Bell Curve

Season 4 | Episode 3In this episode of Bell Curve, we are joined by Matt Cutler from Blocknative to discuss the economics of MEV. We dive deep into MEV value capture, incentive structures and the relayer monetization debate (p.s. there's a great debate between Matt and Hasu). We also cover order flow auctions, latency wars, account abstraction, user preferences and more!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Intro: Pre-Interview(02:20) Interview Start(02:58) The MEV Supply Chain(06:01) Relays: Their Role and Monetization Debate(34:51) “Rook Ad”(36:44) Learnings From a $25M MEV Exploit(46:36) Wallets, User Preferences and Order Flow Auctions(1:00:59) Account Abstraction and Exclusive Order Flow(1:20:06) Recap: Post-Interview- -Follow Matt: https://twitter.com/mcutlerFollow Hasu: https://twitter.com/hasuflFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -This episode is brought to you by Rook. Close to a billion dollars has already been taken out of users’ pockets through MEV. Rook built a solution that automatically drives this value back to where it belongs: with the users and applications that create it.If you use on-chain products, tell your wallet, favorite app and go-to node provider to use Rook; if you're a developer, message us today to find out how to integrate Rook with your product. Follow Rook on Twitter and them a message at https://twitter.com/Rook.- -Resources:$25M MEV Exploithttps://blockworks.co/news/validator-frontruns-mev-botsBlocknativehttps://www.blocknative.com/https://twitter.com/blocknative- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

In today's episode, we debate Mike's tweet that Eth L2s have every feature Alt L1s are criticized for: centralized, downtime, opaque resource allocation and wild valuations. To get close to the metal, we compare Solana vs Arbitrum based on economics, network effects and future roadmap. If you listen to one conversation this week, this is it.We also discuss Arbitrum's governance debacle, the value of protocol BD deals, a $25M MEV exploit, Euler's $200M recovery and Shanghai predictions!- -Follow Michael: https://twitter.com/im_mandersonFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Vance: https://twitter.com/pythianismFollow Miles: https://twitter.com/MylesOneilFollow Bell Curve: https://twitter.com/thebellcurvepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Lightspeed Podcast OpportunityClick here to learn more about Blockworks' upcoming Lightspeed podcast and submit an application to be one of our hosts!- -ResourcesMike's Eth L2 vs Alt L1 debate tweethttps://twitter.com/mikeippolito_/status/1642262306712109057- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Today's episode is a bonus episode from our podcast 0xResearch, produced by the Blockworks Research team. This is one of my favorite episodes they've done, a deep dive into the future of rollups, scaling and zk-tech. The first 15 minutes is the "analyst bullpen" segment on Arbitrum's recent governance debacle, followed by an interview with Preston Evans from Sovereign Labs (use the Timestamps if you want to skip ahead). If you enjoy this episode, follow the link in the show notes below to subscribe!- -Join us on 0xResearch as we interview Preston Evans, the Chief Scientist of Sovereign Labs. Why should you care about Sovereign? Because they're building the Sovereign SDK. Like the Cosmos SDK that enables modular plug-and-play experimentation for L1s, the Sovereign SDK is a modular toolkit for building zk-rollups on any chain with seamless composability. In this episode, we discuss how Sovereign's design compares to the Cosmos SDK and IBC, smart contract vs Sovereign rollups, the role of data availability, decentralized sequencer design and more! This is my favorite 0xResearch episode yet.And as usual, we start the episode with our analyst bullpen to discuss the recent governance drama at Arbitrum!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:45) Arbitrum's Governance Blunder(15:04) Blockworks Research(16:03) Interview Start: What is Sovereign?(22:23) The Sovereign SDK vs Cosmos SDK(23:59) Settlement on Smart Contract vs Sovereign Rollups(28:14) The Role of Data Availability(32:24) Decentralized Sequencers(37:54) Optimistic Rollup Tradeoffs(41:24) Composability and IBC(52:22) What Is Sovereign’s X Factor?(54:17) Building Rollups on Bitcoin(59:11) Sovereign’s Business Model and Timeline- -Follow Preston: https://twitter.com/prestonevans__Follow Westie: https://twitter.com/WestieCapitalFollow Dan: https://twitter.com/smyyguyFollow Sam: https://twitter.com/swmartin19Follow Purplepill: https://twitter.com/purplepill3mFollow Matt: https://twitter.com/MattFiebachFollow Blockworks Research: https://twitter.com/blockworksresSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3foDS38Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3SNhUEtSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3NlP1hAGet top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/- -Resources:Delegate ARB to Blockworks Researchhttps://twitter.com/blockworksres/status/1639279479368368132Sovereign Labshttps://www.sovereign.xyz/https://twitter.com/sovereign_labs- -Check out Blockworks Research today! Research, data, governance, tokenomics, and models – now, all in one placeBlockworks Research: https://www.blockworksresearch.com/Free Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on 0xResearch is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Dan, Sam, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Season 4 | Episode 2In this episode of Bell Curve, we are joined by Tarun Chitra and Justin Drake to discuss how builders are navigating the complex world of MEV. One of the hottest debates is MEV precedence. What parties in the MEV value chain should accrue MEV? Tarun and Justin give their takes and explain how applications and protocols are approaching this challenge. We then explore MEV auction vs latency games, how L2s complicate MEV, various approaches to MEV reduction and on-chain privacy and more!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Intro: Pre-Interview(02:12) Interview Start(32:00) “Rook Ad”(33:54) MEV Burn(41:45) Should the Application or Protocol Layer Reduce MEV?(48:23) MEV Auction Game Theory(51:55) The Role of Latency(1:04:03) How L2s Increase the Complexity of Latency(1:10:21) Privacy in the MEV Supply Chain(1:26:42) Recap: Post-Interview- -Follow Tarun: https://twitter.com/tarunchitraFollow Justin: https://twitter.com/drakefjustinFollow Hasu: https://twitter.com/hasuflFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -This episode is brought to you by Rook. Close to a billion dollars has already been taken out of users’ pockets through MEV. Rook built a solution that automatically drives this value back to where it belongs: with the users and applications that create it.If you use on-chain products, tell your wallet, favorite app and go-to node provider to use Rook; if you're a developer, message us today to find out how to integrate Rook with your product. Follow Rook on Twitter and them a message at https://twitter.com/Rook.- -Resources:Miners, Front-Running-as-a-Service Is Thefthttps://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/04/07/miners-front-running-as-a-service-is-theft/Ethereum Foundationhttps://ethereum.org/en/foundation/- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

