The monolithic blockchain era appears to be sunsetting. Among the first to contribute to this paradigm shift was Cosmos, which introduced the idea of specialized sovereign blockchains (appchains), made possible by the Cosmos SDK. Nowadays, the modular thesis employs external data availability and even execution solutions, which enables the creation of countless new chains. Each new blockchains comes with its own ‘specs’, and centralised RPC and node providers have to adapt to each chain’s setting. However, the saying ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’ applies in this scenario too - we have often witnessed RPC failures during high demand periods. Lava Network aims to provide a competitive marketplace for RPC and node providers, which would compete based on their performance and user feedback.We were joined by Gil and Yair to discuss Lava Network’s RPC decentralisation in the modular, multi-chain landscape.Topics covered in this episode:High-level overview of Lava NetworkWhat problem Lava Network solvesDecentralised marketplace for RPC providersQuality of centralised vs. decentralised RPC providersGatewaysLava Network participantsSpecs & APIsQuality of service & provider optimizerHow services are pricedRelayersModularity & chain abstractionMagma & Lava mainnetEpisode links:Yair Cleper on LinkedInGil Binder on TwitterLava Network on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/536

Prolonged range bound markets are a hallmark of bearmarkets and they usually end up chopping inexperienced or over leveraged traders. Customised structured products offer a solution for market participants that want to limit their downside, but also the upside, by introducing knock-outs at certain levels or triggers. Such custom options, usually with lower probabilistic chances of occurring, naturally come at a discount. This allows traders to hedge their risk, while also betting on certain outcomes or market scenarios.We were joined by Zhiming Yang, co-founder of OrBit Markets, to discuss crypto derivatives and how TradFi expertise applies to customising structured products for crypto markets.Topics covered in this episode:Zhiming’s background in investment bankingFX derivative productsExotic optionsCrypto structured productsCustom solutions for crypto minersHedging Uniswap V3 impermanent lossOptions based on prediction marketsManaging counterparty riskProtocolising structured productsDifferences between TradFi and DeFiEpisode links:Zhiming Yang on LinkedInOrBit Markets on TwitterOrBit Markets websiteSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/535

Measuring the social impact of a charitable donation is, oftentimes, an impossible task. Founders Pledge is a non-profit organisation that aims to funnel and streamline donations from successful entrepreneurs in order to maximise their efficiency, based on data and research. Having built a network of nearly 2000 like-minded philanthropists, the vision behind Founders Pledge was to ensure transparency, unbiased assessment, ease of access and incentive alignment for its members. Despite the hurdles of running and scaling a non-profit organisation, Founders Pledge managed to stay true to its values throughout its 10 years of activity. In the end, where there’s a will, there’s a way.We were joined by David Goldberg, founder of Founders Pledge, to discuss the landscape of charitable non-profit organisations and how data can streamline donations and maximise their social impact.Topics covered in this episode:David’s backgroundFounding Founders PledgeHow Founders Pledge worksJoining Founders PledgeThe challenges of managing a non-profit organisationBuilding a great company culture. Hiring processMaximising impactAssessing non-profit organisations’ efficiencyEffective altruismHow philanthropy changed over timePledge VenturesFuture challenges for Founders PledgeEpisode links:David Goldberg on TwitterFounders Pledge on TwitterFounders Pledge websitePledge VenturesSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/534

We are, arguably, still early in the crypto industry, but some people were really…really early. One of them is Lefteris Karapetsas, who joined EthDev in 2014 and contributed to building the Ethereum ecosystem, since before the genesis block. His crypto journey is one for the history books, as after EthDev he joined Slock.it, right around the time of The DAO raise…and hack. Lefteris remained a core supporter of decentralisation and an active member of the Ethereum community, being involved (and delegated) in multiple projects’ governance. More recently, he founded Rotki, an open source portfolio management app that aims to preserve user privacy. We were joined by Lefteris Karapetsas, true Ethereum OG, to discuss his 10-year long journey through the Ethereum ecosystem, from joining EthDev (pre-Devcon 0) to founding Rotki.Topics covered in this episode:Lefteris’ backgroundEthereum’s beginningsJoining Slock.itThe DAO r(a)ise and hackEthereum classic hard forkBrainbot & Raiden Network eraFounding RotkiCrypto accounting privacyThe challenges of building a local appRotki membership tiersUpcoming portfolio management on RotkiFuture roadmap for RotkiHow Ethereum’s culture evolved over timeEthereum public good funding. Optimism governanceHopes and fears regarding Ethereum’s futureEpisode links:Lefteris Karapetsas on TwitterRotki on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/533

The Autonolas stack aims to address the ‘A’ in DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation), through its Open Autonomy framework, which enables the creation of autonomous, off-chain services for crypto applications. A key component for ensuring the proper operation of these off-chain autonomous economic agents, is the consensus mechanism. The protocol is overseen by the Governatooorr, the world’s first autonomous, AI-powered governor.We were joined by David Minarsch, co-founder of Valory, to discuss the ever-changing landscape of AI agents and how they can be used to automate crypto applications.Topics covered in this episode:David’s background and founding ValoryAgentic AI systemsMulti-agent systemsAutonolas’ agent frameworkCollaborative agent economy & composabilityDAO optimisation via autonomous agentsPotential attack vectors & AI risksEpisode links:David Minarsch on TwitterAutonolas on TwitterValory on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/532

Web2 file storage relies heavily on centralised entities, which have mostly outgrown their competitors, establishing a quasi-monopoly. The reasons for this are twofold: enormous operating costs and seamless user experience (e.g. social logins and account recovery), which, until recently, could only be solved through centralisation. Add to this the reluctance to change platforms as users need to re-upload their files, and you get an ossified user base. However, data leaks and hacks are a constant threat to users’ privacy, and indicate the disruptive potential of decentralised file storage and sharing.We were joined by Andreas Tsamados & Vijay Krishnavanshi, co-founders of Fileverse, to discuss their decentralised file sharing solution and how they plan to disrupt the Web2 quasi-monopoly.Topics covered in this episode:Returning to the P2P roots of the InternetWeb2 vs. Web3 user experience (UX)Business models for Web2 dataDecentralising dataWeb3 data storageCosts of data storageManaging file updates and permissionsFileverse use casesThe business model of FileverseImproving UXFuture roadmapEpisode links:Andreas Tsamados on TwitterVijay Krishnavanshi on TwitterFileverse on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/531

Fully homomorphic encryption, also known as the Holy Grail of cryptography, allows for computation to be performed on encrypted data, without the need for prior decryption. Its blockchain applications would enable programmable, institutional-grade, compliant privacy. With the addition of fhEVM libraries, solidity developers don’t have to worry about the complex cryptography and only decide what layers of the UX should be private.We were joined by Guy Itzhaki & Guy Zyskind, to discuss fully homomorphic encryption and how Fhenix plans to leverage it to build an end-to-end encrypted Ethereum L2 with compliant privacy.Topics covered in this episode:Guy(s)’ backgrounds and why they chose FHEThe differences between TEE, MPC, ZK and FHEThreshold decryptionThe challenges with FHE. Hardware acceleration. Zama’s fhEVMFhenix architecturefhEVMUse cases for FHE & composabilityCompliant privacyFhenix roadmapEpisode links:Guy Zyskind on TwitterGuy Itzhaki on TwitterFhenix on TwitterEncryption Day @ ETH Denver (Feb. 28, 2024) registrationSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/530

What began as an AI company trying to seek solutions in order to pay remote (unbanked) workers, Near AI became, in 2018, Near Protocol. Its sharded design was inspired by modern database architecture and large language model (LLM) training. Near Protocol aimed to solve the scalability trilemma, through a modular approach, combining data availability sharding with stateless validation. By abstracting away archaic blockchain standards, Near basically enabled decentralised full stack development and, in terms of UX, a distributed custodial solution via chain abstraction and account aggregation.We were joined by Illia Poloshukhin, co-founder of Near Protocol, to discuss Near’s journey, from AI company to high-throughput L1 blockchain, and how LLM training influenced the modular design choice.Topics covered in this episode:Illia’s background in AI & MLScaling large language models (LLMs) and the role of attentionStochastic Parrot vs. Understanding spectrumFrom Near AI to Near Protocol and the role of LLMsHow Near abstracted the blockchain away and enabled decentralised full stack developmentDefining ecosystem standards to improve UXChain abstraction, account aggregation and interoperabilityChain threshold signatureNear’s intent layerNear’s modularity, Nightshade sharding & stateless validationEigenLayer integrationEpisode links:Illia Polosukhin on TwitterNear Protocol on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/529

As Ethereum ‘merged’ to its current proof-of-stake consensus model, the steep (for retail) minimum stake of 32 ETH created a serious risk of centralisation through staking delegation to centralised entities. Lido DAO was envisioned to preserve staking decentralisation, while also providing additional value for staked ETH in the form of liquid staking tokens (LST). However, as its market share reached the first threshold of 33%, concerns have started to be voiced regarding Lido’s own risk of centralisation. Through its dual governance model where stakers can veto $LDO voters, and the upcoming implementation of distributed validator technology (DVT) and community staking module (CSM), the Lido DAO aims to preserve staking decentralisation.We were joined by Isidoros Passadis, contributor and Master of Validators at Lido DAO, to discuss Ethereum’s current liquid staking landscape, Lido’s governance model and what steps it takes to ensure staking decentralisation.Topics covered in this episode:Isidoros’ background and how he started working at Lido DAOLido’s core architecture and how it ensures decentralisationTransitioning from a curated node operator set to a permisionless modelDistributed Validator Technology (DVT)Lido’s dual governance modelstETH bridging and use cases in DeFiHow Lido adapts to Ethereum forks & EIPsMaximum validator effective balance and minimal staking issuanceEthereum vs. Lido governanceLido’s approach to MEVRestaking & EigenlayerExpanding Lido to other chainsLido’s market share and other liquid staking competitorsEpisode links:Isidoros Passadis on TwitterLido on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/528

10 years ago, Adam B Levine, the host of ‘Let’s Talk Bitcoin!’, decided that it was time to encourage other voices to step onto the crypto podcast scene. Among many applicants, Sebastien and Brian were the only 2 Europeans, so Adam suggested that they teamed up in order to record the pilot episode. On December 20th 2013, Sebastien and Brian released ‘Regulation and the Future of Bitcoin’, which marked the beginning of a 10-year (and counting) long journey. The rest is history.On this anniversary episode, our hosts were joined by special guests and friends of Epicenter, to share their favourite moments and fun stories gathered during the 10 years of epicness.Topics covered in this episode:Adam B Levine - Epicenter’s godfather & the early days of EpicenterTrent McConaghy - From Ascribe to Ocean. Ahead of the NFT and inscription hypeSebastien Buergel - How he got into crypto, early ventures and Meher’s secretGriff Green & Lefteris Karapetsas - The DAO hack and Sebastien Buergel’s alleged roleSam Jernigan & Anna Rose - From TradFi to ZKJordi Baylina & Ryan Zurrer - Standing in the Epicenter of the storm and the unsung hero of the DAO hackRichard Muirhead - The future of zk proofs, privacy and AIEpisode links:Adam B Levine on TwitterTrent McConaghy on TwitterSebastian Buergel on TwitterGriff Green on TwitterLefteris Karapetsas on TwitterSam Jernigan on TwitterAnna Rose on TwitterJordi Baylina on TwitterRyan Zurrer on TwitterRichard Muirhead on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Brian Fabian Crain, Friederike Ernst, Meher Roy, Felix Lutsch and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/527

Unlike Ethereum ‘programmable money’, Bitcoin lacks native smart contracts by design. In an attempt to expand Bitcoin past its store of value narrative, wrapper contracts provided wBTC on other chains for DeFi applications. However, wBTC does not directly represent the native asset and it is, therefore, subject to potential exploits. DLC Link introduces a novel approach, by allowing entities (attesters) to self-wrap dlcBTC.We were joined by Aki Balogh, co-founder of DLC Link, to discuss discreet log contracts, their trust assumptions and what they mean for Bitcoin’s use cases and liquidity. Topics covered in this episode:Aki’s background and switching from AI to cryptoDiscrete Log Contracts (dlc)Trust assumptions in dlcBTC bridges and dlc attestersThe non-fungibility of dlcBTCPotential regulationsCurrent status and roadmapOther BTC bridges Episode links:- [Aki Balogh on Twitter](https://twitter.com/AkiBalogh)- [DLC Link on Twitter](https://twitter.com/DLC_Link)- [Epicenter's 10-year anniversary live stream](https://youtube.com/live/0DIdgO4qVsw?feature=share) Sponsors:- Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io- Chorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - https://chorus.one/?utm_source=epicenter This episode is hosted by Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: [epicenter.tv/526](https://epicenter.tv/526)

When it comes to NFTs and blockchain gaming, very few companies can rival with Animoca Brands’ early conviction, investment thesis and time horizon. They understood early on that community building and network effects are the core pillars for a true paradigm shift in gaming. However, culture and narratives transcend the boundaries of gaming, becoming social phenomena. Animoca’s latest undertaking, the Mocaverse, aims to unite communities in a truly open metaverse.We were joined by Yat Siu, chairman of Animoca Brands, to discuss the importance of digital culture in our modern-day lives and how NFT ownership unlocks community building in the open metaverse.Topics covered in this episode:Yat’s background and Animoca Brands’ interest in NFTsDigital culture & narrativesAnimoca Brands’ investment thesisBlockchain & NFT adoption by Web2 brandsFinancial inclusion & financial literacyOwnership & play-to-earn gaming: East vs. WestNFT use cases & IP rightsInteroperabilityDecentralisation & the value of ownershipMocaverse Long-term vision & the open metaverseEpisode links:Yat Siu on TwitterAnimoca Brands on TwitterSandbox on TwitterAxie Infinity on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/525

With an average block time of 5 seconds and sub-cent transaction gas fees, Celo focuses on scalability and ease of access in order to bring DeFi to those that need it the most. Celo’s vision of ensuring equal access is reflected through their mobile-first design, aiming to disrupt legacy TradFi. The upcoming transition to an L2 rollup aims to tap into Ethereum’s security, while maintaining minimal costs through Celo’s scalability and EigenLayer’s data availability solutions.We were joined by Marek Olszewski & Rene Reinsberg to discuss Celo's mobile-first approach to building a low-fee, high-throughput blockchain with real-world applications, and their transition to an Ethereum L2.Topics covered in this episode:Rene’s and Marek’s backgroundsCelo’s design principlesCelo’s scalabilityMobile compatibility for blockchains and dAppsWallet UXStablecoins as gas token & transaction confirmation timesOptimising mobile accessibilitySocialConnect & off-chain social identifiersCelo’s transition to an Ethereum L2Single block finality in an optimistic rollupSequencer decentralisationLowering costs of settling on Ethereum via EigenDACredit Collective & Impact MarketMento DAOThe future of CeloEpisode links:Marek Olszewski on TwitterRene Reinsberg on TwitterCelo on TwitterMiniPay on TwittercLabs on TwitterCredit Collective on TwitterImpact Market on TwitterMento Labs on TwitterSponsors:dYdX Foundation: The recently launched dYdX chain features new governance and token economics, that empower stakers and promote validator decentralisation. Bridge your DYDX tokens and contribute to the evolution of dYdX chain, fully permissionless and community driven. - https://bit.ly/47kqG59This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/524

Homo- (Greek prefix meaning ‘same’); -morphic (Greek suffix meaning ‘having a specific shape/form’)Intuitively, one could deduct that homomorphic encryption indicates that the initial data and the encrypted result (cipher) could share the same form. Based on this property, it can be inferred that computation can be performed on the encrypted data, without prior decryption. By decrypting the result, you get the same output as the computation performed on the unencrypted data. While homomorphic encryption can be either additive or multiplicative, fully homomorphic encryption supports both types of operations. Unlike ZKPs, which are proofs of computational integrity, fully homomorphic encryption allows for encrypted data computation, without revealing additional information about the original data. This could provide the missing link for ensuring private transactions on blockchains’ public ledgers.We were joined by Rand Hindi, CEO of Zama, to discuss fully homomorphic encryption solutions, how they differ from ZKPs & MPC, and how they can be leveraged to ensure compliant programmable privacy.Topics covered in this episode:Rand’s background and his interest in privacyMeeting Pascal and founding ZamaFully homomorphic encryption (FHE)Zero knowledge proofs vs. Multi-party computation vs. Fully homomorphic encryptionTaking fully homomorphic encryption 'mainstream'Zama’s productsfhEVMHow multi-party computation would secure fhEVMMulti-key homomorphic encryption & functional encryptionDeploying an FHE rollupFHE use casesPrivacyZama’s business modelEpisode links: Rand Hindi on TwitterZama on TwitterFhenix on TwitterSponsors: dYdX Foundation: The recently launched dYdX chain features new governance and token economics, that empower stakers and promote validator decentralisation. Bridge your DYDX tokens and contribute to the evolution of dYdX chain, fully permissionless and community driven. - https://bit.ly/47kqG59This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/523

"The advancements of zero knowledge proving technology, hardware acceleration and proof recursion have significantly increased the efficiency of EVM-compatible zk provers. As a result, the former tradeoff in efficiency implied by EVM-compatibility is gradually improving. Translating Ethereum’s virtual machine bytecode ensures seamless scaling for applications, without the need for additional audits and security compromises.We were joined by Ye Zhang, co-founder of Scroll, to discuss the EVM-compatible zero knowledge landscape and how Scroll aims to stay true to Ethereum’s values and community.Topics covered in this episode:Ye’s background in zk researchHardware limitations for zk techFounding ScrollWhy Scroll went for EVM compatibilityEfficiency of EVM- vs. non-EVM-compatible zk proversThe timeline of ideating ScrollScroll mainnet launchBuilding the Scroll communityScroll tokenSequencer decentralisationData availability, validiums and security tradeoffsL2 bridges and interoperabilityRoadmapEpisode links: Ye Zhang on TwitterScroll on TwitterSponsors: dYdX Foundation: The recently launched dYdX chain features new governance and token economics, that empower stakers and promote validator decentralisation. Bridge your DYDX tokens and contribute to the evolution of dYdX chain, fully permissionless and community driven. - https://bit.ly/47kqG59This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/522

Leading decentralised perpetual exchange, dYdX V4 recently migrated to Cosmos to build its own sovereign appchain, in order to provide its users a much better trading experience, while continuing to deliver DeFi innovations (e.g. permisionless markets). By having full control over the appchain’s parameters, the dYdX DAOs can shape the future of the protocol, starting from the very bedrock, ensuring proper distribution and incentives for the validator set. From early adopter of L2 zero knowledge proofs (STARKs), to building its own Cosmos appchain, dYdX has proven once again to be a trailblazer for new technologies.We were joined by Charles d’Haussy, CEO of dYdX Foundation, to discuss dYdX V4’s recent migration to a Cosmos appchain and what challenges it solves in terms of: order book decentralisation, validator distribution and user experience.Topics covered in this episode:Charles’ background, from Asia to CEO of dYdXdYdX’s history and V4’s transition to a Cosmos appchainHow perpetual futures workdYdX supported assets and permissionless marketsDeFi innovations vs. CEX UXThe current state of dYdX V4’s alpha mainnetdYdX validator dynamics & order book decentralisationdYdX’s DAOs & governanceMitigating MEV (feat. Skip Protocol)Migrating to CosmosAstropolis The intersection of crypto & AIEpisode links:Charles d'Haussy on TwitterdYdX on TwitterdYdX Foundation on TwitterCharles' Astroprolis Keynote (Cosmoverse Istanbul)Cosmos on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/521

The very nature of Ethereum addresses, expressed as random hexadecimal character strings, represents a big hurdle for mass adoption, as they are not human-readable. ENS domains were envisioned to not only solve this and provide a seamless UX, but to also be the cornerstone of on-chain identities. However, in the current multichain landscape, a plethora of decentralised naming services arose, which led to a heterogeneous domain name pool. As a result, ENS aims to expand to L2s and non-EVM chains, attempting to provide consistency, in order to further reduce user friction and limit conflicting domain names.We were joined by Nick Johnson, founder of ENS, to discuss the current state of decentralised naming services from a multichain and L2 perspective, and how these ultimately tie into decentralised identities.Topics covered in this episode:Nick’s background and ENS historyThe plethora of decentralised naming servicesENS use casesInteracting with Web2 DNSL2 compatibility for ENS via CCIP ReadENS wrapper and subdomainsCCIP ReadBridging ENS to non-EVM L2sCoinbase’s cb.idENS and on-chain privacy OPSECAccount abstractionThe future of ENSGovernance Episode links:Nick Johnson on TwitterENS on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/520

While competition fosters innovation, the proliferation of different blockchains has resulted in the fragmentation and isolation of liquidity within each ecosystem. Early attempts to address this issue primarily involved bridges and wrapped assets. Unfortunately, these solutions were often vulnerable to hacks and exploits, and the value of wrapped assets was contingent on the security of the wrapper contract, rather than the underlying asset. Cross-chain swaps of native assets hold the promise of resolving liquidity fragmentation, but numerous technological challenges must be overcome to make them as seamless as same-chain swaps.We were joined by Simon Harman, founder of Chainflip, to discuss multi-chain liquidity fragmentation and how Chainflip’s JIT AMM (Just in Time) aims to solve this, by providing cross-chain native swaps.Topics covered in this episode:Simon’s background(Legacy) Bridging vs. Threshold Signature SchemeChainflip’s Just in Time (JIT) AMM vs. Uniswap’s V3/XProviding liquidity on ChainflipSlippage and UXDeciding trading pairsChainflip validatorsValidator stake auctionsGovernanceRoadmap and bootstrapping liquidityEpisode links:Simon Harman on TwitterChainflip on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/519

Stablecoins represent a safe haven against crypto’s volatility, allowing participants to remain in the market, without off-ramping to fiat. While the major stablecoins are centrally issued (e.g. USDT, USDC, BUSD), there is a pressing need for an algorithmic variant or a synthetic dollar asset. (DAI is somewhere in between since approximately 50% of its collateral is USDC). After Luna’s collapse, many jumped to point out its design flaws, yet such a concept would be crucial for crypto’s decentralisation and self-sustainability. Arthur Hayes proposed an interesting concept of NAKA synthetic dollar (NUSD), backed by Bitcoin and its inverse perpetual swap short. However, yield generation on $BTC is significantly lower than that of $ETH. A sustainable yield would help balance the cases in which funding rates would be negative (a minority in crypto).We were joined by Guy Young, co-founder of Ethena, to discuss the stablecoin landscape and their synthetic eUSD, backed by staked ETH and its inverse perpetual swap.Topics covered in this episode:Guy’s background and founding EthenaThe history of stablecoinsThe stablecoin trilemma and transparencyeUSD synthetic dollar mechanicsEthena’s insurance fund and hedgingMinimising the impact of depeggingLeveraging centralised liquidity while maintaining self custody through MPCUser experienceRisk factorsCEX vs. DEX: liquidity, infrastructure, UXThe potential of fixed return ratesSupply & rates equilibriumEpisode links:Guy Young on TwitterEthena Labs on TwitterArthur Hayes' article proposing the Naka synthetic dollarThis episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/518

One of the best known memes in crypto is: 'Not your keys, not your coins'. This usually resurfaces whenever a (custodial) centralised exchange is hacked or goes bust altogether. Although Web3 provides the infrastructure for self custody, this often shares the fate of Pandora. Self-custody requires increased security measures, from both end-users, as well as application developers. Web3 wallets are the interface between users and decentralised applications deployed on blockchains. While Metamask still maintains the largest market share, a multitude of wallets have emerged, promising additional features and a better UX.We were joined by Evgeny Yurtaev, co-founder & CEO of Zerion, to discuss the challenges of building a Web3 wallet and how Zerion aims to improve user experience, while still maintaining security.Topics covered in this episode:Evgeny’s backgroundThe motivation behind building a Web3 walletZerion UX and securitySeed phrase storingZerion user profileChallenges in building a new wallet appProtecting users and potential attack vectorsSupported blockchains and (seamless) bridgingAccount abstraction and MPCBusiness models for Web3 walletsEpisode links:Evgeny Yurtaev on TwitterZerion on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/517

Back in 2017, there was no DeFi as we know it today, yet MakerDAO were already envisioning and building towards what they thought to be a certainty. The backbone of DeFi is represented by stable coins, and MakerDAO quickly understood this: they set out to build a decentralised stable coin, $DAI (and its precursor $SAI). Being collateral-backed, the smart contract needs to know the value of that collateral, but any off-chain price data is not readily available on-chain. This is where oracles come in and provide data feeds on-chain. MakerDAO’s internal oracle has been active since 2017 on Ethereum and has recently branched out, forming Chronicle. By using aggregated Schnorr signatures, Chronicle solves the problem of oracle cost-efficient scaling.We were joined by Niklas Kunkel, founder of Chronicle, to discuss the challenges and tradeoffs that oracles regularly face, and how Chronicle is solving them, continuing the ethos of early MakerDAO.Topics covered in this episode:Niklas’ background and the early days of MakerDAOHow MakerDAO evolved over time and the adoption of DAIMakerDAO’s core principlesWhy Chronicle branched out from MakerDAOOracle challenges & tradeoffsOracle validatorsBusiness model for oraclesProviding oracle services to different blockchainsSchnorr signaturesChronicle’s supported chains and oracle offeringsReal-world assets (RWA) and credit delegationEpisode links: Niklas Kunkel on TwitterChronicle on TwitterMaker DAO on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/516

Data immutability and transparency are key features that define a blockchain’s public ledger. However, while transactions are indeed transparent, information surrounding the blockchain’s infrastructure layer is not readily available. Since Ethereum’s Merge to PoS and the introduction of staking delegation, actionable data on the validator and client status quos became crucial for the wellbeing of the network. Rated Network aims to build a reliable ‘reputation system for machines’ forming the infrastructure layer, through better data curation and improved transparency.We were joined by Elias Simos, founder of Rated Network, to discuss data interpretation in blockchain infra and what conclusions can be drawn about validator performance, client diversity & much more.Topics covered in this episode:Elias’ background and founding Rated NetworkProviding transparency in blockchain infrastructure layerTapping into Ethereum’s data. The subjectivity of performanceThe consumer profile of Rated dataEthereum’s credible neutrality & client diversityEIP-7514 & managing Ethereum’s state bloatGovernance: dev council vs. on-chainExpanding Rated to other PoS networksEpisode links:Elias Simos on TwitterRated Network on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/515

Zero knowledge proof systems have found tremendous cryptographic utility in scaling blockchains, due to their ability to prove computational integrity, succinctly. However, despite recent advancements in ZKP R&D, their construction still requires special prover circuits. Their complexity is what gatekeeps zero knowledge technology to a select few astute teams. =nil; Foundation aims to challenge this status quo by providing an alternative through their zkLLVM circuit compiler and zk proof marketplace. By commoditising the production of custom proofs, =nil; Foundation unlocks an entire new range of applications employing zero knowledge technology. We were joined by Misha Komarov, co-founder of =nil; Foundation, to discuss the use cases and challenges of building the first marketplace for (outsourced) zero knowledge proofs.Topics covered in this episode:The vision behind =nil; FoundationUse cases for zk techzkLLVM circuit compilerHomomorphic encryption, ZKPs & privacy solutionsZKP marketplaceWhy proof markets (currently) run on DBMSMarketplace actorsProof generators vs. PoW minersInfrastructure challengesFuture roadmapEpisode links: Mikhail Komarov on Twitter=nil; Foundation on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/514

Apart from its numerous financial applications, blockchain technology could also disrupt the gaming industry, causing a paradigm shift towards true digital ownership, one that would create new incentive models for both players, as well as developers. Up until recently, technological barriers seemed cumbersome for most game developers, but the advancements of layer 2 scaling solutions made on-chain integrations viable. Immutable set out to create an all-in-one platform for developers, empowering them to create a lush gaming ecosystem to seamlessly onboard Web2 players.We were joined by Robbie Ferguson, co-founder of Immutable, to discuss the state of Web3 gaming and Immutable's contribution to this paradigm shift.Topics covered in this episode:Robbie’s background and founding ImmutableThe pitfalls of centralised in-game asset marketplacesWeb3 game development challengesOnboarding the Web2 gaming sceneImmutable’s value propIntegrating Polygon’s zkEVM with the STARK-powered Immutable XImmutable SDK & DevExAppStore’s Web3 policiesImmutable PassportEnforceable royalties$IMXEpisode links:Robbie Ferguson on TwitterImmutable on TwitterGods Unchained on TwitterGuild of Guardians on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/511

Social media revolves around content creation, and while the content itself could be tokenised through NFTs, SocialFi aims to take it a step further. The recently released friend.tech app went to show that users might be interested in something more than just content - creator shares. This implicitly links back to handles and profiles, and we can slowly start to unveil the primitives of social media. Lens Protocol predates the friend.tech venture, in both timeline, as well as scope. While social media became synonymous with monopolistic central entities, Lens Protocol aims to build the decentralised bedrock for Web3’s social layer. These primitives would not only be interoperable with any Web3 application, but they would redefine content creation, feed generation and monetisation.We were joined by Stani Kulechov, founder of Lens Protocol & Aave, to discuss decentralised social graphs and how to leverage smart contracts to build the primitives for Web3's social layer.Topics covered in this episode:The vision behind LensLens V2 and smart contract capabilitiesSocial media development platformDefining the Web3 social media primitiveFeed generation algorithm on LensIntegrating on-chain and off-chain infrastructureThe tragedy of the commons in decentralised social mediaCan a public good architecture also accommodate private goods?Growth model, sponsored transactions and monetisationGovernance and decentralised social mediaEpisode links: Stani Kulechov on TwitterLens Protocol on TwitterAave on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/512

The maximal extractable value (MEV) problem, if left unchecked, could represent an existential threat to Ethereum’s core values. One might argue that it is a natural result of solving market inefficiencies, but it entices to centralisation and collusion in order to extract the highest amount of value. Additionally, through front-running and back-running, it creates unnecessary overhead, which caused up to 2.4% of the total network congestion back in DeFi summer of 2020 (according to Flashbots’ research). As current infrastructure cannot eliminate MEV altogether, Flashbots and other research groups have tried to come up with solutions to address its aftermath.We were joined by Stephane Gosselin, co-founder of Flashbots and Frontier Research, to discuss the MEV landscape, what research breakthroughs have been recorded and how they impact DevEx and UX.Topics covered in this episode:Reflecting on ‘Frontrunning the MEV crisis’Decentralising the MEV ‘supply chain’The vision behind Frontier ResearchRequest-for-Quotation (RFQ) explainedBlock buildingUniswap X and how it might impact LPs & block buildingDecentralising block buildingProposer-builder separation (PBS)MEV burnHow MEV influenced different applications’ UX IntentsEpisode links:Stephane Gosselin on TwitterFrontier ResearchFrontier Research on TwitterFlashbotsThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/511

From the very beginning, Cosmos set out to provide an alternative to the monolithic blockchain architecture proposed by Ethereum. Cosmos SDK was the cornerstone of this vision, as it allowed developers to spin up blockchains effortlessly. Its modularity enabled custom, self-sovereign chains to become a reality. And, instead of being a jack of all trades, those chains were centred around a sole purpose, thus transforming them into appchains. In turn, as the ecosystem grew, appchains had to be interoperable with one another, but this was already a core feature of Cosmos, via IBC. Before Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap, appchains were thought to be a much-needed scaling solution. However, with the advancements of zero knowledge technology, the Cosmos SDK now faces another set of challenges as it navigates the market demand for L2 scaling solutions.We were joined by Marko Baricevic, Cosmos SDK product lead, to discuss the development philosophy behind the Cosmos Hub and how appchains evolved over time.Topics covered in this episode:Marko’s backgroundCosmos SDK’s history and high-level overviewCosmos SDK modules and VMsEthereum’s & Cosmos’ development philosophiesCosmos SDK value prop and use casesCosmos SDK vs. other frameworks (e.g. Substrate)Token value accrual and the fragmentation dilemmaUsing the Cosmos SDK to build rollupsCosmos SDK vs. Avalanche’s HyperSDKAdoption of fraud proofs and validity proofs by the Cosmos SDKEpisode links:Marko Baricevic on TwitterCosmos on TwitterCosmos SDK on TwitterInterchain Foundation on TwitterBinary Builders on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Meher Roy & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/510

What started out as Matic Network, in 2017, and later rebranded to Polygon, in 2021, it is now facing another major milestone: Polygon 2.0. Apart from a tokenomics update, their plans include building an aggregation layer for every scaling solution that will settle on Ethereum. This will not only provide crucial rollup interoperability, but it will also further offload Ethereum by recursively combining multiple proofs into a single one.We were joined by Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, for a fascinating discussion on Polygon’s future revamp, their views on infrastructure decentralisation and interoperability.Topics covered in this episode:Sandeep’s background and the vision behind MaticPolygon 2.0ZK rollup vs. ValidiumMulti-purpose shardingTokenomicsStaking decentralisationInteroperabilityThe multi-chain future outlookBlockchain adoption and use casesEpisode links:Sandeep Nailwal on TwitterPolygon on TwitterPolygon Labs on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Meher Roy & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/509

After a 2021 frothy bull market, NFTs are currently experiencing the depression phase of the market cycle. However, despite the fact that only NFT art has truly found its product-market fit, NFTs in general represented the consumerist moment for crypto. In addition, they also provided a solution for tokenising real world assets (RWA) and intangibles, potentially penetrating markets worth hundreds of trillions of dollars. Moreover, similar to digital art, the advent of AI poses a challenge when it comes to establishing provenance, but this represents another utility for NFTs, as they can be traced back to their origin, given the public nature of blockchains.We were joined by Stephen Young and Storm from NFTFi, to discuss the general state of the NFT market, future prospects for NFT development and how their P2P NFT lending platform unlocks new sources of liquidity in this bear market.Topics covered in this episode:Stephen’s & Storm’s backgrounds and what allured them to NFT financeNFT market overviewTokenised real world assets (RWA)NFTFi’s peer-to-peer vs. peer-to-pool modelsHow other DeFi derivatives apply to the NFT marketNFT vs. fungible token market sizeBlur’s BlendNFT royaltiesNFT lending protocols differencesHow escrow contracts affect NFT ownership and utilityNFTFi roadmapInterest rates for different collectionsNFT art marketAI artCollateralizing RWAEpisode links: Stephen Young on TwitterStorm on TwitterNFTFi on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/508

Ethereum scaling solutions often resort to tradeoffs, sacrificing security or decentralisation in favour of scalability. However, zk rollups hold the potential of increasing throughput, while also inheriting the layer 1’s security. This is achieved through zero knowledge validity proofs, which are published on Ethereum mainnet. The final hurdle remains the sequencer decentralisation. zkSync was designed around EVM-compatibility, offering custom scaling solutions through its hyperchain architecture.We were joined by Alex Gluchowski, co-founder & CEO of Matter Labs, to discuss the zk rollup landscape, its bottlenecks, and what makes zkSync stand apart as the most popular rollup.Topics covered in this episode:High-level overview of zero knowledge proofsZK rollupszkSync EraZK ecosystem taxonomyRollup performance: bottlenecks & tradeoffsBridging between zkSync hyperchainsData availability. Validium vs. VolitionGovernance & security layersSequencer decentralisationEpisode links:Alex Gluchowski on TwitterzkSync on TwitterMatter Labs on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Meher Roy & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/507

The recent history of L2s has shown that there doesn’t need to be ‘one chain to rule them all’ or an ‘ETH killer’. Instead, a healthier approach would be to find the best solution for a specific need, taking into consideration any potential tradeoffs. Avalanche has done just that, focusing from the get-go on delivering high transaction throughput, using their unique subnet architecture, consensus protocol and warp messaging. HyperSDK continues this conviction, offering a framework for developers to spin up customisable, high performance virtual machines.We were joined by Patrick O’Grady, VP of Engineering at Ava Labs, to discuss HyperSDK and how it enables building customisable, high performance VMs on Avalanche subnets.Topics covered in this episode:Patrick’s backgroundAvalanche’s consensus protocolSubnetsAvalancheGo design conceptsWarp messagingStaking and subnet validatorsHyperSDKHyperSDK vs. Cosmos SDKAvalanche throughput parametersCustom solutions for developersEpisode links: Patrick O'Grady on TwitterAva Labs on TwitterAvalanche on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Meher Roy & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/506

We couldn’t miss EthCC 6 and we got to sit down with Vitalik Buterin to discuss hot topics from the Ethereum ecosystem: MEV, staking derivatives, privacy, decentralisation and future interoperability. Ethereum’s merge to proof-of-stake brought with it the emergence of liquid staking derivatives (LSD). Similarly to mining pools in proof-of-work consensus models, staking pools could pose a risk to Ethereum’s decentralisation. In terms of privacy preserving solutions, the advances in zero knowledge research were a big breakthrough, especially as EVM-compatibility became possible. Maximal extractable value (MEV) remains a pressing matter, but hopes are that the upcoming proposer-builder separation (PBS) will alleviate it.Topics covered in this episode:EthCC 6 updates and development across Ethereum’s ecosystemMEV and proposer-builder separation (PBS)Liquid staking derivatives (LSD), governance and decentralisationPrivacyZK proofs and decentralised identifiers (DID)Ecosystem interoperabilityCross-chain bridge securityConclusionsEpisode links:Vitalik ButerinEthereum Foundation on TwitterEthCC on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Friederike Ernst & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/505

Blockchains are secured through the economic incentives offered to their validators/miners. The more robust the network effect among validators, the more difficult it is for that blockchain to be compromised. However, building a truly decentralised and reliable validator set is not a trivial task. As a result, hub and spoke ecosystem designs like Cosmos’ (and even Polkadot’s), aim to share the main hub’s validator set and security to their ‘consumer’ chains (parachains in Polkadot’s case). Neutron relies on interchain queries, interchain accounts and interchain (replicated) security to deliver the most secure CosmWasm smart contract platform in the Cosmos ecosystem. We were joined by Avril Dutheil, GM at Neutron, to discuss Neutron’s smart contract platform and how it leverages replicated security (ICS) and interchain accounts (ICA).Topics covered in this episode:Avril’s background and the value prop behind NeutronPractical examplesInterchain accounts and different use casesInterchain securityAtom hub vs. Polkadot relay chain. Onboarding and security modelsOffboarding Cosmos consumer chainsReplicated security vs. Modular blockchainsNeutron’s token utility and governanceEpisode links: Avril DutheilNeutron on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/504

Stablecoins represent the backbone of DeFi, allowing complex financial applications to be protected from external volatility. From fiat-backed to algorithmic, there are multiple approaches to issuing and backing stablecoins. While US regulations are looming over the crypto industry, Monerium released a fully regulated on-chain euro stablecoin, the EURe, enabling direct SEPA transfers, on- and off-ramp.We were joined by Sveinn Valfells, CEO of Monerium, to discuss the European E-Money Directive and how it set the ground for fully regulated on-chain currencies (EURe) built on top of SEPA.Topics covered in this episode:Sveinn’s background and building MoneriumRegulated on-chain EUR and seamless SEPA on- and off-rampsHow electronic money regulation differs from MiCAWhat assets back EUReMonerium’s business modelEURe’s adoption compared with other stablecoins (USDC, USDT)Issuing other currencies on-chainCBDCs and the banking sectorChallenges of building on SEPAIBAN discriminationKYC limitationsDeFi and stablecoin backingReal world assets used as on-chain collateralEpisode links: Sveinn Valfells on TwitterMonerium on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/503

Layer 2 zero knowledge roll-ups have initially been used for achieving private transactions on blockchains. However, past simple transfers, interacting with a public smart contract posed a serious challenge. As research and technology evolved, proof construction became much more efficient, enabling zk-powered scalability. There is a variety of pros and cons for each type of proof system, but given the impending rise of qunatum computers, we have witnessed a recent migration from SNARKs to STARKs. While the former relies on trusted setups, zk-STARKs are quantum-resistant.We were joined by Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder of Starkware, to discuss Starknet's layer 2 architecture, as well as the upcoming update to Cairo 1.0 and how it will impact scalability performances for STARKs.Topics covered in this episode:Shifting from privacy to scalabilityZK roll-up taxonomy and main differences between SNARKs and STARKsWhy scalability is easier to implement than privacy solutionsConstructing proofs efficiently in CairoStarknet’s layer 2 architectureBuilt-in account abstractionVolition, data availability and trust assumptionsSequencer decentralisation and crypto regulationsStorage proofsCairo upgrades & TPSCouncil-based vs. DAO governanceFuture developmentsEpisode links:Eli Ben-Sasson on TwitterStarknet on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/502

As institutional money set their eyes on crypto, some degree of centralisation and regulation was inevitable. However, the key aspect is to limit it to access gateways and not affect protocols’ decentralisation. Recent events have shown that price manipulation is easily achieved in conditions of low liquidity, hence regulated fiat on- and off-ramps will, in the end, also benefit retail consumers. It once again all boils down to achieving these goals while maintaining privacy for users and ensuring that regulations will not stifle innovation.We were joined by Luka Müller, co-founder of MME Legal Firm & Sygnum Bank, to discuss about crypto regulations, institutional investors, user privacy & CBDCs.Topics covered in this episode:The evolution of MME Legal Firm & Sygnum BankSygnum Bank’s pro-crypto services & target clientsThe impact of FTX’ collapse. DeFi vs. CeFiInvestor protection post-Terra Luna’s demiseExpanding in the APAC regionSwitzerland’s pro-crypto regulationsUser privacy vs. KYC & AMLUS’ crypto policy: regulation by enforcementEU’s MiCA frameworkLuka’s insights on crypto’s value propositionCBDC vs. cash privacyExciting crypto trends and innovationsEpisode links: Sygnum Bank on TwitterMME Legal on LinkedInThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/501

As Epicenter hits the 500 episode milestone, our hosts look back on almost 10 years of crypto developments, analysing the good, the bad and the ugly. What projects & narratives have surprised our hosts? Has Bitcoin failed in becoming a reliable store of value? Will ZK proofs provide the much needed solution to AI’s alignment problem? Last but not least, are we still early? Get ready for a fascinating discussion, albeit gloomy for this special occasion.Thank you for being part of this amazing journey! We wouldn’t have made it so far without your continuous support! Looking forward to the next 500 episodes!Topics covered in this episode:Brian’s health updateLooking back on 10 years of Epicenter & crypto developmentAre we still early on Bitcoin or has that ship already sailed?Stores of value: Bitcoin vs. Gold vs. Market IndexesThe need for stablecoins, including algorithmic ones!Projects & narratives that took a 180 degree turnAI vs. verifiable computation via ZK proofsThe control & alignment AI problemsDecentralised identity systems (DID)Looking forward to the next 500 episodesSponsors:CoinGecko: CoinGecko API provides access to the most comprehensive data aggregator in the market, supporting more than 10,000 crypto assets from over 700 exchanges! Visit https://gcko.io/epicenterCGpromo today and use the promo code ""EPICENTER"" to unlock an additional 10% OFF!This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Brian Fabian Crain, Friederike Ernst, Meher Roy, Sunny Aggarwal & Felix Lutsch.  Show notes and listening options: [epicenter.tv/500](https://epicenter.tv/500)

In order to achieve true transaction privacy, it is not enough to encrypt or build ZK proofs for transaction bundles, as long as the underlying blockchain uses an account-based model. Aztec is building a ZKVM that superposes an UTXO model, so that balances are constantly updated as new, untraceable, log entries. The upcoming Aztec 3 aims to enable privacy-preserving smart contracts, using a hybrid, multi-layered rollup. This approach allows for both public and private smart contracts to be executed simultaneously.We were joined by Zac Williamson & Joe Andrews, to discuss the evolution of Aztec, from ZK Money to their upcoming privacy-preserving hybrid ZK rollup.Topics covered in this episode:The evolution of Aztec, from ZK money to Aztec 3How Aztec’s ZKVM ensures privacy for Ethereum transactionsThe need for UTXO model for privacy-preserving encrypted databasesInteracting with public smart contracts in a private mannerTechnical roadmap and challenges faced along the wayHow Aztec differs from Mina protocolRecursive proofsEstimating gasMain-net sequencer decentralisationGoblin PlonkThe future of programmable privacyEpisode links:Zac Williamson on TwitterJoe Andrews on TwitterAztec on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/499

As crypto evolves, it becomes clearer that the future will be multi-chain. Presently, moving funds between different blockchains is frustrating...to say the least. The current bridging solutions are prohibitive from a UX perspective, mainly due to how finality is reached across different blockchains. This translates to long wait times and anxiety when interacting with new protocols, caused by the incertitude of funds arriving safely on the other side. Another major blockage consists of gas fees, particular to each blockchain, which often require an additional swap. But what if, users could enjoy near-instant cross-chain swaps (sub-20 second) and one-click transaction aggregators?We were joined by Fig, co-founder of Squid Router, to discuss how they leverage Axelar's infrastructure to achieve one-click, near-instant cross-chain swaps, creating user-friendly interoperability.Topics covered in this episode:Fig’s backgroundHow Squid tackles interoperabilityBuilding a better DevEx & UX on top of Axelar’s securityChoosing what DEXes to wrap & aggregate in SquidOptimising gas fees, prices & MEV cross-chainSquid’s business modelIntegrating other messaging protocolsAddressing finality to reduce swap times below 20 secondsHow Squid x Axelar solve other bridging protocol issues (e.g. multichain hack)Squid use casesEpisode links: Fig on TwitterSquid on TwitterAxelar on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/498

Ethereum's merge and transition to a proof-of-stake consensus implied switching from proof-of-work mining to transactions being validated by entities that have an economic stake in the network. Proof-of-stake distributed networks are subject to complex game theory models (e.g. slashing). Distributed validator technology (DVT) enables a more modular validator stack at every level: key pairs, hardware and entities. This reduces trust dependencies and increases security for validator entities.We were joined by Collin Myers & Oisín Kyne, founders of Obol Network, to discuss Ethereum's 2.0 PoS consensus, the current validator landscape and how distributed validator technology (DVT) allows for an increased security and overall smoother UX for validator entities.Topics covered in this episode:Collin’s & Oisín’s backgroundsDistributed Validator Technology (DVT) explainedHow DVT improves user experience for different staking modelsReducing validator costs and increasing fault tolerance through DVTObol middleware approachObol v.2Interacting with other middleware from the Ethereum stackExpanding DVT to other ecosystemsFuture validator landscapeHow post-Danksharding data availability will be handled by an Obol clusterL2 Ethereum equivalenceEpisode links:Collin Myers on TwitterOisín Kyne on TwitterObol Network on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/497

Public transaction history in blockchains represents one of their key features which, alongside immutability, aim to provide an alternative to CeFi. However, this transparency comes at a price: privacy. As a result, different solutions have been proposed, that preserve privacy while maintaining all the other benefits of blockchain technology, but there currently isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to this problem. For example, zero knowledge proofs convey the validity of a transaction batch without sharing any other details, but the underlying arithmetic circuits are both complex as well as computational intensive. Umbra proposes a system that relies completely on elliptic curve cryptography, employing multiple private-public key pairs to achieve stealth payments.We were joined by Ben DiFrancesco, founder & CEO of ScopeLift, to talk about Umbra's privacy preserving stealth token transfer system and if the need for privacy on blockchains outweighs any implicit UX frictions.Topics covered in this episode:Ben’s backgroundUmbra's missionHow Umbra worksNon-interactive key distributionPotential solutions (& trade-offs) for Umbra's computational intensityGenerating private-public key pairs by the Umbra smart contractUser experience (UX) for senders and receiversFee structure for deterring griefing attacksHow Umbra works for ERC20 tokens & NFTsPrivacy preserving withdrawals from stealth addressesPrivacy vs. UX frictionSmart wallets & account abstractionPrioritising privacyEpisode links: Ben DiFrancesco on TwitterUmbra on TwitterScopeLift on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/496

As the second Avalanche summit drew to a close, Sebastien Couture and Sunny Aggarwal sat down with Emin Gün Sirer for a fascinating conversation exploring future innovation narratives in crypto. Longtime friend of Epicenter, Ava Labs' founder and CEO shared his unique insights on the industry, from both a founder, as well as a former academia perspective.Given Avalanche's consensus & architecture, it boasts high TPS and scalability properties, incentivising founders to build better products in the AVAX ecosystem.One of the most controversial narratives is that of LLMs (i.e. ChatGPT) powering smart contract development by bypassing programming languages and even bytecode altogether. The question arises if replacing the human third-party with an AI fixes trust issues or not, but only time will tell which piece of code we can actually consider 'law'.Topics covered in this episode:Emin’s background, from academia to running a multi-billion dollar companyMain takeaways from the 2nd Avalanche summitInnovation narratives in the Avalanche ecosystem. NFTs & blockchain gamingThe Avalanche architecture, consensus & scalabilityAvalanche’s evolutionChatGPT smart contracts & no-code blockchainsAuditing AI & securityInnovation vs. StagnationBitcoin, BTC.b & ordinalsBridging Cosmos with Avalanche: IBC x WarpBest & worst products built by cryptoEpisode links: Emin Gün Sirer on TwitterAvalanche on TwitterAva Labs on TwitterShrapnel on TwitterGunzilla Games on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/495

When it comes to top-tier VCs, very few equal Andreessen Horowitz' (a16z) impressive portfolio, which stretches over both Web2 and Web3. Their crypto venture arm includes investments in most industry verticals, from infrastructure projects to NFTs and blockchain gaming. Constructing such a solid investment thesis requires conviction in the long-term prospects of the industry, as well as an influential network.We were joined by Ali Yahya, GP at Andreessen Horowitz, to discuss about a16z structure, operations and investment thesis, as well as the broader crypto landscape and value proposition.Topics covered in this episode:Ali’s backgroundWhy Google didn’t embrace cryptoa16z’s team structureThe role of a GP in a VCa16z’s thesis when it comes to crypto investingWhich crypto niches Ali is most bullish onGovernance vs. platform riskValuation-based investmentsProtocol revenue and monetary premium for L1sToken vs. EquityHow to prevent banking crisis contagion for crypto projectsEpisode links: Ali Yahya on Twittera16z cryptoa16zThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/494

The end of 2022 and beginning of 2023 were marked by centralised institutions failing: from CEXes to CeFi itself, contagion spread quickly in over-leveraged and opaque entities. Amidst this chaos, (crypto)people turned their hopes, once again, to DeFi. However, in lack of traditional enforcing mechanisms, not even battle-tested decentralised lending protocols could find a solution to provide under-collateralised loans, aka credit. Mars Protocol, with its unique hub & outposts architecture, aims to answer this need in the Cosmos ecosystem, by deploying on Osmosis and tapping into its deep liquidity. From manual leverage to credit and yield farming, Mars will feature a wide suite of DeFi products.We were joined by Jose Macedo, founder of Delphi Labs, to discuss the history of Delphi Digital, their learnings from incubating projects and the vision behind Mars’ ‘Red Bank’ DeFi products.Topics covered in this episode:Jose’s backgroundDelphi Digital’s historyIncubating projects on Solana and TerraLearning from TerraThe vision behind Mars ProtocolMars’ DeFi suiteDifferent risk parameters and collateralsMars’ module architecture (outposts) in the Cosmos ecosystemHow Mars Protocol differs from OsmosisMars Protocol roadmap & Mars v.2Ecosystem acceleratorEpisode links: Jose Macedo on TwitterDelphi Labs on TwitterDelphi Digital on TwitterMars Protocol on TwitterAstroport on TwitterOsmosis on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/493

We often take data storage for granted, but the rise of centralised storing facilities (i.e. AWS, GCP, Azure, etc.) hangs over like Damocles’ sword. When it comes to blockchains, full nodes store that network’s complete data history. Even if storage costs are set to decrease as technology evolves, so do blockchains accumulate more data over time. An interesting solution would be to create a decentralised backup for blockchain data and Arweave is a prime candidate for it. There is but a missing link represented by uploading and validating different blockchains’ data. This is where KYVE steps in, offering a decentralised validating solution to verify uploaded blockchain data and even retrieve it from Arweave, on demand. This also extends to off-chain data, opening new possibilities for data availability and scalability.We were joined by John Letey, founder and CTO of KYVE Network, to discuss the challenges and use cases of decentralised data storage and how blockchain interoperability could benefit from it.Topics covered in this episode:John’s backgroundWhy KYVE migrated to a Cosmos app-chainHigh-level explanation of KYVEKYVE’s data pools and data streamsHow KYVE connects to ArweaveValidating uploaded blockchain dataHow Arweave worksKYVE v.2How slashing is handledKYVE use casesFuture roadmapEpisode links: John Letey on TwitterKYVE Network on TwitterKYVE NetworkArweaveThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/492

