Will Warren is the Co-founder and CEO of 0x Labs, a company in the decentralized finance space known for developing the 0x Protocol. This protocol facilitates peer-to-peer exchange of assets on the Ethereum blockchain. ^[1][2][5]

Education

Will Warren studied at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), earning a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 2013. During his undergraduate years, he was involved in the Undergraduate Investment Society and the Student Foundation Investment Committee. He began a PhD program in Structural Engineering at UCSD but left to focus on his career in blockchain technology.^[1][5]

Career

Warren co-founded 0x Labs in October 2016, where he serves as CEO. Under his leadership, the company developed the 0x Protocol, a decentralized exchange protocol for trading Ethereum-based tokens.

In addition to his role at 0x Labs, Warren served as a Technical Advisor for the Basic Attention Token (BAT) from March to May 2017, providing guidance on Ethereum smart contracts.

Earlier in his career, Warren worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory. From June 2015 to June 2016, he was a Graduate Research Assistant focusing on laser diagnostics, optics, and signal processing. From June 2013 to August 2014, he was a Post Baccalaureate Researcher focusing on DARHT Experiments and Diagnostics. He also conducted computer vision research for mobile robot applications at UCSD's Coordinated Robotics Lab from January 2012 to June 2013.^[1][5]

Projects and Recognitions

Throughout his academic and professional career, Will Warren has been involved in various projects and received several accolades. In 2013, he earned first place in the DRS Infrared Imaging Competition. He also designed, fabricated, and programmed an automated ball sorter, which achieved the fastest time in a competitive project.

In 2017, Warren won first place at the Consensus Proof-of-Work Pitch Competition, awarded by CoinDesk. His academic achievements include the University Fellowship from the UCSD Department of Structural Engineering in 2014 and the Undergraduate Research Scholarship from the Provost of Warren College in 2012.^[1]

Interview

The Defiant Podcast

Will Warren, CEO of 0x Labs, discussed on August 4, 2022 the evolution of decentralized exchanges (DEXs), their impacts on the market, ongoing innovations and future growth on the Defiant Podcast. According to Warren, despite facing challenges in trading volumes due to sliding prices in the bear market, DEXs have shown resilience. He believes that diverse use cases, such as tokenized assets and NFTs, have enabled DEXs to thrive and maintain relevance.

Warren highlighted the significant increase in DEX trading volumes over time, which he sees as a reflection of a maturing market with rising user confidence and interest in decentralized trading. He shared that insights from yield farming are now guiding DEXs toward more sustainable financial models, helping to avoid past pitfalls.

User-centric innovations, such as concentrated liquidity and slippage protection, have been crucial, according to Warren, in enhancing the trading experience by improving trade execution and minimizing potential losses. He also discussed the Xerox Protocol’s goal of tokenizing all forms of value on public blockchains and supporting multi-chain ecosystems, emphasizing the importance of interoperability in the crypto space.

Warren also touched on the recent $70 million funding secured by 0x Labs, which he stated will be used to boost development and expand the team. This investment, in his view, demonstrates strong investor confidence in the potential of DEXs and will enable 0x Labs to scale operations and innovate further, aligning with the vision of a tokenized economy. ^[4]