Why the room needs them.
Martin Derka co-founded Zircuit, an Ethereum layer-2 network with sequencer-level security that launched Zircuit Finance in February 2026. He spoke on institutional yield in crypto at Proof of Talk Paris 2026.
The full account.
Martin Derka is a co-founder of Zircuit, an Ethereum layer-2 network built with security at the sequencer level. In Derka's own description, the sequencer evaluates each transaction for malicious intent before it is included in a block, using AI to simulate transactions and assess their impact. He holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Waterloo, in algorithms and complexity, and developed software for various companies while still a student. His earlier work also included academic research in graph theory and computational geometry.
In 2013 he co-founded a startup focused on car-advertisement photography and served as its chief technology officer, leaving it in 2017. After time in Argentina and Chile he returned to Canada, and in 2018 he joined the blockchain-security firm Quantstamp as one of its earliest hires, working on crypto security. His Devcon speaker biography gives his Quantstamp titles as Senior Research Engineer and Head of New Initiatives. Derka has said that at Quantstamp the team knew rollups would be key to scaling, and saw an opportunity to enhance security proactively.
In June 2024 The Block, describing him as a co-founder of Zircuit and a former Quantstamp executive, reported that Binance Labs had invested an undisclosed sum in the company. In July 2024 Zircuit announced a mainnet funding round with participation from Binance Labs, Mirana Ventures, Amber Group and others, and reported more than $2.9 billion in staked assets.
On 17 February 2026 Zircuit launched Zircuit Finance, an onchain yield platform targeting 8–11% APR on USDC and USDT, working with Monarq Asset Management, Forteus and FalconX, with integrations including Fidelity's tokenised money market fund, Aave and Morpho. Announcing it, Derka said the future of DeFi lay in building the most secure foundation for capital to grow rather than in chasing the highest yields.
Derka spoke at Proof of Talk Paris 2026 as co-founder of Zircuit. On 2 June 2026, the first day of the summit, he was a panellist on the Taostats Stage in "Institutional Yield in Crypto: From Bitcoin Strategies to Onchain Vaults", alongside Sunand Raghupathi, Karl Naim and Evan Feng, in a session moderated by Travis Hayes.
What Dr. believes about the next ten years.
Years of shipping.
Lines that keep proving correct.
“Our sequencer evaluates each transaction for malicious intent before inclusion in the block. We use AI to simulate transactions and assess their impact, determining if they're hacks.”
“There is a huge level of hype. Many uses of AI seem fabricated, and AI can be highly inaccurate.”
“The future of DeFi isn't about chasing the highest yields, it's about building the most secure foundation for capital to grow.”
What they have built, written, and backed.
Built
- ZircuitAn Ethereum layer-2 network, co-founded by Derka after his time at Quantstamp, whose sequencer uses AI to screen transactions for malicious intent before they are included in a block.
- Zircuit FinanceAn institutional-grade onchain yield platform launched by Zircuit on 17 February 2026, targeting 8–11% APR on USDC and USDT, working with Monarq Asset Management, Forteus and FalconX.
The next Proof of Talk is in Abu Dhabi.
Louvre Abu Dhabi, 3–4 December 2026. Admission is by application, and the room is capped at 2,000.
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