Web3 innovation with Sophon - the future of consumer crypto feat. Sebastien

Colors of Web3 & Entrepreneurship

In Episode 64 of Colors of Web3 and Entrepreneurship, host Lam chats with Sebastien, the co-founder and CEO of Sophon, a consumer-oriented blockchain shaking up the Web3 space. Sebastien shares his fascinating journey—from studying history and philosophy to working in finance and eventually diving deep into crypto during the 2018-2019 boom. He walks us through his time at Rocket Internet, a prestigious bank, Nervos, and Matter Labs (ZK Sync), before founding Sophon with a mission to make crypto accessible to everyone. With a $10M seed round and a $65M node sale, Sophon launched its mainnet in December 2024 and has already processed 50 million transactions in just three months!This episode dives into Sophon’s innovative approach, including its seamless user experience, the Sophon Home platform, and the groundbreaking Sophon Data Hub powered by ZKTLS technology. Sebastien explains how Sophon aims to onboard the next billion users by bridging Web2 and Web3, offering features like account abstraction and gasless transactions. Whether you’re a crypto newbie or a seasoned builder, this conversation offers insights into the future of blockchain and entrepreneurship. Tune in to hear Sebastien’s advice for aspiring Web3 founders and get a sneak peek at Sophon’s exciting ecosystem, from on-chain gaming to ticketing.⌛ Timestamps:00:00:00 Episode trailer00:00:27 Show introduction and quick self-introduction of Sebastien00:01:33 Seb’s professional career before Web300:03:37 How Seb first broke into Web300:07:01 The origin of Sophon 00:09:50 His experience working at a prestigious Web2 bank00:12:53 His time at Nervos blockchain00:15:44 His time at Matter Labs (core contributor of ZKSync)00:16:35 Elastic chain of ZKSync and Interoperability plan00:18:31 Sebastien's hobbies outside of work00:20:48 Deep dive into Sophon, a Layer-2 zk blockchain00:24:30 The features that make Sophon consumer-friendly00:28:22 Sophon portal, the place where users can tap into everything00:29:30 Sophon Data Hub using zkTLS that helps to prove existing (Web2) consumer data onchain 00:32:48 Some example applications on Sophon: games, AI agents, onchain ticketing00:35:42 How Sophon distinguishes from other general-purpose blockchains00:38:04 Challenges facing Sophon team00:39:01 Seb’s advice for aspiring Web3 entrepreneurs00:40:17 Where to follow Sebastien and stay updated on Sophon00:40:48 Episode outro and final thoughtsFollow Sebastien and Sophon: Sebastien's X/Twitter: https://x.com/0xsebastiena Sophon website: https://sophon.xyz/ My social media: Twitter/X: ⁠https://www.twitter.com/LamWeb3⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/lamweb3/⁠Website: ⁠https://lamtrinh.xyz⁠My 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!