Apr 27, 2026
Pluto is a veteran of DeFi and cross chain systems, with prior stints at Thorchain and Airswap, now building Harbor, a native asset DEX. In this episode, we talk about the KelpDAO exploit and how DeFi can regain people’s trust. Nic sits down with him to discuss:
- What exactly happened with the KelpDAO/ Aave hack?
- Will new AI models make hackers more proficient?
- Is advanced AI a defensive or offensive technology for smart contracts?
- Why protocol exposures are often not on chain
- Why DeFi might want to segregate execution from settlement
- Is it possible to have instant settlement and proactive monitoring
- Do we have anything to learn from DeFi
- What could Aave have done different?
- Where did LayerZero go wrong?
- Can DeFi work if there are occasional freezes and seizures?
- Pluto’s reflections on Thorchain
- What Thorchain did right
- Arbitrum’s questionable precedent
- What Pluto is building with Harbor
- Where does DeFi go from here?
Learn more about Harbor and follow Pluto on X