The Chopping Block w/ Guy Young: Lessons from USD0, Ethena’s Bold Vision, and DeFi’s Future - Ep. 766

2025-01-16

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, we’re joined by Guy Young, CEO and founder of Ethena Labs, to break down the hard truths behind DeFi’s most recent chaos. We dive into the USD0++ depeg and its ripple effects across the ecosystem, exploring what went wrong and the critical lessons for the future of stable assets. Plus, we discuss Ethena’s meteoric rise, Guy’s vision for synthetic dollars, and how innovativ...

Show highlights

🔹 USD0++ Depeg Drama: A deep dive into what caused the USD0++ depeg, the mechanics behind the chaos, and the broader implications for DeFi.

🔹 Lessons on Risk Transparency: Why sudden rule changes eroded trust and how protocols can improve communication to avoid similar fallout.

🔹 Ethena’s Rise and Vision: Guy Young shares the story of Ethena’s explosive growth, its innovative synthetic dollar model, and its role in DeFi’s evolution.

🔹 The Yield Dilemma: Exploring how Ethena’s yield model works, its appeal, and the risks it carries for users and the ecosystem.

🔹 DeFi’s Distribution Problem: Why centralized exchanges remain the key to scaling synthetic assets and stablecoins like Ethena’s USD.

🔹 Transparency vs. Overconfidence: Drawing lessons from Luna’s downfall and how Ethena’s approach to clear communication sets a new standard.

🔹 Athena’s 2025 Roadmap: From DeFi integrations to TradFi adoption, what’s next for Ethena as it scales synthetic dollars globally.

🔹 Reflections on Building in DeFi: Guy Young opens up about the challenges, surprises, and rewards of leading one of DeFi’s fastest-growing projects.

🔹 2025 Predictions: The crew debates who might become this year’s “main character” in crypto and what that could mean for the market.

Hosts

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly

Guest

⭐️Guy Young, CEO & Founder of Ethena Labs