BeaconLayer Podcast

Accelerating Web3 builders, products, and networks.
Podcasting the conviction, craft, and scale behind them.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

The Ethereum L2 Squeeze

Much will come in the wake of Vitalik's declaration that "the original vision of L2s... no longer makes sense."

With the L1 scaling and blockspace now an abundant commodity, L2s and Alt-EVM chains must differentiate or get squeezed out 👇

~~ Analysis by @punk7954 ~~

Last month, Vitalik Buterin sparked debate with a blog post stating that "the original vision of L2s and their role in Ethereum no longer makes sense."

Days later, he sharpened the message:

> "If you make an EVM chain without an optimistic bridge to Ethereum (aka an alt L1), that's even worse. We don't friggin need more copypasta EVM chains, and we definitely don't need even more L1s. L1 is scaling and is going to bring lots of EVM blockspace."

As L1 scales, it becomes cheaper and more capable. Mainnet is becoming the blockchain that L2s aspired to become, without the complexities of L2 designs. This forces L2s and Alt-EVM L1s to differentiate or get squeezed out.

The Squeeze

The pressure has been building for months. L2 and Alt-EVM L1 tokens are down 80-90% from highs, with adoption plateauing once airdrops ended.

Last week Base announced it's leaving Optimism's Superchain, taking 97% of the collective's real economic value with it. The rationale: ship faster, reduce dependencies, and keep fees in-house.

Beyond recalibration, chains face revenue pressures as the industry matures. Blockspace is no longer scarce. Too many chains compete for users, turning differentiation into a commodity. Meanwhile, revenue-generating chains like Hyperliquid set a new standard, proving sustainable economics matter more than narrative.

The "gas fee only" model is breaking down. Chains must find a niche justifying their existence off Mainnet and generate revenue to sustain themselves.

How Chains Are Responding

While Vitalik's post served as a messaging wakeup call, months of rough metrics had already led EVM L1s and Ethereum L2s to seek deeper differentiation.

> Polygon: The Payments Stack. Even before Vitalik's post, Polygon pivoted to become a "revenue-generating blockchain company."

In January, @0xPolygon Labs announced $250M in acquisitions: Coinme (payments firm with money transmitter licenses) and Sequence (wallet infrastructure). These anchor the forthcoming "Open Money Stack," a framework for regulated stablecoin payments launching later this year.

Stablecoins see the most real-world adoption globally. USDC in Polymarket drives significant Polygon activity. Stablecoin transactions on Polygon outpace all other L2s, gaining speed from these acquisitions, prediction market growth, and the October 2025 Rio upgrade, which overhauled the chain's architecture for payment-specific performance.

Polygon hasn't explicitly tied this pivot to POL token value accrual yet, but the strategic direction is clear.

> Sonic: Vertical Integration. Alt-EVM L1 @SonicLabs takes a different approach. In their [early February post, Sonic announced it's abandoning the "gas fee only" model entirely. With blockspace commoditized, gas fees no longer sustain chains.

Sonic's solution: build and acquire core DeFi products—trading infrastructure, lending, liquidity provision, stablecoins, staking—to operate in-house. Revenue flows directly back to the S token rather than external apps.

Base serves as a cautionary tale, highlighting the dangers of relying on external parties to generate chain value.

Unlike Polygon, Sonic explicitly addresses token value accrual. Buybacks will only come when real protocol revenue develops from these integrated solutions. The sequencing matters. Optimism announced last month they'd allocate 50% of Superchain revenue to token buybacks, then their primary revenue vehicle left.

What Comes Next

@VitalikButerin by reiterating that existing L2s and EVM chains can bring new features to the table: Privacy (@aztecnetwork). App-specific efficiency. Ultra-low latency.

Expect chains to respond in three ways:

> Alt-L1s → Rollups. Some may follow Celo's path from last cycle, converting into rollups and trading sovereignty for tighter Ethereum alignment.

> Acquisitions. Well-capitalized chains will pursue acquisitions to accelerate pivots, as Polygon has done and Sonic suggests it will.

