Crazy Wisdom
Episode #531: Revenue-Based Lending Meets Crypto: Building Leviathan on Sui
- Money & Sovereignty
- Crypto & Decentralization
- Sui blockchain
- Solana
- Inkwell Finance
- technical architect
- Ika
- blockchain signatures
- smart contracts
- programmatic wallet
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Watch on YouTubeAbout this episode
In this episode of the Crazy Wisdom Podcast, host Stewart Alsop sits down with Lars van der Zande, founder and CEO/technical architect of Inkwell Finance, for what Lars describes as his first-ever podcast appearance. The conversation covers a wide range of blockchain infrastructure topics, including Lars's work with Sui and Solana blockchains, the innovative capabilities of Ika's programmatic wallets and blockchain of signatures, and how Inkwell Finance is building revenue-based financing solutions for on-chain entities—from AI agents to protocols. They explore the evolving landscape of crypto regulation, the merging of traditional finance with blockchain technology, the future of decentralized legal systems, and how the user experience barrier is being lowered through technologies that eliminate constant transaction signing. Lars also discusses Inkwell's embedded financing approach and their pre-seed fundraising round.
Links mentioned:
- Inkwell's website: inkwell.finance
- Inkwell on Twitter: @__inkwell
- Lars on Twitter: @LMVDZande
Timestamps
- 00:00Introduction to Inkwell Finance and Technical Architecture
- 02:06Understanding Sui and Solana: Blockchain Dynamics
- 05:55The Role of Ika in Inkwell Finance
- 11:51Leviathan: Revenue Generation and Financing in Crypto
- 17:38The Future of AI Agents and Programmatic Wallets
- 23:23Smart Contracts: Legal Implications and Future Directions
- 25:06The Future of Inqvil Finance
- 25:42Decentralization and Its Evolution
- 27:32The Merging of Traditional and Crypto Systems
- 29:33Global Financial Dynamics and Market Reactions
- 31:48The Collapse of Traditional Financial Systems
- 32:46Jurisdictional Shifts in the Crypto World
- 33:59Legal Systems and Blockchain Integration
- 35:57On-Chain Credit and Financial Opportunities
- 39:29The Role of AI in Finance
- 41:30Learning from Peer-to-Peer Lending History
- 43:14Disruption in Insurance and Risk Management
- 44:54On-Chain vs Off-Chain Data
- 46:54The Evolution of the Internet and Blockchain
- 49:12Future Subscription Models in Blockchain
Key Insights
- Ika's Revolutionary Blockchain Signature Technology: Lars discovered Ika, a blockchain of signatures built on Sui that enables any blockchain transaction to be signed without revealing the underlying message. Using patented 2PC MPC technology, Ika splits key shares across validators and encrypts them in transit, performing complex cryptographic operations that allow smart contracts on Sui to generate signatures for transactions on any other blockchain. This eliminates the need to build separate smart contracts on each blockchain, fundamentally changing how cross-chain interactions work and opening possibilities for truly interoperable decentralized applications.
- Programmatic Wallets vs Traditional Wallets: Traditional wallets like MetaMask require manual user approval for every transaction through a front-end interface, but Ika's D-wallet introduces programmatic wallets with policy-based controls embedded in smart contracts. These wallets can execute transactions based on predetermined conditions checked against on-chain data like Oracle prices, without requiring individual user signatures. For example, a Bitcoin D-wallet can hold native Bitcoin without wrapping or bridging to a custodian, and smart contract policies determine when and how that Bitcoin can be transferred, creating unprecedented security and automation possibilities for decentralized finance.
- Inkwell's Revenue-Based Financing Model: Inkwell Finance is building Leviathan, a revenue-based financing platform for on-chain entities including protocols, AI agents, and individual traders with verifiable track records. Borrowers receive capital based on their on-chain performance metrics like sharp ratio and drawdown, with loan repayment automatically deducted from their revenue stream. The profit split structure allocates approximately 60% to borrowers, 30% to lenders, and 10% split between Inkwell and integrating platforms. This creates a sustainable lending model where flight risk is minimized through D-wallet policy controls that restrict how borrowed capital can be used.
