June 01 2021
FTX – Building Crytpo Exchanges FTX and Serum with Sam Bankman-Fried
About the episode
Kevin chats with FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried. FTX is a cryptocurrency exchange that offers derivatives, options, volatility products, and leveraged tokens. Serum, created by FTX, is a decentralized exchange (DEX) and ecosystem that brings unprecedented speed and low transaction costs to decentralized finance. It is built on Solana and is completely permissionless.
About our guest
Topics covered
Links from the episode
Show notes
What are FTX and Project Serum, and why do we need more decentralized crypto exchanges?[00:53]
How did Sam get started in the world of crypto?[05:08]
What opportunity did Sam identify in the crypto market when he was working in arbitrage?[08:14]
How did this arbitrage opportunity fluctuate between 2017 and 2019?[09:58]
What frustrations with the status quo of crypto trading coaxed Sam into the consumer market?[12:06]
What value was Sam hoping consumers would find in FTX?[15:38]
Did embracing Solana early on bring FTX an influx of new users?[17:10]
“Come for the SOL, stay for the DOGE.”[17:36]
What problems did embracing Solana help solve?[18:13]
How fast should DeFi be?[25:54]
Why was the Serum Project created, and how does it differ from FTX proper?[30:22]
What’s the function of Serum’s token? How is it earned and staked?[34:15]
What’s the function of FTX’s token, and how is it sourced?[35:16]
What is one of the most interesting FTX features not currently available on FTX US?[35:58]
How are shares tracked and verified behind the scenes at FTX?[37:55]
Crypto projects Sam finds interesting.[47:47]
What really determines the market cap for a token?[49:42]
Where does Sam see FTX and Serum in the next five years or so?[53:13]