> Verticalization. More chains will pick a specific category and build infrastructure to own it.

We'll likely see buyback talk, but hopefully as a secondary priority. Chains announcing buybacks before making adjustments put the cart before the horse. The market will punish them if they lack revenue to support it.

The era of "we do everything" L2s is ending. What replaces it looks like Polygon's payments focus or Sonic's vertical integration: chains that identify their category, build revenue around it, and earn the right to reward holders. It's a step in the right direction, but will cause pain.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

“DA layers really differ across three dimensions: performance, programmability, and AI-native design — because on-chain AI can’t operate in a world measured in mere megabytes per second.”

@sachimiyasaki catches up with @michaelh_0g, Founder of @0G_labs, to break down how 0G compares with Celestia, Avail, and EigenDA: why throughput needs to increase by orders of magnitude, how to move beyond the broadcast bottleneck, and why a decentralized storage network is essential for ultra-fast data ingestion and retrieval.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

“After moving from Berlin to Silicon Valley, I found myself bored at a new school — so I started spending time at my dad’s SAP Lab: fast internet, endless reading, and the beginning of my love for technology.” Our host

@kenzimori sits down with @michaelh_0g (@0G_labs) to trace his origin story — from early curiosity and a growing obsession with tech to his path into Web3, and ultimately, the founding of his company.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

“Back in 2016–17, crypto felt like a true idea factory — hundreds of experiments, zero gatekeeping, and pure creative energy.” Our host

@dikshawells sits down with @michaelh_0g, Founder of @0G_labs, to explore one of the most exciting parts of building in Web3: a culture shaped by experimentation first. They also dive into how tokenization creates new ways to fund and sustain projects — including open-source work — beyond the limits of the traditional Web2 business model.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

This week’s episode features Michael Heinrich (@michaelh_0g), founder of 0GLabs (@0G_labs).

We dive into Michael’s journey from high school boredom to building 0G Labs, the first modular AI blockchain platform, and how an unconventional path shaped the way he thinks about leadership, focus, and company building.

The conversation explores how spiritual practices like meditation influenced Michael’s mindset as a founder, helping him build with more clarity, discipline, and long-term conviction.

Michael also breaks down the future of decentralized AI infrastructure, and why community-owned data and compute networks may become one of the most important foundations for the next era of artificial intelligence.

We dig into how 0G Labs is building AI blockchain tools and applications that connect decentralized networks, unlock data infrastructure, and make storage, machine learning, and AI systems more open for businesses and builders.

At its core, this episode is about the intersection of AI, crypto, data ownership, and founder psychology — and why the next wave of AI infrastructure may need to be decentralized from day one.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

“What if the real unlock for AI x crypto is not speculation — but proving intelligence can be trusted?”

@sachimiyasaki sits down with @dcbuilder for a deep dive into the intersection of AI and crypto, from DC’s work building the ZKML community to why zero-knowledge machine learning could become a core trust layer for AI on the internet.

They break down how ZKML makes it possible to prove that a machine learning model produced a specific output from specific inputs — without forcing everyone to rerun the full computation themselves.

The conversation also explores why this matters for model accountability, transparency, and verifiable AI at scale, plus the projects pushing the space forward, from Modulus Labs and Giza to EZKL and new research around proof of inference.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

“What if a Web3 identity starts less as a brand — and more as a challenge to yourself?”

@kenzimori catches up with @dcbuilder for a deep dive into the origin of the DC Builder name, pseudonymous identity, and why crypto culture made merit feel more important than background.

They break down how the 2021 analyst wave, DeFi Twitter, and the ability to be judged by ideas alone shaped the way DC entered the space — first as a researcher and writer, then as someone who wanted to become a builder.

The conversation also explores why “Builder” became a social forcing function, how pseudonyms create contrast and memorability, and why in Web3, what you think and what you build can matter more than who you are offline.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

“Why does Web3 research feel more alive than any other industry?”

