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Línea x Alchemy Pay: Web3 Access & Infra
Recorded: Aug. 14, 2024 Duration: 1:00:49Space Recording
Full Transcription
primitives or even narratives that you might see out in the space is there's a clear shift towards
moving what I like to say is upstack. And so when I say moving upstack, I really mean moving up to
being a little bit more consumer focused. And so when you think about all of these large DeFi
protocols, right, or staking protocols, immediately you should be thinking about
infrastructure, right? This is infrastructure for Web3. These are often the largest projects in
this space, right? Typically they come, you know, from or they have an infrastructure angle behind
them. I think, and I'm super excited for this, is to kind of see the industry move towards building
more consumer applications, right? And this starts with developers, right? This starts with
demand and users, but then also moves so far as to seeing a shift in the investment vehicles for
these protocols, right? So talking with funds and incubators and studios, right? They're starting
to kind of create consumer application arms that are fully dedicated to this. And so I think this is
this is a net win-win long-term for all of crypto. And also Alchemy Pay, right? Because as users,
you know, have more consumer applications that they can go interact with. These are social applications,
potentially, you know, financial applications, right? End user applications. The ability to access
crypto in an efficient and smooth manner becomes even more important, right? You know, how do we simplify
that onboarding experience? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's, that's what we've really been focused
on is making that bridge between fit and crypto as seamless as possible, you know, mainstream friendly.
Also the idea that you don't have to go from platform to platform, you know, website, you know,
back to exchanges, back to the platform, you know, say, you know, in terms of gaming for something,
for an example, you know, oftentimes people will get involved in a in a web three game because,
you know, their friend recommended it not because necessarily they're interested in crypto. So you
want to have that easy, direct access, and you want to have a successful first, first go at it,
you don't want to have, you know, a failed transaction on the first time, you don't want
to have a super expensive experience, you don't want your particular region to not be supported,
you know. So, yeah, the idea of really global coverage for users around the world and making
it as direct and as seamless as possible, and actually having that, that access to tokens
available on the relevant platform, not immediately sending a newcomer away to another platform,
you know. So, yeah, we like to think that we're definitely part of that, that key idea of
user experience and really improving the user experience. And, yeah, the idea of Upstack actually
getting everything across to the end user and making that a bit of a focus, making that a
priority, I think sometimes that gets forgotten. There's so much great tech, so many great ideas,
but oftentimes, you know, how does it actually filter through to the end user, you know. So,
you know, just keeping that in mind. Although, you know, having said that the last couple of years,
you know, between, you know, 2019 and now, I think it's just gone, you know, moved in leaps and
bounds in terms of UX. So, we're definitely on the right track for that. Yeah. Okay. So,
look, you know, for Alchemy Pay, you know, the last sort of 18 months, last two years,
you know, obviously, a lot of that was kind of considered the crypto winter. For us, we,
you know, kept our eye on the prize. You know, for us, it was about, it was a time to expand. It
was a time to build. It was a time to gain market share when others were kind of losing their nerve.
You know, the payment gateway space in crypto is a really competitive one. And it was a time to
actually gain market share, gain reputation, continue processing transactions, continue to
gain new partners in the space. And, you know, it's really paid off for us, you know, as well as
the idea of pursuing payment licenses around the world. So, we just recently got the UK
Authorized Payments Institution license, which is a big thing, allows us to do a lot of different
things. Multi-fiat accounts is something we can now offer to Web3 projects as well, really giving them
a full suite of payment services, you know, between fiat and crypto for all kinds of aspects
that businesses need, regardless of their DeFi credentials, you know. So, for us, the past sort
of 18 months, two years was really a lot of positive growth, despite maybe the negative
news around the industry. And, you know, what did you guys focus on over the past couple of years,
perhaps, at Linio? What was the main ideas and what do you think you sort of achieved during that
crypto winter?
I think that some of the best builders in the space have been through multiple cycles,
right? And I also think the crypto winter, as we call them, right, this is kind of that
downtrending period that we sometimes run into, right? It could last years. You know,
it's really a time where, if you go to conferences, right, you're surrounded by builders,
right? There's still excitement, but it's very tech-focused. I think this is, you know,
again, where some of the greatest ideas come out of, right? Where some of the best companies who
make it through these times, right, they're able to scale and grow, very much so like yourself.