Building a truly decentralised, peer-to-peer network, based on a built-in identity system, limits the ecosystem’s interoperability with the outside world. Onboarding developers and users to Urbit was only the first hurdle. On-ramping crypto was a whole different & daunting task. Uqbar set out to build an execution layer on top of Urbit, enabling smart contracts, which would ultimately settle, via a ZK rollup, on Starknet.We were joined by Tim Galebach, founder of Uqbar, to discuss the different design choices involved, from Hoon programming DevEx to a hybrid ZK-optimistic rollup.Topics covered in this episode:Tim’s backgroundUrbit explainedHow Uqbar took shapeIntegrating crypto in the Urbit stackHoon’s usability and DevExAI-enabled UqbarUqbar interoperabilityRollup vs. L1 approach for UqbarHybrid ZK-optimistic rollupGetting from programming in Hoon to ZK proofsUse cases for Uqbar & UrbitEpisode links: Tim Galebach on TwitterUqbar on TwitterUrbit on TwitterUqbarThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/491

Considering the abundance of cryto projects launching constantly, making sound investment decisions requires both ample experience in the space, as well as a reliable network. Predicting future trends in such a volatile industry is a skill very few possess, especially since narratives evolve at a rapid pace. Ryan Zurrer is one of the OG participants and investors in the blockchain industry, with an experience of more than 10 years and an impressive portfolio of investments. From BTC mining to ICOs, DeFi and more recently NFTs & play-to-earn gaming (P2E), Ryan has witnessed all the major cycles in crypto.We were joined by Ryan Zurrer, founder of Dialectic AG, to discuss about the crypto investment landscape and the evolution of the industry from BTC to P2E gaming.Topics covered in this episode:Ryan’s background, from BTC mining to ICOs and P2E gamingKeepers in blockchain networks explainedAxie Infinity and the evolution of play-to-earn gamingWeb2 vs. Web3 gaming and the importance of communitiesNFTs in art, culture and blockchain gamingTraditional vs. digital fine artDialectic’s investment strategiesMEV & market efficiencyGeopolitical climate and crypto investmentsPsychedelics & MAPSEpisode links:Ryan ZurrerDialectic AGVine VenturesMAPSThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/490

When it comes to scaling blockchains, there are 2 main types of off-chain solutions: sidechains and L2s (i.e. rollups, state channels). These are all intended to scale monolithic L1 blockchains. However, the core functional layers of a blockchain could also be reinvisioned as customisable building blocks. This idea led to the creation of modular blockchains, which handle execution, consensus and data availability separately from one another, thus considerably increasing throughput.Dymension is a Cosmos modular blockchain hub that acts as settlement layer for RollApps (app-specific chains).Sebastien was joined by Barry, Head of Product at Dymension, to discuss the advantages of developing modular blockchains, their scalability and how RollApps integrate in this environment.Topics covered in this episode:Barry’s backgroundThe evolution of scaling solutions & Dymension’s RollAppsThe nuances of different types of rollups (L1 vs. L2, Ethereum vs. Cosmos)The scalability trilemma and modular blockchainsCosmos’ ICS scalingThe architecture of Dymension and its RDKHow RollApps choose the data availability layerRollApp interoperabilityIncentivising sequencer neutralityNetwork roles in Dymension and differences between SDK & RDKUse cases & limitations of RollAppsFuture roadmapEpisode links: Barry on TwitterDymension on TwitterDymension's websiteThe Interop Podcast on TwitterCelestia on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/489

Scientific research & publishing are gruelling tasks that extend outside the scope of science itself. Centralised publications abound in archaic practices that span from submitting a paper to getting it peer-reviewed and finally published, process which may take even up to years. In addition, research requires funding from very early stages of pursuing an idea, all the way to its finality (i.e. clinical trial or real-life applications). In TradSci (traditional science), funding is usually obtained once progress has already been achieved or when a startup has been formed.DeSci (decentralised science) sets out to change this paradigm by funding early stage research via DAOs. When it comes to scientific publications, peer reviewing is also decentralised and incentivised, considerably speeding up the process. Moreover, contributions can be clearly retraced, avoiding false claims over IP, and the research itself becomes much more easily accessible and disseminated.We were joined by Vincent Weisser & Laurence Ion, stewards of Vita DAO, to discuss the advantages of DeSci in general, and the progress of longevity research in particular.Topics covered in this episode:Vincent’s background and his interest in longevityLaurence’s background and his interest in biotechThe purpose of DeSciWhich science branch is better suited for DeSciHow DeSci fixes contribution acknowledgement & incentive misalignmentFrom research idea to startup via DeSci funding$VITA token utilityAccelerating scientific publishing via DeSciHow IP is attributed in a DeSci settingProject review and governance in Vita DAOEpisode links: Vincent WeisserLaurence IonVita DAOMolecule DAOVita DAO projectsMoleculeBio DAO launchpadThe Longevity PrizeThe Longevity Decentralized ReviewThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/488

While Part 1 (#486) focused on the technological advancements that allowed proofs to be generated in a practical manner, lowering both the time and the hardware requirements, in this episode, we take a closer look at the use cases of different types of zk rollups and how they could promote blockchain mass adoption. Polygon's zk EVM equivalence, coupled with low transaction fees, promise a frictionless user experience. As with all L2 rollups, sequencer decentralisation remains a pressing issue that needs to be solved.We were joined by Jordi Baylina (tech lead) & David Schwartz (CTO) from Polygon's zkEVM, to discuss the relationship between Polygon's multiple zk rollups, their use cases, as well as network statistics for zk-EVM.Topics covered in this episode:The relationship between Polygon and zkEVMThe differences between Polygon’s multiple zk rollupsNetwork participant roles in zkEVMTransaction submission stagesSequencer decentralisationTransaction costsUse cases for different zk rollupsOpen-sourceness, decentralisation and the licensing of zkEVM’s proverThe decentralised identity project (DID)Roadmap after main-net launchEpisode links: Polygon zkEVM – From Circuits to Mainnet – Part 1Jordi Baylina on TwitterDavid Schwartz on TwitterPolygon zkEVM on TwitterSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/487

With the upcoming launch of Polygon's zkEVM mainnet, L2s are undoubtedly a huge narrative that is unfolding in 2023. It is time to take a step back and recognise the incredible amount of effort that has gone into researching and building L2 scaling solutions in general and zk rollups in particular. Tech-wise, we barely scratched the surface of general purpose processors that can handle zk circuits, so there is still tremendous room to grow. As layer 2s become more efficient, so will the applications that are dependent on blockchain throughput.We were joined by Jordi Baylina (tech lead) & David Schwartz (CTO) from Polygon's zkEVM, to discuss the different milestones & challenges they had to overcome in designing a zk rollup, from circuits to mainnet.Topics covered in this episode:Jordi’s & David’s backgroundsThe idea behind Hermez NetworkzkEVM scaling & validity proofsHow different ZK rollup models functionWhat challenges zkEVM encountered during developmentEvolutionary pathways in the realm of ZKPsAuditing zkEVMTrusted setup requirement for zkEVMEpisode links: Jordi Baylina on TwitterDavid Schwartz on TwitterPolygon zkEVM on TwitterSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/486

Layer 2 scaling solutions are widely regarded as the next step forward in the mainstream adoption of crypto as they enable higher throughput and lower transaction fees. Coinbase’s recent announcement of building an optimistic rollup solution called Base is proof (no pun intended) that major centralized actors view this as an opportunity to onboard new users in a decentralized crypto economy. The following years will abound in innovation as both optimistic and zero-knowledge rollup solutions still have plenty of room to grow, but the involvement of centralized entities will act as a catalyst from a technological, as well as a regulatory standpoint.We were joined by Jesse Pollak, Head of Protocol at Coinbase, to discuss the thesis & business model behind Base and how it will act as an interoperable bridge to onboard the next billion users on-chain.Topics covered in this episode:Jesse’s background and his role as Head of Protocol at CoinbaseBase’s business model & thesisBuilding on the Optimism stackPermissionlessnessHow regulations are going to influence users of Base (vs. Coinbase)Learning from the competition (BSC)Different fee markets to offset transaction costsWhy Base chose the Optimism stackBase’s upgradeabilityTackling Optimism’s withdrawal periodBootstrapping BaseFuture roadmap and mainnet timelineEpisode links: Jesse Pollak on TwitterBase on TwitterCoinbase on TwitterOptimism on TwitterSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/485

Building a blockchain from the ground-up is a daunting task in itself, one that should not be a concern when designing an end-user application. Moreover, as Web3 aims to move away from centralized vertical scalability towards a multi-chain decentralized environment, horizontal scalability and cross-communication should represent a standard. While Cosmos solves the latter, deploying application-specific blockchains has not been a streamlined process. Saga aims to address this by providing automated means of deploying application-specific blockchains, called chainlets that use the validator set of Saga. This leads to a simplified user (and developer) experience, presently much needed in the Web3 gaming and entertainment industries.We were joined by Rebecca Liao, co-founder & CEO of Saga, to discuss bootstrapping app-specific chains in just one click, leveraging the scalability & security of Cosmos, thus allowing developers to focus more on the product and less on the blockchain infrastructure.Topics covered in this episode:Rebecca’s background & building SagaLeveraging Cosmos SDK, IBC & ICS to bootstrap other chainsChainletsSaga validators & tokenomicsIBC & elastic scaling for chainletsICS & Saga’s tech stackChainlet customizationPartnerships & use casesChainlet ‘Musical chairs’ auctionTargeting gaming and entertainment industriesMulti-chain future and inter-chain communicationEpisode links: Rebecca Liao on TwitterSaga on TwitterSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/484

Web3 has always been criticised for its not so friendly user experience. While one might argue that it requires a mere learning curve, similar to that of e-mail services when first introduced, Web2’s ease of use has become the norm. Account abstraction and smart contract automation are just 2 solutions for unlocking higher flexibility in transaction execution logic. These backend improvements, alongside scaling solutions and a more user-friendly frontend (e.g. wallets, interfaces) will represent the main drivers of adoption.We were joined by Luis Schliesske & Hilmar Orth, founders of Gelato Network, to discuss about Gelato Network’s approach to decentralising Web3's backend through automation and relaying, in order to onboard the next 100 million users.Topics covered in this episode:Luis’ and Hilmar’s backgroundsThe need for automation in smart contractsHow bots operate in automation processesInteracting with Gelato’s node networkAutomation, relayers & gasless transactionsHow automation impacts trust assumptionsGelato beta start & use casesAccount abstraction & user experienceEpisode links:Luis Schliesske on TwitterHilmar Orth on TwitterGelato Network on TwitterSponsors:Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/483

The Metaverse has taken the world by storm in 2021 and even though many have and are still opposing it, the fact that we are spending the majority of our lives online is an undeniable truth. The boundaries between physical and digital worlds are slowly eroding away. Our digital presence generates a data footprint that is currently being stored in big tech’s centralized silos. As a whole, these user-generated data breadcrumbs represent our digital identity. Web3 has, so far, mainly focused on financial aspects, disregarding user specific data even though the latter actually represents the vast majority (>90%) of all generated data.We were joined by Joel Thorstensson, co-founder of 3Box Labs, to discuss Ceramic’s goal of decentralizing ‘social’, account-based data in the form of user-generated event streams, that could unlock true application interoperability built on a composable data layer.Topics covered in this episode:Joel’s background & founding CeramicThe concept behind CeramicCeramic’s event stream design vs. other data solutionsThe need for consensus in CeramicUse cases for CeramicData privacy potentialApplication interoperabilityData redundancy & protectionCeramic’s ecosystem & business modelEpisode links: Joel Thorstensson on TwitterCeramic on TwitterSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/482

From technological breakthrough to philosophical defiance, the topic of AI has always sparked intense debates ever since Alan Turing & John McCarthy advanced this branch of computer science. One might argue that this was caused by expectations overwhelmingly surpassing technological capabilities. However, the recent public release of ChatGPT has rekindled former sci-fi apocalyptical scenarios, even if it is (still) just a trained language model. Humanity gazed in awe as a simple input/output text interface could instantly disrupt fields such as software engineering or copywriting. Worst part? It also challenged (arguably) the most important human-specific trait: creativity (Midjourney). Data is the lifeblood of AI as it increases the model’s prediction accuracy: larger input sample translates into more outputs that help fine-tune weights during back-propagation cycles (the model ‘learns’).We were joined by Trent McConaghy, founder & CTO at Ocean Protocol, to discuss the advantages of implementing blockchain (& NFT) technology in data management and trading, what makes a particular data set valuable and what challenges derive from AI implementations and the data digital gold rush.Topics covered in this episode:Trent’s AI background & founding OceanThe evolution of Ocean ProtocolManaging third-party access to data NFTsMinting data NFTs & their metadataDiscovering & verifying data qualityAI generated data sets & intellectual propertyOcean marketplace user baseData farmingData curation & veOcean rewardsEpisode links: Trent McConaghy on TwitterOcean Protocol on TwitterOcean MarketplaceSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/481

DeFi lending protocols operate accordingly to their smart contracts and are perfect examples of ‘Code is law’, even if some recent exploits have not quite abided to this harsh truth. From well established protocols to degenerate DeFi farms with astronomic APYs, they all mainly use liquidity pools. Morpho Labs proposes a peer-to-peer approach that operates on top of another protocol’s liquidity pool (i.e. Aave, Compound), offering better rates for lenders as well as borrowers.We were joined by Paul Frambot, co-founder and CEO of Morpho Labs, to discuss about the benefits and challenges that arise from a peer-to-peer lender-borrower matching system and what failsafes are in place.Topics covered in this episode:Paul’s background and diving into DeFiFounding and funding MorphoThe concept behind MorphoImproving lending & borrowing APYsHow lenders and borrowers are matchedManaging gas fees in a P2P settingSecuring collateral in peer matchesSharing liquidity with Aave and CompoundMorpho token economyManaging liquidationsUser experience & integrationsMorpho’s business modelFuture roadmapEpisode links: Paul Frambot on TwitterMorpho Labs on TwitterMorpho LabsSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/480

2022 has proven time after time that centralised entities are prone to multiple points of failure, intentional or not. Decentralised finance (DeFi) addresses these, but the user experience has often been lacklustre compared to that from centralised finance (CeFi). Exchanges are the backbone of any market, but high throughput is required in order to ensure that both makers and takers can proficiently use them. Decentralised exchanges have long faced issues due to bandwidth constraints native to blockchains, but recent L2 scaling solutions have provided a considerable increase in terms of throughput. For example, dYdX is currently the largest consumer of STARKs, but growing institutional and retail interest in derivative financial products urges for an even better alternative.We were joined by Antonio Juliano, founder & CEO of dYdX perpetual exchange, to discuss about the upcoming transition to dYdX V4 and what challenges decentralised exchanges have to face amidst technological bottlenecks and upcoming regulations.Topics covered in this episode:Antonio’s background & timing productsdYdX product overviewPrice feed oraclesdYdX user demographics & UXDevelopment timeframes & taking risksOrder book vs. AMMBuilding a sovereign blockchain on CosmosThe challenges of decentralising order booksIBC integrations and composabilityCurrent state of scaling solutionsMigrating from dYdX V3 to V4 & token utilityDeFi vs. CeFiDeFi education & regulatory outreachEpisode links: Antonio Juliano on TwitterdYdX on TwitterdYdX exchangeThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/479

The recent advancements of layer 2 scaling solutions, especially zero-knowledge rollups, led to a complete redesign of Ethereum’s scalability roadmap. As a result, the initial concept of sharding the execution layer was abandoned and replaced by the idea of data sharding. This proposal, named after its author, is know as Danksharding. EIP-4844 is also referred to as proto-danksharding as it sets the foundation for data sharding, through the introduction of data blobs.We were joined by Carl Beekhuizen & Trenton Van Epps from the Ethereum Foundation, to discuss about the upcoming EIP-4844 timeline and its KZG ceremony.Topics covered in this episode:Trent’s and Carl’s backgroundsDanksharding and scaling EthereumData BLOBs and data availabilityKZG ceremonyHow trusted setups evolvedKZG commitment requirementsHow trust is ensuredCombining randomnessHow storing secrets is preventedGeneral contribution detailsSpecial contributionsQuantum vulnerabilityGeneral EIP-4844 timelineEpisode links: Carl Beekhuizen on TwitterTrenton Van Epps on TwitterMorgan Peck's articleSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/478

While Part 1 (#476) focused more on the general landscape of the ZK ecosystem, covering team updates and developments, in this episode, we take a closer look at specific use cases for ZK proofs and if the focus has shifted from privacy to blockchain scalability. Moreover, as the dusk of 2022 introduced chatGPT to the world, it seems only fitting to explore ZKP integrations in machine learning (ML).In Part 2 of this 2-part episode, we were joined by Anna Rose, host of Zero Knowledge Podcast and founder of ZK Summit, ZK Validator and ZK Hack, and Kobi Gurkan, Head of Research at Geometry, to discuss current applications for ZK proofs and what narratives are going to shape 2023 for the ZK ecosystem.Topics covered in this episode:Applications and use cases for ZK proofsZK bridgesAudits and ZK securityZKML (Machine Learning)Succinctness vs. Privacy2023 predictions for the ZK ecosystemPrivacy - human right or concern?Episode links: Zero Knowledge Podcast on TwitterZero Knowledge Podcast on YouTubeAnna Rose on TwitterKobi Gurkan on TwitterSponsors: Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/477

Blockchains are immutable record keepers, storing information about every transaction ever recorded. However, this attribute comes at a cost: as more and more transactions occur, so does the size of the record expands. In turn, the hardware requirements for running a node increase which ultimately affects decentralization. Another aspect frequently criticized is how transactions are being processed by legacy blockchains in terms of speed. For both of these aspects there is a cryptographic solution that addresses scalability: zero knowledge proofs (ZKPs). These allow one entity (prover) to prove to another entity (verifier) that a statement is true, without revealing any additional information about the process or data involved. When applied to blockchains, ZKPs improve scalability and privacy by certifying that state transitions occurred, without the need to relay the underlying information.In Part 1 of this 2-part episode, we were joined by Anna Rose, host of Zero Knowledge Podcast and founder of ZK Summit, ZK Validator and ZK Hack, and Kobi Gurkan, Head of Research at Geometry, to discuss the state of the ZK ecosystem and how this promising technology is evolving.Topics covered in this episode:Anna’s background & her involvement in the ZK ecosystemKobi’s background in cryptographyTrusted setups, a brief history: Plumo & AztecZK Hack(athon)The State of the ZK ecosystemHow the ZK landscape evolved: from SNARKs to STARKsTrade-offs: compatibility, security, performanceAztec & Noir DSLThe need for performance benchmarksZK L1s: Zcash, Mina, AleoEpisode links: Zero Knowledge Podcast on TwitterZero Knowledge Podcast on YouTubeThe paper Kobi mentioned (by Ariel Gabizon)Anna Rose on TwitterKobi Gurkan on TwitterSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/476

When discussing the widespread adoption of true, peer-to-peer decentralization, one could easily identify various social and political obstacles. However, there is also an often overlooked technological impairment as the underlying architecture of computer networks was not designed to achieve global-scale decentralization. Ideally a complete restructuring would be necessary, from applications and programming language, to as profound as rewriting operating system kernels. This is what Urbit is trying to achieve; a decentralized network where users have full control over their computer, running a unified operating system, where applications function seamlessly, without centralized chokepoints.We were joined by Ted Blackman, CTO of Urbit Foundation, and Gary Lieberman, the Chorus One Team Lead for Urbit, to discuss how Urbit reshapes the way we interact with computers, its current development stage, and what challenges it has to overcome.Topics covered in this episode:- Ted's background- What Urbit is building- The disruptive potential of Urbit- Gary's motivation behind joining Urbit- Urbit's impact on user experience- Current development stage and potential limitations- General timeframe for Urbit adoption- Other use cases for Urbit- Implications Urbit might have for crypto (synergies)- Privacy vs. AccountabilityEpisode links:- Urbit: https://bit.ly/3A9COrX- Urbit Foundation: https://bit.ly/3G8KZXR- Ted Blackman: https://bit.ly/3Wuqyde- Gary Lieberman: https://bit.ly/3YJcRt6Sponsors:- Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/475

As crypto adoption increases, so does the pressing need for blockchain scalability. Monolithic blockchains provide data availability, consensus and execution on a single, base layer, which makes scaling them a difficult endeavour. Multiple layer-2 (L2) scaling solutions have been proposed to address computation and/or data availability, but they reach the same design bottlenecks: limited bandwidth, account state models, sequential transaction processing, etc. Modular blockchains separate the core functionalities, redesigning them as customisable building blocks. This allows for greater flexibility and scalability, adapting blockchain structure to its intended function.We were joined by Nick Dodson, CEO and co-founder of Fuel Labs, to discuss modular execution layers and how they approach different aspects of blockchain design and scalability.Topics covered in this episode:Nick’s background and founding Fuel LabsWhy most blockchain designs are not scalableThe vision behind Fuel Labs’ modular execution layerThe difference between L2 roll-ups and modular execution layersBlockchain design philosophies and integrationsUTXO and multi-thread parallel transactionsUTXO vs. account model systemsFuel Labs’ own virtual machine (VM)Multiple native assets supportDeveloper experience switching to Sway DSLBridging to a settlement layer and interoperabilityBuilding on FuelEpisode links: Fuel LabsFuel Labs on TwitterNick on TwitterSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/474

This year has been quite a rollercoaster for the crypto industry. From the long-awaited success of the Ethereum Merge to the spectacular collapse of FTX, this year has been full of lessons, resilience, and insights. This is also one of a few bear markets where activities and developments continue to feel vibrant across the board, while long-term adoption and regulations seem evermore uncertain. With that backdrop, our hosts sit down for a conversation on the current state of crypto and look back on 2022. The topics range from the general public sentiment to key developments within the industry, as well as exciting themes that the hosts are looking forward to in the upcoming future. Throughout the conversation, the hosts also express concerns over the issues with privacy and regulations, and how the ecosystems can resiliently move forward.Topics covered in this episode:General public sentiment heading into the new year, after Luna and FTX collapseCeFi versus DeFiCrypto Regulations and adoption trendsThe Ethereum Merge, MEV, and OFAC-sanctionRoadmap and community development for censorship resistancezkEVM and Eigen LayerThe future of Cosmos Ecosystem and Cosmos HubThe state of UrbitUrbit and cryptoThoughts on the Solana community and ecosystemEpisode links: Brian on TwitterSebastien on TwitterFelix on TwitterSponsors: Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Brian Fabian Crain & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/473

Dune Analytics is a platform aggregating blockchain data, making data easier to query and understand for the larger public. Over the past years, Dune has become the go-to tool for blockchain analytics, as well as the home of a community of dune wizards numbering in the thousands, with its fundraising at a 1 Billion valuation as a testament to the growth of the project over the past 4 years.In today's episode, we are joined by the project's co-founder, Fredrik Haga. We discuss the products Dune Analytics offers, why it's hard to aggregate data that in principle is public, and how a community of data wizards was built in a grassroots effort. We also chatted about product focus and vision for the future, as well as useful lessons for bootstrapping a project on a shoestring budget.Topics covered in this episode:The beginning of DuneThe challenges and difficulties in building a blockchain data product.Technical improvements on Dune V2Supporting for non-evm chainsBusiness models, userbases, and valuationsInteresting use cases on DuneCommunity BuildingThe focus on product experience and next steps for the projectEpisode links:Dune Analytics's websiteDune Analytics TwitterFredrik Haga's twitterSponsors:Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support. https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/472

Artificial Intelligence is a fascinating field that has made tremendous development over the past few years. From GPT-3 to Dall-e and Stable Diffusion, the vastness of the scope of applications for AI and neural computing is becoming clearer than ever. At the base layer, there is a need for decentralized p2p AI compute platform that provides flexible access to the wider public. Gensyn sets out on the mission to provide just that by building a market place protocol for AI compute - ultra-low cost, hyperscale, permissionless.In today’s episode we are joined by the project's co-founders Ben Fielding and Harry Grieve. We take a deep dive into the current landscape for AI and AI compute, the reasonings and trade-offs in building Gensyn, the protocol’s focus and edge cases, and how the protocol is utilizing the blockchain technology as both incentive layer and credibly neutral platform.Topics covered in this episode:The founders' background and reasonings for development on BlockchainThe current state of AI development and breakdown of AI conceptsThe current landscape for AI modeling and computeGensyn's difference to other protocols, such as GolemHow Gensyn is adhering to the decentralized default, and making trade-offs in product buildingBuilding Gensyn as a Layer-1 protocolDeep dive into the Gensyn Protocol and edge casesOther players in the protocol: solvers, verifiers, and whistle blowersBuilding a blockchainEpisode links: GensynGensyn on TwitterBen Fielding on TwitterHarry Grieve on TwitterSponsors: Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/471

EigenLayer is a 'programmable slashing' layer2 protocol built on Ethereum which leverages security through the method of restaking. This is a bootstrapping mechanism which allows existing Eth2 stakers to access the collateral in the staking system to provide additional services, for additional yield, while taking on additional risk. We were joined by founder Sreeram Kannan who explained to us the concept of re-staking, how this works in the EigenLayer protocol, use cases, and the roadmap ahead.Topics covered in this episode:Sreeram's background and how he got into cryptoHis role at the University of Washington Blockchain LabEigenLayer and the concept of re-stakingThe risk with 'programmable slashing'The participants in the EigenLayer economyImpact on decentralization and home stakersEigenDA and other EigenLayer use casesCombatting malicious slashingThe EigenLayer roadmapEpisode links: Episode B007 - Devcon Panel – Censorship Resistance and Credible NeutralityEigenLayerEigenLayer on TwitterSreeram on TwitterSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/470

For centuries, we have been led to believe that nation states are the only way to organize humankind at scale. But governments all around the world are failing to react swiftly to the severe destruction of our planet from things like war and climate change, and this is endangering our whole species. Nation3 is ready to overturn this, by building a Web3-powered, tax-free, solarpunk sovereign cloud nation. It is structured as a DAO, meaning there is no legal entity, no gatekeepers, and no influence by trad states. The goal is to gradually build or invest in products and services that allow citizens to be actively involved in economic activity. The $NATION token serves as the gateway to participate in the community Discord, participate in governance decisions, receive an NFT passport, and eventually receive services provided by the new cloud nation.We were joined by founders Luis and Anastasiya to chat about why they see this is as necessary for humankind, how the legal, governance and economic aspects will work, and the long term visions for the project.Topics covered in this episode:Luis and Anastasiya's backgroundsThe problem that Nation3 is trying to solveHow the legal system worksThe differences between Nation3 and traditional nationsThe core services Nation3 will provideWhy is the nation tax-free and how will the economy be supported?Issues with selling passportsHow will democracy work?The biggest learnings from AragonWhat is the vision for acquiring landEpisode links: Nation3Nation3 TechtreeNation3 on TwitterAnastasiya on TwitterLuis on TwitterSponsors: Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/469

Wormhole is a decentralized cross chain messaging protocol powering the transfer of value and information across high value chains. A network of Guardian nodes secure the protocol by observing and attesting to events and data on its connected chains. These attestations are gossiped around the open Wormhole peer-to-peer network, allowing anyone connected to the network to observe the flow of information. Portal is a bridging app built on top of Wormhole where users can seamlessly bridge tokens and NFTs across supported chains and easily enter the network’s ecosystem.We were joined by Dev Bharel, Developer Relations for Wormhole. He gave us great insight into how the protocol works, security assumptions and incidents, the concept of generalized messaging passaging, and the Portal Bridge as a first adopter of the Wormhole protocol. We also chatted about what else is being built on Wormhole, and how you can get involved.Topics covered in this episode:Dev's background and how he got into cryptoAn overview of WormholeThe different network ecosystems in Wormhole and challenges with adding new networksThe Wormhole guardian network and its plans for expansionThe user experience on Portal BridgeRelayers on the networkUsing Wormhole bridge assets directly with non-native tokensThe Wormhole hack and the changes that have been madeUsing zero knowledge proof on bridgesEpisode links: Portal BridgeWormhole hackBug bounty programDeveloper docsWormchainxHack hackathonWormhole on TwitterDev on TwitterSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/468

With the long awaited Ethereum Merge successfully executed last month, we caught up with Vitalik at DevCon in Bogota to talk shop: How does he see the state of the network, does he think looming centralization is a threat. Was Ethereum's danksharding plus third party layer 2s a good architecture decision? How much of an issue is MEV?Topics covered in this episode:The state of the network and credible neutralityShould validators have agency?How much of a problem is MEVThe Ethereum SurgeThe road to DankshardingDecentralizing the sequencerThe future of the spaceThe one most important thing we need to get right in the coming year for the ecosystem to succeedEpisode links: EthereumDevcon 6Episode 402 - Ethereum – Can It Go Beyond DeFi?Join the Epicenter team!Sponsors: Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/467

Since its announcement a few weeks ago at Cosmoverse in Medellin, Atom 2.0 has sparked intense debate in the Cosmos community and throughout the blockchain ecosystem. It proposes three pillars for the Cosmos Hub: Interchain Security, the Interchain Allocator, and the Interchain Scheduler. However, parts of the paper have been contested and debated over fears of token holder dilution, potential treasury mismanagement, and even the collapse of the Hub. We chat with Ethan Buchman and Zaki Manian to dive deep into Atom 2.0 and its vision for Cosmos moving forward.Topics covered in this episode:The ATOM 2.0 announcement and follow upThe goal of the whitepaperInterchain Security and its role in Cosmos' futureInterchain Security vs. Mesh SecurityCosmos scalabilityLiquid staking in the Cosmos ecosystemDistributing funds through the AllocatorAtom issuance modelThe motivation behind the Interchain SchedulerThe governance process - voting on the whitepaperNext steps to community adoptionEpisode links: Atom 2.0 WhitepaperAtom 2.0 forum postAtom 2.0 Debate episode on The InteropEthan on TwitterZaki on TwitterJoin Epicenter!Sponsors: Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/466

After a 2 year hiatus, Devcon was back for its 6th and best year so far, this time in Bogota, Colombia. As things wrapped up we grabbed a few of the Ethereum community's most prominent names for a recap on the conference. Hear as we chat to Nick Johnson from ENS, Anett Rolikova from Nethermind, David Hoffmann from Bankless, and Joseph Schweitzer from the Ethereum Foundation, about their particular standouts of the event, the LatAm and wider Ethereum community, and what they see coming next for Devcon 7 and beyond.Topics covered in this episode:Introductions and a look back over the conferenceThe LatAm Ethereum communityFavourite talks from the conferenceHaving a booth at DevconWhat's in store for Devcon7 next yearThe future vision for the eventEpisode links: DevconDevcon 4 recap from PragueSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/465

Bonus Episode: At a side event at Devcon in Bogota Colombia, Friederike moderated a panel discussion on censorship resistance and credible neutrality with Phil from Flashbots, Patrick from Infura, Sebastian from HOPR, Martin from Gnosis, and Sreeram from EigenLayer. We dove deep into what credible neutrality constitutes, whether it needs defending, and if so how we should go about it.Topics covered in this episode:Introduction to the panelWhat is censorship resistance and credible neutrality?When has Ethereum been or not been crediably neutral, and where is it todayRecent cencorship instances in the spaceThe roadmaps for more credible neutralityEpisode links: DevconThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/B007

We caught up with Cosmoverse co-founder and YouTuber Cryptocito, for a chat from this year's event in Medellin. We look back on the 2nd edition of the conference and how the ecosystem has grown since last year. We also dive into some of the announcements, notably, ATOM 2.0.Topics covered in this episode:Cosmoverse in MedellinCryptocito's background and how Cosmoverse was bornHighlights from the conferenceMesh security systemsCosmos community growthThoughts on Interchain Foundation (ICF)ATOM 2.0Episode links: CosmoverseCrytpocito's youtubeCosmoverse on TwitterCryptocito on TwitterSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/464

HOPR is a decentralized and incentivized peer-to-peer mixnet open to anyone who wants to join and run a node. The network allows people, companies, and devices to exchange information online with its metadata stripped. People who communicate and transact using HOPR — or apps and services which run on top of the platform — can be sure that no-one can find out what data is being shared, who is sending or receiving it, or even how much data is being sent. HOPR gets its name from the fact that it provides metadata privacy by sending data packets through multiple nodes - or “hops” – in the network. Decentralization ensures that the network is fully independent and there is no entity that can control it or intercept the traffic.We were joined by HOPR founder Sebastian Bürgel, who chatted about the need for a platform such as this in the space, how it works by sending packets through nodes, the HOPR token, and The DecenGov DAO.Topics covered in this episode:Sebastian's backgroundAn overview of HOPRMixnet vs onion routingWho is the HOPR user?How packets move through the networkThe distribution requirements for HOPR nodesThe costs involvedThe HOPR tokenThe DecenGov DAOWhy privacy systems in crypto have such a hard time finding tractionEpisode links: HOPRHOPR on TwitterSebastian on TwitterJoin the Epicenter team!Sponsors: Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/463

Crescent is an AMM/Orderbook Hybrid Decentralized Exchange that allows trading inter-chain assets in a cost-efficient manner. Crescent is a sovereign Cosmos chain that was created after migrating the Gravity Dex from the Cosmos Hub. Crescent particularly focuses on efficient use of liquidity by giving powerful tools to market makers to use their capital and provide good prices for traders. We were joined by the founder of Crescent Network, Hyung Lee, to chat about his involvement in the Cosmos ecosystem, B Harvest, the Gravity DEX, and combining AMMs and orderbooks. We also hear about Crescent's roadmap and future role within the ecosystem.Topics covered in this episode:Hyung's background and how he got into crypto and the Cosmos ecosystemLaunching Crescent on its own chainThe vision for Crescent's role within the ecosystemLiquidity formation for the projectComparing AMM and orderbooks and the advantages/disadvantages of eachHow AMM and orderbooks have been combinedThe future of AMMsDifference between a market maker and a liquidity providerCross chain dex aggregationMEV and the interchain worldEpisode links: The Crescent EthosCrescent NetworkCrescent on TwitterHyung on TwitterSponsors: Omni: Access all of Web3 in one easy-to-use wallet! Earn and manage assets at once with Omni's built-in staking, yield vaults, bridges, swaps and NFT support.https://omni.app/ -This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/462

In the countdown to the merge, Sebastien and Friederike teamed up with Eduardo Antuña, Co-founder of DappNode, at this year's Dappcon which is back after a 2 year hiatus. Hear as they chat about what the merge means for the broader Ethereum ecosystem.Topics covered in this episode:Update on DappconThe implications of the Tornado Cash sanctions in the wider crypto spaceZK bridging and the mergeThe Gnosis ecosystemThe importance of privacyThe user experience in crypto and how its important for onboardingPOAP distributionEpisode links: DappconThe MergeDappcon on TwitterEduardo on TwitterSponsors: Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/461

Decentralized stablecoins have long been regarded as a fundamental building block for the decentralized web. The first ground-breaking project in this area is Maker with their stablecoin DAI. Multiple ideas existed for how Maker should evolve and the path Maker chose was to add multiple types of collateral and rely on governance input to maintain stability. Over time, the vast majority of Maker's collateral came to be represented by USDC, a centralized stablecoin issued by regulated US institutions.Rai Reflex Index (RAI) decided to fork Maker and choose a path favoring trust-minimization over faster scaling. Unlike with Maker, only ETH is accepted as collateral and a different mechanism is used to maintain low volatility that doesn't rely on governance input. We were joined by Reflexer Labs' co-founder Ameen Soleimani to chat about the philosophical differences to Maker, the mechanisms used to ensure the stability of RAI, the threat of regulatory intervention for DAI and how we can create truly trust-minimized stablecoins to ensure the resilience and neutrality of DeFi.Topics covered in this episode:Ameen's background and the vision behind ReflexerHow RAI differs from MakerThe problem with DAI becoming multi-collateral and adding more governance controlRAI's stability mechanismThe function of the redemption priceWho holds RAI and how stable is it?FLX governanceHow decentralized stablecoins can scaleEpisode links: Reflexer LabsReflexer on TwitterAmeen on TwitterSponsors: Steakwallet: Steakwallet is your new favorite multi-chain, mobile wallet. Tired of having a different wallet for every chain? Get Steakwallet today and get the power of Web 3 across all chains right at your fingertips: https://steakwallet.fi/ -This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/460

DappCamp is a 21-day cohort-based course for Web2 developers making the shift to Web3. It offers hands-on experience on how to architect, develop, and scale a Web 3.0 app on Ethereum. Participants are given the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded peers to learn and build together, and also meet world-class founders who built some of the most successful apps on Ethereum to understand best practices and common pitfalls.Preethi Kasireddy, Founder of DappCamp, started her crypto journey while at a16z and later joined Coinbase as a software engineer. After teaching herself Ethereum Dapp development during the 2017 ICO boom she built smart contracts for various crypto projects and created TruStory where she and her team built a blockchain on Cosmos. She also writes a great blog which often see her posts go viral. Preethi joined us to chat about how her journey in crypto has evolved, her love of writing, learning and teaching, why she created DappCamp, and being a woman in the crypto space.Topics covered in this episode:Preethi's background and how she got into cryptoHer early days with Coinbase and TruStoryPreethi's love of writing which led to her blogDappCampWhat are the major struggles people face with learning web3 development?Opportunities for DappCamp graduatesHow DappCamp will evolve in the futureBeing a woman in cryptoKeeping up to date with the crypto industryEpisode links: DappCampPreethi’s BlogDappCamp TwitterPreethi’s TwitterSponsors: Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/459

On August 8, 2022, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Tornado Cash, citing allegations it helped North Korea's Lazarus hacker group launder millions of dollars worth of crypto proceeds stolen from various crypto projects over the past few years. Coin Center believe that OFAC has overstepped its legal authority by adding certain Tornado Cash smart contract addresses to the Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons (SDN) List, potentially violating US Americans' constitutional rights to due process and free speech.Peter Van Valkenburgh, Director of Research at Coin Center, joined us for an in-depth look at how OFAC operates, why he believes this sanctioning represents an overreach, what's next for Tornado Cash, and what this means for the rest of the blockchain ecosystem.Topics covered in this episode:An overview of the Tornado Cash caseWhat is the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)?How is it determined who gets on the OFAC list? What happens to you if you're on the list?Does this only apply to US Americans?How does one get removed from the list?What did Tornado Cash do wrong, and what should they have done?Is there an acceptable level of maliciousness within the system?Comparison to PGPWhy Tornado Cash was targeted over other privacy enhancing toolsThe reaction from the crypto ecosystemEpisode links:OFAC - The Office of Foreign Assets ControlCoin CenterTornado Cash on TwitterCoin Center on TwitterPeter on TwitterJoin the Epicenter team!Sponsors:Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/458

CosmWasm is a smart contracting platform built for the Cosmos ecosystem. It's the Cosmos (Cosm) way of using WebAssembly (Wasm). CosmWasm is written as a module that can plug into the Cosmos SDK, meaning that anyone currently building a blockchain using the Cosmos SDK can quickly and easily add CosmWasm smart contracting support to their chain, without adjusting existing logic.We were joined by the project's founder, Ethan Frey, for a deep dive into what WebAssembly is and the benefits of its integration with Cosmos SDK, its interaction with IBC and use cases for other cross-chain apps, and the roadmap ahead.Topics covered in this episode:Ethan's background and how he got into crypto and in particular CosmosWhat Ethan worked on during his time at TendermintWhy CosmWasm was createdWhat is WebAssembly and what are its advantagesHow does WebAssembly compare with the EVM?What are the pros and cons of developing Cosmos SDK modules vs building things in CosmWasm?How CosmWasm interacts with the IBC moduleThe roadmap for CosmWasmPotential use cases on cross-chain CosmWasm appsThe CosmWasm AcademyEpisode links: CosmWasmCosmWasm AcademyWYND DAOCosmWasm on TwitterJoin the Epicenter team!Sponsors: Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/457

A cashless society - one where paper and coin currency is no longer used and instead replaced with electronic transactions. Many countries are already moving in this direction with benefits noted as including lower crime rates and reduced money laundering, and of course convenience. But going cashless does have its downsides. Brett Scott is the author of Cloudmoney, a revelatory story about the fusion of big finance and tech, which requires physical cash to be replaced by digital money or 'cloudmoney'. Diving beneath the surface of the global financial system, He uncovers a long-established lobbying infrastructure waging a covert war on cash, as banking and tech companies promote a cashless society under the banner of progress.He joins us to dive deeper into the thesis behind his book and to share his views on how cryptocurrency and blockchain fits into this.Topics covered in this episode:Brett's background and how he got into the Fintech spaceThe central thesis of CloudmoneyThe meaning of 'not all money is created equally'The arguments around Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of TerrorismPrivacy and the value of digital payment dataCentral bank digital currencyBrett's views on the blockchain industryIOU vs money as a commodityWhere to buy Brett's bookEpisode links: CloudmoneyBrett's newsletterBrett on TwitterJoin Epicenter as our Community ManagerSponsors: Steakwallet: Steakwallet is your new favorite multi-chain, mobile wallet. Tired of having a different wallet for every chain? Get Steakwallet today and get the power of Web 3 across all chains right at your fingertips: https://steakwallet.fi/ -This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/456

Flashbots has pioneered the work around MEV which has become one of the most important topics in crypto today. MEV-Boost is an implementation of proposer-builder separation (PBS) built by Flashbots for proof of stake Ethereum. Validators running MEV-Boost maximize their staking reward by selling their blockspace to an open market while protecting Ethereum decentralization. It is estimated that validators running MEV-Boost can increase their staking rewards by over 60%. MEV-Boost is free, open-source, and neutral software. Lido has become the leading liquid staking solution on Ethereum with a huge amount of stake and has also taken on a key role in shaping the future of staking on Ethereum. We were joined by Stephane Gosselin, co-founder of Flashbots, to chat about MEV and the importance of MEV-Boost, how it works and it's impact on Ethereum. Also joining the chat is Vasiliy Shapovalov, Tech Lead at Lido, to share with us the significant impact MEV-Boost will have on Lido.Topics covered in this episode:Stephane and Vasily introductionsWhat is MEV and why is it important?MEV supply chain and the centralization risks with itThe significance of MEV for LidoLido MEV policy for node operatorsThe economics around MEV-BoostFlashbot Protect - will this still exist in MEV-Boost?Beyond Ethereum - what are the solution for cross-chain MEVThe impact of L2s and rollups on MEV and MEV-BoostTimelines as we approach The MergeEpisode links: FlashbotsLidoMEV-Boost in a nutshellWhy your blockchain needs an MEV solution - HasuStephane on TwitterVasily on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/455

An interesting question that has sparked debate in the Twittersphere and amongst our hosts. Hear as Meher, Friederike and Brian discuss scaling visions currently in the ecosystem, with particular focus on Ethereum Layer 2s and whether or not this is a good path forward for holders of Eth.Topics covered in this episode:Introduction to the hostsMeher's opinions and recent twitter thread on EthereumHow Layer 1s and Layer 2s work togetherSmart contract shardingBitcoin vs EthereumSolanaThe Ethereum roadmap from hereEpisode links: Meher's twitter threadEpicenter - About UsBrian on TwitterFriederike on TwitterSponsors: Steakwallet: Steakwallet is your new favorite multi-chain, mobile wallet. Tired of having a different wallet for every chain? Get Steakwallet today and get the power of Web 3 across all chains right at your fingertips: https://steakwallet.fi/ -This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/454

EthCC is over for another year and what a week it was! 6 stages, 2,000 attendees, over 200 speakers, 40 hours of talks and content, 40 sponsors, and 130 side events (and parties) all over Paris. The Ethereum France team pulled it off again with the fifth edition of the Ethereum Community Conference bringing the community together in the city of love.Keeping with tradition we did an EthCC recap panel and were joined by Ethereum France President Jerome de Tychey, EthCC Project Manager Bettina Boon Falleur, and Founder of Giveth Griff Green. We talk about the standout moments of this year's event, how the conference has grown over the years, NFT tickets, the European Ethereum community, and the future of EthCC.Episode links:EthCC 5Ethereum FranceGivethSponsors:ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/453

Enzyme Finance, previously named Melon, is a decentralized protocol built on Ethereum (ETH) that allows users to create, manage and invest in custom crypto asset management vehicles onchain. Using Enzyme Smart Vaults, individuals and communities can build, scale and monetize investment strategies that employ the newest innovations in decentralized finance. Enzyme enables Depositors to interact with Vaults in a way that is non-custodial and requires minimal trust between parties. Vault Managers can be bound to performing certain actions or forbidden from others. We were joined by Mona El Isa, CEO & founder at Avantgarde Finance and Enzyme Finance, for the second time after her first appearance 5 years ago. We chat about the transition from Melon to Enzyme and the current state of the protocol, how vaults work on the platform, decentralized governance and how to survive a bear market.Topics covered in this episode:The transition from Melon to EnzymeHas the vision for Enzyme changed?How does the protocol work?Choosing your vault and redeemabilityWho are Enzyme users?Becoming a vault manager and sharing your vault24/7 reportingThe MLN tokenGovernance - Enzyme’s path to decentralizationEpisode links: Episode 158 - The Polkadot Protocol – One Blockchain to Connect Them AllEnzymeEnzyme on TwitterMona on TwitterSponsors: Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashSteakwallet: Steakwallet is your new favorite multi-chain, mobile wallet. Tired of having a different wallet for every chain? Get Steakwallet today and get the power of Web 3 across all chains right at your fingertips: https://steakwallet.fi/ -This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/452

The hotly anticipated Ethereum merge due later this year, will see the joining of the existing execution layer of Ethereum (the Mainnet we use today) with its new proof-of-stake consensus layer, the Beacon Chain. It eliminates the need for energy-intensive mining and instead secures the network using staked ETH. This is a truly exciting step in the Ethereum vision of more scalability, security, and sustainability.Tim Beiko, Protocol Support for the Ethereum Foundation, is heavily involved in the project. He joined us to give some deep insights into governance within Ethereum, a full update on how the merge is coming along and the next steps, and how Ethereum will look post-merge.Topics covered in this episode:Tim's background and how he got involved in the spaceUnpacking governance on EthereumThe Ethereum client ecosystemThe current state of Ethereum's testnet landscapeThe Merge: what is it, and where do we stand?What is coming next in the lead up to the merge and how is success measured?How did the very recent Sepolia test go?Scaling - what will the ecosystem look like post-merge?The Ethereum roadmapEpisode links: Nebular SummitEthereum FoundationThe MergeEthereum on TwitterTim on TwitterSponsors: ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Joseph Schweitzer. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/451

Urbit is an exciting new operating system and peer-to-peer network that’s simple by design, built to last forever, and 100% owned by its users. Under the hood it's a from-scratch software stack compact enough that individual developers can understand and control it completely. Urbit deconstructs the client-server model in favor of a federated network of personal servers with built-in, cryptographically-owned identity, each of which is capable of distributing and running their own applications that communicate over the Urbit network. We were joined by the Executive Director of the Urbit Foundation, Josh Lehman, who explained in depth how the Urbit ecosystem was built and now runs, the advantages of the network from user and developer perspectives, the bridge with crypto, and how the roadmap for the kernel is looking going forward.Topics covered in this episode:Josh's background and how he became involved with UrbitAn overview of Urbit and the current state of the systemWhat’s changed about Urbit over the last three yearsUrbit's address space consisting of galaxies, stars and planetsWhat Urbit applications are and how they differ from iphone applications or a dAppsThe advantages of the Urbit user and developer experiencesThe connection between Urbit and cryptoThe projects currently being built on Urbit - Holium, Uqbar, TirrelWhat the roadmap for the underlying Urbit kernel looks likeHow you can get involvedEpisode links: Episode 205 - A Digital Republic Reinventing the InternetUrbitUrbit GrantsUrbit on TwitterJosh on TwitterSponsors: Steakwallet: Steakwallet is your new favorite multi-chain, mobile wallet. Tired of having a different wallet for every chain? Get Steakwallet today and get the power of Web 3 across all chains right at your fingertips: https://steakwallet.fi/ - Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeTally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/450

Wyre is a leading fiat-to-cryptocurrency and payment infrastructure company for the cryptocurrency ecosystem. In blockchain time, Wyre has been around forever -- it was founded in 2013. Wyre leverages blockchain to facilitate cross-border payments, bridging the gap between traditional payment processing and digital assets. Focusing on developers, the company provides easy-to-integrate APIs which enable thousands of developers to bring cryptocurrency to the masses. The company has “on-ramped” over 15 million end users to their partners and has processed over $10B in payments since inception.We were joined by Co-founder and CEO Yanni Giannaros, and Director of Crypto Strategy Jamal Raees, to chat about payments applications in general and in web3, how Wyre works on a technical and business level including regulatory constraints, their recent acquisition by Bolt, and the roadmap for the platform.Topics covered in this episode:The history of Wyre and the changes they have seen in the space over the past 10 yearsYanni and Jamal's backgrounds and how they metA technical overview of WyreThe challenges of running an onrampBolt's recent acquisition of WyrePayments applications in web 3 - what works and what doesn'tThe Wyre business model and feesThe jurisdictional restrictions for using Wyre and Yanni and Jamal's thoughts on the current regulatory environmentThe future of crypto interfacesThe Wyre roadmapEpisode links: WyreWyre on TwitterYanni on TwitterJamal on TwitterSponsors: ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/449

Arbitrum is a Layer 2 scaling solution for the Ethereum blockchain which helps reduce high transaction gas fees. Arbitrum uses a multi-round optimistic rollup that regularly checks in with Ethereum’s main chain. OG cypherpunk and ex deputy CTO of the USA, Ed Felten, is one of the creators of Arbitrum. He joined us for an in depth chat about how transactions are processed on the protocol, who validates them, what the security guarantees are, and how the economics will work in the longer term.Topics covered in this episode:Ed's background (including his time as deputy CTO of the USA!) and what led him to creating ArbitrumA walk back to pre-blockchain cryptoWhy Arbitrum chose to build on top of EthereumWhat are roll-ups and what's the user experience with them on Arbitrum?A deep dive into how transactions work on ArbitrumHow nodes work on the platformTransaction fees on ArbitrumHow is Arbitrum designed differently to Optimism?Arbitrum and bridges to ETH and other assetsHow will different scaling solutions co-exist in the future?Episode links: ArbitrumArbitrum on TwitterEd on TwitterSponsors: Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeTally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashSteakwallet: Steakwallet is your new favorite multi-chain, mobile wallet. Tired of having a different wallet for every chain? Get Steakwallet today and get the power of Web 3 across all chains right at your fingertips: https://steakwallet.fi/ -This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/448

Connext is a crosschain liquidity network that speeds up fully-noncustodial transfers between EVM-compatible crosschains (xapps) and L2 systems. Connext works in tandem with nomad bridge technology, enabling fast transfer of value between blockchains and interchain DeFi protocols. Their goal is to create a world where users never need to know what chain or rollup they're on, and developers can build applications that utilize resources from many chains/rollups simultaneously. We were joined by Connext founder Arjun Bhuptani to chat about bridge technology in general, Connext's pivot from state channels to bridges, their recent partnership with Nomad, and what is coming next.Topics covered in this episode:Arjun's background and how he got into the spaceArjun's involvement with the Moloch DAOWhat is Connext?The history of interoperabilityConnext and the bridges they utilizeConnext's partnership with NomadBridge hacksFinality and rollbacks - dealing with reorgs and probabilistic finalityWhat is Connext's capital efficiency modelEpisode links: ConnextNomadConnext / Nomad partnershipConnext on TwitterArjun on TwitterSponsors: Tally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/447

MetaMask is the de-facto standard self-custodial wallet for Ethereum. It started off as a web browser extension on chromium. More recently, it also launched a mobile app. MetaMask allows you to interact with decentralized applications (dapps) natively.We were joined by Dan Finlay, Founder & Group Manager at MetaMask, to chat about the motivation for building MetaMask, the security of the platform, decentralization, the future of seed phrases and much more!Topics covered in this episode:Dan's background and how he got into the spaceThe journey of creating MetaMask ConsensysWhy this was built as a browser extensionMetaMask mobile: What’s the scope? How do people use it?Number of MetaMask accounts, funds stored in MetaMask wallets and some use casesSecurity on the platformThe future of seed phrasesHow thinking has shifted from smart wallers to EoA's with enhanced capabilitiesWhat is MetaMask Snaps?When will we see the MetaMask token?Episode links:MetaMaskForumTwitterDan on TwitterSponsors:CowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity - including other dex aggregators such as Paraswap, 1inch and Matcha - offering the best prices on all trades. It provides some UX perks (no gas costs for failed transactions!) and protects traders against MEV. - https://epicenter.rocks/cowswapSteakwallet: Steakwallet is your new favorite multi-chain, mobile wallet. Tired of having a different wallet for every chain? Get Steakwallet today and get the power of Web 3 across all chains right at your fingertips: https://steakwallet.fi/ -This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/446"

