Few voices carry the depth of insight that Hammer brings to the table. A former corporate lawyer turned crypto innovator, Hammer has witnessed the transformation of digital finance from its nascent stages. In this exclusive interview, he pulls back the curtain on Orbs’ pioneering Layer 3 solutions, sharing a narrative that captures traditional finance and Web3 technology development.
Ishaan Pandey: Hi Ran Hammer, welcome to our Behind the Startup series. As someone who has worked in fields such as law and business development. What insights and experience from your background have been most valuable in driving the growth of Orbs?
Ran Hammer: Hey Ishaan, thanks for the question. My origin story begins in 2015. One of my clients reached out and told me they had made money in Bitcoin – which was around $280 at the time.
Naturally, I had to ask, “What is Bitcoin?” This question started my journey down the rabbit hole. We ended up converting all of the crowdfunding money into BTC at $280, and that experience opened my eyes to the potential of crypto.
Honestly, when building into cryptography in general, and into Defi specifically, it’s a huge advantage to understand how things work in the “real world.” We have this amazing technology that allows us to redesign legacy finance from scratch, but it also helps understand how traditional financial markets work.
At Celestial Bodies, our focus is on building real products that people actually use and that really generate positive revenue. It’s funny, but that’s not always the norm in the industry right now, with a lot of Defi based on token emissions that are unsustainable. Having a strong sense of how real companies operate definitely gives us an advantage.
Ishaan Pandey: Orbs positions itself as a layer 3 solution to bring CEF-ID level implementation to Defi. Can you explain how this ORBS technology stack is achieved without moving liquidity to a new chain, and what specific advantages this architecture offers over traditional solutions?
Ran Hammer: Sure, Orbs act as a DPOS blockchain, but they don’t hold their own assets on the chain itself. Instead, it acts as an abstract thread or oracle that exists between the EVM threads and the DAPPs that run on them. ORBs have node operators, which we called Guardians, who run a decentralized compute layer that hosts ORBs L3 protocols, including DTWAP, Dlimit, Sivalidal Hub, and Perpetual Hub.
What sets Orbs apart is their ability to enable developers to implement more complex logic than can be achieved using smart contract platforms alone, all while remaining fully decentralized. This opens up possibilities for sophisticated applications without sacrificing the basic principles of decentralization.
The most obvious benefits of this approach are improved implementation capabilities, bringing CEFI-level performance to Defi. The ORBS architecture also integrates seamlessly into existing ecosystems without breaking liquidity across new chains. In addition, our protocols are designed to eliminate counterparty risk: funds never leave the user’s wallet until the order is fully executed across all of our protocols. This ensures a higher degree of security and trust while balancing innovation and user protection, providing developers and users with the best of both worlds.
Ishaan Pandey: Dlimit and DTWAP protocols are major innovations from ODs. How are these advanced order types changing for on-chain trading, and can you crack these order types who are just starting out in crypto?
Ran Hammer: Dlimit and DTWAP have truly transformed the on-chain trading landscape, and their adoption by leading Dexs like Pancakeswap, Sushiswap and others highlights their value. Even UNISWAP has built its own version of advanced orders, underscoring how important these tools are for today’s traders.
The Dlimit arrangement allows users to buy or sell tokens at a set price. Unlike traditional market orders, which execute immediately at the current price, Dlimit orders ensure that the user’s desired price is met before execution. However, execution is not guaranteed – it depends on the market price along with the order specifications. This gives traders more control, especially in volatile markets.
DTWAP (Decentralized Time Weighted Average Price) is an algorithmic trading strategy designed to minimize the market impact of large orders. It does this by dividing the order into smaller parts that execute gradually over a pre-determined time frame. For example, instead of swapping a large amount at one time, which can greatly affect the price of the pool, DTWAP executes smaller portions systematically. This not only reduces slippage, but also ensures better price stability, which is crucial for traders managing critical assets.
In Defi, these tools are especially important because liquidity pools need time to rebalance. By enabling features such as precise execution with Dlimit and efficient distribution with DTWAP, while utilizing a fully decentralized architecture, Athens enables traders to interact with decentralized exchanges in a way that was previously only available on CEFI.