For us, nothing changed, right? We were very focused on taking a lot of these theoretical and
mathematical concepts a few years ago, you know, things that have never been implemented before and
saying, how do we make this accessible for all of Web3? You know, how do we make this a public and
permissionless network and scale Ethereum without compromise? And so, you know, over the past 18
months, it's been an absolute whirlwind. You know, consensus has bootstrapped, essentially,
the growth of Linea. You know, we've developed entire teams from a technical perspective, but also from
a go-to-market perspective, from a collaboration perspective internally. And so, just to kind of
see the growth, you know, of the organization and the chain happen hand-in-hand has been just an
absolutely fascinating and fun, incredible experience. I do want to just point out that
also over the past 18 months, you know, we've all experienced this clear shift to, you know,
the use of Layer 2 networks, right? And so, for many of us, you know, on here today,
in the previous cycle, you know, we kind of had like Alt-L1s or I think, you know, Arbitrum,
you know, was in their test net or maybe their main net early on with the seven-day waiting period to get
out or to get off the network. But, you know, there's been a clear shift, user sentiment shift,
acceptance, you know, you might even say, you know, market fit, right? Product market fit for the use of
L2s, you know, and all of their benefits. I think this has been incredible to see, but also to partake
in, right? Talking with industry leaders, ensuring that some standards that should be on the same page
are, right? And that's for kind of the growth and the long-term success of not only Linea, but the
broader web through ecosystem. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, I think something like the, yeah,
the so-called crypto winter for a team like Linea, you know, backed by, supported by a team as solidly
into the space and is so technically focused as consensus as well. You know, it doesn't come as
any surprise that that crypto winter was actually a pretty strong period for you guys. And yeah,
it certainly separates the wheat from the chat a little bit as well. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well,
Cam, you've been a fantastic guest so far. How about a couple, just a couple of questions,
let's say about the overall space. So how about, you know, what do you see as holding back crypto at
the moment? Oh, this is, this is, this is a good one. I, I think the easiest answer here is UX and UI.
You know, sometimes it is, it's, it's difficult to kind of imagine the world we live in today
is what's going to bring the next billion users online. And, and again, a really hot topic within
consensus with just multiple different teams kind of working on what is the future of UX UI across the
space. Um, I also think, uh, the regulatory regime, uh, in different jurisdictions, right? We can all
think of one together. Uh, I think the more clarity we have, uh, you know, the more clear it will be for
builders in the space to do certain things. Right. And this is, uh, you know, to build in a certain
way, right. It will enable new and broader innovations across the space because right now,
uh, you know, given the global regulatory landscape, builders and protocols have to make certain
decisions. Uh, and these decisions are really, uh, you know, you know, they feel pressure from
the lack of clarity, uh, in, in, in, in the market. And so I think, you know, if, if you,
if you put all these things together and you say, Hey, you know, the industry, it has been working on
and is working on better UX UI, uh, you know, we can clean up the regulatory split, uh, space and get
some clarity. Um, you know, one thing I always say to, uh, to my friends, right. To, um, uh, you know,
to protocols is, you know, we have a lot of this infrastructure built, right. The infrastructure
is here for the most part, the protocols are developing, right. We have accessible access
points, onboarding, off boarding. Uh, the institutions are now involved. And so you put
all of these things together and, and you're almost curious why it has not exponentially,
uh, you know, grown past, past where it is today. And so I, I again, think that this is kind of like
a pressure cooker. Uh, and again, if we could keep our heads down and keep building and working
on these core tenants of crypto, uh, it's, it's, you know, we're in for a, uh, a fun ride in the
future for sure. It's like, there's maybe a lot of pent up enthusiasm, which is wasted to burst out.
Yeah, I absolutely agree. I mean, I, you know, it's a little bit, you know, if I'd have asked you
that question about four years ago, you probably still would have said, you probably still would
have said the regulatory landscape and, you know, um, but I think actually, you know, between now
and, you know, 2019, let's say, you know, there, there has been a lot of improvements. I think a lot,
a lot of the, the outstanding headline issues, the scammers, the, the, the fraud, the, the, the SBFs,
you know, the, the SEC decisions, the, um, you know, the Hong Kong coming back into the space,
you know, uh, finance having, you know, at least knowing where they stand. Um, you know,
I think there's so many things that have actually been dealt with that, that, that, that, to simply
to say, oh, the regulatory landscape is, is yeah, it's still unsure, but we've got Mika coming as
well, you know, so I think there's actually, we'd still would point to it as something that's holding
it back, but at the same time, it's a lot clearer and a lot more positive than it was a few years ago.
So, although the answers might have been the same, I think there's still been a huge amount
of progress in those, in those areas, you know? Um, yeah. Okay. So then, and then on the flip side,
focusing on the positive, what, what do you, what do you see as the next big sort of catalyst for
growth in crypto for the next sort of 12 to 18 months? Let's say. Definitely. I think, uh, just
generally speaking, uh, you know, there has to be some sort of, um, you know, something has to happen to
encourage people, you know, outside of web three to get excited and come to, uh, you know,
come to the web three ecosystem. And so I think this is like largely driven by macroeconomics,
right. Uh, you know, at, at kind of a global scale. And I think things right over the next 12
months, again, look very interesting. And so, um, you know, as kind of economies shift,
as crypto gets more, uh, you know, limelight and more accessible through, through traditional,
uh, you know, financial institutions, I think all of this excitement again, helps to make people,
you know, what I deem curious, uh, and come and kind of explore the web three space. And so,
you know, when they do eventually get to the web three space, right, there's nothing short, uh,
of, of, of exciting things for them to do. Um, and, and again, it's, it's almost a perfect time
because, because of this shift in focus towards consumer applications, right. And so, you know,
you put all these things together again, uh, you know, and you could say, you know, we have a lot of
attention, right. We have, uh, you know, institutional attention, right. We have, uh, you know,
U S presidential candidate attention. Um, and, and I think over time, as we continue to build out that
UX UI, as we continue to focus on consumer applications, uh, you know, as we onboard,
uh, these users into the space, they will be able to actually leverage crypto for, uh, you know,
remittances, right. For cheap payment rails for instantly scalable infrastructure, if they want.