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) allows users to register .eth domain names, which can be used natively in some browsers and all Ethereum wallets. It provides a solution to long crypto addresses with a human-friendly format, analogous to DNS domain names that point to IP addresses. There are now 1.1 million registered domains on ENS.Nick Johnson, Lead Developer of ENS, was last on the show 5 years ago when ENS had just been created. We had him back on to give us an update on how the project had evolved and to chat about the kinds of content ENS domains point to, the ENS token airdrop, the governance of the platform, and the road ahead, particularly with respect to scaling solutions and spiralling Ethereum gas costs.Topics covered in this episode:What is Domain Name Service (DNS)?How do you register a top level domain?The relevance of ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)The kinds of content ENS domains point to and some use casesThe fees associated with .eth domainsThe ENS token airdropGovernance - how the process of using delegates workedThe kinds of decisions delegates have made so farTrading ENS tokensNick's views on the major challenges facing the ethereum ecosystem todayEpisode links:Episode 183 - ENS – A Global Naming System for EthereumICANNENSENS GovernanceENS on TwitterNick on TwitterSponsors:ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/445

Aave is an open-source moneymarket protocol. An Ethereum native, it's deployed on Avalanche and Polygon, with more than $1 billion deposited on each. V3 is now live on seven different blockchains, including Fantom, Arbitrum, Optimism and Harmony. Aave, which has a decentralized governance system, collects about $50 million in revenue per year to its treasury through its various activities, which makes it self-sustainable. Two years after his last visit to the show and after the recent Aave 3.0 release, we had Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave, back on to chat about governance within the DeFi space, his new project Lens Protocol, and the road ahead for not only his projects, but also the ecosystem as a whole.Topics covered in this episode:In view of the situation this week with Terra and UST, we hear Stani's take on stable coins and stable coin mechanisms and how this has evolved over timeNew collateral - how a collapse of an asset can affect lending marketsGovernance within Aave and DeFi protocols in generalHow interoperability looks for a lending protocolStani's new project LensProtocol - the composable and decentralized social graphWhy have other decentralized social networks not managed to take off?Stani's recent ban from Twitter #freestaniThe roadmap for both Aave and Lens over the next 2 yearsWhat is coming next for the ecosystem?Episode links: AaveLens ProtocolAave on TwitterLens on TwitterStani on TwitterSponsors: Steakwallet: Steakwallet is your new favorite multi-chain, mobile wallet. Tired of having a different wallet for every chain? Get Steakwallet today and get the power of Web 3 across all chains right at your fingertips: https://steakwallet.fi/ - CowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity - including other dex aggregators such as Paraswap, 1inch and Matcha - offering the best prices on all trades. It provides some UX perks (no gas costs for failed transactions!) and protects traders against MEV. - https://epicenter.rocks/cowswapTally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/444

Chun Wang started mining Bitcoin in 2011 and later created F2Pool, one of the leading Proof-of-Work mining pools. Despite his deep involvement in Proof-of-Work, Chun also recognized the transformative impact of Proof-of-Stake and started stakefish. stakefish has become one of the leading staking provider.Chun joined us to talk about his journey and reflections on Bitcoin, Ethereum and Proof-of-Stake. We also dove into the topic of humans becoming a multi-planetary species and whether Bitcoin's consensus could be modified to allow mining on different planets.Topics covered in this episode:Chun's background and how he got into cryptoWhy he created the mining pool F2PoolThe biggest differences between running validators like stakefish vs a mining pool like F2PoolWhat led him to build stakefishChun's views on EthereumWhy Bitcoin is more decentralized than EthereumThe future of Proof-of-StakeStakefish's Ethereum staking productChun's thoughts of MEV and how will stakefish deal with it in the futureMaking Bitcoin multiplanetaryEpisode links: stakefishF2Poolstakefish on TwitterChun on TwitterSponsors: Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeTally Ho: Tally Ho is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashSteakwallet: Steakwallet is your new favorite multi-chain, mobile wallet. Tired of having a different wallet for every chain? Get Steakwallet today and get the power of Web 3 across all chains right at your fingertips: https://steakwallet.fi/ -This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/443

Florian Glatz, blockchain.lawyer, is one of the most knowledgeable OG's at the intersection of crypto and law. He was last on the show 6 years ago when we talked in great detail about smart contracts and the DAO. We welcomed him back to discuss the regulatory environment, with a focus on Europe. We covered key topics like the recently floated Proof of Work ban, Travel of Funds Regulation (TFR), and Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) regulation. We also discussed the European Crypto Initiative, a new lobby organization that Florian co-founded, which is advocating for crypto-friendly regulation on a European level.Topics covered in this episode:What Florian got wrong about DAOs when he was on the show in 2016The story of the Geman blockchain association Bundesblock that Florian co-founded and was president ofThe European Crypto Initiative - Why a European-level organization is neededThe most important regulatory questions facing crypto todayWhy crypto taxation is a particularly challenging issueHow will competition between different nation states play out?Whether we will see the rise of new nation states or digital nationsEpisode links: Episode 125 - Defining a Legal Framework for Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO)The Sovereign individualblockchain.lawyerFlorian on TwitterSponsors: Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/422

Multicoin Capital is a thesis-driven investment firm that invests in the crypto space. They manage a hedge fund and a venture fund, investing across both public and private markets. Since their founding in 2017, they have become known for their high returns.We were joined by founders Kyle Samani and Tushar Jain, for Multicoin's third visit on the show, to chat about how they came together to form Multicoin, their current investment thesis and how it has evolved, and the road ahead in the blockchain ecosystem.Topics covered in this episode:Tushar and Kyle's backgrounds and what led to MulticoinWhy did they choose to create an investing company?Their current investment thesis and how it has evolvedMulticoin's decision to not invest in certain lucrative projectsHow they chose what to invest inThe Proof of Physical Work thesisThe process of how they select an investment and the strategy behind their portfolioProjects they regret not investing inA prediction of how the blockchain ecosystem will look in three yearsDominance of DeFiEpisode links:Episode 361 with KyleEpisode 223 with Kyle and TusharProtocols dont capture value, DAOs manage risk - thesisMulticoin on TwitterKyle on TwitterTushar on TwitterSponsors:ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/441

Regen Network is a blockchain focused on ecological regeneration and reversing climate change. Their aim is to reinvent the economics of agriculture so that farmers are seen not only as food producers, but also as land stewards. Regen Network serve as the foundation on which which other projects and protocols may build upon and harness to execute their own climate-focused business models. Using a distributed ledger and modern remote sensing technology, the Regen team are creating new tools allowing humanity to reconnect with the environment.We were joined by CEO & Co-founder of Regen, Gregory Landua, to chat about what has motivated him to create Regen. We took a deep dive into how Regen Network works and especially discussed carbon credits and the Nature Carbon Ton (NCT), a novel carbon credit token they are launching.Topics covered in this episode:Gregory's background and what motivated him to create RegenWhy he chose to build Regen on CosmosWhat are carbon credits and how is their impact measured?How the Nature Carbon Ton (NCT) token works and what is the vision for how it evolvesThe 2 modules Regen have built on Cosmos SDK - Ecocredits and DataRegen 4.0 - what is coming next?Episode links:Regen websiteRegen on MediumRegen on TwitterGregory on TwitterSponsors:Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/440

Brian was joined by Felix Lutsch, CCO of Chorus One, for a discussion of what is going on in crypto today. The discussion included the evolving Proof-of-Stake landscape, the role of and trends around liquid staking and interoperability. They also discussed the crypto markets and the possible impact of a changing macro environment with increasing inflation.Topics covered in this episode:Felix's background and how he got into cryptoHow the staking landscape is evolvingThe increasing complexity within the staking industry and the impact this will bring, including compliance and MEVLiquid staking - where it is today and where it is headedInteroperability - IBC adoption, Terra, composabilityCrypto markets - inflation and predicting the futureEpisode links: Chorus OneChorus One on TwitterFelix on TwitterThe Q-Trap by Arthur HayesSponsors: Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/439

Anoma is a set of protocols that puts privacy front and center. It aims to facilitate “Self-Sovereign Communities” by providing tools that grant increased control to individuals and communities governing their day-to-day interactions and activities. We were joined by co-founders Adrian Brink and Christopher Goes, to help unravel the complex offering that is the Anoma Network. Hear as we chat about why they created Anoma, some use cases to explain how it works, and the roadmap going forward.Topics covered in this episode:What led Adrian and Christopher to starting their own PoS blockchainWhat 'undefining money' actually meansHow Anoma worksThe Namada blockchainMulti asset shielded pools - why aren't they used more often?A deep dive into the technical components of AnomaThe relationship between Anoma and NamadaThoughts on FATF and recent moves to make sending KYC information with transactions mandatoryTimelines for upcoming launchesEpisode links: AnomaDiscordAnoma on TwitterAdrian on TwitterChristopher on TwitterSponsors: Tally: Tally is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashCowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity - including other dex aggregators such as Paraswap, 1inch and Matcha - offering the best prices on all trades. It provides some UX perks (no gas costs for failed transactions!) and protects traders against MEV. - https://epicenter.rocks/cowswapThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/438

Leveraging the Cosmos SDK, Evmos is the first IBC-compatible EVM-based blockchain, bringing composability, interoperability, and fast finality to Ethereum. While much of the Cosmos ecosystem has embraced CosmWasm to deploy smart contracts, Evmos brings EVM capabilities to the Interchain and allows developers to write contracts in Solidity, the most widely used language in crypto. While the Evmos launch was halted in early March due to a critical vulnerability and a failed chain upgrade, the project is highly anticipated by the Cosmos community as it promises to bring speed, scale, and interoperability to Ethereum. This week, Sebastien was joined by the co-founder of Evmos, Federico Kunze Küllmer, to chat about the innovation that Evmos is bringing to the EVM ecosystem and the long-term vision for the project.This episode is an excerpt of an extended interview with Federico released on The Interop, a new podcast hosted by Sebastien Couture. To hear the full interview and subscribe to The Interop, check the episode links.Topics covered in this episode:Fede's background and how he got into cryptoThe early days at Tendermint and contributing to Ether MintThe delayed launch of the Evmos upgrade and how that has affected the projectWhat innovation does Evmos bring to the EVM now and in the futureEvmos' interoperability with other chainsBridges and the issue asset fungibilityHow sovereign chains will interact with smart contracts or addresses on EvmosWhat DeFi applications will be launched on EvmosStandout features of the token modelIs fragmentation on the Interchain a good approach?Episode links: Hear the full interview on The Interop podcastEvmosEvmos on TwitterFederico on TwitterSponsors: ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/437

After more than three years in the making, Laura Shin has just released her first book, The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze. In it she dives into the history of Ethereum and the 2017 ICO craze by telling the tale of the early tensions and power struggle that defined Ethereum's founding. It gives the inside story of The DAO, and depicts 2017's global initial coin offering tidal wave that boosted prices and fortunes. Laura Shin, former Forbes journalist, podcast host, and now author, joined us for a fascinating chat about the research that went into the book (including the 200+ interviews), revealing the infamous Ethereum hacker, and how the book has been received and her future plans for another.Topics covered in this episode:Laura's background and how she got into cryptoWhy did Laura choose to write this book?Researching for the book and the people she interviewedLaura's takeaways about the Ethereum foundersThe reveal of the hacker and the reactions from those close to themThe Ethereum 'Shadow Government'The importance of Vitalik to Ethereum today and where he might be headed nextWhere are the other co-founders of Ethereum now?What's next for Laura?Episode links: Buy the bookLaura ShinThe Unchained PodcastLaura on MediumLaura on TwitterSponsors: CowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity - including other dex aggregators such as Paraswap, 1inch and Matcha - offering the best prices on all trades. It provides some UX perks (no gas costs for failed transactions!) and protects traders against MEV. - https://epicenter.rocks/cowswapThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/436

Worldcoin is a start-up trying to engineer widespread adoption for its cryptocurrency by giving away tokens. Sound too good to be true? Depends how you look at it (literally). Participants must be willing to have their eyes scanned on registration by a proprietary iris scanner dubbed 'orb'. Worldcoin says the scan is necessary to prove that users are human and to verify they only register once. The start-up has attracted big investors but it has also raised concerns among an increasingly privacy-conscious public with some labeling it a MLM. We were joined by co-founder and CEO, Alex Blania, who explained the idea behind Worldcoin and the aspect of UBI, the current number of orbs in circulation and users, and he addresses the criticisms they have faced so far. Worldcoin is due to launch later this year.Topics covered in this episode:Alex's background and how he got into cryptoThe idea behind Worldcoin and the aspect of UBIHow does the orb work?How they have reacted to some of the criticism regarding privacy and onboardingA deep dive into how the protocol worksThe incentive mechanism with WorldcoinAn overview of Worldcoin usersThe corporate structure of WorldcoinRegulatory issuesEpisode links: WorldcoinWorldcoin on TwitterAlex on TwitterSponsors: Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/435

Helium is a global, distributed network of long-range wireless coverage hotspots for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, powered by the Helium blockchain. Community run hotspots create 'The People’s Network' and they are rewarded with $HNT, the native cryptocurrency of the network, through the Proof-of-Coverage mechanism. Helium has managed to build the largest P2P network with over 600,000 hotspots and is now starting to deploy other networks like a 5g cellular network.We were joined by Founder and CEO of Helium, Amir Haleem, to chat about how Helium works and the most interesting use cases, how the Proof-of-Coverage mechanism allows the community to participate, and the road ahead for the network.Topics covered in this episode:What is a wireless network and what makes them so interestingThe objective of HeliumThe use cases Amir is most interested inHow cellular networks are utilizedHelium and censorship resistanceThe architecture of the Helium NetworkProof-of-coverageThe HNT and Data Credit tokensThe possibility of Helium becoming interoperable and hosting smart contractsThe biggest challenges in Helium's futureEpisode links: HeliumHelium on TwitterAmir on TwitterSponsors: Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeTally: Tally is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/434

Axelar is a highly scalable, decentralized blockchain that aims to connect all existing blockchains. The proof of stake network, built on the Cosmos-SDK, allows application developers to choose the best blockchain to deploy their applications and use Axelar’s cross-chain communication protocols to lock, unlock, and transfer assets between networks, as well as communicate with applications on other blockchains. Co-founder and CEO of Axelar, Sergey Gorbunov joined us to chat about his experience working on Algorand, the importance and future of interoperabilty protocols, and the vision behind Axelar.Topics covered in this episode:Sergey's background and how he got into cryptoThe lessons he learnt from his time at AlgorandWhy and how Axelar was builtThe future of interoperabilty protocolsWhat are security challenges around interoperabilityInteroperability use cases beyond token transfersAtomic transactions with AlexarThe road ahead for AxelarEpisode links: Axelar SiteAxelar DiscordAxelar on TwitterSergey on TwitterNonconventional Podcast by Ela CrainSponsors: ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/433

It's been just short of 2 years since we had Julian Assange's father John, and Harry Halpin, on the show to chat about his imprisonment and the impact it could have on the crypto community. At that time it was unknown if/when Julian would be extradited to the US to face trial. On December 10 2021, the US government won its appeal of a British court ruling that barred Assange’s extradition to the US. On the very same day the AssangeDAO was born and now has a thriving community of 10k people behind it.The DAO raised over $50 million and the funds were used to bid on an NFT, Clock, which is part of a collection between Assange and digital artist Pak. The bid was successful and proceeds from the sale of the Clock NFT will go to support Assange’s legal defence fund and awareness campaign about the free speech implications of his case.We were joined by Julian's brother Gabriel, and Stellar Magnet, core contributors of the AssangeDAO. We spoke about Julian's case as it currently stands, how the DAO was born and why they chose to purchase the NFT, and the road ahead.Topics covered in this episode:Julian Assange and his imprisonment from his involvement with WikileaksThe Assange DAO and why an NFT was purchased with the funds raisedWhat are the next step options that the DAO is considering?Where to learn more about the Assange DAOHow to contributeEpisode links: Episode 339 - What Julian Assange Represents to the Crypto MovementAssangeDAO siteUS based siteUK based siteAssangeDAO on TwitterGabriel on TwitterStellar on TwitterSponsors: Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/432

NEAR Protocol is a leading smart contract platform that aims for simplicity, security and scalability. NEAR was one of the first sharded blockchains and allows deploying smart contracts using Web Assembly on currently four different shards. NEAR's sharding design, Nightshade, splits the blocks into different segments, which allows for great scalability without negatively impacting user and developer experience. Since, its launch NEAR has evolved into one of the most active smart contract ecosystems.Illia and Alex, co-founders of NEAR, joined us to chat about the NEAR's protocol design and recent advances, such as the launch of Aurora, NEAR's EVM shard. We also discussed how their sharding solution works and how it can scale to support a massive amount of users and applications.Topics covered in this episode:Why Illia and Alex decided to build NEARNEAR's core idea to scale through shardingNEAR’s Nightshade sharding designDealing with interactions between programmesHow cross-shard interoperability worksAurora - the EVM shardNEAR's focus on user experiencePagoda - the first web3 startup platformThe biggest challenges aheadEpisode links:NEAR ProtocolAuroraNEAR on TwitterAlex on TwitterIllia on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeTally: Tally is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/431

Gitcoin is a platform which funds software developers for work in open source ecosystems. Open source creates value without capturing it: Gitcoin creates funding mechanism to correct the asymmetry between value created and value captured. So far they have raised $51million, which were then distributed to public goods projects.We were joined, for the second time, by Gitcoin's founder Kevin Owocki. Hear as we chat about quadratic and public good funding, the Internet of Jobs, and Kevin's book, Greenpilled - Regenerative CryptoEcononmics, which is out soon!Topics covered in this episode:An update on what's happened since Kevin was last on the showHigh level funding stats and measuring the success of GitcoinQuadratic funding - why and how?Public good fundingImpact DAOs and Regenerative CryptoEconomicsGitcoin's transformation to a DAOThe Internet of Jobs (IoJ) - advantages and disadvantagesGreenpilled - Kevin's bookEpisode links:Episode 257 - Gitcoin – Aligning Incentives in Open-Source DevelopmentGitcoin resultsGreenpilled - Regenerative CryptoEconomics - book coming soonTake the Green PillGitcoin on TwitterKevin on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeTally: Tally is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/430

Agoric is an Proof-of-Stake blockchain built on the Cosmos-SDK that allows developers to create secure smart contracts written in JavaScript. It offers developers safe, reusable DeFi components and built-in economic primitives like a stablecoin, while connecting to the larger blockchain ecosystem via IBC.Besides covering the Agoric platform, we dove into the long prehistory with Agoric CEO Dean Tribble. Dean and his co-founders have been working on smart contracts and secure computing for decades, long before cryptocurrencies were invented, and a lot of that work shaped the Agoric platform today. We talked about underlying design principles like the Object Capability Security Model, but also the tradeoffs between Ethereum's model of scaling on a single chain versus the Cosmos model of sovereign chains interoperating asynchronously.Topics covered in this episode:Dean's background and how he got into cryptoSmart contracts in pre-blockchain timesWhy was Agoric created?The Object Capability Security ModelWhy they chose to build on the Cosmos SDK and the problems that solvesIBC transfersHow much can Agoric scale?What's coming next for AgoricEpisode links:Episode 286 - Agoric and the Decades-Long Quest for Secure Smart ContractsAgoric websiteAgoric on TwitterDean on TwitterSponsors:ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/429

Olympus is a hotly debated project in the DeFi space. It posits to be a decentralized reserve currency protocol. Each OHM token is partially backed by the Olympus treasury, but how large the treasury is, depends on what is counted towards it. We would argue that OHM tokens should be discounted for this purpose. Users can interact with Olympus DAO through staking and bonding, which incentivizes users to deposit or sell their collateral to the Olympus treasury in return for discounted OHM tokens.We were joined by Olympus Founder Zeus to chat about why the protocol was created and how it works, and we address the debate about it being a Ponzi scheme.Topics covered in this episode:Zeus' background and how he got into cryptoWhy and how the OHM was createdBonding and staking within the protocolAPY on Olympus DAOHow Olympus would deal with a DAO runIs Olympus a Ponzi?The goals for Olympus this yearEpisode links:Olymus DAO websiteOlympus DiscordOlympus on TwitterZeus on TwitterSponsors:Tally: Tally is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashCowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity - including other dex aggregators such as Paraswap, 1inch and Matcha - offering the best prices on all trades. It provides some UX perks (no gas costs for failed transactions!) and protects traders against MEV. - https://epicenter.rocks/cowswapThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Zubin Koticha. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/428

Zodiac is a collection of tools built according to an open standard which proposes a composable design philosophy for DAOs. Built by the Gnosis Guild team, this extension pack for DAOs enables connection between platforms, protocols, and chains, no longer confined to monolithic designs. It not only changes access, but bridges chains, organizations, and networks through DAO-to-DAO (D2D) collaboration mechanisms.We were joined by Kei Kreuther and Auryn Macmillan, founders of Gnosis Guild, a core contributor to the Zodiac platform. Hear as we chat about the rise of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, the Zodiac Toolset and how it works, and the future of DAOs in not only the blockchain space but also in the real economy.Topics covered in this episode:Kei and Auryn's backgrounds and how they got into cryptoWhere DAOs came from and the arc of their evolutionThe overlap between DAOs and cooperativesUnraveling the abundance of DAO toolsThe components and modules of the Zodiac ToolsetThe types of legacy organizations or governance structures that are most ripe to transition into DAOsThe future of DAOs and their place within the real economyEpisode links:A prehistory of DAOsEp 33 - Reality Keys – A Certificate Authority for FactsWhat DAOs and Cooperatives can learn from each otherFostering Worker Cooperatives with Blockchain Technology: Lessons from the Colony ProjectGnosis Guild BlogZodiacGnosis Guild DiscordGnosis Guild on TwitterKei on TwitterAuryn on TwitterSponsors:Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/427

The current lack of privacy on the internet exposes billions of people to mass surveillance and data breaches, undermining trust in digital services and stifling innovation. Nym is a mixnet and develops the infrastructure to prevent this data leakage by protecting every packet’s metadata at the network and application layers.We were joined by Nym's CEO & Founder Harry Halpin, and CSO Jaya Klara Brekke, to chat about the threat mass surveillance has on society, what Nym sets out to do and take a deep dive into the architecture of the protocol.Topics covered in this episode:Harry and Jaya's backgrounds and how they got into cryptoHarry's personal experience with surveillanceMass surveillance on the internetThe rationale behind the cypherpunk manifesto “transparency for the powerful, privacy for the rest of us”The 'general public's' attitude towards privacyThe Nym infrastructure, purpose and benefitsHow Nym works with other applicationsHow does incentivization workHarry's relationship with Julian AssangeEpisode links:“Privacy for end users, transparency for the infrastructure” blog postEp 339 - What Julian Assange Represents to the Crypto MovementNym websiteMain TelegramNode Setup Help ChatGitHubDocumentationYouTubeHarry on TwitterJaya on TwitterNym on TwitterSponsors:Tally: Tally is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashCowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity - including other dex aggregators such as Paraswap, 1inch and Matcha - offering the best prices on all trades. It provides some UX perks (no gas costs for failed transactions!) and protects traders against MEV. - https://epicenter.rocks/cowswapThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/426

Formerly Enigma, Secret Network is a blockchain-based, open-source protocol built using the Cosmos SDK. It uses Trusted Execution Environments on nodes to marry privacy-by-default with smart contracts.We welcomed Guy Zyskind, Founder & CEO of Secret Network, back on the show to chat about the progression of the project into the new protocol and why this is now built on Cosmos, advantages and drawbacks in using Trusted Execution Environments and SGX technology over cryptography only, and why people might want to keep NFTs private.Topics covered in this episode:Guy's background and how he got into cryptoHow Enigma/Secret Network evolvedWhy the Switch to Cosmos?Trusted Execution Environment and SGXThe levels of privacy within the networkWhy CosmWasm?The future of SGX computationSecret contracts interacting with other IBC enabled chainsThe types of applications running on Secret todayNFTs on SecretEpisode links: Episode 246 - EnigmaSecret NetworkDiscordSecret Network on TwitterGuy on TwitterSponsors: ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/425

The DarkFi squad return for the second part of this 2 part episode. We chat about the FreeAssange DAO, totalitarianism in crypto, and hear about Amir's early involvement in many projects including Bitcoin, DarkMarket (OpenBazaar) and even Ethereum. Diving a bit more technical, we also cover the DarkFi platform, a new blockchain that prioritizes privacy. As a base layer for anonymous applications and smart contracts, it's a multichain interoperable, and open source product that anyone can build any type of applications on utilizing zero-knowledge proof.Topics covered in this episode:The Free Assange DAOIs transparency ever a good thing?DarkMarketTotalitarianism in cryptoAmir shares his views on EthereumSolarpunkEpisode links:Dark.FiDarkFi manifestoDarkFi Element channelDarkFi on TwitterAmir on TwitterRose on TwitterIvan on TwitterThe Dark ForestSponsors:Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeTally: Tally is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/424

DarkFi is a new DeFi platform that prioritizes privacy. As a base layer for anonymous applications and smart contracts, it's a multichain interoperable, and open source product that anyone can build any type of application on utilising zero knowledge proof. The goal is to create a universe that anyone can access irrespective of their nationality or political beliefs. Amir Taaki, Rachel-Rose O'Leary and Ivan Jelincic, the members of the squad, joined us to chat about the importance of darkness and privacy within crypto utilizing zero knowledge proof technology. This is a 2-part series and in the next episode we explore AMMs, and the Free Assange DAOTopics covered in this episode:An introduction to the DarkFi team and how they got into cryptoDarkness and why it's importantThe crisis of civilization in the WestCrypto anarchyThe connection between crypto and moral fiberThe problems within crypto DarkFi is aiming to solve and how they are doing itEpisode links: DarkFi Element channelDarkFi on TwitterAmir on TwitterRose on TwitterIvan on TwitterThe Dark ForestThe Sovereign IndividualSecular CyclesSponsors: Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/423

Fei Protocol is a decentralized, liquid, and scalable stablecoin platform, based on a new concept called Protocol Controlled Value (PCV). After a rocky start, Fei is now back on the road to growth with an upcoming v2 and one of the biggest token mergers in crypto history.On the day before the Fei v2 launch, we were joined by Founder Joey Santoro to chat about the differences between v1 and v2, how the platform works on a PCV model, TRIBE and protocol governance, and the Rari merger.Topics covered in this episode:Joey's background and how he got into crypto and stablecoins specificallyThe Fei launchThe mechanisms of Fei v1RedeemabilityUse cases of FeiThe Fei PCV system and Balancer's roleThe Rari MergerWhat's next for FeiEpisode links:Fei ProtocolDiscordFei on TwitterJoey on TwitterSponsors:Tally: Tally is a new wallet for Web3 and DeFi that sees the wallet as a public good. Think of it like a community-owned alternative to MetaMask. - https://epicenter.rocks/tallycashGnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeThis episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal & Statelayer. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/422

2021 was an exciting year for the crypto space. We've seen all time market highs, dramatic regulatory shifts, and some use cases hit the main stream. 4 of our hosts got together to dissect the standout events of this year, and share their predictions for what is coming next.Topics covered in this episode:The NFT explosion of 2021The DeFi bluechip declineLayer 1 wars & bridgesDAO proliferation, tooling, and emergence of new organization paradigmsReturn of DogecoinBitcoin in El SalvadorLooking ahead - crypto and its tax implicationsThe future of MEVUrbitEpisode links:Episode 374 - The Great Epicenter Host Extravaganza 2021Epicenter - About UsBrian on TwitterFriederike on TwitterSebastien on TwitterSunny on TwitterSponsors:ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Brian Fabian Crain, Friederike Ernst & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/421

Sorare is a blockchain sports game which bridges fantasy football and NFT collectibles. A player collects a team of players in the form of NFTs and based on the performance of the players in the real world, scores points. At the end of the tournament, the Sorare participant is ranked and earns rewards.Nicolas Julia, Co-founder & CEO of Sorare, created the game in 2018, way before the NFT craze of 2021. He joined us to chat about fantasy sports and what convinced him of NFTs, working in the football industry and the impact of licenses, and the regulatory push backs they have faced as a company.Topics covered in this episode:Nicolas' background and how he got to into the crypto spaceHow Nicolas got into NFTs in 2018An overview of fantasy sports and SorareWhy did Sorare choose to work with licenses and how they workThe challenges of working in the football industrySorare as a Web3 productThe size and value of the Sorare communityRegulatory push backs against SorareThe motivations behind the numerous platform transitionsThe biggest entrepreneurial lessons Nicolas took away from his time at Stratumn and his vision for SorareEpisode links:Sorare websiteSorare CommunityDiscordSorare on TwitterNicolas on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/420

Avalanche is an open, scalable, and secure smart contracts platform. It targets three broad use cases; building application-specific blockchains, building and launching highly scalable decentralized applications (dapps), and building arbitrarily complex digital assets with custom rules, covenants, and riders (smart assets). It prides itself off on being blazingly fast, low cost, and eco-friendly.Emin Gün Sirer is the Founder & CEO of the Avalanche network. He is also a long time friend of the show, and joined us again for the 4th time after a 5 year break to share his journey since then, which led him to creating Avalanche. We also dove deep into the technical aspects of the protocol and how it fits into the blockchain ecosystem as a whole.Topics covered in this episode:Gun's journey over the past 5 years which led him to creating AvalancheThe unique features and trade-offs in the protocolA deep dive into bridging within AvalancheMEV extraction within the protocolAvalanche consensus - reliance on seed anchorsEpisode links:Episode 76 - From Selfish Miners to The Miner’s DilemmaEpisode 103 - Bitcoin-NG – Scientists Versus the ChurchEp 134 - On a Rocky DAOAvalancheAva LabsAvalanche on TwitterGun on TwitterSponsors:Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/419

Solana has pursued the vision of a single, fast and scalable blockchain from the start. Today, it has become one of the fastest growing ecosystems in crypto with hundreds of projects spanning DeFi, NFTs, Web3, and more.Last week 2,000 attendees descended on Lisbon for the first-ever Solana conference, Breakpoint. We caught up with Co-founder and CEO Anatoly Yakovenko at the event for a chat about the Solana journey and some of the most important questions they are facing today around decentralization, scalability, governance, and MEV.Topics covered in this episode:Solana's origin story and thesisThe current state of SolanaWhat censorship resistance is and why it mattersSolana's bottlenecks and remaining scaling challengesAnatoly's views on governanceSolana and Miner Extractable Value (MEV)Rollups as an Ethereum scaling solutionMarket and adoption cycleEpisode links:Episode 312 with AnatolyBreakpointSolana on TwitterAnatoly on TwitterSponsors:CowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity - including other dex aggregators such as Paraswap, 1inch and Matcha - offering the best prices on all trades. It provides some UX perks (no gas costs for failed transactions!) and protects traders against MEV. - https://epicenter.rocks/cowswapThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/418

Coin Center is an independant not-profit research and advocacy organisation focused on the public policy issues that affect cryptocurrencies and open permisionless blockchain networks. Their mission is to build a better understanding of technologies like Ethereum and Bitcoin and to promote a regulatory climate that preserves free speech and privacy.Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh joined us for a fascinating chat about the current regulatory landscape in the US and how that might affect the crypto ecosystem going forward.Topics covered in this episode:An overview of Coin CenterHow the political and regulatory has changed in the past 2 years since the release of LibraThe regulatory topics currently impacting the USRansomware and investor protection lawIs the consumer protection force too tough?The Infrastructure BillThe US vs Europe approachThe future of the ecosystemEpisode links:Epicenter Episode 296 with JerryEpicenter Episode 227 with PeterCoin Center on TwitterJerry on TwitterPeter on TwitterSponsors:ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/417

Cometh is a game on Ethereum that lets users own yield-generating NFTs, integrating both DeFi and NFT features into a single, fun gaming experience. As a player, you control spaceships (also called astronomers) orbiting around giant stars and your goal is to position yourself close to the asteroids (also known as smart asteroids) passing by. When you are close enough, you will be able to mine tokens from that asteroid.Jerome de Tychey, founder of the project, joined us to chat about how the game works, interactions with AMMs and lending protocols, and the future of blockchain gaming.Topics covered in this episode:Jerome's background and his involvement building the French Ethereum communityJerome's role at Ledger and ConsenSysAn overview of Cometh and how the game worksHow Cometh interacts with AMMs and lending protocolsThe game’s native tokens: MUST and DUSTCometh's use of Polygon and the launch of its own layer-2 networkHow Cometh taps into the existing NFT worldThe potential for games built on top of existing DeFi infrastructureThe future of blockchain gaming and NFTsEpisode links:ComethDocs on ComethGithubGeckoConCometh on TwitterJerome on TwitterSponsors:CowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity - including other dex aggregators such as Paraswap, 1inch and Matcha - offering the best prices on all trades. It provides some UX perks (no gas costs for failed transactions!) and protects traders against MEV. - https://epicenter.rocks/cowswapThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/416

Gyroscope is an "all-weather stablecoin" that is backed by a reserve portfolio that tries to diversify across many risk factors. By maintaining a reserve of many decorrelated assets, it makes Gyro Dollars more resilient, similar to how it is hard to move a spinning gyroscope. In a market where there's an explosion of new stablecoins, Gyroscope attempts to find a niche by providing a very stable and resilient option. We were joined by co-founders Lewis Gudgeon and Ariah Klages-Mundt to chat about how Gyroscope works and their strategy to try to make it a standard throughout DeFi.Topics covered in this episode:Their backgrounds and how they got into cryptoAn overview of the Gyroscope StablecoinThe collateral being usedThe mechanism used for stabilizing reservesUse cases of the GyrodollarSAMMs and PAMMsLeverage loansGovernance within the protocolThe goals of the current testnetHow to get involvedEpisode links: GyroscopeDiscordGyroscope blogTwitterLewis on TwitterAriah on TwitterSponsors: Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/415

PieDAO is is a decentralized asset manager for tokenized portfolios and enables anyone to create allocations for both crypto and traditional assets. PIES are non-custodial pools available to anyone in the world with an internet connection. PIES require no minimum deposits for users. DOUGH is the token that governs the platform. Token holders are given voting rights on all decisions.We were joined by the Founder of PieDAO, Alessio Delmonti, to talk about how the project works and why he is so committed to making wealth creation more accessible to all.Topics covered in this episode:Alessio's background and how he got into cryptoAlessio's views on 'financial inclusion'What is PieDAO and its missionA breakdown of the different components of PieDAONFTs in PieDAOUsing ETFs in their methodologiesKPI options and how that plays into governanceThe PieDAO OvenThe roadmap for the projectEpisode links:PieDAOThe OvenPieDAO DiscordGovernance ForumPieDAO on TwitterAlessio on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/414

Notional is a protocol on Ethereum that facilitates fixed-rate, fixed-term crypto asset lending and borrowing. The core concept of Notional is fCash, a zero-compound bond defined by a currency type and maturity date. Notional’s liquidity pools are built by liquidity providers who contribute cTokens and fCash and act as counterparty to the lenders and borrowers that are active on the protocol.We were joined by co-founders Teddy Woodward and Jeff Wu to chat about the benefits and tradeoffs of fixed rate interest borrowing, how Notional operates, and comparisons to other lending protocols in the space.Topics covered in this episode:Teddy and Jeff's backgrounds and how they got into cryptoThe benefits of a fixed rate over a variable interest rate loanThe product from a user perspectiveThe role of liquidity providers in the protocolTradeoffs of using Notional as opposed to other lending platformsLender and borrower obligationsHow Notional maintain securityThe ERC1155 token standard which is implemented on fCashThe maturity parameter and how it's determinedThe Notional governance modelEpisode links:Notional FinanceNotional DiscordNotional on TwitterTeddy on TwitterJeff on TwitterSponsors:ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/413

Lido is a DAO that provides a liquid staking solution for Ethreum 2.0. It lets users stake their Ether, without locking assets or needing to maintain infrastructure, whilst participating in on-chain activities. Lido attempts to solve the problems associated with initial Ethereum 2.0 staking - illiquidity, minimum requirements, immovability and accessibility, by making staked Ether liquid and allowing for participation in DeFi.Vasiliy Shapovalov, Co-founder of Lido, joined us to talk about all things Ethereum staking and the benefits of liquid staking with Lido.Topics covered in this episode:Vasiliy's background and how he got into cryptoAn overview of Lido and the problem it solvesHow Ethereum 2.0 staking worksLido's fee structure and business modelLido's governance model and the LDO tokenHow the ETH/stETH peg is maintainedLiquid staking and its role in DeFiLido for other blockchain networks like SolanaThe LEGO Grant programEpisode links:LidoVasiliy's talk at EthCCLido on TwitterVasiliy on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/412

The Reserve project is on a mission to provide every person in the world access to stable currency. They are working to rebuild financial services in countries such as Argentina and Venezuela, that have suffered from high inflation and ongoing currency devaluation. The protocol is designed to host a completely decentralized stablecoin that can not be manipulated by governments, with an end goal of a fully self-sustainable platform with decentralized governance and developments.We were joined by Co-founder & CEO, Nevin Freeman, to chat about Reserve's focus in Latin America, their support of activism, and the road ahead for the project.Topics covered in this episode:Nevin's background and how he got into cryptoWhat is Reserve and what is the problem it's solvingHow do they get around regulatory pushbacks in Latin AmericaThe main components of the Reserve system - RSV and RSRTackling high gas feesReserve's go to market strategy and why the focus on Latin AmericaWhy Reserve encourage's activismReserve's goal to eradicate hyperinflationThe connection with Peter Tiel (Paypal)The Reserve business modelEpisode links:ReserveReserve on TwitterNevin on TwitterSponsors:Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/411

Hermez is an open-source ZK-Rollup optimised for secure, low-cost and usable token transfers on the wings of Ethereum. The Hermez network team is currently developing the next version of the decentralised ZK-Rollup with full support of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) by making a full set of zkEVM opcodes.Jordi Baylina, the Technical Lead at Hermez, joined us to chat about how the protocol works, the recent merge with Polygon, and the roadmap leading to Eth2.0.Topics covered in this episode:Jordi's involvement in the infamous DAO hackThe Giveth community he created with Griff GreenHow Hermez use EVM opcodes to combine zk and EVMHow the protocol works as a userHow do token transfers work?Currently the advantage is in scaling, could this also translate to privacy?Hermez's merge with Polygon - how the joint model will lookThe Hermez roadmap and how it fits with Eth2.0Jordi's views on the future of blockchainEpisode links:HermezGivethJordi at EThCC 2021Hermez on TwitterJordi on TwitterSponsors:CowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity offering the best prices on all trades and provides some UX perks (no gas costs for failed transactions!) and protects traders against MEV - https://epicenter.rocks/cowswapThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/410

Erik Voorhees, CEO & Founder of ShapeShift, joins us for his 4th appearance on the show. ShapeShift recently announced they are decentralizing the company and its products, which would see the company transition from a centralized entity and platform to a DAO. With the largest airdrop in history they distributed FOX tokens to over a million customers and DeFi community members, who will eventually fully control the exchange.In this episode we hear the reasoning behind this shift, cross-chain Interoperability, the FOX token, and the future of the Shapeshift platform as a DAO.Topics covered in this episode:The journey of ShapeShift since Erik's last appearance on the showWhat led ShapeShift to becoming decentralized and the process so farShapeShift as a product - its features and how it will be accessedThe future structure of Shapeshift as a DAOCross-chain Interoperability and the Cosmos ecosystemThe goal of the FOX tokenThe future of the ShapeShift ecosystemEpisode links:Episode 300 - ShapeShift – There’s a New Fox in TownShapeShiftShapeShift to Decentralize Entire Company; Largest Airdrop in HistoryShifts Governance to the CommunityFOX token airdropShapeShift on TwitterErik on TwitterSeb's new podcast – The Zen Crypto ShowSponsors:ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/409

ParaSwap is a DEX aggregator that aims to provide the best prices over multiple DEXes on the Ethereum blockchain. Users are able to scan dozens of exchanges for the best possible crypto price points, and get the most for their swaps.We were joined by ParaSwap Founder, Mounir Benchemled, to chat about his role in the French DeFi community, DEX aggregators in general, and what makes ParaSwap an important slice of the DeFi ecosystem.Topics covered in this episode:Mounir's background and how he got into cryptoWhy did he start a DEX aggregator?The French DeFi ecosystem and communityAn overview of DEX aggregators - the advantages and challengesThe role of the ParaSwap routerThe prospect of a ParaSwap tokenA DEX aggregator from a legal perspectiveHow ParaSwap makes moneyMounir's views on Layer 1 and Layer 2sThe future of DeFi tradingEpisode links:ParaSwapParaSwap on MediumParaSwap on TwitterMounir on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/408

Mike Novogratz is the CEO of Galaxy Digital, an investment bank targeting institutional investors, which he also founded. He was formerly a Partner and President of Fortress Investment Group LLC and prior to that Partner at Goldman Sachs. Considered quite the risk taker, he has made and lost many fortunes over the years.We chatted to Mike about the cross over between finance and blockchain, regulatory affairs, and of course, wrestling.Topics covered in this episode:Mike's background in wrestling and transition into financeHow he got into the crypto spaceHow Mike and Galaxy Digital are providing a link between crypto and traditional financeThe long term impact of crypto on the worldThe vision for Galaxy DigitalMike's views on the market cyclesEpisode links:Galaxy DigitalGalaxy Digital on TwitterMike on TwitterSponsors:Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting-edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/407

The DFINITY Foundation is a not-for-profit scientific research organization with a mission to build, promote, and maintain the Internet Computer. The IC is a layer 1 smart contract enabled blockchain which achieves remarkable scaling properties through native sharding.We were joined by Founder and Chief Scientist of DFINITY, Dominic Williams, who explained his deep support for smart contracts, gave us an insight into the Internet Computer Ecosystem, and shared his visions for its future.Topics covered in this episode:Dominic's background and an update on DFINITYThe advantages of smart contractsThe Internet Computer ecosystemHow DFINITY compares to EthereumThe concept of sharding - subnetsThe tokenomics of The Internet ComputerVision for the Internet Computer's futureEpisode links:DFINITYThe Internet Computer RoadmapDFINITY on TwitterDominic on TwitterSponsors:Gnosis Safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart wallet for securely managing digital assets and allows you to define customized access permissions. - https://epicenter.rocks/gnosissafeThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Martin Köppelmann. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/406

Aztec Protocol enables private transactions on Ethereum. It uses a zero-knowledge proof system, allowing users to effectively create shielded representations of tokens, which can then be sent and redeemed for the underlying token. They recently launched Aztec 2.0 and their rollup service for Ethereum, zk.money. This allows users to submit Ether to the Aztec rollup contract with the options to shield, send privately, unshield and emergency ushield (escape hatch). The latest version also allows DeFi users to save gas and participate anonymously in DeFi transactions. We were joined by Zac Williamson, Co-founder and CTO, and Joe Andrews, Head of Product, from Aztec, to give us an in-depth look into the Layer 2 project and explain how version 2 of the protocol in a game-changer in terms of privacy and scalability.Topics covered in this episode:What has happened in the last year since Aztec were last on the showHigh-level overview of AztecHow the Aztec rollup works in DeFi applicationsThe challenges privacy introduces for DeFiSNARK, the core technology that powers AztecNoir (zkSNARK DSL)Episode links: Episode 335 - Aztec Protocol – Bringing Zero-Knowledge Transactions to Ethereumzk.moneyDiscordAztec on TwitterJoe on TwitterZac on TwitterSponsors: ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - http://paraswap.io/epicenter - paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Dev Ojha. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/405

Badger is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) with a single purpose: To build the products and infrastructure necessary to accelerate Bitcoin as collateral across other blockchains. BadgerDAO is extremely community focused and has succeeded in creating a seamlessly operating DAO out of a group of random people with a shared set of values and a mission.BadgerDAO's founder, Chris Spadafora, joined us to talk about how he built this decentralized community, why Bitcoin & DeFi, and the products they have created including Sett and Digg.Topics covered in this episode:Chris' background and how BadgerDAO came aboutHow they successfully built a strong communityWhy Bitcoin and DeFi?Who is the target audience for Badger?The Sett vaults - strategiesDigg - the rebase systemChris' thoughts on “DeFi on Bitcoin”Episode links:Badger websiteBadgerDAO WikiDiscordBadger on TwitterChris on TwitterSponsors:CowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity offering the best prices on all trades and provides some UX perks (no gas costs for failed transactions!) and protects traders against MEV - https://epicenter.rocks/cowswapThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/404

VitaDAO is a decentralized collective funding early stage longevity research. Their mission is to extend human lifespan by researching, financing, and commercializing longevity therapeutics in an open and democratic manner.We were joined by Tyler Golato and Paul Kohlhaas, co-founders of Molecule and initiators of VitaDAO to talk about how drug discovery and approval currently works, what the status of longevity research is, what role IP plays -- and how all of this could change in the future with DAOs like VitaDAO.Topics covered in this episode:Paul and Tyler's backgrounds and how they came to work on VitaDAOLongevity - thinking of aging as a diseaseWhere is the research at today?How longevity research currently takes place in the pharmaceutical industryHow VitaDAO is alleviating patency issuesThe first funded project with the Knudsen lab in Copenhagen - MoleculeHow DAOs make the decisionsEpisode links:The Molecule blogVitaDAOGoldman asks: 'Is curing patients a sustainable business model?'VitaDAO DiscordVitaDAO on TwitterMolecule on TwitterPaul on TwitterTyler on TwitterSponsors:Chorus One: Chorus One runs validators on cutting edge Proof of Stake networks such as Cosmos, Solana, Celo, Polkadot and Oasis. - https://epicenter.rocks/chorusoneParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - http://paraswap.io/epicenter - paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/403

Vitalik Buterin joins us for an in-depth conversation at EthCC 4 in Paris. During his keynote presentation, he expressed his hope for Ethereum to go beyond DeFi as he wishes to see more non-financial applications built on the platform. From better social media platforms to novel approaches for funding public goods, from his perspective, Ethereum has the potential to change the world for the better, beyond financial applications.Topics covered in this episode:How has the past year been for Vitalik and EthereumThe state of crypto todayWhat interesting experiments are in crypto now defining membershipHas Ethereum gone too far into financial applicationsVitalik's views on using rollups on non-DeFi applicationsWhat are the biggest problems of the world today?NFTs and social mediaThe concept of retroactive public goods fundingThe future of DAOsEpisode links:Episode 171 - DAO Lessons, Casper and Blockchain InteroperabilityVitalik's talk at EthCC 4Vitalik on TwitterSponsors:CowSwap: CowSwap is a Meta-Dex Aggregator built by Gnosis. It taps into all on-chain liquidity offering the best prices on all trades and provides some UX perks (no gas costs for failed transactions!) and protects traders against MEV. - https://epicenter.rocks/cowswapThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/402

EthCC is back and stronger than ever! Despite the pandemic, ongoing travel restrictions and sanitary passes, the Ethereum France team hosted the fourth edition of the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris. Over 1,000 people attended the week-long affair, which saw an impressive number of side events and, as always, legendary parties. For many attendees, it was their first conference since last year's edition, and the first time they were able to embrace their fellow Etherians since the beginning of the pandemic.For this EthCC recap panel, we're joined by Kaiko CEO Ambre Soubiran, Ethereum France President Jerome de Tychey, and ParaSwap Founder Mounir Benchemled. We discussed the conference, how the ecosystem has evolved this past year, the rapid growth of DeFi and NFTs, and what to look forward to as the community continues to grow.Episode links:KaikoParaSwapEthereum FranceSponsors:ParaSwap: ParaSwap aggregates all major DEXs and makes sure you beat the market price at every single swap and with the lowest slippage - http://paraswap.io/epicenterChorus One: Start earning rewards and contribute to network security by staking with Chorus One, a staking provider securing over $1bn in assets on over 25 decentralized networks. Head over now to chorus.one to start your staking journey. This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/401

Recently launched Osmosis is a Cosmos based and IBC enabled AMM protocol that allows for a high level of customization by liquidity providers. As the main dex on the Cosmos network, Osmosis provides liquidity for IBC-enabled Cosmos assets like AKT and ATOM for the first time.Head of the Osmosis development team, Sunny Aggarwal, joined us for a chat about why the protocol was built and the problem it solves, the wider Cosmos ecosystem, and the roadmap for the protocol.Topics covered in this episode:Why the Osmosis project was builtHow Osmosis works on CosmosWhat is IBC?What the ecosystem looks likeWhat the AMM landscape looks like on CosmosWhat the roadmap of Osmosis looks likeThe Gravity BridgeHow was the chain bootstrapped?What is the ION?The Osmosis communityEpisode links: OsmosisCosmosOsmosis on MediumOsmosis on TwitterSunny on TwitterSponsors: Solana: Solana is the high performance blockchain supporting over 50k transactions per second to power the next generation of decentralized applications. - https://solana.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Zubin Koticha. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/400

Originally started with a focus on prediction markets, Gnosis has done innovative work around automated market makers (AMMs) and decentralized exchanges for years. The latest protocol launched by the Gnosis team is CowSwap. CowSwap introduces various innovations that could improve user experience, reduce gas costs, reduce the effects of MEV and result in better outcomes for retail traders.We were joined by Felix Leupold, software developer at Gnosis to discuss CowSwap and the future of decentralized exchanges.Topics covered in this episode:Felix's background and how he started working on CowSwap with GnosisWhy did Gnosis make the  shift away from prediction markets, and why the return to focus on AMMsThe relationship between Gnosis Protocol and CowSwapHow CowSwap works from a user perspectiveHow are solvers chosen and what are the incentives around providing solutionsWhat MEV is and why it’s a problemThe upcoming integration with Balancer V2How fees in CowSwap work and the effect on LPsWhere is CowSwap today and what is its roadmapFelix's views on the future of order-book based exchangesEpisode links:CowSwapGnosisCowSwap on TwitterFelix on TwitterSponsors:Solana: Solana is the high performance blockchain supporting over 50k transactions per second to power the next generation of decentralized applications. - https://solana.com/epicenterExodus: Exodus the easy-to-use crypto wallet available on all platforms and supporting over 100 different assets. - https://exodus.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/399

Centrifuge is an open and permissionless protocol built on Polkadot and Ethereum that unlocks collateral for DeFi. Centrifuge allows for the tokenization of real world assets such as invoices, real estate, or goods, and puts them on the blockchain. This allows users to borrow against these assets from investors. Investors lend dai in exchange for an interest rate that depends on the borrower and the asset used as collateral.We were joined by Lucas Vogelsang, CEO & Centrifuge Co-founder, and Cassidy Daly, Token Design & Research at Centrifuge. They explained why they built the protocol and how it works, the first application built on top, Tinlake, its integration with other DeFi platforms such as Maker, and their vision for the future.Topics covered in this episode:How did Centrifuge come about and what is its visionWhat challenges do they face using real world assets as collateralHow users are protected against spam and fraudThe underwriter token modelWhat are the value limits on what can be borrowed?Some use cases of where Centrifuge can make the biggest impactWho are the lenders involved in the protocol?How the protocol works on a technical levelThe Centrifuge token - CFGAltair - the Kusama parachain on PolkadotWhat the integration of Tinlake assets in DeFi looks likeEpisode links:Centrifuge websiteTinlakeUnderstanding TinlakeCentrifuge on TwitterLucas on TwitterCassidy on TwitterSponsors:Exodus: Exodus the easy-to-use crypto wallet available on all platforms and supporting over 100 different assets. - https://exodus.com/epicenterSolana: Solana is the high performance blockchain supporting over 50k transactions per second to power the next generation of decentralized applications. - https://solana.com/epicenterParaSwap: ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage - http://paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/398

