Developing Protocols Today with Garry Krugljakow

What is up everyone welcome back to their episode of the Divi Crypto Podcast and today I am joined by Gary Krugliakos and he is the founder of Gogo Protocol as well as the OBIX Protocol. How's it going Gary? Hey, thanks for having me. I'm very excited to be here. Yeah, yeah, I'm excited to dig into both of these protocols. But before we get into that, let's

talk a little bit about your background. What got you into crypto? Yeah, so I my journey into crypto starts with me and essentially being a finance guy or working in finance and banking for a number of years. used to use to focus on how how finance markets work, worked in as management as a portfolio manager and trading or a credit desk at a number of banks

until I realized, okay, banking is changing a lot and this was almost 10 years ago now and realized, okay, there's a huge shift in user behavior because I realized banking, will have to be, will have to get disrupted one way or another and I knew sitting inside a bank probably, I won't be able to disrupt it the way I thought it needs to be. And therefore

I left and yeah, I actually joined my first startup, which was a mobile bank called N26. I think one of the biggest mobile banks now in Europe, which I helped build from really the early days and learned also how to build essentially a mobile banking product. How to deal with legal aspects of that and operational aspects and that really helped me to then build my own

mobile payment app, which was called cookies, tech runs called like the Ben MoV Europe, was like a peer payment app essentially for the European market because back then we didn't really have much. No really payment. No real payment apps at all. Even PayPal was not really used for peer-to-peer payments rather than mostly for checking out on eBay and paying for your goods. So yeah, I had

business based on AI and big data over 200 data points that we analyzed real time. And based on that, it would have gotten a loan of up to $150,000. So it would have been a good or your stock. And especially for online shops or Shopify stores and Amazon sellers, this was a very good and healthy alternative to let's say banking loan. And yeah, we sold that

company to a large of German bank. Just before COVID hit and obviously once COVID started, there was this huge paradigm shift. And it's funny because I knew for a while, okay, FinTech alone won't solve this. Disruption of banking and finance as I imagine it, they would back in my banker days. But then I realized the power of smart contracts and the power of essentially FI when

FI Summer came along. And I had a number of friends that were already very much into crypto. I was always playing around with it back in, I don't know, 15, 16. But only until summer 2020, I understood. The full potential that D5 might have on us as users and in general on the financial ecosystem. And yeah, then part of my XT members from our previous startup

and myself we got together and said, okay, let's just play around with some smart contracts. And we start building some smart contracts, you know, learning more solidity. And then by the end of 2020, the whole thing, I think, is really good. It's really good for the whole NFT type. NFT hype started. And for me, it was clear, okay, we don't have a real D5 use case

yet. But NFT thing will blow, blow, blow up. And I think this will really be the one thing that will bring the masses to WebPray, which I think did. And that's when we start our NFT collection, which was called CryptoGoGo's driven by a very active, very engaging community, the COVID nods. And yeah, I think that's pretty good. Over almost overnight, it became a top trending NFT

collection open sea. Like I think for short, pure thumb was even a top 20 NFT trending card game there. And yeah, build build build out the community to I think over five, six thousand early users and backers, which was really fun. And those NFTs were, you know, just some monsters, very nicely animated by an amazing 3D animator, that were, you know, moving around or hovering in

air in the 3D format and each of those almost a thousand NFTs were unique and had unique attributes. So yeah, this helped us to then essentially build what is now known as Google Protocol, which stem from the fact that people ask, what can we do if those NFTs are then buying selling and trading. And then we said, okay, actually we have a finance background, obviously, defies

very close to our hearts. So we essentially built Google Protocol, which in its essence is a community driven open source protocol that focuses on, you know, helping you manage digital assets and give you an introduction to how defies should work. Very easy to use interface and options for you to engage with other protocols to earn yields based on, you know, smart contracts essentially brought you from

our platform to them. Other defies protocols. And after early initial successes, we then got approached by the polygon team, which we then since then became very close with and, you know, also renonced the NFT collection action polygon, because it was just way more sustainable. And then realized, okay, for the Google Protocol to work, we need actually a very, you know, sustainable source of yield. And back

then, polygon was missing one key lending product, which was compound. So compound wasn't was non polygon and isn't. And then we decided, hey, let's just build this, but with some twists like VTokenomics and the very clear focus on risk management and innovation when it comes to like interest rate curves. Like for instance, we have something called dynamic interest rate curves in a focus on supporting more

