Tristan Frizza, the Founder of Zeta Markets, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform on the Solana blockchain, recently discussed his journey of building on Solana and the advantages it brings. Frizza was inspired to build on Solana after a conversation with Anatoly Yakovenko, the founder of Solana. Impressed by the blockchain’s scalability and speed, Frizza decided to create a network on Solana that would benefit Zeta and the wider community.
Zeta Markets, founded in 2021, has gained significant adoption and traction, with $6 billion in transaction volume, over 6 million trades, and approximately 100,000 monthly active users. However, the team has faced challenges due to Solana’s congestion issues, particularly when it comes to building lending or non-fungible token (NFT) protocols. Frizza emphasized the importance of quick transactions in the crypto market and the need for Zeta to be able to move swiftly.
To address these issues, Zeta Markets recently raised $5 million in funding, led by Electric Capital and with participation from industry leaders and angel investors like Yakovenko. The funds will be used to develop Solana Layer 2 (L2) rollup and launch the platform’s token. The L2 development will enable Zeta to scale its existing exchange and improve customization, throughput, and performance. It will also reduce block times from 400 milliseconds to approximately 10 milliseconds.
Building an L2 on Solana is a unique and challenging task that requires extensive research, engineering expertise, and the recruitment of a skilled team. Frizza emphasized that Zeta Markets aims to compete with centralized exchanges while retaining the benefits of DeFi, such as self-custody, transparency, and security. The team also plans to abstract away gas fees to enhance the user experience.
In addition to discussing Zeta’s plans, Frizza touched on various other topics in the interview. He talked about his thesis on Generative Adversarial Network for Image Super-Resolution, the advancements in AI models, his experience relocating to Singapore, and the future of DeFi and Zeta Markets’ role in shaping the financial landscape.
To learn more about Tristan Frizza and Zeta Markets, you can listen to the full podcast episode.