363: Why We Need Another L1: Inside Pod’s MEV-Free Market Vision with Guest Speaker Shresth Agrawal from Pod Network cover art

363: Why We Need Another L1: Inside Pod’s MEV-Free Market Vision with Guest Speaker Shresth Agrawal from Pod Network

363: Why We Need Another L1: Inside Pod’s MEV-Free Market Vision with Guest Speaker Shresth Agrawal from Pod Network

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In this episode, I sit down with Shresth Agrawal, co-founder of Pod Network, to unpack why the world needs yet another Layer 1.

We go deep into MEV, front-running, and why today’s blockchain markets are still unfair. Shresth explains how Pod is building a purpose-built L1 designed for high-performance, MEV-free markets. We break down how auctions replace traditional transaction ordering, how Pod can process 300,000 orders per second, and why sub-second settlement changes everything.

We also talk about product-market fit in Web3. Are payments and markets the only real use cases? What can founders learn from Ethereum, Hyperliquid, and newer L1s? And what’s Pod’s go-to-market plan?

If you care about fair markets, decentralized finance, or the future of on-chain trading, this episode is for you.

🔑 Key Learnings (with timestamps)

00:57 – Shresth’s crypto journey. From Bitcoin whitepaper to building consensus systems.

02:01 – Why consensus innovation still matters in 2026.

04:23 – What is Pod Network? A purpose-built L1 for MEV-free markets.

06:16 – What is MEV? Simple explanation with real trading examples.

11:32 – How Pod removes ordering where it doesn’t matter.

14:36 – 300,000 orders per second. Sub-second confirmations explained.

16:51 – Why Pod focused only on markets. The power of niche L1s.

18:21 – Trade-offs: Less general-purpose, more performance.

22:36 – Go-to-market strategy for a new L1.

24:25 – Users vs builders: The real growth engine.

27:21 – The biggest ask: Early user feedback.

28:20 – Do only payments and markets have real product-market fit in Web3?

32:18 – Why instant settlement will disrupt traditional finance.


Connect with POD Network

https://pod.network/

https://x.com/poddotnetwork

https://discord.com/invite/ZTFERarfnm

⚠️ Disclaimer

Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research.

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