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For this week, we've prepared a special feature for you with videos made on the spot(here and here), as well as several newsletters to follow the EthCC (the big Ethereum conference) taking place in Paris as closely as possible. 🇫🇷

This is the 2nd of 3 editions.

THE BIG SPLASH

DeFi in the spotlight 👻

Who knows Stani Kulechov? Outside of crypto, hardly anyone. But in crypto, the founder of the decentralized finance protocol, Aave, is a REAL star. And his keynote yesterday late afternoon at EthCC in Paris proved it. If all the keynotes did not attract the crowd at the Maison de la Mutualité (also because of the parties and side events), his was a hit.

Is it surprising? Not necessarily. Because if many sectors are well represented this year, it is indeed the DeFi which holds the top of the pavement. And by far! In the stands or on the panels, the "finance of tomorrow", the one without intermediaries and without banks, is the main topic of discussion. Projects are swarming and many of them are tricolored 🇫🇷. "The French are perhaps the best in DeFi", slipped us one of the biggest investment funds of the planet present on site.

It is difficult to prove him wrong on this point (and we are happy to do so) as Morpho, Mangrove, Angle and other "nuggets" continue to progress. But how to explain such a success? We talked about it with one of those who know the sector best and has invested in (many) projects: the Frenchman Julien Bouteloup (StakeDAO, Stake Capital, etc...).

THE BIG NEWS

Our exclusive information

👉 Celsius, the real reasons for the crash

Week after week, the Celsius "file" is growing. A few days ago, the American lending platform, which froze all its activities in June, filed for bankruptcy. A hearing is scheduled for the beginning of August to better understand what happened to make the company collapse like a house of cards. What is certain is that the explosion of Terra Luna in May and the market correction will not be enough to explain the fall of the company. According to our information, Celsius had in fact been in serious difficulties for a long time. Many of the group's employees have tried to find exits in other companies in the sector in recent months. "We received an unusually high number of applications from Celsius employees, and this started long before the market crash," a foreign start-up told us.

👉 Ledger and Cathay fuel

At the presentation of their investment fund (100 million euros) in June, Ledger and Cathay Innovation had announced the color by saying they wanted to "move quickly". But how fast? According to our information, the Web3 fund of the French digital asset custody giant and technology investment firm has already put tickets in several crypto startups. Some deals were already in the pipeline, like the one in French Flowdesk (€30 million in total), but others have just closed like the one in American Syndicate, which is a fundraising platform. "Things are moving fast. There are a lot of opportunities and great projects on the market," explains a person close to the fund. Other investments should follow, especially in French start-ups.

Do you have any information?

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

Julien Bouteloup : "We can clearly talk about French Touch in DeFi".

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Ajack-of-all-trades investor, Julien Bouteloup (StakeDAO, Curve, Stake Capital, etc.) is probably one of the best French experts in DeFi. For him, France has an incredible pool of projects.

EthCC is one of the biggest crypto events in Europe. What do you think about it?

I think it's even the best crypto event in the world (laughs). There are other major events like the DevCon conference, but this one is organized by the Ethereum Foundation and you don't get as many people. EthCC is very community-based, very qualitative. The projects that are there are not there to aggressively sponsor and sell their projects at all costs. At the EthCC, people are there to build, to develop, and that's what makes the event famous.

Speaking of projects, which ones have caught your attention the most in recent months?

It's not easy to answer, there are many. I have spent a lot of time abroad, but I have always made most of my investments in France (his various structures manage hundreds of millions of dollars, editor's note). Lately, I have invested in French projects such as Angle, Mangrove or Morpho (read the fundamental analysis of the project). What is interesting is to see how good their teams are. Decentralized finance, and blockchain in general, correspond very well to these engineering profiles that we find a lot in France, and that's precisely why France shines on the subject.

Can we talk about a "French Touch" in DeFi? The French are everywhere in the big projects...

The French school is excellent in mathematics, which means that we have many profiles that correspond very well to decentralized finance. Young people coming out of the grandes écoles immediately understand DeFi. Almost all DeFi projects have French people with them. At Curve, which I am part of, more than half of the team is French. At Aave, several managers are French. If we add to that all the other companies in the sector, we can clearly speak of a "French Touch" in DeFi. That's why we are trying to bring the subject to the political level. France has a real card to play.

How do you think crypto is revolutionary?

Crypto is just a modality, a way to improve society, the economy... After the subprime crisis in 2008, we saw the emergence of what was called the "sharing economy", with giants like Uber, Airbnb, etc. But these groups do not really embody the "sharing" economy. They still dominate the economy and own the data that goes with it. The Web3 should precisely allow to redistribute the cards by allowing people to reappropriate their data...

To what extent are the Celsius and Three Arrows cases hurting the crypto sector?

All those who lost big in these deals came from traditional finance. They have nothing to do with DeFi. You have to understand that these people wanted to do DeFi while keeping the functioning of traditional finance... But this is not how DeFi works. DeFi is about sharing. Many of these players used their clients' deposits to borrow money left and right, and everyone held on to each other. When the markets turned around, the house of cards collapsed.

Should we fear a domino effect?

In every crash, it's the big ones that fall first. Celsius and Three Arrows are the tip of the iceberg, so they're the ones we talk about a lot. But others are going to fall, and it's going to hurt. We can expect a lot of small business failures, family offices that were using Celsius. Some of the big players in the industry like FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will then be able to shop the market.

Is Sam Bankman-Fried really the Good Samaritan that some would like to portray?

He is an extremely intelligent person who understands the mechanisms of traditional finance and uses them to make profits in decentralized finance. He has a very aggressive approach, between acquisitions and liquidations, while taking advantage of events to make manipulations on an unregulated market.

Do your investments go beyond DeFi ?

I only invest in what I can understand. My area of expertise is blockchain in the broad sense, where I invest quite heavily. I put tickets very early in the projects. These are often quite risky bets, but that's how I like to work and it allows me to invest personally. Beyond blockchain, I also invest in start-ups related to machine learning, artificial intelligence and quantum physics. And there too, most of my investments are in France, because I want to keep in regular contact with the teams.

What is missing for France to become a real leader in crypto?

Our real problem is regulation. Many of the projects I've invested in still have to go and register in jurisdictions like the Cayman Islands because the legislation is not adequate.

You have been quite critical about the European crypto legislation (MiCA, TFR). Why?

Honestly, we are missing the real issues. Except for some people like Adan, and I've talked to them, few people are happy with the result. If we want real results, we'll have to shake the coconut. I am 100% in favor of regulation and the latest episodes with Celsius and the other platforms show that there are problems, but we must have intelligent regulation. Those who make the law don't really master the subject, most of them have never used a wallet, nor ever bought cryptos... And when they will understand the stakes, it will be too late.