Shaping DeFi’s Horizon: A Conversation with Chris Bradbury, CEO of Summer.fi

We had the opportunity to speak with Chris Bradbury, a luminary in the crypto realm. From engineering to fintech, Chris navigates his journey to the helm of Summer.fi, formerly Oasis, crafting a narrative of DeFi transformation. Illuminating user-centric strides, security fortifications, and a roadmap for the DeFi voyage, Chris unveils the future of decentralized finance, providing both sage advice and a visionary outlook amidst the flourishing DeFi cosmos.

1. Can you tell us a bit about your personal journey in the crypto field and how you became involved with DeFi and later in the development of Oasis?

After graduating in Engineering, I started my career by working software developer before moving into various fintech companies and startups as a product manager. I joined the Blockchain and DeFi space in 2018, when I took the role of product manager for Maker Foundation (MakerDAO), eventually becoming product lead for Oasis.app, then the frontend for the Maker Protocol, to create real usage for Dai and Maker Vaults. After Makers full decentralization, in June 2021, I, along with others from the Maker Foundation who had previously been working on Oasis.app (as it was at the time) took the product into a new, completely separate company, of which I lead as the CEO, and continue to this day aiming to become the most trusted place to deploy and manage your capital in DeFi.

2. Can you share the motivation behind rebranding Oasis to Summer.fi? How does this transformation reflect the growth and evolution of your platform?

Our fresh identity reflects our growth from a frontend Maker platform to a comprehensive multi-protocol DeFi ecosystem, offering you access to a diverse range of products and strategies. Our former name paid homage to our origins during the Maker Foundation era. However, we have since embarked on an incredible journey. Today, we empower users with the most robust DeFi tools, enabling seamless management of your positions across multiple protocols and networks. To encapsulate our grander vision, we felt it was time for a new name.We chose Summer.fi to express simplicity, vitality, and a friendly atmosphere while also touching on the idea of the optimism around ‘Crypto/DeFi Summer’.

3. Summer.fi aims to be the most trusted place in DeFi to deploy and manage capital. How do you plan to achieve this goal and differentiate Summer.fi from other DeFi platforms in the market?

We are always very focused on user feedback when we ideate our products and features. We work using a hypothesis testing method, trying to solve users’ problems. When we think about a feature, decide to pursue the idea and go for development, we are sure this is something users needs to improve their lives. This, together with a solid expertise (the largest part of our team is made by OGs and web3 native developers) and good auditing make Summer.fi a very safe place when you want to invest your capital into DeFi. This is demonstrated by the 2.6b TVL, which you can see on https://defillama.com/ 

4. With the increasing popularity of DeFi, security has become a paramount concern. How does Summer.fi address security challenges and ensure the safety of users’ assets on the platform?

Security is one of our priorities, since our mission is to be the most trusted place to deploy your capital in DeFi. We audit with top auditors on a regular schedule, we have a bug bounty program live on Immunefi, and work with the greatest protocols that share our understanding of security.

5. Summer.fi aims to be a trusted entry point to DeFi, regardless of market conditions. How do you plan to ensure accessibility and inclusivity for users, especially those who are new to the world of decentralized finance?

We think that wherever you stand on the risk curve, Summer.fi is always a good place for you. Holding tokens in your wallet gives you the only options of buying & selling them. Summer.fi gives you multiple options, with 3 products across 3 protocols, based on your risk preferences:
If you want some risk, and some reward you can put some assets into an Ajna position to earn on them. If you want to earn more, and accept liquidation risk, you can put your tokens in an Aave v3 stETH/ETH earn strategy. If you are bullish on your token – use Summer.fi Multiply. With big stack on mainnet, with a little on Optimism.

6. As the CEO of Summer.fi, what will be your primary focus and top priorities in the next 12 months? How do you plan to align the team towards achieving these goals?

Our primary goal over the next 12 months is to be massively focused on the Product and User Experience, making sure we can deliver the tools users need to do anything they want in DeFi. If they want to do something, and they can’t do it on Summer.fi, then we haven’t done our job.

7. Looking ahead, what exciting developments or new features can users expect from Summer.fi that will further enhance their DeFi experience and set the platform apart from competitors?

With the recently launched Ajna protocol on Summer.fi, we’re allowing the world to access one of the most innovative lending protocols since the beginning of DeFi. With this and on top of other protocols we support, you can expect to see many new, more advanced, automation features appearing, more focused and curated strategies to make it easier to earn on the assets you hold, and a better multi-network experience, to lower costs while maintaining ease of use and security.

8. What advice would you give to new investors or users entering the DeFi space?

If the yield seems too good to be true, it probably is. We’ve seen many users over the last few years chasing crazy, unexplainable yields, which often lead to rug pulls or exploits. One of our key focuses at Summer.fi is trust, and only supporting protocols that meet high standards and one golden rule – if we wouldn’t use it ourselves, we won’t offer it to our users. Crucially, take time to understand what you’re using, what you’re doing and where your money is going. If something doesn’t feel right, stop doing it.

9. Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?

DeFi is an incredibly powerful tool that gives you full custody over your money and assets. But it comes with a fair amount of responsibility to manage your keys. We are still at an incredibly early stage of this new technology, and it will take time to perfect for the masses. We see a lot of people come and go as the price moves up and then down again. The most important thing right now is that those that really believe in the technology stay around and continue to build, so in several years time, we will actually be ready to onboard a billion users.

If you’re interested in Summer.fi, read our review.