Ethereum 2.0 is an upgrade to the Ethereum network that aims to improve the network's security and scalability. Recently, we chatted to Danny Ryan about the Merge and switch to Proof of Stake. As a follow up to that episode, we were joined by Dankrad Feist, who heads the sharding and statelessness research at the Ethereum Foundation.We dove deep into the technical infrastructure of how Eth2 addresses scaling through sharding, the pros and cons of data shards vs. execution shards, and how this links up with ZK-rollups. We also talked about the Ethereum state and how the state can be altered for protocol improvements.Topics covered in this episode:Dankrad's background and how he came to work on EthereumAn overview of potential protocol updates and where they’re at right nowData availability shards and the overall concept of sharding in the protocolHow shards are maintained with validators and Proof of StakeHow Rollups work and the vision for their futureThe role of execution shards and what they provide that data availability shards don'tComposability across data shardsStatelessness; what the Ethereum state is and how it is usedWhat is state rent?EVM and parallelizationDankrad's views on the future of Ethereum and what it will bring to the blockchain spaceEpisode links:Episode 393 with Danny RyanEth ResearchEthereum BlogEthereum CommunityEth R&D DiscordEthereum on GitHubEF on TwitterDankrad on TwitterSponsors:Exodus: Exodus the easy-to-use crypto wallet available on all platforms and supporting over 100 different assets. - https://exodus.com/epicenterParaSwap: ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage - http://paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/397

zkSync is a trustless protocol for scalable low-cost transactions on Ethereum. It's also the only zkRollup protocol which supports EVM smart contracts.Alex Gluchowski is co-founder of Matter Labs, and co-creator of zkSync. We spoke with Alex in depth about how the protocol works and the potential for a highly scalable transaction and application layer on Ethereum.Topics covered in this episode:Alex's background and how he got into the crypto spaceAn overview of existing Ethereum scaling solutionsDifference between Optimistic Rollup and zkRollupTransferring funds to the zkSync Layer 2 and gas fees involvedHow the zkSync transaction sequencer worksWithdrawing funds to Layer 1 and timescales involvedHow the procol deals with reorgsHow block formation works on zkSyncThe function of the zkSync tokenEpisode links:zkSyncFor DeveloperszkSync on TwitterAlex on TwitterSponsors:Solana: Solana is the high performance blockchain supporting over 50k transactions per second to power the next generation of decentralized applications. - https://solana.com/epicenterExodus: Exodus the easy-to-use crypto wallet available on all platforms and supporting over 100 different assets. - https://exodus.com/epicenterParaSwap: ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage - http://paraswap.io/epicenter This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/396

By default, all transactions made on Ethereum are public. Tornado Cash is a decentralized privacy preserving solution built on Ethereum which adds privacy through obfuscation. Users can place Ether and some stable coins in prescribed increments [1 Eth, 10 Eth, 100 Eth...] into the Tornado Pool. In return, they are issued a private note, with which they can withdraw funds at a later time to a different address.We were joined by Roman Semenov, co-founder of Tornado Cash, to talk about how the protocol works, how it was set up, community governance, and where he sees Tornado Cash's position in the quickly growing privacy ecosystem on Ethereum.Topics covered in this episode:Roman's background and how he got into cryptoThe problem Tornado Cash solves and how the protocol worksWhat tokens are supported and can you swap tokens?Smart contracts and zero knowledgeCosts involved for deposits and withdrawlsWeaknesses of the protocolThe Compliance Tool featureThe regulatory threat to private coins in the futureTornado Cash's roadmap and how they see themselves positioned in the wider ecosystemEpisode links:Tornado.cashDune AnalyticsTornado Cash on TwitterRoman on TwitterSponsors:Exodus: Exodus the easy-to-use crypto wallet available on all platforms and supporting over 100 different assets. - https://exodus.com/epicenterParaSwap: ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage - http://paraswap.io/epicenterSolana: Solana is the high performance blockchain supporting over 50k transactions per second to power the next generation of decentralized applications. - https://solana.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/395

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that we can use to represent ownership of unique items. They let us tokenize things like art, collectibles, even real estate. They can only have one official owner at a time and they're secured by the Ethereum blockchain. And they have taken the crypto space by storm is recent months. Showtime is a NFT social media network where creators & collectors showcase their digital art. It reads all marketplaces and instead of buying and selling, you can comment, share and like. It's been described as the Instagram for NFTs.We were joined by Alex Masmej, Co-founder and CEO of Showtime, to chat about why he got into NFTs and in particular crypto art, how Showtime works and its purpose, and the future of the platform.Topics covered in this episode:Alex's background and how he got into cryptoThe story behind the $ALEX tokenUncollateralized lending and why it's importantThe vision for ShowtimeAlex's views on the NFT crazeWhat is the open social graphWhy Alex chose to focus on crypto artHow Showtime compares to similar platforms like Opensea and ZoraThe Showtime business model, funding sources, and 5 year planEpisode links:ShowtimeShowtime on TwitterAlex on TwitterSponsors:ParaSwap: ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage - http://paraswap.io/epicenter Solana: Solana is the high performance blockchain supporting over 50k transactions per second to power the next generation of decentralized applications. - https://solana.com/epicenterExodus: Exodus the easy-to-use crypto wallet available on all platforms and supporting over 100 different assets. - https://exodus.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/394

Ethereum will switch from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS) likely already later this year in a much anticipated upgrade to Ethereum 2. The switch to PoS aims to make Ethereum both more secure and more sustainable by securing the network through Ether instead of mining. A second Eth2 update will address scaling through sharding at a later time.Danny Ryan, Researcher with Ethereum Foundation, has been a major driving force behind the Eth2 project. He joined us for a progress update and we chatted about how the protocol will work in its steady state, what has launched so far, what happens in The Merge, and how PoS will affect centralization tendencies.Topics covered in this episode:Danny's background and how he got into cryptoAn overview of Eth2 - Phase 0, Beacon ChainThe role of a validator and building blocksPenalties and rewards within the protocol including slashingWhat the epoch is and how it relates to finalityThe Proof-of-Stake mergeWhy Proof-of-Stake is favorable for security purposesWhat is the roadmap for sharding?Ethereum feesEpisode links:Ethereum CommunityEth R&D DiscordEthereum on GitHubEth ResearchEF on TwitterEF blogDanny on TwitterSponsors:Solana: Solana is the high performance blockchain supporting over 50k transactions per second to power the next generation of decentralized applications. - https://solana.com/epicenterExodus: Exodus the easy-to-use crypto wallet available on all platforms and supporting over 100 different assets. - https://exodus.com/epicenterParaSwap: ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage - http://paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Martin Köppelmann. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/393

Alchemix is a DeFi protocol that enables users to create self-repaying loans. Users deposit collateral (DAI) to take out a loan in Alchemix's native synthetic stablecoin, alUSD. Alchemix then uses the DAI deposits and puts them into the Yearn protocol to earn yield and over time, that yield automatically pays off your debt.We were joined by Alchemix co-founder Scoopy Trooples, who gave us a deep look into how the protocol works, alUSD and the ALCX token, and what is coming out soon with V2.Topics covered in this episode:Scoopy's background and how he got into cryptoWhat is the story behind the name Scoopy Trooples and his anonymity?A high level overview and use case of AlchemixScoopy's vision for alUSDThe integration with YearnWill alUSD drive down yields of other stablecoins?How Transmuter works to maintain the 1:1 pegThe long term vision for Alchemix and biggest potential risksThe Alchemix communityHow they raised their fundsEpisode links:Alchemix WebsiteAlchemix DiscordAlchemix on TwitterScoopy on TwitterSponsors:Exodus: Exodus the easy-to-use crypto wallet available on all platforms and supporting over 100 different assets. - https://exodus.com/epicenterParaSwap: ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage - http://paraswap.io/epicenterSolana: Solana is the high performance blockchain supporting over 50k transactions per second to power the next generation of decentralized applications. - https://solana.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal & Zubin Koticha. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/392

Curve is an Automated Market Maker (AMM) that lets users and other decentralized protocols exchange stablecoins (DAI to USDC for example) with low fees and low slippage. Unlike exchanges that match a buyer and a seller, users transact with the smart contract itself. By providing a flatter curve targeted for relatively stable pairs, Curve has established the lead position for these markets. Curve is also leveraging its own token CRV to incentivize long-term adoption of the protocol and decentralize control of governance.We were joined by Curve Finance Founder, Michael Egorov, to chat about why he created the protocol and his long term vision for the project.Topics covered in this episode:Michael's background and how he got into cryptoHow Curve works from the perspective of a trader and as a liquidity providerHow they came up with the stableswap designHow Curve compares to Uniswap v3Michael's take on forks, fork threat, and Curve's moatCurve's thesis on good governanceHow they keep the protocol secureAn overview of the Curve community and ecosystemThe long term vision for CurveEpisode links:Curve FinanceCurve ResourcesCurve on TwitterMichael on TwitterSponsors:ParaSwap: ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage - http://paraswap.io/epicenter Solana: Solana is the high performance blockchain supporting over 50k transactions per second to power the next generation of decentralized applications. - https://solana.com/epicenterExodus: Exodus the easy-to-use crypto wallet available on all platforms and supporting over 100 different assets. - https://exodus.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Zubin Koticha. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/391

Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)-1559 is a proposal to make several tightly coupled additions to Ethereum’s transaction fee mechanism. Central to the design is a base fee, which plays the role of a reserve price and is meant to match supply and demand. Every transaction included in a block must pay that block’s base fee (per unit of gas), and this payment is burnt rather than transferred to the block’s miner. The base fee is adjusted after every block, with larger-than-target blocks increasing it and smaller-than-target blocks decreasing it.Tim Roughgarden is a Professor of Computer Science and member of the Data Science Institute at Columbia University. Tim did an extensive game theoretical review of EIP-1559 and joined us to chat about what the proposal is trying to do and why, and how it is doing it.Topics covered in this episode:What Tim's research focuses on and how he became involved with blockchainWhat made him interested in the fees problemThe current fee system on Ethereum - the first-price auction and base feeEIP-1559 - the problem it solves and how it does itIncreasing and decreasing of block sizesThe threat of miners colluding to drive down base feesDeep dive into how the proposal worksWhat are some alternatives to EIP-1559Episode links:Tim RoughgardenEIP-1559 on GitHubAn Economic Analysis of EIP-1559Tim on TwitterSponsors:Solana: Solana is the high performance blockchain supporting over 50k transactions per second to power the next generation of decentralized applications. - https://solana.com/epicenterExodus: Exodus the easy-to-use crypto wallet available on all platforms and supporting over 100 different assets. - https://exodus.com/epicenterParaSwap: ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage - http://paraswap.io/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/390

Flashbots is a research and development company focussed on Miner Extractable Value (MEV). MEV is the profit a miner can make through their ability to arbitrarily include, exclude, or re-order transactions from the blocks they produce. Flashbots has created a fork of the ethereum geth client, MEV-geth, to allow miners to exploit MEV, currently run by 80% of miners.Co-founders of Flashbots, Stephane Gosselin and Phil Daian, recently joined us to chat about the protocol and to deep dive into the good, the bad, and the ugly of MEV.Topics covered in this episode:Stephane and Phil's backgrounds and how they got into cryptoWhat led them to creating Flashbots and what it doesWhat is Miner/Maximal Extractable Value (MEV)A technical deep dive into how the project works with miners and searchersThe progress on the SGX solutionSpam attacks and reorgs on FlashbotsPhil's reply to the perspective that MEV extraction is theftWhat is Generalized Frontrunning?How MEV differs at L1 vs L2What's the plan for Flashbots going forward?Episode links: Flashbots on GitHubFlashbots on MediumMEV...what do?Stephane on TwitterPhil on TwitterSponsors: Exodus: Exodus the easy-to-use crypto wallet available on all platforms and supporting over 100 different assets. - https://exodus.com/epicenterParaSwap: Give ParaSwap a try at https://paraswap.io/epicenter. This URL will allow you to claim a 50% refund on gas fees for your first swap of at least 1 Eth. This offer is available until May 1st 2021 and refunds will be made every Friday starting April 9th, 2021*Terms and conditions apply. - Solana: Solana is the high performance blockchain supporting over 50k transactions per second to power the next generation of decentralized applications. - https://solana.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/389

Trevor McFedries joined us for a fascinating chat about his background in the football and music industries, and how this led him into crypto. Trevor is the cofounder of Brud, a technology startup specializing in artificial intelligence and media. At Brud, they create social media personas with the help of CGI technology, the most well known being Lil Miquela. Lil Miquela is a sentient robot navigating life in LA -- and has millions of followers on instagram.Trevor also started Friends With Benefits, a gated online community on a private discord server with a community token. We talked with Trevor about the increasingly immersive social media experience, the future for creators and the future of organizations.Topics covered in this episode:Trevor's background in football and music, including his time working at SpotifyAn overview of BrudWho is Lil Miquela?How do these fictional characters fit into the 'real world'?How Trevor got into cryptoThe Friends with Benefits communityTrevor's views on the future of DAOsBrud's experience with VCs as opposed to crowdfundingTrevor's take on NFTs and Lil Miquela's NFT dropThe cultural impact of crypto to society and what the future looks likeEpisode links:BrudLil MiquelaFriends with BenefitsFriends with Benefits on TwitterTrevor on TwitterSponsors:Solana: Solana is the high performance blockchain supporting over 50k transactions per second to power the next generation of decentralized applications. - https://solana.com/epicenterExodus: Exodus the easy-to-use crypto wallet available on all platforms and supporting over 100 different assets. - https://exodus.com/epicenterParaSwap: Give ParaSwap a try at paraswap.io/epicenter. This URL will allow you to claim a 50% refund on gas fees for your first swap of at least 1 Eth. This offer is available until May 1st 2021 and refunds will be made every Friday starting April 9th, 2021*Terms and conditions apply. This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/388

Bitcoin just got smarter. This episode is brought to you by RSK, the Bitcoin-based smart contract platform leading the DeFi for Bitcoin revolution. Be part of the future while building your personal wealth with the Bitcoin you already have. RSK is a secure smart-contract platform that enables decentralized applications secured by the Bitcoin Network to empower people and improve the quality of life of millions. The platform incorporates a Turing Complete Virtual Machine to Bitcoin. RSK believes that new use cases are necessary in order for Bitcoin to become the leading global cryptocurrency, and that adding smart-contract capabilities is key to secure that future. It also provides other enhancements to the network such as faster transactions and better scalability, features that they also believe will enable new usage scenarios.We chatted to Adrian Eidelman, Co-founder of RSK, about the vision they have for the project, how it works on a technical level, and how you can become involved.Visit rsk.co/openfinance to find out how you can put your Bitcoin to work.Topics covered in this episode:The journey of RSK since they were last on the show 5 years agoThe vision they have for RSKThe building blocks of the projectRSK's 2-way pegHow merged mining worksRSK's compatibility with EVMProjects being built on RSKHow you can get involvedEpisode links: WebsiteDevelopers PortalPublic Slack WorkspaceGithubPublic community discussionsRSK on TwitterAdrian on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/B005

The ability to move Bitcoin on other chains isn't a new idea, and many are trying to overcome the technical limitations which make this a technically challenging feat. The latest representation of Bitcoin on Ethereum is tBTC, a fully-backed ERC-20 token representing bitcoin collateral. tBTC is fully decentralized and relies on Keep Network, a decentralized multi-party computation which enables cross-chain bridging. We were joined by Matt Luongo, CEO of Thesis (the team behind tBTC and Keep Network) to chat about the tBTC technology, his vision for the future of interoperability and value propositions of different chains.Topics covered in this episode:- Matt's background - how he got into crypto and his experience in the space- The Keep Network - dencetralized multi-party computations- Why trustless minting of tBTC is important- tBTC and its security model- Dark DAOs and vote buying- The merge between Keep Network and NuCypher- What other mergers are being looked at for the future- Matt's views on the idea of BTC existing as tokenized asset on Ethereum and other chainsEpisode links: - [Thesis](https://thesis.co/)- [Keep](https://keep.network/)- [tBTC](https://tbtc.network/)- [Keep Discord](https://discord.com/invite/wYezN7v)- [Thesis on Twitter](https://twitter.com/thesis_co)- [Keep on Twitter](https://twitter.com/keep_project)Sponsors: - ParaSwap: Give ParaSwap a try at paraswap.io/epicenter. This URL will allow you to claim a 50% refund on gas fees for your first swap of at least 1 Eth. This offer is available until May 1st 2021 and refunds will be made every Friday starting April 9th, 2021 - Terms and conditions apply. - Solana: Solana is the high performance blockchain supporting over 50k transactions per second to power the next generation of decentralized applications. - https://solana.com/epicenter- Exodus: Exodus the easy-to-use crypto wallet available on all platforms and supporting over 100 different assets. - https://exodus.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: [epicenter.tv/387](https://epicenter.tv/387)

1inch Exchange is a DEX aggregator routing cryptocurrency purchases through different DEXs to reduce slippage and get a better conversion rate for the user compared with just using a single DEX. The platform launched its governance token, 1INCH, in December 2020.We were joined by Co-founder of 1inch Sergej Kunz to chat about how 1inch works, how the 1INCH token provides liquidity to their liquidity platform, its integration with platforms such as Uniswap, and the roadmap from here.Topics covered in this episode:Sergej's background and how he got into blockchainHow slippage is used in the 1inch protocolThe liquidity protocol usedThe integration between Uniswap and 1inch network and the new restrictions with Uniswap v3Their AMM protocol, MooniswapThe aggregation that 1inch has focused on and its defensibilityThe function of the 1inch token and where it is headed in terms of governanceHow 1inch plan to implement DAOHow 1inch deal with the regulatory impacts of DEXes1inch's stance on Ethereum gas costsEpisode links: 1inch website1inch blog1inch on TwitterSergej on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/386

Zubin Koticha, CEO & Co-founder of Opyn, joined us again on the show to give us an update on Opyn v2.Opyn v1 was focused on insurance. It's successor, Opyn v2, offers a more traditional options infrastructure. We discuss the problems of building trustless options infrastructure: choice of collateral, partial collateralization and efficient trading mechanisms for options.Topics covered in this episode:An overview of Opyn v1 and the different options created by DeFi usersHow options in DeFi workWhat is new in Opyn v2How the oracle specification worksCapital efficiency - nesting options for collateralizationFungibility of different optionsWhat makes Opyn different to other option platforms?Options and the AMM designEpisode links:OpynEpicenter Episode 344 - OpynA beginner's guide to options: Opyn v2YieldSpaceOpyn GitHubOpyn on TwitterZubin on TwitterSponsors:ParaSwap: If you want to make a swap at the best price across the DeFi market, check out paraswap.io/epicenter. ParaSwap’s state-of-the-art algorithm beats the market price across all major DEXs and brings you the most optimized swaps with the best prices, and lowest slippage. *Terms and conditions apply. This episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/385

Liquity is a decentralized borrowing protocol that allows you to draw interest-free loans against Ether used as collateral. In addition to the collateral, the loans are secured by a Stability Pool containing LUSD and by fellow borrowers collectively acting as guarantors of last resort. Liquity as a protocol is non-custodial, immutable, and governance-free.We were joined by Robert Lauko, CEO & Co-founder, and Kolten Bergeron, Head of Growth, of Liquity. We chatted about how the protocol is built and the mechanisms used, how to borrow, and the stability pool and liquidations.Topics covered in this episode:Robert and Kolten's backgrounds and how they got into cryptoWhat led Robert to create LiquityWhat Liquity is and the liquidation mechanism usedThe function of the stability poolThe process of existing troves taking on the debt of undercollateralized trovesLiquity vs Compound & MakerDAOLUSD redemptionsHow the Recovery mode worksThe purpose of the LQTY tokenHow the algorithmic monetary policy worksEpisode links: LiquityLiquity docsLiquity on MediumLiquity on GitHubRobert on TwitterKolten on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal & Zubin Koticha. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/384

KeeperDao is an on-chain liquidity underwriter for DeFi that combines yield farming and profits single-block arbitrage. The mining pool for Keepers incentivizes a game theory optimal strategy for cooperation among arbitrageurs. Their goal is to capture profit opportunities and distribute them to the various participants involved. We were joined by Joey Zacherl, Co-founder of KeeperDAO, to chat about what the protocol does and its mission, the grim triggering strategy, the ongoing hiding game, and the roadmap for the future.Topics covered in this episode:Joey's background and how he got into cryptoAn overview of VolleyFireWhat KeeperDAO does and its missionHow KeeperDAO users pool funds to to profit from on-chain arbitrage and liquidation opportunitiesThe grim trigger and hiding game strategiesKeeperDAO integrations and gas costsThe KeeperDAO governance roadmapThe ROOK tokenCan keepers carry out malicious attacks?Episode links: KeeperDAOKeeperDAO on MediumThe KeeperDAO whitepaperKeeperDAO on TwitterJoey ZacherlThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/383

NFTs are a new paradigm that opens possibilities for new types of interactions. In digital art, it has caught on like wildfire and is transforming how people think of ownership. Alex Salnikov has been immersed in the crypto world for many years and recognized the potential of NFTs. He created Rarible, an NFT marketplace that has seen rapid growth. But the vision of Rarible is to be more an open transaction protocol for NFTs and serve many different markets.He joined us to discuss the different NFT use cases and how NFTs can scale and function in a multi-chain world. It's a great conversation at the unfolding of a new paradigm.Topics covered in this episode:Alex's background and how he got into cryptoHow Rarible was created and why they decided to focus on NFTsWhat are NFTs and how are they different to other cryptocurrenciesWhat’s driving the massive growth of NFTs right now?The link between owning an NFT and legal ownershipHow does Alex see NFTs and Rarible evolving in the futureHow NFTs work on a technical level, storing metadata securely, and the costs of minting NFTsThe roadmap of Rarible as a marketplace and the challenges associated with itEpisode links: RaribleRarible on MediumRarible on OpenSeaRarible on Twitter Alex on Twitter This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/382

Julien Bouteloup is a serial entrepreneur, Ethereum developer and addict of crazy innovative ideas. He started his entrepreneurial career building websites and selling hardware technologies at age 14. Today he is involved with many projects including Stake Capital, Rekt, Curve Finance, and he advises several crypto companies.Julien strives to bring to light the dark side of crypto. As DeFi grows, so do the number of questionable projects and ethical concerns around certain practices. Julien joins us to talk about the excesses in the DeFi space and how the ecosystem should cope with them.Topics covered in this episode:Julien's background, how he found crypto, and the various projects Julien is working on todayThe Stake DAO - its purpose and visionJulien's views on the state of DeFi todayPrice arbitrage attacks in the ecosystem - FlashloansJulien's involvement in Curve Finance and how this platform is pushing towards more resilient DeFi protocolsJulien's thoughts on NFT and Decentralized MonopolyCurve's reaction to the launch of SaddleThe role of validators in the spaceEpisode links:Stake CapitalRekt NewsRekt Capital on TwitterDecentralised MonopolyJulien on TwitterSponsors:Stacker Ventures: A community-run protocol for initiating and managing pooled capital on the Ethereum blockchain. Structured as a DAO, it initiates decentralized funds, accelerates portfolio investments through an involved community, and provides checks and balances to fund management - https://epicenter.rocks/stackerThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/381

Namebase is a top-level domain (TLD) name registrar that operates on the Handshake blockchain. It creates an ecosystem of TLDs that may be bought and sold using an on-chain auction mechanism. It takes a different approach to other decentralized domain name systems as Namebase is compatible with the ICANN namespace, the organization governs domain names globally. Users may register TLDs that don't yet exist in the ICANN namespace, like .epicenter or .ethereum, for example, creating the opportunity for new niche domain registrars to emerge. Tieshun Roquerre, CEO of Namebase, joins us to discuss his vision for Namebase and his ambitious goal to decentralize ICANN.Topics covered in this episode:Tieshun's background and how he got into cryptoWhy and how Namebase was created and its relationship to HandshakeDomain name systems on blockchainThe history of ICANN and how it functionsDomain name censorship and security issues surrounding certificate authoritiesHow are they preparing for the inevitable fork between ICANN and HandshakeNamebase and Handshake improve on DNS and certificate authoritiesNamebase's business model and roadmapEpisode links: NamebaseHandshakeNamebase on TwitterTieshun on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/380

Stacks is an open-source network of decentralized apps and smart contracts. It is a Layer-1 blockchain that connects to Bitcoin. Stacks uses a Proof of Transfer mining mechanism with bidding and staking capabilities. Clarity is the programming language used, a Turing-incomplete language which aims to give developers a safe way to build complex smart contracts where the code itself clearly shows what the program will do when run. Muneeb Ali is the CEO and Co-founder of Hiro Systems, one of the companies creating Stacks. He joined us to chat about why he felt there was a need for Stacks, why he chose to build on top of Bitcoin, and the types of apps that are currently being run on Stacks 2.0.Topics covered in this episode:Muneeb's background and how he got into cryptoWhy Stacks was createdHow this works being built on BitcoinMining and bidding on blocksSmart contracting on Stacks - Clarity programming languageStacks vs “Bitcoin on Ethereum”Stacks vs RootstackThe apps that currently run on Stacks 2.0Episode links: Stacks websiteStacks whitepaperStackingProof of TransferHiroStacks on TwitterMuneeb on TwitterSponsors: 1inch: Discover the best rates and most efficient swapping routes across leading DEXes. Optimize on gas cost and execute DeFi trades faster with 1inch V2 - https://epicenter.rocks/1inchThis episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/379

Radicle is a decentralized platform for code collaboration. It's built on Git and is an open-source decentralized alternative to platforms like GitHub. Tools like Radicle are an essential component of the decentralized technology stack and will enable DAOs to commit code through governance. Co-founders Alexis Sellier & Eleftherios Diakomichalis joined us to chat about why they felt it was important to create Radicle and how it fits into the DAO ecosystem with a more accessible governance system of code.Topics covered in this episode:- What Radicle is and the vision they are pursuing- After both working on Soundcloud, the lessons that were carried over to this project- The Cathedral vs Bazaar model- Git usage with the tool- The technical architecture of Radicle- The other differences between Radicle and GitHub- Storage and replicating solutions between peers- How Radicle promotes open source sustainability- Ethereum integration with the toolEpisode links: - [Radicle website](https://radicle.xyz/)- [Radicle docs](https://docs.radicle.xyz/docs/what-is-radicle.html)- [Radicle on Twitter](https://twitter.com/radicle)- [Alexis on Twitter](https://twitter.com/cloudhead)- [Eleftherios on Twitter](https://twitter.com/lftherios)Sponsors: - 1inch: Discover the best rates and most efficient swapping routes across leading DEXes. Optimize on gas cost and execute DeFi trades faster with 1inch V2 - https://epicenter.rocks/1inchThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: [epicenter.tv/378](https://epicenter.tv/378)

Ethereum Push Notification Service (EPNS) emerged from the Indian startup scene in 2020. It's a decentralized notification protocol that enables DApps to send push notifications to Ethereum wallet users. EPNS also provides incentives to users that opt-in for push notifications, creating the possibility for an ecosystem communities around topic-centric channels.We are joined by Harsh Rajat, Project Lead and Co-founder of EPNS. We chatted about why and how the protocol was built, its technical structure, the purpose of incentivizing users to receive notifications, and how they tackle spam.Topics covered in this episode:Harsh's background and how he got involved in cryptoThe beginning of Ethereum Push Notification ServiceThe design patterns considered when building EPNSWhat is a decentralized push notification service?Unique use cases that could benefit from DeFi push notificationsThe structure of the protocol and how it actually worksThe purpose of incentivizing users to receive notificationsThe Spam Score - how EPNS filter spamHow EPNS plan to onboard and incentivize wallets to integrateEpisode links: EPNS websiteEPNS appWhitepaperEPNS on TwitterHarsh on TwitterSponsors: 1inch: Discover the best rates and most efficient swapping routes across leading DEXes. Optimize on gas cost and execute DeFi trades faster with 1inch V2 - https://epicenter.rocks/1inchThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/377

Aaron Wright is a professor at Cardozo Law School and Co-founder of OpenLaw. Before this he was a successful entrepreneur, having sold his first company to Wikia - the for-profit version of Wikipedia. Today Aaron is a renowned thought-leader in the blockchain space at the forefront of DAOs. Last year OpenLaw launched The LAO, a DAO on Ethereum for investors looking to earn returns on Ethereum-based projects.Aaron joins us to share his expert legal knowledge on all things DAO, and discuss his latest projects the LAO and Flamingo DAO.Topics covered in this episode:Aaron's background and how he got into blockchain and the DAO spaceThe early vision for DAOsStakeholder participation in DAOsWrapped and unwrapped DAOsProxy voting on DAOsGovernance mechanismsThe multi-token modelHow DAOs are characterized under law and the legislation surrounding themThe Wyoming Blockchain BillThe different categories of DAOsWhere does Aaron see the DAO ecosystem headed in the futureEpisode links: OpenLaw websiteThe LAOMike Hearn: Autonomous agents, self driving cars and BitcoinAaron's book - Blockchain and the Law: The Rule of CodeOpenLaw on TwitterThe LAO on TwitterAaron on TwitterSponsors: 1inch: Discover the best rates and most efficient swapping routes across leading DEXes. Optimize on gas cost and execute DeFi trades faster with 1inch V2 - https://epicenter.rocks/1inchThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/376

During the DeFi Summer of 2020, YAM Finance launched with a bang, and had its share of ups and downs within its first couple of days. It started out as an experiment to bring together some of the more innovative ideas in the space. It sparked a movement which brought massive attention to yield farming, and started the food token craze. After a bug was discovered in the v1 contract, many thought the project was dead. But no, the team and community have been working diligently to bring the protocol back to life and it's now a community-run DAO innovating at the intersection of decentralized governance and programmable finance.Trent Elmore is one of the creators of YAM. He joins us to talk about the incredibly swift birth of the project, the rebase mechanism, the treasury, the infamous bug and how they saved the project. He also shares some of the new upcoming products on the YAM Roadmap, and how a truly decentralized community is rebuilding its brand.Topics covered in this episode:Trent's background and how he got into crypto and DeFiHow YAM and food tokens were bornThe team behind YAMWhat was the vision of the project at the beginning?The proposed utility of the protocolHow the treasury funding works in the context of the rebasing mechanismThe Game Theory for YAM holdersHow they built their communities and choose tokensYAM's connection between their governance and SnapshotThe infamous bug in V1 and how they recovered from itWhat plans do they have for the treasury and products going forward, including the recent UMA collaborationEpisode links:YAM on TwitterYAM FinanceDiscordYAM on MediumTrent on TwitterSponsors:1inch: Discover the best rates and most efficient swapping routes across leading DEXes. Optimize on gas cost and execute DeFi trades faster with 1inch V2 - https://epicenter.rocks/1inchThis episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/375

The new year has brought with it a new bull run. This is great news for crypto holders, but at what cost? Will this bring with it a number of negative implications such as regulatory push back and privacy battles? Listen as the five hosts of Epicenter come together for an in-depth chat to share their predictions for the crypto space in 2021.Topics covered in this episode:Each of our hosts share how 2020 went for themIn-depth individual predictions on where things are headed with the current bull marketPublic backlash to the crypto systemRegulatory and tax related implications to cryptoThe battleground of privacyUS regulatory pressure and the effect on the US DollarEpisode links: Omen Prediction Market - Will The Flippening happen in 2021?Brian on TwitterFriederike on TwitterMeher on TwitterSebastien on TwitterSunny on TwitterSponsors: 1inch: Discover the best rates and most efficient swapping routes across leading DEXes. Optimize on gas cost and execute DeFi trades faster with 1inch V2 - https://epicenter.rocks/1inchThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Brian Fabian Crain, Meher Roy, Sunny Aggarwal & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/374

Eric Wall is the Chief Investment Officer at Arcane Assets, but you may already know him from his writing and his presence on Twitter where he offers valuable insights on crypto markets. He joined us on the show to share with us his deep and timely insights into the current bull run and how this compared to 2017, where it is headed from here, and also he opens up on his normally guarded thoughts on the future of Bitcoin and Ethereum.Topics covered in this episode:Eric's background and how he got into cryptoEric's experience working with Cinnober and NasdaqUsing blockchain as an underlying substrate in the traditional finance ecosystemAn overview of Arcane AssetsEric's thesis behind BitcoinThe current Bitcoin bull runHow Arcane deals with transaction fee problems and solutions that may address these over the coming yearsUsing the value proposition of Ether when Bitcoin is store valueEric opens up on how he thinks Ethereum will become adopted in mainstream financeWhy does the Bitcoin community reject tokens?What is different in the current bull market compared to 2017Eric's predictions on how this bull market will play outEpisode links:Arcane AssetsArcane CryptoNine Bitcoin Charts Already at All-Time HighsCrypto Market Structure 3.0Arcane on TwitterEric on TwitterSponsors:1inch: Discover the best rates and most efficient swapping routes across leading DEXes. Optimize on gas cost and execute DeFi trades faster with 1inch V2 - https://epicenter.rocks/1inchShow notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/373

In this digital age, counting ballots by hand, as recently seen in the US Presidential Election, is very analogue and behind the times. Although the US constitution is over two centuries old and hasn't had a major version update since 1992, European democracies are much more recent and utilizing the technology available today. This panel discussion looks at how open technologies and new systems of governance could be a path toward a future of democracy. We also hear about the avenues for improvement with modern voting techniques and liquid democracy.Topics covered in this episode:Introductions to all panel membersThe state of democratic processes in G20 countries today and which are at the forefront of innovationWhat are the incentives for different stakeholders in liquid democracyHow can digital voting systems be trusted?Implementing and reviewing new democratic systemsThe journey forward for digital democracyEpisode links: An information-theoretic model of voting systemsHacking Democracy with Fabric VenturesJon Nash on TwitterSantiago Siri on TwitterProfessor Amrita DhillonDr Grammateia KotsialouFabric VenturesCogXShow notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/372

In today's world, life and business is moving more into to a virtual space and this has of course been accelerated as a result of the Covid pandemic. Now more than ever it is important to rethink the very basis of how we organise, make decisions, and structure the world’s governance. And how can we do this in the context of crypto and Web3?Web3 infrastructure can provide the foundations of a digital jurisdiction. In the Web3 world rules are enforced by decentralized governance and DAOs allow for a group of stakeholders to participate in governance of an organisation that has no affiliation to a nation state. How do we treat that in the judicial system and how does it sit within existing national jurisdictions?Topics covered in this episode:What is a digital jurisdiction?How Aragon is helping create decentralised autonomous organisations and communitiesThe behaviours of millennials today and how geographical borders have fallenHow to ensure new digital jurisdictions remain utopianSome applications currently being built on AragonWhere new systems sit within current judicial systemsWhy Tim invested in the Aragon Network Token (ANT) modelEpisode links:Powered By AragonAragon Project on TwitterDraper AssociatesLuis Cuende on TwitterTim Draper on TwitterLuis on Epicenter: Episode #236Rethinking the Justice System: A Digital Jurisdiction for Decentralised Organisations | CogX 2020Fabric VenturesCogXShow notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/371

Torus is an open-source and universal key management system for the Web3 ecosystem. It's simple, secure and non-custodial, and suitable for anyone to manage their keys. Torus runs a Distributed Key Generation protocol built on Shamir's Secret Sharing.Supporting over a hundred thousand authentications a month on popular applications like AAVE, KyberSwap, Augur, GoodDollar, and MyCryptoHeroes, Torus empowers decentralised applications with seamless user onboarding flows while maintaining recoverability and high standards of security for key management.The Torus Wallet is the second layer to the system and allows one-click login and authentication on partners including Gmail, Facebook, or passwordless logins on Web3 applications. It is however reinforced behind the scenes by a clever distributed architecture. Notably, clever cryptography makes it possible for users to send crypto to social accounts that don't yet have crypto wallet. For example, one could send crypto to a Twitter username, which could be claimed once the recipient creates an account.The team also recently released a custom version of two-factor authentication (2FA), tKey.We were joined by Founders of Torus, Yong Zhen Yu and Leonard Tan, who gave us fascinating insight into why and how Torus was built, the recent products released, and what their aims are for the future.Topics covered in this episode:Zhen and Leonard's backgrounds and how they got into cryptoHow and why Torus was formedThe path Torus has followed over the past yearUnwrapping the base layer, the Torus NetworkHow Shamir's Secret Sharing works and why Torus chose to build on itThe Torus Wallet and a step by step of how it worksTorus and account portabilityUse cases and applications built on TorusThe second layer of security, tKeyTheir plans for introducing Touch IDHow Torus educate their users on how to stay secureThe long term goal for Torus and how users are protected in the futureEpisode links:Torus websiteTorus StatusA beginner’s guide to Shamir’s Secret SharingDeveloper documentationTorus on TelegramTorus Charity Twitter CampaignWhat Distributed Key Generation IsKey Assignments, Resolution and RetrievalHow to Share a Secret in ProductiontKey - An open standard for threshold key management - HackMDTorus on TwitterZhen on TwitterLeonard on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/B003

Crypto is largely reliant on incentive mechanisms, and liquidity mining is one of the more recent cryptoeconomic incentive models to emerge. When decentralized exchanges need liquidity, they can leverage liquidity mining to incentivize users to provide it. In turn, the “miners” generate revenue, generally in the form of a native tokens, proportional to their share of liquidity in a pool. This summer saw a surge in activity surrounding this concept, with Synthetix a notable player.Kain Warwick is the founder of Synthetix, a company creating synthetic assets for DeFi, enabling exposure to fiat currencies, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. Hasu is a crypto researcher and writer with a focus on game theory and economics. They joined us to explain the key concepts behind liquidity mining, how and why it was created, and its increasingly important role in DeFi.Topics covered in this episode:Introductions by Kain and HasuHow and when liquidity mining was createdWhat they hoped to achieve with their liquidity mining programsHow liquidity mining works in SynthetixIncentive mechanismsYield Farming and 'getting rich'How Automated Market Makers (AMM) played a part in the success of liquidity miningHow Uniswap leverages liquidity miningProjects that don't currently have liquidity mining but would benefit from itUse cases in pre-blockchain systemsEpisode links: Synthetix websiteKain on Epicenter, Episode 325Uncommon CoreDeribit InsightsSynthetix on TwitterKain on TwitterHasu on TwitterSponsors: cPanel: cPanel's WordPress Toolkit is the all in one solution that makes hosting your website easier than it's ever been - https://epicenter.rocks/cpanelAlgorand: Learn more about Algorand and how it’s unique design makes it easy for developers to build sophisticated applications - https://algorand.com/epicenter1inch: Discover the best rates and most efficient swapping routes across leading DEXes. Optimize on gas cost and execute DeFi trades faster with 1inch V2 - https://epicenter.rocks/1inchThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/370

Matic Network is a Layer-2 scaling solution that provides instant, low cost, and secure transactions on Ethereum. Built on an adapted implementation of Plasma and a decentralized network of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) validators, its goal is to solve the scalability and usability issues for developers building Dapps, whilst not compromising on decentralization and user experience.Sandeep Nailwal, COO & Co-founder of Matic, joins us to chat about how Matic works and the problems it's solving, and we also get a fascinating look into the crypto and startup community in India.Topics covered in this episode:Sandeep’s background and how he got involved in cryptoWhat the crypto scene looks like within Bangalore’s startup ecosystemHow have the Indian regulations on crypto affected Matic's businessWhat Matic is and the main problem it’s solvingA deep dive into Matic’s technical infrastructure and building on TendermintWhy choose Matic over other off-chain scaling solutions for EthereumMatic's leveraging of hackathons in their go-to-market strategySome of the trade offs one needs to make when using MaticHow Matic will fit into the Ethereum 2.0 ecosystem as it developsDagger, and other tools they are planning to buildLearning more about MaticEpisode links:Matic websiteWhat is Matic Network?Episode 352 with Jack O'Holleran of SKALE LabsEpisode 336 with Jinglan Wang & Karl Floersch of OptimismEpisode 340 with Daniel Wang of LoopringMatic on TwitterSandeep on TwitterSponsors:cPanel: cPanel's WordPress Toolkit is the all in one solution that makes hosting your website easier than it's ever been - https://epicenter.rocks/cpanelAlgorand: Learn more about Algorand and how it’s unique design makes it easy for developers to build sophisticated applications - https://algorand.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/369

Filecoin is a peer-to-peer network data storage network, with built-in economic incentives for storage providers. It facilitates open-markets for storing and retrieving data, in which anyone can participate. Users can pay the network to access storage space, which can be encrypted, replicated, and highly available. After years of development and iteration, Filecoin recently launched its mainnet. The long term vision of the protocol is a fully decentralized future for the web. Juan Benet, Founder & CEO of Protocol Labs, returns for the second part of this 2-part episode. In this show we deep dive in to the technical aspects of Filecoin, how Juan and his team decided to design it, and the types of projects that are building on top of it.Topics covered in this episode:How Filecoin works under the hood and the life cycle of dataThe role of miners in the protocolThe bridge between Filecoin and EthereumHow the economics of Filecoin were designedHow governance works in the Filecoin networkThe Filecoin FoundationThe projects that are building on top of FilecoinJuan’s views on blockchain scalability and Ethereum 2.0, and the challenges Web3 facesEpisode links: Filecoin websiteProtocol Labs websiteIPFS websiteEpisode #367 with Juan Benet (Part 1 in this series)Episode #100 with Juan BenetFilecoin on TwitterJuan on TwitterSponsors: cPanel: cPanel's WordPress Toolkit is the all in one solution that makes hosting your website easier than it's ever been - https://epicenter.rocks/cpanelAlgorand: Learn more about Algorand and how it’s unique design makes it easy for developers to build sophisticated applications - https://algorand.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/368

IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) is a fully decentralized distributed system for storing and accessing files, websites, applications, and data. Released just over 5 years ago by Protocol Labs, it has had a tremendous impact in the Web3 space as the standard for how blockchain projects store data. Filecoin is a complementary protocol to IPFS and was recently launched on the mainnet. Filecoin is the economic layer which powers IPFS's decentralized file storage network. It enables users to store their files at hypercompetitive prices and verify that their files are being stored and replicated correctly. And it allows storage providers to sell their storage on an open market.Juan Benet is the Founder & CEO of Protocol Labs, which has had a huge impact in the blockchain ecosystem, as organisation behind IPFS and Filecoin. Juan returns to the show after 5 years to give us an important update on the long-term vision to fund innovative technologies, IPFS since it was created, and Filecoin as a foundation to a new decentralized cloud.This is a 2-part series and in the next episode we deep dive in to the technical aspects of Filecoin.Topics covered in this episode:An update on Protocol Labs and how it has grown on the Bell Labs modelHow they bridge the gap between a research foundation (Bell Labs) and a company (Protocol Labs)The intersection between computer science and cryptoHow the Protocol Labs organisation is setup and how Juan has led it as a solo founderAn overview of IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) and how it has evolved since our last interviewAn introduction to the Filecoin blockchain and its unique designHow Filecoin is fundamentally different from other layer-1 blockchainsHow hash rates and storage fees affect the Filecoin blockchain consensus systemThe potential impacts of Filecoin on a global levelEpisode links: Filecoin websiteProtocol Labs websiteIPFS websiteEpisode #100 with Juan BenetFilecoin on TwitterJuan on TwitterSponsors: cPanel: cPanel's WordPress Toolkit is the all in one solution that makes hosting your website easier than it's ever been - https://epicenter.rocks/cpanelAlgorand: Learn more about Algorand and how it’s unique design makes it easy for developers to build sophisticated applications - https://algorand.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/367

Data is a huge industry, worth about $500 billion in Europe alone. And currently there's a fundamental misalignment between those creating data and those consuming it. There's a one direction value flow in terms of those who are providing the value (the data) and those extracting it. These are big tech platforms that typically use that data to sell signals and advertising to brands and merchants. This is referred to as a shadow data economy and it's time to flip this model on its head.Ocean Protocol is a platform which creates data marketplaces, providing an alternative to the current model. Data providers can sell their data to the platform to whoever wants to buy it and that data set is represented as a token. The value is a function of the usefulness of that data. This creates a much more equitable market where value flow is more cyclical than one directional.Trent McConaghy, Founder of Ocean Protocol, joins us to chat about the platform. They have just released V3 which has seen the introduction of the data token, the Ocean Market, and a new home on the Ethereum Mainchain.Topics covered in this episode:Trent’s background and long history of building blockchain productsThe business models built around data and the “Shadow Data Economy”What Ocean Protocol is and what it achievesTechnical components and stakeholders in the Ocean ProtocolStaking and providing liquidity for datatoken marketsThe Ocean Market and activity since the launchOcean Protocol and its compliance with privacy regulations like GDPROcean Protocol V3 and migrating from a sidechain to the mainnetThe future of Ocean Protocol and the potential for data stream marketsEpisode links: Ocean Protocol websiteOcean V3 releaseEpisode 78 - Ascribe – The Internet of OwnershipEpisode 126 - BigchainDB – Scalable Public Distributed DatabasesEpisode 184 - IPDB – The Interplanetary Database and its Applications in AIOcean Protocol on TwitterTrent on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/366

Circles UBI is a blockchain-based Universal Basic Income created to promote local economy within communities. It was recently launched on Ethereum’s POA network. The idea is to create a parallel economy by forming trust lines within Circles. Anyone who joins Circles receives a basic income regularly, without conditions. And the more connected your community is, the more valuable your Circles become. Also it is fully decentralized. What makes Circles special is that it doesn't market itself to anyone specific in crypto. It positions itself as an ecosystem and protocol that can help anyone create and promote a local economy within their local community. In the current economic crisis, this is a hugely powerful tool for societies to utilise. Martin Köppelmann, CEO of Gnosis, joins us for his third appearance on the show. He is also the creator of Circles and chats to us about why he believes the world needs this, and how the project works.Topics covered in this episode:What Universal Basic Income (UBI) is and Martin’s interest and support of itPros and cons of funding UBI through taxationExplaining Circles’ decentralized UBIHow ‘personal tokens’ work in CirclesIssuance and trust connectionsDealing with sybil attacksOn throughput limitsConditions attached to your accountHow UBI keeps up with inflationGetting started with CirclesAttracting non crypto users and driving demandCan Circles move onto Layer-2 - UX Design choicesLearn more about Circles and get involvedEpisode links: Circles UBI websiteCircles WhitepaperMartin on Epicenter - Episode 271, How the dxDAO could become the world’s largest organizationMartin on Epicenter - Episode 139, Gnosis – The Ethereum Prediction MarketFind Circles on MeetupCircles TwitterMartin TwitterSponsors: Algorand: Learn how to start building on Algorand – Free webinar on November 17th - https://algorand.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/365

Alchemy is a powerful blockchain developer platform providing a suite of developer tools. Developers building apps which interact with Ethereum can use Alchemy's powerful APIs to supercharge their apps, and leverage features not available in vanilla nodes. They also provide services like analytics, monitoring, alerting, logging and debugging.Today, a number of the top Dapps in the Ethereum ecosystem use Alchemy, and the company recently made their API available to the general public. We chatted to Nikil Viswanathan, CEO & Co-founder about the platform, how it works and the problems it solves. We also addressed the concerns around centralization and ecosystem resiliency.Topics covered in this episode:Nikil's background and how he got into cryptoThe Blockchain infrastructureWhy Alchemy chose to focus EthereumOn building developer tools, and what Alchemy offersHow it works on a technical level and how it’s different from what else is available on the marketWhat can users do with supernodesPlans for expanding into validation and other services in the futureConcerns for user privacyAdoption of Alchemy among crypto projectsNikil’s views on centralization concerns and ecosystem resiliencyHow Jay-Z become an investor/advisor and other interesting partnerships with AlchemyWhere to learn more and join AlchemyEpisode links: Alchemy WebsiteGet started on AlchemyAlchemy SupernodeAlchemy on TwitterNikil on TwitterSponsors: Algorand: Learn how to start building on Algorand – Free webinar on November 17th - https://algorand.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/364

Alameda Research is a quant trading fund founded in 2017. Today it manages over $100 million in digital assets and trades $600 million to $1.5 billion per day across thousands of products: all major coins and altcoins, as well as their derivatives. Whilst running this fund, the team thought there was space for a robust crypto derivatives exchange build for traders which solves some of the issues they saw in derivatives trading. FTX is the crypto derivatives trading platform which came out of Alameda. In just under two years of existence, it has grown to become one of the top trading platforms for crypto, trading over $1B per day in derivatives. The FTX team are also working on Project Serum. It’s an ambitious project to create a fully decentralized and permissionless DEX and DeFi ecosystem with trustless cross-chain trading. Serum is being built on Solana to allow a centralized orderbook. This offers a much higher speed and throughput than Ethereum. The goal is to create a robust DEX ecosystem which can compete with centralized exchanges on speed, all while being fully interoperable with Ethereum.Today our guest is Sam Bankman-Fried, he is the CEO of FTX and Alameda Research, and co-founder of Project Serum. We hear all about his journey from Alameda, to FTX, and to his latest venture, Serum.Topics covered in this episode:Sam’s background and how he became involved in crypto tradingWhy and how FTX was createdHow FTX works and why the big focus on derivativesThe cross-over between FTX and AlamedaWhat Serum is and how it fits in the long term vision of FTXSam’s view on where products on DeFi are falling short and how it can be fixedWhat are the trade-offs on Serum?The off chain Serum order bookHow cross-chain swaps workThe boundaries of the Serum ecosystem in relation to SolanaWhat is the governance mechanism on SerumSam’s view on the AMM argumentWhere Sam thinks the DeFi ecosystem is heading and what is needed for it to gain legitimacy in the traditional finance worldEpisode links: FTXAlameda ResearchProject SerumEpicenter episode 312 with Anatoly Yakovenko, Co-founder and CEO of SolanaSushiSwap Twitter threadFTX on TwitterSam on TwitterSponsors: Algorand: Learn how to start building on Algorand – Free webinar on November 17th - https://algorand.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/363

Adan (Association for the Development of Digital Assets), is an organization which helps promote the development of the crypto industry in France, and more broadly in Europe. Its President, Simon Polrot, is also the Co-founder Ethereum France, which host the EthCC conference in Paris.The European Commission has released a regulatory proposal, MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets), which falls under The Digital Finance Package. The Adan team have been working hard to understand, dissect and establish positions with regards to this regulation. The scope of this MiCA is vast, and it covers nearly every type of activity which relates to cryptocurrencies, utility tokens, stablecoins, and security tokens in Europe. In addition to being broad, it puts enormous restrictions on the DeFi ecosystem by merely ignoring most decentralized use cases, making it nearly impossible for DeFi to continue existing as we know it. It's an important piece of regulation which would apply to almost every crypto asset company or issuer across the European continent, as well as companies who have customers or do business here.We chat to Simon who explains what the draft proposal means and the effects it will have on the European crypto industry. He also shares how the community can get involved in steering the regulation in favour of the industry before it's passed into law.Topics covered in this episode:Simon's background and how he became involved in cryptoAdan's mission in France en EuropeThe high level principles of crypto regulations in Europe and the frameworks already in placeThe EU Commission's Digital Finance Package explainedWhat MiCA is and who falls under this regulationHow the Commission identifies “token issuers”How MiCA affects DeFi stablecoins like DAIWhat are Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) and how they are concerned by MiCAHow the regulations may impact mining and stakingHow MiCA favors financial institutions over startups in the crypto spaceWhy Simon thinks there is a positive side to this regulatory proposalWhat Adan is doing to raise awareness and lobby to amend this proposal and repair the issues arising out of the draft proposalHow crypto companies can take part in the work of getting this regulation amended before it passes into lawThe possibility for an alternative crypto finance ecosystem to emerge from this regulationEpisode links:Adan WebsiteAbout AdanAdan Webinar: Understanding the MiCA and Pilot Regime crypto regulationBecome a member of AdanAdan on TwitterSimon on TwitterSponsors:Algorand: Learn how to start building on Algorand – Free webinar on November 17th - https://algorand.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/362

Multicoin Capital is a thesis-driven investment firm that invests in cryptocurrencies, tokens, and blockchain companies. They manage a hedge fund and a venture fund, investing across both public and private markets. They are extremely bullish on smart contract platforms and DeFi is one of their main areas of focus. They've invested in several projects and companies such as Algorand, Arweave, Nervos, Skale, Solana, to name a few. We originally had Multicoin on the show in February of 2018 when they were still reasonably new and we were in the height of the ICO bubble. Kyle Samani, Co-founder and Managing Partner, joins us back on the show to share not only how Multicoin has changed since then, but also the cryptoasset industry as a whole.Topics covered in this episode:What are the Multicoin theses and have they changed since Kyle was last on the showWhy the most used smart contract platform will produce the winning store of valueThe role of gold in today's economyBitcoin gaining traction in today's asset management circleOther assets that will eventually displace BitcoinWhich projects Multicoin are backing at the momentDeFi vs CeFi and latencyDiscussing what DeFi actually isCryptocurrency's future role in the traditional financial system and the impact of potential new regulationsHow the cryptoasset industry has changed since Multicoin started and where it is headedThe underrated areas Multicoin are looking at todayEpisode links: Multicoin CapitalMulticoin's first appearance on EpicenterMulticoin blogThe Multicoin ThesisMulticoin on TwitterKyle on TwitterSponsors: Algorand: To learn more about Algorand and how it’s unique design makes it easy for developers to build sophisticated applications. - https://algorand.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/361

Sögur, formerly known as Saga, aims to provide a global digital currency that acts as a store of value, a unit of account, and a medium of exchange. It is not impacted by any single nation state agenda and complements national currencies. And it is governed by its holders.The SGR is Sögur's digital coin. It's built to provide a self-sustaining, democratic and global currency. It uses a bonding curve market maker, which is modelled to control and mitigate volatility exposure and value loss when market conditions are fast-changing and unpredictable. All whilst creating an opportunity for sustainable intrinsic value growth. SGR holders are the currency decision makers, and enjoy democratic voting rights over how SGR operates now and as it continues to evolve.Sögur is interesting as it starts off looking like a stablecoin, but as the market grows it departs from its peg to become a free floating currency. It is currently pegged to the SDR (Special Drawing Rights). Deposits are held in FIAT reserves and as demand for SGR increases, the reserve ratio decreases. This causes the relative price to go up.Ido Sadeh Man is chairman of the board and founder of Sögur. He joins us on the show to discuss the background of the project and what it is hoping to achieve, and an in depth look into the monetary policy of the SGR. He also talks about the impressive team and advisory board that is behind the project.Topics covered in this episode:Ido's background and how he got into cryptoWhy the time is right for Sögur to have a positive impactCentres of stability on a global scaleWhat Sögur is and what problem it solvesHow it works as a stablecoinThe economics of the Sögur (SGR) currencyThe connection to the SDR (Special Drawings Right)Redeemability of reservesWhy Sögur was built on Ethereum and not its own blockchainThe effects of limitations and gas feesWill SGR bridge to all networks?The bonding curve modelThe governance structure of Sögur and the smart contract itselfStake-based voting vs participant-based votingWhere reserves are heldThe team of investors backing SögurThe effects of changing regulations on SögurThe long term vision for SögurEpisode links:Sögur WebsiteSögur MonetaryThe Voting MechanismSögur on MediumSögur on TwitterIdo on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture.  This podcast episode was sponsored by Sögur.

