Roundtable: "The Importance of Guilds in the Web3 Ecosystem"

Guests:

• Eden, Co-Founder of AARK Digital
• Ritwik Rudra, Co-Founder of SYNTHR
• Brian Gallagher, Co-founder of Partisia Blockchain

Top 3 Key Takeaways from Our Guests

1. "There are still significant adoption hurdles for DeFi"

The speakers emphasized that user experience (UX) issues are the primary obstacle to the wider adoption of DeFi solutions. They pointed out that challenges such as wallet experiences and incentives still pose significant adoption challenges. Additionally, they suggested that there is a pressing need for user support in the DeFi space, and highlighted the importance of providing more customer support to help users better understand these tools.


2. "Having multiple blockchains is necessary for innovation and quality improvement"

During our discussion about the future of the crypto space and its impact on DeFi, the speakers had differing opinions. While one speaker wasn't convinced that RWA, AI, and SocialFi would have a lasting impact, others saw great potential in these areas and believed synergies could exist. Additionally, there was a debate about the need for new blockchains and whether Ethereum was the only one required. However, some speakers felt that multiple blockchains were necessary to drive innovation, create solutions that challenge other systems, eliminate issues such as high fees, and give builders more control.


3. "Creating a seamless on-chain experience is crucial for retail users and investors"

The speakers raised an important issue regarding DeFi. There are several problems with DeFi, such as high slippage costs, lack of liquidity, and VCs controlling tokenomics, which results in retail investors being excluded from participating. This makes it less attractive for retail investors to engage with DeFi. Therefore, DeFi protocols must continue to focus on interoperability and building efficient liquidity layers. This will lead to wider adoption and democratization of DeFi.

Shaping AI Ownership

• Guest: Whitney Gibbs, Founder of Ringfence
• Host: Szabolcs Gergely, Podcast & YouTube Host at Morningstar Ventures

Top 3 Takeaways from Our Guest:

1. AI has positively contributed to our daily lives.

To kick off the conversation, we asked Whit what he thinks about AI’s effects on our daily lives. He explained that even though there are some negative effects on the media or social platforms, he finds AI’s contribution to our lives a significantly positive tool. He highlighted how AI improved medicine in recognizing unwanted cells or in the creative space and how AI can help somebody with a good idea who lacks graphic or content creation skills transform their vision into visual content.  

2. The AI industry must have a platform where creators are paid for their work. 

Whit carried on the conversation and highlighted that even though there are countless applications for Generative AI, the big companies are still unable to use them due to the unknown origin of the content. Companies are afraid of using content where the original creator is unknown or hard to determine as that could bring uncertainties from a legal point of view; therefore, a platform where the creators are paid for their work and the copyright is well established is a must to move this industry in the right direction. 

3. AI regulation should not get in the way of industry development. 

Finally, Whit explained that navigating AI regulations is not as complicated as it may sound. Existing regulations are a work in progress, and more is to be expected. However, if we apply common sense and operate in the AI industry as we would operate in more traditional business considering asset ownership and copyright, AI regulations should not get in the way of the development of this industry.

Guests:

• Emile, Co-Founder of XDEFI Wallet
• Gabby Dizon, Co-Founder of Yield Guild Games
• Altcoin Sherpa, Angel Investor & Influencer

Top 3 Key Takeaways from Our Guests

1. The following crypto cycle could be potentially more significant due to mainstream adoption.

During the roundtable discussion, our guests shared their reactions to the latest news in the cryptocurrency world. They discussed the approval of ETF and the upcoming halving in April. Although predicting the market's movement is complex, the guests agreed that crypto is becoming more accessible and inclusive. This leads to a growing community and an influx of capital, especially in anticipation of the next significant event. 

However, the guests anticipate that the next few months will still be turbulent, particularly regarding the price of Bitcoin. The Federal Reserve rates will continue to have implications for the macro environment and affect the market's movement.

2. Infrastructure and DeFi projects will need seamless integration to host the new influx of users.

We dove deeper into various crypto industries and what our guests thought about the development. Given Gabby’s background in gaming, he says that price adoption and crypto adoption will drive teams to create better products than they had in the previous cycle. With his background in wallets and infrastructure, Emiel added that user experience is vital in gaming, and companies like his need to ensure that wallet integrations are seamless for games to stay competitive. 

Segueing into wallets and infrastructure, Emiel also said that DeFi protocols would be on the sidelines in the upcoming year as the audience changes. DeFi will have to be democratized and made easier to use. The need for multi-chain-friendly tools and improving the user experience will be the way forward in the upcoming cycle. 

