong rooted culture, which is both its strength and weakness

The speakers discussed Bitcoin's slow adoption and development, attributing it to its technical limitations as an older blockchain and resistance from some community members who have previously dismissed new ideas. They noted that although Bitcoin has a strong and established ecosystem, the culture within the community has been resistant to change, leading to a lag in innovation. However, new technologies and the Ordinals trend in 2023 have helped overcome these barriers and fuel more rapid growth in the future.

Developers will need to simplify and upgrade tools for future mass adoption

In the future, the speakers agreed that it will be up to current developers and builders in the Bitcoin ecosystem to create a simplified environment that meets the needs of users and future builders. They emphasized the importance of user experience and the need to simplify tools for developers to build applications, making them less technically complex for mainstream users while supporting power users and customizability. They also recommended learning from the best practices of other blockchains that have been developing applications for longer to continue improving the user experience on Bitcoin applications.

Guests:

Sami, CEO of Cross The Ages
Leo, Founder of STYLE Protocol
The Big Brawler, CEO of Bit Brawl

**Top 3 Key Takeaways from Our Guests

Web3 gaming has changed with recent market conditions**

At the roundtable, we asked our speakers to share their thoughts on how recent market conditions have affected the Web3 gaming industry, particularly compared to the previous cycle. The speakers agreed that in the previous cycle, many games capitalized on the success of Axie Infinity, resulting in a surge of play-to-earn games. However, due to the time it takes to develop a game, market constraints restrict availability and accessibility. Games take years to build, which means that we are yet to see progress and adoption. Nonetheless, there are some great games currently available that could succeed in the upcoming bull run. Additionally, the speakers mentioned that in this cycle, many games emphasize cross-functional assets and interoperability, which makes the ecosystem more engaging.

Balancing fun and financial rewards is still a driving narrative within Web3 game developmentOne of the speakers in the roundtable expressed skepticism about the current state of web3 gaming, citing a lack of proper valuations and an imbalance between marketing and gameplay. They believe the industry needs to focus more on creating a fun and engaging gaming experience to attract more users. Another speaker emphasized the importance of balancing fun and financial elements in crypto games and highlighted the need for iteration and user involvement. According to this speaker, finding the right balance between the two elements is crucial to ensure that the game is both enjoyable and rewarding. The third speaker shared their perspective on creating a fun and engaging gaming experience, highlighting the need for iteration and finding the right balance between information and ownership. They believe it is vital to keep the game simple and easy to understand while giving players a sense of ownership over their assets. Overall, the speakers agreed that there is still a long way to go before web3 gaming becomes indistinguishable from web2 gaming, but they are optimistic about the future and see great potential in the industry.
3. Virtual assets need to be interoperable across blockchainsThe speaker suggests that virtual assets should be interoperable across different environments. With so many virtual environments emerging, it is not feasible for people to have their assets in each environment. They believe that projects making virtual assets resellable long-term across different virtual environments are crucial. The speaker thinks that a few big players will emerge as the primary infrastructure providers in the market for virtual asset infrastructure, similar to the telecommunication industry.

The New Era of Privacy

Guest: Shahaf Bar-Geffen, CEO of COTI
Host: Szabolcs Gergely, Podcast & YouTube Host at Morningstar Ventures

**Top 3 Takeaways from Our Guest:

Privacy is not to be confused with anonymity**

Shahaf explained that privacy should not be confused with anonymity. Blockchain stands for transparency, but that doesn’t mean privacy is not required. Privacy is often recommended and required when a party wants to send sensitive data to another. Transparency and privacy can and do exist simultaneously, and that is what Coti wants to ensure so the cryptospace can take that next step and mature the industry.

2. Garbled circuits improve user experience.Garbled Circuits is a new encryption technology that encrypts data quickly. The main advantage is the technology's “lightness". This feature allows messages and data to be encrypted and decrypted fast, improving user experience and ensuring easy usage for shareholders who want to transact on the blockchain securely and privately.

3. Who will benefit from this new technology?Shahaf explained that there is no target audience because it’s for everybody. Anyone who creates almost any kind of dapp will want to use this technology, especially those who create financial services like Dexes, governance, and data-sharing platforms. However, the utility doesn’t stop with them. Privacy is crucial in various industries, e.g., healthcare, where traceability and transparency are important, but privacy is a must.