Ishaan Pandey: With Animoca Japan joining as verification nodes on the Orbs Network, what role do you see Gaming and Web3 playing in Defi’s future?
Ran Hammer: On behalf of the team at ORBS, we are extremely grateful to Animoca Japan for helping us secure our network by becoming an Orbs Verification Node. It is a testament to the resilience of our Japanese society that we are unlikely to have the chance. In terms of games in Web3, I see things as everything on-chain eventually streaming to Defi, and I’ll explain. Truly on-chain gaming requires the infrastructure that has been built since Defi began.
When you have an on-chain game, the resulting consequence that we’ve seen from Axie Infinity to Defi Kingdoms is that they require on-chain markets to handle in-game currency, collectibles, and other types of diverse economies that form around different ecosystems. For some games, you even have peer-to-peer lending, where resources are staked in exchange for the return that player earns. Hence, in my opinion Defi and On-Chain games are inseparable.
Ishaan Pandey: Looking forward to 2025, what key developments do you expect in the Defi space?
Ran Hammer: Overall, I think there are three main components that will see evolution in 2025. First, the abstraction, the UX of Crypto is still very weak, from going to news users making their first switch on Dex and interacting with the Defi protocol. This is still a huge hurdle for an industry that is starting to see improvements. Second, the aggregation,cryptographic fluidity remains fragmented across multiple chains,,protocols, and on- and off-chain sources.
However, there are now multiple places and even Dexs that are working on solving this, and the technology will only improve with time. Finally, availability, just ensuring that we have the same options that we have at CEFI also categorically at Defi Wether, the same experience in perpetual trading or advanced order types. At a more protocol level, the intent-based architecture has the marks of being a really powerful tool with a huge number of use cases from liquidity pooling, to cross-chain swaps and bridge solutions. AI is also clearly interesting and trendy right now, and can be implemented as a way to abstract complexity away from users and eventually participate in markets.
Ishaan Pandey: The Liquidity Center is designed to optimize DEX pricing through pooled liquidity. Can you share some specific examples of how you can improve this trading for Web3 users?
Ran Hammer: Liquidity Pivot (LH) solves major pain points for traders. When a user goes to a DEX, they really have no way of knowing if they are getting the best possible price. One could theoretically check all the different aggregators, cross-chain aggregators, and CEFI prices if available, but it is time consuming and with price fluctuations, it is almost impossible to guarantee you are getting the best price available. When a user exchanges on the LH-integrated DEX, LH performs a Dutch auction between all available routers, some of which support cross-chain swaps as well as private liquidity in the form of market makers to ensure that they “really” get one of the best price available.
In this way, a liquidity center can be thought of as an intent-based system that extends the complexity of having to check all hundreds of different places to ensure they are getting a fair price. Finally, due to the architecture LH swaps are routed through, they are completely gasless which is an added win for traders.
Ishaan Pandey: As someone deeply involved in both the legal and business aspects of blockchain, what regulatory developments do you anticipate affecting Defi in 2025, and how should you prepare for Web3 projects?
Ran Hammer: As our industry exists, regulatory ambiguity has created a “chilling effect,” the glare of significant capital from entering the Defi space. Although it is difficult to predict the future with certainty, we are starting to see positive signs that this trend could change. For example, US President Donald Trump recently expressed strong pro-cracking sentiment, which could play a pivotal role in shaping a more favorable regulatory framework if his policies are implemented.
The clear and consistent regulatory environment in the United States will likely have a ripple effect, as many countries tend to follow the American lead when it comes to financial regulations. This clarity could open up a wave of institutional capital for the blockchain industry, including Defi, and SPUR Innovation globally.
Web3 projects should focus on building great products that genuinely bring value to their users. Although it is essential to stay aware of developing regulatory requirements and aim for compliance, the priority should always be on creating solutions that solve real problems and move the space forward. By focusing on innovation and user value, projects can position themselves for long-term success, regardless of how the regulatory landscape evolves.
Don’t forget to like the story and share it!
Disclosure of interest earned: This author is an independent publishing contributor via