@dikshawells joins @dcbuilder for a conversation on what makes crypto research so unique: the open debates, the public forums, and the fact that anyone can go from reading an EIP to DMing the people shaping Ethereum’s future.

They break down why Web3 research isn’t locked behind institutions or closed rooms — it happens in real time, across threads, forums, chats, and communities where ideas can move fast and still go deep.

The conversation dives into how this openness changes the role of a researcher: not just observing the space, but actively entering the flow of proposals, technical debates, and protocol-level thinking before they become mainstream.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

This week’s episode features DC Builder (@dcbuilder), Research Engineer at the Worldcoin Netwrok (@worldnetwork).

We dive into Worldcoin’s mission to democratize digital identity and finance worldwide, and why proving personhood could become one of the most important primitives for the next era of the internet.

The conversation explores the challenges behind verifying real humans at global scale — from web of trust systems to biometrics — and how Worldcoin approaches identity, privacy, and fair wealth distribution.

DC also breaks down the role of Semaphore, zero-knowledge proofs, and privacy-preserving infrastructure in making digital identity usable without turning it into surveillance.

We also dig into the emerging ZKML space, the intersection of crypto and AI, and why machine learning, verification, and decentralized systems may become one of the most exciting frontiers in Web3.

A deep episode on identity, trust, ZK, AI, and the infrastructure needed to make the digital world more human.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

Monday was a good day for DeFi. A good day for Ethereum.

Uniswap did the right thing. It kept a promise. It restored something we’ve been missing for three years:

Belief.

~~ by @kenzimori ~~

Since 2022, the nihilist crypto narrative has been winning:

everyone’s here to f**k you over
no long-term assets, only trades
every founder rugs
fundamentals are a meme
No crying in the casino.

They had the receipts.

SBF, Do Kwon, Mashinsky. DAO utopianism. NFT mania and collapse. Rug after rug. The cynicism was earned.

And while we tried to rebuild, even our golden child DeFi protocols seemed to abandon us.

Uniswap – when fee switch?

Silence.

Uniswap Labs ships a wallet to collect fees for itself.

When fee switch?

“Never.”

They said UNI was just a long rug by @haydenzadams & the VCs. Why share fees with holders when you can dump UNI and keep the revenue?

The counter-take was always: regulators, Gensler, bad environment, timing.

Nihilist crypto called it cope.

And as the months dragged on, even believers lost faith.

Then on Monday, @Uniswap flipped the script:

The fee switch is ready.

All protocol fees to UNI burn
Labs + Foundation aligned
100m UNI burn to make up for lost time
Nihilist crypto was wrong.

The OG DeFi protocol chose the long game over the easy money.

Delayed by Gensler. Not defeated.

UNI just injected a little belief back into our jaded souls.

I needed it. You probably did too.

Some founders are still here for the long game.

So are some investors.

Bullish Uniswap.
Bullish DeFi.
Bullish Ethereum.

Bullish every crypto project playing the long game.

Believe in something.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is in the middle of its ENSv2 overhaul.

In other words, the onchain identity protocol is future-proofing by optimizing its architecture and deploying to a dedicated Layer 2 (L2) chain.

Yet there's a lot going on around ENS in general these days.

~~ Analysis by @EthanSaelberg ~~

For instance:

➢ Thanks to its recent Doma integration, @ensdomains now lets tokenized DNS domains resolve like native ENS names without having to go through DNSSEC importing, which ENS still supports in parallel.

➢ The ENS Labs team has also been continuing its work to integrate ENS deeper into the mainstream DNS system. The stewards here are preparing to apply for a .ens "brand" TLD in the upcoming ICANN generic top-level domain (gTLD) round, slated for April 2026. This move would shore up ENS's brand and security within DNS and pave the way to new features.

➢ Shortly after the Doma news, the ENS Labs team introduced the new ENS App and ENS Explorer products, which will arrive once ENSv2 is officially rolled out. These launches will effectively split the existing ENS frontend into 1) a simple consumer identity manager, and 2) a full-stack dev tool for advanced name control.