Guests:

Eden, Co-Founder of AARK Digital
Ritwik Rudra, Co-Founder of SYNTHR
Brian Gallagher, Co-founder of Partisia Blockchain

**Top 3 Key Takeaways from Our Guests

"There are still significant adoption hurdles for DeFi"**

The speakers emphasized that user experience (UX) issues are the primary obstacle to the wider adoption of DeFi solutions. They pointed out that challenges such as wallet experiences and incentives still pose significant adoption challenges. Additionally, they suggested that there is a pressing need for user support in the DeFi space, and highlighted the importance of providing more customer support to help users better understand these tools.

"Having multiple blockchains is necessary for innovation and quality improvement"During our discussion about the future of the crypto space and its impact on DeFi, the speakers had differing opinions. While one speaker wasn't convinced that RWA, AI, and SocialFi would have a lasting impact, others saw great potential in these areas and believed synergies could exist. Additionally, there was a debate about the need for new blockchains and whether Ethereum was the only one required. However, some speakers felt that multiple blockchains were necessary to drive innovation, create solutions that challenge other systems, eliminate issues such as high fees, and give builders more control.
"Creating a seamless on-chain experience is crucial for retail users and investors"The speakers raised an important issue regarding DeFi. There are several problems with DeFi, such as high slippage costs, lack of liquidity, and VCs controlling tokenomics, which results in retail investors being excluded from participating. This makes it less attractive for retail investors to engage with DeFi. Therefore, DeFi protocols must continue to focus on interoperability and building efficient liquidity layers. This will lead to wider adoption and democratization of DeFi.

Shaping AI Ownership

Guest: Whitney Gibbs, Founder of Ringfence
Host: Szabolcs Gergely, Podcast & YouTube Host at Morningstar Ventures

**Top 3 Takeaways from Our Guest:

AI has positively contributed to our daily lives.**

To kick off the conversation, we asked Whit what he thinks about AI’s effects on our daily lives. He explained that even though there are some negative effects on the media or social platforms, he finds AI’s contribution to our lives a significantly positive tool. He highlighted how AI improved medicine in recognizing unwanted cells or in the creative space and how AI can help somebody with a good idea who lacks graphic or content creation skills transform their vision into visual content.

2. The AI industry must have a platform where creators are paid for their work.

Whit carried on the conversation and highlighted that even though there are countless applications for Generative AI, the big companies are still unable to use them due to the unknown origin of the content. Companies are afraid of using content where the original creator is unknown or hard to determine as that could bring uncertainties from a legal point of view; therefore, a platform where the creators are paid for their work and the copyright is well established is a must to move this industry in the right direction.

3. AI regulation should not get in the way of industry development.

Finally, Whit explained that navigating AI regulations is not as complicated as it may sound. Existing regulations are a work in progress, and more is to be expected. However, if we apply common sense and operate in the AI industry as we would operate in more traditional business considering asset ownership and copyright, AI regulations should not get in the way of the development of this industry.

Guests:

Emile, Co-Founder of XDEFI Wallet
Gabby Dizon, Co-Founder of Yield Guild Games
Altcoin Sherpa, Angel Investor & Influencer

**Top 3 Key Takeaways from Our Guests

The following crypto cycle could be potentially more significant due to mainstream adoption.**During the roundtable discussion, our guests shared their reactions to the latest news in the cryptocurrency world. They discussed the approval of ETF and the upcoming halving in April. Although predicting the market's movement is complex, the guests agreed that crypto is becoming more accessible and inclusive. This leads to a growing community and an influx of capital, especially in anticipation of the next significant event.

However, the guests anticipate that the next few months will still be turbulent, particularly regarding the price of Bitcoin. The Federal Reserve rates will continue to have implications for the macro environment and affect the market's movement.

Infrastructure and DeFi projects will need seamless integration to host the new influx of users.We dove deeper into various crypto industries and what our guests thought about the development. Given Gabby’s background in gaming, he says that price adoption and crypto adoption will drive teams to create better products than they had in the previous cycle. With his background in wallets and infrastructure, Emiel added that user experience is vital in gaming, and companies like his need to ensure that wallet integrations are seamless for games to stay competitive.

Segueing into wallets and infrastructure, Emiel also said that DeFi protocols would be on the sidelines in the upcoming year as the audience changes. DeFi will have to be democratized and made easier to use. The need for multi-chain-friendly tools and improving the user experience will be the way forward in the upcoming cycle.

