As Epicenter hits the 500 episode milestone, our hosts look back on almost 10 years of crypto developments, analysing the good, the bad and the ugly. What projects & narratives have surprised our hosts? Has Bitcoin failed in becoming a reliable store of value? Will ZK proofs provide the much needed solution to AI’s alignment problem? Last but not least, are we still early? Get ready for a fascinating discussion, albeit gloomy for this special occasion. Thank you for being part of this amazing journey! We wouldn’t have made it so far without your continuous support! Looking forward to the next 500 episodes! Topics covered in this episode: Brian’s health updateLooking back on 10 years of Epicenter & crypto developmentAre we still early on Bitcoin or has that ship already sailed?Stores of value: Bitcoin vs. Gold vs. Market IndexesThe need for stablecoins, including algorithmic ones!Projects & narratives that took a 180 degree turnAI vs. verifiable computation via ZK proofsThe control & alignment AI problemsDecentralised identity systems (DID)Looking forward to the next 500 episodesSponsors: CoinGecko: CoinGecko API provides access to the most comprehensive data aggregator in the market, supporting more than 10,000 crypto assets from over 700 exchanges! Visit https://gcko.io/epicenterCGpromo today and use the promo code ""EPICENTER"" to unlock an additional 10% OFF!This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Brian Fabian Crain, Friederike Ernst, Meher Roy, Sunny Aggarwal & Felix Lutsch.  Show notes and listening options: [epicenter.tv/500](https://epicenter.tv/500)

As crypto evolves, it becomes clearer that the future will be multi-chain. Presently, moving funds between different blockchains is frustrating...to say the least. The current bridging solutions are prohibitive from a UX perspective, mainly due to how finality is reached across different blockchains. This translates to long wait times and anxiety when interacting with new protocols, caused by the incertitude of funds arriving safely on the other side. Another major blockage consists of gas fees, particular to each blockchain, which often require an additional swap. But what if, users could enjoy near-instant cross-chain swaps (sub-20 second) and one-click transaction aggregators? We were joined by Fig, co-founder of Squid Router, to discuss how they leverage Axelar's infrastructure to achieve one-click, near-instant cross-chain swaps, creating user-friendly interoperability. Topics covered in this episode: Fig’s backgroundHow Squid tackles interoperabilityBuilding a better DevEx & UX on top of Axelar’s securityChoosing what DEXes to wrap & aggregate in SquidOptimising gas fees, prices & MEV cross-chainSquid’s business modelIntegrating other messaging protocolsAddressing finality to reduce swap times below 20 secondsHow Squid x Axelar solve other bridging protocol issues (e.g. multichain hack)Squid use casesEpisode links: Fig on TwitterSquid on TwitterAxelar on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/498