➢ As for the ENSv2 evolution itself, the big intrigue this week was ENS's announcement that its upcoming Namechain L2 will be launched via Surge, Nethermind's based rollup framework founded upon Taiko's tech stack. The pivot from Linea to Surge will let Namechain deploy in more credibly-neutral fashion and as a based rollup for Ethereum-native sequencing and low CCIP-Read latency.

➢ Outside of the Labs team, the ENS community is also staying productive. The builders at EthID just unveiled @grailsmarket, a new dedicated marketplace for ENS domain NFTs. The platform offers zero-fee trading, bulk renewals, private watchlists, ENS and EFP profiles support, and more.

Zooming out, ENS already supports +1.6M domains, and the changes coming here are aimed at supporting the next 10x in registrations and beyond. In the meantime, all eyes move to Namechain's public testnet, which is expected in Q2 2026.

If that timing holds, the L2's landing should almost perfectly coincide with the kick off of ICANN's next gTLD expansion round. Next year will be big for ENS accordingly, so keep your eyes peeled on the project!

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

“What if AI gives us a once-in-a-generation chance to rebuild the internet from the ground up?”

@kenzimori sits down with Karan Sirdesai @karansirdesai, Founder of @miranetwork, to unpack the founder journey behind Mira and the early conviction that AI would become far more than another tech cycle.

They trace Karan’s path from teaching himself to build, sending cold DMs, experimenting with crypto arbitrage, and working alongside figures like Balaji Srinivasan and Sandeep Nailwal, to spotting the AI shift before it became obvious to the broader market.

The conversation also explores why Karan has consistently chosen the unconventional route, how his time at Accel exposed him to frontier AI companies early, and why the pace of AI progress made one thing clear: this wouldn’t just change startups or software, it would reshape how humans work, think, create, and interact with the internet itself.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

“What if the most important AI infrastructure isn’t the biggest model — but the one you can actually trust?”

@sachimiyasaki sits down with Karan Sirdesai @karansirdesai, Founder of @miranetwork, to explore how Mira is approaching decentralized AI from a more focused angle: making machine intelligence reliable enough for real-world use.

They discuss why Mira is not trying to become a full-stack AI protocol, how its approach differs from networks like Bittensor, Ritual, and Sahara, and why focusing on trust and verification could make Mira a stronger fit inside the wider AI infrastructure stack.

The episode also breaks down Mira’s reliability architecture, from its core verification layer to node-level consensus, and why the next evolution of AI APIs may not be about simply accessing more models, but about knowing whether the answers you receive can actually be trusted.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

“What happens when AI stops being a tool and becomes the operating layer of the internet?”

@dikshawells sits down with Karan Sirdesai @karansirdesai, Founder of @miranetwork, to explore a future where AI is no longer just answering questions, but taking action, making decisions, and handling large parts of our cognitive workload.

They discuss the upside of this shift: the rise of “infinite hires,” a world where most knowledge work can be automated or amplified, and a productivity wave that could completely reshape how companies, teams, and individuals operate.

But the conversation also gets into the darker side of that future. As AI becomes more capable, the risks grow with it: blind dependence, high-stakes failures, malicious autonomous agents, and the possibility of humans sharing the world with a new kind of intelligence we are not fully prepared to control.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by Karan Sirdesai @karansirdesai, Co-Founder and CEO of Mira Network @miranetwork.

We cover Karan’s path from his university days and early crypto experiments to building Mira, an infrastructure layer focused on making AI more reliable, verifiable, and safe to use at scale.

The episode goes deep into one of AI’s biggest unsolved problems: hallucinations. Karan breaks down why unreliable outputs are such a major blocker for real-world adoption, especially in high-stakes areas like finance, healthcare, and other trust-sensitive industries.

We also discuss the early “aha” moment behind Mira, shaped by experiments with GPU rentals, AI workflows, and the insight that multiple models could work together to verify outputs through consensus.

