In this compelling episode, host Derek sits down with Denis, founder of Upscale and StormTrade, to discuss the revolutionary intersection of proprietary trading, DeFi, and Web3 innovation. This conversation offers invaluable insights for anyone interested in crypto trading, decentralized finance, blockchain development, and the future of financial markets.
Watch on YouTube:
Listen on your favourite platform:
Denis introduces Upscale as an "alpha monetization platform" that fundamentally disrupts traditional trading by decoupling trading skill from capital requirements. Unlike traditional markets where skilled traders without capital are forced into high-risk gambling, Upscale allows traders to prove their abilities through challenges and trade with company capital, keeping up to 80-90% of profits.
Denis shares his journey from corporate software architect to Ethereum smart contract developer, offering fascinating insights into the steep learning curve of blockchain development. He emphasizes that the challenge isn't the programming language itself, but mastering the unique design patterns, gas optimization, and financial logic required for DeFi protocols.
With over $4.6 billion in trading volume and commanding 90% market share on the TON blockchain, StormTrade demonstrates Denis's ability to build successful DeFi protocols. The platform continues active development with plans for options trading, cross-margin accounts, and enhanced execution speed.
The conversation highlights stark differences between legacy financial platforms and crypto-native solutions. Denis shares frustrating experiences with traditional prop trading platforms requiring 2-day onboarding processes, MetaTrader downloads, and manual account creation—contrasting sharply with Web3's seamless wallet-based authentication.
Rather than promising AI-powered trading bots, Upscale takes a realistic approach: using AI to analyze trading patterns, identify systematic mistakes, and improve risk management. Denis discusses recent experiments showing most AI models fail at consistent trading, emphasizing that AI currently excels at investment analysis over day trading.
A critical insight: many crypto traders use maximum leverage recklessly because small capital amounts make conservative strategies seem pointless. With only $300-500, earning even 20% annually feels insignificant, pushing users toward meme coins and extreme leverage. Upscale's prop model offers a better path.
The episode reveals an exciting collaboration: Zeru's zScore holders qualify for massive Upscale discounts:
300-500 zScore: 15% discount
501-700 zScore: Free $1,000 account
700+ zScore: 95% discount on $5,000 account (just $3.55!)
This integration showcases how on-chain reputation can unlock tangible financial benefits across the DeFi ecosystem.
Denis teases exciting developments including:
Gamification and eSports-style trading tournaments
New alpha monetization products beyond challenge accounts
StormTrade protocol upgrades enabling derivatives and options
AI-powered risk management advisors (launching in weeks)
This episode is essential for:
Crypto traders seeking legitimate ways to trade with larger capital
DeFi developers interested in smart contract design patterns
Fintech innovators exploring Web3's advantages over legacy systems
Anyone curious about AI's realistic applications in trading
Zeru has built a verifiable onchain reputation score accessible publicly on Etherscan, computed by a set of state-of-the-art, behavior-centric neural networks backed by crypto-economic security of $2.5B on EigenLayer. This reputation score is called zScore, and it is becoming the basis for protocols to enhance economic activity from high-quality users in exchange for rewards powered by our reputation passport.
In this compelling episode, host Derek sits down with Denis, founder of Upscale and StormTrade, to discuss the revolutionary intersection of proprietary trading, DeFi, and Web3 innovation. This conversation offers invaluable insights for anyone interested in crypto trading, decentralized finance, blockchain development, and the future of financial markets.
Watch on YouTube:
Listen on your favourite platform:
Denis introduces Upscale as an "alpha monetization platform" that fundamentally disrupts traditional trading by decoupling trading skill from capital requirements. Unlike traditional markets where skilled traders without capital are forced into high-risk gambling, Upscale allows traders to prove their abilities through challenges and trade with company capital, keeping up to 80-90% of profits.
Denis shares his journey from corporate software architect to Ethereum smart contract developer, offering fascinating insights into the steep learning curve of blockchain development. He emphasizes that the challenge isn't the programming language itself, but mastering the unique design patterns, gas optimization, and financial logic required for DeFi protocols.
With over $4.6 billion in trading volume and commanding 90% market share on the TON blockchain, StormTrade demonstrates Denis's ability to build successful DeFi protocols. The platform continues active development with plans for options trading, cross-margin accounts, and enhanced execution speed.
The conversation highlights stark differences between legacy financial platforms and crypto-native solutions. Denis shares frustrating experiences with traditional prop trading platforms requiring 2-day onboarding processes, MetaTrader downloads, and manual account creation—contrasting sharply with Web3's seamless wallet-based authentication.
Rather than promising AI-powered trading bots, Upscale takes a realistic approach: using AI to analyze trading patterns, identify systematic mistakes, and improve risk management. Denis discusses recent experiments showing most AI models fail at consistent trading, emphasizing that AI currently excels at investment analysis over day trading.
A critical insight: many crypto traders use maximum leverage recklessly because small capital amounts make conservative strategies seem pointless. With only $300-500, earning even 20% annually feels insignificant, pushing users toward meme coins and extreme leverage. Upscale's prop model offers a better path.
The episode reveals an exciting collaboration: Zeru's zScore holders qualify for massive Upscale discounts:
300-500 zScore: 15% discount
501-700 zScore: Free $1,000 account
700+ zScore: 95% discount on $5,000 account (just $3.55!)
This integration showcases how on-chain reputation can unlock tangible financial benefits across the DeFi ecosystem.
Denis teases exciting developments including:
Gamification and eSports-style trading tournaments
New alpha monetization products beyond challenge accounts
StormTrade protocol upgrades enabling derivatives and options
AI-powered risk management advisors (launching in weeks)
This episode is essential for:
Crypto traders seeking legitimate ways to trade with larger capital
DeFi developers interested in smart contract design patterns
Fintech innovators exploring Web3's advantages over legacy systems
Anyone curious about AI's realistic applications in trading
Zeru has built a verifiable onchain reputation score accessible publicly on Etherscan, computed by a set of state-of-the-art, behavior-centric neural networks backed by crypto-economic security of $2.5B on EigenLayer. This reputation score is called zScore, and it is becoming the basis for protocols to enhance economic activity from high-quality users in exchange for rewards powered by our reputation passport.
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