3. "This cycle's all-time high will be very different from what we saw in 2021"

In 2024, we can expect to see the growth of various narratives. Our guests all agree that last year, the trend was very much around SocialFi and NFTs. Since October 2023, more people have been talking about EVMs and RWAs, which also reflects the big projects in the market. With this being said and the trends foreseen in the coming months, Sherpa states that he is bullish and sees us reaching an all-time high in 2024/2025. 

However, how we reach an all-time high will be very different from how it happened in 2021. We will see more gradual growth in this cycle than sudden candle spikes. With that, all speakers advise people to continue to research, understand what is happening in the market, and take caution of people’s advice. 

The Secret of Good Data

• Guest: William Simonin, Founder and CEO of Ta-da
• Host: Szabolcs Gergely, Podcast & YouTube Host at Morningstar Ventures

Top 3 Takeaways from Our Guest:

1. AI will develop from a “plug-in” to a tool we use in daily life.

To kick off the conversation, we asked William what he expects from AI in the future. William explained that AI is here to stay based on what he has seen in the past 5 to 7 years, along with everything around the 2023 AI boom. Right now, a lot of AI is mainly used as a “plug-in,” but in the future, AI will evolve to accompany us in our daily lives by helping us with chores and ways to make us more productive. This will mainly be fueled by the increase in usage among individuals and larger companies– for that, high-quality data and widespread recognition are needed for AI to reach its highest potential.


2. Ta-da is an application that enables the creation of custom data sets.

Diving deeper into the project, William explains that Ta-da aims to be a one-stop shop for big companies that need quality data. He goes on to share that Ta-da was created because of the expensive and bad-quality data currently on the market. Together with its community, Ta-da can create voice, text, or visual data. The current Beta app uses gamification to crowdsource and gather voice data from various users, which is then stored and authenticated on the blockchain via app users.

3. MultiversX’s strong community and fast transactions fuel Ta-da’s ecosystem.

William shared two reasons when asked why the team chose MultiversX as its underlying ecosystem. Firstly, the MultiversX community is close-knit and highly engaged, vital in any project's development. Secondly, it has fast transactions with low transaction fees. These two factors are pivotal in the future as the Ta-da will require a high output once it’s operational. William also shared that the team is looking into creating their blockchain, a type of L2, to further reduce costs and ensure market competitiveness.

Guests:

• Pavel Bains, Executive Producer of MixMob
• Nico del Pino, Co-Founder of OLA GG
• Borislav Hrinchev, CEO of MSV.GG

Three Key Takeaways from Our Guests:

1. Guilds have evolved their focus from scholarships to building engaged communities and providing hands-on initiatives.

To start the roundtable, our guests were asked to define a guild in their own words. All our guests agreed that guilds had evolved their focus from scholarships that helped early on adoption within the gaming space to building engaged communities and directly supporting projects through hands-on initiatives. This includes assisting with user acquisition in target regions/demographics, localization of content and marketing, and identifying issues early by facilitating extensive testing and feedback cycles before product launch. Ola GG and MSV.GG, being guilds and working closely with games and other crypto projects, agreed that community, infrastructure, economic support, and distribution were key elements of today’s guilds.


2. Guilds can grant access to expert communities whose skills can aid in go-to-market efforts.

Our guests moved on to talk about the relationship between guilds and games. They stressed that partnering with specialized guilds with expertise in specific regions, languages, or genres enables web3 projects to enhance user acquisition strategies and distribution. This approach proves more effective in reaching niche target audiences than general guilds. Additionally, it grants early access to smaller testing communities associated with these specialized guilds, facilitating the identification of bugs or suggesting improvements before a wider launch. This collaborative effort contributes to an overall improvement in product quality. These engaged guild testing communities' structured and detailed feedback proves invaluable, particularly for early-stage projects.


3. Projects released great alphas and are preparing for more community initiatives.

To end the roundtable, our guests revealed a couple of exciting alphas. MixMob, the game is in a great state, and last week, the team launched their whitepaper paper along with a video. They are also kicking off their “Flip web2” campaign, which aims to garner more attention to the future of web3 and all its benefits. Ola GG introduced its leaderboard and community ranking to track merit and engagement. They will continue to work on Ola GGs on this initiative and more reward programs.

Furthermore, they will travel around Latin America and Spain to meet their community face-to-face and, finally, MSV.GG will be pushing the next recruitment cycle soon. The team will also work closely with Fusionist, BitsCrunch, and Apeiron. You can follow all these initiatives on the project's discords and Twitter channels.

