What if blockchain networks could process transactions hundreds of times faster than they do today? This fundamental question led Austin Federa to leave his position at the Solana Foundation and co-found Double Zero, a revolutionary project building what might be the future of the internet itself.

Austin reveals the surprising limitations of our current internet infrastructure that most people never consider. While engineers at Solana had built validator clients theoretically capable of processing a million transactions per second, the public internet simply couldn't support those speeds. Even more concerning, the entire internet is controlled by approximately 20 tier-one ISPs worldwide, creating both performance bottlenecks and potential censorship vulnerabilities.

Double Zero's solution is breathtakingly ambitious yet practical: create a parallel infrastructure using dedicated fiber connections that enable direct routing between nodes. By September 2023, they had connected 50 different fiber links across 18 global locations, offering 20-100 times the bandwidth capacity of typical blockchain nodes. What makes this approach unique is the consortium model, bringing together 11 different companies to contribute existing fiber to the network rather than attempting to build this massive infrastructure alone.

The economic innovations are equally fascinating. Austin explains "proof of utility," their novel reward system based on Shapley values that measures actual contribution to network performance. Unlike traditional cryptocurrency models, if you operate a fiber link that nobody uses, you earn nothing. This creates fierce competition to provide the fastest, most reliable connections.

Perhaps most intriguing is Double Zero's long-term vision: eventually eliminating IP addresses entirely in favor of cryptographic routing. This would remove centralized intermediaries like certificate authorities and DNS servers, creating a more secure and truly decentralized internet infrastructure resistant to spoofing and man-in-the-middle attacks.

As traditional finance increasingly explores blockchain solutions, the demand for high-performance networks will only grow. Double Zero isn't just improving existing technology—it's rebuilding the internet from the ground up. Listen now to understand how this revolution might transform our digital infrastructure forever.

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What happens when one of crypto’s most prestigious investment firms decides to go all-in on Solana?

In this episode of The Index Podcast, host Alex Kehaya sits down with Cosmo Jiang, General Partner at Pantera Capital, to unpack their groundbreaking move into the Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) space with HSDT Helios—a $500 million Solana-focused venture already making waves across the industry.

Why Solana over other blockchains? Cosmo shares a refreshingly straightforward thesis, drawing on Jeff Bezos’ “holy trinity” of consumer wants: faster, cheaper, and more accessible. It’s this simple yet powerful framework that explains how Solana surged from generating $50,000 in revenue in 2020 to $1.4 billion in 2024—a growth curve impossible to ignore.

Together, Alex and Cosmo dive deep into what makes Digital Asset Treasury companies work, why Solana-based DATs hold fundamental advantages over Bitcoin alternatives, and how these entities function more like sophisticated financial institutions. “These businesses look a lot like banks,” Cosmo explains. “If they can generate a return above their cost of capital, then they trade above book value.” It’s a lens that helps founders and investors alike understand why premier DATs command sustainable premiums.

For founders and crypto investors, this conversation is a master class on the rapidly expanding $80B DAT landscape, from evaluating which companies might outperform to exploring how regulatory tailwinds are opening new possibilities for tokenized equity in DeFi.

Want to understand the future of institutional crypto adoption and how Solana is positioning itself at the center of this revolution? This episode is your essential guide.

🔗 Learn more at Helius ➡️ ✨Solana Company✨ - https://www.solanacompany.co/

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What does the future of Ethereum and blockchain really look like — a few massive chains, or thousands of specialized ones working together? This week, host Alex Kehaya sits down with Sam McIngvale, Head of Product at OP Labs, to explore the evolution of Optimism from an Ethereum scaling solution into the creator of an entire ecosystem powered by the OP Stack.

Sam breaks down the idea of the “Superchain” and many others share both technology and revenue. It’s a model that combines customization with the security of shared, battle-tested infrastructure, creating a powerful network effect.

You’ll also hear his take on enterprise adoption and the rise of what he cleverly calls “DeFi Mullets” — familiar, traditional-looking financial products with decentralized rails underneath. Sam explains why users often trust brands like Coinbase over abstract decentralization, while still stressing the need for “escape hatches” to protect blockchain’s core values.

For builders in web3, this conversation offers a compelling vision: how institutions managing trillions could drive the next wave of adoption, and how enterprise solutions, better infrastructure, and interoperability are shaping that path.

Ready to explore how open-source infrastructure is reshaping Ethereum and the broader blockchain landscape? Tune in and discover why the future may belong to those building bridges rather than walls between ecosystems.

🔗 oplabs.co

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