EP-36 Spark's Pivot: From DeFi Lending to RWA Deployment
In this episode of WuBlockchain Podcast, Sam MacPherson, co-founder of Phoenix Labs, shares how Spark has evolved from a DeFi lending protocol into a capital allocator managing nearly $4B across DeFi, CeFi, and RWA. He explains the Spark Liquidity Layer's role in optimizing yield--especially through tokenized U.S. Treasuries--while maintaining a 25% cash reserve to ensure stability. Sam discusses the platform's modular governance via the Sky-Star system, its push into the APAC market, and the upcoming SPK token launch for staking and governance. Transparency and on-chain auditability remain Spark's core strengths over traditional finance. Text summaryTimeline:00:00 Opening & Brief Intro01:40 Transition from Lending Protocol to Diversified Capital Allocator03:26 Strategic Logic Behind the $1 Billion Tokenized Treasury Deployment04:36 Market Conditions That Informed Timing of RWA Investment06:06 Reconciling DeFi Decentralization with Centralized Custodians07:48 Target Return Profile and Outperforming Treasury Yields08:55 Reinvesting in Existing Treasury Partners and Negotiated Fees09:30 Partner Selection Via Tokenization Grant Competition10:28 Role of Tokenized Treasuries in Yield Stabilization11:11 Competitive Advantage: Trust, Scale, and On-Chain Transparency12:47 Liquidity Layer's Operation and Ecosystem Integrations14:58 Managing Risk and Maintaining Yield Stability with High Cash Reserves16:39 Protocol Resilience During Historical Market Crashes17:38 Regulatory Compliance in RWA Interface and Protocol Design18:51 Next RWA Target: Investment-Grade Corporate Debt20:03 Community Outreach and Expansion Strategy in APAC20:55 Modular Star System for Fast Governance and Scaling22:23 Adapting to Macro Trends Like U.S. Interest Rate Shifts23:47 Upcoming SPK Token Launch and Governance Utility
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EP-35 Shardeum: Auto-Scaling Layer 1 with Dynamic Sharding
In this episode, Shardeum CTO Srinivasan Parthasarathy shares how Shardeum is building an auto-scaling Layer 1 blockchain using dynamic state sharding and a blockless transaction model. The architecture enables linear scalability while keeping node requirements low, offering a unique balance between performance and decentralization.He also discusses lessons from testnet operations, key bug bounty findings, and the network's security approach, including a custom "Proof of Quorum" consensus that rotates node responsibilities every 60 seconds. As an open-source, community-driven project, Shardeum aims to launch its mainnet on May 5, with smart contract support and incentive programs to follow in a phased manner. Text summaryTimeline:00:00 Intro & Shardeum overview01:47 How does Shardeum scale while keeping node access low?07:44 What are the trade-offs of this scaling design?10:29 What did you learn from the incentivized testnets?13:28 What critical bugs were found in the bounty programs?15:15 How will you handle security after mainnet launch?16:36 How is your RPC layer different from other EVM chains?21:07 Will you continue audits and bug bounty programs?22:19 How are you growing the community and ecosystem?23:28 What projects are being built on Shardeum now?26:28 How will the token be used for staking and governance?30:19 How do you ensure transparency and independence?31:58 When is mainnet launching and why is it significant?33:41 How will you engage and grow the contributor base?
A podcast from professional media brand WuBlockchain that discusses and analyzes important news in the crypto world, with a special focus on Asia. https://twitter.com/WuBlockchain
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