tBTC: What Happens When the Most Liquid Crypto Asset Hits DeFi? - Ep.169

Matt Luongo, CEO of Thesis, the parent company of Fold and Keep, describes the just-launched tBTC, his plan for a censorship-resistant Bitcoin-Ethereum bridge. He explains his personal reasons for wanting such a platform, why tBTC is different from other versions of Bitcoin on Ethereum, and how it works -- including the process of becoming a signer in minting tBTC, how the system will handle crises, the reason for high collateralization levels, why staking assets are limited, and the necessity of a work token, Keep. He also discusses the economics behind tBTC-backed tBTC, his vision for DeFi, how tBTC could buffer an ETH crash, and the reasoning behind minimal governance mechanisms -- playing into why institutions trust BTC more than ETH. Plus, he contrasts the Bitcoin and Ethereum communities and talks about the possibility of tBTC2.0.
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Episode links:
Matt Luongo: https://twitter.com/mhluongo
Thesis: https://thesis.co/
Keep: https://keep.network/
Fold App: https://foldapp.com/
tBTC white paper: https://docs.keep.network/tbtc/index.pdf
Initial reveal: https://twitter.com/mhluongo/status/1162481737525583873?s=20
Announcement on Keep blog: https://blog.keep.network/bridging-bitcoin-and-ethereum-b2f9923630a7?gi=5c9040ed3a72
Some criticism of tBTC: https://twitter.com/peterktodd/status/1162728205607985152?s=20
Matt on the Breakdown podcast: https://www.coindesk.com/will-defi-matter-in-a-post-coronavirus-world-feat-matt-luongo
Matt on Sendwyre podcast: https://blog.sendwyre.com/announcing-tbtc-with-james-prestwich-and-matt-luongo-of-cross-chain-group-c424e2b0b40c?gi=d1e8b53ca80e
How tBTC works: https://defipulse.com/blog/what-is-tbtc/
The Block on tBTC: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/daily/55284/inside-tbtc-the-bitcoin-backed-erc-20-token-that-could-go-live-in-march
Keep raises $7.7 million: https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinoconnell/2020/04/03/coinbase-co-founder-invests-in-project-to-bridge-bitcoin-and-ethereum/#368a6f737df4