361: Why Copy-Paste DeFi Won’t Work: Product-Market Fit in the Next Wave of L1s with Guest Speaker Wish Wu from Pharos Network

February 26
16 mins

Episode Description

I recorded this episode live in Hong Kong with Wish Wu, Co-Founder and CEO of Pharos Network.

We dive deep into what it really takes to build next-generation blockchain infrastructure.

Pharos is an EVM-compatible Layer 1 hitting 20,000 TPS on testnet. But speed is not the real story. The real story is their focus on connecting Web2 and Web3. Not just users. But capital. Assets. Institutions.

Wish shares his journey from building AntChain at Ant Group to launching Pharos. We talk about tokenizing real-world assets, institutional adoption, product-market fit, and why new Layer 1s must stop copying Ethereum.

If you're a founder building in Web3, this episode is essential listening.

Key Learnings

  • Why Hong Kong is regaining momentum as a crypto hub.

  • What Pharos Network is building and why 20K TPS matters.

  • Wish’s background at Ant Group and building AntChain at scale.

  • Tokenizing new energy assets and institutional funds.

  • Why most new Layer 1s fail without product-market fit.

  • The rise of purpose-built chains and niche-focused infrastructure.

  • Why speculative crypto alone cannot sustain adoption.

  • The vision for Pharos over the next five years.

  • Launching a VC fund and incubator to grow the ecosystem.

  • Fundraising advice: Stop copying. Find real product-market fit.

Connect

https://www.linkedin.com/in/wishlonger/

https://www.pharos.xyz/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/pharosnetwork/

https://x.com/pharos_network 

Disclaimer

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

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