Interview DEFI TIMES with Juri Maibaum
Interview DEFI TIMES with Juri Maibaum
Kindly introduce yourself and describe your blockchain / DeFi journey
- Hey, my name is Juri Maibaum, and I am the Co-founder of DEFI TIMES. I have a background in law and entered the industry in the middle of the bear market. In 2019 I traveled through Africa, where I got in touch with DeFi for the very first time. Since that day, I have focused on this sector, and in August 2020, I founded DEFI TIMES with my business partner and friend, Fabian Klauder.
Describe your company and business case – what product / value are you offering to the blockchain ecosystem and your clients?
- Our goal at DEFI TIMES is to make the broader society understand DeFi. In our daily podcast, we cover all the important news stories for our community to keep them updated. Besides, we have a newsletter and YouTube channel where we analyze the market and explain current events.
How do you support existing and new Defi companies?
- We collaborate with some projects and give them our reach – both for new and established ones.
What is your thesis about DeFi and Web 3.0?
- Simple question, simple answer: we at DEFI TIMES believe that we are on the verge of the biggest revolution humankind has ever seen. Today, more than one billion people do not own a bank account and are, therefore, isolated from the financial sector. Banks can decide which clients they take, and if you can’t afford a bank account, you are out of the game. We at DEFI TIMES believe that this is also why the gap between rich and poor is getting bigger, as people cannot escape from poverty. How could you start a business without owning a bank account? You need one to be registered at the local office or to do international business. DeFi and Web 3.0 will solve these problems! In DeFi, nobody can decide who is allowed to participate and who not. The only hurdle to overcome is getting an internet connection. However, digital infrastructures are improving even in the poorest countries in the world. So, it will be just a question of time when everybody in the world has access to financial services. We are banking the unbanked!
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We at DEFI TIMES believe that we are on the verge of the biggest revolution humankind has ever seen!
What are you most excited about (Web 3.0, DeFi, Interoperability, Liquidity, Farming, Layer 1/2/3, SSI, NFT, Social Tokens etc.)?
- We are very much looking forward to EIP-1559 and ETH 2.0. EIP-1559 will make ETH a deflationary asset and gas fees more predictable, while ETH 2.0 will reconstruct the whole blockchain architecture of Ethereum, making Ethereum scalable and more sustainable. In our view, the combination of EIP-1559 and ETH 2.0 will make Ethereum the backbone of tomorrow’s financial system and ETH the perfect store of value.
What are the major roadblocks for an adoption of Web 3.0 / blockchain-based finance (DeFi)?
- There are many! First, we need more regulatory certainty. Legislations are very uncertain in countries such as India or Nigeria. Even in countries like Germany, where DEFI TIMES is headquartered, legislation is not always clear. And if there is one thing that hinders innovation, then regulatory uncertainty. Secondly, people must understand what’s wrong with our current monetary system and why DeFi is a good solution to many problems.
What protocols / networks do you support the most – kindly share some insights?
- We love Ethereum! As already mentioned, we at DEFI TIMES believe that Ethereum will be the backbone of tomorrow’s financial system. When ETH 2.0 ships, Ethereum will be the most decentralized and secure blockchain in the space (our personal opinion, no financial advice :D). However, we believe that the future is multi-chain! Bitcoin could become the most trusted asset globally, while ecosystems like Cosmos connect different blockchains in the industry. We also have an eye on Polkadot, DeFi Chain, and Ethereum sidechains.
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We at DEFI TIMES believe that Ethereum will be the backbone of tomorrow's financial system!
Do you want to share your TOP 10 DeFi portfolio?
- Before that, I have to mention that I am no financial advisor, but my investment strategy is the following: I first started to buy as much ETH and BTC as possible. Both assets back my portfolio as I would dare to hold them even in the deepest bear market. Then, shortly before DeFi summer 2020, I invested in high-quality DeFi blue chips such as AAVE or SNX – I still hold my UNI token that I got from the airdrop in September 2020. Then I started to buy some DOT and ATOM and some potential moonshots here and there. But all in all: I would say that I am a conservative investor in the DeFi space.
Next steps / roadmap 2021 / 2022
- We currently work on a DeFi news website where we will publish articles on a daily basis. Please check out here. So, we want to become more and more an online magazine/ newspaper in the mid-/long-term. We now started to hire two employees and launched a YouTube channel.
What are you looking for (funding, talent, network, sales etc.)
- If you are a project in the DeFi space, feel free to connect! We are always interested in meeting new people and building strong networks. Right now, we do not sell any products or so. But feel free to join our Discord group, listen to our daily podcast or watch our videos on YouTube.
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In other words: join our community! Together we grow!
Juri Maibaum:
How to get in contact with you?
- You can find us on:
- Newsletter
- YouTube
- Discord
- If you are a project and want to connect: contact@defitimes.io