Hidden Forces is a podcast devoted to exploring the underlying forces driving the most powerful changes we see in the world. Demetri Kofinas, host of the show, holds conversations with some of the most brilliant minds in technology, finance, social science, and the hard sciences. He consults blockchain and distributed ledger technology companies, and hedge funds and venture capital firms on how to invest in and around these same emerging technologies. We chatted to Demetri about a range of current topics from the US presidential election, the financial crisis and the role of the federal reserve and how it's reacting to the crisis. Also the role of central banks going forward in this new reality in which we live. We also discussed crypto and specifically his thoughts on the DeFi space. He has some very interesting views there. Demetri does not hold back on what he wants to say, so this was a fun and interesting conversation which we are sure you will enjoy too!Topics covered in this episode:The US presidential electionDemetri’s background and why he started Hidden ForcesHidden Forces and how he chooses guests and topicsDemetri's healthHow Demetri sees the impact of blockchain on a societal levelThe current economic crisisThe fundamental difference of the handling between past crises and the current one, by financial institutionsIs the US on the brink of collapse?What is the role of the central bank if it can no longer function how it is supposed to, and can crypto play a roleWhat are some past dApps that would contribute value to societyDemetri’s views on AmpleforthCan a cryptocurrency become a world reserve currency?Episode links:Hidden ForcesThe story of Demetri's tumourDemetri's websiteDemetri on MediumHidden Forces on TwitterDemetri on TwitterSponsors:Algorand: To learn more about Algorand and how it’s unique design makes it easy for developers to build sophisticated applications. - https://algorand.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/360

NB: Since the recording of this podcast LazyLedger changed their name to Celestia.Celestia is a scalable general-purpose data availability layer for decentralized apps and trust-minimized sidechains. It is a minimal, viable blockchain which does time stamping and block ordering.Think back to Bitcoin in the early days, before Ethereum. Layer-2 systems were being built on top of Bitcoin and were leveraging Bitcoin’s consensus layer. This is what Celestia is doing, although it is purpose built and scalable for the exact use case. The implementation details are a lot more complex, and the vision is to create a modular pluggable Layer-1 that does nothing but consensus and data availability. It is designed for people who want to create their blockchain without consensus.The project is yet to be launched, however we had Ismail Khoffi, Co-Founder and CTO, and Mustafa Al-Bassam, Co-Founder and CEO on the show to give us a deep technical overview and vision of Celestia.Topics covered in this episode:Ismail and Mustafa's backgrounds, and how they got into the crypto spaceHow Ismail and Mustafa met and created CelestiaThe Data Availability paper which was co-written with Vitalik and introduction to CelestiaThe purpose and function of CelestiaHow data availability works and the advantages and disadvantages to their ledgerThe purpose of CelestiaHow transaction fees workThe interoperability aspectHonest validators on the blockNon-interactive proofs on CelestiaThe interaction between Celestia and Cosmos SDKHow will Celestia compete with other Layer One's, in particular FilecoinWhen the ledger will be launchedEpisode links:Celestia websiteCelestia blogGitHubCelestia TwitterIsmail on TwitterMustafa on TwitterSponsors:Algorand: To learn more about Algorand and how it’s unique design makes it easy for developers to build sophisticated applications. - https://algorand.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/359

Camila Russo is a financial journalist, starting her career writing for Chile's largest national newspaper. She then spent 8 years at Bloomberg covering the Argentine market from Buenos Aires, the European stocks from Madrid, and analysed macro emerging markets moves for the Markets Live blog in New York. She is the founder of the Defiant and recently wrote and released a book on the foundations of Ethereum, “The Infinite Machine”. This tells the story of how 19-year-old coding genius Vitalik Buterin led a “ragtag group of feuding hackers with no business plan and no live product” to pioneer a whole new way of raising money, on a platform that’s grown to a value of $27 billion. It is being hailed a complete hit and we highly recommend you give it a read. Camila joined us to chat about how her journey through journalism led her to crypto, and how she became a successful author.Topics covered in this episode:Camila's background and how she got into the crypto spaceBecoming involved with Bitcoin in Argentina back in 2013Her move to the US and the introduction to Ethereum in 2017What made her decide to write a book and the process involvedSome interesting stories that didn't make the final cutCamila's views on the Ethereum narrative and how it has changed over timeCamila's view on the current DeFi situation and the risks of regulators becoming more involvedWhat is The Defiant?How to follow CamilaEpisode links: Camila RussoThe DefiantThe Infinite MachineExcerpt from The Infinite Machine“The Infinite Machine” reviewCamila on TwitterSponsors: Algorand: To learn more about Algorand and how it’s unique design makes it easy for developers to build sophisticated applications, visit algorand.com/epicenter - http://algorand.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/358

NuCypher is a decentralized threshold cryptography network offering interfaces and runtimes for secrets management and dynamic access control. It provides cryptographic infrastructure for privacy preserving applications and it exists as a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain. They are currently in testnet but once launched you will be able to use NuCypher to carry out proxy re-encryption.Proxy re-encryption is a cryptographic method that allows you to delegate re-encryption of data to a third party and in this case validators in the NuCypher network. With this method you issue a re-encryption key that is assigned to a specific public key and a third party has the ability to re-encrypt data for that third party to decrypt. In this case the NuCypher network acts as the third party service. It is useful for when you want to share data, with the ability to revoke access at a later stage. They also have an interesting token distribution mechanism called the WorkLock. This is similar to a Lockdrop but with work required from the participants.MacLane Wilkison, Co-founder and CEO of NuCypher talks about how and why the protocl was created, the challenges faced with it, and the problems it solves.Topics covered in this episode:- MacLane’s background and how he got into the blockchain space- Challenges with working with corporate entities and getting people to understand privacy preserving technologies- The zeroDB protocol and how that led to NuCypher- What was MacLane’s goal with starting NuCypher- What proxy re-encryption is and why it’s desirable over manual systems- What are threshold signatures- Attributability on the protocol- Some use cases of using FHE on NuCypher and why they have chosen this for the protocol- MacLane’s thoughts on trusted hardware- The infrastructure of NuCypher and why it is on Ethereum- Results from the testnet- WorkLock - their token distribution mechanism and how it compares to Lockdrop- How you can set up a node on NuCypher- Current gas costs and the impact of this- The NuCypher business model and how they make money- Where to learn more about NuCypherEpisode links: - [NuCypher Website](nucypher.com)- [NuCypher Discord](https://discord.com/invite/7rmXa3S)- [NuCypher blog](https://blog.nucypher.com/)- [WorkLock](https://blog.nucypher.com/the-worklock/)- [NuCypher Twitter](https://twitter.com/NuCypher)- [MacLane's Twitter](https://twitter.com/MacLaneWilkison)Show notes and listening options: [epicenter.tv/357](https://epicenter.tv/357)

Gauntlet is a simulation platform for building financial models of blockchain protocols and applications. Their platform uses machine learning methods to simulate different environments with various user behaviors and see how the system holds up in those conditions. They perform analysis on things like core mechanisms to test for liveness, block propagation, and at higher layers like simulating markets. Their offering is complementary to security audits as their analysis goes beyond code functionality and looks at how systems may behave in real-life conditions. Tarun Chitra, CEO & Founder of Gauntlet, talks about his previous life in chip manufacturing and how he built Gauntlet. He also goes deep into the machine learning and statistical analysis involved with Gauntlet. It is quite a fascinating concept and when applied to blockchain systems, there is huge potential for this to become something that is expected by users, investors, and the community for new protocols.Topics covered in this episode:Tarun’s background and how he got into cryptoChip manufacturing in the US and its geopolitical implicationsWhat sorts of things does Gauntlet model?How does historical data play a part in predicting blockchain protocol behaviorSimulation models used by GauntletGame design analysisThe parts of the crypto economic stack that would benefit from this simulation work todayHow does Gauntlet complement a security audit for a new blockchainWhat tools they use for simulationWhat Gauntlet looks like as a business and what is the roadmap going forwardEpisode links: Gauntlet websiteGauntlet on MediumTarun on MediumTarun's papersGauntlet on TwitterTarun on TwitterSponsors: Algorand: To learn more about Algorand and how it’s unique design makes it easy for developers to build sophisticated applications, visit algorand.com/epicenter - http://algorand.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/356

Celo has a clear mission - to build a financial system that creates the conditions for prosperity, for everyone. The Celo Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports the growth and development of the open-source, decentralized Celo Platform. Its aim is to build a flexible network of applications built on a blockchain to facilitate payments and remittances to people’s phone numbers. Guided by the Celo community tenets, the Foundation contributes to education, technical research, environmental health, community engagement, and ecosystem outreach. These activities support and encourage an inclusive financial system that solves real-world problems such as lack of access to sound currency, or friction for cash-transfer programs aimed to alleviate poverty.They are aiming to create a new platform to connect people globally and bring financial stability to those who need it most. Rene Reinsberg and Marek Olszewski, founders of Celo, talk about how they are using blockchain technology to achieve this.Topics covered in this episode:Rene and Marek’s backgrounds and how they got into blockchainThe history of Celo and its missionSome of the friction points with the project and how they have overcome themWhat Celo are doing differently than other networksHow Celo are dealing with privacy issuesWhy they chose to build on the EVMThe go-to-market strategy that Celo has chosenHow cUSD works and how they deal with the scalability issue on the systemAs the reserve holds Bitcoin, how does the transfer of cUSD work?cUSD vs MakerThe issuance protocol for transferring assetsHost debriefEpisode links: Celo websiteThe Celo blogcLabs announces acquisition of SummaRethinking Remittances with Blockchain Technology and CeloCelo DollarsPlumo Channel on DiscordValoraCelo on TwitterRene on TwitterMarek on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/355

Republic is an investment platform that allows anyone pretty much anywhere in the world, of any income and net worth, to invest in some of the best private equity startups. It allows regular people, not just a few wealthy accredited investors, to invest in highly vetted private startups, with as little as $10 or as much as $100,000 per investment.In the past, accredited investors were the only ones allowed to invest in startups through equity-based incentives. However the JOBS Act of 2016 created an exemption under the federal securities laws so that crowdfunding can be used to offer and sell securities to the general public. Republic launched just after the JOBS Act was passed with a goal to create an investment platform which was truly accessible to everyone. This was around the time that companies began raising funds with ICOs, and Republic was among the first platforms to offer a framework for Security Token Offerings.Republic has recently innovated again with their Republic Note product. This is a profit sharing token which allows investors to receive dividends when companies who raise money on the platform make an exit. The tokens are issued by Republic which distributes a portion of the exit profits to investors in proportion to their holdings. This is a similar model to the Binance Token, which isn't surprising since Republic was the first portfolio company of Binance Labs. Ken Nguyen, Co-founder and CEO of Republic, explains the advantages of crowdfunding over traditional investing, the long term regulatory implications, and the opportunities this model opens up for startup funding.Topics covered in this episode:Ken’s background and his history with AngelListThe implications from the JOBS Act 2016Ken’s vision for Republic and making investment more accessible for more peopleOverview of the US Securities Law and investingThe interaction between Republic and cryptoThe types of start-ups and investors using RepublicThe importance of the community aspect within start-ups on RepublicThe Republic Note tokenRepublic Note’s Reg A offering and what the benefits of this will beWhere Republic Note can be tradedEpisode links: Republic websiteRepublic on MediumRepublic NoteWhen will the Republic Note’s Reg A offering be qualified?Republic TwitterKen Nguyen TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/353

Republic is an investment platform that allows anyone pretty much anywhere in the world, of any income and net worth, to invest in some of the best private equity startups. It allows regular people, not just a few wealthy accredited investors, to invest in highly vetted private startups, with as little as $10 or as much as $100,000 per investment.In the past, accredited investors were the only ones allowed to invest in startups through equity-based incentives. However the JOBS Act of 2016 created an exemption under the federal securities laws so that crowdfunding can be used to offer and sell securities to the general public. Republic launched just after the JOBS Act was passed with a goal to create an investment platform which was truly accessible to everyone. This was around the time that companies began raising funds with ICOs, and Republic was among the first platforms to offer a framework for Security Token Offerings.Republic has recently innovated again with their Republic Note product. This is a profit sharing token which allows investors to receive dividends when companies who raise money on the platform make an exit. The tokens are issued by Republic which distributes a portion of the exit profits to investors in proportion to their holdings. This is a similar model to the Binance Token, which isn't surprising since Republic was the first portfolio company of Binance Labs. Ken Nguyen, Co-founder and CEO of Republic, explains the advantages of crowdfunding over traditional investing, the long term regulatory implications, and the opportunities this model opens up for startup funding.Topics covered in this episode:Ken’s background and his history with AngelListThe implications from the JOBS Act 2016Ken’s vision for Republic and making investment more accessible for more peopleOverview of the US Securities Law and investingThe interaction between Republic and cryptoThe types of start-ups and investors using RepublicThe importance of the community aspect within start-ups on RepublicThe Republic Note tokenRepublic Note’s Reg A offering and what the benefits of this will beWhere Republic Note can be tradedEpisode links: Republic websiteRepublic on MediumRepublic NoteWhen will the Republic Note’s Reg A offering be qualified?Republic TwitterKen Nguyen TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/353

SKALE Network's modular protocol is one of the first of its kind to allow developers to build application specific blockchains. These are interoperable and compatible with the Ethereum mainchain, and the entire Ethereum ecosystem. They provide the benefits of decentralization without compromising on computation, storage, or security.The focus of SKALE Network is slightly different to other scaling solutions, many of which we have had on the show in the past. SKALE Network aims to scale smart contracts, not necessarily transaction throughput. Think of it as a highly performant Ethereum as a service side chain, where developers can deploy their own app specific blockchains. Within the scale network, their dapps will benefit from thousands of TPS with zero gas fees, and addons like file storage. In the future, it’s possible that SKALE will support other addons like machine learning. Jack O'Holleran, CEO and Co-Founder of SKALE Labs, talks about how they are tackling the scaling issues on Ethereum.Topics covered in this episode:Jack's background and how he got into cryptocurrencyJack's thoughts on the problem of scaling on EthereumWhat is a SKALE node and how to start oneComparisons to Cosmos, Polkadot and Eth 2.0 shardingThe SKALE NetworkThe purpose of the SKALE Manager and how it interacts with validators and nodesCreating a dapp on the SKALE networkWhat is the future of access to connectors - are stores an option?How security properties work on the networkWho are the users of SKALE and how does one onboard to the networkThe NODE Foundation - the launch and grants availableEpisode links: SKALE Labs WebsiteSKALE WhitepaperSKALE DevelopersSKALE DiscordThe NODE FoundationSKALE Labs TwitterJack TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/352

Ampleforth is a cryptocurrency attempting to become an essential building block to an alternative financial ecosystem. The protocol’s native token, AMPL, is a non collateralized cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, but with a twist: It is supply elastic. This means the token and protocol will automatically increase or decrease the quantity of tokens held in user wallets based on 24 hour weighted volume price. AMPL operates as an ERC-20 token on top of the Ethereum blockchain. Some claim that the Ampleforth protocol’s implementation of “countercyclical” economic policy makes it a good complimentary collateral because they posit that this mechanism ought to give AMPL a low correlation to the likes of BTC and ETH. Others are not so sure: Does it really make a difference whether you have an inelastic supply without a target price, or an elastic supply with a target price of one? Is AMPL really not correlated to other types of collateral, and should this be so, does it even matter?There has been a lot of chatter about Ampleforth in recent months. Is it legit, or is it a scam, 'HEX with Stanford credentials', as one pundit commented? We spoke with the co-founder Evan Kuo, who attempts to explain how it all works and straighten out misconceptions surrounding the protocol.Topics covered in this episode:Evan’s backgroundWhat is Ampleforth and its missionWhat is Ampleforth’s value proposition and the rules based system it usesHow the rebasing worksSlow traders vs fast tradersWhere profits from fast traders come fromUsing Ampleforth as base moneyToken distributionThe integration hurdles with AMPLDoes the community truly understand the protocol?Episode links: Ampleforth websiteAMPL TalkAMPL Token DistributionAmpleforth White PaperAmpleforth TwitterEvan Kuo TwitterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/351

Balancer is a generalized automated market maker (AMM) protocol built on Ethereum. It allows anyone to create or add liquidity to customizable pools and earn trading fees. On one side there are liquidity providers (LPs) that generally seek to balance their holdings, and they get rewarded with trading fees. On the other side, traders that are looking for the best rate possible.One way to look at Balancer is as a generalization of Uniswap, however Balancer pools aren't restricted to the same 50/50 split between 2 tokens. A Balancer pool can support up to 8 tokens with any weights. It supports smart order routing which ensures trades get sent to the pools which provide the best rate possible. They can be seen as self balancing index funds which pay you for contributing liquidity to the platform. Instead of paying fees to portfolio managers to rebalance your portfolio, you collect fees from traders, who continuously rebalance your portfolio by following arbitrage opportunities.The inner workings are quite complex but CEO & Co-founder of Balancer, Fernando Martinelli, breaks down the token economics and governance of the protocol for us.Topics covered in this episode:Fernando’s background and how he got into the spaceBalancer's connection to MakerAn introduction to liquidity mining and some of the problems with thisThe connection to the Uniswap formulaWhat Balancer is and how the protocol worksHow does this work as a Portfolio Management tool and how dynamic are the feesHow smart pools wok - The network of pools and the offchain set upHow the weighting system works on BalancerThe options for users - keeping it simple and the data that is available in your Balancer accountGovernance tokensHow the BAL token is designed and how it worksHow finance for the protocol is raisedThe future plan of dissolving BalancerHow they plan to attract volumeWhat’s coming up in Balancer V2Episode links: Balancer WebsiteBalancer White PaperBalancer DiscordBalancer BlogBalancer TwitterFernando TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/350

UMA, or Universal Market Access, is an open source financial contracts protocol for building synthetic assets. It allows any two counterparties to design and create their own financial contracts for derivatives. An example of these assets in the traditional finance world, are interest rate derivatives. These are used to hedge against fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Today, interest rate derivatives are commonly used and the contracts to create these are standardized. Similarly, UMA allows anyone to create a derivative on a blockchain. Enforcement of agreement will be enforced by the network and so will settlement.What’s unique about UMA is how it ensures proper collateralization of derivatives. Maker and other platforms based on collateralized positions use a price oracle and will automatically liquidate positions if they go below a certain threshold. UMA is ‘priceless’ and does not use an on-chain price feed as the primary means to determine proper collateralization. Rather, it incentivizes participants to identify improperly collateralized positions. UMA token holders essentially vote on the price. Allison Lu, co-founder of UMA, chats in-depth about the platform and provides a great introduction to the world of financial derivatives.Topics covered in this episode:Allison’s background and how she got into blockchainWhat derivatives are and how they work in the legacy financial systemHow the UMA protocol worksHow synthetic tokens are traded and fungibilityCreating put options on the frameworkHow does this compare to prediction marketsUMA’s liquid mechanismPriceless syntheticsWhat are the incentives on the protocolThe importance of delayed reaction timesHow liquidation work and minting worksHow to prevent scammingThe dispute process and corruptionWhat makes the UMA protocol uniqueThe UMA roadmapEpisode links: UMA WebsiteUMA DocsUMA GithubUMA MediumUMA TwitterAllison Lu TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/349

Numerai, the "hardest data science tournament on the planet". It's a hedge fund with its own distributed research platform designed specifically for AIs. It's the first of its kind and takes a radically different approach to making market predictions. It's completely crowd-sourced and data scientists around the world compete to create the best predictions and get paid with cryptocurrencies. Users are completely blind to the data and Numerai is blind to the code, and the predictive models users generate. The result is a hedge fund which is market neutral, currency neutral, and geography neutral. It makes all decisions solely on the data.Richard Craib, Founder of Numerai, was first on the show 3 years ago when the project's token, Numeraire, was just launched. Since then they have released a number of additions to the network including Numerai Signals and Erasure Bay, with plenty more in the pipeline.Topics covered in this episode:An overview of what the past 3 years since the last episodeThe Numerai staking modelNumerai datasetsWhat is a market neutral fundNumerai’s current assets and their position in the marketStaking liquid NMRThe latest project - Numerai SignalsNumerai's prediction markets Erasure BayHow the future looks for hedge funding on the blockchainEpisode links:Numerai websiteErasure BayNumerai SignalsNumerai MediumNumerai TwitterRichard Craib TwitterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/348

Polkadot is a unique protocol connecting multiple purpose-built blockchains into one scalable network. It's using blockchain technology to make way for new markets and future decentralized economies and has many stand out features. It's a sharded multichain network enabling many transactions on several chains in parallel. It offers interoperability and cross-chain communication. Communities on Polkadot govern their own network, and hold a stake in the future of Polkadot’s network governance as a whole. It also enables forkless upgrades, allowing blockchains to evolve and adapt easily. Over 100 projects have been or are currently being built for the Polkadot ecosystem, in a wide range of services and systems.After being in the development stage for 3 years, Polkadot was launched earlier this year. It's the first project by Web3 Foundation, and Parity are behind the development. Dieter Fishbein, Head of Ecosystem Development at Web3 Foundation, and Joe Petrowski, Research Analyst at Parity Technologies, share an in depth overview on the economics and incentives behind the protocol.Polkadot is designed to take back our digital sovereignty from powerful third-parties who currently control the web. It promises to take blockchain technology to the next level, and we believe it will do just that.Topics covered in this episode:Dieter and Joe’s backgrounds and how they got into the crypto spaceThe Polkadot visionThe key components of the Polkadot protocolKusama - Polkadot's cousinScalability, Security, and InteroperabilityThe stages of the Polkadot launch and what is coming nextBuilding with SubstrateThe parachains being developedLeasing parachain slotsRunning validators on PolkadotEpisode links:Polkadot WebsiteKusama WebsiteThe Polkadot launchPolkadot TwitterDieter Fishbein TwitterJoe Petrowski TwitterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/347

Just like all software, smart contracts on the blockchain are subject to serious security vulnerabilities and coding errors. The fact however that smart contracts are often directly in charge of assets and cannot be changed once they are on the blockchain, makes secure development and running essential. Some smart contract platforms have their own languages, for example Solidity in Ethereum. Bugs and vulnerabilities in the source code, and errors in the virtual machines used by the network, are the main reasons behind security issues in smart contracts.Projects using blockchain applications should expect constant changes in the security landscape. New bugs, security risks, and best practices will continue to emerge over time. Trail of Bits is a software security firm who advise in a range of industries for some top companies, including in the blockchain space. They are experts at identifying top-level risks and implementation vulnerabilities, and providing essential recommendations on best practices. Dan Guido, the CEO and Co-founder, explains all things software security in a really detailed and technical, yet easy to digest way. We also recommend you check out their exceptional blog packed with invaluable resources.Topics covered in this episode:Dan’s background and how he came to create Trail of BitsWhat led Dan into the blockchain fieldHow security software has changed over the last 20 yearsThe unique challenges for security on blockchain and smart contract protocolsSmart contract languages and securitySlither - Trail of Bits’s suite of Ethereum based security toolsDan’s opinion on Solidity’s future and Vyper as an alternativeFormally Verified LanguagesA use case on how Trail of Bits worksWorking with upgradeable contractsComposability and securityAre compilers trustworthy?Other security issues in the blockchain space as DeFi growsThe future of software security and the role of AIEpisode links: Trail of Bits WebsiteAnatomy of an Unsafe Smart Contract Programming LanguageSlither, GithubSlither: The Leading Static Analyzer for Smart Contracts246 Findings From our Smart Contract Audits: An Executive SummaryRapid Risk Assessment (RRA)Our Full Report on the Voatz Mobile Voting PlatformA Guide to Post-Quantum CryptographyBSides Lisbon 2016 - Keynote - The Smart Fuzzer Revolution by Dan GuidoThe Smart Fuzzer RevolutionTrail of Bits TwitterDan Guido TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/346

Nexus Mutual provides an alternative decentralized insurance solution for Ethereum. The protocol is built on the public chain and operates under a discretionary mutual structure meaning it is owned wholly by its members. It allows anyone to become a member and buy cover, and the model encourages engagement as members receive incentives for participating in Risk Assessment, Claims Assessment and Governance. At present the product offered is cover to protect against hacks in smart contract code. When Nexus Mutual is alerted to a claim, members will also be asked to vote on whether to pay out on that claim or not. Hugh Karp, the CEO and Founder of Nexus Mutual, has combined his insurance industry knowledge with his passion for decentralized technology to build this platform which is replacing the traditional insurance setup. They are currently looking into expanding to offer more insurance products and we are excited to see where they go next.Topics covered in this episode:Hugh’s background in insurance and how he moved into the blockchain spaceWhat drove Hugh to build this decentralized platformMutual insurance and the regulations involvedThe scaling problem in mutual companiesThe benefits this type of insurance can bring to the DeFi worldThe claim assessment processThe native token, NXMHow Nexus tackle price discoveryHow does Nexus manage correlation risksHow much has been contributed to the pool so farMutual vs other models of insurance on the DeFi spaceThe legalities behind NexusWhere they are looking to expand and what the next 12 months look likeEpisode links: Nexus Mutual WebsiteThe White PaperNexus Mutual Use CasesNexus Mutual DiscordNexus Mutual TwitterHugh Karp TwitterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/345

Opyn is a smart contract-based insurance platform built on a generalized (supports both put and call) options protocol called Convexity. It is intended as a platform to protect DeFi users against both technical and financial risks, and a place where ETH holders can earn substantial premiums on their holdings by providing insurance.Opyn uses tokenized ERC20 put options, oTokens, on ETH to allow option buyers to keep their upside while limiting their downside. If you buy Opyn protection, you are buying “the right but not the obligation to sell an asset at a pre-specified price”. Currently, you can buy insurance for DAI, ETH, and USDC deposits on Compound and it is completely noncustodial and trustless. Zubin Koticha, CEO & Co-founder of Opyn, is currently working on V2 of the platform with his team. Their focus for improvements are in 3 main areas; cash efficiency, trading mechanism, and network effects. They are hoping to release this within the next 6 months. This is a much-needed generalizable insurance solution against some attacks/ vulnerabilities within the DeFi ecosystem and it will be very interesting to see how their contribution to DeFi progresses.Topics covered in this episode:Zubin’s background and how he got into cryptoHow Opyn was created and the roles within the companyThe evolution of the Opyn productUsing options as an insurance solutionThe difference between traditional markets and OpynAmerican vs European optionsImprovements they are making in V2 - capital efficiency, fungibility, network effectsThe collateral as a different asset featureTrading venueAn overview of VegaSwapTimelines for the new versionEpisode links: Opyn WebsiteOpyn WhitepaperWhat is Opyn?Opyn DiscordOpyn TwitterZubin Koticha TwitterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/344

In late 2017, Gabriel Jimenez was approached by the Venezuelan presidency and asked to create a national digital currency, the Petro. Although very much against the regime, Gabriel saw this as a chance to save his country which was on the brink of economic collapse. A new currency that would move freely over an open network, like Bitcoin. And the government would not be able to control it. So he agreed. Things didn’t go as Gabriel had envisioned. Months later, Gabriel almost paid with his life when he was held at gunpoint by military guards in the President’s palace. He was accused of being a traitor to the government and was forced to hand over the project, which still hasn’t taken off. Last year he fled to the US to avoid being arrested and has since been granted asylum status. He is passionate about cryptocurrency and his country, and is working on a new way to combine the two. From the safety of the US, Gabriel is finally able to share his side of the story and wants to set the record straight on why he did what he did.Topics covered in this episode:Gabriel’s background growing up in VenezuelaGabriel’s return to Venezuela from the USVenezuela in the pre-Chavez daysLiving in Venezuela during Chavez’s ruleThe introduction of crypto to VenezuelaThe Maduro regime and how things got worse from thereWhen the government turned on Gabriel and his teamKnowing the risks of this projectThe current state of the PetroHow things could have gone differently so that Petro could have workedEpisode links: The Coder and the Dictator - Gabriel's first interview with the NY TimesThe Petro WebsiteThe Petro - WikipediaGabriel signing the documents on Live TVGabriel Jimenez TwitterThe Social UsThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/343

We've heard it over and over again, Covid-19 has plunged us into a crisis like none other we’ve experienced in our lifetime. Although it is primarily a public health issue, it is also having a major impact on the global economy and financial system. Many businesses have been forced to shut down sparking debates on whether this is supply or demand shock. Wall Street proclaims that any increase in economic activity is a good sign. However, Jim Bianco, President and Macro Strategist at Bianco Research, says a return to 90% of pre-crisis level will still not be enough to recover. Bianco Research is a Chicago-based firm that provides research and analysis for institutional finance. Jim started to take serious notice of the Covid-19 outbreak back in January. Since then he has been sharing his views on the long- term, macroeconomic consequences of the pandemic. He brings an enormous amount of clarity and insight into this issue.Topics covered in this episode:Jim’s background on Wall Street and how he transitioned into researchWhy he was so early to talk about the pandemic and the crisisThe lessons learned from this pandemic and what’s nextWhat long-term economic and societal trends we can expectThe FED: their response, the effects on the economy and where we go from hereJim’s views on UBI and the legitimacy of taxes if states can just print moneyThe US debt problem caused by the slowing of international tradeThe US dollar as a reserve currency and how it could be displacedThe prospect of crypto-based reserve currencies and the disruption of central banksHow close are we to Crypto and Bitcoin becoming an asset class in the traditional finance systemJim’s visions for the post virus worldEpisode links: Bianco Research“Is the Fed Making it Better?” Reset Everything TalkJim Bianco TwitterBianco Research YoutubeWTF Happened In 1971?Mainnet 2020 – Messari's Flagship Crypto Event (June 1 to 3)Free tickets to Web 3.0 Forum (June 8 to 10)Sponsors: Least Authority: Learn how Zero-Knowledge Access Passes can help you build a more privacy-minded business by disconnecting payment and user data. - http://www.leastauthority.com/zkapsThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/342

In this inaugural post-interview chat, Friederike and Sebastien discuss their recent interview with Arweave Co-founder and CEO, Sam Williams.Moving forward, these conversations will be released every week on Substack. Subscribe to never miss an episode at https://epicenter.rocks/substack

The internet was originally created as a platform to communicate freely, but it soon became a place where people could be monitored, controlled, and censored. 98% of content on the internet is deleted every 20 years. More surprisingly, based on a Twitter study, a third of links change their content fundamentally or are removed completely, within three months of their creation. Arweave is a new data storage protocol that enables economically sustainable permanence for the very first time. Built on a blockchain-like structure called the blockweave, one of the applications on Arweave is what they have coined “the permaweb”. This is an array of data, websites, and decentralised applications, to which anyone can contribute and maintain. This system provides an incentive to store your data without compromising your privacy, solving one of the key issues facing the current web.Sam Williams, Co-founder & CEO of Arweave, talks about the technical solution they have built, the economic model around endowment, and the ethical and philosophical questions the permanence of information against concepts like “the right to be forgotten” raises.Topics covered in this episode:- Sam’s background and how he got into the blockchain space- Breaking down BitTorrent – the first scalable decentraized file sharing system- Data sustainability on the web and what should be kept- Arweave under the hood and what is a blockweave- How data is stored and retrieved in blocks- Arweave’s economics and incentive model- Data replication within the infrastructure and ensuring decentralization in the future- The AR tokens and how the Arweave endowment works- Arweave vs Skynet vs IPFS- Does Arweave help with the data availability problem in Ethereum?- Arweave's business model- Community projects that Arweave are involved with and what’s next for the projectEpisode links: - [Arweave website](https://www.arweave.org/)- [Welcome to the Permaweb](https://medium.com/@arweave/welcome-to-the-permaweb-ce0e6c73ddfb)- [Arweave Whitepaper](https://www.arweave.org/files/arweave-lightpaper.pdf)- [Arweave on Medium](https://medium.com/@arweave)- [Arweave Twitter](https://twitter.com/ArweaveTeam)- [Sam Williams Twitter](https://twitter.com/samecwilliams)- [Mainnet 2020 – Messari's Flagship Crypto Event (June 1 to 3)](https://mainnet.events)- [Free tickets to Web 3.0 Forum (June 8 to 10)](https://ti.to/cogx/cogx-2020/discount/TPDODSFP100)- [Casual meetup for friends of Epicenter](https://epicenter.rocks/virtualmeetup)Sponsors: - ShapeShift: ShapeShift is the leading crypto platform offering zero-commission trading - https://shapeshift.com/This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: [epicenter.tv/341](https://epicenter.tv/341

Today, half of the internet is built on top of Amazon S3. Although the cloud has allowed Internet applications to scale, centralized infrastructure means less control over one's own data. And when it goes down, so does half of the internet.Sia CEO David Vorick is back on the podcast to talk about a new product recently released by their team: Skynet. Skynet builds on Sia and enables web applications to be developed and deployed over a decentralized data storage infrastructure. David also shares his thoughts on Trusted Setups, why he thinks they're "busted," and how the crypto industry can create better and more secure Zero-Knowledge primitives.Topics covered in this episode:- What is Skynet and how it builds on Sia- Skynet compared to IPFS/Filecoin- The need for a decdentralized data marketplace- An example of how the Sia network works- What are trusted setups and how they are used- Threat models in trusted setups and what can happen when they break- The alternative to trusted setups and solutions for the futureEpisode links: - [Sia Website](https://sia.tech/)- [Sia Blog](https://blog.sia.tech/)- [Decentralization & Cutting-Edge Cryptography - Starkware Sessions Talk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naw0HajYDxI)- [David Vorick on Twitter](https://twitter.com/davidvorick)- [Sia on Twitter](https://twitter.com/SiaTechHQ)- [Epicenter Virtual Meetup on May 29](https://epicenter.rocks/virtualmeetup)This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: [epicenter.tv/B005](https://epicenter.tv/B005)

Decentralized exchanges have been around for some time, and various designs have been attempted. Although they provide a number of privacy and censorship resistance benefits, one of their pitfalls has been transaction throughput. However, recent advancements in Zero-Knowledge Proof-based scaling solutions is creating a new breed of scalable DEXes.Loopring is a non-custodial DEX protocol that achieves high-throughput trading. It leverages ZK-Rollups to achieve upwards of 2,000 transactions per second with on-chain settlement. As an order book-based exchange, it sets itself apart from other DEXes like Uniswap and the Gnosis Protocol. However, users should keep in mind that the orderbook is centralized. Daniel Wang, Founder & CEO of Loopring, talks about why they decided to focus on DEXes and their plans beyond the current version 3.0.Topics covered in this episode:Daniel's background and how he became involved in cryptoLoopring's 2017 token sale and why they needed to return funds to investorsThe concept of ring matching in the Loopring protocolLoopring's use of ZK-RollupsThe current throughput and transaction costLooping vs Binance and centralized exchangesWhy Loopring chose to build on a centralized order book modelThe differences between the Optimistic Rollup and the ZK-RollupThe Loopring token (LRC) and how it's used in the protocolDaniel’s views on the future of the DEX ecosystemEpisode links:Loopring websiteLoopring 3.0Loopring’s Frontend Vulnerability, ExplainedLoopring Exchange frontend password bug: PostmortemLoopring TwitterDaniel Wang TwitterSponsors:Learn how Zero-Knowledge Access Passes can help you build a more privacy-minded business by disconnecting payment and user data. Learn more at leastauthority.com/zkapsThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/340

Julian Assange, the creator of WikiLeaks, is currently in a maximum-security prison in London facing extradition to the US for violating the Espionage Act. This charge came, among other things, from exposing US war crimes in Iraq. This has put journalists around the world under fear of being prosecuted for exposing the truth. Opinions on Julian Assange are divided, unsurprisingly. But we can assume that a conviction would set a dangerous precedent for journalism, free press, and freedom of speech. John Shipton, Julian's father, is seeking support from the crypto community to help fund Julian's legal defense. Harry Halpin, CEO of Nym Technologies and friend of Julian's, teams up with John to discuss how a conviction could jeopardize the values of censorship resistance, permissionless innovation, and privacy.Topics covered in this episode:John and Harry's backgrounds and their connection to Julian AssangeThe extradition case against JulianHow the outcome of the orders could impact the Ethereum communityThe negative effects of WikiLeaksMaking changes to journalism and legacy mediaThe effects of Social MediaHow this case could open the gates for more prosecutions within the crypto/technology communityContributing to Julian's legal fundEpisode links: Nym TechnologiesState and Terrorist Conspiracies & Conspiracy as Governance, Julian AssangeWikiLeaks on WikipediaCourage FoundationHarry Halpin TwitterNym Technologies TwitterSponsors: ShapeShift: ShapeShift is the leading crypto platform offering zero-commission trading - https://shapeshift.com/This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/339

Genesis Mining is a leading hash power provider offering cloud cryptocurrency mining as a service. They offer mining for Bitcoin, Zcash, Dash, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Monero and serve over 2 million users in 100+ countries. The company was formed in 2013 and saw tremendous growth in its seven years in operation. In the mining business, process optimization, controlling costs, and vertical integration are key. Crypto prices, difficulty adjustments, hardware availability – all can have an impact on profits. Co-founder & CEO Marco Streng shares how he built his company from the ground up, and is now expanding beyond crypto to address other profitable markets in cloud computing.Topics covered in this episode:Marco's background and how he started Genesis MiningThe biggest challenges they faced in the early daysThe company's cost structures and vertical integrationWhy they got into cloud computing and the applications of GPUsThe major shifts in the mining industry since they were foundedThe ecological footprint of miningWhy people would buy cloud mining and its profitability opportunitiesThe risk of mining centralizationBitcoin halving and the impacts of this on the mining industryMarco's views on Proof of StakeEpisode links: Genesis Mining websiteBitcoin Halving - What to Expect as a MinerGenesis GroupGenesis CloudGenesis Mining TwitterMarco Streng TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/338

Aave is building a suite of non-custodial DeFi tools that allow users to earn interest on their deposits and borrow assets. Earlier this year, Aave released its Flash Loans feature, which is drumming up a lot of excitement in the ecosystem. Flash Loans have a number of applications like executing liquidations or refinancing and require no collateral on the part of the borrower. As we have seen since they were introduced, they have also been used by malicious actors to exploit vulnerabilities in some DeFi protocols. Nevertheless, this powerful tool is an important “money lego” component that enables various new use cases. Stani Kulechov, Aave Founder & CEO, and Marc Zeller, Integrations Lead, explain their vision for the Aave protocol as an essential part of the DeFi ecosystem.Topics covered in this episode:Stani and Marc's backgrounds and how they became involved in cryptoMarc's previous project, Variabl, and why it failedHow Aave came out of EthLendSwitching from an OTC model to a pooled modelYield hacking and other DeFi use casesWhat the Flash Loan is and why it is usefulHow one can do DeFi refinancing with Flash LoansThe Flash Loans attacks which happened in FebruarySmart contract security and how the community should response to attacksWhy privacy is DeFi is desirable, but also hard to doEpisode links: Aave Protocol websiteSneak Peek at Flash LoansFlash Loans - One Month InAave TwitterStani Kulechov TwitterMarc Zeller TwitterSponsors: Least Authority: Register for Security Sessions on April 30th to learn about security audits for your blockchain project - https://leastauthority.com/meetupShapeShift: ShapeShift is the leading crypto platform offering zero-commission trading - https://shapeshift.com/This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/337

The Plasma Group was a not for profit research group focussing on layer-2 scaling on Ethereum. Optimism is a new Public Benefit Corporation that builds on the lessons of the Plasma research and is implementing Optimistic Rollups. This solution scales Eth 1.x and offers near-instant transaction finality on Ethereum, while providing over 100x transaction throughput. Jinglan Wang and Karl Floersch, co-founders of Optimism, explain the transition to this new entity and its goals moving forward.Topics covered in this episode:Jinglan and Karl's backgrounds and how they came to work togetherHow the Plasma Group and all of the Plasma research evolved into OptimismFunding of Optimism through Gitcoin, and the lessons learned from donation fundingWhat are Optimistic Rollup and how they achieve scalingHow to make an Optimistic Rollup chainOptimistic Rollups compared to other scaling solutions like Truebit, sharding and zkRollupsHow Optimistic Rollups fit within the Eth 2.0 roadmapThe role of an aggregator and how to become oneSubmitting transactions, the fees involved, and different finality levelsProblems that could arise from mining transactions on incorrect statesWho is using the OVM alpha and what's next for the projectEpisode links: Optimism WebsitePlasma Group WebsiteIntroducing the OVM - Plasma Group Blog""Ethereum Smart Contracts in L2: Optimistic Rollup - Plasma Group BlogA New Way to Scale - Optimized Optimistic Rollup — IDEX BlogOptimism TwitterJinglan Wang TwitterKarl Floersch TwitterSponsors: Least Authority: Register for Security Sessions on April 30th to learn about security audits for your blockchain project - https://leastauthority.com/meetupThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/336

AZTEC Protocol is a protocol that enables private transactions on Ethereum. At its core, AZTEC is an Ethereum contract, otherwise known as the AZTEC Cryptography Engine. The protocol uses a zero-knowledge proof system, allowing users to effectively create shielded representations of tokens, which can then be sent and redeemed for the underlying token. CEO and CTO, Tom Pocock and Zac Williamson have plans to build AZTEC into a fully functional DeFi stack with which all kinds of trades, swaps, and financial operations will be possible, with privacy.Topics covered in this episode:How Tom and Zac met and founded AZTEC ProtocolWhat AZTEC is and what problem is solvesHow AZTEC enabled transactions work in practice from a user perspectiveThe challenges of making DeFi systems like MakerDAO fully privateHow ERC-20 tokens could be issued as private tokensThe AZTEC trusted setup ignition ceremonyZKPs for privacy vs scaling solutionsGrowing the privacy ecosystem and getting people excited about privacyThe security guarantees of using AZTEC and other ZKP systemsEpisode links: AZTEC ProtocolAZTEC Protocol - SDKAZTEC Protocol - research papersAZTEC Protocol TwitterTom Walton-Pocock TwitterZac Williamson TwitterReset EverythingSponsors: Least Authority: Register for Security Sessions on April 30th to learn about security audits for your blockchain project - https://leastauthority.com/meetupStatus: A multi-purpose communication tool that combines a peer-to-peer messenger, secure crypto wallet, and web3 browser - https://status.im/This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/335

Ryan Sean Adams is the Founder of Mythos Capital, a crypto fund and staking provider for “big fish” stakeholders. He also writes the popular DeFi newsletter, Bankless. In addition to providing excellent insights about the ecosystem, Bankless takes a very practical approach to leveraging DeFi. Ryan shares strategies and encourages readers to complete action items to utilize the full potential of decentralized finance and become bankless. He also hosts a podcast by the same name with David Hoffman.Topics covered in this episode:Ryan's background as a tech entrepreneur and how he got involved in cryptoLaunching ​Mythos Capital and the thesis behind this fundThe importance of becoming “bankless” to preserve self-sovereigntyWhat good analogies we can use to describe DeFi and the use of clear terminology to describe cryptoassetsThe power and advantage concentrated in centralized exchangesTrustless nature of Ethereum vs. BitcoinThe role of nation-states in the DeFi ecosystem as it continues to growThe idea that “Eth is money” and Eth as a store of value asset in EthereumThe impact of Covid19 on the economy and crypto marketsThe future of Ethereum and BitcoinEpisode links: Mythos CapitalBankless newsletterBankless podcastRyan Sean Adams on MediumMythos Capital on TwitterRyan Sean Adams on TwitterReset EverythingSponsors: Least Authority: Register for Security Sessions on April 30th to learn about security audits for your blockchain project - https://leastauthority.com/meetupThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/334

In another of our bonus episodes recorded at EthCC in Paris, we caught up with Jason Goldberg, CEO and Founder of Pepo and Ost, and James Dyer, Co-founder and Head of Product at Decrypt. At the time of recording Decrypt were about to announce they were launching their own token that rewards audience engagement, built on Ost technology. We chatted to Jason and James about this relationship, the problems solved by these monetization models, the link between Pepo and Decrypt tokens, and DeFi, and what the future holds for media and tokens.Topics covered in this episode:Background of Jason and JamesDecrypt's affiiation with ConsenSysThe issues and problems being solved with the respective monetization modelsThe levers Pepo are using to ensure users trust the platform and promote growth in the ecosystemThe reasons Decrypt chose Ost to build their platform onThe different components of the Ost toolkit and how these are leveragedThe technology involved with getting tokens to sponsor a 'season'How Pepo and Decrypt market themselvesThe bridges between Pepo and Decrypt tokens, and DeFiHow good UX standards of the wallet are reached, in particular the recovery wallet featureOvercoming the challenges of civil attacks and malicious actsThe future of media and tokens and what the new models look likeEpisode links: PepoOstDecryptOst Powers Decrypt Token for Media EngagementPepo TwitterOst TwitterDecrypt TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture.

What will the World look like when capital is no longer scarce? In his book, World After Capital, Albert Wenger makes the case that technological progress throughout the ages (foraging, agrarian, industrial) brought a change in scarcities. As society transitions from the Industrial Age to the Age of Knowledge, scarcities will also shift – human attention will become our most valued scarce resource.Albert Wenger is a Managing Partner at the VC firm Union Square Ventures. A graduate of Harvard and MIT, he holds a Ph.D. in Information Technology. Before joining USV, he founded several companies in the aughts, and was the President of del.icio.us when the company was sold to Yahoo! in 2005.Topics covered in this episode:His motivations for writing “World After Capital”How the properties of near-zero marginal cost and universality are unique to the digital ageHuman attention as the primary scarce resource in the Knowledge AgeThe shift towards the Knowledge Age and the role of capital in the futureCovid19 as a catalyst for positive societal change, and things like universal basic incomePotential upsides for crypto in the current economic crisisThe asymmetry between technological progress and privacyEpisode links: Union Square VenturesWorld After CapitalContinuations by Albert WengerPutting the Economy in Suspended Animation: A ProposalWorld After Capital: Laying a Foundation (Regulation & Self-Regulation)Albert Wenger TwitterReset Everything Virtual Conference – April 29thSponsors: Status: A multi-purpose communication tool that combines a peer-to-peer messenger, secure crypto wallet, and web3 browser - https://status.im/This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/333

We caught up with Joseph Lubin, Founder of ConsenSys, at this year's EthCC. It has been over a year since he last came on the show, and we wanted to get his take on what has been happening in the ecosystem since then. We talked about the ConsenSys reorganization, interoperability between public and permission blockchains and the opportunities there, government-backed stable coins and the possibilities of nation-states building their own, DeFi and the phenomenal growth in the ecosystem, his predictions for 2020, and thoughts on the challenges facing Eth2.0.Topics covered in this episode:A look back on the past year since we last had Joe on the showThe ongoing ConsenSys reorganistaionJoe's views on the recent Twitter discussion that “Ether is the ConsenSys token”Interoperability between public and permission blockchains and the opportunities thereGovernment-backed stable coins and the possibilities of nation-states building their ownThe evolving naratives around EthereumJoesph's vision on how DeFi compliments the existing financial systemJoseph's predictions for 2020The challenges ahead for Eth 2.0Episode links: ConsenSysJoe Lubin on Epicenter (episode 269)EY and ConsenSys Announce Formation of Baseline Protocol Initiative to Make Ethereum Mainnet Safe and Effective for EnterprisesJoseph Lubin TwitterConsenSys TwitterReset Everything virtual eventThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/ethcc-joe-lubin

In this episode we are joined by David Hoffman, Chief of Operations at RealT, a company which tokenizes realestate assets into security tokens. He is also well known for numerous pieces he has written on Ethereum and DeFi and is co-host of the POV Crypto podcast. Hear us as we talk about his writings, how tokenizing real estate assets works, Bitcoin on Ethereum, the feedback loop problem and effects of the USD in DeFi, and a debate on whether Ether is an asset.Topics covered in this episode:What RealT is and how tokenizing real estate assets worksUsing the Uniswap protocol for tradingThe thesis behind David's “Defining Ether as an Asset” postThe crypto-economics economics of Bitcoin on Ethereum (tBTC, wBTC)The feedback loop problem in DeFiThe effects of the USD price on volatility in DeFiThe argument that Ether is a ”triple-point asset”The utility value of EthereumRebutting the argument the Ethereum will eat all of the world's valueEpisode links: RealTDefining Ether as an AssetEthereum is an Emergent StructureEther Is EquityEther: A New Model for MoneyPOV Crypto PodcastReset Everything EventRealT TwitterDavid Hoffman TwitterPOC Crypto Podcast TwitterSponsors: Nervos: If you’re a developer or project seeking funding for an innovative idea, check out the Nervos Grants Program today - https://www.nervos.org/grantsThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/332

This week we have a special episode on the entire globe's most talked about topic, the Corona Virus. We are joined by guest Ryan Selkis, CEO of Messari. Ryan was one of the first people in the space to start talking about Covid19 and has been very vocal on this subject on Twitter and his newsletter since the crisis began in January. We discuss how this virus has become so deadly and the current health and economic conditions, containment and protecting yourself, how the markets, crypto and startups have been affected, and what is yet to come.Topics covered in this episode:How Ryan become so interested in the Corona VirusThe current global health and economic impact of Covid19The provisions Ryan is making personally and on a company levelMessari's plans for virtual events over the coming weeksA deeper look into the global financial impact of Covid19What does this all have in store for startupsThe stimulus being put in place in the US and its monetary effectsThe current state of the marketsThe long term effects from a societal perspectiveRyan's prediction on what happens nextEpisode links: Ryan Selkis TwitterRyan's List of Must Follow Expert Accounts on TwitterTBI/Messari 2019-nCoV TrackingCoronavirus: Why You Must Act NowRIP Moon TimesMessari Corona Coverage & ResourcesMainnet Events, by MessariDonald G. McNeil Jr.Google Sheets - create and edit spreadsheets online, for free.Epicenter 2020 Audience SurveySponsors: Status: A multi-purpose communication tool that combines a peer-to-peer messenger, secure crypto wallet, and web3 browser - https://status.im/ShapeShift: ShapeShift is the leading crypto platform offering zero-commission trading - https://shapeshift.com/This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/331

This episode was recorded at the third annual Ethereum Community Conference in Paris last week and we were joined by Gonçalo Sá, Co-founder of ConsenSys Diligence, Jérôme de Tychey, President of Ethereum France, and Cassidy Daly, Token Designer at Centrifuge. We discussed the issues surrounding centralization and DeFi in token governance, the security complexities of composability attacks like the ones we saw recently which leveraged flash loans, and of course, the coronavirus.Topics covered in this episode:Gonçalo and Cassidy discuss their talks at the EthCC eventThe current points of interest around centralization in DeFiDefining ecosystem decentralization guidelinesIssues with token governance in DAOsSecurity complexities of comparability attacks and the recent flash loansHow the Ethereum community is improving response times to attacksEthCC, hugs and coronavirusEpisode links:Ethereum Community Conference 3EthCC - TwitterJérôme de Tychey: “Opening Speech” at EthCCJérôme de Tychey: “Closing Speech” at EthCCFriederike Ernst: “Prediction Markets” at EthCCCassidy Daly & Abbey Titcomb: “Putting the 'De' back in 'DeFi'” at EthCCCassidy Daly: “The Gateway for Real-World Assets into the Blockchain Multiverse” at EthCCGonçalo Sá TwitterJérôme de Tychey TwitterCassidy Daly TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/episodes/bonus-ethcc-3

We are joined by founder of TQ Tezos, Jacob Arluck. TQ Tezos is a company that works to advance the Tezos ecosystem by creating open source software and other public goods. It's been over two years since we last did an episode about Tezos and this was a good refresher on how that project is shaping up. We hear about the decentralized and permissionless nature of the Tezos infrastructure, the protocol development of Tezos, and how TQ is working to make Tezos more accessible.Topics covered in this episode:Decentralized nature of Tezos development and the teams that make up the ecosystemWho is funding Tezos protocol developmentPermissionless nature of the Tezos architecture and governance mechanismHow TQ is working to make Tezos more accessibleThe impressive number of development languages and issues around interoperability and comparabilityMichelson – the stack-based DSL (domain-specific language) and the shift towards Michelson 2.0The types of applications being built on TezosThe role of the Tezos Foundation and the Breitmans todayA look back on Tezos governance two years in, and the future of the protocolEpisode links: Amending TezosReflecting on Athens, the first self-amendment of TezosJacob Arluck MediumJacob Arluck TwitterTQ Tezos TwitterTezos TwitterEpicenter 2020 Audience SurveySponsors: Nervos: If you’re a developer or project seeking funding for an innovative idea, check out the Nervos Grants Program today - https://www.nervos.org/grantsThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/330

Joe Lallouz is the CEO of Bison Trails, who provide staking infrastructure for a variety of PoS blockchains. They have built a really impressive system for deploying nodes across multiple cloud services. In light of the $25m recently raised by Bison Trails, Joe shares their vision to build a better PoS ecosystem for everyone, the types of customer they run validators for, and the cutting edge stuff they're working on in terms of deployment, redundancy and key storage. We also hear their view on infrastructure centralization in PoS, protocol improvements, and Bison Trails' role with Libra Association.Topics covered in this episode:How Bison Trails got started and their vision to build a better proof of stake ecosystem for everyoneThe types of customer they run validators for and their approach to improving the productThe networks they support and their approach to adding new networksBison Trail’s technical infrastructure design and the cutting edge stuff they're working on in terms of deployment, redundancy and key storageHow the company thinks about infrastructure centralization in PoSThe company’s involvement in different crypto communities and discussions around protocol improvementsBison Trail’s role with Libra Association and how they are participating in the technical design of the protocolEpisode links: Bison Trails WebsiteBison Trails Raises $25M in Funding Round Led by Blockchain CapitalBison Trails - LibraBison Trails - Blockchain Capital BlogBison Trails TwitterJoe Lallous TwitterSponsors: ShapeShift: ShapeShift is the leading crypto platform offering zero-commission trading - https://shapeshift.com/Status: A multi-purpose communication tool that combines a peer-to-peer messenger, secure crypto wallet, and web3 browser - https://status.im/This episode is hosted by Meher Roy & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/329

Income tax. Not a particularly exciting topic, especially when it comes to paying them. But something we all need to deal with nevertheless. We are all (or at least should be) aware of what our personal tax returns entail. But are you fully aware of the implications holding crypto can have on your tax filing?Clinton Donnelly, Founder of CryptoTaxAudit has done hundreds of tax returns for US citizens, both domestic and expatriated, and is an expert when dealing with filing crypto and Bitcoin taxes. He is also an Enrolled Agent, which means he meets the requirements of the IRS to represent taxpayers. Clinton has seen it all, and there's no situation too complicated. In our interview with Clinton, we explored the ins and outs of crypto taxes for US citizens – it was an information-rich conversation. US taxpayers who hold crypto will learn what they need to report to the IRS, as well as the practical, concrete actions one can take to make sure they are complying with the Tax Code of the United States of America.Topics covered in this episode:Your tax obligations are as a cryptocurrency holderWhat you need to report and how you can prepare a Bullet Proof tax returnHow to put yourself in ths shoes of a IRS tax auditorWhat to do if you get an IRS audit letter (hint don't panic)The biggest mistakes people make when filing their tax return and the risks they faceWhat to do if your crypto transaction history is messyWhat proactive steps you can take to improve your situationEpisode links: CryptoTaxAuditDonnelly Tax LawIRS Refused to Clarify Its Crypto Tax Guidance Isn’t Binding, US Watchdog SaysIRS Explains What Crypto Owners Must Know to File Taxes This YearClinton Donnelly, TwitterClinton Donnelly, LinkedinThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. This podcast episode was sponsored by CryptoTaxAudit.com.

