FutureX Podcast Recap: Episode 4 with Bryan Pellegrino
Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
We were privileged to have the co-founder of LayerZero Bryan Pellegrino (@PrimordialAA) on our fourth episode of the FutureX podcast. The interview, hosted by Matthew Liu, Partner and CSO at SynFutures, was recorded shortly following the collapse of FTX, so we were fortunate to have Bryan on to share his insights on the importance of responding quickly in moments of crisis, advice for new builders and founders, and the future of Web3.
Below are some of the highlights from the episode. If you haven’t already, be sure to participate in our Gleam campaign for this episode for your chance to review an NFT and USDC!
What is LayerZero?
The conversation began with Bryan’s explanation of LayerZero and his main goals for the project. He explains that similar to packets of information being sent between two remote computers, LayerZero “is the same thing but with contracts.” He explains that his goal is to enable the same seamless communication between smart contracts on different cryptocurrency networks just like computers connected via the internet.
From Poker Player to LayerZero
Bryan has a somewhat atypical background compared to most blockchain developers. He grew up in a small town in rural New Hampshire and studied computer science throughout his school years. After three years of college, he dropped out and decided to pursue poker professionally and he explains that this is where he was first exposed to Bitcoin and blockchain. The ban on online poker in the United States in 2011 led him to pursue other endeavors and led him back to his computer science background. Bryan started multiple startup companies and worked on both machine learning and artificial intelligence. Eventually, these projects led him back to blockchain, and he started LayerZero in 2021.
Advice for Newcomers in the Industry
With the chaos in the cryptocurrency world today, Matt asks Bryan to shed some light on how newcomers should approach the rapidly changing digital asset environment. Bryan explains that FOMO and getting rich shouldn’t be the reasons that someone should enter this space, but rather a genuine interest in the technology and potential solutions blockchain will offer. He explains that his desire to innovate in the space is what motivates him the most in the world of cryptocurrency and that newcomers should seek out a similar purpose besides financial gain.
Use Cases for LayerZero Today and in the Future
Bryan explains that LayerZero aims to offer a solution to the current interoperability issue for different blockchain networks. He explains this can make bridging assets easier, seamless atomic, decentralized exchange swaps, easy staking, and un-staking, and in the future even play a role in money markets.
Managing the Project During Crisis
With the current collapse of the crypto exchange FTX, Matt asks how Bryan was able to navigate the cryptocurrency landscape during such times of uncertainty. Bryan explains that his sense of urgency and ability to deal with highly time-sensitive matters allowed him to manage LayerZero successfully and navigate the project away from potential losses.
The Company’s Treasury
When asked about managing the company’s treasury, Bryan explained that he had learned from history to avoid correlation with certain centralized entities. He explains that LayerZero only held operation funds on-chain and that they only rely on highly trusted banks to hold the majority of the company’s capital. He also mentioned banks are paying much higher interest rates now, which is also a plus.
LayerZero’s Operation in Bear vs. Bull Markets
When asked about the differences in company operation during bull and bear markets, Bryan explains that the project doesn’t really operate differently depending on market price action. He mentions that bull markets do introduce more business development and collaboration opportunities due to more activity in the space, but that he enjoys bear markets the most because that is when he is most focused on building.
LayerZero and Web3 in the Year 2050
Matt asks for Bryan to share his thoughts on where Web3 and LayerZero will be in the year 2050. Having seen the development of core technologies in the era of internet inception, Bryan makes it clear that he hopes that he sees Web3 as being much more user-friendly in the future. He explains that it is still difficult for the average consumer to use most blockchain applications like Metamask, and he hopes that LayerZero will be a core piece of technology that will be built in the back end. He envisions a future where most of the current complexity of blockchain will be abstracted away from the user, and that LayerZero will play a core feature in bringing this about.
Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.
Want to be a guest on FutureX Podcast or know someone who would be a great guest? Reach out to greer.rodriguez@synfutures.com.
About SynFutures
SynFutures is a next-generation Web3.0 decentralized derivatives infrastructure that creates an open and trustless derivatives market by enabling trading on anything with a price feed anytime. SynFutures democratizes the derivatives market by employing an Amazon-like business model, giving users the tools to freely trade any assets and list arbitrary futures contracts within seconds.
Deployed on multiple blockchains, SynFutures is currently the largest derivatives exchange on Polygon and is among the top three most actively used decentralized derivatives exchanges. Backers include Tier 1 Web3 institutional investors Pantera Capital, Polychain Capital, Susquehanna International Group (SIG), Dragonfly Capital, Standard Crypto, and Framework Ventures, and team members have extensive experience at global financial institutions, fintech companies, and blockchain technology companies such as Alipay, Bitmain, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Matrixport, and Nomura Securities.
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