In this episode of Overnight Success, I sit down with Sheldon Hunt, a founding member of EMURGO—one of Cardano’s original entities. We unpack the philosophical and technical rifts between Ethereum and Cardano, trace the evolution from Bitcoin to Ethereum to Cardano, and dive deep into what true decentralization really looks like—especially in Cardano’s approach to governance.

If you’ve ever wondered:
What really happened when Vitalik pitched Ethereum in Hong Kong
What it takes for blockchains to handle trillions on-chain
Why scarcity matters (and why Ethereum doesn’t have it)
—then this episode is a must-listen.

Episode Highlights with Timestamps
[00:00] – Introduction: Who is Sheldon Hunt & EMURGO’s role in Cardano
[00:42] – Vitalik’s original Ethereum pitch in Hong Kong
[01:53] – Scarcity wars: Why Cardano caps supply and Ethereum doesn’t
[02:40] – Ethereum’s nonprofit roots vs. Charles Hoskinson’s business-first vision
[03:30] – Cardano’s community-first design and token distribution
[04:25] – Intersect and the shift to decentralized governance
[05:20] – The risks of handing over $30B in infrastructure to “the mob”
[06:10] – Balancing privacy and mass adoption: Midnight chain + real-world use cases
[07:25] – Why Cardano has never gone down (and why it matters)
[08:20] – Final thoughts: Security, uptime, and building for trillions on-chain

About Our Guest
Sheldon Hunt was part of the founding team at EMURGO—one of Cardano’s three core entities alongside IOG and the Cardano Foundation. Today, he’s building Sundial Protocol, a Layer 2 solution bringing programmability to Bitcoin by bridging it with Cardano. The focus: secure, decentralized, cross-chain interoperability between BTC and ADA.

Resources Mentioned:
Cardano [https://cardano.org/]
Sundial Protocol [https://www.sundialprotocol.com/]
​​EMURGO Website [https://www.emurgo.io/]
Cardano Foundation [https://cardanofoundation.org/]
Midnight Privacy Chain [https://midnight.network/]
Intersect: Cardano’s Member-Based Org [https://www.intersectmbo.org/]

Today, I sit down with Esther Wong — Founding Partner @ 3C AGI Partners and former Managing Director at SenseTime.In this conversation, we discuss why AI inferencing could break the grid, the global race for sustainable AI infrastructure, and why DeepSeek completely enabled the rest of the world to catch up in the AI race.If you ever wondered about:• Why AI infrastructure — not applications — is the real opportunity• How unsustainable our electricity usage is if everyone uses AI daily• Why AI models, chips, and data centers must all evolve to scale• And how a 90% pay cut to join a startup could be the best decision of your life— this one’s for you.Episode Highlights with Timestamps[00:00] Esther’s career risk: Green card fears and career advice that changed everything[01:20] Co-founding SenseTime: Raising $6B+ and building China’s largest AI platform[03:00] Betting on a ground-up, proprietary AI vision while pregnant — and taking a 90% pay cut[04:30] Lessons from startup life: Why 2 years in a startup taught more than 20 years in banking[05:50] The coming electricity crisis: Why inferencing will overwhelm today's grid[07:10] What is “sustainable AI”? — 4 buckets for making AI viable long-term[09:00] Why Esther is backing AI infrastructure over applicationsAbout Our GuestEsther Wong is the founder and CEO of 3C AGI Partners, a venture firm focused on global AI opportunities. She was a founding member of SenseTime, where she led capital markets and helped raise over $5B. With 20+ years in finance, she’s held senior roles at Cazenove, CICC, Barclays, and Bocom. Esther holds an Executive MBA from the University of Chicago Booth and serves on youth development boards in Hong Kong.Resources & Links MentionedEsther’s LinkedIn [ / esther-wong-76a6a410a ] 3C AGI Partners Linkedin [ / 3cagi ] 3C AGI Partners Website [https://3cagi.vc/]

Today, I sit down with Gabby Dizon, co-founder of Yield Guild Games (YGG).We talk about Gabby’s journey from building the first games in the Philippines to pioneering the concept of play-to-earn and Web3 gaming. Gabby shares the early days of Web3 gaming, how AI and decentralized work models are converging, and why starting with community-first was essential for YGG’s growth.We also discuss the challenges of building a web3 company during crypto cycles, crypto Twitter, and the future of online on-chain work opportunities in emerging economies.If you're interested in the intersection of gaming, blockchain, and the future of work, this episode is a must-listen.Episode Highlights with Timestamps[00:00] Live from Hong Kong — Introducing Gabby Dizon (Yield Guild Games)[01:00] Early passion for technology, gaming, and entrepreneurship in the Philippines[02:15] Discovering Ethereum in 2017 — programmable economies for games[03:30] From CryptoKitties to NFTs — realizing the future of in-game assets[04:45] How Play-to-Earn was invented by the Axie Infinity community[06:00] Building Yield Guild Games — community-market fit and scaling challenges[07:30] The double-edged sword of early liquidity in crypto startups[08:45] Future of Work — expanding YGG beyond gaming into decentralized tasks[10:00] Why on-chain work and community ownership will transform emerging marketsAbout Our GuestGabby Dizon is the co-founder of Yield Guild Games (YGG), the world's largest Web3 gaming guild. A pioneer of play-to-earn gaming, Gabby is passionate about the intersection of community, gaming, and blockchain. He is also an active investor in the decentralized gaming ecosystem and a strong advocate for creating online and on-chain earning opportunities for communities across Southeast Asia, Latin America, and beyond.Resources & Links MentionedGabby Dizon's Twitter [https://x.com/gabusch]Yield Guild Games [https://yieldguild.io/]Axie Infinity [https://axieinfinity.com/] CryptoKitties [https://www.cryptokitties.co/]