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Q. Please introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Brendon Sedo, and I bring over a decade of entrepreneurial experience at the intersection of technology and finance. As the Co-founder and former CEO of Joist, I built fintech products that served over 1 million small businesses, processing $300 million annually, before successfully exiting to EverCommerce. Today, I’m proud to contribute to Core, the first Proof of Stake Layer for Bitcoin and the largest Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem. Core empowers Bitcoin holders to earn yield, engage with decentralized finance, and unlock the full potential of their Bitcoin through innovative solutions like Non-Custodial Bitcoin Staking.
Q. Could you share a bit about your journey into the blockchain space? What inspired you to get involved?
My journey into blockchain began with a deep appreciation for Bitcoin, and a complementary recognition of its purposeful limitations. Bitcoin’s design as digital gold is unmatched, but its lack of programmability and yield opportunities has left much of its potential untapped. As an entrepreneur, when I see such a huge challenge and opportunity, I immediately want to get involved. I’m obsessed with building, and building on Bitcoin is the greatest challenge and opportunity I can imagine.
What drew me to Core was its ability to unlock Bitcoin’s full potential without altering its base layer. By introducing native yield and DeFi, Core creates new opportunities for Bitcoin holders while staying true to Bitcoin’s principles of security and decentralization. It’s about expanding what Bitcoin can do, while preserving what makes it extraordinary.
Q. What led you to focus on Core and the Bitcoin ecosystem?
Bitcoin represents the majority of the crypto market cap but has historically seen less innovation compared to other parts of the space. As someone who deeply values Bitcoin, I understand the focus on preserving what makes it exceptional. At the same time, I recognized the immense opportunity in expanding its potential. Core embodies this vision perfectly, using its Satoshi Plus consensus to enhance Bitcoin’s capabilities without altering its foundation. Since then, Core has emerged as a leader in Bitcoin DeFi, offering real product-market fit with Bitcoin staking and the largest BTCfi ecosystem. Watching this ecosystem grow has been incredibly exciting, and it’s just the beginning.
Q. What do you find most exciting or challenging about working at the forefront of blockchain innovation?
The challenge of building on Bitcoin is what makes it so exciting. Bitcoin is purposefully limited, and that restraint has been key to its resilience and trust. However, those same limitations mean creating meaningful new opportunities, like Bitcoin staking or Bitcoin DeFi, requires ingenuity and careful alignment with Bitcoin’s principles. What excites me most is tackling these challenges in a way that helps Bitcoin reach its full potential. Core offers the opportunity to empower Bitcoin holders with new ways to use their assets, all while respecting and building on what makes Bitcoin great. It’s the ultimate challenge with the ultimate upside.
Q. Who are your biggest inspirations in technology or business, and how have they shaped your approach?
I’m most inspired by the builders in the blockchain space who have shown unwavering conviction and commitment over the years. The people who see the long-term potential of this technology and have continued to push boundaries, even during the toughest market conditions, are a constant source of motivation. Their ability to innovate, adapt, and stay true to the core principles of decentralization and security has shaped how I approach my work.
Q. How do you balance the technical and entrepreneurial aspects of your role?
The key to balancing the technical and entrepreneurial aspects is surrounding yourself with exceptional people who bring the necessary expertise to the table. Core’s developers are incredible. They continuously deliver groundbreaking use-cases that make it easy to stay motivated and push forward. On the entrepreneurial side, Core Ventures thrives by blending technical innovation with the drive and creativity of founders who push boundaries. This synergy between technical excellence and entrepreneurial vision is what enables Core to lead in Bitcoin innovation.
Q. What was the inspiration behind Core Atomic Swap, and what specific problems does it aim to solve?
The inspiration behind Core Atomic Swap was the need to create a seamless, trustless mechanism for exchanging assets across different blockchains, particularly Bitcoin and Core. Atomic swaps solve the inefficiencies and risks of traditional cross-chain bridges by enabling users to trade assets directly, without intermediaries or custodial risk. This aligns perfectly with Bitcoin’s ethos of decentralization and self-custody, while also enhancing the Core ecosystem’s utility by unlocking new liquidity pathways for BTCfi participants. The goal is to make asset exchange as secure, efficient, and decentralized as possible.
Q. How does Core Atomic Swap differentiate itself from other cross-chain swap solutions?
Core’s atomic swaps are 100% trustless. They don’t require any intermediary. They are simple peer to peer transactions. For the most conservative Bitcoin holders, this opportunity is highly desirable as they prefer to circumvent bridges and custodians.
Q. Can you explain the role of Hashed Time Lock Contracts (HTLCs) in enabling secure, trustless swaps?
Hashed Time Lock Contracts (HTLCs) enable secure, trustless swaps by requiring both parties to fulfill specific conditions before funds are exchanged. A cryptographic hash ensures only the rightful party can unlock the funds, while a time lock ensures funds are refunded if the transaction isn’t completed within a set period, eliminating the need for intermediaries.
Q. Atomic swaps are often described as the future of decentralized trading. What challenges did you face while developing this solution?
Developing atomic swaps meant balancing the rigidity of trustless transactions with user flexibility. Unlike solutions that rely on some trust, atomic swaps require strict adherence to predefined conditions, which can make them less adaptable in certain scenarios. Ultimately, it’s about giving users the choice between maximum security and added flexibility, depending on their preferences.
Q. With Bitcoin as the backbone of Core, how does Core Atomic Swap align with Core Chain's larger vision?
Core Atomic Swap aligns perfectly with Core’s vision by enabling trustless, Bitcoin-secured transactions across chains. It extends Bitcoin's utility within Core’s ecosystem, empowering users to interact with Bitcoin and other assets seamlessly while maintaining Bitcoin’s principles of security and decentralization.
Q. Could you share some use cases or scenarios where Core Atomic Swap has the potential to revolutionize decentralized finance?
Core Atomic Swap enables hardcore Bitcoiners to engage with Bitcoin DeFi without compromising on their principles. Peer-to-peer trustless swaps allow users to trade assets directly from their wallets without relying on custodians or intermediaries. This aligns perfectly with the ethos of Bitcoin and appeals to OGs who have historically been cautious about moving into DeFi. By offering secure, decentralized asset swaps, it lowers the barriers for Bitcoiners to explore BTCfi while staying true to Bitcoin’s core values.
Q. What are the plans for expanding the asset support beyond the tokens currently listed (e.g., CORE, BTC, ETH)?
Atomic swaps work for any asset, so it can be expanded into any category. Stablecoins are a likely next step.
Q. How do you envision Core Atomic Swap’s role in the future of DeFi and the broader blockchain ecosystem?
Core’s Atomic Swaps play a key role in expanding decentralized finance by offering a trustless, peer-to-peer trading solution that aligns with Bitcoin’s principles. It provides Bitcoiners and other blockchain users with a secure way to interact across ecosystems without relying on intermediaries, making DeFi more accessible to those who value self-custody and decentralization. Its simplicity and alignment with Bitcoin’s ethos make it a natural fit for the broader adoption of decentralized finance.
Q. What’s your long-term vision for Core Chain and the adoption of decentralized technologies across industries?
Core is the Proof of Stake Layer for Bitcoin, which means all DeFi activity that wants maximal scalability while still falling under Bitcoin’s protection should come onto Core. This includes Bitcoin-pegged assets, stablecoins, RWAs, and many more. The end result is a growing array of yield-bearing assets that can be swapped and used among an extensive series of interoperable dapps.
