Alex Cutler and TaoWatts are Core Contributors at Velodrome Finance.
In this episode, we discover how Velodrome defied all odds in the bear market to become a DeFi darling and recently shipped Velodrome V2. Launched in June 2022, just weeks after the Terra UST collapse, Velodrome has managed to not only survive, but gone on to thrive as the most popular DEX to deposit liquidity on Optimism.
The first half of the pod explores the remarkable story of how they built a popular DeFi product during the worst crypto bear market. The second half is a guide on everything you need to know to understand Velodrome V2, including their ve(3,3) mechanics and how to strategically approach being a liquidity provider or veVELO voter.

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Topics Covered
00:00 - Intro
06:58 - Background on Alex and Tao
14:29 - 2 theses that guided them through the bear
20:06 - A true community launch
25:49 - How less resources led to being resourceful
26:47 - Locking the Velodrome treasury for 4 years
28:53 - Why ve(3,3) AMMs incentivize action
34:51 - Velodrome explained
39:59 - How the weekly rebase yield works
42:02 - Locking up VELO
43:14 - Velodrome V1 vs V2
46:36 - Biggest updates in V2
52:21 - Velodrome Relay and LP voting
54:02 - Fees flipping bribes/incentives in V2
55:24 - Sustained high yields
58:58 - Emission rate updates in V2
1:01:37 - Alex's alpha
1:03:15 - Closing
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Guest Links
Velodrome Finance on Twitter
https://twitter.com/VelodromeFi
Learn about Velodrome Finance
https://velodrome.finance/
Dune Analytics dashboards referenced
https://dune.com/0xkhmer/velodrome
Velodrome V2 Docs
https://velodrome.finance/docs#
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? The Edge Podcast is produced by 4RC Labs. If you're a DeFi/Web3 builder, contact our team at: https://fourthrevolution.capital/
All opinions expressed by hosts and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and not necessarily those of Fourth Revolution Capital. Podcast guests and 4RC may have positions in the assets or other matters discussed in this podcast. As disclosed in the interview, DeFi Dad shared he has been an active veVELO holder since summer 2022. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. Do your own research.