Gabriel Shapiro is an independent attorney who has spent the last two years focusing on the tokens and crypto. He has published several pieces diving deep into US Securities Law, in which he shares his vision and philosophy for how Tokenized Networks should be regulated. In light of the recent “safe harbor” framework proposed by SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce, Gabriel offers his thoughts and suggests how these measures could be improved in a way that would benefit the entire industry.Topics covered in this episode:Gabriel’s background and how he got into the blockchain spaceWhat motivated Gabriel to write his series of postsWhy Securities Laws in the US appear more complex than other countriesThe classifications we give tokens - commodities, currenciesThe Howey Test and how it applies in the crypto spaceWhat the Exchange Act 1984 is and the impact this has on companies that issue securitiesWhy crypto networks not complying with the Securities Law aren’t being punishedWhat is wrong in the blockchain industry and what it has to do with Securities LawGabriel’s philosophy and how Securities Law should be applied when issuing tokens and launching networksThe Safe Harbor proposal - what it is, how it defines things like decentralization and network maturityGabriel’s thoughts on how things can be improvedEpisode links: ZeroLaw WebsiteTokenizing Corporate Capital StockAn open letter to SEC Commissioner Peirce on token safe harborsSize Does Matter — Part 1, Gabriel ShapiroSize Does Matter — Part 2, Gabriel ShapiroSize Does Matter — Part 3, Gabriel ShapiroSize Does Matter — Part 4, Gabriel ShapiroEthereum’s ‘Bazaar’ Development Model Will Pay Off in 2020Hester Peirce: Tell Me How to Improve My Safe Harbor ProposalPreston Byrne: Peirce’s Safe Harbor Proposal Would Be Hilarious if It Weren’t so SeriousZeroLaw TwitterGabriel Shapiro TwitterEpicenter Meetup at EthCCEpicenter 2020 Audience SurveySponsors: Pepo: Meet the people shaping the crypto movement - https://pepo.com/epicenterNervos: If you’re a developer or project seeking funding for an innovative idea, check out the Nervos Grants Program today - https://www.nervos.org/grantsThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/328

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is continuing on its remarkable path to the broad adoption of permissionless financial services. While many people celebrated passing $1 billion locked in DeFi products at the start of February 2020, only a week later, an additional $200 million had entered the ecosystem.DeFi products thus far have proven useful to early adopters with the resilience and knowhow required to navigate the often clunky user experience of Web 3.0. Companies like Argent are building the interface and user experience essential for the masses, with a vision to bring a billion people into the future of finance.Itamar Lesuisse, Co-founder and CEO of Argent, joins us to discuss his vision of the future of DeFi, and the necessity to build products that enable intuitive, secure, and permissionless access to finance for anyone with a smartphone.Topics covered in this episode:Itamar's background and journey to cryptoCreating a Web 3.0 product for mass adoptionRestoring a wallet with Argent GuardiansThe DeFi products accessible in Argent todayAccommodating DeFi products on protocols other than EthereumBuilding a business model for wallet productsWho Argent's users are, and the DeFi products they useSolving mass adoption of crypto with a frictionless on- and off-rampItamar's vision of the future of DeFi and the role Argent will playEpisode links:ArgentEarning interest has never been easier - MediumItamar Lesuisse - TwitterArgent - TwitterArgent - MediumDownload Argent and skip the waitlistEpicenter Meetup at EthCCEpicenter 2020 Audience SurveySponsors:Pepo: Meet the people shaping the crypto movement - https://pepo.com/epicenterStatus: A multi-purpose communication tool that combines a peer-to-peer messenger, secure crypto wallet, and web3 browser - https://status.im/This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/327

While recent blockchain launches seem to leverage various Proof of Stake consensus mechanisms, some believe Satoshi’s consensus mechanism is optimal for distributed protocols. As decentralized ledgers jockey to become the chain of choice for enterprises looking to leverage blockchain technology, projects are looking to offer a solution that maximizes security, decentralization, and transaction throughput. Kevin Wang, a Co-founder of Nervos, joins us to discuss why Proof of Work was implemented as the consensus mechanism for the network. To enable greater flexibility for application developers, Nervos created a Common Knowledge Base (CKB) to focus on the security of assets, enabling a complementary layer of Virtual Machines (VM) to scale and facilitate computation.Kevin also discusses the active initiatives underway with the Nervos Grants Program to foster ecosystem development and encourage developers to evolve the permissionless network.Topics covered in this episode:Kevin’s background at IBM, his open source development, and journey to cryptoWhat the blockchain scene is like in Hangzhou, ChinaWhat’s unique about Nervos, and the importance of each layer within the networkIntroducing Nervos’ consensus mechanism, NC-MaxWhy Nervos decided to implement Proof of WorkExplaining the Common Knowledge Base (CKB), and its significance in the Nervos networkHow developer experience is in the Nervos ecosystemThe economic model of CKB, Nervos’ native tokenProgress of the network, and a call for developers to consider the recently announced Nervos Grants ProgramEpisode links: The Nervos Network homepageNervos Network on TwitterWhy We Love Nakamoto Consensus - Nervos BlogNervos CKB in a Nutshell - Nervos BlogNervos developer resourcesNervos Telegram channelNervos grant informationSponsors: Pepo: Meet the people shaping the crypto movement - https://pepo.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/326

Like previous crypto winters, those actually building the ecosystem have been working diligently to create applications with industry-changing potential. The year 2020 may prove to be the year of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), with many exciting projects re-creating financial products common to the world of traditional finance, in the open and permissionless blockchain space. Synthetic assets enable exposure to the price action of an asset without actually holding the underlying asset. Kain Warick is the Founder of Synthetix, a company creating synthetic assets for DeFi, enabling exposure to fiat currencies, commodities (gold and silver), and cryptocurrencies. They have large aspirations to create synthetic assets for many more things, including traditional equities. Synthetic equities in DeFi is a massive opportunity that demands everyone's attention. Once traditional equities become accessible in DeFi, anyone in the world with internet access will be able to gain exposure to financial products currently only available to the privileged few with access to markets like the Nasdaq or NYSE.Topics covered in this episode:Kain’s eclectic background and his path to cryptoWhy the world needs synthetic assetsRetrospection on the Synthetix crowdsaleHow Synthetix worksThe SNX token and its governancePrice stability and the collateralization ratioThe price oracle, and a battle with front-running botsThe long-term vision of SynthetixHow Kain believes DEXs will compete with centralized exchanges in the futureEpisode links: Synthetix WebsiteSynthetix on TwitterThe Synthetix BlogSynthetix DashboardSynthetix on DiscordSynthetix on ViewBaseSynthetix 2020 RoadmapBending Metal on Amazon (Kain's sci-fi book)Sponsors: Nervos: If you’re a developer or project seeking funding for an innovative idea, check out the Nervos Grants Program today - https://www.nervos.org/grantsPepo: Meet the people shaping the crypto movement - https://pepo.com/epicenterStatus: A multi-purpose communication tool that combines a peer-to-peer messenger, secure crypto wallet, and web3 browser - https://status.im/This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/325

Many within the cryptofinance industry have been patiently waiting for regulatory oversight to deliver the clarity required for institutional adoption. Recent updates by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which issues guidelines for 200 countries and territories, attempts to apply the same rules and regulations required of traditional finance to the world of virtual currencies. Yaya Fanusie's background as an intelligence analyst at the CIA, and research on the national security implications of cryptocurrencies, provide valuable insight into the necessity of regulation in the space to mitigate the risk of bad actors. Yaya discusses the history and evolution of “Know Your Customer” and where he believes the industry is heading as it faces policymakers who attempt to regulate such rapid technological change.Topics covered in this episode:Yaya’s background in the CIA and how he became interested in bitcoinBitcoin from a national security perspectiveHow terrorist organizations leverage cryptocurrencies for fundingThe evolution of AML/KYC and complicance regulation in the financial sectorThe cost of AML/KYC on business and societyTrying to regulate rapid technological changePrivacy in communication vs. Privacy in paymentsThe travel rule and how it affects cryptofinancial companiesCryptocurrencies over the next decadeEpisode links: Yaya Fanusie's websiteYaya Fanusie on TwitterFinCEN’s Regulations to Certain Business Models Involving Convertible Virtual CurrenciesFoundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) PodcastStronger AML Enforcement Might Actually Save Crypto (FDD)Crypto Rogues (FDD)Anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (European Commission)Cryptocurrency AML StrategiesKYC in Stablecoins (Bits on Blocks)Rhythm of Wisdom PodcastSponsors: Pepo: Meet the people shaping the crypto movement - https://pepo.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/324

The blockchain trilemma is the generally accepted concept that it's not possible to scale public and permissionless blockchains without compromising on security, decentralization, or both. While the industry seems focused on building Layer 2 solutions to scale the transaction capacity of public networks, Algorand believes it has solved the trilemma, offering a network that scales without compromise to security or decentralization. Silvio Micali, Algorand's Founder and Head of Research, as well as the company's CEO, Steven Kokinos, discuss the project's background, recent protocol upgrades, and how Algorand will create a great ecosystem for developers.Topics covered in this episode:Silvio’s path from academia to blockchain entrepreneurshipWhat Algorand addresses that other blockchains don’tThe blockchain trilemma: security, decentralization, scalabilityHow Algorand mitigates risk present on other blockchainsThe TEAL smart contract language and how it's uniqueBuilding primitives: atomics swaps, asset issuance, and a smart contract language called TEALApplications and use-cases for AlgorandThe Algorand FoundationWhat’s next for AlgorandEpisode links: Algorand WebsiteWhitepaperAlgorand on TwitterAlgorand on MediumAlgorand on YouTubeAlgorand Year in Review (YouTube)Sponsors: Status: A multi-purpose communication tool that combines a peer-to-peer messenger, secure crypto wallet, and web3 browser - https://status.im/Cosmos: Compete to win 100,000 ATOM by building and running Cosmos Zones - https://cosmos.network/goz/Pepo: Meet the people shaping the crypto movement - https://pepo.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/323

Governance within any community has been a work in progress for humanity's history. The blockchain ecosystem continues to develop and offer an alternative to today's centralized powers. With this, distributed projects and technologies will need to enact clear governance to ensure viable competition with the streamlined decision-making processes present in today's institutions. The absence of codified governance in Bitcoin may be one of its most significant traits, signaling to the world its predictability due to its inability to change drastically. New projects like Edgeware, however, hope to encode the rules of governance on-chain and ensure a transparent process for stakeholders wishing to participate. Edgeware is a smart contract platform built on Polkadot's Substrate. Focused on developing community-owned governance tools, Edgeware is a distributed project where participants use the tools themselves to vote, delegate, and fund each other to upgrade the network. While initially developed by Commonwealth Labs, Edgeware at launch will be entirely managed by the community, which holds 90% of the tokens and resulting influence.Topics covered in this episode:What attracted Dillon to crypto and why he co-founded Commonwealth LabsMulti-chain governanceHow Edgeware is uniqueBuilding Edgeware on Polkadot’s SubstrateRetrospection from the soft-launch of EdgewareWhat a “lockdrop” is, and why Edgeware had oneThe issues and controversy around the Edgeware launch and lockdropThe zero-day fork of Edgeware, StraightedgeThe future of EdgewareEpisode links: Edgeware HomepageCommonwealth HomepageRelaunch: A Clean Genesis for EdgewareEdgeware White PaperEdgeware blockchain launch gets hijacked by rival fork - DecryptEdgeware Participation StatisticsStraightedgeHey Straightedge - Conspiratus episodeEdgeware on TwitterEdgeware on DiscordEdgeware White PaperSponsors: Pepo: Meet the people shaping the crypto movement - https://pepo.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/322

Charlie Shrem became fascinated with Bitcoin in 2011 but grew frustrated with the hassle of buying it from the leading exchange at the time, Mt. Gox. To make the process faster and more convenient, Charlie created BitInstant in 2012. BitInstant quickly grew and by 2013 became responsible for processing a third of all Bitcoin transactions. This was with the help of Roger Ver and the Winklevoss twins, who were his seed investors, and Erik Voorhees, who led their marketing efforts. The success of BitInstant was short-lived. In a time where Bitcoin's primary applications were price speculation and buying things on the Silk Road, Charlie spent time in prison after a lack of customer due-diligence attracted the attention of the law enforcement. Our conversation with Charlie recounts the Bitcoin industry at its beginning, his time in prison, and what he is doing now that he's able to continue his work as a Bitcoin advocate.Topics covered in this episode:Learning of Bitcoin on IRC in 2011The Bitcoin community in the early daysCollaborating with competitors to grow the ecosystemFrustration with Bitcoin infrastructure in 2011Why Charlie decided to create BitInstantMeeting Roger Ver, Erik Voorhees, and the Winklevoss TwinsCharlie’s time in prison and its effect on his personal lifePodcasting and daily life after prisonEpisode links: Untold Stories WebsiteUntold Stories on Apple PodcastsBitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Betrayal, and RedemptionCharlie and Best Selling Author Ben Mezrich Discuss Bitcoin's History60 Minutes Podcast - Sunday, May 19, 2019 with Charlie ShremCrypto.IQCharlie Shrem on TwitterSponsors: Status: A multi-purpose communication tool that combines a peer-to-peer messenger, secure crypto wallet, and web3 browser - https://status.im/Cosmos: Compete to win 100,000 ATOM by building and running Cosmos Zones - https://cosmos.network/goz/Pepo: Meet the people shaping the crypto movement - https://pepo.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/321

With global commerce and finance continuing to digitize, the world’s borders are seemingly becoming more fluid, even as physical walls are built. How does this globalization affect the sovereignty of nation-states and their ability to democratically direct their own economic future? In a panel moderated by Epicenter host, Sunny Aggarwal, we explore the interpretation of monetary policy from a global context, discuss the morality of impacting other nations, and the potential for new technologies to offer alternatives in a dollar-dominated world. The conversation includes Jae Kwon, CEO of Tendermint; John P Conley, Professor at Vanderbilt University; Steve Randy Waldman, Author of Interfluidity, and Baek Kim, Senior Associate at Hashed.Topics covered in this episode:A moral perspective on making monetary policy that is beneficial to one nation, and detrimental to anotherWho matters when determining externalities in governmental policiesThe possibility of a fiscal union without a monetary oneUSD stablecoins promoting the notion that the US should control the world’s monetary policyComparing the Libra to the EuroEpisode links: Dani Rodrik's Blog: The inescapable trilemma of the world economyEuro and Rodrik's TrilemmaInterfluidity Blog - Steve Randy WaldmanJohn Conley Macro WTF TalkSteve Randy Waldman Macro WTF TalkJae Kwon | TwitterSteve Randy Waldman | TwitterJohn P Conley | TwitterJohn P. Conley Personal WebsiteSponsors: Pepo: Meet the people shaping the crypto movement - https://pepo.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/320

Managing crypto-assets can be an anxiety-inducing experience for a lot of people. While it's quite empowering to “be your own bank,” it's also scary for a lot of people who understand the risks associated with self-custody. Although cryptocurrency wallets have made tremendous progress since the days when a full-sync of the blockchain was required, there are still significant hurdles that limit broad adoption. This conversation on the future of wallets at SF Blockchain Week Epicenter conference includes Taylor Monahan of MyCrypto, David Gold of FIO Protocol, Dan Finlay of MetaMask, and Ouriel Ohayon of ZenGo. They discuss design, app store policies, and the evolution necessary to enable more people to send, receive, and manage their tokens confidently. The panel is moderated by Epicenter host Sebastien Couture.Topics covered in this episode:Advancements in the usability of cryptocurrency wallets over the last yearThe importance of mobile-first developmentFrustrations with iOS and Android app storesHow to make developing wallets economically feasibleThe future of walletsSelf-custody vs. custodial walletsRegulation of self-custody walletsWhat to look forward to in the near-termEpisode links: MetaMaskZenGo - Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency WalletFIO Protocol Developer HubMyCryptoTaylor Monahan on TwitterDan Finlay on TwitterOuriel Ohayon on TwitterFIO Protocol on TwitterMetaMask on TwitterMyCrypto.com on TwitterZenGo on TwitterSponsors: Cosmos: Compete to win 100,000 ATOM by building and running Cosmos Zones - https://cosmos.network/goz/eToro: Automatically copy every trade of eToro's top crypto traders at the exact price in real-time - https://www.etoro.com/Pepo: Meet the people shaping the crypto movement - https://pepo.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/319

Much of the digital world now operates in the cloud. A handful of companies are responsible for the massive market, and the centralization makes many people worry about censorship, privacy, and network resilience. David Vorick’s passion for distributed file storage had him start Sia in 2014. He’s been working fervently ever since to develop a viable competitor to the centralized solutions that are responsible for much of the content on the internet today. David aim’s to create a more private, resilient, and secure alternative to Amazon Web Services while also outperforming it.Topics covered in this episode:Why David started Sia rather than taking a job in big-techThe Sia launch in 2015Why Sia has prioritized development over marketing in the beginningThe importance of decentralized storage solutionsHow decentralized storage can be cheaper than AWSWhy Sia needs its own blockchain and protocol's tech stackDavid's views on Proof of Work how that lead him to start a mining companyThe circumstances around the Sia blockchain fork of 2018Where David envisions decentralized storage in the next few yearsEpisode links: Sia API DocumentationSia BlogDecentralization & Cutting-Edge Cryptography - Starkware Sessions TalkBusted Setup - MIT Bitcoin Expo 2019 TalkRecovering Payment Channel Midstates Using only The User's Seed - Scaling Bitcoin TalkThe Sia Ethos (Sia Blog)Blockchains of the Sia familyObeliskSiaStatsDavid Vorick on TwitterSia on TwitterSponsors: Pepo: - eToro: Automatically copy every trade of eToro's top crypto traders at the exact price in real-time - https://www.etoro.com/This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/318

Many people find that the crypto-finance space is quite difficult for non-technical people to understand and interact with the technologies. Some projects and people have made tremendous progress in creating tools and interfaces that allow a broader audience to participate, speculate, and learn.Taylor Monahan started MyEtherWallet as a side project in 2015, only for it to grow into one of the significant pieces of software people used to participate in the 2017 ICO boom. She has since "design-forked" the codebase and created MyCrypto, an open-source tool for generating ether wallets, handling ERC-20 tokens, and interacting with the blockchain with a clean and intuitive design.Topics covered in this episode:Taylor's background, and how she got into cryptocurrencyWhat her experience was with Ethereum so early in the projects lifecycleHow Reddit comments helped guide the feature list in the early days of MyEtherWalletHow the DAO hack got her working full time on MyEtherWalletBuilding a project before “founding a company”Experiencing the ICO boom as the main wallet used to participate in token generation eventsWhere MyCrypto is at todayHow Taylor wants MyCrypto to change the user experience in cryptocurrencyTaylor’s view on centralized exchanges and view of the futureEpisode links:MyCrypto Beta#MyCryptoWinter is back! (Medium)Try The New MyCrypto! (Medium)MyCrypto TwitterMyCrypto GitHubMyCrypto DiscordTaylor Monahan TwitterSponsors:Cosmos: Compete to win 100,000 ATOM by building and running Cosmos Zones - https://cosmos.network/goz/eToro: Automatically copy every trade of eToro's top crypto traders at the exact price in real-time - https://www.etoro.com/Pepo: -This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/317

We were joined by Luka Mueller, who played a key role in establishing Switzerland as a cryptocurrency center and in laying the legal groundwork for the ICO boom. In 2014, his law firm MME worked with the Ethereum team to set up the Ethereum Foundation and run its public fundraiser. A model that was later copied by countless other projects and led MME to work with many other leading protocols like Cosmos and Tezos. We also discussed his new project Sygnum, a cryptocurrency-focused bank. Nearly every company that works in the cryptocurrency space has had problems with its banking partner. Legal uncertainty, lack of knowledge, or simple unwillingness to work with cryptocurrency companies has made this a frequent nightmare for companies in this emerging sector. With a presence in both Switzerland and Singapore, Sygnum aims to fill a piece of missing infrastructure in the crypto-ecosystem: a bank that is able to receive, hold and transfer protocol tokens while offering a secure fiat gateway to easily transfer from the old world of finance to the new.We also discussed Switzerland’s regulatory environment and why it is able to provide more regulatory clarity.Topics covered in this episode:What life was like for Luka before blockchainHow Luka met Vitalik and went on to set up the Ethereum Foundation and run their fundraiserWhat protocols his law firm, MME, helped launchThe lessons learned over the years, and how he would do it differentlyWhy Switzerland is a great jurisdiction for crypto projectsWhat Luka thinks of asset-backed tokensWhat is Sygum, and why did he decide to start a crypto bankWhat Luke believes will happen when the tech giants release their own currenciesThe difference between Sygnum and similar banksWhat Luka's fears are in the space, and what he is hopeful forEpisode links: MME Law FirmSygnum WebsiteInstitutional Custody: A Portal to the Digital Asset Economy (Sygnum Blog)How Tokenization is Closing the Gap Between Public and Private Markets (Sygnum Blog)Sygnum gets green light to operate in Singapore (SwissInfo)Switzerland’s first crypto bank reports “overwhelming” demand (Decrypt)Sygnum on TwitterSponsors: eToro: Automatically copy every trade of eToro's top crypto traders at the exact price in real-time - https://www.etoro.com/Cosmos: Compete to win 100,000 ATOM by building and running Cosmos Zones - https://cosmos.network/goz/This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/316

As the crypto ecosystem continues to grow, wallets and exchanges are quickly evolving to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace. Viktor Radchenko, CEO and founder of Trust Wallet, joins us this week to talk about why he created a noncustodial wallet solution, what makes Trust Wallet unique, and how the acquisition by Binance has allowed his team to focus on a long term vision. Viktor helps us understand what it means to be part of the Binance Ecosystem, and what he believes the future holds for wallets, key storage and custody. Topics covered in this episode:Victor's bio and how he ended up moving from the Ukraine to the USHow hacking games got Victor into cryptocurrencyWhat Trust Wallet is and its' strengths in the wallet landscapeWhat it means for Trust Wallet to be secure, opensource, decentralized, and anonymousWhat Vicktor believes the future holds for wallets and key storageThe Binance acquisition of Trust WalletTrust Wallet's policy for adding new coins and the criteria they look atEpisode links: Trust WalletTrust Wallet BlogCrypto exchange Binance buys Trust Wallet in first acquisition deal (TechCrunch)7 Essential Steps to Keep Your Crypto Wallet Secure (Trust Wallet Blog)Ethereum Name Service is Now Supported (Trust Wallet Blog)Trust Wallet DEX is growing up, Order book and Trading History added (Trust Wallet Blog)Wallet Core documentationWallet Core on GitHubThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/315

Bitmain is one of the most well known, and one of the most polarizing companies in the blockchain space. The largest ASIC manufacturer and operator of several mining pools, Bitmain is the center of many controversies and discussions around centralization in the space. But not only is it the subject of discussion, Bitmain breaks out of the “passive miner” stereotype and is very active in many of the discussions in the community, most notably the Great Scaling Debates. In this episode, we sit down with Nishant Sharma, Head of Community Relations, who is responsible for acting as a bridge between the Bitmain company and the many communities it interacts with through its mining and ASIC operations. We explore the origins of Bitmain and its founders, the economics of ASIC production, its past and current relationships with different communities, and the future of the company.Topics covered in this episode:Nishant's Story in the Bitcoin mining space and how it led to joining BitmainOrigin of Bitmain and its founders, notably Jihan WuDoes Bitmain contribute to centralization in the blockchain spaceHow Bitmain maintains its superiority in the ASIC manufacturing spaceEconomics of ASIC production and manufacturingBalancing business models of ASIC production, operating multiple mining pools, and exploring new verticalsBitmain's role in blockchain debates like the scaling debate, Bitcoin Cash split, and ProgPowEpisode links: Bitmain WebsiteNishant on TwitterBitmain on TwitterFallout: Everyone’s a loser after Bitcoin Cash split – Brave New CoinBitmain WikipediaBTC.com PoolAntpoolLeaked Transcript Details Power Struggle Inside Bitcoin Mining GiantBitmain – CoinDeskDovey Wan on TwitterSponsors: Vaultoro: Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg - http://vaultoro.comCosmos: Change the future of finance at the SF Blockchain Week Defi Hackathon – $50,000 prize pool for winning teams - https://epicenter.rocks/sfcosmosThis episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/314

As the cryptocurrency space has grown, exchanges have become the dominant juggernauts of the industry. One of the earliest and most reputable exchanges is Kraken. From the company's formation in 2011, Kraken has grown to 4m users and almost 1,000 employees.We are joined by Kraken Founder and CEO Jesse Powell. We dove into the history of Kraken, their values and the vision that's driving them.Topics covered in this episode:How selling virtual goods for games led Jesse to discover BitcoinWhy cryptocurrencies will lead to a better financial systemHow Kraken launched and ended up getting strong traction in EuropeThe challenges and changes of the regulatory environmentHis thoughts on DeFi and decentralized exchangesKraken's approach to listing assets on the exchangeHow to create a strong culture in a distributed companyHis vision for Kraken to become a general trading and investment platformEpisode links: KrakenHow to Grow A Decacorn | Crypto Podcast | KrakenHow to Trade Crypto On KrakenKraken on WikipediaKraken Exchange TwitterJesse Powell TwitterSponsors: Cosmos: Change the future of finance at the SF Blockchain Week Defi Hackathon – $50,000 prize pool for winning teams - https://epicenter.rocks/sfcosmosTrail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.comThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/313

The vision of a world computer on which anyone can deploy smart contracts has captured our imagination since the publication of the Ethereum whitepaper. But while Ethereum demonstrated the viability of the concept, its shortcomings in terms of capacity and throughput prevent it from realizing the vision. Today, throughput has become a major bottleneck for widescale adoption of decentralized technologies.Many projects have set out to deliver where Ethereum 1.0 falls short. Most projects, including Ethereum 2.0, aim to create some kind of sharded network with many interoperable chains. Solana may be the only project that went the other way. Through identifying every performance bottleneck for a single blockchain and developing novel ways of removing them, they target to achieve throughput of 50,000 tps.We were joined by Solana creator and CEO Anatoly Yakovenko to discuss Solana's approach to building a web-scale blockchain. We covered some of their novel ideas including proof-of-history and parallelizing smart contract execution.Topics covered in this episode:The performance-obssessed engineering background of the Solana teamThe arguments against sharding for scalabilityThe value of a shared sense of time in a distributed systemHow Solana's Proof-of-History creates a global clock for the networkHow Solana uses GPUs to parallelize smart contract executionHow value could be accrued for the native token if transaction throughput is abundantSolana's upcoming Tour de Sol testnets and launch timelineEpisode links: Solana WebsiteProof of History: A Clock for BlockchainThe World Computer Should Be Logically Centralized - Multicoin CapitalMulticoin Capital: The Separation of Time and State - Multicoin CapitalHow Solana's Proof of History is a Huge Advancement for Block TimeTower BFT: Solana’s High Performance Implementation of PBFTSponsors: Trail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.comVaultoro: Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg - http://vaultoro.comThis episode is hosted by Meher Roy & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/312

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies have the potential to change the world in meaningful ways. And this change may drastically impact people’s lives – both for the better and for the worse. While ethics are often discussed for technologies like AI, the ethical considerations around blockchain technologies have received less focussed attention.We’re joined by Rhys Lindmark, Head of Community and Long-Term Societal Impact at the MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative. Previously the host of the podcast “Creating a Humanist Blockchain Future,” Rhys’ approach to blockchain was always about considering its potential impact. Since joining the DCI, his podcast, now “Gray Mirror,” continues to explore these questions. He has also recently started teaching a blockchain ethics course with the DCI’s Director, Neha Narula.Topics covered in this episode:Rhys’ background as a podcaster and proponent of Effective AltruismHis advocacy work around universal tithing and donating to charityThe controversy surrounding the MIT Media Lab and the resignation of their Director Joi ItoThe difference between ethics and moralsWhy we need to study blockchain ethicsShould we have ethics committees in blockchain as there exists about AIThe ethical considerations for different use cases and applications of blockchain technologyThe role of miners and should they have ethical obligations to censor certain transactionsThe DCI’s blockchain ethics class and what students learnEpisode links: Blockchain Ethics ClassBlockchain Ethics Class SyllabusWhy it’s time to start talking about blockchain ethics (MIT TechnologyReview)Jeffrey Epstein case: Federal prosecutors broke law, judge says (MiamiHerald)Director of M.I.T.’s Media Lab Resigns After Taking Money From JeffreyEpstein (New York Times)MIT Digital Currency InitiativeRhys Lindmark on TwitterSponsors: Cosmos: Change the future of finance at the SF Blockchain Week Defi Hackathon – $50,000 prize pool for winning teams - https://epicenter.rocks/sfcosmosTrail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.comB9Lab: Level up and become a Solidity smart contract auditor – 5% off the with the code EPICENTER - https://solidified.b9lab.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/311

This past year, we have witnessed what some are calling a “Cambrian Explosion” in zero-knowledge proof systems. New proof systems based on a variety of cryptographic assumptions are popping up every week. And while zero-knowledge systems are known for their privacy-preserving characteristics, they have proven particularly useful for scaling blockchains through off-chain computations.We're joined by Eli Ben Sasson, Co-founder and Cheif Scientist in the East at Starkware. His company is developing a full proof-stack, which leverages STARKs. Pioneered by Eli, STARKs are zero-knowledge cryptographic proofs, which are succinct, transparent, and post-quantum secure. StarkWare has demonstrated how zkSTARKs may be leveraged to provide off-chain scalability by generating proofs of computational integrity which may be verified on-chain.Topics covered in this episode:Eli's trajectory and transition from academia to the startup worldThe origin story of Starkware and the founding teamThe current explosion of zero-knowledge proof researchAn overview of zero-knowledge proof systems and how they workWhat are STARKs and what are their propertiesHow STARKs are different from SNARKs and BulletproofsWhat are zk-Rollups and how they are used by StarkWare to achieve scalabilityThe StarkDEX experiment and scalability benefits it had demonstratedThe issue of data availability with layer-2 scaling solutionsStarkWare's business model and the solutions they are building for customersEpisode links: StarkWareStarkWare resourcesStarkWare blogStarkWare TwitterStarkWare Sessions conference videosEpicenter Podcast SFBW Week MeetupDeFi Hackathon sponsored by CosmosSF Blockchain Week 2019 (use the code EPICENTER for 20% off tickets)Macro.WTFSponsors: Vaultoro: Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg - http://vaultoro.comB9Lab: Level up and become a Solidity smart contract auditor – 5% off the with the code EPICENTER - https://solidified.b9lab.com/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/310

We’re joined by Yoni Assia, Founder and CEO of eToro. The concept behind this world-leading social trading platform is users invest smarter by automatically copying the top traders in the community. With over 10 million users, over a trillion dollars traded on the platform just last year alone, this fascinating approach to trading is making huge waves. A decade after its original launch, eToro entered the crypto space with eToroX, their crypto exchange. More recently, they added cryptocurrencies to the growing list of assets that users can add to “Copy Trades.” Yoni shares his long-term vision in which he sees the tokenization of all traditional asset classes eventually taking place.Topics covered in this episode:Yoni's background and how he first became interested in financial tradingHow Yoni and his brother came up with the idea for eToroThe background of the Bitcoin community in IsraelYoni's predictions for the finance industryHow the power of tokenization paved the path for eToroWhat makes eToro unique compared to other crypto trading platformseToro's blockchain walletThe launch of the eToroX crypto currency exchangeeToro's views on custody of assets and DeFiEpisode links: eToroeToro on GitHubThe eToro Crypto WalleteToroXeToro TwitterYoni Assia TwitterSponsors: Cosmos: Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains - http://cosmos.network/epicenterVaultoro: Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg - http://vaultoro.comThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/309

As we take some time to record new interviews, we’re releasing content from DappCon which took place in Berlin in August. This week, you’ll hear a panel moderated by Sunny all about blockchain governance.The panelists where Ameen Soleimani of MolochDAO, Stephanie Hurder of Prysm Group, Jorge Izquierdo of Aragon One, and Sebastian Gajek of ditCraf.Topics covered in this episode:Hard Governance vs. Soft GovernanceWhat types of governance we should apply to different systemsDifferent approaches to governance formalizationHow we should govern things like trademarksRepresenting all stakeholders in a governance systemBuilding in exit mechanisms in DAOsConservatism over Liberlism in governance mechanismsHow to account for different value systemsEpisode links: DappConAmeen Soleimani on TwitterStephanie Hurder on TwitterJorge Izquierdo on TwitterSebastian Gajek on TwitterCommunity manager job postingEpicenter Meetup at SF Blockchain WeekThis episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/308

As we take some time to record new interviews, we're releasing content from DappCon which took place in Berlin in August. This week, you'll hear a panel moderated by Sebastien on usability and user experience in blockchain-based apps and products.The panelists where Chriss Sugg of AirSwap, Alex Van de Sande of the Ethereum Foundation, Itamar Lesuisse or Argent and Pedro Gomez of Wallet Connect.Topics covered in this episode:The state of usability in the blockchain spaceHow evolving technology inform concepts in user experienceBuilding products in Web2.0 vs. Web 3Creating dialog between engineers and designersWhy crypto product haven't gained adoption from non-crypto savvy peopleAdoption of crypto by the unbankedGathering usage data for the purpose of product developmentEpisode links: Chriss Sugg on TwitterAlex Van de Sande on TwitterPedro Gomez on TwitterItamar Lesuisse on TwitterCommunity manager job postingDAPPCONThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/307

Those who have been in crypto long enough remember the not-so-good-ol’ days when an air-gapped machine was the only way to store private keys securely. Thankfully, the wallet space has come a long way from that era. But we still live in a world where the seed phrase is the single atomic point of failure. Enter threshold signatures schemes (TSS), a multi-party computation (MPC) where different parties generate a key and are all required to create a valid signature. We’re joined by Omer Shlomovits and Ouriel Ohayon, Co-founders of ZenGo. Their product is a ‘keyless’ crypto wallet, which means users never need to generate or store a key which gives them access to their funds. Keys are created with an MPC, where both ZenGo and the user are required to sign a transaction. TTS opens up exciting new possibilities like social recovery, user permissions for teams, and inheritance planning schemes. The important distinction between ZenGo and existing multi-signature wallets is that they achieve this using only cryptography, and do not rely on on-chain elements like smart contracts or op_scriptSig in Bitcoin.Topics covered in this episode:- Omer and Ouriel’s respective backgrounds in academia and online consumer-facing products- What lead them to want to build yet another crypto wallet- The state of custody in the crypto wallet ecosystem and the challenge which remain unaddressed- A quick refresh on cryptographic primitives and multi-party computations (MPC)- The building blocks of cryptographic signatures and threshold signature schemes (TSS)- How TSS is different from Bitcoin multi-sig and smart contract multi-sig- TSS in ECDSA vs. Schnorr signatures- Applications and use cases for TSS- ZenGo’s on-boarding, restore process and use of biometrics- The future of wallet interoperability in a world of proprietary cryptographic schemesEpisode links: - [ZenGo: Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Wallet](https://zengo.com)- [‎ZenGo: Bitcoin & Crypto Wallet on the App Store](https://Zengo.com/enjoy)- [Threshold Signatures Explained](https://www.binance.vision/security/threshold-signatures-explained)- [ShareLock: Mixing for Cryptocurrencies from Multiparty ECDSA](https://eprint.iacr.org/2019/563.pdf)- [KZen Networks on GitHub](https://github.com/KZen-networks)- [Zengo Research](https://zengo.com/research/)- [KZen Research Telegram Group](https://t.me/kzen_research)- [Tel Aviv Blockchain Week Recap with Anna Rose of the Zero Knowledge Podcast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccywXWTSFKM)Sponsors: - Vaultoro: Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg - http://vaultoro.com- Trail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.comThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: [epicenter.tv/306](https://epicenter.tv/306)

We're joined by Sharon Goldberg, CEO of Arwen, a protocol solution for non-custodial trading. From communications engineering to Internet protocol security, to then becoming a Professor at Boston University, she shares her journey into the world of cryptography. Beginning as a whitepaper on eclipse attacks, Arwen has grown into a platform enabling atomic swaps on centralized exchanges. Sharon chats about Arwen's integration with KuCoin, how it compares to ShapeShift, Interledger, and Lightning, and the exciting new release of the Layer-2 atomic swaps from Ethereum into Bitcoin.Topics covered in this episode:- How Sharon became interested in blockchain technology- The meaning of an eclipse attack- Arwen's co-founder Ethan Heilman- The backbone of Arwen- The Arwen protocol and how it uses atomic swaps- How trading takes place on the exchange- Arwen vs Shapeshift and Interledger- Creating multiple orders using the same channel- Arwen vs Lightning and the use of SegWit- How the relationship with KuCoin was formedEpisode links: - [Arwen website](https://www.arwen.io/)- [Arwen's first white paper on eclipse attacks](https://eprint.iacr.org/2015/263.pdf)- [Arwen's Trading Protocol whitepaper](https://arwen.io/whitepaper.pdf)- [Announcement of Arwen's partnership with KuCoin](https://medium.com/arwensecure/arwen-partners-with-kucoin-to-offer-secure-non-custodial-trading-24af298d5dbd)- [Arwen's Twitter](https://twitter.com/arwensecure)- [Sharon Goldberg on Twitter](https://twitter.com/goldbe)Sponsors: - Cosmos: Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains - http://cosmos.network/epicenterThis episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: [epicenter.tv/305](https://epicenter.tv/305)

We’re pleased to be joined by the legendary cryptographer and computer scientist, David Chaum. From his early beginnings at Berkley, David pioneered many of the cryptographic techniques used in secure systems and cryptocurrencies today. Blind signatures, which are used in zero-knowledge proofs, and mix networks, used in Tor heavily rely on his work. At the dawn of the Internet, David founded DigiCash, what many believe to be a direct ancestor of Bitcoin. Today, David continues to pursue his mission to bring data privacy to all as his most recent project, Elixxir, aims to create a truly private messaging and payment app with a mass-market appeal.Topics covered in this episode:- David’s background as a Ph.D. student at Berkeley and his thesis entitled “Computer Systems Established, Maintained, and Trusted by Mutually Suspicious Groups”- What drove him to work on cryptography and privacy systems- His relationship to the early cypherpunk movement- David’s contribution to cryptography primitives such as blind signatures, undeniable signatures, group signatures and mixers- The story of DigiCash and how the company was founded- The idea behind Cyberbucks and why the company ultimately went bankrupt- Cryptocurrency adoption as a chicken-and-egg problem- David’s personal views and practices with regards to online privacy- His thoughts on the blockchain space today and his views on the future of the industry- His current project, Elixxir, a messaging and payment app which protects users’ data and metadataEpisode links: - [David Chaum’s website](https://chaum.com)- [DigiCash](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/digicash.asp)- [lists.cpunks.org Mailing Lists](https://lists.cpunks.org/mailman/listinfo)- [DigiCash - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DigiCash)- [Blind Signatures for Untraceable Payments](https://www.chaum.com/publications/Chaum-blind-signatures.PDF)- [DigiCash announcement article from 1994](https://www.chaum.com/ecash/articles/1994/05-27-94%20-%20World_s%20first%20electronic%20cash%20payment%20over%20computer%20networks.pdf)- [Project Page: Multiparty Computation](https://www.chaum.com/spymasters/)- [Security without Identification](https://www.chaum.com/publications/Security_Wthout_Identification.html)- [Elixxir - Home](https://elixxir.io/)- [Elixxir - Real Cryptography, Real Time: Precomputations in Elixxir](https://elixxir.io/blog/real-cryptography-real-time)- [Elixxir - Why Mark Zuckerberg wants no privacy, why he wrote his letter, and why it won’t help him](https://elixxir.io/blog/why-zuckerberg-wants-no-privacy)- [Elixxir - Point of Departure](https://elixxir.io/blog/point-of-departure)- [cMix white paper](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B1jv03qc8E1kx0kvGFx4blzwXrQepMyy/view)Sponsors: - Vaultoro: Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg - http://vaultoro.com- Trail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.comThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: [epicenter.tv/304](https://epicenter.tv/304)

We're joined by Ayo Akinyele, CEO of Bolt Labs. Bolt is building a new privacy-focused layer-2 payment channel network design. Initially designed by Matt Green and Ian Meyers, Bolt is being commercialized by Ayo and his team. Beginning with a Zcash integration, they have plans to implement on several crypto networks. We chat with Ayo about the technical design of BOLT channels, their privacy guarantees, how they complement designs like Lightning, and their synergies with the Zcash team. Topics covered in this episode: Privacy in Lightning Technical design of Bolt channels Architecture of Bolt channel networks Integrations with existing networks Synergies with Zcash project Regulatory aspect of payment channel hubs Episode links: Bolt Labs website Bolt: Anonymous Payment Channels for Decentralized Currencies (white paper_ Bolt Zcash implementation Bolt: anonymous payment channels for decentralized currencies – Part I Bolt: anonymous payment channels for decentralized currencies – Part II Ayo Akinyele on Twitter Starkware Session: September 16th in Tel Aviv – 20% off with the code EPICENTER Chain-Aviv #4: The era of new rising chains and assets – September 11th in Tel Aviv Sponsors: Cosmos: Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains - http://cosmos.network/epicenter This episode is hosted by Meher Roy & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/303

We’re joined by Eric Conner and Anthony Sassano, founders of EthHub. Started in January of 2019, EthHub’s goal is to provide a trusted, objective source of information for the Ethereum ecosystem. The platform is made up of an open-source documentation website, a weekly newsletter, and a podcast, “Into the Ether” hosted by Eric and Anthony. Both active and vocal members of the Ethereum community, they are known to embody what some consider to be Ethereum Maximalism. Topics covered in this episode: What is EthHub and why they decided to start the organization Eric and Anthony’s view on the current state of the Ethereum community The different cliques, factions, and sub-groups in Ethereum The role of the Foundation and Vitalik Buterin as they see it A close look into project funding in Ethereum and the emergence of DAOs for funding Reflections on Anthony’s “Why Ether is Valuable” piece The state of Ethereum 2.0 research and the different parties involved Their views on where the crypto space is heading in the next 5 years Episode links: EthHub website Into the Ether podcast EthHub Newsletter Why Ether is Valuable Is Ether needed for transaction fees? Ethereum Project Funding EthHub on Twitter Anthony Sassano on Twitter Eric Conner on Twitter Epicenter Meetup at TelAviv Blockchain Week – Monday September 16th Sponsors: Vaultoro: Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg - http://vaultoro.com Trail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.com This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/302

This week we're joined by Daniel Shin. He is the Co-Founder of Terra Money and previous CEO and Co-Founder of TMON, one of Korea's largest players e-commerce platforms. Today he talks about his success in that area and how that drove him to enter the cryptocurrency and blockchain space with this new project. Daniel was lead to blockchain when looking for a solution to reduce transaction fees paid by online merchants. Not satisfied with just using an existing stable coin, he set about to make his own, which is how Terra was born. Topics covered in this episode: Daniel's background with TMON and his need to explore new transaction cost-cutting ideas How Daniel discovered that cryptocurrencies may help reduce intermediaries in the payment space Terra's impressive partnerships with some of Korea's largest e-commerce players The stability mechanism and the role of the Luna token The role of miners in Terra and the currency's seigniorage model Comparisons to other stablecoins like Maker DAI and Libra The contingency plans in the event of a catastrophic plummet in demand How Cosmos formed the basis on which Terra was built Terra's business model and product roadmap Episode links: Terra on GitHub Terra white paper Introducing the new Terra Protocol Use Cases for Decentralized Money (Stablecoin) Scaling Seigniorage Terra Research Forum Terra Twitter TMON Sponsors: Cosmos: Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains - http://cosmos.network/epicenter This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/301

We’re joined by Erik Voorhees, Founder & CEO of Shapeshift. His third appearance on the podcast is timed nicely as July marked ShapeShift’s fifth anniversary. From its early days as the “Google Translate for cryptocurrencies”, it has grown into an organization of 75 people, and Erik talks about the learning curves he has endured on his journey. Our conversation also coincides with the launch of ShapeShift’s brand new V2 platform, which includes a self-custodial asset management dashboard, hardware wallet support, and many other new features. One notable change is that ShapeShift now requires users to create an account and perform KYC, something which very much pains Erik. We also discuss Bitcoin, Libra, and the future of money, topics which are always fascinating to approach from Erik’s Libertarian viewpoint. Topics covered in this episode: ShapeShift celebrating its 5th anniversary the lessons learned since launch What is ShapeShift 2.0 and the problems addressed by this product ShapeShift's new features and what people can expect to come in the future Why users now have to register and perform KYC What is the FOX token and what is it's utility ShapeShift's business model and target segment Why the company chose to shut down Prism Erik's views on the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems today Speculations about Libra and the future of money Episode links: ShapeShift ShapeShift on GitHub Building a Bridge to Financial Sovereignty (ShapeShift 2.0 announcement) Erik's tweetstorm on Libra KeepKey Release Notes ShapeShift Twitter Erik Voorhees Twitter Sponsors: Trail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.com Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter StarkWare Sessions: September 16th in Tel Aviv – 20% off with the code EPICENTER - https://epicenter.rocks/starkware This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/300

We're joined by Igor Barinov, the tech lead of the POA Network. The POA Network achieves a reduction in transaction costs by many orders of magnitude by having a set of trusted validators. All validators must be US public notaries, so their identities are known and legal recourse against them can be taken in the offchain world. We also talk about the xDai network, which enables Dai transactions on a POA chain: Dai are transferred into a smart contract on the mainnet and then become available to be transferred at much lower cost on the POA Network. Similarly, they can be transferred out of the xDai network and become available again on the mainchain. We talk about use cases, governance, and limitations. Topics covered in this episode: Igor's background and how he got into blockchain The POA network setup and how to become a validator What informs design decisions and how to find suitable notaries The consensus mechanism on the POA Network The role of the POA token The xDai network and its purpose The role of the DPOS token Use cases of POA and xDai Networks Episode links: POA Network website POA products overview xDAI Chain POSDAO White paper Ocean Protocol releases own POA network Beginners guide: What's the POA network Sponsors: StarkWare Sessions: September 16th in Tel Aviv – 20% off with the code EPICENTER - https://epicenter.rocks/starkware Trail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.com Vaultoro: Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg - http://vaultoro.com This episode is hosted by Meher Roy & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/299

We're joined by Rune Christensen, CEO and Co-Founder of MakerDAO. We discuss the rise of Maker DAI as an algorithmically backed stable token and get into the weeds of the new version featuring multi collateral DAI as well as the ability to natively generate interest on DAI. We also cover the current governance model and how this can be attacked. The governance will undergo an overhall for the new version of Maker, introducing an Emergency Shutdown that can be triggered through MKR holders and promises to make the system more resilient. Lastly, we venture into what Rune hopes the future will bring for MakerDAO. Topics covered in this episode: Recap of how single collateral DAI is kept at peg of 1 USD Why was DAI intermittently trading at < 1USD Governance functions exercised by MKR holders Sale of MKR tokens and MKR distribution Is the current governance model satisfactory? New governance mechanisms to be rolled out soon Introduction of multi collateral DAI Interest generating DAI: Implementation and rationale Future of Maker DAO: What will be able to serve as collateral? Episode links: MakerDAO white paper MakerDAO CDP portal MakerDAO Blog Roadmap Multi Collateral DAI DAI in numbers DAI in DeFi Sponsors: Cosmos: Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains - http://cosmos.network/epicenter Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter This episode is hosted by Sunny Aggarwal & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/298

We’re joined by Ameen Soleimani, Co-founder and CEO of SpankChan. From his humble beginnings at ConsenSys, he went on to create SpankChain in 2017 at the height of the ICO boom. The project aims to create a better and safer environment for sex workers by removing the intermediaries who take significant commissions on their revenues. SpankChain’s initial product, an adult cam platform, allows users to pay performers in crypto with a native asset over sophisticated payment channels. More recently, Ameen headed a project called Moloch DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization with the goal to fund Ethereum 2.0 development. Moloch has but few simple functions: making proposals, voting on proposals, and exiting. This simple design, heavily inspired on “The DAO” of 2016 has attracted funding from Vitalik Buterin, Joe Lubin and other prominent community members. Topics covered in this episode: Ameen’s background as an early ConsenSys employee working on payment channels Why Ameen decided to found SpankChain and how the project has evolved since its inception What is Moloch DAO and why he decided to launch it The mechanism behind Moloch and how it compares to other DAOs How one becomes a member of Moloch and participates in governance The simplicity of Moloch DAO and its essential functions How Moloch DAO scales and its intended lack of a smart contract upgrade mechanism The attention and funding the project has already received Proposals already made on Moloch, including YangDAO, and their utility to the ecosystem Ameen’s views on the broader Ethereum space, his outlook on Eth 2.0 and the future of the project Episode links: Moloch DAO Moloch Ventures · GitHub Moloch DAO white paper Moloch Summoning Guide The State of Ethereum 2.0 report A Study of Libp2p and ETH2 A Call for a Temporary Moratorium on The DAO YangDAO Ameen Soleimani on Twitter Moloch DAO on Twitter SpankChain DappCon – 20% off with the code “EpicenterDappcon2019” Epicenter Meetup at Berlin Blockchain Week – Thu 22 Aug 2019 Berlin Blockchain Week 2019 Sponsors: Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter Trail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.com This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/297

We’re joined by Jerry Brito, Executive Director of Coin Center. Having discovered Bitcoin in 2011, Jerry was among the first lawyers to talk about crypto in the U.S. capital. In 2014, he founded Coin Center, a leading research and advocacy center focussing on cryptocurrencies. In this enlightening conversation, we talk to Jerry about his paper titled “The Case for Electronic Cash,” in which he articulates why private peer-to-peer payments are essential to an open society. We also discuss Libra and the possible regulatory challenges the proposed private cash system may face. Finally, Jerry explains the recent FinCEN guidance on cryptocurrencies, which broadly follows the recommendations of Coin Center. Topics covered in this episode: Jerry’s background as a lawyer and his crypto beginnings in D.C. Coin Center, it’s mission and the primary battles which the organization is fighting “The Case for Electronic Cash” paper and why cash is vital for a free and open society The main dysfunctions of cashless societies Jerry’s high-level views on Libra How Libra is different from other cryptocurrencies and electronic payment systems The backlash immediately following the announcement and how it was received by governments Ways in which Libra could be regulated The recent FinCEN guidance and how it affects cryptocurrency users and companies Episode links: Coin Center Jerry Brito's website FinCEN’s new cryptocurrency guidance matches Coin Center recommendations The Case for Electronic Cash The differences between Bitcoin and Libra should matter to policymakers Jerry's thoughts on Libra (tweetsorm) Jerry response to Libra Association's Head of Policy on sanction's list (tweetsorm) Buidl Asia HackAtom Seoul DappCon – 20% off with the code “EpicenterDappcon2019” Announcing the Chorus One Podcast Cosmology – A newsletter about the Cosmos network Sponsors: Vaultoro: Vaultoro - Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg Azure: Azure - Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/296

In this episode, we caught up with Robert Leshner, founder of the Compound protocol. Compound is a fascinating smart contract protocol, running atop Ethereum, that allows users to lend and borrow specific ERC-20 tokens with a duration-free interest model. The protocol acts as a central borrower and lender of user tokens and algorithmically prices the interest charged to borrowers and lenders. Compound is one of the first examples of a well-functioning lending market built using smart contracts. Topics covered in this episode: Robert's background and how he came to found Compound The workings of the compound protocol Statistics of usage of the protocol Intended plan for governance of the protocol in the future Business model of the company and the protocol Comparison of compound to other lending protocols on Ethereum Outlook and future plans Episode links: Compound Website Compound Protocol Stats Our plan to create Compound v2 Robert Leshner on Twitter Robert Leshner on Linkedin Compound Finance on Twitter Sponsors: Cosmos: Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains - http://cosmos.network/epicenter Vaultoro: Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg - http://vaultoro.com This episode is hosted by Meher Roy & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/295

We're joined by Rob Dawson, Head of Product at PegaSys. PegaSys is the protocol engineering spoke of ConsenSys, and the team building Pantheon, a Java implementation of the Ethereum client. The Pantheon client was built from the ground up as both a mainnet, and consortium chain client. Written in Java with an Apache 2.0 license, it benefits from being easily accessible to enterprises, who predominantly use that language. The PegaSys team has built additional features into the Pantheon client like privacy, permissioning, and the ability to deploy chains on IBFT, a consensus algorithm better suited for consortium networks of up to 40 validators. Working closely with other protocol teams (Geth and Parity), and being a founding member of the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance, PegaSys is also working towards Ethereum 2.0. Topics covered in this episode: Rob’s background as an enterprise Java developer and how he became involved in the blockchain space The role of PegaSys in the broader ConsenSys ecosystem The Pantheon client and why they chose to build a new Ethereum client The case for Java and why enterprise has a preference for this language Pantheon’s unique features of privacy, permissioning, and performance What is Istanbul BFT and how it differs from Parity POA and Tendermint BFT The types of applications which are better suited for IBFT The Ethereum Enterprise Alliance (EEA) and PegaSys’ work on standards PegaSys’ work on Ethereum 1.x and Ethereum 2.0 The team's recently announced certification program Episode links: PegaSys Website Introducing Pantheon, a Mainnet Java Client - Demo & Roadmap (Devcon4) Another day, another consensus algorithm. Why IBFT 2.0? Scaling Consensus for Enterprise: Explaining the IBFT Algorithm Blog Posts and Webinars - Pantheon PegaSysEng/pantheon: An enterprise-grade Java-based, Apache 2.0 licensed Ethereum client PegaSysEng/artemis: Java Implementation of the Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain Komgo Sponsors: Trail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.com Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/294

The complex and evolving regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies has been a topic for many years. After a long period of waiting, the SEC started pursuing fraud causes in the last 1-2 years. But the recent lawsuit against Kik is the first time that the SEC goes after a large, non-fraud case. We were joined by lawyer Stephen Palley to discuss the Kik case, the US regulatory landscape and recent announcement of the Libra cryptocurrency promoted by Facebook. Topics covered in this episode: The SEC lawsuit against Kik The potential path of the process and how it could resolve in the end Why the Kik case is unlikely to provide any regulatory clarity in the next few years What a settlement in the Kik case could look like Whether the Howey test is still a sensible way to regulate securities How US regulators will deal with decentralized exchanges Stephen's thoughts on Libra Episode links: Annotated Guide to the SEC's Complaint against KIK - Katherine Wu Kik and the SEC: What’s Going On and What Does It Mean for Crypto? - Katie Haun Kin Sets Up $5 Million DefendCrypto.org to Take on the SEC - Unchained Podcast SEC vs. Kik: The Lawyers Speak - CoinDesk Episode 135 with Stephen Palley: Lawmodynamics – How to Sue a DAO Stephen Palley on Twitter Sponsors: Vaultoro: Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg - http://vaultoro.com Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/293

This is part two of a two part bonus series. These sessions were recorded at the first Interchain Conversations conference which took place in Berlin on June 13th and 14th, 2019. The firs part of this bonus episode features the validator panel moderated by Brian Fabian Crain, Co-founder of Chorus One. The panel included Florian Liss of Staking Facilities, Hendrik Hofstadt of Certus One, Aurel Iancu of Dokia Capital, and Jun Soon Kim of stake.fish. The conversation goes into the role of validators beyond staking, ways in which we can avoid too much centralization, and how validators will differentiate in a market which tends towards homogeneity. The second part of this episode is a governance debate moderated by Sunny Aggarwal. The first topic is on plutocracy and features Jae Kwon and Rigel Rozanski. The second is about revokable governance and features Chris Goes and Jack Jampolin. Subscribe to Epicenter for new episodes every week.

