In this AMA, leaders from four prominent BTCFi projects shared their latest achievements and upcoming plans ahead of Devcon in Thailand on the 11th of November. The discussion covered recent growth milestones, innovative launches on the horizon, and the importance of Asia's crypto ecosystem.

Panelists also explored BTCFi’s role in supporting Bitcoin’s network sustainability and their goals for Devcon in Bangkok. Check out the highlights to discover the insights and strategies shaping the future of BTCFi.

X (Twitter) Spaces: Heading to ReDeFining Bitcoin

Speakers:

• Kai-Thai - KT : Co-Founder @ Yala

• Ivan: CMO @ StakeStone

• João Simões: CEO & Co-Founder @ InceptionLRT

• Gafoor Khan: Core Founder @ ZeroLend

Index:

1. Project Leader Introductions and Backgrounds
2. BTCfi Impact on Bitcoin Network Sustainability
3. DevCon Thailand Expectations and Goals
4. ZeroLend Updates
5. Inception Funding Announcement and Meta LRTs
6. StakeStone Vault Launch and BTC Products
7. Yalla Testnet Progress
8. Closing Remarks

Project Leader Introductions and Backgrounds

• KT introduces himself as Yalla’s co-founder and provides background on his experience as a data scientist and early-stage investor at Binance Labs:

"Before co-founding Yalla, I was working for Binance Labs on the early-stage VC team, essentially investing in infrastructure, middleware, and DeFi-related deals."

• Ivan describes his role as StakeStone’s CMO, with previous experience at BNB Chain:

"I was in CEXs, then into layer 1s, and now I'm at StakeStone since the start of this year."

• João shares his 10-year crypto journey, beginning with Bitcoin mining in 2013 and continuing into venture capital in Silicon Valley:

"I started with Bitcoin mining around 2013, so actually it's been about 11 years now, and then I worked at a VC in San Francisco."

• Gafoor introduces himself as ZeroLend’s co-founder, focusing on marketing and growth, with six years in the crypto industry:

"My role is geared towards marketing and growth at ZeroLend. I handle almost everything non-tech, like BD, partnerships, content, and marketing."

BTCFi Impact on Bitcoin Network Sustainability

• João explains why he believes BTCFi’s impact on Bitcoin’s network sustainability won’t be a critical issue in the near term:

"At least for the next one or two years, I don’t see this problem happening as badly as you put it in the question. BTC holders are risk-averse, and it will still take a lot of time for them to move to DeFi protocols."

• KT discusses the potential for integrating miner revenue models into BTCFi protocols to support network security:

"My view is we have to integrate miners' revenue models into BTCFi…giving BTC miners an incentive by allocating part of the fees generated from BTCFi back to their wallets."

• Gafoor elaborates on the issue, highlighting the importance of expanding Bitcoin’s role in DeFi:

"The expansion of Bitcoin across DeFi is essential. It helps onboard BTC holders and could bring more BTC whales into the DeFi space."

• Ivan outlines StakeStone’s approach to balancing BTCFi growth with miner revenue:

"With BTCFi solutions gaining traction, BTC assets may still serve as a source of activity on the Bitcoin blockchain, supporting both DeFi growth and miner revenue."

Devcon Thailand Expectations and Goals

• João emphasizes Asia’s significance for InceptionLRT, noting the time spent in the region and its impact on their business:

"This year, I spent almost 10 months in Asia, mainly traveling between Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, and Korea…all our partnerships pretty much come from here."

• Ivan highlights Thailand’s high crypto adoption rate and the country’s regulatory support for DeFi:

"Thailand has a dynamic market with a high crypto adoption rate. We want to position ourselves within this rapidly growing market and align with communities highly receptive to DeFi and BTCFi."

• KT outlines his Devcon priorities, including maintaining partnerships and exploring the local culture:

"My priority would be twofold: maintaining relationships with partners and exploring Thailand to understand the local culture and people’s appetite for crypto."

• Gafoor explains the importance of in-person events for identifying industry trends and growth opportunities:

"When you visit these conferences, you get insights on where the biggest opportunity lies. It helps us understand industry perspectives that aren’t always visible on Crypto Twitter."

ZeroLend Updates

• Gafoor reports on ZeroLend’s BTC market success since its September launch, including a target to reach $1B in TVL:

"We launched this BTC-only market in September and have already reached around $100 million in TVL. Our next target is around a billion dollars in the BTC markets."

• Gafoor describes ZeroLend’s high collateral ratio and leverage capabilities:

"It’s a pool with up to 97% collateral ratio, allowing users to take a looped position of up to 10x. We see a lot of growth and believe we’ve found a product-market fit._"

Inception Funding Announcement and Meta LRTs

• João announces a new 8-figure funding deal with a European family office, expected to launch soon:

"We recently closed a big funding deal with a European family office, and it’s going to be live in a matter of one to two weeks."

• João provides details on the upcoming Meta LRTs feature, allowing deposits across multiple infrastructures for optimal yields:

"We are working on Meta LRTs where, with one deposit, it’s split between infrastructures like Eigen, Symbiotic, and Karak to get the best yields for users."

StakeStone Vault Launch and BTC Products

• Ivan announces StakeStone’s upcoming vault launch with limited capacity and a yield-bearing BTC product:

"We’re rolling out a StakeStone Vault this Thursday night, Asia time. It has limited capacity, so this is the alpha for you to join."

• Ivan teases a major announcement expected during Devcon and additional DeFi products set for December/January:

"We’ll also have a huge announcement either this Friday or next Monday during Devcon. Later, we’re moving into new DeFi products scheduled for December or January."

Yalla Testnet Progress

• KT shares progress on Yalla’s testnet, with 124 BTC staked and $6B in YU stablecoins minted:

"The testnet has been live for three weeks, with 124 BTC staked and around $6 billion worth of YU stablecoins minted."

• KT outlines key milestones, including a January mainnet launch and a planned token launch in Q2 2024:

"The mainnet launch is planned for January with a TVL campaign, and we’re aiming for a token launch in Q2, around April."

Closing Remarks

• Staking Circle expresses gratitude for the insights shared, encouraging the audience to follow the developments from each team:

"Thank you very much for joining everyone. I hope you enjoyed the space, and best of luck at Devcon and with all the milestones ahead."