In a recent episode of Web3 with Sam Kamani, Nexus founder and CEO Daniel Marin joined the show to unpack why the future of blockchains lies in purpose-built systems tailored to high-performance financial applications.
Over a fast-paced conversation, Daniel shared the motivations behind Nexus, its architectural philosophy, and the emerging design space of verifiable finance. Here are the key ideas from that conversation — edited and structured for clarity.
General-purpose blockchains are losing steam
Most blockchains today are still designed as general-purpose environments. But as the ecosystem matures, a new reality is emerging: specialization wins.
“We’re bearish on general-purpose blockchains,” Daniel said. “The market needs products that hyper-specialize and bring a unique value proposition to users or developers.” The comparison to Web2 is intuitive — no one builds a one-size-fits-all database anymore. Specialization is how systems scale, attract usage, and create defensible moats.
Nexus: A layer 1 built for financial machines
Nexus is a next-generation Layer 1 blockchain built from the ground up for modern financial applications — especially those driven by algorithms, APIs, and autonomous agents.
At its core, Nexus combines two execution engines: a standard EVM core for compatibility and a special-purpose “Nexus Core” optimized for high-throughput financial logic. This architecture enables native APIs that mirror Web2 trading systems like Binance or Bybit, allowing market makers and algorithmic traders to plug in directly — no wrappers, no workarounds, no gas management.
The result? A seamless environment where machines can transact at scale — and where developers can build the next generation of exchanges, prediction markets, and financial instruments.
Daniel calls this new paradigm verifiable finance — systems that enshrine financial functionality directly into the base layer, while proving every computation using zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs.
“Thanks to advances in zk tech — from systems like RISC Zero and our own stack — it’s now feasible to verify full applications and entire blockchains via ZK,” he explained. “We’re not waiting for Ethereum to get there by 2029. We’re doing it now.”
Unlike Ethereum’s minimalism and L2 delegation model, Nexus embraces a vertically integrated approach: infrastructure, execution, and applications all tightly aligned and optimized at Layer 1.
The thesis behind Nexus is simple: the future of finance will be machine-dominated. Algorithms, bots, and APIs will drive >99% of transaction volume — and infrastructure must evolve to meet that demand.
But today, most blockchains aren’t ready. Building an algorithmic trading strategy on Ethereum means rewriting code for EVM, navigating gas fees, and abandoning modern API conventions. By contrast, Nexus offers native Web2-style APIs from day one — letting quantitative funds, trading firms, and hedge funds onboard with minimal friction .
“HyperLiquid was the first to do this well,” Daniel noted. “We’re building on that insight, but going deeper — with a fully verifiable L1 and broader application surface.”
Sustainability through real business models
Many L2s today boast impressive tech — but generate minimal revenue. Daniel sees that as a warning sign.
“We think a lot about protocol revenue,” he said. “Infrastructure is only part of the puzzle. If you can’t deliver real value to users, and capture some of that value as revenue, it’s not sustainable” .
That’s why Nexus is launching with native financial applications that drive usage and yield — starting with a decentralized perpetuals exchange at mainnet. Revenue from these applications flows back to the protocol and to developers, through incentives like builder codes and revenue share programs.
Nexus is set to launch its mainnet in Q1 2026, with the exchange going live shortly after. Beyond that, the roadmap includes additional on-chain financial primitives — from stablecoins to tokenized assets and prediction markets.
“We’re building for a hyper-financialized future,” Daniel said. “That means enshrined perpetuals, spot markets, prediction markets — all built for machines, and all fully verifiable onchain.”
If the thesis holds, Nexus won’t just be another blockchain — it will be the backbone of a new machine-driven financial internet.
Daniel McGlynn
Daniel McGlynn
Daniel McGlynn
