Uniswap Labs Is Building the Full Crypto Stack

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The latest Talking Tokens podcast 🎙️

For the Thursday Talking Tokens episode, I sat down withsat down with Mary-Catherine “MC” Lader, President and COO of Uniswap Labs. Uniswap is behind the world’s largest decentralized exchange and recently launched Unichain, a new layer-2 blockchain built to optimize trading and liquidity.

We discuss Mary’s journey from Goldman Sachs to BlackRock, where she founded the digital assets division in 2015 and led early innovation in tokenization. Now at Uniswap, MC shares her vision for simplifying DeFi, why the team launched Unichain, how the Uniswap API is unlocking new use cases, and what’s needed to bring institutional capital and new users on-chain.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Why DeFi is here to stay
1:02 MC’s journey from BlackRock to Uniswap
6:50 First impressions and joining a 10-person team
9:55 Why institutions are now entering DeFi
11:05 What Unichain solves that other L2s don’t
13:30 The UX problem in crypto
15:55 Uniswap V4 as a developer platform
16:50 The power of the new Uniswap API
18:50 The rise of tokenization and stablecoins
21:00 Why Uniswap is betting on self-custody
26:00 How Uniswap thinks about compliance and privacy
34:15 MC’s mission: making finance universally accessible
42:00 Final advice: stay aligned with users, ignore price noise

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Money and people moves

The biggest updates regarding new hires or teams that raised capital, moved money or did a little bit of both.

1. Larry Cermak transitions from CEO of The Block to president, with its CRO taking over

2. Liz Yang departs Azuki after serving as its chief growth officer

3. Crypto “L3” Chain B3 acquires PC startup, unveils desktop with ‘Destroy’ button (Blockworks)

4. Polygon co-founder spins off to launch independent zero-knowledge project ZisK (The Block)

Talking points for the road

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

1. DOJ seizes record $225 million in crypto tied to global 'pig butchering' scams (CNBC)

2. JPMorgan Chase partners with Coinbase to launch deposit token for institutional clients (Fortune)

3. Companies Using Debt to Buy BTC Could ‘Hurt Bitcoin’: Anthony Scaramucci (Decrypt)

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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.