3. "This cycle's all-time high will be very different from what we saw in 2021"In 2024, we can expect to see the growth of various narratives. Our guests all agree that last year, the trend was very much around SocialFi and NFTs. Since October 2023, more people have been talking about EVMs and RWAs, which also reflects the big projects in the market. With this being said and the trends foreseen in the coming months, Sherpa states that he is bullish and sees us reaching an all-time high in 2024/2025.

However, how we reach an all-time high will be very different from how it happened in 2021. We will see more gradual growth in this cycle than sudden candle spikes. With that, all speakers advise people to continue to research, understand what is happening in the market, and take caution of people’s advice.

The Secret of Good Data

Guest: William Simonin, Founder and CEO of Ta-da
Host: Szabolcs Gergely, Podcast & YouTube Host at Morningstar Ventures

Top 3 Takeaways from Our Guest:

1. AI will develop from a “plug-in” to a tool we use in daily life.To kick off the conversation, we asked William what he expects from AI in the future. William explained that AI is here to stay based on what he has seen in the past 5 to 7 years, along with everything around the 2023 AI boom. Right now, a lot of AI is mainly used as a “plug-in,” but in the future, AI will evolve to accompany us in our daily lives by helping us with chores and ways to make us more productive. This will mainly be fueled by the increase in usage among individuals and larger companies– for that, high-quality data and widespread recognition are needed for AI to reach its highest potential. 2. Ta-da is an application that enables the creation of custom data sets.Diving deeper into the project, William explains that Ta-da aims to be a one-stop shop for big companies that need quality data. He goes on to share that Ta-da was created because of the expensive and bad-quality data currently on the market. Together with its community, Ta-da can create voice, text, or visual data. The current Beta app uses gamification to crowdsource and gather voice data from various users, which is then stored and authenticated on the blockchain via app users.

3. MultiversX’s strong community and fast transactions fuel Ta-da’s ecosystem.William shared two reasons when asked why the team chose MultiversX as its underlying ecosystem. Firstly, the MultiversX community is close-knit and highly engaged, vital in any project's development. Secondly, it has fast transactions with low transaction fees. These two factors are pivotal in the future as the Ta-da will require a high output once it’s operational. William also shared that the team is looking into creating their blockchain, a type of L2, to further reduce costs and ensure market competitiveness.

Guests:

Pavel Bains, Executive Producer of MixMob
Nico del Pino, Co-Founder of OLA GG
Borislav Hrinchev, CEO of MSV.GG

Three Key Takeaways from Our Guests:

1. Guilds have evolved their focus from scholarships to building engaged communities and providing hands-on initiatives.To start the roundtable, our guests were asked to define a guild in their own words. All our guests agreed that guilds had evolved their focus from scholarships that helped early on adoption within the gaming space to building engaged communities and directly supporting projects through hands-on initiatives. This includes assisting with user acquisition in target regions/demographics, localization of content and marketing, and identifying issues early by facilitating extensive testing and feedback cycles before product launch. Ola GG and MSV.GG, being guilds and working closely with games and other crypto projects, agreed that community, infrastructure, economic support, and distribution were key elements of today’s guilds.

2. Guilds can grant access to expert communities whose skills can aid in go-to-market efforts.Our guests moved on to talk about the relationship between guilds and games. They stressed that partnering with specialized guilds with expertise in specific regions, languages, or genres enables web3 projects to enhance user acquisition strategies and distribution. This approach proves more effective in reaching niche target audiences than general guilds. Additionally, it grants early access to smaller testing communities associated with these specialized guilds, facilitating the identification of bugs or suggesting improvements before a wider launch. This collaborative effort contributes to an overall improvement in product quality. These engaged guild testing communities' structured and detailed feedback proves invaluable, particularly for early-stage projects.

3. Projects released great alphas and are preparing for more community initiatives.To end the roundtable, our guests revealed a couple of exciting alphas. MixMob, the game is in a great state, and last week, the team launched their whitepaper paper along with a video. They are also kicking off their “Flip web2” campaign, which aims to garner more attention to the future of web3 and all its benefits. Ola GG introduced its leaderboard and community ranking to track merit and engagement. They will continue to work on Ola GGs on this initiative and more reward programs.

Furthermore, they will travel around Latin America and Spain to meet their community face-to-face and, finally, MSV.GG will be pushing the next recruitment cycle soon. The team will also work closely with Fusionist, BitsCrunch, and Apeiron. You can follow all these initiatives on the project's discords and Twitter channels.