- Wallet-as-a-Protocol and the Future of User Experience: The crypto industry is moving toward embedded wallet solutions that eliminate the friction of traditional wallet management, with Wallet-as-a-Protocol representing the next evolution beyond services like Privy and Dynamic. Unlike current embedded wallets that lock users into specific applications, Wallet-as-a-Protocol enables single sign-on across multiple applications while users maintain control of their keys. Combined with app-sponsored gas fees, this approach allows non-crypto-native users to interact with blockchain applications without knowing they're using crypto, removing the biggest barrier to mainstream adoption and creating web2-like user experiences on web3 infrastructure.
- AI Agents as Financial Entities: AI agents are emerging as revenue-generating entities with on-chain transaction histories that create verifiable track records for creditworthiness assessment. Inkwell Finance is specifically targeting this market, recognizing that AI agents will need wallets and capital to operate effectively. The programmatic nature of D-wallets pairs perfectly with AI agents, as policy controls can restrict agent behavior to specific smart contract interactions, preventing unauthorized fund transfers while allowing automated trading or revenue generation. This creates a new category of borrower that operates 24/7 with completely transparent performance metrics, fundamentally different from traditional loan recipients.
- Cross-Chain Liquidity Without Asset Transfer: Ika's technology enables users to take loans against revenue generated on one blockchain and deploy that capital on entirely different blockchains without moving their original liquidity positions. For instance, someone earning yield on Sui's Fusol protocol could borrow against that revenue stream and deploy capital on Solana opportunities, effectively creating multiple on-chain businesses that generate their own credit scores and revenue to service debt. This ability to read state across different blockchains from within smart contracts opens possibilities for multi-chain strategies that don't require withdrawing capital from productive positions, maximizing capital efficiency across the entire crypto ecosystem.
- The Convergence of Traditional Finance and Crypto Infrastructure: The regulatory landscape is rapidly evolving with initiatives like the Genius Act and Clarity Act creating frameworks where traditional financial systems merge with crypto infrastructure through mechanisms like stablecoins backed by US treasuries. Companies are increasingly establishing entities in the United States to access capital networks and Delaware's established legal framework while issuing tokens through jurisdictions like Switzerland. This hybrid approach, combined with emerging concepts like Gabriel Shapiro's "cybernetic agreements" that make smart contract parameters legally enforceable in traditional courts, suggests the future isn't pure decentralization but rather a sophisticated integration of on-chain and off-chain legal and financial systems.
Episode transcript
Stewart Alsop III00:00
Welcome to the Crazy Wisdom Podcast. This podcast is for you. If you have an insane drive to find the truth of things, it's not the good answers that we seek, but the good questions. I interview a range of different guests from many different fields, all with the intention to uncover the simple truths that are hidden in plain sight. Most people don't want to go there. I go there, my guests go there, and you benefit. Please let me know if you enjoy these episodes and as always, subscribe on itunes, Spotify or wherever you listen to the podcasts.
Stewart Alsop III00:35
Welcome to the Crazy Wisdom Podcast. I've got Lars Van der Zand and he is the founder and CEO, Technical Architect of Inkwell Finance. Welcome to the show.
Stewart Alsop III00:53
I'm sure we'll have a great time. So, technical architect, what is a technical architect?
Lars Van de00:59
So I'm very tech heavy, so I've been working with Sui Solana for about five years now, a little bit more. And technical architect, I'm architecting the entire suite that we're building over at Inkwell. It started off sort of finding Ika on Sui and from there it's just
Lars Van de01:31
E is a blockchain of signatures. So any. Any blockchain is supported. So I'm able to generate any transaction signature straight from suite. So in that case, I don't need to make my smart contract on any other blockchain. The only thing I need to do is have logic that checks that transaction or builds that transaction on the smart contract in SUI itself. Then I just ship off that information to Eka and Eco generates a signature.
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