Mick Hagen’s Post

Simpler times! This (and the follow up video we did) was a lot of fun to do.

We just kicked off our first official code audit this week (for Ripe protocol). We chose ChainSecurity as our partner. They've worked with many DeFi lending protocols before (Maker, Aave, Compound) and many protocols we've integrated with (Curve, Yearn, Lido, etc). Most of this year we’ve been testing the Ripe protocol on testnet (it’s sort of a staging environment before launching to mainnet). The purpose was to stress-test the protocol, fine-tune mechanism design, and learn. While we’ve been methodical thru-out this process, that hasn’t stopped us from iterating, refining, improving, and hardening the protocol all year. We’ve learned so much this year. But with audits now starting, we clearly feel ready for the next stage. A year ago, we had to make some tough decisions with Hightop. But I’m happy we did — it was the right move. Since then, we’ve been able to double, triple, quadruple-down on Ripe, attacking this opportunity with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. Building relentlessly thru the Bear Market, when most have moved onto the next shiny thing (generative AI). We’re still here grinding. And we aren’t going anywhere. It’s definitely been a long (and hard) journey. A lot of late nights and weekends. A lot of sacrifices. A lot of slogging thru the mud. But that work has been easier to do when driven by something much bigger — a mission, a purpose. My conviction that Ripe (and DeFi more broadly) will play an essential role in the financial plumbing/infrastructure of tomorrow has only grown stronger. This technology can and will bring incredible economic opportunities & financial services to people all over the world. We’re now entering a new phase. Ripe’s smart contract code is frozen and we’re knocking on the door of mainnet. It’s almost time to unleash this thing into the world… and hopefully in the process, we might just change it.

Just one of many similar messages. ❤️ A lot of great feedback from Ripe's beta on private testnet. Getting closer and closer to mainnet... 🫡🍋

Last week I announced that we were putting Hightop on the shelf to be fully focused on a new project: Ripe Finance. Ripe has been a passion project of mine for the last 18 months. I’ve personally been writing the smart contract code — lots of late nights and weekend warrior-ing. It has come a long way since the summer of 2021 when we started. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably seen many hints dropped. Ripe is a new DeFi protocol that unlocks yield and borrow capability on any asset — digital assets (NFTs or cryptocurrencies) or real-world assets (land, homes, sneakers, goats). The protocol is powered by a new synthetic stablecoin that is decentralized (yet scalable), algorithmic (yet fully collateralized), and highly productive (yet capital efficient). This is not a mass-market consumer app like Hightop. It’s a low-level protocol that will live on the Ethereum blockchain. This is infrastructure that others can leverage and build on (other fintech apps like Hightop or even big financial institutions like Wells Fargo). This work is more like laying and setting the railroad tracks to the edges of the web3 frontier. Whereas Hightop was more about offering the train ride to settlements. The focus now is shipping to mainnet, learning, iterating, shipping more, creating value, and ultimately delivering a powerful protocol that unlocks yield for any asset (digital or RWA). I feel really good about where things stand. 2023 is gonna be a great year! 

Late last year we decided to pause development on Hightop. There are a variety of reasons why a startup might fail — maybe money runs out, the idea is bad, no demand, terrible business model, poor execution. In the case of Hightop, none of those things were true. So why shelf Hightop? We shared a few of the business reasons in our previous Medium post. But cutting thru all the noise, here’s the biggest reason: My heart is somewhere else. I started working on something that I believe can be bigger and more impactful than Hightop. Here's more of the story... 🍋

I was honored to speak at Silicon Slopes HQ on Friday w/ Hightop cofounder Rachel Hofstetter. Shared a lot about my Why. Why I care so deeply about web3/DeFi, why I've poured so much my time, energy, and resources into Hightop, why I think this technology can be a positive force for good for billions of people around the world, why I am all-in on this mission and this vision to take this technology to the masses (even if they never realize they are using it). Link to full article/video in comments.

Headed to Devcon — Ethereum’s annual developer conference. Who wants to see what I’ve been cooking up in the lab much of this year? Finally ready to talk about it (privately). If you’re in Bogota, let’s meet up and do a jam session. This will take Hightop to the next level. The 1-2 punch of web3 protocol + consumer app. Full vertical stack. More bullish than I’ve ever been. This is the future of finance. #devcon

Tiffany & Co is offering a limited-edition run of 250 custom pendants to owners of CryptoPunks. Quite the web3 entrance from one of the most iconic brands around. Well, I had to make sure my 4 punks had their proper bling bling. Link to verge article in first comment.