Episode description
In this episode of the Applied Blockchain Podcast, Adi Ben-Ari speaks with Julien Bouteloup - serial builder, investor, and contributor to some of DeFi’s most pivotal projects - about the journey from hackathons to helping shape the foundations of decentralised finance. Julien reflects on a decade of bold experimentation, from building ID systems in Papua New Guinea and AI tools for coconut farms, to co-founding StakeDAO, launching Rekt News, and shaping protocols like Curve and Aave.
They discuss:
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The roots of DeFi: hackathons, AMMs, flash loans, and governance
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Decentralised identity and innovation in emerging markets
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AI in agriculture, autonomous drones, and carbon markets
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Curve’s tokenomics, veCRV, and liquidity dynamics
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StakeDAO, protocol governance, and market coordination
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Rekt News and transparency in Web3
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The intersection of AI, privacy, and decentralised finance
Resources Mentioned
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Rekt News
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StakeDAO & Curve Finance
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Zero Health: Privacy-preserving medical AI
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Giza: Agentic AI trading bots
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Perplexity & Claude: AI-powered research tools
