Sam Kazemian is the founder of Frax, the fractional-algorithmic stablecoin protocol. After co-founding the decentralized Wikipedia startup Everipedia, Sam set out to pioneer the algorithmic stablecoin space. The FRAX stablecoin now has a market cap of over $2.6 billion, and the protocol’s FXS governance token is up 300% in the last year.

In this episode, we explore the Stablecoin Wars, in which different protocols compete for liquidity and composability in DeFi. Sam brings a 1st-person perspective into the developments surrounding UST and the recently launched 4pool on Curve, which consists of stablecoins UST, FRAX, USDT, and USDC.

A highlight of this conversation is Sam’s parable of an archetypal central bank, in which he cruises through a number of salient takes on money markets and macroeconomics. There is a lot to learn about this Cambrian explosion of financial technology, and Sam is a great teacher. Stick around to find out why walked away from this conversation bullish on Frax.

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Topics Covered:

0:00 Intro
3:30 Sam from Frax
7:50 The Stablecoin Narrative
13:45 The Central Bank Parable
24:45 Backing an Exchange Rate

28:10 Frax Analytics | What is Frax?
37:34 Frax Analytics | The Peg
42:30 Frax Analytics | Comparing
45:03 RSA Gets Frax-Pilled

49:42 MIM vs UST
53:16 The LUNA Token
56:41 Frax Roadmap | FPI

1:04:36 The 4pool
1:14:00 The Stablecoin Wars
1:18:35 What Happens Next?
1:23:20 Closing & Disclaimers

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Resources:

Sam on Twitter
https://twitter.com/samkazemian

Frax Finance
https://app.frax.finance/

Decentralized Finance and the Debt Cycles
https://academy.blue-swan.io/blog/decentralized-finance-and-the-debt-cycles

Market Share Chart
https://www.theblockcrypto.com/data/decentralized-finance/stablecoins/total-crypto-backed-and-algorithmic-stablecoin-supply

Do Kwon’s 4pool Tweet
https://twitter.com/stablekwon/status/1510021707377287170

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Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.

Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here:
https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/bankless-disclosures

FRAX & the 4pool Curve Takeover | Sam Kazemian

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