In this episode of Bell Curve, we explore the implications of CBDCs and how governments will use CBDC efficiencies as a veneer for control. We start by discussing stablecoins, how Tether has surprisingly become the "trusted" stable of crypto (or has it...) and the heated CBDC debate. We also discuss startup treasury management, if apps will launch their own L2s or launch on an existing ecosystem, the commercial real estate disaster and more!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(02:14) Tether: The Trusted Stablecoin?(17:05) Startup Treasury Management(20:39) Are CBDCs Inevitable?(33:55) Copy-Paste L2s, AppChains and ETH L1(47:51) ETH vs BTC's Monetary Premium(52:01) A Commercial Real Estate Disaster(1:04:08) AI Is Taking Over- -Follow Vance: https://twitter.com/pythianismFollow Michael: https://twitter.com/im_mandersonFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Bell Curve: https://twitter.com/thebellcurvepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Season 4 | Episode 1Welcome to Season 4 of Bell Curve, where we will explore crypto's dark forest: MEV. Hasu is joining Mike as this season's cohost. If you don't know Hasu, he is the strategy lead at Flashbots, strategic advisor at Lido, research collaborator at Paradigm and a prolific strategist.In this episode, we introduce the topics and our thesis for the upcoming season. We discuss the MEV value chain, order flow auctions, how MEV affects security, atomic vs statistical arbitrage, the role of latency, fair ordering protocols and more! Hit subscribe as this will be the best season yet!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(02:19) The MEV Value Chain(14:24) Order Flow Auctions(21:10) MEV in a Modular Future(28:50) How MEV Impacts the Security of an L1(31:52) “Rook Ad”(33:46) Atomic Arbitrage vs Statistical Arbitrage(42:43) The Role of Latency(51:10) Fair Ordering Protocols(54:11) MEV on Solana and Cosmos(59:36) Regulation- -Follow Hasu: https://twitter.com/hasuflFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -This episode is brought to you by Rook. Close to a billion dollars has already been taken out of users’ pockets through MEV. Rook built a solution that automatically drives this value back to where it belongs: with the users and applications that create it.If you use on-chain products, tell your wallet, favorite app and go-to node provider to use Rook; if you're a developer, message us today to find out how to integrate Rook with your product. Follow Rook on Twitter and them a message at https://twitter.com/Rook.- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

