Web3 with Sam Kamani

EPISODE DESCRIPTION 
I sat down with Peiyu from CertiK at Korea Blockchain Week in Seoul for a deep dive into the evolving world of Web3 security. We talk about how AI is shrinking the attack lifecycle from months to days, why getting audited still doesn't guarantee you're safe, and how attackers are now conducting in-person social engineering campaigns that play out over six months before striking. Peiyu breaks down the biggest hacks of the year, explains the difference between custodial and non-custodial risk, and gives founders practical advice on how to build with security from day one. If you're building in Web3 or investing in protocols, this one is essential listening.
DISCLAIMER
Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend. 
Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/
 CONNECT 
CertiK Website: https://www.certik.com/
CertiK Twitter/X: https://x.com/CertiK
CertiK LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certik/home/
Peiyu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/p3iyuwang/?isSelfProfile=false
Web3 with Sam Kamani: https://www.web3pod.xyz/
 KEY POINTS WITH TIMESTAMPS 
• [00:00] AI is compressing the attack lifecycle , finding zero-day vulnerabilities that once took a month now takes a day or two
• [00:24] The Drup protocol attack involved an attacker meeting the victim in person at a crypto conference and spending six months building trust before deploying malware
• [01:01] Sam interviews Peiyu from CertiK live at Korea Blockchain Week in Seoul
• [02:16] Institutional financial companies are increasingly focused on digital assets , stablecoins, tokenization , and security is their top priority
• [03:25] The three biggest hacks of the year: a $300M+ infrastructure exploit, the CollabDAO bridge attack, and the Drup social engineering incident
• [05:12] Social engineering is rising fast , fake Zoom links, Telegram impersonation, and phishing attacks are becoming standard attack vectors
• [07:05] Defense-in-depth is critical: EDR software, strong monitoring, and a SOC team can stop attackers even after initial compromise
• [09:47] Getting audited isn't enough , auditor quality, scope limitations, and ignoring off-chain components leave major gaps
• [12:20] CertiK reviews the full architecture even when only part of the system is in scope and recommends penetration testing for off-chain components
• [13:03] Manual audits, formal verification, static analysis, and AI are complementary , not replacements for each other
• [14:15] CertiK has built an AI Auditor tool that is publicly usable and can catch most issues a human auditor would find
• [16:14] April saw more than 30 hack incidents with only three hack-free days , AI is directly driving this surge
• [17:35] The best defense against AI-powered attacks is using AI on the defense side too , AI-empowered security engineers and agent SOC monitoring
• [18:28] Custodial vs non-custodial risk explained , hardware wallets from reputable providers, and understanding multi-sig, MPC, and HSM-based custody options
• [21:17] Founders should adopt a secure-by-design mindset , hire security engineers early and engage a security firm at the architecture stage before writing code
• [22:47] CertiK's biggest challenge is keeping pace with new technology , every new protocol or EIP needs to be understood and threat-modeled before they can secure it

EPISODE DESCRIPTION 
I sat down with the founder of HandlePay, Medhi Farooq at Korea Blockchain Week in Seoul to talk about why Pakistan is quietly becoming one of the most important crypto markets in the world. His journey started in 2020 when he got deplatformed by Interactive Brokers simply for being from Pakistan , and that moment of financial exclusion led him to DeFi, to research roles at Messari and Animoca, and eventually to building a neobank that collapses seven or eight apps into one. We dig into why the next decade of neobanking belongs to those who go deep rather than wide, how stablecoins are eating traditional banking rails in emerging markets, and why Pakistan , with 240 million people, an average age of 20, and the third-highest stablecoin adoption in the world , is one of the biggest opportunities nobody is talking about. We also get into AI's impact on freelancers, the diaspora remittance opportunity, and what the roadmap for HandlePay looks like over the next 12 months. 
DISCLAIMER
Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend. 
Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/
 CONNECT 
HandlePay Website: https://handlepay.io/
HandlePay LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/handle-pay/posts/?feedView=alls
HandlePay Twitter/X: https://x.com/HandlePay0
Mehdi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mehdifarooq/?isSelfProfile=false
Web3 with Sam Kamani: https://www.web3pod.xyz/
 KEY POINTS WITH TIMESTAMPS 
• [00:00] Mehdi intro , how getting deplatformed by Interactive Brokers during COVID sparked a journey into DeFi and permissionless finance
• [03:53] Impressions from Korea Blockchain Week , more suits, TradFi and Web3 worlds converging
• [05:02] The rise of crypto credit cards and net-new financial products at the intersection of crypto and traditional finance
• [06:49] Neobank 1.0 vs the next decade , why going deep beats going wide
• [09:26] Pakistan as a crypto superpower , 240M population, average age 20, 80% YoY freelancer growth, third-largest stablecoin adoption globally
• [11:30] How HandlePay collapses seven or eight apps into one , Binance, peer-to-peer WhatsApp groups, local banks, and more
• [13:00] Tapping the Pakistani diaspora , virtual US bank accounts, USDT/USDC remittance rails, and off-ramping at interbank rates
• [15:58] HandlePay's current state , live app, stablecoin payments, upcoming virtual accounts, global equities, crypto credit card, and bill payments
• [17:48] AI squeezing freelancer income but growing the freelancer base , and why human relationships compound faster than AI
• [19:35] Funding update , pre-seed raised, strong cap table, announcement coming soon
• [21:52] Key asks , investors, talent, and Pakistani SMEs and freelancers to download the app

