From DeFi Summer to Yield Tokenization at Pendle Finance: Wilbert's Web3 Journey

Colors of Web3 & Entrepreneurship

In this 52nd episode of Colors of Web3 and Entrepreneurship, Lam sits down with Wilbert Johan, Business Development Ecosystem Team Lead at Pendle Finance, a leading yield tokenization protocol. Wilbert takes us on his Web3 journey, starting with the heady days of the 2020 DeFi Summer to building his own Web3 startup, and his current role at Pendle Finance. He provides insightful commentary on the evolution of decentralized finance, the potential of RWA, and the intricacies of yield trading. ⌛ Timestamps: 00:00:00 Episode trailer 00:00:28 Show introduction and brief self-introduction from Wilbert Johan 00:01:33 The experience of DeFi summer and early days in crypto 00:02:13 Wilbert discusses his transition from traditional finance to Web3 00:04:39 Challenges in founding a Web3 startup in rewards tokenization 00:10:43 Wilbert’s experience working with RWAs and DeFi strategies 00:12:47 How Wilbert discovered blockchain and his entry to Pendle 00:14:39 Wilbert explains the concept of private credit 00:20:07 Wilbert’s personal interests and how they keep him balanced 00:23:49 Overview of Pendle Finance and the mission to tokenize yields 00:24:39 Wilbert explains ETH restaking and BTC-Fi yield opportunities 00:28:24 Pendle’s approach to providing fixed returns with PT and YT tokens 00:30:49 An in-depth look at Pendle 00:31:28 Pendle’s BTC-Fi pools and their potential in the DeFi landscape 00:32:23 How Pendle enables yield opportunities for Bitcoin holders 00:33:42 Wilbert describes Pendle’s approach to building liquidity pools 00:34:08 Traction and growth of Pendle’s BTC-Fi pools in DeFi 00:37:59 An in-depth look at Pendle’s unique yield tokenization mechanism 00:42:19 Pendle’s ecosystem: Partnerships and collaborations in DeFi 00:50:50 How the VE tokenomics model boosts user engagement 00:54:26 The team behind Pendle and the company’s structure 00:58:38 Challenges facing Pendle and plans for future growth 00:59:43 Wilbert’s thoughts on security and risk management in Web3 01:01:57 How will BTC-Fi and DeFi evolve in the next few years 01:04:45 Advice for people who want to break into Web3 01:09:03 Where to follow Wilbert and learn more about Pendle 01:10:49 Episode outro and next episode preview Follow Wilbert and his company: Wilbert's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wilbertjohan/ Wilbert's Twitter: https://x.com/_whalebird Pendle Twitter: https://x.com/pendle_fi Pendle website: https://www.pendle.finance/ My social media: Twitter/X: ⁠https://www.twitter.com/LamWeb3⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/lamweb3/⁠ Website: ⁠https://lamtrinh.xyz⁠ My old article about the 2-3 prevailing narratives of 2024-2025: https://substack.com/home/post/p-143541984 If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe to stay updated on our upcoming episodes with industry experts and innovators in the Web3 and Entrepreneurship spaces. Thank you for listening!