Stephen Novenstern (Kintsu) on Building on Monad (EP.565)
On The Brink with Castle Island
Deep Dive
Why did Stephen Novenstern transition from ad tech to DeFi?
He found his way into programmatic finance through DeFi, seeing parallels between the complexity of programmatic media and decentralized finance. He was active during the DeFi summer and experienced key events like the SushiSwap vampire attack.
What is the significance of the EVM in the Monad ecosystem?
Monad is 100% bytecode compatible with the EVM, meaning any developer with Solidity experience can easily deploy projects. This compatibility optimizes the system and could fundamentally change the Web3 paradigm.
What is the analogy Stephen uses to describe proof of stake chains?
He compares proof of stake chains to digital nation states, with issuance at their core. Staking and earning rewards are central to these chains, creating an opportunity cost for participants.
What is the main challenge with traditional staking in Ethereum?
The requirement to stake 32 ETH, which is currently over $100,000, makes it inaccessible for many. This creates a barrier to entry for smaller participants in the staking process.
How does Lido's dominance in Ethereum staking affect network security?
Lido's high market share, potentially reaching 50% or more of the network stake, raises concerns about centralization. If a single entity controls too much stake, it could theoretically attack the network, undermining its security.
What is the vision for Kintsu in addressing staking centralization concerns?
Kintsu aims to ensure that the community controls validator selection, preventing any single entity from dominating the staking process. This approach maintains network security while enabling liquid staking.
What are the key advantages of building on Monad?
Monad offers high performance, EVM compatibility, and a supportive ecosystem with early commitments from major protocols like PancakeSwap and Balancer. It also enables new use cases like central limit order books that were previously impractical.
What role do stablecoins play in the Monad ecosystem?
Stablecoins are expected to be a significant category on Monad due to its high performance and low transaction costs. This could drive more liquidity and usage, especially for remittance and peer-to-peer payments.
How does Monad differ from other layer 1 blockchains?
Monad combines the efficiency of Solana with the tooling of the EVM, optimizing deep tech aspects that were taken for granted in the EVM ecosystem. This creates a step function increase in what can be achieved on a public blockchain.
What is the potential impact of EigenLayer on the Monad ecosystem?
EigenLayer introduces restaking, allowing LSTs to take on extra risk for extra reward. This could lead to new use cases and innovations in the Monad ecosystem, especially in areas like DeFi and off-chain activities.
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