EPISODE DESCRIPTION 
I sat down with Cris, Chief Strategy Officer at Beldex, live at Korea Blockchain Week in Seoul. We got into why privacy isn't just a feature , it's a full-stack infrastructure problem. Crris broke down how Beldex evolved from a privacy coin in 2018 into a complete privacy layer covering messaging, browsing, VPNs, and now AI agent communication. We also got into something I feel very strongly about: context bleed in AI agents and why it's a silent killer for anyone building with multi-agent systems. If you're a founder or developer building anything that touches user data , especially in the AI or trading space , this one is for you. 
DISCLAIMER
Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend. 
Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/
 CONNECT 
Beldex Website: https://beldex.io/
Beldex Twitter/X: https://x.com/BeldexCoin
Beldex LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beldex/
Cris LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crisblanco/?isSelfProfile=false
Web3 with Sam Kamani: https://www.web3pod.xyz/
 KEY POINTS WITH TIMESTAMPS 
• [00:00] Cris teases the core Beldex vision: becoming invisible infrastructure that people use without knowing it
• [01:07] Introductions: Cris is CSO at Beldex, recorded live at Korea Blockchain Week in Seoul
• [01:32] What is Beldex? Privacy infrastructure that started as a privacy coin in 2018 and expanded to cover all aspects of digital life
• [02:20] How Beldex differs from Monero and Zcash , they go beyond payments into messaging, browsing, and VPNs
• [03:35] The real use case problem in crypto: too much infra, not enough apps , Beldex is building both
• [04:56] BChat: a privacy-first messaging app like WhatsApp that requires no phone number or email
• [06:52] Beldex raised an $8M round in August and is now focused on enabling builders via SDK, EVM sidechain, and a grants program
• [09:01] Message to founders: privacy should be built in from day one, not bolted on at the end
• [11:17] Technology becomes adopted when it becomes invisible , we need to stop forcing people to learn crypto jargon
• [13:13] Beldex is now testing encrypted messaging infrastructure for AI agent communication
• [14:29] Context bleed in AI agents: why privacy infrastructure is critical for anyone building multi-agent systems
• [16:37] Trading use case: context bleed between agents could be disastrous for funds and quant systems
• [19:29] Cris shares his personal tech conviction: hyper-personalised, custom-built software powered by AI is the future
• [21:29] Biggest ask: developers and founders should think deeply about why privacy matters, then come check out Beldex

