Decentralized stablecoins have long been regarded as a fundamental building block for the decentralized web. The first ground-breaking project in this area is Maker with their stablecoin DAI. Multiple ideas existed for how Maker should evolve and the path Maker chose was to add multiple types of collateral and rely on governance input to maintain stability. Over time, the vast majority of Maker's collateral came to be represented by USDC, a centralized stablecoin issued by regulated US institutions. Rai Reflex Index (RAI) decided to fork Maker and choose a path favoring trust-minimization over faster scaling. Unlike with Maker, only ETH is accepted as collateral and a different mechanism is used to maintain low volatility that doesn't rely on governance input. We were joined by Reflexer Labs' co-founder Ameen Soleimani to chat about the philosophical differences to Maker, the mechanisms used to ensure the stability of RAI, the threat of regulatory intervention for DAI and how we can create truly trust-minimized stablecoins to ensure the resilience and neutrality of DeFi. Topics covered in this episode: Ameen's background and the vision behind ReflexerHow RAI differs from MakerThe problem with DAI becoming multi-collateral and adding more governance controlRAI's stability mechanismThe function of the redemption priceWho holds RAI and how stable is it?FLX governanceHow decentralized stablecoins can scaleEpisode links: Reflexer LabsReflexer on TwitterAmeen on TwitterSponsors: Steakwallet: Steakwallet is your new favorite multi-chain, mobile wallet. Tired of having a different wallet for every chain? Get Steakwallet today and get the power of Web 3 across all chains right at your fingertips: https://steakwallet.fi/ -This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/460

On August 8, 2022, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Tornado Cash, citing allegations it helped North Korea's Lazarus hacker group launder millions of dollars worth of crypto proceeds stolen from various crypto projects over the past few years. Coin Center believe that OFAC has overstepped its legal authority by adding certain Tornado Cash smart contract addresses to the Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons (SDN) List, potentially violating US Americans' constitutional rights to due process and free speech. Peter Van Valkenburgh, Director of Research at Coin Center, joined us for an in-depth look at how OFAC operates, why he believes this sanctioning represents an overreach, what's next for Tornado Cash, and what this means for the rest of the blockchain ecosystem. Topics covered in this episode: An overview of the Tornado Cash caseWhat is the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)?How is it determined who gets on the OFAC list? What happens to you if you're on the list?Does this only apply to US Americans?How does one get removed from the list?What did Tornado Cash do wrong, and what should they have done?Is there an acceptable level of maliciousness within the system?Comparison to PGPWhy Tornado Cash was targeted over other privacy enhancing toolsThe reaction from the crypto ecosystemEpisode links: OFAC - The Office of Foreign Assets ControlCoin CenterTornado Cash on TwitterCoin Center on TwitterPeter on TwitterJoin the Epicenter team!Sponsors: Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/458