Dec. 19, 2024

Bridging Bitcoin to DeFi: Lombard's Vision for Liquid Staking with Jacob Phillips

Bridging Bitcoin to DeFi: Lombard's Vision for Liquid Staking with Jacob Phillips

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Lombard co-founder Jacob Phillips. Together, they discuss how Bitcoin's market capitalization is an ideal solution for DeFi's need for liquidity, the differences in the mentality of deploying Bitcoin as an asset into DeFi versus deploying other assets like Ether, building on the Babylon staking protocol, upcoming Lombard releases, and much more.

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The Smart Economy Podcast
In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Lombard co-founder Jacob Phillips.

Join them as they discuss:
  • How Bitcoin's market capitalization is an ideal solution for DeFi's need for liquidity
  • The differences in the mentality of deploying Bitcoin as an asset into DeFi versus deploying other assets like Ether
  • Building on the Babylon staking protocol
  • Upcoming Lombard releases

And much more!

Jacob brings a wealth of experience from his time at Perennial Labs and as an investor at Polychain Capital, deeply enriching our understanding of how Bitcoin can become a more dynamic player in the DeFi space. Lombard is integrating Bitcoin with decentralized finance, offering solutions such as its flagship product, LBTC—a yield-bearing, cross-chain, liquid Bitcoin, backed 1:1 by BTC.

Episode Highlights:

  • [00:00] Introduction
  • [00:03] Episode introduction and overview with Jacob Phillips of Lombard
  • [02:34] Bitcoin's historical challenges in DeFi and recent market evolution
  • [05:20] Catalysts behind Bitcoin's building renaissance
  • [12:18] Jacob's journey from crypto skeptic to Polychain Capital
  • [31:34] Lombard's growth to $1B TVL and key partnerships
  • [36:50] Shifting the Bitcoin holder mindset toward yield generation
  • [41:18] Technical overview of Lombard Ledger and BFT chain development
  • [47:54] User acquisition and institutional adoption strategy
  • [51:39] Institutional perspectives on Bitcoin DeFi adoption



Previous guests include: Rusty Matveev, Chief Strategy Officer at Calaxy; Andrew Lawrence, CEO and Co-Founder of Censo; Zac Townsend, CEO and Co-Founder of Meanwhile; Jesper Johansen, CEO and Co-Founder of Northstake; Tama Churchouse, COO of Cumberland Labs; Holly Wood of Boson Protocol; Sid Powell of Maple Finance; Chad Barraford of THORChain; and many others.

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:


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