EPISODE DESCRIPTION 
I sat down with Wish Wu from Pharos at Korea Blockchain Week to catch up on everything they've been building since we last spoke eight months ago. Pharos has quietly become the largest blockchain for RWA insurance and distribution in APAC, with over $116 million in real-world assets on-chain , and half of those users are coming straight from Web2. Now they're going further. Wish walks me through how Pharos is building agent-native infrastructure, solving the gas sponsorship problem for micropayments, and launching a desktop app that lets anyone , developer or not , build and run on-chain workflows with AI. With 200,000 to 300,000 agents already running on the chain, the vision is bold: more agents than humans actively transacting on Pharos within the next 12 months. 
DISCLAIMER
Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend. 
Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/
 CONNECT 
Pharos Website: https://www.pharos.xyz/
Pharos Twitter/X: https://x.com/pharos_network
Pharos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pharosnetwork/
Wish LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wishlonger/?isSelfProfile=false
Web3 with Sam Kamani: https://www.web3pod.xyz/
 KEY POINTS WITH TIMESTAMPS 
• [0:00] Introduction at Korea Blockchain Week with Wish Wu from Pharos
• [0:50] Pharos has become the largest blockchain for RWA insurance and distribution in APAC with over $116M in on-chain assets
• [2:07] ~50% of Pharos users are coming from Web2 , many holding crypto for the first time
• [3:14] Pharos upgrades to agent-native support, tackling gas sponsorship friction for new users and agents
• [4:42] Why existing gas sponsorship models break down for agent micropayments and multi-chain interactions
• [6:33] Introducing programmable gas subscriptions , pay once, let your agent run freely on Pharos
• [9:22] Key challenge: closing the UX gap between Web2 apps and Web3 experiences
• [10:28] Agents level the playing field , they give Web3 a chance to compete with Web2 UX
• [11:54] Pharos is launching a desktop app , a Codex-style tool for both developers and everyday users
• [18:06] Partnership priorities: institutions and asset issuers to bring more natively issued on-chain assets
• [21:09] 12-month vision: mainnet rollout of agent-native Layer-1, more RWA distribution, and more agents than humans on-chain

I sat down with Chad from THORChain , the protocol that literally invented cross-chain liquidity , for a raw, no-fluff conversation about what it really takes to secure a decentralized exchange handling over $125 billion in volume. We dig into why security audits give people false confidence, how AI is supercharging hackers right now, and what THORChain's autonomous halt systems actually do when things go sideways. We also get into the Bitget $350M hack, what it means when funds flow through decentralized protocols, and the deeper philosophical question , where do you draw the line between censorship resistance and protecting users? Chad also shares what's next for THORChain, including Monero and Zcash support, faster swaps, and why he believes DEXs will inevitably outcompete centralized exchanges on every metric that matters. 
DISCLAIMER
Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend. 
Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/
 CONNECT 
THORChain Website: https://thorchain.org/
THORChain Twitter/X: https://x.com/thorchain
THORChain LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thorchain/
Web3 with Sam Kamani Podcast: https://www.web3pod.xyz/
 KEY POINTS WITH TIMESTAMPS 
• [00:00] Sam introduces the episode , THORChain, the Bitget $350M hack, and what's really going on with security in crypto
• [01:38] Chad joins and explains what makes THORChain different , the protocol that invented cross-chain liquidity
• [03:33] Why THORChain was the first true decentralized exchange for native Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Doge , and Monero coming next
• [04:41] Security lessons from $125B in volume , why a cross-chain DEX is orders of magnitude harder to secure than Uniswap
• [05:40] A wave of hacks hits the whole sector: Maya, THORChain's app layer, NIR, Chainflip , all within weeks
• [06:53] Why audits are the lowest standard in security , and why having an on-staff red/blue team matters far more
• [08:07] How THORChain's autonomous halt system works , the protocol can stop itself before humans even notice
• [10:36] Managing the trilemma: decentralization, security, and usability , how validator voting and pause mechanisms balance it all
• [13:32] The Terra collapse as a lesson: why you need fast-response mechanisms, not just slow governance
• [15:23] Chad's take on the Bitget $350M hack and the tension between censorship resistance and stopping stolen funds
• [16:38] Why decentralization is a requirement for liberty , and what Bitcoin gave the world for the first time in history
• [20:00] Historical precedents: the Ethereum DAO hack fork and Bitcoin's 2010 overflow bug , when protocols have rolled back transactions
• [23:13] The biggest underestimated security risk in DeFi right now: AI lowering the bar for black-hat hackers
• [25:17] Macro view: AI pulling capital away from crypto, the Genius Act, TradFi merging with DeFi, and where the cycle stands
• [27:23] What's next for THORChain , Zcash now, Monero next, more chains, faster swaps, better quotes
• [28:17] Why DEXs will inevitably beat CEXs on speed, cost, and accessibility , and why Chad is excited to be part of that future