Combatting Fraud with AI nad Data

Guest: Vijay Pravin, Founder and CEO of BitsCrunch
Host: Szabolcs Gergely, Podcast & YouTube Host at Morningstar Ventures

**Top 3 Takeaways from Our Guest:

bitsCrunch helps clients be compliant with AI as the underlying technology.**To kick off the interview, we asked Vijay why bitsCrunch is an asset to the crypto industry. Vijay highlighted one of the most common but overlooked aspects that slows adoption and institutional integration – Fraud! bitsCrunch, with AI as the underlying technology, offers monitoring and checking transactions and asset authenticity to ensure that users and companies get what they pay. They monitor the market and the transactions and flag any suspicious activities like wash trading to ensure that the price of an asset is not artificially increased and users will get the value they are paying for.

2. bitsCrunch will offer services for users and companies alike.Vijay explained that although bitsCrunch services sound like the target customers are companies, users can also benefit from it. In the case of a company, while with their easy-to-integrate API big volume data can be monitored, helping in filtering malicious activities and projecting upcoming trends, dedicated platforms will also be put in place for single users. He mentioned that, for example, the Unleash NFT platform will allow people to check the authenticity of the NFT they want to buy.

3. bitsCrunch will continue to monitor the Metaverse.

Toward the end of the interview, one of our audience members asked if bitsCrunch would also work in the Metaverse. Although there is no current plan to be in the Metaverse, Vijay stated that, given their product capability along with being an active “investigator” of transactions, markets, and activity, they aim to be present in the Metaverse with a sharp focus on upcoming cross-chain transactions and cross-community game activities of player to provide gaming studios accurate data about their gamers preferences to improve the services they offer.

The Next Generation Gaming

Guest: Ike T., CEO of Fusionist
Host: Szabolcs Gergely, Podcast & YouTube Host at Morningstar Ventures

**Top 3 Takeaways from Our Guest:

“Data ownership is not the most important element of Web3 Gaming”.**We kicked off the Twitter Spaces by asking Ike about the importance of data ownership for Web3 gamers. Ike explained he doesn’t think data ownership in gaming is very important because, according to his gaming experience, fun, and enjoyability is the key factor for gamers to continue playing – which is an element many Web3 game producers are still trying to navigate and integrate into their games.
“In the future, Layer 1 and Layer 2 infrastructures will support complex Web3 games.”The conversation then dove deeper into the complexity of games and whether blockchain infrastructures can support them. Ike explained that at the moment, blockchain infrastructures will not be able to support a fully complex game and will need to be built on both Web2 and Web3.
For example, Fusionist is not built 100% on the blockchain and consists of Web2 elements. This was a conscious decision, as it was necessary for the game to compete with already existing traditional games. In the future, Ike believes that various Layer 1 or 2 infrastructures will be capable of hosting complex games, however, as at the moment, games need to be built on both traditional technologies and blockchain to ensure a smooth user experience.
“Fusionist welcomes new users to join and engage with its community”To close off, Ike welcomed new users to engage with the Fusionist ecosystem. All one has to do is create an account and earn tokens by playing the game. Some smaller parts of the game, called exhibitions, are live and ready for play. The game is currently in the test phase, but will soon be released on Steam for everyone to enjoy.

Guests:

Justin Colón, Head of Community @Ancient8_gg
Alper Çimik, CMO @coinmuhendisim
Abhinav Pathak, Research Partner @Woodstockfund

Guest:

Simon Harman, CEO & Co-Founder of Chainflip

Guests:

Ian Estrada, Co-founder of @XLDFinance
Michael Eerhart, CPO at @SkynetTrading_
Ahmed Serghini, Co-founder of @HatomProtocol

Guest:

Frank Cheng, CEO & Co-founder of Apeiron

Guests:

Ran Neuner, Founder of @crypto_banter
Austin King, Co-founder of @OmniFDN
Alexei Kulevets, Co-founder of @walken_io

Guest:

James Zhang, CEO & Co-Founder of @JamboTechnology

Top 3 Key Takeaways

1. Jambo sees product market fit in Africa’s fast-growing and adopting demographic.

James introduced the project to kick off the conversation, saying it fundamentally combines two major components: hardware and software. The team is preparing to launch Jambo Color, a $99 Android smartphone to be released across Africa. James continues to say they see an opportunity given by the continent's young demographics and fast adoption of smartphones. Jambo Color will come with preinstalled Jambo software, which consists of tutorials about crypto and Web3 and earning opportunities for its users. The team is hoping this will jump-start the adoption of crypto and Web3 in Africa.