Combatting Fraud with AI nad Data

• Guest: Vijay Pravin, Founder and CEO of BitsCrunch
• Host: Szabolcs Gergely, Podcast & YouTube Host at Morningstar Ventures

Top 3 Takeaways from Our Guest:

1. bitsCrunch helps clients be compliant with AI as the underlying technology.

To kick off the interview, we asked Vijay why bitsCrunch is an asset to the crypto industry. Vijay highlighted one of the most common but overlooked aspects that slows adoption and institutional integration – Fraud! bitsCrunch, with AI as the underlying technology, offers monitoring and checking transactions and asset authenticity to ensure that users and companies get what they pay. They monitor the market and the transactions and flag any suspicious activities like wash trading to ensure that the price of an asset is not artificially increased and users will get the value they are paying for. 

2. bitsCrunch will offer services for users and companies alike.

Vijay explained that although bitsCrunch services sound like the target customers are companies, users can also benefit from it. In the case of a company, while with their easy-to-integrate API big volume data can be monitored, helping in filtering malicious activities and projecting upcoming trends, dedicated platforms will also be put in place for single users. He mentioned that, for example, the Unleash NFT platform will allow people to check the authenticity of the NFT they want to buy.


3. bitsCrunch will continue to monitor the Metaverse. 

Toward the end of the interview, one of our audience members asked if bitsCrunch would also work in the Metaverse. Although there is no current plan to be in the Metaverse, Vijay stated that, given their product capability along with being an active “investigator” of transactions, markets, and activity, they aim to be present in the Metaverse with a sharp focus on upcoming cross-chain transactions and cross-community game activities of player to provide gaming studios accurate data about their gamers preferences to improve the services they offer.

The Next Generation Gaming

• Guest: Ike T., CEO of Fusionist 
• Host: Szabolcs Gergely, Podcast & YouTube Host at Morningstar Ventures

Top 3 Takeaways from Our Guest:

1. “Data ownership is not the most important element of Web3 Gaming”.

We kicked off the Twitter Spaces by asking Ike about the importance of data ownership for Web3 gamers. Ike explained he doesn’t think data ownership in gaming is very important because, according to his gaming experience, fun, and enjoyability is the key factor for gamers to continue playing – which is an element many Web3 game producers are still trying to navigate and integrate into their games.

2. “In the future, Layer 1 and Layer 2 infrastructures will support complex Web3 games.”

The conversation then dove deeper into the complexity of games and whether blockchain infrastructures can support them. Ike explained that at the moment, blockchain infrastructures will not be able to support a fully complex game and will need to be built on both Web2 and Web3.
For example, Fusionist is not built 100% on the blockchain and consists of Web2 elements. This was a conscious decision, as it was necessary for the game to compete with already existing traditional games. In the future, Ike believes that various Layer 1 or 2 infrastructures will be capable of hosting complex games, however, as at the moment, games need to be built on both traditional technologies and blockchain to ensure a smooth user experience.


3. “Fusionist welcomes new users to join and engage with its community”

To close off, Ike welcomed new users to engage with the Fusionist ecosystem. All one has to do is create an account and earn tokens by playing the game. Some smaller parts of the game, called exhibitions, are live and ready for play. The game is currently in the test phase, but will soon be released on Steam for everyone to enjoy.

Guests:

• Justin Colón, Head of Community at Ancient8
• Alper Çimik, CMO of Coin Muhendisi
• Abhinav Pathak, Research Partner at Woodstock Fund

 
Three Key Takeaways from Our Guests:

1. Emerging markets are embracing innovation, given their growing economic nature.

We started the conversation by asking our guests why cryptocurrency is significant in their local communities. In Vietnam, it's embraced due to being an emerging market with a sizable unbanked population. Additionally, the tech-savvy environment and a robust community of blockchain developers contribute to its popularity. India ranks second in crypto adoption due to its fast-growing economy, mobile-first approach, affordable internet, and widespread digital payment adoption across generations and income classes. Integrating NFTs is expected to engage further and monetize Indian users. In Turkey, the thriving crypto community drives numerous events and adoption efforts, prioritizing community engagement.

2. Regulation will affect people positively, but there is still a long way to go.

Considering the current rules and regulations, we wanted to hear our guests' thoughts on what's good and bad about them. All our guests agreed that regulations in their areas are moving positively. However, there are still many different rules in different countries and some unclear areas that governments need to sort out so that blockchain can be used for various purposes. The speakers also think it's important for countries to work together globally to ensure blockchain is open for everyone, not just limited to one region.

