In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Mounir Benchemled, founder and CEO of ParaSwap, a platform in the decentralized finance landscape. Together, they explore what ParaSwap is bringing to the DeFi space, delve into the technical challenges of building on blockchain, and discuss the future of decentralized exchanges. Mounir also shares his vision for driving mass crypto adoption through scalable infrastructure and user-centric experiences.

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Mounir Benchemled, founder and CEO of ParaSwap, a platform in the decentralized finance landscape.

Join them as they discuss:

The features ParaSwap is bringing to the DeFi space
Token approvals and security
Regulatory landscape of DeFi
Hybrid approaches to customer acquisition in DeFi
The future of decentralized exchanges

And much more!

With a background rich in software development and blockchain technology, Mounir has not only led ParaSwap to raise $5.7 million from top-tier crypto investors but has also recently taken on the CEO role at Laita Labs, aiming to push the boundaries of DeFi products and infrastructure.

Episode Highlights:

[00:00] Intro
[02:30] Discussion of what DeFi got right/wrong and stablecoins as the biggest success
[05:44] Mounir shares his journey from Bitcoin in 2012 to leaving his CEO role in 2017
[10:58] B2B pivot: From retail focus to 85% partner volume integration
[17:13] Regulatory landscape: EU's DeFi-friendly stance vs US restrictions
[22:33] Chain expansion: Scaling beyond Ethereum to BSC, Polygon and L2s
[26:04] ParaSwap Delta: New gasless, intent-based trading solution
[29:19] March 2024 exploit: $24K initial breach leads to larger recovery mission
[37:30] Hacker negotiations: Recovering 80% of funds through on-chain tracking
[44:26] MEV insights: How the exploit improved MEV resistance strategies
[46:19] OTC trading: Peer-to-peer and RFQ protocol capabilities
[49:29] Token mechanics: PSP token utility and staking benefits
[50:30] Airdrop lessons: Candid take on 2021 airdrop timing and mistakes

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.

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