Ethena's L1 Shows Fat Apps Are on the Rise. Can They Beat Fat Protocols? - Ep. 804

Unchained

Laura Shin

News, Tech News, Business News

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 21 March 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Blockchains were supposed to capture the majority of the value in crypto. But what if that’s wrong? For years, the Fat Protocols Thesis argued that blockchains would be the biggest winners. But new data suggests that apps like Uniswap, Ethena, and others are now out-earning many networks. Are we watching the rise of “Fat Apps” instead? On this episode, Ryan Watkins, Co-founder at Syncracy Capital, talks about: Why the biggest apps are generating more revenue than many layer 1s Why Ethena is launching its own blockchain What this means for Ethereum, Solana & other L1s How blockchains can compete on value capture Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! BitKey: Use code UNCHAINED for 20% off FalconX Mantle Guest Ryan Watkins, Co-founder at Syncracy Capital Links Unchained: Ethena Labs and Securitize to Launch New EVM Blockchain for DeFi Syncracy Capital: Applications Capture Fees, Blockchains Store Value Hansolar’s tweet Pump.fun launches its own DEX Timestamps: 👋0:00 Intro 💰 2:12 Why apps are out-earning the blockchains they run on 🔗 5:44 Ethena’s move: why it’s launching its own chain 📈 8:33 The rise of “Fat Apps” and what it means for crypto 🚀 12:50 How today’s crypto founders think differently from past builders 🏆 15:51 The blockchain architectures that will dominate ⚖️ 22:32 Whether L1s can compete in this new environment 📊 241:27 How blockchains accrue value and why MEV isn’t the best metric 📰 31:00 News Recap Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	When I say that the chat app thesis to an extent is an evolution of the L1 trade,
0:08.0	what we're getting at is that why do these projects want to expand horizontally anyways?
0:15.0	It's because that's the biggest TAM.
0:21.3	Hi everyone, welcome to Unchained, your no-hap resource for all things crypto. I'm your host,
0:26.3	Laura Shin. We are now featuring quotes from listeners on the show. Today we have a comment
0:30.8	responding to my interview with Joe McCann on meme coins, Bitcoin, and Solana. On X, Heavenly
0:36.2	Pulse writes, solid analysis, technical fundamentals
0:39.5	drive long-term value, not meme cycles. Bitcoin leads while Solana builds infrastructure, exactly as
0:45.6	it should be. To have your comment featured, write a review of the podcast overall, or leave
0:50.4	a comment on our video on YouTube or X. This is the March 21st, 2025 episode of Unchained.
0:57.5	Bitkey is the Bitcoin wallet from the team behind Square and Cash app.
1:02.1	It's the first two of three multi-sick hardware wallet with recovery tools that replace the need for a seed phrase.
1:08.4	Get 20% off with code unchained.
1:12.6	Imagine an AI that speaks crypto and does the work of a team of analysts.
1:17.9	Introducing Focal by Falcon X, bringing clarity to a world of noise. Visit askfocal.com.
1:25.8	Mantil is building the future of on-chain finance. Experience its enhanced index fund,
1:31.1	mantle banking, and mantlex. Visit group.mantle.xy to learn more. Today's guest is Ryan Watkins,
1:38.9	co-founder at Synchracy Capital. Welcome, Ryan. Thanks for having me all, Laura.
1:43.7	This week, Athena and Securitize
1:45.8	announced that in Q2, they are going to launch a new blockchain that will be EVM-compatible
1:50.5	and cater to institutional investors. It also already has a number of DFI partnerships out of the
1:56.4	gate. This announcement actually appears to be part of a larger trend, or at least glimmers of this
	...

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