than broader polygon ecosystem. And this is where the Olbix Protocol came to be. And we, we initially launched a public beta and very soon will launch the full version with some major announcements and basically Olbix Protocol will then feed also the yields that will be derived and then assemble it. And to users that engage via the Golgop Protocol, and that's how those things kind of interact

with each other. Got it. Very cool. So could you walk us through like an example of how this would work in practice, like how someone would utilize Golgop? Yeah, so Golgop's kind of the front end, right? So it can call it front end for newcomers to define or kind of the window. So we go to defy for newcomers. So essentially we try to have very easy

to use interface where the clear, very clear call to actions for you as a user to then be able to A by your first crypto, be it by on ramps where you see already, let's say an advanced user that has their own that free wallet. Already, let's say, Metamask World, then can already directly engage with the protocol. And then, where Golgop Protocol is actually now with

the version two coming out of this Delta neutral strategies, which in its essence are risk averse strategies where you can extract yield and returns from different deeper protocols. So be it. For instance, in a very in a very simple format. You can imagine like a UniSwap free strategy that makes money from essentially trading fees. But then because you want to be Delta neutral, meaning completely hatched,

you have a hatch where you short the underlying token. Let's say it's a UCD, Metac UniSwap pool. So the strategy would then hatch make money on the UCD, Metac LP pool. But what's the problem? It would hatch and go short the Metac. And in a fully automated way that keeps on rebalancing the second that Metac, fluctuates. And for instance, goes up or down. And that's called

it fully Delta neutral strategy. And it's going to be not run by human beings, but actually by smart contracts. So you don't have a risk that some of one of us, you know, fat fingers. And then instead of going long, go short or something like that. So that's something I'm extremely excited about. Nice. Very cool. Very cool. So what is the status? I think it's always

really important when we talk about any sort of Web 3 projects is where are you guys at in the process? How big is your team? And where are you with, you know, product wise? Yeah. So the team. We have. What's a roughly 15 to 20 people in a core team and then around five to 10 people that come and go as freelancers or contributors, also from

within the community. So, so from within both communities. So yeah, it's actually a very, very nice, nice collaborative way of working. And we are launching. V2 of the GoPro protocol imminently. So, so hopefully by next month, meaning at some point, probably in August, we will be most likely launching, you know, the first strategy. So GoPro. Got it. Got it. And then with OBIX, what's the status

there in terms of where you guys are? Yeah. So with OBIX, the public video is already live. So users can and should engage already with the of the protocol because, you know, who knows, maybe there will be some early incentives for early users and early backers. And we're definitely going to utilize. Let's say, other protocol, such as in this case, go protocol that essentially sit on

top of OBIX and bring on the way more of those guys to the OBIX. So one protocol that we will be using. We will be working with already quite extensively and helping us actually as advisors, the guys from Chee Dow, which is a, they have their own stable coin on, on, on, on Poligon. And I think now also number of other blockchains. And they are, yeah,

going on, going on, also join, join us for, for them, the full launch of OBIX. We're going to launch a basic there. They're, they're going to be able to do a lot of things. And they're stable coin on OBIX. And on top of that, you know, many more announcements in terms of not just supported tokens on OBIX, but also other protocols and other partnerships that really

hopefully going to bring the next couple of, yeah, if not millions, then at least a couple of 100,000 users to, to, to defy and, and to some really exciting advanced stuff. That we're building. Cool. Yeah. And shifting gears a little bit, you know, I think the payment rails that are being put in place with stable coins is super exciting. And that a lot of people discount

right now with having this sort of global infrastructure with, with, uh, pegged money going around all over the world. I think it's really exciting to see that. And it's cool that you guys are kind of working on having a stable coin implemented, uh, as a great first sort of, uh, application for the, the space as a whole, taking a step forward, uh, you know, outside of,

of go go and OBIX. I'd like to talk a little bit about the DeFi space because it's been pretty chaotic with everything that happened. And with Luna and everything that's just been pure chaos over the last couple of months here. Where do you think we're at in the, you know, status of the entire DeFi market? Yeah. Well, um, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

So I, I genuinely believe in in that and, and, um, I think everyone in DeFi, um, has, or is learning their lesson. Um, number one, you know, focus more on risk mitigation. Number two, explain people, uh, what they're actually dealing with. What are the underlying risks? What are, uh, where essentially, are money going? Um, how's that being utilized? What are the parties involved? Um, I think