2. Web3 is a great opportunity for improving lifestyle.

James explained that the unemployment rate in Africa is above 60%, with a population of average age below 35 years old. Coupled with high inflation across many countries, most of the population earns a stable high-value income. For this, Web3 can offer alternative income and an opportunity for many people to change their financial future and gain an improved lifestyle.

3. Africa will adopt crypto faster than any other continent.

Referencing a personal anecdote, James said his friends from Congo use crypto more frequently than his friends from New York – and this is due to the primary purpose of crypto, namely its permissionless nature, and interoperability. Crypto is essentially the bank of the unbanked, and its fast and easy cross-border payment system allows people without bank accounts to still pay for their everyday needs. James finished off the interview by stating that there will be no single coin that will bring solution to all personal needs; however, the technology itself is very much needed, and that is why Africa will adopt crypto faster than any other continent.

Guests:

Nick Rose, Founder of @EthernityChain
Vijay, Founder of @bitsCrunch
Jason Hu, Co-Founder of @YoloYolo_xyz

Guest:

Vlad Korolev, CEO & Co-Founder of @GunzillaGames

Top 3 Key Takeaways

Building a strong team is the key to building a strong game

Vlad started the interview with a brief introduction, explaining that gaming is as much a job as it is a hobby for him. Throughout his career, he founded and co-founded important Web2 games like Warface, which is also the game he likes to play on the weekends. When creating a game, the most important factor for him is the “fun – this was first and foremost when building Off The Grid. He goes on to say that the Gunzilla Games team he put together all come with their unique skill sets, ultimately the key to making the game as high quality as possible. For example, his colleagues (a studio with 200+ employees) come with experience from games like Assassins Creed and game studios like Rockstar Games, and Ubisoft.

Gunzilla Games’ Off the Grid is a game for pure enjoyment

Off the Grid, the AAA game by Gunzilla Games is not a “traditional” Web3 game. Vlad explained that the game being on the blockchain is not a marketing stunt or an attempt to onboard people to crypto – instead, Off the Grid is on the blockchain to give full control of the assets to the gamers. With the game, he wants to eliminate the centralization of assets. For example, in Web2, if a player’s account is suspended, he will lose all his assets; however, in Gunzilla’s Off The Grid Game, everything can be stored on a hardware wallet, meaning that one's in-game assets are safe. Nevertheless, it is the player’s choice to create a wallet or not, as they can also play the game without being involved in the Web3 features. The game is a game first for pure enjoyment, and if somebody wants to use the perks of the blockchain to improve, buy and sell in-game assets, the option is always there to link a wallet to the account.

Gunzilla Games is building its Layer 1 Subnet to improve the efficiency of the game

At the end of the interview, Vlad stated that most of the game's requirements are lower than what a blockchain can offer. Gunzilla Games is building its Layer 1 subnet on Avalanche. Vlad is convinced that the efficiency of the blockchain is more than enough to operate the game smoothly without overloading the potential capacity at hand therefore, it is a no-brainer to give the assets to the gamers and let them decide how they want to transact in-game items, setting scarcity by supply and demand, therefore the price as well.

Guests:

BlockMia, CMO of Mystiko Network
Joshua Tobkin, Co-founder of Supra Oracles
Aniket Jindal, Co-founder, Co-founder of Biconomy

**Top 3 Key Takeaways:

We need simple web3 applications focused on learning experience design to educate new users**

Joshua kicked off the Roundtable by giving an example of what they are doing with their gamified learn-to-earn program. The program experienced significant success during its beta run in January, attracting around 8-10k participants and gaining widespread popularity. This program provides economic incentives for learning, emphasizing the importance of being thoughtful in the learning process.

Moving forward, he says we must prioritize learning experience design, particularly in light of advancements such as Chatgpt and AI. Learning experience design involves meeting individuals at their current level of understanding and providing them with the necessary information in a manner that enables rapid comprehension and knowledge acquisition. Mia continued the conversation by stating that a notable strategy for onboarding users is Gamefi, an intriguing approach to educating more individuals. To engage new users in the web3 industry, addressing why blockchain matters to them in their real lives is vital. Therefore, integrating user applications and bringing blockchain infrastructure into daily routines is essential for effective education.

Finally, Aniket says applications must prioritize ease of use for all users, regardless of their familiarity with cryptocurrency. User-facing applications should be designed to be accessible to individuals who have no prior knowledge of crypto, even if they operate within the web3 environment.

