The DeFi Download

Keyrock: Keeping crypto liquid and the future of DeFi

• Radix DLT

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This week’s DeFi Download Podcast features Juan-David Mendieta, co-founder of Keyrock. Piers Ridyard and Juan-David discuss Keyrock's market-making services and the potential of DeFi to create a more equitable and accessible financial system.

Summary

Keyrock is a market maker that facilitates the adoption of tokenized economies. It trades on over 85 exchanges and in 500 markets, with a trading volume of billions of dollars. Juan David Mendieta is Keyrock's co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer.

Key takeaways


  • Juan-David questions the traditional economic model and how it relates to Bitcoin, suggesting that Bitcoin could be a viable alternative to the traditional economic model.

  • Piers and Juan-David discuss the differences between a store of value and fiat currency, as well as the impact of a deflationary asset such as Bitcoin on debt and interest rates.
  • Because rising asset values might result in higher interest rates, the deflationary nature of Bitcoin can have an impact on debt.
  • Juan-David suggests that in the future, we could live in a world where all value is held in digital assets, and we would no longer need a separate exchange asset. He uses an example of headphones with an NFT (non-fungible token) to illustrate how this could work.


Chapters

[01:14] The source of Juan-David’s passion for cryptocurrency

[02:51] The unique perspective of a central banker on Bitcoin's potential value

[05:30] Differences between fiat currency and store of value: impact on debt and interest rates in a Bitcoin-based hard money system

[08:55] Piers' thoughts on Juan-David's thesis that all value can be held in digital assets without the need for a separate exchange asset and blockchain's potential to facilitate value exchange with a time component

[12:55] Piers and Juan-David discuss a universal method for exchanging cryptocurrency, mentioning Bancor's ICO and expressing admiration for Carbon, an AMM developed by Bancor DAO contributors.

[14:35] Juan-David's idea that everything has a value and can be traded for everything else — Keyrock's role and thoughts on the current and future importance of token liquidity and market making

[19:37] The differences between market making and the Uniswap model — When should a project move from a bootstrap liquidity model to a market maker?

[25:54] The Keyrock DeFi team and its unique approach to market making, focusing on both centralised and decentralised exchanges

[28:48] The Keyrock team's research findings on up-and-coming DeFi companies, specifically GMX 

[32:52] The GMX protocol for advanced capital providers allows for selective positioning and efficient price discovery.

[35:13] Upcoming developments in the DeFi space, such as Carbon

[37:41] The potential of derivatives on decentralised exchanges: incorporating pricing models into derivatives

[41:43] How projects looking for a market maker can get in touch with Keyrock


Further resources