Karan also shares how working with Balaji Srinivasan, his unconventional founder journey, and Mira’s AI + crypto-native team influenced the company’s mission: building decentralized infrastructure that helps make artificial intelligence more trustworthy, dependable, and useful in the real world.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

These days there’s no shortage of serious DeFi plays—perps, prediction markets, yield vaults—but sometimes you just wanna roll the dice for the vibes.

Magic Eden’s two newest toys, Packs and Lucky Buy, are perfect for that.

Here’s how to get started👇

~~ Guide by @kenzimori ~~

Let 'em rip

Back in September, I wrote about the top tokenized Pokémon card platforms. Since then, @MagicEden joined this arena by integrating with Collector Crypt, allowing its users to open, trade, and redeem Pokémon cards directly on its marketplace.

Here, you can currently choose from a base Sapphire pack (50 USDC) or a premium Emerald pack (250 USDC). You're most likely to pull cards in the $30-$60 or $150-$250 range respectively, but you could pull cards as valuable as $2k or $10k depending on the pack.

After a purchase, a pack graphic will appear that you can click to rip open. Magic Eden will then show you the card you pulled and how much it's worth.

If you don't like the card, press the "Take Payout" button to instantly sell your card back to Magic Eden for 85% (Sapphire) or 90% (Emerald) of its market value. This guaranteed sellback option is only available for the first 72 hours after your buy. Alternatively, hold the card on Magic Eden and list it there later or choose "Redeem" to process having the physical version shipped to you.

Yet there's not just Pokémon cards to choose from here. Magic Eden has taken this same packs approach and applied it to Ethereum and Solana NFT collections. However, there are some notable differences.

Instead of USDC you pay with ETH or SOL for these NFT packs. And sellback payouts for these pulls are either 90% of the pulled NFT's floor price or 101% of that collection's top offer, depending on which is higher.

The biggest difference is the sellback window period. Instead of the Pokémon packs' 72 hours, you have 5 minutes to decide whether you want to receive the NFT you pulled or the instant payout.

Everything else works exactly the same besides the fact that NFT packs don't have a redeem option as there's nothing to redeem IRL. The potential upside is higher on the NFT side, however. For example, the premium Promo Ethereum pack offers a chance to win a @pudgypenguins, the floor of which is currently 5.3 ETH or ~$18k.

Feeling lucky?

Another fun and newer product from Magic Eden is the Lucky Buy system. The idea here is that you can win an NFT for 99% less than its floor value by committing a small amount of SOL.

Joining in is straightforward. Find any NFT on the site that bears the 🍀 badge or head to magiceden (dot) io/luckybuy to find all supported collections. Clicking on the clover badge will bring you into a Lucky Buy interface where you can set your parameters.

You can set your probability slider as low as 1% or as high as 75%. The lower the slider, the less SOL you'll have to commit, though your winning chances will also be lower. The higher the slider, the more SOL you'll have to commit, but you'll also have a better shot at pulling your target NFT.

Press the "Lucky Buy" button and confirm the purchase with your wallet. Magic Eden will run a verifiable randomness function (VRF) onchain to decide the outcome. If your attempt hits, you can keep the NFT or choose "Payout" to receive 95% of the NFT's value in SOL.

If you don't win your target NFT, the SOL you committed will be gone. However, as a consolation, any time your Lucky Buys miss you'll receive a non-transferable Lucky Emmy NFT, and these help boost eligibility in Magic Eden's rewards program.

Under the hood, Lucky Buy runs on a 5% fee that's layered on top of the listing price. Sellers actually get a small boost (up to +0.75% extra on their listing amount if their NFT sells via Lucky Buy), while a dedicated treasury backstops the gap between what buyers commit and list prices. That's how someone can hit an NFT for, say, 3% of its price without the seller getting rugged.

Ultimately, this is a degen way to spend a little and potentially win a lot. It's not groundbreaking, but it's fun to try and doesn't take much time or money. If you're bored onchain lately, it's a light way to take some shots at NFTs without overthinking it.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

“We focused on four core areas: finance, gaming, social, and entertainment — but DeFi on @Aptos has seen the strongest traction.”