Um, I think this is a big catalyst moving forward. Yeah. I mean, and, I mean, that's,
you know, a personal thing I would love to see is, is certainly people in, in developing nations,
being able to, to, to move crypto, uh, move their funds around the world, um, at a really low cost.
Cause it's those, those people particularly who are being hit by the traditional financial system.
So, you know, if we can keep lowering the cost of, uh, you know, on ramping and off ramping
for users and then, you know, gas fees continue to go down, um, and, and the ability for, for
people particularly in developing nations to be able to, to move funds around and remittances,
you know, I, I think that could hopefully be a real, a great catalyst and a really positive thing
for the world too, you know? So that's certainly what I'm hoping for also, you know, I think there
are things like the casual gaming scene, I think, uh, could be big in terms of creating the next trend,
you know, you get one or two big games and that can always, uh, can always really work. Um, obviously
the, the Bitcoin cycle, uh, is kind of starting again now, um, you know, after the halving. So,
you know, it's a while for that, but there's always a new, uh, trend on the scene. There's
always something else coming. So, um, never far away. And I do think actually the, the, the, the,
the generally good flow flow of good news in terms of regulations, um, will also provide a
catalyst. You know, there's a sense that, you know, crypto is becoming normalized,
that there's a sense that, you know, um, you know, a lot of people's opinions and thoughts
are really based on, you know, what, you know, what is everyone else thinking? What, what are
the governments saying? What are the traditional financial institutions saying? And, you know,
a lot of the pointers are that, that they're, you know, that they're accepting crypto. And now a
lot of those barriers are coming down. So I think that's a big aspect in terms of the,
the growth of crypto over the 18 months. And it could be that the next sort of 18 months,
two years are more of a sort of constant, steady, slow burner rather than one big narrative or one
big storyline, which in a way would actually be probably a healthier, uh, growth trajectory,
you know? So, um, I'm pretty hopeful of that. Um, Cameron, it has been fantastic having you on.
You've been a fantastic guest, uh, today on this X-Space. Um, really love the enthusiasm,
really love the technical know how really love your, um, your history in crypto as well.
So it's been a pleasure to have you guys on really a lot of respect for the linear project,
a lot of respect for consensus as well. Um, will you be in Singapore by the way at token?
Yes, yes, yes. 100%. Uh, we'll be out there in full force, uh, the linear team,
the MetaMask team, the consensus team. Um, and so, you know, look forward to, to, to meeting
projects, users, um, you know, as well as syncing up with the Alchemy Pay team.
Fantastic. Yeah, that'd be great. Um, okay. So let's just do a couple of, um, let's just explain
if people want to learn more. Um, let's start with Alchemy Pay. So if you want to learn more about
Alchemy Pay and if you're a developer, which I'm sure there's a lot of developers listening today,
you know, that payment infrastructure, we have a really a whole suite of different services,
the white label crypto cards, which are, uh, virtual and physical, um, the on and off ramp
service, um, also NFT checkout, crypto payment acceptance for merchants, uh, online and offline
as well. So quite a suite in multi-theat accounts as well now, um, doing euros and USD. So that's a
real, uh, new thing for, for web three projects and businesses to be able to integrate also that
that can be really useful. So, um, if you want to learn more about things like that,
go to alchemypay.org, um, follow us at, uh, x, uh, at Alchemy Pay. Um, obviously you'll find our
blog on medium Alchemy Pay. Um, you can follow us in telegram. Um, and for linear, shall I explain,
you can go to linear.build, um, which I think is just great resources, great documentation for,
for, for developers to look at. Um, and then your, uh, your, um, X account, I keep calling it Twitter,
but your X account is, let me say it's linear, right? Linear build. Linear build as well. Okay.
Yeah. So, uh, and there's Foxy linear, go to, go and check out Foxy. We mentioned Foxy earlier as
well. So you can go and check out that as well. Um, and yeah, Cameron, it's been an absolute pleasure
having you. I hope to see you in, in Singapore. Most definitely. Thank you so much, Rob. Thank
you, Alchemy Pay. We'll talk soon. Thank you very much, guys. Yeah. All the best. And thank you very
much to all the listeners who, who tuned in today from wherever you are and whatever time of day it
is. So yeah. Pleasure to have you guys with us. Um, hope you enjoyed today's chat and we'll catch you
next time. Thank you.
