Interview with Astrovault CEO Eric Waisanen

This interview features the CEO and Co-Founder of Astrovault, Eric Waisanen. In this conversation, Eric shares his vision for Astrovault, sharing the strategies shaping the company’s future, he discusses the mission behind Astrovault, the challenges and opportunities of the industry, and the company’s roadmap to drive progress in this growing industry.

Eric, what inspired you to create Astrovault? What specific gaps in the DeFi market did you identify that prompted you to build a cross-chain value capture DEX?

I believe in the promise of DeFi, but in order for it to be self-sustaining, it can’t operate at a loss. Astrovault has proven that a decentralized protocol can operate profitably, securing the opportunity to grow and scale in perpetuity.

Can you share some of the biggest challenges you faced during the early stages of developing Astrovault? How did you overcome these obstacles?

Fundraising has proven to be incredibly difficult. Marketing and venture capital have gone from narrative to narrative, and the initial libertarian ethos of building the tools of freedom that were once at the forefront of the crypto movement has fallen by the wayside. We strongly believe in what we have built, so we self-funded and did whatever it took, knowing that the world needs what we have built.

How would you describe Astrovault’s mission and vision?

Astrovault believes in freedom and decentralized business, and the two go hand in hand. 

We want people to have the freedom to pursue life, liberty, and the right to own property. 

This includes having access to private data storage, free speech, communication, and so much more that will be accessible through DePIN and other decentralized businesses, which Astrovault will foster and catalyze. 

How does Astrovault differentiate itself from other DEXs and AMMs?

We’re profitable. It’s simple, but it’s so imperative. If a foundational piece of a complicated ecosystem fails, then so will what’s built upon it. DeFi is integral for the development of decentralized business, so Astrovault is built to endure as a safe foundation for the more complex international digital market of the future. 

How are you prioritizing user experience in the design of Astrovault?

Following our ethos, we’re trying to build a safe product, with as much user freedom as possible. Features like customizable dashboards are meant to allow users to see and interact with Astrovault on their terms, how they like. Deploying across multiple blockchains aims to give any ecosystem access to liquidity and businesses from other chains. We’re the how, not the why, and want users to focus on the why while they use us. 

What are the most significant trends shaping the future of DeFi?

Trends such as quadratic and experimental voting are interesting, but the evolution of point systems in how they can approach customer-specific pricing (CSP) gives me hope for a more sophisticated ecosystem of decentralized business. Aggregators are also becoming far more sophisticated with projects such as swing.xyz that will enable regular users to interact more readily with Web3. We’re honored to lead the charge for sustainable liquidity hubs, through which Aggregators will route trades. 

As the CEO of Astrovault, what leadership style do you believe is essential for driving innovation in the blockchain industry?

For better or worse, culture comes from the top down. If a founder’s goal is to make money, their focus will be on extraction. To epitomize a free and equitable future, founders need to believe not just in their product or what they’re building, but in why it’s a fundamentally necessary piece in a better future. 

How do you foster a culture of innovation within your team?

I’m blessed to be surrounded by passionate geniuses already. I couldn’t stop them from innovating if I wanted to, and I don’t. Empowering their visions rather than micromanaging helps give them the confidence to fly through. With culture coming from the top down, building decentralized businesses means that the business needs to be constantly decentralizing; that starts from within centralized teams. 

What can we expect from Astrovault in the future?

Astrovault is going to keep innovating and finding new ways to support other decentralized startups. We already have the most concentrated liquidity in all of Web3, but have designed a new and smarter version of it we’ll roll out. We’re going to realize Satoshi’s vision.