The 20-25% APR Secret: How Extended's Vault Shares Beat Every Other Perp Exchange

Building the Future of Decentralized Trading: How Extended is Redefining Perpetual Futures with Unified Margin In this episode of GigaBrain Podcast, host Joao Simoes sits down with Ruslan Fakhrutdinov, former head of crypto operations at Revolut and founder of Extended, to explore how self-custody decentralized exchanges are reshaping perpetual futures trading. Ruslan breaks down Extended's revolutionary approach to collateral innovation, Starknet settlement architecture, and the vision for a truly unified margin experience across spot, perpetuals, and lending markets.

What if you could trade perpetuals while earning 20-25% APR on your collateral? In this episode of Giga Brain, host Joao Simoes sits down with Ruslan Fakhrutdinov, founder of Extended, to explore why self-custody DEXs are reshaping decentralized trading, how tokenized vaults unlock yield for active traders, and the key innovations that differentiate Perp DEX from Hyperliquid. Whether you're a perp trader seeking better economics or a DeFi builder evaluating the next generation of exchanges, this conversation is packed with technical insights and actionable strategies on unified margin, on-chain settlement, and decentralized exchange design. Tune in to discover how Extended is building the fully-fledged DeFi exchange of tomorrow.

What You'll Learn:

How to evaluate the right chain architecture for a DEX
The tokenized vault innovation that differentiates Extended
Why collateral diversification is the last frontier in perpetual futures innovation
The cost advantage Extended holds over Hyperliquid today
How to build product differentiation in a crowded DEX landscape
The critical hiring insight for crypto founder

Ruslan Fakhrutdinov is the Founder and Leader of Extended, a decentralized perpetuals exchange built on Starknet. With a background spanning McKinsey and a five-year tenure as Head of Crypto Operations at Revolut, Ruslan brings deep expertise in scaling crypto products and navigating the DeFi landscape during critical market cycles. He spearheaded Revolut's crypto expansion from a nascent offering to one of the platform's largest departments, witnessing firsthand the institutional challenges that shaped his vision for Perp DEX. In this episode, Ruslan unpacks the architecture of next-generation perpetuals trading, detailing how unified margin, tokenized vaults offering 20-25% APR, and cross-asset collateral support differentiate Extended in a crowded DEX ecosystem. For DeFi-focused listeners seeking to understand the evolution of decentralized derivatives and the operational challenges of scaling trustless trading infrastructure, Fakhrutdinov's insights on product innovation, collateral optimization, and decentralized governance provide actionable frameworks for evaluating emerging trading platforms. His journey from traditional finance to building one of crypto's most technically ambitious exchange protocols offers an invaluable perspective on conviction, hiring, and execution in the rapidly evolving DeFi space.