Epicenter brings you in-depth conversations about the technical, economic and social implications of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. Every week, we interview business leaders, engineers academics and entrepreneurs, and bring you a diverse spectrum of opinions and points of view. Epicenter is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Brian Fabian Crain, Friederike Ernst, Meher Roy and Felix Lutsch. Since 2014, our episodes have been downloaded over 8 million times.
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episode 345: Hugh Karp: Nexus Mutual – The Decentralized Insurance for Ethereum
Nexus Mutual provides an alternative decentralized insurance solution for Ethereum. The protocol is built on the public chain and operates under a discretionary mutual structure meaning it is owned wholly by its members. It allows anyone to become a member and buy cover, and the model encourages engagement as members receive incentives for participating in Risk Assessment, Claims Assessment and Governance. At present the product offered is cover to protect against hacks in smart contract code. When Nexus Mutual is alerted to a claim, members will also be asked to vote on whether to pay out on that claim or not.
Hugh Karp, the CEO and Founder of Nexus Mutual, has combined his insurance industry knowledge with his passion for decentralized technology to build this platform which is replacing the traditional insurance setup. They are currently looking into expanding to offer more insurance products and we are excited to see where they go next.
Topics covered in this episode:
- Hugh’s background in insurance and how he moved into the blockchain space
- What drove Hugh to build this decentralized platform
- Mutual insurance and the regulations involved
- The scaling problem in mutual companies
- The benefits this type of insurance can bring to the DeFi world
- The claim assessment process
- The native token, NXM
- How Nexus tackle price discovery
- How does Nexus manage correlation risks
- How much has been contributed to the pool so far
- Mutual vs other models of insurance on the DeFi space
- The legalities behind Nexus
- Where they are looking to expand and what the next 12 months look like
Episode links:
- Nexus Mutual Website
- The White Paper
- Nexus Mutual Use Cases
- Nexus Mutual Discord
- Nexus Mutual Twitter
- Hugh Karp Twitter
This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/345