DeFi was very, um, or, or the, the, the people in DeFi really and the builders and, and, and, and, um, contributors and communities in DeFi, um, where, where actually, um, kind of, uh, you know, enjoying having kind of this special status of, you know, things are a bit secretive and, and, uh, as I was no one is asking too many questions, which is going to keep

on going, et cetera. And minute, you know, things things oneself. Um, yeah, you, you could see one, one protocol off to another folding. Um, and, um, I think we're not even done yet. Um, I believe there will still be a few, few more protocols that, that probably not going to survive this, just because maybe the, the, the focus wasn't on, on risk management, and on, on,

on, you know, making sure, um, the products are, are easy to understand, or easy enough to understand, uh, um, or at least, uh, it's the right product for the right, um, uh, you know, user, user, user, user. So, um, I think, yeah, I think that's, that's, that let's obviously to some chaos. And, and I think we're, we're still not out of the wood yet, uh, wood

yet, but we're definitely, um, seeing already, you know, some improvements in terms of, um, you know, people, other protocols start thinking, um, more about not what makes me, you know, become famous overnight or, or, or, creates just crazy growth, no matter the underlying, you know, economics, but rather, how can I build, um, actual, sustainable business, uh, that actually solves the problem that, that, that, that people

are happy to pay, to pay, um, money for. And, and, um, I think that's, that's just a healthy development, um, overall. Um, and, uh, yeah, I think, um, I, I generally believe that the ecosystem will come, uh, come out stronger. The, uh, out is, but our, uh, the network is sort of global. Uh, a, the, when, um, out of millennial, um, top in space, uh, um,

and for every time you come back to multinational, uh, leading, um, the real stage, uh, rural, global, uh, uh, uh, uh, big maps in the stanie, er, uh, um, so, you know, um, it's not my first, uh, uh, uh, rodeo, I guess, in terms of, uh, you know, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've seen, uh, market cycles, um, I've seen, uh, uh, different stages of, of, of

companies, and, and, um, I guess, I guess that's why, you know, um, it's, it's good to have some sort of experience already, uh, but yeah, um, for people that are new and, you know, found, uh, first-time founders, in terms of, uh, people that maybe just got out of, uh, school and start their company, um, for them that, that, that might be shocking, like, uh, they might

lose all their faith and say, yeah, I'm actually, you know, um, not cut out for this. Yeah, yeah, agreed. So the kind of finale question here is, you know, what you're excited about. I think the, the market has been pretty chaotic over the past few months, uh, with everything. And like you said, a lot of first-time founders coming in and sort of, exploding, uh, left and

right, and the builders are actively out there, uh, getting things done. And I think we all sort of welcome the, the bear market. But I'm curious to, to hear what you're excited about in large, you know, outside of what you're currently building. When you get up in the morning, you know, what are you checking your phone for, what are you, uh, looking forward to following throughout

the day. Yeah. Um, well, I'm very excited about what PoliGona is doing, um, both their ZK EVM and, uh, essentially with, uh, the whole ZK strategy in general, um, because I think this will really, uh, leapfrog, um, us, and by us, I mean, uh, us as a, as a, as a, as an industry, but also as an ecosystem. And, uh, as a, yeah, um, and defy

as well. Um, and, and, and, and and will help really to, to make, make, or bring way more use cases to, to, you know, the blockchain, but free and, and defy in particular, um, because things will become faster, cheaper, um, more secure, or let at least, uh, have a more higher, a bigger focus on privacy. So, so, um, I think this is definitely the one thing

that makes me very excited. And, and we're very happy to be, to be close to that ecosystem, to be able to experience it firsthand. What it means, you know, to, to be able to scale, uh, from a technical level and, and the work of, uh, fantastic minds that are innovating, um, on, on a very deep technological, um, level and, and which makes the job of every

founder of every protocol of every community, but it's easier in terms of, you know, coming up with new business walls, business use cases, that can then be built on top of it. So that, that definitely makes me very excited. Awesome. Awesome. Well there's all the questions I have for you, Gary, where can people go and learn more about the two different protocols. Sure. So for go

protocols, go coin gold and for obics protocols, ovics.com, um, obics with zero. So some people just call it zero, vicks.com. Amazing, amazing. Well, those are all the links, um, Gary mentioned will be in the show notes, everyone that's listening. And that is it for this episode. Thanks so much for coming on and sharing your story. Thank you.