dYdX’s President on Perps & The Future of Decentralized Trading

Welcome back to Talking Tokens. While the public markets were shut over the weekend — as usual — it was eventful an eventful few days for crypto traders…to say the least.

The crypto market was doing its thing (going up and down and back up again.) So we thought, maybe it’s a good time to share this dYdX episode where we dive into perpetual trading, social trading and more.

Of course, NFA. DYOR. You know the drill.

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For this week’s Tuesday episode, I interviewed Eddie Zhang, President of dYdX. Eddie shares his journey from product building at Meta (Facebook) and founding a Y Combinator-backed social startup to leading at dYdX, one of the world’s largest decentralized perpetuals exchanges.

We break down how dYdX integrates social trading and community tools, the launch of Telegram trading bots, and an ambitious roadmap that brings real-world assets and new on-chain products to DeFi. Eddie discusses how smaller group chats drive trust and engagement, why UI/UX is critical for retail growth, and dYdX’s approach to competing in a crowded derivatives market.

The episode explores the unique challenges and opportunities for consumer crypto adoption, product defenseability, and how dYdX is positioning to scale with both institutional market makers and everyday traders.

Talking Tokens episodes are released on Spotify and Apple Podcasts at 6AM EST or YouTube at 8AM EST every Tuesday and Thursday. Listen in!

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Money and people moves

1. Tom Lee's BitMine Adds $838 Million More in Ethereum Amid Market Chaos (Decrypt)

2. Crypto markets rebound after $19 billion wipeout leaves traders reeling (Fortune)

3. Strategy Bought $27M in Bitcoin at $123K Before Crypto Crash (CoinDesk)

Talking points for the road

Crypto-focused headlines or research that caught my eye…and should catch yours, too.

1. Citi targets 2026 launch for crypto custody service as Wall Street dives deeper into digital assets (CNBC)

2. Farage Says UK Falling Behind on Crypto, Needs Rules Soon (Bloomberg)

3. Akash Network to deprecate its Cosmos chain, begin search for new network (The Block)

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Please note that this content is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Any views shared should not be considered financial advice, nor should it be used to make investment decisions. Cryptocurrencies are high risk and you should consult a financial professional before making any financial decisions. Make sure you do your own research. We may have a direct or indirect financial interest in content mentioned in this newsletter.