Podcast Summary
This episode of “Leviathan News” features a conversation with Addison, a young savant, builder, and soon-to-be MIT dropout. Addison shares his journey into the crypto space, starting with his involvement in the Pocket Network and his current project, ChainFlip. The discussion delves into Addison’s experiences with managing million-dollar OTC trades, leveraging Telegram for crypto onboarding, and the challenges faced in the Pocket Network. The conversation also explores the workings of ChainFlip, a cross-chain decentralized exchange, and its native token, FLIP. Addison also shares his observations on the perception of crypto at MIT and his future plans for his company, Thunderhead.
Key Takeaways
Young Savant’s Journey into Crypto
- Early Involvement: Addison started his journey into the crypto space at the age of 16, initially working with the Pocket Network and handling OTC trades for their tokens while still in high school. He managed million-dollar OTC trades during his AP classes and set up a Telegram bot for KYC and buying Pocket tokens.
- Internship at Decentral Park Capital: Addison’s entry into the crypto world was through an internship at Decentral Park Capital, a crypto fund. He and his father started buying Pocket tokens to run nodes, leading to the realization of a market opportunity for a more inclusive OTC service.
- Thunderhead: Addison and his brother ran a successful staking infrastructure solution for institutions in the Pocket Network, called Thunderhead, which grew to a TVL (Total Value Locked) of 70 million.
ChainFlip: A Cross-Chain Decentralized Exchange
- Introduction to ChainFlip: ChainFlip is a cross-chain decentralized exchange (DEX) that enables users to swap assets like Ethereum, Bitcoin, and USDC across different blockchains using a 150 validator multisig system for security.
- FLIP Token: ChainFlip’s native token, FLIP, and the staking process involves staking FLIP to receive StakeFlip, a rebasing token that increases in value as validators earn rewards.
- Rebasing Tokens: Addison favors rebasing tokens like StakeFlip for its simplicity and user-friendliness, despite the integration challenges and rounding issues it presents.
Perception of Crypto at MIT
- Negative Sentiment: Addison observes a general negative sentiment towards crypto among his peers at MIT, with few fellow students interested in the field.
- Lack of Institutional Support: Addison discusses the lack of institutional support for crypto-related ventures at MIT, with most legal and financial resources needing to be sought externally.
- Interest in Diverse Fields: Addison aims to double major in physics at MIT, believing that studying diverse fields can enhance overall problem-solving skills and creativity.
Future Plans for Thunderhead
- Transition to ChainFlip: Addison shares that Thunderhead had to shut down its operations with Pocket Network in June and has since been focusing on building up Chainflip, which has recently gone live with about $35 million staked.
- Expansion Plans: Future plans for Thunderhead include working with five to seven more ecosystems and building additional tools and services for them over the next six to 12 months.
- Importance of LSDs: The conversation shifts to the importance of liquid staking derivatives (LSDs) and the strategy of aggregating across various protocols to increase total value locked (TVL) to potentially reach a billion dollars in the next cycle.
Sentiment Analysis
- Bullish: Addison’s enthusiasm for ChainFlip, citing its efficient cryptography, lack of historical baggage compared to Thor Chain, strong branding, user experience, and the potential for a robust community, indicates a bullish sentiment. His confidence in ChainFlip’s potential market cap and profitability for their company further reinforces this sentiment.
- Bearish: The challenges faced in the Pocket Network, including technical debt and team management issues, as well as the negative sentiment towards crypto among Addison’s peers at MIT, suggest a bearish sentiment.
- Neutral: Addison’s balanced views on the pros and cons of rebasing tokens, his observations on the pitfalls of high inflation rates in tokenomics, and his advice on not overcomplicating tokenomics in a DAO setting reflect a neutral sentiment.
