DeFi's Near-Death Moment | Mike Silagadze on Ether.fi, Security, and What Comes Next

Description

How close did DeFi come to a real systemic collapse? In this episode, Camila Russo sits down with Mike Silagadze, co-founder and CEO of Ether.fi, to break down the Kelp exploit, the DeFi United rescue effort, and why Mike believes the default path could have been far worse if nobody had stepped in. He explains why the bigger lesson is not just smart contract risk, but operational security, app-layer responsibility, and the need to move past "decentralization theater." They also get into why Ether.fi wants to be "the safest place to stake," why application-layer protocols should have emergency controls, and how Ether.fi is evolving from liquid staking into a vertically integrated DeFi bank with vaults, card rails, and real-world utility. If you want to understand where DeFi security is failing, what serious builders are changing, and what the next phase of crypto products could look like, this is the episode to watch. Explore The Defiant ✨ 📰 Website https://thedefiant.io/ ✉️ Free Daily Newsletter https://thedefiant.io/newsletter/defi... 🤑 Weekly Premium Newsletter https://thedefiant.io/newsletter/defi... ✊ Follow The Defiant X/Twitter: https://x.com/DefiantNews 📬 Contact our Newsroom [email protected] 🤝 Sponsorships & Partnerships [email protected] #TheDefiant​ #DeFi​ #Decentralized​ #Finance​ #Blockchain #Web3