3. Education and making products relatable will help global blockchain adoption.

To close the roundtable, we inquired about the main barriers to Web3 adoption in our guests' respective countries. All our guests agreed that education and user familiarity with the systems they engage with are key factors. They emphasized the importance of ensuring that the products are relatable to users through localization, encompassing all languages, and ensuring accessibility. Additionally, they highlighted the need for government support for both startups and users to enhance the appeal of blockchain. Another factor currently impacting adoption is the bear market, with the hope that we may witness increased adoption during a bull market.

The Cross-Chain Revolution

• Guest: Simon Harman, CEO & Co-Founder of Chainflip
• Host: Szabolcs Gergely, Podcast & YouTube Host at Morningstar Ventures

Top 3 Takeaways from Our Guest

1. Chainflip is a fully native cross-chain DEX.

At the start of the interview, Simon explained that Chainflip functions as a swap solution rather than a bridge. It adopts a similar approach to centralized exchanges, with its distinctive feature being the involvement of 150 independent validators distributed globally within the vault. This design choice ensures a high degree of decentralization for the swap process. The architecture of Chainflip also addresses the issue of elevated gas fees on the Ethereum blockchain. While it doesn't directly decrease these fees, users of Chainflip are exempt from paying gas fees for the actual swap. Their only financial commitment lies in the transaction fee incurred when transferring funds from their wallet to Chainflip's vault in preparation for the swap. In essence, Chainflip goes beyond a mere bridge and can be better described as a "fully native cross-chain DEX."


2. User-friendliness and simplified onboarding will accelerate DEX onboarding.

We asked Simon how decentralized exchanges (DEX) can get more market share. He shared that DEXs are becoming more user-friendly lately, while CEXs are becoming a bigger hassle to set up with increased KYC and verification processes. Nevertheless, he doesn’t think DEXs will completely take over, as buying crypto with Fiat is only possible using a CEX. On the other hand, crypto-to-crypto swaps will predominantly be processed on DEXs. Simon gives the example of Uniswap, which improves its interface and simplifies the user experience for new members. Efforts, as such,  might accelerate the rate at which people switch from CEX to DEX in the future.


3. Comprehensive market scans help Chainflip select prime chains for their ecosystem.

Finally, Simon explained that the team is constantly scanning the market. This helps them choose which new chains to add to their ecosystem. The main goal is to ensure they can save money for users. Implementing a chain on Chainflips ecosystem only makes sense if they can offer the users a way to save on gas fees or better prices. For example, implementing Phantom wouldn’t make sense as the on-chain liquidity is not big enough. However, they believe Chainflip will significantly impact the Solana network with prices and gas fees; therefore, that is where most of the focus goes.

Guests:

• Ian Estrada, Co-founder of XLD Finance
• Michael Eerhart, CPO at Skynet Trading
• Ahmed Serghini, Co-founder of Hatom Protocol

Three Key Takeaways from Our Guests:

1. There is still a lack of tooling in the DeFi space.

We kicked off the spaces by asking our guests about the state of DeFi in the industry. The guests shared that the user experience offered by DeFi apps still needs improvement, which many projects are trying to improve daily. Another trend that the speakers have been seeing is that liquidity has been sparse in decentralized exchange ever since the FTX scandal. Furthermore, DeFi did see a surge in use after the FTX scandal. However, that has subsided almost 1 year after the event, and we see more people returning to centralized exchanges as if nothing ever happened. Finally, the lack of tooling in the DeFi space is another hurdle to overcome, and once that happens, we will see more DeFi adoption from institutions. 

2. Projects need to react to a fast-changing regulatory environment.

When asked about regulation, our guests agreed it could impact the crypto industry in two ways – at the project level and user acquisition and retention level. One way regulators can essentially “choke” DeFi is by restricting the onramp and offramp processes, which would hinder the transition from fiat to crypto. If this were to happen, then there might not be any real-world value to the assets classifying them as computer money. 
Projects must react to regulation, and our guests say this could happen in two ways. However, there might also be other people in the DeFi space who view regulation as an opportunity, as it can bring legitimacy, consumer protection, and more visibility to their projects. 

3. AI can potentially enhance the user experience of DeFi protocols.

At the end of the session, an audience member asked our guests about the integration of AI in DeFi. All guests agree that AI has the potential to enhance user experience and hopefully make it easier for users to understand how some of these rather “complicated” protocols and products work. AI agents could help with trades and offer educational content on storing crypto, trading, and using various functions properly.