2. The future will not solely be characterized by openness without privacy; rather, both coexist harmoniously

Our discussion moved to privacy, where Mia and Joshua provided insights into the future and the transition toward an open DeFi world. Mia elaborated on what Mystiko is doing, emphasizing how their protocol ensures privacy for general users while enabling the identification and exclusion of malicious users. Using ZK technology, Mystiko encrypts every transaction at the smart contract level, ensuring that only users can view and own their respective transactions.

Although Mystiko can collaborate with regulators by providing necessary proofs and transaction details, the decentralized nature of the protocol ensures the transactions remain private. The aim is to strike a balance between regulatory requirements and safeguarding the privacy of legitimate users, only providing privacy for positive purposes and not facilitating illegal activities.

Joshua elaborates on the topic and states – as we venture into an open DeFi world, other communities will likely adopt KYC procedures and implement anti-money laundering measures, a development anticipated shortly. However, the fundamental principle of eliminating intermediaries in transactions will persist.

3. More growth in the space

We asked our guests what space is still underdeveloped in web3. Aniket starts the conversation by stating that Biconomy has initiated a program to facilitate collaboration with more projects and assist them in their development endeavors. He says that a key aspect that requires significant attention is key management, particularly in implementing seed phrases and enhancing the safety of onboarding processes.

Mia agrees and says ensuring a strong UI and UX while providing developers with simplified tools and methods is equally crucial. The web3 space still has substantial room for growth and numerous areas for improvement,&

Guests:

Humayun Sheikh, Founder of Fetch.AI
Pedro Rente Lourenco, Ceo of Dotmoovs
Sabin Dima, Co-Founder of HumansAI
Top 3 Key Takeaways
AI and Crypto need strong and timely regulation to promote trust, transparency, and fairness.
During our conversation with industry experts, we delved into the challenges facing the nascent industries of crypto and AI. One point of discussion was the need for regulation in both fields, as it can promote wider adoption and protect users' privacy. However, there are also concerns that excessive regulation can stifle innovation and creativity- arguing that self-regulation could be a viable alternative, but with a potential worry that this approach could lead to exploitation by a few bad actors in the industry.

Regardless, there is a growing consensus that regulators must ensure fair economic dispensation and copyright governance in AI. This is particularly important given the potential for big corporations to exploit AI for their gain is already leading to job losses and economic inequality. In short, we need strong and timely regulation to promote trust, transparency, and fairness in these exciting and evolving industries.

A decentralized AI model can empower individuals with new unique skills and capabilities.
The conversation continued with the hosts stating that the majority of AI solutions today are developed by centralized entities and what the benefits are of a decentralized AI approach. The consensus was while the AI model itself cannot be decentralized, stakeholders involved in its development and utilization can be. A decentralized AI model can empower individuals with skills and capabilities that were previously impossible to attain. In today's world, knowledge is highly valued, and asking a question is considered a luxury. For instance, if we want to draw a difference between how web2 and web3 rewards a question, look at what ChatGPT is doing; it takes credit for the questions that we ask and profit from answering questions posed to it.

In contrast, through Web3 and decentralized models, the first person to ask a question owns that unique question. Web3 rewards that person's curiosity and creativity, and every subsequent person who asks your question allows you to receive a reward. This is a significant improvement over Web2, where individuals who ask questions are not rewarded for their contribution.

We must move beyond the generative aspect of AI and focus on how to use the outputs to create actionable items.
Although many people view generative AI as a significant breakthrough, it is just the beginning. We must move beyond the generative aspect of AI and focus on how to use the outputs to create actionable items. To do this, we need to develop the necessary frameworks for deployment. For instance, generating an email is just the start; we must also incorporate an email server to send it. Similarly to this concept, to turn AI-generated content into meaningful actions, we need to focus on artificial general intelligence, which is making slow but steady progress. We need to encourage developers to use AI as a tool to generate new business models and make money. They should experiment with new ideas and applications using the frameworks mentioned above. It is crucial to educate yourself about the field and to question if things are being done ethically and properly. Always DYOR (Do Your Own Research) and don't blindly follow what others are saying. It is essential to build confidence that you are doing the right thing for the industry.

