Even if you’re not an avid ‘cosmonaut’, you’re probably familiar with Sunny Aggarwalthe co-founder of Osmosis Laboratories. With an infectious smile and an upbeat personality, Sunny’s name is surprisingly apt. He is the type of person whose deep intellect, quick wit and unbridled passion light up the spaces around him.

We were scheduled to meet at Cosmos Dubai during Token2049, but life had other plans. The Cosmos side event would not happen. Dubai has been hit by the worst floods in 75 years, reducing the desert metropolis of skyscrapers to a lake and submerging entire neighborhoods. “There’s always Cosmoverse in October,” Sunny smiles. “We can talk in person then.”

The rise and rise of Osmosis

I was eager to see what outfit Sunny would wear; he has quite the collection, wearing a variety of eye-popping outfits, from a 40-pound chainmail armor to a Byzantine general’s costume with a striking red-crested helmet. “Oh, I keep the coolest clothes for bigger events like Cosmoverse or Osmocon,” he explains, “if I wore a new outfit for every event, my costume budget would be really high,” he laughs. Across the screen from Sunny’s New York apartment, he looks decidedly more low-key today.

As the largest ecosystem in the Cosmos decentralized exchange (DEX)Osmosis announced overcoming US$32 billion in all-time trading volume for that day. I ask what it’s like to be the creator of Cosmos’ most popular project and achieve such an impressive milestone.

“I think it said that Osmosis DEX wanted to reach $40 billion, [in the tweet]” he responds, “but I’m waiting for $100 billion.”

Sunny is unabashedly ambitious. Did he always know Osmosis would be a hit? He ponders:

“The immediate traction we got when we launched was very surprising. Cosmos had a lot of high-value assets that weren’t listed on centralized exchanges, but we didn’t realize how important that would be.”

Growth hacking and the obstacles along the way

It wasn’t easy to get here. Sunny has been in the web3 industry since 2017. Like all battle-hardened OGs, he has lived his fair share of ups and downs – crypto crashes, bear markets, and total implosions like Terra (LUNA) and FTX. I ask him what is the most stressful situation he has experienced so far and he pauses:

“I think I would have to say the week of Osmose’s release. It was the first time I launched a project, a company and a blockchain at the same time. There are a lot of things you don’t think about in the last mile.”

Osmosis publicly announced its release date, and unlike the plethora of software projects that push back their release dates like the proverbial can, Sunny was adamant about not changing hers. But as more and more last-mile items piled up, the release date hung over the team’s head like a dark, brooding cloud.

“Osmosis went from idea to launch very quickly,” he says. “We went from development to launch in just three or four months, and we procrastinated a lot of important things until the last two weeks.”

Would he have done anything differently with the benefit of hindsight?

“I would have planned things further in advance. When you start a project, there is more than just code. There are a lot of operational things to consider and it takes longer than you think… I would have done all this much sooner.”

Osmosis launched with a team of six and, despite a rocky start, now has 45 full-time employees:

“I like the size we have now,” he says. “We’re small enough that you still know everyone and can work with a full team off-site, but we’re big enough to pursue multiple unique product lines in parallel.”

How does he deal with the stress of being at the forefront of a constantly evolving industry? Throwing themselves out of planes. Sunny is an aviation fan and is learning to fly a plane and taking a skydiving course.

“I think it’s better to put yourself in a position where you can’t touch your phone, like flying a plane or diving” (or hurtling toward Earth at 120 miles per hour). “Cryptocurrency markets are not volatile enough, I need to add more adrenaline,” he laughs.

Travel, idols and a mind that favors vivacity

Spending so much time in the air, Sunny also enjoys traveling, and if there’s one place she enjoys most, it’s Switzerland. He has always been fascinated by the mountainous country of the Alps and its rich history, culture, politics and economy.

He even taught a class on Switzerland while studying at Berkeley. He wouldn’t like to live there, as it’s “a bit too boring”. Sunny prefers the frenetic pace of a city like New York or “being at the forefront of technological innovation” in San Francisco’s Silicon Valley. He also loves Berlin, where his co-founder lives, and has many friends. “It’s like a second home.”

In addition to continually improving Osmosis, helping other Cosmos ecosystem projects, and accumulating pilot miles, Sunny is a keen reader. One of her biggest idols is Peter Thiel, whose writing and “way of thinking” have greatly influenced Sunny’s worldview. Beyond Thiel Zero to Onehe recommends the book Swarm by Rick Falkvinge, the founder of Pirate Party political movement in Europe. The book talks about how Falkvinge started a political party and transformed it into a decentralized force through a concept called “swarms”.

He elaborates:

“In consensus protocols, you have this concept of protocols that favor security and liveness. In favoring security, you can never shell out, you reach consensus on everything and then you progress. The protocols that favor vitality are constantly forking, but they are progressing quickly, you don’t need to get approval from the entire group to take action… In the early stages of an organization where you are focused on growth, you need that favor liveliness so you don’t get bogged down in bureaucracy.”

A ‘Bitcoin maxi’ of a different kind

As a self-declared “Bitcoin maxi”, Sunny has no doubt that the original crypto is the best money for the world; but the glacial pace of development does not match its need for constant innovation. This is why he worked on the Cosmos infrastructure in the first place, “building the appchain layer for Bitcoin.” What is he most excited about right now?

“Definitely the rebirth of Bitcoin. Ordinals changed everything, there was a cultural shift with all the Bitcoin L2 going on. I am confident that we will have a good soft fork in the next year or two.”

Wouldn’t this be a detriment to the qualities of sound currency and the adoption of Bitcoin as an asset? “It’s the limitations of Bitcoin that caused the need for so many other cash-like assets, but now Bitcoin can scale to more people and offer more functionality, like bringing DeFi, privacy, social networks… there are many things we can do at the top of Bitcoin right now.”

What would Sunny be doing if she didn’t spend her time disrupting traditional finance? “Hardware.” Before working in cryptography, Sunny studied robotics in school and would like to return to her roots someday.

“I had different ideas. I spent a lot of time thinking about smart guns, safer firearms, with security systems like fingerprint scanners so people can’t steal them.” He pauses: “I’m really interested in anything that has an important political impact. That’s why I got into the world of cryptocurrencies.”

If you want to chat with Sunny, follow her personal profile Twitter or Osmosis account or access your account website for ideas and inspiration. You can also explore the cutting edge of DeFi by trying out Osmosis DES.

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