255: Why Build Another L1? Paul from Somnia on Somnia Protocol’s High-Throughput Blockchain

Paul, co-founder of Somnia Protocol and former Improbable exec, joins Sam Kamani to unpack why we still need new Layer 1s—and how Somnia’s high-performance, EVM-compatible blockchain is designed for mass-scale gaming, AI agents, and prediction markets. From his time at Goldman Sachs to building billion-dollar startups, Paul shares deep technical insights on compression, consensus, and abstracting Web3 for everyday users.Key Timestamps[00:00:00] Introduction: Sam introduces the episode featuring Paul from Somnia Protocol.[00:01:00] Guest Intro: Paul shares his journey from Goldman Sachs to building billion-dollar gaming infrastructure.[00:03:00] Discovering Ethereum: Why Ethereum sparked Paul’s imagination more than Bitcoin.[00:04:00] Gaming & Interoperability: Building large-scale immersive events and early Metaverse experiments.[00:07:00] Why Somnia?: The technical limitations that forced them to build a new L1.[00:10:00] Compression Innovation: Solving blockchain bottlenecks with novel networking and compression.[00:13:00] Who’s Building on Somnia: Projects in gaming, DeFi, AI, social, and entertainment.[00:15:00] Blockchain Should Be Invisible: Why UX abstraction is the next big unlock for Web3.[00:18:00] Mainnet Plans: What Somnia needs before mainnet—ecosystem readiness, tech, and community.[00:20:00] Founder's Lessons: Why Paul wishes he invested in public storytelling and personal brand earlier.[00:23:00] Gaming Favorites: From League of Legends to Zelda—how Paul still finds time to game.[00:25:00] The Real Web3 Gaming Unlock: Prediction markets and financializing gameplay.[00:27:00] Final Ask: Paul’s call to developers and consumers to explore Somnia Testnet.Connecthttps://somnia.network/https://www.linkedin.com/company/somnianetwork/https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-thomas-90042b36/https://x.com/Somnia_Networkhttps://x.com/0xPaulThomasDisclaimerNothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. Finally, it would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend.Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/