Kava CEO Brian Kerr: DeFi Will Escape Ethereum’s Dominance In 2021 (Exclusive Interview)
CryptoPotato recently had the opportunity to interview Brian Kerr – the CEO of the DeFi project Kava. Built on Cosmos as a proof-of-stake blockchain, Kava allows users to stake tokens and participate as validators in the network.
The project saw the light of day as an IEO on Binance Launchpad. Kerr’s project description said it’s a “stand-alone blockchain that has interoperable bridges, Chainlink oracles, unique validators, and other infrastructure that allows it to provide a foundation for a wide range of decentralized financial applications that can reach users across every ecosystem in the industry.”
The State of DeFi In The Next Up To 10 Years
Apart from explaining the Kava project’s merits, Kerr also shared his views about DeFi’s current state, its role in today’s digitizing world, and how it could perform in the next decade.
Kava’s CEO noted that the sector will have its ups and downs, but “beyond the current hyper, it’s putting in place some very interesting financial products that have the potential to grow very large.”
“What we saw earlier this year was the preference of the market to favor stablecoins as opposed to BTC, ETH, and other assets in money markets like Compound. This dramatic shift in market mentality resulted in billion flowing into the leading protocols.”
Kerr envisions that the DeFi field will become even more cross-chained in the next year. Ethereum’s role will eventually decline, despite being the undisputed leader now. Nevertheless, issues like network congestion and high gas fees will decrease its dominance.
However, Kerr also believes that a “plethora” of new dubious DeFi applications will emerge, which will be more “akin to exit scams and pure Ponzi schemes, instead of any real financial products.”
In the next five years, centralized platforms will start integrating more and more DeFi protocols. According to Kerr, this will create a better user experience and potentially enable the DeFi market to surge in retail user base.
When it came to his 10-year prediction, it’s an “anybody’s game,” and he doubts that even the biggest idealists can provide an accurate assessment of what and how the landscape will change in that time. After all, “Bitcoin was an infant ten years ago, and we didn’t even have Ethereum.”
The First App On KAVA
Kerr outlined Harvest.io as the first application built on the Kava DeFi hub. He noted that Kava’s infrastructure had made possible Harvest.io to become “the world’s first cross-chain money market.” Users can utilize Harvest.io to lend, borrow, and earn with assets like BTC, XRP, USDX, and more.
The app also has its own governance token – HARD. Provided to participants on the network, the token empowers them to vote on crucial parameter changes of the applications.
“What we’re doing at Kava and Harvest is assembling financial products and services that can provide an additional yield to users and all types of crypto assets.”
Kerr explained that Kava’s yearly plans include expanding its cross-chain bridges to allow new assets to be used on the platform’s DeFi hub. Additionally, Kava will develop multiple applications that will leverage these assets as collateral. Harvest v2 is also scheduled to launch in the upcoming months, followed by an AMM application and DeFi Robo-advisor.
On a broader horizon, Kava plans to establish more relationships with industry organizations to distribute its products to millions of people globally. In the next 5-10 years, the protocol “will also continue to expand our enterprise and financial institution partnerships as DeFi becomes more and more palatable by mainstream participants.”
Featured Image Courtesy Of DisruptMagazine