This is part one of a two-part bonus series. These sessions were recorded at the first Interchain Conversations conference which took place in Berlin on June 13th and 14th, 2019. The first part of this episode is “Epicenter Live,” a live podcast recorded on stage at the event. It features hosts Meher Roy, Sunny Aggarwal, Brian Fabian Crain, and Sebastien Couture. In this conversation, we discuss the topic of blockchain interoperability. We look at how different projects address interoperability and seek to form a picture of how these projects might interact in a multi-blockchain future. We also discuss how these protocols address application comparability and speculate on how they will remain competitive. The second segment is the opening Q&A between Jae Kwon and Sebastien Couture. Among other things, Sebastien spoke with Jae about the recent Cosmos launch, the Interchain Foundation, and the future of the Tendermint company. Subscribe to Epicenter for new episodes every week.

The concept of a decentralized exchange has been a holy grail in the cryptocurrency space for many years. Many attempts have been made, but most decentralized exchanges suffered from central points of failure, poor user experience and little liquidity. Launched during Ethereum's DevCon 2018, Uniswap is one of the first fully decentralized exchanges and managed to become the leading DEX very fast. We were joined by Uniswap Founder Hayden Adams to discuss Uniswap's unique model, the different participants in the protocol and the importance of decentralized exchanges for the blockchain space. Topics covered in this episode: How Hayden's exploratory project to learn smart contract development took off and became Uniswap How Uniswap works and its different participants The advantage of an automated exchange instead of using order books The role of liquidity providers in Uniswap Feedback loops that can make Uniswap markets popular or collapse The challenging economics of liquidity shares Addressing Arthur Hayes' criticism of decentralized exchanges Why Uniswap didn't create a tokeneconomic monetization model Episode links: Uniswap Exchange Protocol Uniswap Whitepaper Uniswap: Getting Started & Documentation Unisocks Exchange Distributed 2018: Presentation about Decentralized Exchanges by Arthur Hayes (BitMEX) Buidl Asia 2019 Conference in Seoul, Korea on July 22-23 HackAtom Seoul on July 19-21 Sponsors: Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter Trail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.com This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/292

We're joined by Tal Moran, Chief Scientist at Spacemesh. This new consensus protocol is designed to run on home desktop PCs, filling free space on users' hard drives to create a Proof of Space-Time. The goal of this new blockchain protocol is to solve the issues with Proof of Work and Proof of Stake, that is, energy inefficiency on the one hand, and possible centralized plutarchy of rich validators on the other. Topics covered in this episode: Tal's background as an academic and researcher The problems with Proof of Stake and Proof of Work What is Proof of Space-Time and how it works How miners use their hard drive space to establish proofs How randomness is generated in Spacemesh Spacemesh's DAG architecture and how blocks are added to the chain The tortoise and hare protocols proposed by Spacemesh The Spacemesh team and recent funding round The project's business model and roadmap Episode links: Spacemesh Spacemesh white paper Tal's CESC18 talk in San Fransisco Spacemesh on GitHub Spacemesh on Twitter Spacemesh on Medium Interchain Conversations Berlin event – use code EPICENTER for discounted tickets Cosmos Hackatom Berlin Sponsors: Vaultoro: Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg - http://vaultoro.com Cosmos: Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains - http://cosmos.network/epicenter This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/291

We’re joined by Dominic Tarr, a sailor, and the Founder of Secure Scuttlebutt. This curiously named project has a fascinating approach to creating a truly distributed social network. One might even say that Secure Scuttlebutt is “localized” as it gracefully degrades to Sneakernet, something few blockchain projects can claim. In actuality, the SSB protocol isn’t a blockchain in the traditional sense – each user’s feed acts as a sort of localized chain of posts, signed by their public key, and possibly encrypted for a friend's key to decrypt. When users meet, the system syncs their local databases using a gossip protocol and replicates the data. Encrypted data is transported from peer, to peer, to peer (or friends of friends) until it reaches its intended recipient. User may also optionally rely on public servers to sync data over the internet. Topics covered in this episode: Daniels background and life living on a boat off the coast of New Zealand How being at sea gave him the idea for Secure Scuttlebutt What is Secure Scuttlebutt and what are the goals of the project The issues with centralization and redefining decentralization as a positive statement The notion that the technological singularity only serves the goals of centralized power How SSB stores information and how posts get propagates from between friends, and friends of friends How the network leverages “Pub” servers to sync data over the internet Usage of the platform and the communities which thrive there The cost of spam and how users protect against DDoS attacks The project’s funding and roadmap Episode links: Secure Scuttlebutt website Scuttlebutt Protocol Guide Manyverse mobile client Designing a Secret Handshake: AuthenticatedKey Exchange as a Capability System EfficientReconciliationandFlow ControlforAnti-Entropy Protocols Scuttlebutt: an off-grid P2P social network that runs without servers and can fall back to sneakernet The Nomad Who’s Exploding the Internet Into Pieces Counter-Anti-Disintermediation “The Third Web” interview with Dominic Tarr Dominic Tarr on Twitter Sponsors: Trail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.com Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/290

We’re joined by Dan Robinson, a research partner at Paradigm, and the author the “Rainbow Network” paper. The paper describes an off-chain decentralized synthetics exchange which leverages payment channels. The Rainbow Network is based on the idea that “rainbows are basically just multicolored lightning,” borrowing from the concepts used in the Lightning Network. The protocol relies on trusted oracles and allows participants to trade any type of liquid asset off-chain. All that is necessary to complete a transaction is an on-chain payment channel collateralized by a single asset. Though it is still at the idea stage and has yet to be implemented, the Rainbow Network could have applications in prediction market and as a new type of decentralized exchange. Topics covered in this episode: Dan’s background as a securities layer turned coder His trajectory from working at Chain, to spending some time at Stellar, to joining Paradigm Fund His involvement in the development of the Plasma Cash and Plasma Debit protocols Thoughts and criticisms of using HTLC’s in Lightning What is the idea behind Rainbow Network and how to understand it in the context of Lightning What are synthetics assets and the ability to trade multiple assets in a single payment channel The ability to have leverage in a Rainbow channel trade Next steps in research and implementation Dan’s contribution to the Ivey “smart contract” language for Bitcoin Episode links: Rainbow Network white paper Ivy Playground for Bitcoin Mirror project Paradigm Dan Robinson on Medium Dan Robinson on Twitter Interchain Conversations Berlin event – use code EPICENTER for discounted tickets Cosmos Hackatom Berlin Sponsors: Cosmos: Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains - http://cosmos.network/epicenter Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/289

A common meme in the cryptocurrency space is that it has the potential to help people in countries where only the rich and powerful access to global financial markets. But ten years after the Bitcoin white paper was released, just how many “unbanked” people has cryptocurrency helped? Some see crypto as a tool to empower vulnerable populations in places where hyperinflation and strict capital controls make day-to-day survival a nearly impossible challenge. We’re joined by Jill Carlson. Previously at Chain and Tezos, Jill has been writing about the cryptocurrency industry for several years. In 2016 she published a paper titled “Cryptocurrency and Capital Controls” which observes the use of Bitcoin in Argentina. Recently, she co-founded the Open Money Initiative, a research organization which looks into how people use money in closed economies. Their initial focus is on Venezuela where years of economic downturn and strict currency controls have created a humanitarian crisis which has political repercussions well beyond the country’s borders. Topics covered in this episode: Jill’s beginning working at Goldman Sachs in the Latin America market Her journey from trading bonds to entering crypto space working at Chain A brief history of Venezuela leading up to the current situation What it’s like to experience hyperinflation The Open Money Initiative and the organization’s goals How cryptocurrency and specifically Bitcoin is used in Venezuela The political motivations behind the Open Money Initiative The story behind Venezuela’s Petro currency Jill’s podcast with Meltem Demirors, What Grinds my Gears Episode links: Jill Carlson’s website Open Money Initiative Petronomicon (blog post) Crypto Is Not An Asset Class (blog post) What Grinds my Gears podcast Jill Carlson on Medium Jill Carlson on Twitter Sponsors: Cosmos: Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains - http://cosmos.network/epicenter This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/288

The Ethereum Foundation has played a crucial role in the evolution of the blockchain ecosystem. They pioneered the Swiss foundation structure and ran one of the first token sales. They played a key role in developing the second-most valuable blockchain network and still play a key role in funding research and steering the future of Ethereum. At the same time, it has been frequently criticized for a lack of transparency, being too slow in funding development and poor financial risk management. Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi joined us to discuss her journey into the space, the role of the Ethereum Foundation and their plans for the future. Topics covered in this episode: How Aya went from high school teacher to enter the crypto space Joining Kraken and building their presence in Japan The role of the Ethereum Foundation in the Ethereum ecosystem Decision making processes and governance in the Ethereum Foundation Ethereum's grant program and funding priorities The Ethereum Foundation's plans to attempt to become more transparent The Ethereum Foundation's approach to conflicts of interest Why the EF decided to support MolochDAO Whether Ethereum should be concerned about competition from other blockchain networks Episode links: Ethereum.org Ethereum Foundation to Spend $30 Million on Development Over Next Year Ethereum Foundation Website Ethereum Foundation Values by Aya Miyaguchi (Devcon4) - YouTube Ethereum Devcon 5 Japan - Oct 30 to Nov 2 DappCon Berlin - August 21 to 23 Sponsors: Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/287

We were joined by Mark S. Miller, Chief Scientist at Agoric. Mark is a computer scientist who has done ground-breaking work on many topics relevant to blockchain and smart contracts going back decades. We discussed his visionary 1988 Agoric papers, which explored how markets could be applied to the world of software. We also covered how his view of smart contracts, which focused on secure bilateral agreements complements and converges with blockchain. Finally, we covered his new company Agoric and their conceptualization of higher order smart contracts. Topics covered in this episode: Mark's effort to prevent the government from suppressing the discovery of public key cryptography in the 1970s The legendary project Xanadu and its attempt to create censorship-resistant web publishing Mark's Agoric papers and the vision of markets for computation Why AI hasn't changed the shortcomings of central planning The difference between his view of smart contracts and Nick Szabo's Their decade-spanning work on making JavaScript the best language for smart contracts Agoric's work on higher order smart contracting Episode links: The Agoric Papers Computer Security as the Future of Law - YouTube Capability-based Financial Instruments (2000) Distributed Electronic Rights in JavaScript – Google AI Agoric at SF Cryptocurrency Devs - Programming Secure Smart Contracts - YouTube The Duality of Smart Contracts and Electronic Rights by Dean Tribble at Web3 Summit 2018 - YouTube Sponsors: Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter Cosmos: Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains - http://cosmos.network/epicenter This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/286

We're joined by Mike Pieciak, President of the NASAA. Not to be confused with the space agency, the North American Securities Administrators Association brings together state, provincial, and federal securities regulators in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. This relatively unknown organization helps align the financial regulation policies of over 50 agencies across North America and coordinates enforcement action in cross-border cases. In 2018, the NASAA launched “Operation Cryptosweep” in which over 200 ICOs and cryptocurrency-related investment products were investigated for potential investor fraud. Topics covered in this episode: Mike's background as a lawyer and the Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation What is the NASAA, it's goals, members and jurisdiction The story of “Operation Cryptosweep” and what came out of that action Mike's thoughts on the future of blockchain regulation How regulation might apply in the context of transnational projects which are nation state-invariant The United State's restrictive securities laws in the context of Defi and security tokens Vermont's attempt to attract blockchain projects, and the “Blockchain-Based LCC” Vermont DFR's pilot project in Captive Insurance What Mike hopes to achieve during his one-year term as president of the NASAA Episode links: NASAA Operation Cryptosweep NASAA Reminds Investors to Approach ICOs with Caution Get in the Know About ICOs (video) Vermont Governor Signs Bill Clearing Way for Blockchain Companies Captive Insurance Blockchain Pilot Press Release Vermont Department of Financial Regulation Mike Pieciak (@mspieciak) on Twitter Sponsors: Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/285

We're joined by Griff Green, one of the founders at Giveth. The organization, which emerged out of the ashes of the DAO, aims to create a better model for charitable work. Operating as a Dapp, Giveth aims to bring new governance models in the nonprofit space. The goal is to create better incentives for donors and charity workers, in all types of social good projects. Topics covered in this episode: Griff's background as a gold-hodling digital nomad His time spent at Slock.it and his involvement in the aftermath of the DAO collapse How traditional charity organizations work The problems these organizations face and how funds get allocated The Giveth backstory and why the team chose to start the project Incentive alignment in the charity space The use of bonding curves and continuous organizations to fund charity projects The project's roadmap and future Episode links: Giveth website Rewriting the Story of Human Collaboration Griff's talk at EthCC Crowdfunding the Commons The Future of Giving is Crowdfunding the Commons Deep Dive: Augmented Bonding Curves Episode 282 with Simon de la Rouviere The Giveth blog Giveth on GitHub Join the Giveth community Sponsors: Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/284

At the core of the Web 2.0 stack lies the REST API. It's the fiber which allows frontend applications to communicate with their backend counterparts, as well as the services on which they depend. But the API model is highly constrained and inflexible. The API is divorced from the data model, which creates a number of restrictions and inefficiencies. Most blockchain clients, including Geth, Parity and Bitcoin Core, use a JSON-RPC model which suffers from similar issues. Several Ethereum DApps maintain high-availability, centralized data indexes which sit between the client and the blockchain. Thought user experience is greatly improved, the practice means most of the ecosystem relies on centralized infrastructure. We're joined by Yaniv Tal, Project Lead at The Graph. The project aims to create a scalable marketplace of robust and high-availability blockchain data indexes. Relying on the modern GraphQL data query language initially developed by Facebook, The Graph allows developers to make complex queries to a robust and high-availability data infrastructure. Launched as a hosted service earlier this year, The Graph plans to move to a decentralized model in the future. Topics covered in this episode: The vision of The Graph and why the team chose to work on this problem The REST API client-server model in the Web 2.0 paradigm The state of the Ethereum ecosystem and the challenges relating to data availability How DApps work behind the scenes and their backend infrastructure GraphQL as the evolution of the API model How The Graph addresses the issue of data querying and availability Their hosted services and plans to move to a hybrid model How The Graph addresses privacy and scalability The incentive mechanisms and economics related to data integrity Early applications and the project's near-term roadmap Episode links: The Graph - A Query Protocol for Blockchains The Graph on Medium Browse and Explore Subgraphs Graph Docs GraphQL Will Power the Decentralized Web The Graph’s Research and Specifications are Now Open Source Our Investment In The Graph - Multicoin Capital GraphQL Yaniv Tal on Twitter Sponsors: Cosmos: Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains - http://cosmos.network/epicenter This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/283

Human beings have a penchant for creating lists. We make lists for things like the top music artists at any given time, the best restaurants in the world, companies which people can trust, and the most wanted criminals. Lists take many forms. They can be maintained by a single authority, or curated by a crowd. But almost always, they remain in the custody of a central party. Token Curated Lists propose a model by which a) the content of lists are decentralized, and b) contributors are incentivized to curate their content according to social consensus. We’re joined by Simon de la Rouviere, an independent researcher and blogger. Previously, Simon was one of the first employees at ConsenSys and founded Ujo Music. He also contributed to the ERC20 token specification and has written about blockchain and token economics since 2014. In recent months, Simon’s research has focused on Token Curated Registries (or TCRs), and the economics of curation markets. Topics covered in this episode: Simon’s background and interest in blockchain, music, and economics Bonding curves as a mechanism for continuous token issuance Curation markets and how they relate to bonding curves Practical applications of curation markets The connection between curation markets and cultural memes Token Curated Registries and their applications The role of TCRs as a crypto economic primitive The economics and game theory of TCRs Simon’s recent project “This Artwork is Always for Sale” Episode links: Simon de la Rouviere – Medium Bancor’s Smart Tokens vs Token Bonding Curves – Medium Introducing Curation Markets: Trade Popularity of Memes & Information (with code)! – Medium Ujo Music This Artwork Is Always On Sale – Medium This Artwork Is Always On Sale Simon de la Rouviere – Twitter This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture and Meher Roy . Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/282

The shipping container brought standardization to the way we move goods around the world. Similarly, TCP/IP packets normalized how information transits over computer networks. Today, blockchains remain siloed ecosystems and interoperability is practically non-existent. A new wave of third-generation blockchain protocols aims to change this. In this new paradigm, blockchains communicate natively and value moves seamlessly from one network to another. One of those projects is Cosmos. We’re joined by Ethan Buchman and Sunny Aggarwal of Cosmos. With its recent mainnet launch, we discuss how the network is running and address potential issues relating to governance and centralization of power. Disclaimers: – Cosmos (All in Bits) is a sponsor of the podcast. – Brian is a former employee of Tendermint (All in Bits) and founder of the Cosmos validator Chorus One. – Sunny, is a regular host on Epicenter and founder of the Cosmos validator Sikka. – All participants in this interview are Atom holders. Topics covered in this episode: The Cosmos vision and how it differs from Polkadot and Ethereum 2.0 Building Cosmos and the “Game of Stake” The Cosmos governance process and current proposals Voter participation in the Cosmos governance model The role of validators and the importance of decentralization of power Validator market economics, related inherent issues, and centralization risks The Cosmos SDK and how it differs from Substrate The Cosmos Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) Protocol The role of the Interchain Foundation moving forward Episode links: Cosmos website Cosmos SDK websitt Cosmos SDK (GitHub) Cosmos blog Sunny Aggarwal on Twitter Ethan Buchman on Twitter Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/281

Dogecoin was born from the association of two browser tabs: one was an article about the popularity of the doge meme, and the other, CoinMarketCap. The idea quickly gained traction on Twitter, and before long, a new cryptocurrency was born. Dogecoin gained adoption as a tipping currency, the community took part fundraising for charities and other causes, perhaps most notably sending the Jamaican bobsled team to the Sochi Winter Olympics. We’re joined by Jackson Palmer, co-creator of Dogecoin. Though he has left the project, Jackson shares the story of how he created the most popular meme cryptocurrency as a joke. Topics covered in this episode: Jackson’s background and early interest in cryptocurrency The Dogecoin origin story The uniquely charitable nature of the community and The Dogecoin Foundation How the currency became widely used for tipping The NASCAR sponsorship and Moolah exchange scam The technological choices which went into early versions of Dogecoin Dogecoin’s unique monetary policy and economics Jackson’s thoughts on Doge Ethereum and the state of the project Why Jackson stepped away from the project and his thoughts on the crypto space Jackson’s other projects and YouTube channel Episode links: Jackson Palmer's website Dogecoin Github “Not actually capped at 100 billion?” GitHub issue Moolah, The Divisive Startup Heavily Involved In The Dogecoin Community, Is Closing Down – TechCrunch Excerpts from the Moolah Scam - YouTube Complete conversation with Mintpal/Moolah's ""Alex Green"" AKA Ryan Gentle AKA Ryan Kennedy - YouTube Epicenter episode 5 Jackson Palmer - Twitter Jackson Palmer - YouTube Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains. Learn more at cosmos.network/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/280

In the early days of Bitcoin, much of the community’s focus was around payment and getting merchants to adopt cryptocurrencies. Although the technology and narratives have evolved, some projects continue to embrace that original vision of peer-to-peer business, where merchants and their customers interact directly, and if they so wish, anonymously. We’re joined by Brian Hoffman and Washington Sanchez of OpenBazaar. Since we last interviewed Brian in 2015, the project has grown to become a mature decentralized marketplace where people come together to buy and sell products and services anonymously with crypto. Its polished interface and reputation system gives users a similar experience to that of using eBay, but without fees or the risk of censorship. Topics covered in this episode: Brian and Washington’s respective backgrounds The origins of OpenBazaar as the Dark Market project The history and evolution of OpenBazaar since their last appearance on episode 67 How OpenBazaar managed to survive all these years and how the vision has evolved over time Who uses the platform and to what ends How it compares to traditional dark markets like The Silk Road OpenBazaar’s position on deplatforming and how it responds to pressure to censor content How OpenBazaar works under the hood as a collection of decentralized technologies The company’s business model and future plans Episode links: OpenBazaar website Dark Market project on GitHub Episode 67 of Epicenter with Brian Hoffman Trust is Risk Brian Hoffman, Twitter Washington Sanchez, Twitter Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains. Learn more at cosmos.network/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/279

Three years ago, a mysterious txt file signed by a pseudonymous Tom Elvis Jedusor was dropped in the Bitcoin-Wizards IRC channel outlining a proposal called Mimblewimble. It proposed a novel way of combining many ideas from Bitcoin research in order to create a new blockchain protocol that will be highly scalable and increase privacy, while still using the same cryptographic assumptions as Bitcoin. A few months later this project was picked up by another pseudonymous individual who started working on an implementation he called Grin. Grin slowly began to draw attention from the Bitcoin community and got a lot of traction. We join Michael Cordner (Yeastplume) and Daniel Lehnberg, two of the core developers of the Grin blockchain. In this episode we discuss some topics around Grin’s cypherpunk origins, privacy and scalability features, no-premine fair start, and interesting monetary policy. Topics covered in this episode: Origins of the Mimblewimble proposal and the prior work it draws upon Andrew Poelstra’s contributions to improving and fixing the original proposal Scalability and fast sync times achieved through mimblewimble’s UTXO set compression How UTXO compression when combined with the Dandellion p2p protocol can increase privacy Changes in user experience from Bitcoin to Mimblewimble Beginning of the Grin project as an implementation of the Mimblewimble protocol Comparision to BEAM, a competing Mimblewimble implementation Innovating on fair Proof of Work through dual Cuckoo Cycle Grin’s Monetary Policy and the Mining Fair Start Episode links: MimbleWimble Origin Andrew Poelstra's Improved Paper Introduction to Grin Grin for Bitcoiners Grin Newsletter Michael Cordner on Twitter Daniel Lehnberg on Twitter Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/278

Amaury Séchet is the lead developer of Bitcoin ABC, the largest client for the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. Amaury first got started with Bitcoin in 2010 and closely followed the Bitcoin block size debate as it progressed through the early years of Bitcoin. Predicting the eventual failure of SegWit2x, Amaury was part of the original team that helped coordinate the Bitcoin Cash hard fork, timing it with the activation of SegWit on the main Bitcoin blockchain. We discuss with Amaury the roadmap for Bitcoin Cash, especially with regards to their approach to scalability. We cover many of the novel features the Bitcoin Cash development teams are innovating on such as Canonical Transaction Ordering and Avalanche Pre-Consensus, as well as cover some of the more juicy drama that plagued the Bitcoin Cash community in late 2018, leading to split off of Bitcoin SV. Topics covered in this episode: Block Size Debates in Bitcoin Origins of Bitcoin Cash and the Fork Year 1 Technical Development of Bitcoin Cash Bitcoin ABC vs Bitcoin SV Future Roadmap Episode links: Bitcoin Cash Roadmap Graphene Whitepaper Avalanche Post-Consensus The Case for Canonical Transaction Ordering Bitcoin ABC vs Bitcoin SV Hashwar Bitcoin NG Episode EthCC Meetup Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains. Learn more at cosmos.network/epicenter. Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/277

Amaury Séchet is the lead developer of Bitcoin ABC, the largest client for the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. Amaury first got started with Bitcoin in 2010 and closely followed the Bitcoin block size debate as it progressed through the early years of Bitcoin. Predicting the eventual failure of SegWit2x, Amaury was part of the original team that helped coordinate the Bitcoin Cash hard fork, timing it with the activation of SegWit on the main Bitcoin blockchain. We discuss with Amaury the roadmap for Bitcoin Cash, especially with regards to their approach to scalability. We cover many of the novel features the Bitcoin Cash development teams are innovating on such as Canonical Transaction Ordering and Avalanche Pre-Consensus, as well as cover some of the more juicy drama that plagued the Bitcoin Cash community in late 2018, leading to split off of Bitcoin SV. Topics covered in this episode: Block Size Debates in Bitcoin Origins of Bitcoin Cash and the Fork Year 1 Technical Development of Bitcoin Cash Bitcoin ABC vs Bitcoin SV Future Roadmap Episode links: Bitcoin Cash Roadmap Graphene Whitepaper Avalanche Post-Consensus The Case for Canonical Transaction Ordering Bitcoin ABC vs Bitcoin SV Hashwar Bitcoin NG Episode EthCC Meetup Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/276

Artificial Intelligence is often misunderstood. And much like blockchain, those who fiercely stand by the technology believe it will change the world for the better. Others fear the negative repercussions it could bring it and would rather see it disappear. We’re joined by Ben Goertzel. Ben’s interest in AI and robotics date back to his childhood and he has made these his life-long passion and work. He is the CEO of SingularityNET, a company building a marketplace for AIs which leverages blockchain. He is also Chief Scientist at Hanson Robotics who has brought us the now famous Sophia robot. When he’s not building blockchains and robots, he leads the OpenCog open-source AI framework and is Chair of Humanity +, an organization which focuses on technology and ethics. Topics covered in this episode: Ben’s background as a mathematician and his lifelong passion for AI and robotics What is AI, AGI and machine learning, and how these technologies differ What is the killer application for AI The problem of data and power centralization as it relates to AI AI safety and with what we should be most concerned when it comes to AI dominance Hanson Robotics and the Sophia robot How blockchains and AI are relevant to each other The role of AI in blockchain governance and the potential for AI systems to compete amongst each other What is SingularityNET and what the company is building Episode links: Ben Goertzel's Website SingularityNET website SingularityNET whitepaper Ben Goertzel portraied in Silicon Valley Ben Goertzel's Website Creating Internet Intelligence Accelerando Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Simplify your hiring process & access the best blockchain talent . Get a $1,000 credit on your first hire at toptal.com/epicenter. Join the most interoperable ecosystem of connected blockchains. Learn more at cosmos.network/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/275

We’re joined by Alexey Akhunov, an independent Ethereum researcher. Alexey has been working on an ambitious project called TurboGeth. As the name implies, it is a version of Geth which features a number of speed and performance optimizations. Alexey also leads the state rent working group of the Ethereum 1.x project. Ethereum 1.x came out of Devcon when core developers began to realize that the full migration to Serenity would likely take several years. The team hopes to bring progressive improvements to Ethereum in parallel to the development of Serenity. Topics covered in this episode: Alexey’s background as a computer scientist The story behind TurboGeth and how it differs from the original Geth client The speed and performance optimizations of TurboGeth, as well as its trade-offs What is Ethereum 1.x in the context of Ethereum 2.0 (Serenity) Which people and projects are part of Ethereum 1.x What is state rent and why it may be beneficial to Ethereum Implementing state rent in Ethereum 1.x and 2.0 eWASM and how it can be introduced in Ethereum 1.x and 2.0 The future of Ethereum and the progress towards Serenity Episode links: Alexey Akhunov on Medium TurboGeth talk at Bevcon4 Ethereum State rent for Eth 1.x pre-EIP Ethereum state rent - rough proposal State Rent proposal version 2 (rushed) Ethereum state rent proposal 2 ETH Roadmap AMA EthCC EthCC Epicenter Meeup Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/274

When the Lightning Network (LN) was conceived in 2015, it was quickly embraced by the Bitcoin community as the way to dramatically scale Bitcoin’s capacity. There was an expectation of LN being available quickly. Instead, development proceed more slowly in the background with different teams contributing to a standard specification. That spec is now almost ready and last year interest and early activity on the LN increased dramatically. We were joined by Christian Decker, a core engineer at Blockstream, where he works on their LN client. We discussed the history and progression of the LN and what remains on the road to scaling Bitcoin. Topics covered in this episode: How Christian ended up writing the world’s first PhD on Bitcoin The vision of the Lightning Network How the Lightning Network evolved in the last 4 years Approaching the 1.0 specification The current state of the network Why centralization concerns around hubs are often misguided eltoo and the future of lightning network The case against other chains being better layer 1 networks than Bitcoin Episode links: Lightning Network Whitepaper Christian Decker - Scaling Bitcoin with Duplex Micropayment Channels Joseph Poon & Tadge Dryja - Scalability and the Lightning Network Blockstream - Lightning Network A Simplified Update Mechanism for Lightning and Off-Chain Contracts Lightning Network Specifications on Github Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Simplify your hiring process & access the best blockchain talent . Get a $1,000 credit on your first hire at toptal.com/epicenter. Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/273

We’re joined by Jameson Lopp. Jameson is the CTO of Casa, a company providing key storage solutions. Previously, he was an early engineer at BitGo. However, to most people, he is perhaps known for his Twitter presence and his excellent writing. Over the years, Jameson has written extensively about Bitcoin development, cryptocurrencies, and personal operational security. A self-proclaimed “Professional Cypherpunk,” aligns with the ideas of libertarianism and volunteerism. Topics covered in this episode: Jameson’s background and how he learned about Bitcoin His political view before and after discovering crypto What stands out for Bitcoin in 2018 His writing on the decentralized nature of Bitcoin Core development His views on how Bitcoin compares to Ethereum on the topic of development control His thoughts on the Lightning Network and smart contracts on top of Bitcoin Jameson’s approach to personal operational security The tradeoffs of having air-tight personal OpSec Casa and its vault offering Episode links: Jameson Lopp's website Jameson Lopp's Bitcoin Resources CRYPTO 101 interview with Jameson Lopp Bitcoin Full Validation Sync Performance (article) Reflections Upon a SWATting (article) Bitcoin By the Numbers: 2018 Recap (article) Who Controls Bitcoin Core? (article) Professional Cypherpunk Jameson Lopp on the Lightning Network (article) Decentralized Summit 2019 Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/272

The concept of DAOs has been captivating to many in the crypto space for years. When “The DAO” was created in 2016, in the few weeks of its existence and despite obvious flaws, it gather tremendous momentum and amassed 14% of the entire ether supply. Since then the technology has matured and Martin and Matan argue that the time for DAOs has finally arrived. We were joined by DAOstack Founder Matan Field and Gnosis Founder Martin Köppelmann. We talked about the decentralized exchange protocol DutchX. We also talked about how the two projects together created the dxDAO, which will manage the DutchX protocol, but could go onto its own path. A path that could even lead to being the DAO for all of DeFi. Topics covered in this episode: The unifying vision behind the various Gnosis projects Why Gnosis decided to build decentralized exchange protocol DutchX DutchX’s usage of batch auctions to provide good prices and liquidity for any market Incentivizing market makers with the Magnolia token Why the DutchX needs a DAO The role of Reputation in the dxDAO How Reputation will be distributed Why DAOs unlike companies could become more efficient as they grow How the dxDAO could become the biggest organization on earth in the next 10 years How one can get involved in the dxDAO Episode links: dxDAO Website Joint AMA: Martin Köppelmann & Matan Field - dxDAO DAOtalk.org Introducing the dxDAO A brief discussion of the protocol governing the dxDAO The DutchX as an Open Protocol Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Simplify your hiring process & access the best blockchain talent . Get a $1,000 credit on your first hire at toptal.com/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/271

Epicenter turned 5 years old this month – that’s a long time in the blockchain space! When the podcast began in January 2014, the entire ecosystem was made up of only Bitcoin and a handful of altcoins. Soon after, the Ethereum white paper was published which ushered in a new era of crypto assets and decentralized applications. Since then, we have released 270 episodes and interviewed some of the leading thinkers, entrepreneurs, and engineers in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. Needless to say, we have learned a lot about the blockchain industry, but also what it takes to run a successful podcast in this space. This week, we look back on the early days of Epicenter and how the podcast has evolved over the years. We also answer your questions in our first ever AMA. Finally, we take stock of 2018 and the trends that marked this past year. Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Friederike Ernst, Sébastien Couture and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/270

We’re joined by Joseph Lubin, Founder and CEO of ConsenSys. Joseph founded ConsenSys as an Ethereum development studio on the heels of the Ethereum crowd sale in 2014. The company has since grown to a distributed organization of over 1,000 people. Over 50 companies and projects have emerged from ConsenSys, including Metamask, uPort, Gnosis, and GitCoin, to name only a few. Today, the company continues to invest in growing the Ethereum ecosystem by funding projects, and through consulting services for companies and institutions. Topics covered in this episode: Joseph’s background working as a technologist in the financial industry How he discovered Bitcoin in 2011 What lead Joseph to meet Vitalik Buterin and the founding Ethereum team How he founded ConsenSys and the company’s vision The company’s impressive growth and output The recent round of layoffs at ConsenSys How he thinks blockchain can change the world for the better His advice to companies feeling the pressure of the current bear market Joseph visiton for the future of ConsenSys and Ethereum Episode links: ConsenSys website The Prophets of Cryptocurrency Survey the Boom and Bust (The New Yorker) The Uncanny Mind That Built Ethereum (WIRED) ConsenSys Monthly Report — November 2018 A Prehistory of the Ethereum Protocol Joseph Lubin on Twitter Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Simplify your hiring process & access the best blockchain talent . Get a $1,000 credit on your first hire at toptal.com/epicenter. Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/269

When token sales and ICOs took off in 2017, most projects chose to push ahead despite large regulatory risks. One of the few that went the other direction and put compliance first was CoinList. The platform made its debut by running the massive Filecoin token sales in which $205m was raised from accredited investors. CoinList also played a major role in popularizing the SAFT and creating tools to efficiently and legally raise in the US. We were joined by CoinList President and Co-founder Andy Bromberg to discuss the history of CoinList, token sales, securities regulation and the potential of security tokens. Topics covered in this episode: How Andy became interested in Bitcoin and co-founded the Stanford Bitcoin Club The Filecoin token sale and CoinList’s genesis story CoinList’s due diligence for listing projects Why they created a whitelabel token sale offering The regulatory framework under which CoinList token sales take place The logic behind the SAFT (Simple Agreement for Future Tokens) How a token could transition from security to non-security The recent SEC crackdown on projects that did ICOs CoinList’s stance on security tokens Episode links: CoinList Website Introducing CoinList The Current State of Initial Coin Offerings Introducing Airdrops by CoinList The SEC reiterates their stance on crypto Andy Bromberg on Twitter Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/268

Lending is one core pillar of the economy, enabling one person or company to be entrepreneurial with someone else’s capital. However, in the traditional banking system processes in lending are often opaque and the barrier to entry into this market is high. The emergence of easy to use Decentralized Finance is one of the hallmarks of 2018: To date, DeFi has brought us crypto-collateralized stable coins, decentralized exchanges, tokenized credit default swaps, trustless derivatives, and decentralized margin lending. We’re joined Nadav Hollander, co-founder and president of Dharma. Dharma is a decentralized protocol for credit products which connects debtors with creditors through a transparent mechanism. The protocol itself is agnostic towards the collateral and terms used, however, the team recently introduced a crypto-collateralized margin lending application running on top of the Dharma protocol, Dharma Lever. Topics covered in this episode: Nadav’s background and how he became interested in both blockchain technology and debt The vision behind distributed lending The mechanics of the Dharma protocol The role of underwriters in the Dharma protocol Dharma lever, an application for margin lending on the Dharma protocol Dharma’s business model The future of decentralized finance Episode links: Dharma Dharma Lever Introducing Dharma Lever (article) Request For Blockchain Lending Startups (article) Current and Future Approaches to Unsecured Lending in Dharma Protocol (article) Dharma protocol: Debt & Liquidity for ETH (video) Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/267

Since the rise of digital currencies and cryptocurrencies, central banks are considering the role these new forms of money may play in our evolving digital economy. One of the ideas studied is the notion of a central bank digital currency. While people and companies can hold central bank liabilities in the form of cash, only licensed banks have access to digital cash accounts with central banks. We’re joined by David Andolfatto, VP of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. David was previously on the podcast to discuss his idea for Fedcoin, a central bank issued cryptocurrency. In a recent paper, he explores the impact central bank digital currencies may have on the monopolistic banking sector. Topics covered in this episode: The state of central bank research on digital currencies and cryptocurrencies The idea that central banks may hold Bitcoin reserves David’s new paper on the impact of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) The potential impacts of CBDC’s on the banking sector and our economy The role of fractional reserve banking in our economy How fractional reserve banking applies to cryptocurrencies The Debreu model and the need for money in an entirely liquid market David’s outlook for the future of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies Episode links: Assessing the Impact of Central Bank Digital Currency on Private Banks (paper) Smart Contracts and Asset Tokenization (article) My perspective on the Bitcoin Project (article) The Trust Machine: The Story of Bitcoin (article) Fedcoin: On the Desirability of a Government Cryptocurrency (article) David's last appearance on the podcast Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Simplify your hiring process & access the best blockchain talent . Get a $1,000 credit on your first hire at toptal.com/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/266

While trustless interactions on Ethereum are native to the protocol, trustless interactions between the Ethereum blockchain and other blockchains are difficult to implement. Interoperability protocols heavily rely on atomic swaps, which typically come with a free option problem. For this episode we’re joined by James Prestwich, CEO at Summa. Summa designs and implements cross-chain financial contracts and instruments such as swaps, options, futures, and auctions. Summa recently conducted a dutch auction spanning the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains: Ethereum NFTs were auctioned off trustlessly to bidders on the Bitcoin network. We also discuss Riemann, a framework for deploying transaction scripts to UTXO-based chains, as well as the advantages of the predictability of transactions in UTXO-based chains and how to bring some of those advantages to Ethereum smart contracts. Topics covered in this episode: James background in Japanese and how he became interested in blockchain James contributions to Bitcoin Script Summa’s recent cross-chain auction in which Ethereum NFTs were auctioned off to participants on the bitcoin network Riemann, a framework for deploying script based transactions to UTXO blockchains Atomic swaps leading to free options Advantages of transaction predictability in UTXO based chains Episode links: Summa Website Cross-chain Auctions via Bitcoin Double Spends (article) Statesless SPV (article) Declarative Smart Contracts (article) Introducing Reimann (article) James Prestwich on Twitter Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/265

We enter dozens of trust relationships ever time we interact with the Web. Browsers, ISPs, DNS providers, cloud hosting companies, all the way down to the handful of people who control certificate root keys; we rely on the integrity of these intermediaries to serve reliable, and accurate information. The concentration of power by any one of these actors threatens to compromise the very foundational principles of the Web. Decentralized technologies, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tor, and IPFS seek to reverse this trend. We’re joined by Nick Sullivan, Chief Cryptographer at Cloudflare. Founded less than 10 years ago, the company offers content delivery services (CND), DNS, and DDoS protection to over 12 million websites. The company contributes to open source cryptography libraries, some of which are used by Etherum. They recently launched an IPFS gateway and features which allow users to have strong guarantees as to the integrity of the content. Topics covered in this episode: Nick’s background as a cryptographer and previous position at Apple The Internet’s infrastructure and trust model How Cloudflare is experimenting with IPFS The challenges to hosting static websites with IPFS Cloudflare’s Onion routing service (Tor) and the benefits to users The Roughtime protocol and encrypted SNI Cloudflare’s contribution to open-source cryptography libraries The vulnerabilities of DNS and Cloudflare’s free private DNS service (1.1.1.1) Episode links: Welcome to Crypto Week (article) Roughtime: Securing Time with Digital Signatures (article) Introducing CFSSL - CloudFlare's PKI toolkit (article) End-to-End Integrity with IPFS (article) Introducing the Cloudflare Onion Service (article) Cloudflare's Distributed Web Gateway Nick Sullivan's website Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/264

The Ethereum vision has always been to create a world computer. But its scalability and performance limitations have meant that it has fallen far short of that vision. Yet, work on scaling Ethereum has exploded in breadth and complexity over the past years. From variants of PoS, to Plasma / Plasma Cash, sharding, EWASM, BLS signatures, everything has been on the table. While confusing on the surface, underneath a coherent vision for a new Ethereum that will scale near infinitely has emerged. We were joined by Ethereum Researcher Justin Drake to discuss the Ethereum Serenity vision, its core components and the roadmap ahead. A particular focus was the beacon chain, the role of randomness and Verifiable Delay Functions. Topics covered in this episode: Justin’s previous project building on top of Open Bazaar Why he made the switch from application development to Ethereum consensus research The high-level vision for Ethereum 2.0 / Serenity The Ethereum Serenity roadmap to scaling the world computer by 1m times The crucial role of the beacon chain The difference between Ethereum Serenity and Polkadot The role of randomness in making Ethereum Serenity work The limitations of existing trustless sources of randomness How Verifiable Delay Functions can be used to create better randomness The Ethereum Foundation plans to develop an open-source VDF ASIC Episode links: DevCon4 Talk by Justin Drake about VDF & Randomness DevCon4 Talk by Vitalik Buterin about Ethereum 2.0 VDF Research Minimal VDF randomness beacon - Sharding - Ethereum Research Ethereum Project Two Point Oh: Explaining Validators Two Point Oh: The Beacon Chain Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/263

Most observers of the ecosystem will probably agree that 2015-2017 were the years of the enterprise blockchain. It was during that time that many startups catering to enterprise were founded and funded, including Monax and Stratumn (where Brian and Sebastien previously worked). For the permissioned blockchain camp, adoption would come in the form of enterprise use cases, arguing that public networks carried too much risk, and lacked needed features like privacy. While much of the hype has subsided, large companies in every sector are forming consortia and leveraging blockchain to provide better process traceability and transparency, and reduce their reliance on third parties. We’re joined by Brian Behlendorf, Executive Director of Hyperledger. When Brian was last on the show, he had recently started his role at the Linux Foundation. Now, two years later, Hyperledger has gone from a nascent project to a mature ecosystem of technologies with hundreds of members. With dozens of networks in production, and backed by companies like IBM, Hyperleger is the most widely used blockchain technology for permissioned networks. Topics covered in this episode: The most important developments in Hyperledger in the last two years Hyperledger’s family of technologies Production networks on Hyperledger How Hyperledger Fabric differs from Tendermint and Ethereum The evolution of the enterprise blockchain ecosystem The separation between the permissioned and public blockchain ecosystems Industry use cases for Hyperledger Fabric Brian’s skepticism about ICOs and tokens The growing Hyperledger community and upcoming Global Forum in Basel this December Episode links: Hyperledger website Hyperledger Global Forum http://sdxcentral.com Unbounded - To Network with Networks Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad - Wikipedia Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Simplify your hiring process & access the best blockchain talent . Get a $1,000 credit on your first hire at toptal.com/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/262

The difficulties of compensating content creators for their work has been a driving force of the web for decades. It gave rise to advertising-driven tech giants like Google and Facebook and contributed to the decline of industries like music and publishing. Coil aims to change this and leverage blockchain and the Interledger Protocol to build a new business model for the web. We were joined by Coil Founder and former Ripple CTO Stefan Thomas and Coil Co-Founder Ben Sharifian to discuss their ambitions to change how content is consumed and paid for. Topics covered in this episode: What web monetization is The difference between web monetization and web payments The negative effects of advertising-driven business models What the Interledger Protocol (ILP) is The current state of ILP Why Stefan and Ben decided to leave Ripple and start Coil The case for web monetization as an initial use case for Coil The idea of users paying a fixed bandwidth per second to content creators Possible user experiences that could be built on top of Coil How to bootstrap Coil and get adoption Episode links: Coil Website Coil: Building a New Business Model for the Web Layer 3 Is for Interoperability Talk about Ripple and Coil at TOA18 - Stefan Thomas E92: Stefan Thomas - Understanding Ripple E131: Evan Schwartz & Stefan Thomas - Building the Internet of Payments with Interledger Thank you to our sponsors for their support: The open, decentralized trading protocol for ERC20 tokens using the Dutch auction mechanism. More at epicenter.tv/dutchx. Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/261

It’s that time of year again, Devcon time! Just as the conference was wrapping up, we sat down at the Prague Congress Center for a Devcon4 recap. Join Brian, Friederike, Sebastien, and a surprise guest host as we share our thoughts on the event, and how the Ethereum ecosystem has evolved since we last met in Cancun. Topics covered in this episode: Devcon4 compared to Devcon3 Changes to the Ethereum Foundation management Serenity (Ethereum 2.0) roadmap The shift from HODL to BUIDL The apparent departure of ICOs from the landscape The growth of grant programs Brian’s talk at the Generalized Mining panel This year’s emphasis on security Web3 Summit in Berlin the previous week Episode links: Devcon4 website Devcon3 recap episode from Cancun Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Simplify your hiring process & access the best blockchain talent . Get a $1,000 credit on your first hire at toptal.com/epicenter. Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Friederike Ernst and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/260

From one of the main Ethereum clients, to Polkadot to Substrate; Parity has become exceptional at developing successful open-source blockchain projects. Their latest effort Substrate provides a framework to easily create custom blockchains. Building on cutting-edge technologies like Web Assembly, Substrate also offers automated on-chain upgrades. We were joined by Gavin Wood, who was previously co-founder and CTO of Ethereum and founded Parity. We talked about the early Ethereum days, how Parity got started, Substrate, Polkadot and his views on on-chain governance. Topics covered in this episode: The genesis story of Ethereum Why Gavin prefers reasoning from first principles to reading How Parity shunned Silicon Valley principles to build an developer-driven company Why they decided to work on a scalable blockchain from scratch instead of improving Ethereum An overview of Substrate The relationship between Substrate and Polkadot How Substrate allows switching consensus in a live blockchain Why Ethereum’s governance process is centralized Polkadot and the case for on-chain governance Episode links: Parity Technologies Website Polkadot Website E199 - Peter Czaban - Polkadot: The Internet of Blockchain Networks Substrate: A Rustic Vision for Polkadot by Gavin Wood at Web3 Summit 2018 Substrate in a nutshell What is Substrate? How Polkadot tackles the biggest problems facing blockchain innovators Substrate testnet launched Epicenter episode from 2014 with Gavin Wood about Ethereum & Ether Sale Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. Simplify your hiring process & access the best blockchain talent . Get a $1,000 credit on your first hire at toptal.com/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/259