In this episode of Bell Curve, we discuss macro and the crazy decade ahead. The Fed is on the brink of stopping rate hikes, Balaji bet Bitcoin is going to $1M in 90 days, Credit Suisse collapsed, bonds are breaking and the market is a mess. What's coming next and where does the value lie in the chaos? It's all on this episode and it's spicy hot.We also discuss Coinbase's Wells Notice from the SEC, where value will accrue in crypto and how ChatGPT is gunning for your job. You won't want to miss this one!- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(02:01) Interest Rate Hikes and a Macro Mess (11:29) Credit Suisse’s Fire Sale(17:37) Balaji's Bet, the Long-Term Debt Cycle & Macro Cont.(45:39) Coinbase Receives SEC Wells Notice(54:02) Where Will Value Accrue in Crypto?(1:03:11) ChatGPT Chat- -Follow Vance: https://twitter.com/pythianismFollow Michael: https://twitter.com/im_mandersonFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Bell Curve: https://twitter.com/thebellcurvepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

In this episode of Bell Curve, we explore the economic fallout from the recent banking collapse, if Powell has pushed things too far and why the crypto bulls are back despite the market turmoil. We just entered a new paradigm shift, and crypto is primed to take advantage.We also cover the implications of USDC's depeg, how to evaluate protocol business models, Arbitrums $ARB airdrop and more! This is one episode you crypto bulls (and skeptics) won't want to miss.- -Timestamps:00:00 Introduction00:33 Has Powell Pushed Things Too Far?19:07 USDC Depeg and Signature’s Shady Closure29:54 Arbitrum’s Airdrop, Fundraising and Protocol Cashflows44:58 Orbit: Abritrum’s New L3 Infrastructure47:52 Why Do We Need a Commercial Banking System?53:34 Catalysts for the Next Bull Market- -Follow Vance: https://twitter.com/pythianismFollow Michael: https://twitter.com/im_mandersonFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Bell Curve: https://twitter.com/thebellcurvepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

This S3 finale covers the top takeaways from the last seven episodes, where we put the AppChain thesis to the test. Our thesis: Apps will leverage their proximity to customers to capture outsized value, mindshare and pricing power. Did the last seven episodes validate our thesis? Tune in for our conclusion and learnings on Aggregation Theory, product vs distribution, Cosmos' biggest weakness, scaling infrastructure and more!- -Timestamps:(00:00) S3 Finale--Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Silvergate, crypto's primary bank, is closing shop. Silicon Valley Bank, tech's primary bank, is in a downward spiral. Two bank runs caused by low-interest rates, duration mismatches and FUD. How did this all start? What do these two banks have in common? And is this a systemic risk to the financial system? We answer all of these questions and more!If you make it to the deep end (the last ~20 min), we also explore Coinbase's new WaaS offering, Coinbase's business outlook, Voyager's big win and bullish news for GBTC.- -Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:33) Bank Runs: Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank(54:14) ETH Denver Narratives(57:00) Coinbase’s Wallet-as-a-Service & Strategy(1:07:01) Voyager’s Win, GBTC Update and Politics- -Follow Vance: https://twitter.com/pythianismFollow Michael: https://twitter.com/im_mandersonFollow Mike: https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitzFollow Bell Curve: https://twitter.com/thebellcurvepodSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R1D1D9Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3pQTfmDSubscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cpKZXH- -Resources:How Banks Failhttps://jaustincampbell.substack.com/p/how-banks-fail- -Disclaimer: Nothing said on Bell Curve is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mike, Jason, Michael, Vance and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.