Guest: Ivan On Tech, Co-Founder of Moralis Money
Host: Szabolcs Gergely, Podcast & YouTube Host at Morningstar Ventures

**Top 3 Key Takeaways

Looking at the time rather than the price is more important to define the start and the end of a cycle**Ivan starts the conversation by going deeper into the “Where are we in the market.” He says that the price still does not convince experienced traders that the bull market has started or that the bear market has ended. Nevertheless, Ivan is bullish now but doesn’t believe we will reach All Time High (ATH) in 2023. Most likely, as we reach the better half of 2024 can expect to see a sideways action for Bitcoin and Altcoins in the cryptospace. He goes on to say until now; the market respects the timing of cycles – as we see the same price action as in 2019. Therefore, looking at the timing rather than the price is more important. He says we are right on time in the cycle, which is the only thing that matters.

2. The Best way to prepare for the Altseason is to familiarize yourself with different chains, dApps, and DEXs
The conversation moves on to Altcoins. Ivan stresses it is hard to predict when the Alt season will start. There are excellent returns on Altcoins at the moment, but these gains are nowhere near the whole Alt season we’ve seen in the past. He continues to say the best way to prepare for the Alt season is to familiarize yourself with different chains, dApps, and DEXs so that when the market pumps, one has their wallets set up and is ready to go without wasting time or feeling rushed to research the spot. If you wait, you might just be too late. This is not the time to go all in on Altcoins, but it is time to pay attention and learn as much as possible.

3. Moralis Money platform can show users on-chain analytics and highlight assets that are in demand before they hit social mediaIvan explained that his view on assets has shifted. The main focus should be supply and demand if you are looking for undervalued assets. You can’t find undervalued assets on Coingecko or Twitter. By the time they start trending on these platforms, it’s too late – they aren’t undervalued. That is why his team developed Moralis Money, a platform where users can find assets with increasing demand before they hit social media. He goes on to say that the platform is easy to use, where one can focus on finding new tokens, use only a few filters that appeal to your strategy, and pay attention to the risk-reward in terms of potential rug-pulls, which are not rare in a pool of newly listed coins.

Nothing in this recap or the audio file constitutes professional and financial advice from Ivan Liljeqvist (aka Ivan on Tech) and Morningstar Ventures.Link:*

Websites: https://moralis.io
Twitter: https://twitter.com/moralisweb3

Guests:

David Johansson, Founder of Blocklords
Frank Cheng, CEO of Apeiron
Oren Langberg, Head of Marketing at MonkeyLeague

What's Next for MultiversXGuest: Beniamin Mincu, Founder & CEO of MultiversX
Host: Szabolcs Gergely, Podcast & YouTube Host at Morningstar Ventures

Top 3 Key Takeaways:

Beniamin describes MultiversX as a new type of Supercomputer based on a blockchain network. MultiversX enables applications that leverage transparency, cryptographic solid primitives, and deterministic programmable contracts. Builders from MultiversX and projects who build on top of the Layer 1 can create products that reimagine financial systems, economic interactions, and money.

1) xPortal is the key to onboarding users on a bigger scale

The first key takeaway is the success of the recently launched xPortal application. Since its launch, Beniamin says he is happy with the progress and features the team has released. He appreciates the community feedback and looks forward to releasing new app versions. The xPortal version prepares the growth engine to show the actual supercomputer the MultiversX team is building.

Beniamin says xPortal is the best chance for MultiversX to reach a massive scale of people. The entire point of the app is determining the best way to “ship” the product, allowing for a great user experience for the specific features, such as transferring money, playing with NFTs, the card, and more. Moreover, the app's onboarding and distribution must encourage social interaction that allows people to forget about the blockchain technology behind it. Ideally, if this is structured well, the team can start introducing more community challenges where growth is no longer an abstract goal. Still, everything is very closely correlated in the network layer – which would help the ecosystem grow and become more widely adopted.

2) Blockchain is a necessary solution to some of the challenges we will see in AI.

The conversation moved from the recent past to a timely topic in the present and future – AI. Apart from encouraging listeners to dive deeper and educate themselves on AI, Beniamin stresses that AI will become an all-powerful tool that brings challenges and opportunities. Blockchain technology can mitigate those challenges because of its strong sense of truth and rationale.

Beniamin elaborates and says that in the next couple of months, not even years, we will be able to see some “borderline shocking” new developments in AI. People will find it challenging to understand the truth, and it will be difficult for many to authenticate what AI creates – given the strength it has to create and edit specific facts. Blockchain technology will significantly counter everything AI can do because it can provide transparency and show digital history, potentially distorted by AI. Nevertheless, AI can also be beneficial and will work complementary to the robust features of blockchain. If used correctly, the combination of AI and blockchain can be an essential tool to many that enhances their daily lives and how they work.

