Danelle Dixon (Stellar Development Foundation CEO) interviews Marique Flament (NEAR Foundation CEO) about leading nonprofit foundations supporting open source blockchains, navigating market volatility, grant-making challenges, and the FTX crisis impact on industry trust and regulation.
In this Block by Block episode, Danelle Dixon interviews Marique Flament about the unique challenges of leading foundation-supported open source blockchain ecosystems. They discuss the differences between nonprofit foundation leadership and traditional corporate roles, the complexity of grant-making in bull and bear markets, and how foundations balance their missions with supporting diverse ecosystem participants. Both leaders reflect on the FTX collapse in November 2022, emphasizing the importance of conservative financial practices, internal controls, and collective industry responsibility. They address tribalism in crypto, the need for interoperability between chains, and the role of persistent conviction over hype-driven marketing. Looking ahead to 2023, they highlight real use cases, regulatory clarity, and the eventual decentralization of foundation functions as key priorities.