Instead of Announcing a Whitepaper, He Shipped a Protocol

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For the Thursday Talking Tokens episode, I sat down with Misha Putiatin, co-founder of Symbiotic — the cross-chain staking protocol that raised $29M in April from Pantera, Coinbase Ventures, and 100+ angels.

Rather than announcing with a whitepaper, Symbiotic launched with a product in hand. Now it’s live across 16 networks. Misha dives deep into why staking infrastructure today is broken and how Symbiotic is enabling universal staking without one-size-fits-all assumptions.

We also talk about developer culture, what most people get wrong about blockchain security, and how to break out of the crypto bubble to reach real users.

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 – Intro: Who is Misha & what is Symbiotic
1:02 – Symbiotic’s $29M raise: not the focus here
3:00 – What universal staking really means
4:15 – The origin story: 25 devs, 16 networks
6:00 – Why Symbiotic launched product-first, not with hype
9:15 – “Whitepaper drops” vs actually building
11:00 – How building has changed across cycles
13:00 – Why audits cost millions (and why they matter)
15:00 – What “universal” staking means in practice
17:00 – Are protocols coming to Symbiotic — or vice versa?
19:00 – How big can this get?
21:00 – The challenge of one-size-fits-all security
23:00 – Where today’s staking systems fall short
25:00 – Breaking the crypto echo chamber
27:00 – Is blockchain security fundamentally broken?
29:00 – Why people need to look under the hood
30:00 – What the $29M raise will actually fund
33:00 – Dev culture: what people don’t understand
35:00 – The long-term vision for staking infrastructure
37:00 – What it’ll take to coordinate cross-chain security
38:00 – Multichain future: inevitable or idealistic?
40:00 – Final advice from Misha: don’t rush the story

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Money and people moves

The biggest updates regarding money moves.

1. Lolli is being acquired by Thesis, the venture studio behind Bitcoin-native successes such as Fold, Mezo, and tBTC

2. Coinbase Acquires Token Management Platform LiquiFi as Exchange Aims to Expand Its Services (Decrypt)

3. Solana treasury firm DeFi Development Corp disclosed $112.5 million private placement deal to fund SOL purchases (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.