3) Embrace the constant change and never stand still in the everchanging space.

To onboard new people, MultiversX is always looking for how they can improve their products. It is crucial never to stand still in this rapidly moving crypto space. Constant experimentation, product iterations, community surveys/feedback, and keeping an eye on what is relevant are critical to adopting and onboarding new users – essentially, this is also what MultiversX is all about.

The team is working on many projects in various verticals. They have new exciting projects coming up within MultiversX. And they are also planning the next XDay!

Link:

Websites: https://multiversx.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Multiver

Tune in to learn how launchpad projects prepare for the bull-market. How they upgrade their platform to deliver more value to the community.

Links:
https://polkastarter.com/
https://twitter.com/polkastarter

Tune in to find out about building in the bear market, navigating through blockchain with unified API and to listen to some brainstorming about the AI hype today.

Links:
https://www.covalenthq.com/
https://twitter.com/Covalent_HQ

Tune in to learn about the DEFI Wallet which gives you access to most of the existing chains in crypto and provides you self custody along with education to ensure that your assets are as safe as possible.

Links:
Download XDEFI Wallet :
https://go.xdefi.io/morningstar

XDEFI Wallet Website:
xdefi.io

Tune in to find out what will be the future of DeFi and how it will gain more and more share on the market.

Website: https://injective.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Injective_

Tune in to find out how crypto domains NFTS will protect your identity in the new digital era.

Links:
https://unstoppabledomains.com/
https://twitter.com/unstoppableweb

Tune in to find out how comic books will continue to thrive in the digital era.

Links:
https://247comics.com/
https://twitter.com/247ComicsHQ

Tune in to find out how a passionate Web2 Gamer and Entrepreneur pours his heart and soul into development and community building to create the foundation of the next Sci-Fi era.
Links:
https://www.crosstheages.com/
https://mobile.twitter.com/CrossTheAges

Tune in to find out more about the future of transactions, cross-chain solutions and fee-less cryptocurrency transactions on the blockchain.

Links:
https://twitter.com/biconomy
https://www.biconomy.io/

Tune in to find out how Artificial Intelligence will enhance our everyday life on and off the Blockchain. Here you can find out what are the limitations or the extreme when we talk about AI in almost any industries.

Links:
https://humans.ai/
https://twitter.com/humansdotai

Tune in for a deep dive of how Lending Protocols work, what are the risks, opportunities and how regulations keep up with this high paced environment, the crypto industry.

Links:
https://benqi.fi/
https://twitter.com/BenqiFinance

In this episode we discuss the progress of the Web3 economy and how Artificial Intelligence learns how to recognize natural movement of the human body, to enable true proof of work in the token generation process and discard cheating mechanisms.

Interviewee: Yawn Rong, Co-Founder - StepN

Links:
https://stepn.com/
https://twitter.com/Stepnofficial

In Gaming, the game is the anchor, but nothing more. What matters and creates additional value is a sustainable economy and structure which is built around the game.

Tune in to learn how a Chairman of a big game production company tackles the Web3 challenges to create a long-lasting Web3 game that is entertaining and at the same time is wrapped around a sustainable economy.

Interviewee: Shahaf Bar Geffen, Chairman - Monkey League

Links:
https://www.monkeyleague.io/
https://twitter.com/TheMonkeyLeague

Web3 Gaming is not as far away as we would think. With Gabby, we discuss the future of gaming on Blockchain, the new economy which will be implemented to tame the volatility and bring stable earnings to gamers in this ecosystem.

Interviewee: Gabby Dizon, CEO - Yield Guild Games

Links:

https://twitter.com/YieldGuild
https://yieldguild.io/

In this episode, we cover the importance of security, how fragile the crypto industry still is and what crypto owners can do to maximize their holdings' security level.

Listen in to get in-depth information about cold wallets, how they work and what are their vulnerabilities.

Interviewee: Ruben Merre, CEO - Ngrave

Website: https://www.ngrave.io/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ngrave_official

In this episode, we talk about the importance of API’s and how they work.

What decentralization means for the interfaces between client and server and how this can be achieved in order to reach the WEB3 state of the internet.

Please feel free to visit Bware Labs website and follow them on Twitter

Links:

https://twitter.com/BwareLabs
https://bwarelabs.com