@sachimiyasaki sits down with @averyching to unpack Aptos’ real-world use cases and why DeFi has emerged as the breakout category: the safety of Move, the composability that allows products to plug into larger protocols, and an ecosystem that is now beginning to hit meaningful momentum.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

“Bitcoin was the first distributed systems paper I read with an economic layer built into it — and that changed everything.”

@kenzimori catches up with @averyching, Co-Founder & CTO of @Aptos, to trace his journey from high-performance computing and supercomputers, to scaling data infrastructure at Meta, to discovering Bitcoin and realizing that crypto was distributed systems with incentives natively embedded — the insight that ultimately led him to co-found Aptos Labs.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

“What inspires you to get up and build every day? For me, it’s pushing Web3 forward — making blockchain a true public utility for everyone.”

@dikshawells sits down with @averyching (Co-Founder & CTO of @Aptos) to talk about what drives him: building the next era of the internet where blockchain brings ownership back to users and enables permissionless, trustless transactions that connect people globally.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

New episode out today featuring @AveryChing - Co-Founder & CTO of @Aptos.

We explore the intersection of crypto and Al, Aptos' fundraising journey, how the network compares to other Layer 1s such as Solana and Ethereum, and what lies ahead for the Move programming language.

Avery also shares his perspective on decentralized use cases, Aptos' long-term ambitions, and how more than a decade spent scaling distributed systems at Meta — including his work on the Diem blockchain — continues to shape his vision for the future of Web3 infrastructure.

[BeaconLayer Podcast @BeaconLayerPod]

Takeover: The Onchain Fee Market You Can Fight Over

Takeover gamifies trading fees on Base through Harberger taxation—creating a market where 100 tiles representing 1% fee shares are perpetually for sale. Holders must pay 5% weekly taxes to maintain control while traders compete to snipe mispriced assets.

Here's how the mechanism works 👇

~~ Analysis by @punk6583 ~~

The Harberger Mechanism

@flaunchgg stands out for paying creator fees in ETH and tokenizing revenue streams as NFTs. Takeover builds on this infrastructure to create a PvP market for trading fees.

Every coin launched gets a 100-tile grid. Each tile represents a 1% claim on all trading fees paid in ETH. Own a tile to earn from every trade—until someone buys you out.

Harberger Tax. Tiles use Harberger taxation to ensure continuous circulation. Owners must set public prices, allowing anyone to buy instantly at that price with no negotiation.

Tax Structure. Holders post USDC deposits and pay a 5% weekly tax based on their listed price. These taxes fund $TAKEOVER buybacks through the Boardroom. Deposits must remain funded—run out and you forfeit the tile to the open market.

The Strategic Dimension

Success requires accurate pricing. Each tile has a fundamental value based on its parent coin's fee generation.

At the 5% weekly tax rate, a tile generating $10 in weekly fees has an equilibrium price around $200—where tax costs equal income. Price too high and carrying costs drain your deposit; too low and someone snipes your tile.

This equilibrium shifts constantly with trading volume. Dying coins become expensive to hold; runners attract bidding wars. Profitability depends on predicting volume trends and adjusting prices or exits accordingly.

How to Try for Yourself

Newcomers should buy into existing grids before launching new coins. The $FLNCHY grid (Flaunch's mascot) routes 80% of trading fees to tile holders, making it an ideal starting point.

> Browse. Find a listed tile on the 100-tile grid. The $FLNCHY floor currently sits at 68 USDC.

>Buy. Input your listing price and deposit duration. Total cost equals buyout price plus initial tax deposit. Confirm the transaction.

> Monitor. Earn 1% of trading fees in real-time ETH payouts. Adjust listing prices defensively as volume changes to prevent sniping.

Zooming Out

Takeover represents one of the first live tests of Harberger taxation with calculable yield—where mispricing delivers immediate financial consequences. AI agents are expected to join the competition soon, accelerating this economic experiment into a larger battlefield for automated strategies.