Arjun Bhuptani, Everclear Co-founder, Discusses Web3 Branding, Layer Clearing, Chain Abstraction, and Roll-ups in Episode 348

In a special interview with Cryptonews Podcast’s Matt Zahab, Arjun Bhuptani, a co-founder of Everclear, the inaugural clearing layer for the Web3 ecosystem, addressed “the hidden challenge” that chain abstraction can address and the forthcoming surge of roll-ups.

He elaborated on Everclear’s ambition to achieve genuinely permissionless liquidity universally, along with the necessity for the team to transition from ‘Connext.’

Transitioning from Connext to Everclear

Bhuptani informed Matt that Connext had been one of the longest-standing brands in the industry for eight years.

However, it had engaged in so many diverse activities that it ultimately became perplexing for users to comprehend.

Individuals in the community would express their appreciation for Connext but would say, “don’t know exactly what you do.”

This highlighted the need for the team to “clarify” the brand. Consequently, they undertook comprehensive testing to determine the best strategy.

“But we ultimately concluded that we’re embarking on something fundamentally new,” the CEO stated.

Tldr;
There is no universal GTM strategy that can be applied indefinitely.

This holds true in both web2 and web3 – once it becomes a “playbook”, it’s essential to discover a new niche, lever, or advantage to attract users.

How do you achieve this? Engage with users and grasp their *real* challenges. https://t.co/ypY2e5gkdo

— Arjun (@arjunbhuptani) June 29, 2024

The current objective was to ensure the brand’s narrative was entirely transparent from the outset. The timeframe for this is generally quite limited.

The success of the rebranding hinged on it.

Ultimately, Bhuptani stated that the Everclear rebranding was a success.

Moreover, while they did forfeit some elements they aimed for (like the ENS name), they benefited from significant exposure through prominent Twitter accounts “mocking” the new name, he noted.

“The Hidden Challenge”

Bhuptani remarked that the space is fragmented. However, the collective aim of the projects is to reach a stage where users are indifferent to the chain they are utilizing.

This is where chain abstraction plays a role.

According to the CEO, “the ultimate objective of chain abstraction is to enable DEXs to resemble centralized exchanges. We’ll have lending markets that function just like banks. And it’s going to be remarkable.”

However, the challenge lies in achieving this. Each project has its solution, and it often involves a bridge.

Yet, Bhuptani contended,

“The overarching trend remains unchanged: every new attempt at this solution has essentially further fragmented the ecosystem rather than unifying it.”

Everclear recognized that the ecosystem possesses all the necessary components for a solution that can seamlessly scale across every chain and asset.

As everyone continues to face similar challenges, collaboration among projects is essential.

Additionally, most chain abstraction applications are intent-driven and managed by a limited number of individuals.

If we aspire for this ecosystem to expand, Bhuptani stated, we must acknowledge that the intent-based model itself is not flawed. It operates “extremely well,” fulfilling its intended purpose.

Nevertheless, the economic incentives surrounding the model are flawed. Reducing the cost and complexity of becoming a solver in these ecosystems allows more individuals to step into that role.

“And that is how we achieve scalability. That was the fundamental thesis.”

TL;DR:

The Clearing Layer serves as the foundation of the Chain Abstraction stack, facilitating optimal liquidity for intent protocols & solvers.

Everclear, the first Clearing Layer, reduces the cost/complexity of rebalancing solver liquidity by *up to 10x*.

Full blog: https://t.co/hZmtIZu3us pic.twitter.com/lDKDdIeb0H

— Everclear (prev Connext) (@EverclearOrg) June 3, 2024

For instance, a significant issue identified by the Connext team is that routers’ liquidity would gravitate towards “random long-tail chains” that users preferred to avoid.

Thus, the router (also known as solver) would need to rebalance liquidity. However, only a select few would do so effectively and profitably.

“This is the hidden challenge,” Bhuptani noted.

In summary, the essential infrastructure supporting every single on-chain interaction cannot rely solely on one large market maker.

It must be an open ecosystem with “numerous participants,” offering services for all chains, assets, and rollups – not just the leading projects.

Genuinely Permissionless Liquidity Everywhere

The latter half of the year will be significant for Everclear. The primary focus is on launching the mainnet.

“We’re finalizing the code and then proceeding to audit,” Bhuptani stated.

Initially, they will introduce an alpha mainnet to ensure everything functions correctly.

However, the team’s vision is to establish “truly permissionless liquidity everywhere.” They intend to develop a unified system that users can permissionlessly implement onto the roll-up.

This can “offer the liquidity backbone upon which it becomes highly feasible for bridges to support your ecosystem.”

Everclear is currently working to onboard as many bridges as possible.

Introducing a chain-abstracted, 1-click bridging experience with permissionless interoperability for ezETH!

Bridge @RenzoProtocol’s ezETH almost instantly using the Renzo Bridge via @hyperlane_xyz’s warp routes, powered by xERC20, across 8 EVM chains, and soon beyond EVM. https://t.co/bufSEKLv9j

— Everclear (prev Connext) (@EverclearOrg) June 21, 2024

Surge of Roll-ups

Regarding the broader landscape, Bhuptani expressed that he is “100% convinced” that there will be “a significant surge of roll-ups” in the upcoming months.

Every major application team is either preparing to launch a roll-up or is seriously contemplating it, he asserted.

“The advantages of sovereignty and having your own stack are truly undervalued,” the CEO remarked. “People don’t fully grasp just how crucial that is.”

Another “speculation” is that we will observe every major DeFi protocol developing “something that necessitates liquidity and consolidates liquidity in a single location” rather than perpetuating its fragmentation.

Who is this perspective favorable for?
1. The modular thesis
2. Appchains
3. Chain Abstraction projects

Who is this perspective unfavorable for?
1. Midwit narrative chasers

— Arjun (@arjunbhuptani) June 27, 2024

Finally, in the second half of the year, we will observe the distinction between a chain and a roll-up becoming less defined.

Roll-ups will be “some systems executing some logic,” posting proof of executing logic correctly to the blockchain.

And once that is achieved, “the entirety of Reddit, without altering any of their infrastructure, transforms into a roll-up. This is something that I believe people do not comprehend,” Bhuptani concluded.

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That’s not all.

In this interview, Bhuptani also covered:

• Connext’s decision to initiate a new protocol and rebrand to Everclear;
• the rationale behind the new name ‘Everclear’;
• the challenges and the process of rebranding in Web3, and why brands in the sector are ‘extremely confusing’;
• crypto UX and liquidity fragmentation across chains;
• clearing layers in Web3 – enhancing communication and execution between chains;
• why bridges alone cannot resolve cross-chain interactions;
• what netting entails: payment reconciliation conducted behind the scenes.

You can view the complete podcast episode here.

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About Arjun Bhuptani

Arjun Bhuptani is a co-founder of Everclear, the first clearing layer for the Web3 ecosystem.

He is also a co-creator of Moloch DAO, one of the earliest and most widely utilized decentralized autonomous organization frameworks.

Its purpose is to assist individuals and institutions in coordinating around shared resources in a fair and transparent manner.

The post Arjun Bhuptani, Co-founder of Everclear, on Web3 Branding, Clearing Layers, the Power of Chain Abstraction, and Roll-ups | Ep. 348 appeared first on Cryptonews.