July 20 2021

Zeta – DeFi Options Platform and Solana Season Hackathon Grand Prize Winner

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Zeta – DeFi Options Platform and Solana Season Hackathon Grand Prize Winner

Zeta – DeFi Options Platform and Solana Season Hackathon Grand Prize Winner

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About the episode

Kevin chats with Tristan, core contributor to the Zeta platform. Zeta is an under-collateralized DeFi options platform built on the Solana blockchain. The project is also the Grand Prize Winner of the Solana Season Hackathon.

About our guest
Tristan

Tristan

Tristan is a core contributor at @ZetaMarkets. He is an ex-ML scientist and mechatronic engineer.

Show notes

What is Zeta Markets, and why should you make sure it’s on your radar?[00:28]

A very simple primer on how options work.[00:55]

How did a mechatronics engineer like Tristan get involved in the world of crypto, and what drove his involvement in Zeta Markets?[03:04]

From a programmer’s standpoint, how “difficult” is Ethereum smart contract language Solidity? [08:30][08:30]

Why was Solana chosen as the blockchain upon which Zeta Markets was built as opposed to other options, like Ethereum?[09:19]

How does Zeta Markets interact with Serum’s orderbook infrastructure?[11:36]

Was Zeta Markets built entirely for the Solana Season Hackathon, or was there a lengthy prep time?[13:43]

Of 13,000+ participants and over 350 projects submitted, Zeta Markets took first place in the Solana Season Hackathon. How did that feel?[15:12]

Was Zeta Markets built entirely for the Solana Season Hackathon, or was there a lengthy prep time?[13:43]

What can people expect from Zeta Markets when it launches for the public?[16:15]

What’s the max someone can leverage with Zeta Markets, and how fast are transactions?[18:15]

Why Zeta Markets probably wouldn’t work well on Ethereum or any blockchain with TPS slower than Solana.[19:21]

Thoughts on Ethereum scaling as Layer two solutions start rolling out, and if it might ever be acceptable for Zeta Markets’ purposes.[21:26]

Concerns about fragmentation of liquidity and ease of use with Ethereum that Solana doesn’t have to contend with.[23:01]

How has the Zeta Markets team been building community support?[27:28]

How does Zeta Markets make money?[29:24]

In the interests of security, how is the code for Zeta Markets audited? Is anyone currently auditing Solana’s Rust code?[30:47]

How might non-Solana native currencies operate in the Zeta Markets ecosystem?[33:27]

How can someone play with Zeta Markets Alpha using fake USDC right now just to see how it all works without any risk?[36:24]

For the Zeta Markets team, interface design, user experience, and overall product matter as much as functionality.[37:48]

Other Solana Hackathon projects that captured Tristan’s attention.[39:05]

Tristan’s thoughts on DAOs and how a DAO transition would play out for Zeta Markets. [40:39][40:39]

Final thoughts.[42:27]

People mentioned

Vitalik Buterin

Balaji S. Srinivasan

Naval Ravikant

Nick Szabo

Anatoly Yakovenko

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