This episode hits the full spectrum of blockchain, folks. From the efficacy and need of memecoins to the ever-growing importance of the physical infrastructure layer, Richard Shorten from GlobalStake joined Quile and A-Bomb in a wide-ranging discussion.
It’s a long episode - and the guys felt the simpatico from Rich and very much enjoyed the amiable conversation. A-Bomb also had an internet issue halfway through and dropped out briefly.
Overall, the conversation then grew into the significance of storage solutions, the challenges of institutional adoption, and the future of staking in a rapidly changing landscape. Shorten shared insights from his background in telecom and how it shapes his approach to building infrastructure for digital assets. For example, the recent AWS outage highlighted the risks of centralization in crypto infrastructure.
“We are the internet plumbers,” Shorten says.
Show Takeaways:
GlobalStake aims to build a decentralized infrastructure for crypto, moving away from reliance on cloud services.
They are the tech for big, institutional players. Think ETFs - but down to the infra layer with nodes and validators, and that really bespoke approach to creating a network.
GlobalStake emphasizes the physical layer of infrastructure and finds it is crucial for the long-term success of crypto.
Shorten notes that decentralization is important, but there are trade-offs between decentralization and performance: “The physical layer matters.”
Storage solutions are becoming increasingly critical in the blockchain ecosystem.
Institutions are starting to recognize the value of crypto beyond just Bitcoin. Shorten believes that meme coins play a role in testing and evolving the crypto ecosystem.
The future of staking will involve more partnerships and outsourcing of technical functions, where business processes and compliance will become more important as institutions enter the crypto space.
“Honestly, as someone who’s been through technology, finance, and as a lawyer -– I love this stuff. This is like a puzzle. It’s a never-ending puzzle of complexity. Right. And all the issues that you highlight are very real ones,” Shorten replied to Quile when talking about dynamics between protocols, foundations, and dev teams.
Richard Shorten | Chief Alchemist
Rich is the founding partner of venture firm Silvermine Capital and co-founder of GlobalStake. He has been a board member of several internet infrastructure companies, including those listed on each of the NYSE and NASDAQ. Rich is a former attorney at the law firm of Cravath, Swaine and Moore. Rich has taught the National Ski Patrol, but nevertheless skis at reckless speeds. He is also a skilled poker player but is generally eaten alive by the quants who are half his age and play GTO. LinkedIn |
