How Qi DAO started and went on to dominate DeFi across chains.
In this episode of Beyond The Block by Blockbytes, Austin Rampt is joined by Clay Kilgo AKA Kila from Qi Dao to discuss about the SBF Saga and what it means for DeFi, Kila’s time in crypto, & how Qi Dao is dominating across Avalanche, Fantom and Polygon.
Read our notes below to learn more.
How Kila got into crypto
Started going to hackathons as a university student every weekend.
Went to money2020 in 2014 in Las Vegas and Blockchain.com was a sponsor.
The founder of Silk Road was an alumni of his school, and the chatter around him piqued interest in Bitcoin.
A lot of people were talking about ETH at the hackathon and how it was the future of money.
Started producing and hosting some of the biggest hackathons-eventually around blockchain after learning more about ETH.
Purpose of Qi DAO
Team wanted to create the best lending experience in crypto.
Remove the barrier to entry- $10k needed to mint DAI via Maker DAO.
Being on Polygon gave access to more people.
Remove the need to pay interest to borrow against one’s own assets.
Went crosschain to let people from all communities access Qi Dao.
MAI can be minted on 12 different chains but can be used on 20 different chains.
TODAY’S EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY TREZOR HARDWARE WALLET
Navigating the waters of crypto is risky; even the biggest CEXs & stablecoins can have huge risks…
This Christmas you can help onboard your friends & family in the best way, by introducing them to self-custody. Don’t trust CEXs or wallet providers, trust yourself.
Act now, click the link below & give the gift of security.
Thoughts on crosschain expansion
Stablecoins that are really stable are not easy to make.
Takes a lot of work, business development and solid partners.
Try to partner with more networks and base layer1 protocols.
MAI-DAI LP coming out soon to create deeper liquidity without affecting the peg.
Struggles so Far
First struggle was ensuring the token was fungible across all chains.
Second chain deployed was Solana, with a partnership with Saber DEX.
Saw a lot of different types of USDCs on Solana with fractional liquidities and wanted to avoid a similar situation with MAI.
Solana has a great community but when most of the TVL is coming from a few investors and whales, these kinds of situations can happen.
Stress tests so far
Launched in May 2021, Black Swan event in the first month-the first stress test.
A lot of stress tests constantly post launch but the peg has remained very stable.
Thoughts on FTX saga
A lot of people are calling for transparency but fail to realize crypto is beautiful because it's transparent.
These type of situations can be prevented if all data and holdings are on-chain and there are no middlemen.
The whole collapse shows a use case for DeFi.
DeFi is functioning as it should be, the issue is centralisation.
What lured most people in was the ease of use and promise of being rich.
Except on and off ramps, almost everything can be done via DeFi.
Ease of use is the biggest barrier and the DeFi protocols need to make products that are easier to use.
Why Crypto is Special
Different people around the world have different reasons to use crypto.\
Can be used to escape inflation, allow people to access money if they’re denied by banks, allow money to be sent internationally easily and quickly..
People from DeFi need to get in a room with the regulators to help frame policies that are greed-free and beneficial to people.
People can f*ck you over but smart contracts and math won’t.
What Excites Kila in Crypto
In the bear market there are more focused builders building solid projects unlike the bull market where everyone chased hype.
Protocols will have to have real yield and revenue, purely speculative tokens won’t work.
There will be a bigger push for DeFi and decentralization due to what all has happened with centralized lenders and players.
Proudest Moment as a Builder
A user from India used crypto as their savings account to fight inflation.
He had an emergency dental procedure to do and didn’t want to sell all holdings.
He used his crypto as collateral in Qi Dao, borrowed stablecoins, took them off-ramp and paid for the surgery while still keeping his crypto.
Kila was super happy to know about the case and felt proud they were able to facilitate this via Qi Dao.
Check out these important links
TODAY’S EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY TREZOR HARDWARE WALLET
Navigating the waters of crypto is risky; even the biggest CEXs & stablecoins can have huge risks…
This Christmas you can help onboard your friends & family in the best way, by introducing them to self-custody. Don’t trust CEXs or wallet providers, trust yourself.
Act now, click the link below & give the gift of security.