The Hidden Rails of Web3: Halliday’s Unified Checkout (w/ Griffin Dunaif)

Episode notes

Halliday is building the “plumbing” most Web3 apps don’t have the time (or budget) to build: a unified, self-custodial checkout that lets users deposit from crypto wallets, fiat on/off-ramps, and even centralized exchanges then orchestrates the cross-chain steps under the hood. Griffin Dunaif walks us through the pivot from (Buy Now Pay Later) BNPL-for-NFTs to an intent-centric workflow engine that abstracts chains, bridges, DEXs, and ramps into one API and smart-contract runtime. We talk origins (Stanford systems + ZK), lessons from ConstitutionDAO privacy research, why robust multi-chain orchestration is the real bottleneck, and how Halliday now powers deposits for 40+ partners including Avalanche Core, ApeChain’s portal, and Story Protocol. Griffin also shares what’s next (Solana support), hiring for rare protocol talent, and how agentic commerce might use Halliday as the “arms & legs” for on-chain actions.

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