We’re joined by Monica Quaintance, Head of Engineering and Adoption at Kadena. While most companies providing enterprise solutions focus primarily on permissioned systems, Kadena is building both a public network protocol and private blockchain infrastructure. Their Chainweb protocol will soon launch as a public network and smart contract platform. The company claims their novel approach to proof of work offers enormous gains on transaction throughput, even at scale, while benefiting from the same security as Bitcoin. Alongside Chainwebs, Kadena is building a permissioned protocol more suited for enterprise applications in insurance and finance. Topics covered in this episode: Monica’s background at the SEC The genesis of Kadena and why the founders left JP Morgan Kadena’s unique approach to building both public and permissioned protocols The Chainweb protocol and it’s approach to proof of work The incentive mechanisms in Chainweb How Chainweb protects itself against common attack vectors The PACT smart contract language Kadena’s enterprise blockchain offering The company’s go-to-market strategy and business model Episode links: Kadena Website Chainweb Whitepaper ChainWeb Protocol Security Calculations White Paper Kadena White Paper Confidentiality in Private Blockchain White Paper The Pact Smart-Contract Language White Paper Thank you to our sponsors for their support: The open, decentralized trading protocol for ERC20 tokens using the Dutch auction mechanism. More at epicenter.tv/dutchx. Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/258

Building open source software is a collaborative process which relies on good faith and willingness of volunteers. While most of the software we use daily relies heavily on open-source libraries, incentive models are broken. Repo maintainers are eager to see their projects evolve, but have little leverage to encourage developers to contribue. And projects contributors create enormous value by dedicating their time and expertise while getting little in return. Both open and closed-source projects utilize bountied to source engineering talent. Combined with blockchain technologies, there is a potential to create efficient, two-sided markets which align incentives for all participants. We’re joined by Kevin Owocki, who is the Founder of Gitcoin. The Ethereum-based platform leverages the open source community to incentivize and monetize work, remunerating developers for pull requests made to projects. Gitcoin was itself built using Gitcoin and is today facilitating bug bounty payments for dozens of blockchain projects. At the time of writing, over 200 projects have used the platform to distribute over $340,000 in bounties to developers. As Gitcoin continues to grow, the goal is to expand its reach to the broader open-source ecosystem. Topics covered in this episode: Kevin’s background as a software engineer The fundamental challenges in open-source development and funding What is Gitcoin and how it addresses incentive alignment How Gitcoin works from the perspective of both project funders and contributors The platforms usage statistics (projects funded, contributors, bounties paid, etc.) How Gitcoin may be used to fund closed-source bountied and public goods Kevin’s proposal for recurring payments in Ethereum (EIP1337/ERC948) How Gitcoin is funded and the project’s business model Gitcoin’s roadmap moving forward Episode links: Gitcoin website Gitcoin leaderboard and top earners Gitcoin stats 1337 Alliance EIP 1337 - Subscriptions on the blockchain ERC948 - Recurring Subscription Models on Ethereum Delphi Systems Bountysource Thank you to our sponsors for their support: The open, decentralized trading protocol for ERC20 tokens using the Dutch auction mechanism. More at epicenter.tv/dutchx. Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/257

CoinFund is one of the earliest crypto-funds to have taken shape, forming in early 2016. The fund is well known for running an active Community Slack, conducting great podcast interviews with cryptocurrency projects and an emphasis on building network nodes / services. We are joined by Jake Brukhman, CEO, and Alexander Bulkin, Chief Alchemist, to discuss their latest thoughts on investing in the cryptocurrency space. We cover a wide variety of themes such as their opinions on the “fat protocol hypothesis,” thesis on value capture in the cryptocurrency space, their efforts to build network nodes; and their effort to build an open source token-less technology that allows entrepreneurs to launch their blockchains. Topics covered in this episode: Coinfund’s history What is a cryptofund? Coinfund approach to investing in the cryptocurrency space Generalised mining – what it is, and how it offers cryptofunds a competitive advantage The ADAPT toolkit – a tokenless toolkit for rapid blockchain innovation Episode links: CoinFund Slack CoinFund interviews The ADAPT project Fat protocols are not an investment thesis Generalised mining CoinFund Twitter Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Simplify your hiring process & access the best blockchain talent . Get a $1,000 credit on your first hire at toptal.com/epicenter. The open, decentralized trading protocol for ERC20 tokens using the Dutch auction mechanism. More at epicenter.tv/dutchx. This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/256

The Tezos whitepaper, published in 2014, anticipated several areas that would become major issues for blockchain networks. Especially around governance and smart contract security, Tezos proposed original solutions. The project later went on to raise $232m in the biggest token sale at the time. Recently, the Tezos network launched as the first of a wave of innovative next-generation blockchain networks. We were joined by Tezos co-founders Arthur and Kathleen Breitman to discuss the history of the project, how the network functions today and how it could develop going forward. Topics covered in this episode: What inspired the original Tezos vision from 2014 The critical importance of formal verification and governance Why Arthur thinks the blockchain scalability problem is overrated The case against decentralized applications Why the ability to evolve and adopt new features is critical for Tezos success Tezos’ Proof-of-Stake and emerging baking ecosystem The Tezos Foundation drama and Johann Gevers The relationship between their company DLS and the Tezos Foundation Episode links: Tezos Website E136 - Tezos – A Self-Amending Crypto-Ledger Tezos Whitepaper The $1 Billion Tezos Blockchain Is Officially Launching Monday Inside the Crypto World's Biggest Scandal | WIRED Tezos Twitter Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. Simplify your hiring process & access the best blockchain talent . Get a $1,000 credit on your first hire at toptal.com/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/255

Public blockchains produce enormous amounts of data. In theory, anyone can access the raw contents of transaction and blocks. In practice, however, querying blockchains can prove to be a daunting task. The difficulty lies in the fact that blockchains are particular types of distributed databases and thus carry several limitations. Most, if not all, blockchains lack the most basic SQL querying capabilities supported by nearly every off-the-shelf database system. Take Bitcoin as an example. Its API lacks even the most basic calls which would allow a user to query any address and receive the balance. In order to achieve this, block explorers and alike have developed sophisticated middleware infrastructure that parses the blockchain, normalizes the data, and stores it in a database, where it can be queried. In the best of cases, companies offer API calls for only a limited set of operations. Google hopes to change this by freeing blockchain datasets. We’re joined by Allen Day, Science Advocate at Google’s Singapore office. Earlier this year, he and his team released the Bitcoin blockchain as a public dataset in Big Query, Google big data IaaS offering. In August, they added Ethereum to their list of freely available public datasets, which includes US census data, cannabis genomes, and the entirety of Reddit and Github. Anyone wishing to query the data can do so in SQL on the Big Query website or via an API. For instance, a relatively simple query would return the daily mean transaction fees since the Genesis Block in just a few seconds. Coupled with Google’s AI and Machine Learning infrastructure and other open data sets, one can only imagine the potentially groundbreaking insights we could gain from this data. Topics covered in this episode: Allen’s background as a geneticist The similarities between blockchains and evolution process in lifeforms Google’s cloud platform and its various components Big Query and its publicly available datasets The Bitcoin and Ethereum datasets in Big Query Why this data is useful to the public and for what it may be used The particular challenges in implementing Ethereum as opposed to Bitcoin Insights we may gain by crossing blockchain dataset with other data How machine learning and AI could help us better understand specific transaction patterns Episode links: Bitcoin in BigQuery: blockchain analytics on public data Bitcoin Blockchain Public Dataset Ethereum in BigQuery: a Public Dataset for smart contract analytics Ethereum in BigQuery: how we built this dataset Ethereum Blockchain Public Dataset Change Agent by Daniel Suarez Real-time Ethereum Notifications for Everyone for Free ethjs-abi library, compiled for use in Google BigQuery Kaggle: Your Home for Data Science The Strange Inevitability of Evolution - Issue 20: Creativity - Nautilus Reddit_ Google Cloud Thank you to our sponsors for their support: The open, decentralized trading protocol for ERC20 tokens using the Dutch auction mechanism. More at epicenter.tv/dutchx. Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/254

The expectation has become widespread that blockchains will end up underpinning major societal infrastructures. The narrative in the blockchain space is that networks are decentralized and trustless and thus regulation should not apply to networks directly. Legal scholar Angela C. Walch has been questioning terms like decentralization and trustlessness and argues that blockchains shift the need for trust rather than remove it. Her controversial ideas include that key developers of open-source project should be treated as fiduciaries and held accountable for the consequences of their work. Angela Walch is a professor of law at St Mary University School of Law and a Research Fellow at the Center for Blockchain at UCL. She is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and has been doing academic work on legal issues surrounding public blockchains since 2013. Topics covered in this episode: How she became interested in Bitcoin and issues around the narratives of decentralization and trustlessness How her work has been received in the blockchain space The problematic lack of a clear definition of terms like trustless, immutable and decentralized Why blockchains should be looked at as trust-shifting, not trustless The definition and role of fiduciaries in society Why blockchain developers could be considered fiduciaries The practical implications and difficulties of regulating blockchain developers as fiduciaries How the SEC’s stance on blockchains connects with the question of developers being fiduciaries Her personal views on the value and promise of blockchain tech Episode links: Angela Walch Angela C. Walch - St. Mary's Law Angela Walch – Medium In Code(rs) We Trust: Software Developers as Fiduciaries in Public Blockchains The Path of the Blockchain Lexicon (and the Law) Open-Source Operational Risk: Should Public Blockchains Serve as Financial Market Infrastructures? Coin-Operated Capitalism paper Journal of Financial Technology Introducing: The Journal of Financial Technology – Angela Walch – Medium Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Simplify your hiring process & access the best blockchain talent . Get a $1,000 credit on your first hire at toptal.com/epicenter. Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/253

Legendary scientist and cryptography pioneer Ralph Merkle joined us to discuss his recent paper on DAOs. Merkle examined how the voting mechanisms in today’s democracies are flawed and how a decentralized, transparent DAO making decisions using prediction markets could create more efficient democratic systems. Topics covered in this episode: Merkle proofs, Merkle Roots and his early forays into cryptography Blockchains as living organisms Why DAOs will be subject to a Darwinian evolutionary process Why voting is flawed and we need new governance methods to save democracy The concept of a DAO democracy How prediction markets and futarchy would help govern a DAO democracy Episode links: Ralph Merkle DAO Democracy Paper [PDF] Ralph Merkle's Homepage Ralph Merkle's Wikipedia page Episode 98 with Robin Hanson on futarchy & prediction markets Tim Urban: Why Cryonics Makes Sense Alcor - Life Extension Foundation Thank you to our sponsors for their support: The open, decentralized trading protocol for ERC20 tokens using the Dutch auction mechanism. More at epicenter.tv/dutchx. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/252

The rise of populism and increasing inequality have led to widespread questioning of democracy and capitalism. Glen Weyl, a political economist and Principal Researcher at Microsoft, along with legal scholar Eric Posner, published a book called ‘Radical Markets’. Radical Markets explores how restructuring property rights and voting systems could lead to more efficient markets and a more just society. Glen joined us to discuss the book and why the blockchain space is a fertile testbed to explore these radical new ideas. Topics covered in this episode: Why blockchain is on a trajectory to exacerbate inequality and fail at improving the world Why property should be seen as a monopolistic institution How property rights create inefficient markets The radical idea of transforming property rights via a Common Ownership Self-Assessed Tax (COST) How the one-person-one-vote system contributed to the crisis of democracy How quadratic voting works and leads to fairer outcomes Whether or not buying of votes should be allowed in QV His work with Vitalik and radical markets experiments in blockchain Episode links: Radical Markets Glen Weyl Website Property is Only Another Name for Monopoly (2017) On Radical Markets - Vitalik Buterin Book Review Liberation Through Radical Decentralization – Post by Vitalik & Glen This economist wants to abolish private property using blockchain | Wired Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Simplify your hiring process & access the best blockchain talent . Get a $1,000 credit on your first hire at toptal.com/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/251

Dispute resolution is the process by which contracting parties settle disagreements. Whether in the form of litigation, arbitration, or other means of mediation, every contract defines a dispute resolution mechanism and jurisdiction. It is the metaphorical Lady Justice, measuring the strength of each party’s arguments, and reaching a decision based on evidence. Smart contracts are unique in this sense. Unlike traditional contracts, they are rigid and deterministic. Written in computer code, nuances in human language and vagueness of terms do not exist in this realm. There are no judges, no jury, just calculated execution. The DOA hack and other similar events have prompted observers of the space to express the need for smart contract dispute resolution. Some have suggested “exit switches” that would allow for human intervention when edge cases appear. But could the arbitration process be integrated into the smart contract and on the blockchain? We’re joined by, Federico Ast and Clement Lessage, respectively CEO and CTO of Kleros. This dispute resolution layer provides contracting parties with a fast and secure process for arbitration. The system is broken up into courts and sub-courts, each specializing in specific matters like e-commerce, insurance, and transport. In the event of a dispute, parties submit their case to Kleros, where a crowd of expert jurors analyses the evidence. When all votes are cast, the decision is enforced by the smart contract, which may unlock funds, or provide parties with additional time to fulfill the terms of the agreement. Clever incentive mechanisms reward jurors who vote with the crowd, making Kleros resistant to bribe attacks and collusion between jurors. Topics covered in this episode: Federico and Clement’s respective backgrounds, including a crowd arbitration project called Jury. The vision behind Kleros and the problem it addresses The case for crowd-sourced jurors as a means to find the best judgment The game theory and incentive mechanisms embedded in Kleros Kleros’ hierarchical system of courts and sub-courts How jury selection works and who administers courts The system’s built-in governance mechanism and its purpose The Kleros token, Pinkaion coin, and it’s utility in the system “Doge on Trial,” a clever experiment to find authentic doges The current status of the project and roadmap Episode links: Kleros Website Kleros White Papper Doges on Trial Why Decentralization Matters by Chris Dixon This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/250

We are joined by Ryan Zurrer, Principal and Venture partner, at Polychain capital. Polychain capital is a breakout crypto hedge fund with over $100 million in assets under management, and large investments in major crypto projects such as Dfinity, Polkadot, Filecoin and Vest. Ryan was the first person to join Olaf Carlson Wee in managing this fund. He built multiple companies in the wind energy industry prior to making a switch to the cryptocurrencies. In this episode, we go behind the scenes of the Polychain success story. We get details on what crypto hedge funds are, how Polychain got started, reasons for its breakout success, its approach to blockchain investments and the current challenges of running a crypto hedge fund. Ryan also walks us through Polychain’s interest areas – Layer 1 blockchain protocols such as Filecoin, Dfinity and Polkadot; and financial derivative protocols. If you want to understand how some of the leading minds allocate capital at a large scale in the cryptocurrency industry, check out the episode. Topics covered in this episode: What is a crypto hedge fund? Differences between a crypto hedge fund and a venture capital firm The Polychain success story and how it played out Polychain’s approach to cryptocurrency investments and entrepreneurs Polychain’s major flagship investments – Filecoin, Dfinity and Polkadot Polychain’s perspective in the “frozen Parity ether” debate Episode links: Polychain capital website Fortune article on Polychain Previous Epicenter episode on Polychain with Olaf Carlson Wee Polychain's perspective on the “Parity frozen ether” controversy This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/249

Until now, proposals to improve blockchain scalability have addressed the problem in one of two ways. One seeks to increase efficiency by optimizing the blockchain or improving the consensus algorithm. The other comes in the forms of layer-2 solutions such as payment channels or side chains. However, none have addressed the core bottleneck to scalability: TCP/IP network limitations. Improving the speed at which blocks propagate through the network is the layer-0 problem few people consider when thinking about scaling. Fundamentally, network bottlenecks are what prevent blockchains from increasing their transaction throughput. Raising the block size or reducing the time between blocks has devastating effects on usability as the probability of a fork increases. At a certain point, the blockchain simply breaks as forks occur faster than blocks can propagate to all validators. Remarkably, the web figured out how to scale decades ago with the invention of Content Distributions Networks, or CDN. This is what enables platforms like YouTube to steam thousands of hours of video to hundreds of thousands of people every second. However, traditional centralized scaling solutions lack the privacy and censorship resistance necessary to serve the decentralized web. We’re joined by Uri Klarman, CEO of bloXroute. Founded by a team of researchers and systems designers from Northwestern and Cornel University, including Emin Gün Sirer, bloXroute allows practically every blockchain network to “scale today.” As a scalability infrastructure service, their Blockchain Distribution Network, or BDN, sits underneath blockchain networks. Anyone operating a miner can use the BDN without any changes to their consensus algorithm or protocol. By simply pointing their software to a bloXroute node, miners immediately benefit from propagation speeds orders of magnitude higher than the time which is currently required for blocks to be seen by all validators. This global network of servers is optimized to receive and stream massive amounts of transaction data to vast networks of nodes and miners. While bloXroute relies on some level of centralization, it is provably neutral and cannot discriminate based on the contents, provenance or destination of a block. It also includes clever redundancy mechanisms which ensure availability in the event of an attack on the network. Topics covered in this episode: Uri’s journey as an academic working in the field of networking Defining the blockchain scalability problem as a networking problem Past work and attempts to scale blockchains The vision behind bloXroute and the problem it aims to solve The Blockchain Distribution Network (BDN) and its technical architecture How the BDN optimizes blocks and achieves 1,000x faster propagation times How bloXroute archives provable neutrality and ensures network resiliency The BLXR token and incentive mechanisms The project’s goals, milestones, and product roadmap Episode links: bloXroute Website bloXroute White Paper This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/248

Since he started blogging as Two Bit Idiot in 2013, Ryan Selkis has been both industry insider and industry critic. Consistently calling out excesses and abuses, but also maintaining his sights on the long-term potential. He recently founded Messari, a project that aims to bring more transparency and fairness to the industry. Messari has narrowed in on siloed, inaccurate and incomplete data as a key factor that allows insiders to profit at the expense of the public. We talked about the various ways in which Messari tackles that problem, ranging from a community-led effort to gather project data to the ambitious goal of a token-curated registry of stand-up projects. Topics covered in this episode: Ryan’s start into the crypto industry as pseudonymous blogger Two Bit Idiot His insights from being the Digital Currency Group’s first employee CoinDesk and the challenges of journalism in crypto Why poor and inaccurate information benefits industry insiders at the expense of retail investors Messari’s mission to lead a self-regulatory effort for the crypto industry How an open, distributed crypto data library could help create a fairer playing field The plans for Messari’s token-curated registry of projects following reporting standards The economics and game theory around the Messari token and TCR Episode links: Messari - Crypto News, Pricing, and Research Introducing Messari: An Open-Source EDGAR Database for Cryptoassets Messari Whitepaper A token to self-regulate tokens. But really. Cryptoasset network value, market cap, rankings & metrics | OnChainFX Ryan Selkis (@twobitidiot) | Twitter Messari Community Analyst Application This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/247

Privacy and scalability are arguably the most challenging issues blockchains face. Scalable privacy-preserving state machines are inherently difficult. While cryptocurrencies like Zcash have proven trustworthy for simple transactions, privacy in smart contract platforms is an entirely different animal. We’re joined by Guy Zyskind, CEO of Enigma, a platform for scalable decentralized apps which preserves privacy. The Enigma network treats Ethereum smart contracts as “secret contracts” and can perform computations on encrypted data. Inputs are broken into pieces and distributed to network nodes which perform computations on a segment of the full data. Once returned to the Ethreum chain, data is reassembled and may be decrypted to reveal the result. Leveraging secure multi-party computation and Trusted Execution Environments (TEE), Enigma prevents a malicious actor from gaining access to the input data and the computation results. Topics covered in this episode: Guy’s background and secure computation research at MIT The different approaches to privacy preservation in computing The different multi-party computations methods and how they work Fully Homomorphic Encryption in the context of MPC How Enigma would preserve privacy for a simple application like tallying votes How Enigma reads encrypted data from the Ethereum network and leverages Trusted Execution Environments to perform computations How developers build smart contracts which use Enigma The role of the Enigma token as an incentive mechanism How Enigma ensures network availability by penalizing nodes which go offline The current state of the project and upcoming milestones Episode links: Enigma Website Enigma Protocol Docs Enigma White Paper Decentralizing Privacy: Using Blockchain to Protect Personal Data Guy Zyskind's Personal Website This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/246

Martin Becze is a researcher at Dfinity working on a next-generation “Blockchain Operating System” called Primea – a continuation of his work on the eWASM project from his time at the Ethereum Foundation. Primea is an actor based IPC layer intended for use with WebAssembly programs. Martin first learned about Ethereum in 2014 and was immediately drawn into the possibilities opened by having a contracting virtual machines on a blockchain. While the EVM was impressive, Martin saw the possibility for greater usability and efficiency by using the new WebAssembly standards being created, and so led a team at the Ethereum Foundation in the creation of a new blockchain virtual machine, called eWASM. We learn about Martin’s experience on the eWASM project and how the limitations of backwards compatibility led him to begin writing a brand new execution environment from scratch, rethinking some of the core designs and mechanics of the EVM – this project became known as Primea. Martin explains many of the fundamental design shifts involved with the Primea platform, including his focus on using the actor-based model and object capabilities (and what these even mean!). He also lays out how the Primea platform fits into the larger design of the Dfinity blockchain. Topics covered in this episode: eWASM – Ethereum flavored WebAssembly (eWASM) Design. Primea – an actor based IPC layer intended for use with WebAssembly programs. Webassembly Dfinity – blockchain-based cloud computing project. Its aim is to develop a decentralized internet computer that will become the cloud 3.0. Episode links: Primea GitHub Communication Semantics - Edcon talk Primea Technical Deep Dive - EthCC talk This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/245

The 2016 Ethereum hard fork left us with two distinct Ethereum chains. While the main Ethereum chain dwarfs Ethereum Classic in terms of market cap, ETC has sustained its position as a significant actor in the broader blockchain ecosystem. ETC’s recent listing on Coinbase demonstrates its credibility as a significant industry player. We’re joined by Anthony Lusardi, Director of the Ethereum Classic Cooperative, an organization who’s goal is to promote the development of the Ethereum Classic Network. Similarly to other industry organizations, The Cooperative invests in core development of the ETC blockchain, community building, marketing, and brand awareness. Topics covered in this episode: Anthony’s background and how he became involved in the crypto community The Ethereum Classic Cooperative and the goals of the organization What the ETC ecosystem looks like two years after the fork The people and companies contributing to the project and building on the platform The overlap and friction points with the broader Ethereum community ETC’s unique value proposition as a blockchain platform SputnikVM as an alternative to the Ethereum Virtual Machine The potential attack vectors on ETC, including 51% attacks Why the ETC community stands behind Proof-of-Work The Cooperative’s plans to remain relevant and the project’s development roadmap Episode links: Ethereum Classic Cooperative Website Ethereum Classic Website Crypto51: Cost of a 51% Attack for Different Cryptocurrencies @eth_classic on Twitter This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/244

One of the key scalability challenges with public cryptocurrency blockchains is that their size grows linearly with the number of transactions. Mature blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum contain >170GB and >1 TB of historical data respectively. New nodes joining these chains need to download this data and verify it in order to become a “full node”. The number of full nodes is a key measure of decentralization, and difficulty becoming a full node translates into future centralization. In this episode, we are joined by the duo of Evan Shapiro and Izaak Meckler, CEO and CTO at O(1) Labs respectively. O(1) Labs is a pioneering company that uses zkSNARK technology in order to construct a cryptocurrency blockchain, called Coda, that solves the blockchain size scalability bottleneck. New nodes joining the Coda network will be able to trustlessly boot up in under a minute by verifying cryptographic proofs that attest to the validity of the current chain. This technology has great potential to enable decentralization, and for one blockchain to be a light client of another blockchain. Topics covered in this episode: Scalability challenges of current cryptocurrencies Background on O(1) Labs and their mission statement How Coda uses succinct computational integrity technology (zkSNARKs) to enable further decentralization of blockchains Snarky – a domain specific language for zkSNARK computations Current state of Coda and roadmap Episode links: Coda protocol website Coda Whitepaper Presentation on Snarkly by Izzak Meckler zkSNARKs in a nutshell by Christian Reitweissner zkSNARKs in a nutshell by Vitalik Buterin Coda presentation at hack.summit("blockchain") 2018 This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/243

When the Bitcoin Foundation fell apart and funding for Bitcoin core development was needed, the MIT founded the Digital Currency Initiative to step in. In the years since, the DCI has evolved into a vibrant center of cutting edge research on some of the most difficult challenges around blockchain technology. DCI Director Neha Narula joined us to discuss the DCI’s position between academia and industry, their policy on conflicts of interest, and their most fascinating research topics. Topics covered in this episode: How her interest in distributed systems and scaling lead led her to the blockchain space The mission and history of the MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative How cryptocurrency might evolve over time as an academic field The DCI’s project on digital fiat currency How zkLedger could enable privacy-preserving auditing for distributed ledgers Why sharding is unlikely to succeed in the short- and medium term Why Neha is most optimistic about layer 2 approaches to scaling like lightning network The story of discovering and writing about IOTA’s vulnerability How DCI handles conflicts of interest and strives for neutrality Episode links: MIT Digital Currency Initiative Neha Narula Personal Website What’s New at MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative The Importance of Layer 2 Cryptographic vulnerabilities in IOTA zkLedger | the future of audit zkLedger Whitepaper Neha Narula: The future of money | TED Talk This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/242

Before founding what is now one of the most successful companies in the cryptocurrency industry, Eric Larchevêque and his co-founder opened La Maison du Bitcoin, a Bitcoin education center and co-working space in the second district of Paris. It was through chance encounters in this space that Leger was born in the basement of 35 rue du Caire, where the company also operated a Bitcoin exchange desk and a handful of crypto miners. Eric Larchevêque, CEO of Ledger, joins us again since his last appearance as a guest 200 episodes ago. We discuss the meteoric rise of Ledger from a ten-person team to now nearly 150 people across three continents. This fascinating discussion is a master class in product development, scaling at lightning speed, and staying true to your vision when everyone is pushing you to change course. Topics covered in this episode: Eric’s background and how he became involved in the Bitcoin space La Maison du Bitcoin and the early days of Ledger in Paris The meteoric growth of Ledger and how the company managed to scale without imploding The appointment of Pascal Gautier as President how to hire the right people when scaling fast Ledger’s various funding rounds and lessons learned from working with corporate investors The particularities of building products for the crypto community Ledger’s product lineup (Nano S, Blue, and Vault) and target clients The upcoming release of the revamped wallet app Ledger Vault as a security solution for institutional investors Ledger’s hardware technology and rock-solid approach to security Episode links: Ledger Wallet Website Ledger Corporate Website CoinHouse (formerly La Maison du Bitcoin) Announcing the new Ledger Wallet desktop and mobile applications Former CRITEO COO joins leading security player in Cryptocurrency space Ledger raises USD 75 million to secure cryptocurrency assets This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/241

While many cryptocurrency holders have thought about how to secure their assets, how to pass on cryptoassets in case of one’s death is rarely on people’s mind. Lawyer Pamela Morgan has been helping people and organizations build solutions to safely store their cryptoassets and has recently turned her attention to inheritance planning. Though we have often explored the legal issues surrounding blockchains and cryptocurrencies on Epicenter, never have we discussed the topic of inheritance. We discussed her new book “Cryptoasset Inheritance Planning” and how people can design a simple plan to give heirs a high chance of recovering assets in less than an hour. Topics covered in this episode: How an impassioned talk on Bitcoin by Andreas Antonopoulos started her crypto journey Common misconceptions lawyers have about crypto Her work through Empowered Law on educating lawyers Third Key Solutions and building non-custodial key management solutions The most frequent mistakes people make when it comes to protecting cryptoassets How to do inheritance planning for cryptoassets Differentiating between technical and legal aspects to inheritance planning Episode links: Empowered Law – Law and Education to Empower the World Third Key Solutions – Non-Custodial Key Management and Consulting Services Cryptoasset Inheritance Planning Book Inheritance Planning for Cryptocurrencies: 3 Steps in 3 Minutes When Disaster Strikes: Developing a Recovery Plan for Bitcoin and Digital Tokens Pamela Morgan on Twitter This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/240

In the past few years, we witnessed the development of multiple smart contract languages – Solidity, Viper, Michelson, Scilla etc. These languages need to enable developers to write correct, predictable behavior smart contract code. Each language development effort therefore ends up spending resources into building formal verification toolsets, compilers, debuggers and other developer tools. In this episode, we are joined by Grigore Rosu, Professor of computer science at UIUC (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) for a deep dive into the K framework. The K framework is mathematic logic and language that enables language developers to formally define all programming languages; such as C, Solidity and JavaScript. Once a language is formally specified in the K framework, the framework automatically outputs a range of formal verification toolsets, compilers, debuggers and other developer tools for it. Updates to the language can be made directly in K. This technology has massive implications for smart contract programming language development, and formal verification efforts in the blockchain space. We also cover his efforts to express the Ethereum virtual machine using the K framework, and to develop a new virtual machine technology, called IELE, specifically tailored to the blockchain space. Check out the episode to understand a game changing technology in the formal verification and smart contract safety space. Topics covered in this episode: Grigore’s background with NASA and work on formally verified correct software Motivations to develop K framework Basic principles behind the operation of K framework How K deals with undefined behavior / ambiguities in a language definition The intersection of K framework and smart contract technology Runtime Verification’s collaboration with Cardano KEVM and IELE, smart contract virtual machines developed by Runtime Verification Broader implications of the K framework for the blockchain industry Episode links: Defining the undefinedness of C - formalisation of C using the K framework IELE - a new virtual machine for the blockchain Runtime verification - Grigore's company K Semantics of the Ethereum Virtual Machine Short video on Grigore's partnership with Cardano An overview of the K framework by Runtime Verification A detailed technical overview of the K semantic framework This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/239

With the rise of smart contract technology, we’ve become acutely aware of the need for smart contract code to accurately reflect the intentions of its author; and for the code to have certain (safe) behaviors in all circumstances. Creating the languages and software tools to enable ordinary developers to write safe contracts has become an intense research endeavor in the cryptocurrency space. Scilla is a Turing incomplete intermediate level language; inspired from the paradigms of functional programming and formal verification; that makes it easy for smart contract developers to automatically prove statements about smart contract behavior. For example, Scilla could allow a future multi-signature smart contract author to mathematically prove that funds in that contract would always be retrievable by certain addresses (and never get stuck like the Parity incident). The ability to mathematically prove such safety properties of the smart contract has the potential to be an enabling invention prior to widescale use of this technology. In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Amrit Kumar and Dr. Ilya Sergey to discuss Scilla, the smart contract language of the upcoming Zilliqa blockchain. In a previous episode, we’ve already covered the vision and technical approach of Zilliqa to solve the transaction scalability problem of permissionless blockchains. This episode focuses specifically on their smart contract language development efforts. Topics covered in this episode: Updated on Zilliqa’s progress since our last episode The technology of mechanised proofs Dr. Ilya Serger’s effort to mechanically prove safety properties of a blockchain consensus network Aims of the Scilla language Future capabilities enabled by the Scilla language Developer experience and perspective using formal verification tools How Scilla compares to Michelson, Tezos’ approach to smart contract languages with a similar end goal Current state of development of Scilla, and next milestones Episode links: Our previous episode on the Zilliqa platform Ilya Sergey's paper on mechanising blockchain consensus Scilla whitepaper Michelson, Tezos platform's smart contract language Zilliqa blog for updates on platform development Coq, a formal proof management system This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/238

As a society, we have organized as tribes, hierarchies, and markets to accomplish the most impressive of achievements. Human cooperation and collective organization are present at nearly every significant milestone in the history of human civilization. As we move towards an increasingly connected and automated society and economy, there will become a need for decentralized infrastructure which enables companies and markets to make fast decisions at scale. We’re joined by Matan Field, CEO of DAOstack, a new platform that aims to become the operating system for collective intelligence. DAOstack is building a toolset to allow decentralized governance and building self-organizing collectives at scale. Topics covered in this episode: Matan’s background and journey since founding Backfeed What is a DAO and the necessary components to create a functional DAO The role of DAOs in today’s society and over the long-term DAOstack as “WordPress for DAOs” The different layers of DAOstack and their respective roles Holographic Consensus and the governance model of the DAOstack Genesis DAO The purpose of the GEN token and the idea of circular token economies DAOstacks recent crowdsale and upcoming project roadmap Episode links: DAOstack Website DAOstack Introduction Video DAOstack on Medium An Explanation of DAOstack in Fairly Simple Terms Decentralized Governance Matters DAOstack White Paper Epicenter Episode 115 with Matan Field on Backfeed This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/237

Aragon Founder Luis Cuende joined us to discuss their work on building tools for decentralized governance. We covered the origins of his deep drive, why this is a crucial fight for humanity and the tools that Aragon has built. Topics covered in this episode: How Luis became an advisor to the European Commissionas as a 16-year old Why freedom and technology became Luis’ prime obsession The origin story and vision of Aragon The risk surveillance and authoritarianism pose to humanity Why decentralized governance is the key to freedom How to think about inequality and blockchain governance Why on-chain governance makes more sense on application than protocol level AragonOS and its different applications The Aragon Network Token and potential role in a decentralized court system The road to decentralizing Aragon organizationally Episode links: Aragon Network The Aragon Manifesto Decentralized organizations can solve the world’s worst problems Aragon - The fight for freedom Video Decentralizing Aragon’s development – Aragon Decentralizing Aragon’s development II: Minimum Viable Foundation Decentralizing Aragon's development III: Onboarding new teams This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/236

The rise of Binance is one of the most astonishing stories in the blockchain space. Within less than a year of its launch, Binance has become the most popular crypto exchange trading over $2bn per day. In the past quarter, Binance made profits of $200m, likely the fastest company ever to reach this success. Binance Founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”) joined us to discuss why he started Binance and the extraordinary organization they built. We discussed the role of the Binance token, how their strong commitment to values helped build a loyal community, and how he sees the organization evolve in the future. Topics covered in this episode: CZ’s journey in the blockchain space from blockchain.info, to OKCoin to founding Binance The astonishing rise of Binance to $200m/quarter profits in less than 1 year How Binance went from deciding to do an ICO to finishing it in 2 weeks Why strong values are a key differentiator for Binance How Binance built a vibrant and loyal community The critical role of the Binance token in its success The principles CZ uses to run an efficient distributed organization How regulatory competition is rapidly improving the conditions to build crypto companies Binance’s plans to build a decentralized exchange Episode links: Binance Website From Zero To Crypto Billionaire In Under A Year: Meet The Founder Of Binance The World's Biggest Crypto Exchange Is Heading to Malta Binance CEO: The Future of Cryptocurrency - YouTube Binance Whitepaper I Don't Like Big ICOs ICOs — Not Just “Good-to-Have,” But Necessary This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/235

We are joined by Charles Hoskinson, who played an early role in developing Ethereum and BitShares, and is currently the CEO of IOHK. IOHK is an engineering company that undertakes cryptocurrency research, contributes development efforts to the Ethereum Classic ecosystem, and is spearheading the release of Cardano – a third generation blockchain protocol. IOHK has made the news recently after the publication of fundamental research papers on the Proofs of Proof of Work and the Ouroboros PoS algorithm, and its recruitment of highly rated academics. Topics covered in this episode: IOHK’s role in the Ethereum Classic ecosystem, and how Ethereum Classic differs from Cardano Cardano as a “”third generation blockchain”” and what this means Governance system of Cardano and the challenges behind developing a decentralized governance system Ouroboros PoS algorithm – why was it developed and what’s special about it Ouroboros Genesis: how full nodes can be bootstrapped without requiring checkpoints Cardano’s bet on K framework for smart contract execution Episode links: IOHK analysis of the Dash governance system Ouroboros Genesis intro by Prof Aggelos Kiayias Ouroboros technical paper Ouroboros Praos technical paper Algorand Proofs of Proof of Work K Framework formal analysis technical paper K framework website This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/234

We are joined by Humayun Sheikh and Toby Simpson, founders of the Fetch.ai project. Humayun Sheikh is well known as the first investor in DeepMind, one of the leading AI companies in the world. This ambitious project seeks to create a self-learning blockchain network that fosters economic activity/combinations between off-chain AI agents. The fetch blockchain network will allow an AI agent, such as a delivery robot, to autonomously discover economic partners that would find its services and data valuable. Towards this goal, Fetch.ai claims to have found solutions to designing a useful proof of work system and building a scalable block chain. Topics covered in this episode: Humayun and Toby’s background at Deep Mind Toby’s background in the videogames industry building virtual worlds The vision behind the Fetch.ai project On solutions to useful PoW, salability and the complexity of the project Timelines and what to expect from Fetch Episode links: Fetch.ai white paper Fetch.ai video Documentary from DeepMind on AlphaGo Mike Hearn autonomous agents and Bitcoin talk This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/233

Ethereum Foundation researcher Karl Floersch joined us to discuss the main projects to upgrade Ethereum: Casper, Sharding and Plasma. Karl has been playing a key role in creating a new and simpler specification for Ethereum sidechains called Plasma Cash. We discussed the evolution of the Plasma project and what Ethereum’s evolution in the coming years could look like. Topics covered in this episode: How Karl originally became involved in Ethereum The role of Casper, Sharding and Plasma in the Ethereum roadmap The problems with the original Plasma concept How Plasma Cash provides a simple scalability solution The challenge of data availability Use cases and timeline for Plasma Episode links: Plasma Cash Simple Spec Ethereum Plasma MVP Overview Plasma Cash Discussion on Ethereum Research Cryptoeconomics: An Introduction Plasma & The Public Ethereum Chain - Joseph Poon (Ethereal Summit 2017) Plasma - Original Whitepaper This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/232

With the advent of mature quantum technologies, many of the critical cryptographic protocols which secure the Internet, financial transactions and even military secrets may become susceptible to new attack vectors. For instance, while it may take a computer millions of years to decipher a public key’s corresponding private key, a sufficiently powerful quantum computer might achieve this in a reasonable amount of time. With this reality looming over us, many in the blockchain space worry that someone with access to a quantum computer might one day have the ability to steal their hard-earned crypto. We’re joined by Ajay Prakash and Gavin Brennen, founders of the Qubit Protocol, a decentralized blockchain-enabled governance protocol that is meant to select and fund the best startups in the quantum world. As a co-author of the recent paper “Quantum attacks on Bitcoin, and how to protect against them,” Gavin walks us through the primary threats that quantum computing poses on Bitcoin. Among the major vulnerabilities are hashing functions and Elliptic Curve algorithms used for digital signatures, both fundamental components of Bitcoin, as well as many other blockchain protocols. Topics covered in this episode: What are quantum technologies and how they differ from the existing paradigm The areas and industries which are to benefit most from quantum computing A refresher on hashing algorithms as one-way functions What a quantum attack on Bitcoin mining might look like How Elliptic Curve digital signature algorithms work and how public and private keys are generated The three types of attacks a quantum computer could perform digital signatures The expected timelines for these attacks to be viable The potential countermeasures which could circumvent quantum attacks on Bitcoin The Qubit Protocol as a DAO to fund quantum technology startups and the challenges of investing in the quantum space The project’s roadmap and upcoming ICO Episode links: Qubit Protocol Quantum attacks on Bitcoin, and how to protect against them Quantum Computers Pose Imminent Threat to Bitcoin Security - MIT Technology Review" Shor's algorithm - Wikipedia Elliptic-curve cryptography - Wikipedia This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/231

Dark pools have existed for as long as there have been financial markets. Over-the-counter, or OTC markets, are sometimes also referred to as ‘upstairs trading,’ evoking the era when firms and high-net-worth individuals would meet in the upper quarters of financial markets to make large trades privately. A dark pool is a private forum where one has access to high volumes of liquidity outside the boundaries of public markets. Orders and trades represented in dark pools typically remain confidential outside the purview of the general markets, thus preventing undesirable market impact. We’re joined by Taiyang Zhang and Loong Wang, who are respectively CEO and CTO of Republic Protocol. Republic operates as a decentralized dark pool for cryptocurrency trading pairs such as Ether, ERC20 tokens, and Bitcoin. Buy and sell orders remain confidential in a hidden order book until matched without any of the parties having access to the underlying details. Trades are settled using cross-chain atomic swaps without the intervention of a trusted third party. Topics covered in this episode: Taiyang and Loong’s respective backgrounds Dark pools, their role in traditional financial markets, and their economic impact Dark pools in crypto markets The Republic Protocol and the problems it aims to address The different components and participants of the Republic Protocol The Shamir Secret Sharing Scheme and its role in protecting orders from being divulged to the public The role of nodes in Republic Protocol’s DHT network The purpose of the REN token as an incentive mechanism protecting against malicious actors Republic Protocol’s use of atomic swaps for decentralized settlement The project’s recent ICO and release roadmap Episode links: Republic Protocol GitHub - republicprotocol/whitepaper: Republic Protocol whitepaper Dark pool - Wikipedia Shamir's Secret Sharing - Wikipedia De/Centralize - YouTube This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/230

In just over ten years, geospatial tracking has gone from being a niche technology used by the military and outdoor enthusiasts to mass adoption, available to just about every connected device in existence. GPS and other location-tracking systems not only allows us to find our way and share our location but is critical to businesses and governments. However, while GPS has become a standard thanks to its accuracy and availability, decentralized applications can’t rely on its location data as it can be easily spoofed and lacks reliability. We’re joined by Ryan John King, CEO of FOAM, a blockchain protocol which aims to offer secure location services independent of external centralized sources such as GPS. FOAM introduces a novel crypto-spacial coordinate system that is better suited to blockchains than standard addresses or latitude and longitude coordinates. It also provides a Proof of Location Protocol, which leverages long-range low-power radio networks, and incentive mechanisms, allowing network participants to arrive at consensus on whether an event or agent is verifiably at a particular point in time and space. Topics covered in this episode: Ryan’s background and how he became involved in the space How geospatial tracking works and the pitfalls of GPS The vision for FOAM and the problem it is trying to solve The proposed Crypto-Spatial Coordinate Standard FOAM’s Spacial Index fullstack visualizer The Proof of Location Protocol proposed by FOAM Low-power radio networks and their role in the system The civil and business applications for FOAM Episode links: FOAM Website FOAM Blog This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/229

The healthcare industry is paradoxical. On the one hand, treatment technologies represent some of the most advanced science known to humankind, while some administrative tasks are still performed using paper and fax machine. Studies have shown that the administrative costs of healthcare can represent up to one-third of the total cost of care. Also, as diagnosis, treatment, and care, becomes increasingly data-driven and patient-specific, the industry needs to adopt more secure and robust technologies to manage patient data and communications between the patient and the different participants in the healthcare supply chain. We are joined by John Bass and Corey Todaro, who are respectively CEO and CPO of Hashed Health, an innovation firm focused on accelerating the meaningful development of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies for the industry. Hashed Health works to build solutions which leverage blockchain to solve some of the most important challenges facing this sector. Topics covered in this episode: John and Corey’s respective backgrounds in the building technology for the healthcare sector Nashville as a hub for the US healthcare industry What is Hashed Health and what problems the company is trying to solve The particular issues facing the US and global healthcare sectors How healthcare in the US differs from that of European countries The different entities of Hashed Health: Hashed Collective, Hashed Labs, and Hashed Enterprise Hashed Enterprise and the products they are building for the industry Episode links: Hashed Health Website Hashed Health Blog Hashed Health Podcast This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/228

Over the past year, as cryptocurrencies and ICOs started to go mainstream, we have seen a huge surge in regulatory activities. In the US, many different regulatory bodies including SEC, CFTC and FinCEN stepped forward to regulate crypto projects in different ways. Seemingly contradictory statements have added to confusion and fear of a broad crackdown looming. We were joined by CoinCenter Director of Research Peter Van Valkenburgh to shed clarity on recent developments and understand where things are heading. Topics covered in this episode: The recent congressional hearings about cryptocurrencies and ICOs How the US regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies evolved in the last year Whether overly broad and contradictory regulation is emerging in the US Understanding the difference between CFTC and SEC Why CFTC regulating existing cryptocurrencies and SEC ICOs would be a good outcome Why decentralized exchanges will be a likely target by SEC The recent letter by FinCEN about ICOs and money transmission Comparing US to European regulation and why the US could end up more friendly Episode links: Coin Center Website The Bank Secrecy Act, Cryptocurrencies, and New Tokens: What is Known and What Remains Ambiguous FinCEN raises major licensing problem for ICOs in new letter to Congress. Federal Court Adopts CFTC Position on Cryptocurrency Authority SEC.gov | Statement on Cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings Gibraltar Plans to Regulate ICO Tokens as Commercial Products E182: Peter Van Valkenburgh - Towards Sound Bitcoin Policy Donate to Coin Center This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/227

According to the World Bank, universal financial access is vital to reducing poverty, and lack of access to credit plays a significant role in widening inequalities between developed and developing nations. For producers at the end of the supply chain, and who typically have little access to capital, waiting for customers to pay for their products puts them at high financial risk and threatens their livelihood. What if there was a way to bring more liquidity to global supply chains, by allowing anyone to create liquidity from their existing assets. We’re joined by Bob Summerwill, Community Ambassador at Sweetbridge, an ambitious project that aims to change the way global business operates at a fundamental level. While supply chains account for about two-thirds of the World’s GDP, value is trapped in non-liquid assets sitting in warehouses, on store shelves, or in the form of outstanding invoices. Sweetbridge acts as a sort of OSI model for global business. In the Sweetbridge economy, working capital is freed up by enabling individuals and organizations to borrow from themselves interest-free. Topics covered in this episode: Bob’s background as a game developer How Bob got involved with Ethereum and his role at The Ethereum Foundation What is the Sweetbridge and how it aims to transform global business How one can use Sweetbirdge to collateralize assets and borrow money The different protocol layers of Sweetbridge How Bridgecoin and Sweetcoin work, and their respective roles The role and goals of the Sweetbridge Alliance The upcoming token sale The project roadmap and upcoming product releases Episode links: Sweetbridge Sweetbridge Whitepapers SweetTalk with Vinay Gupta & Scott Nelson This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/226

We were joined by Anson Zeall, who is one of the leaders of Singapore’s blockchain and FinTech community. We discussed how the Singapore ecosystem evolved, why it became a popular place to locate cryptocurrency project, its current regulatory framework. We also dove into some of the projects he is currently involved in including one involving tokenizing cows! Topics covered in this episode: The evoluation of the Singapore blockchain ecosystem and role played by ACCESS The favorable mechanics of Singapore’s regulatory regime Singapore’s experiment to tokenize the Singapore Dollar on Ethereum How Anson’s startup CoinPip uses Bitcoin as a payment rail in South East Asia Sentinel Chain and its efforts to provide financial access to the unbanked The upcoming Singapore blockchain conference De/Centralize Episode links: ACCESS: Association of Cryptocurrency Enterprises and Startups, Singapore CoinPip Sentinel Chain InfoCorp - Rebuilding Inclusive Fintech Singaporean Dollar Tokenized Through Ethereum’s Blockchain by the Monetary Authority of Singapore Singapore Becomes Favored ICO Destination for Blockchain Cow Token White Paper De/Centralize 2018 This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/225

We’re joined by Jeff Garzik, who was among the very first developers to work with Satoshi in the early days of Bitcoin. Later, he was a core developer at Bitpay and even tried to put a Bitcoin node on a satellite in space. Today, he is co-founder at Bloq, a company providing enterprise-grade blockchain infrastructure. Bloq recently announced a new project called Metronome that challenges some of the design and governance principles of many public blockchain networks. Metronome is cryptocurrency that sits on top of existing blockchains and aims to allow tokens to easily move from one network to the other. A series of standard blockchain contracts allow for daily descending price auctions to occur automatically, and for users to buy and sell the tokens using a Bancor-like system with built-in liquidity. Topics covered in this episode: Jeff’s background as a web developer at CNN and as a Linux developer His early days in Bitcoin working with Satoshi His thoughts on Bitcoin governance and lessons learned from the Segwit2X episode The lessons learned from founding Bloq What is Metronome and what problem does it aim to solve Metronome’s self-governance and how the system is meant to evolve The different smart contracts which make up Metronome How Metronome allows MTN tokens to move to different blockchains The economics of the protocol and the descending price auction system The upcoming Metronome token sale and development roadmap Episode links: Metronome: The Built-to-Last Cryptocurrency Metronome Owner's Manual Metronome FAQ Metronome Git Repo DSS - Dunvegan Space Systems, Inc The Long Now Foundation Bloq This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/224

That decentralized networks represent a massive investment opportunity is no longer a controversial view. In the last year alone, over 200 funds dedicated to investing in cryptoassets have been created. But the principles and frameworks to understand this new world are still in its infancy. One fund at the forefront of advancing this understanding has been Multicoin Capital. Their Founders Kyle Samani and Tushar Jain joined us to discuss some of the concepts they use to invest in decentralized networks. Topics covered in this episode: Google Glass and the origin story of Multicoin Capital Why the most used smart contract platform will produce the winning store of value Why they are bearish on Bitcoin Why money is best thought of as an adjective not a noun Differentiating between work, payment and burn-and-mint tokens Why work tokens capture network value better than payment tokens The future of Multicoin Episode links: Multicoin Capital Website New Models for Utility Tokens Blockchains: A New Social Order The Smart Contract Network Fallacy The Opportunity for Interoperable Chains of Chains Multicoin Capital Podcast This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/223

Decentralized exchanges have been a holy grail in the cryptocurrency space, since at least the MtGox hack. They promise to derisk the act of exchanging cryptocurrency by leaving custody of funds in the hands of the users. And they should be resistant to regulatory pressure, creating a permissionless way to trade cryptocurrencies. Among decentralized exchange projects, 0x has gained by far the most traction in the short time since launching. Co-founders Will and Amir joined us to discuss the 0x protocol, the emerging 0x economy and the vibrant community they’ve built. Topics covered in this episode: How Will and Amir started 0x The definition of a decentralized exchange and why decentralized custody is key The 0x architecture Why 0x built a protocol and not just a decentralized exchange The role and business model of relayers The 0x token and its economy The 0x governance process Episode links: 0x: The Protocol for Trading Tokens 0x Whitepaper Front-running, Griefing and the Perils of Virtual Settlement (Part 1) Front-running, Griefing and the Perils of Virtual Settlement (Part 2) This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/222

We’re joined by Greg Meredith and Nash Foster of the RChain Cooperative. A fundamentally new kind of blockchain platform, RChain is rooted in a formal model of concurrent and decentralized computation. Powered by the Rho Virtual Machine, and secured by Casper proof-of-stake, RCain is partitioned, or shareded by default, forming a network of coordinated and parallel blockchains. The project, which is formed as a coop, leverages correct-by-construction software development to produce a concurrent, compositional, and massively scalable blockchain. Topics covered in this episode: How Rchain spun out of the Synereo project The primary objectives RChain seeks to establish The fundamental principles of RChain and RLang The concepts of concurrency and parallelism in simple terms How building concurrent systems implies scalability The unique features of Casper consensus in the context of RChain The importance of namespaces in RChain Why this project was started as a cooperative The current status of the project and roapmap Episode links: RChain Website RChain Rholang SDK (v0.1) Released A Visualization for the Future of Blockchain Consensus Introducing Rholang! at Devcon 2 This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/221

Zeppelin Co-Founder and CTO Manuel Araoz joined us to discuss his journey from building one of the first non-financial Bitcoin applications in 2012 to improving development and security practices for Ethereum smart contracts. We discussed the OpenZeppelin framework, a library of audited smart contracts as well as their new project zeppelin_os. Through on-chain, well-vetted and upgradeable smart contracts zeppelin_os aims to make developing Ethereum applications both easier and more secure. Topics covered in this episode: Manuel’s journey in the blockchain space from proof of existence to BitPay to Streamium to Zeppelin Why Manuel moved away from a pure Bitcoin focus to working on Ethereum Why Zeppelin focuses on smart contract security How smart contract security evolved since the start of Ethereum The OpenZeppelin framework of audited Ethereum contracts Why zeppelin_os and standardized, upgradeable on-chain contracts are the next evolutionary step The core component of zeppelin_os: Kernel, SDK and markeplace The ZEP token and its role in zeppelin_os Episode links: Zeppelin Website OpenZeppelin Framework zeppelin_os zeppelin_os Whitepaper This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/220

Hashgraph is a new consensus algorithm that radically differs from proof-of-work as well as proof-of-stake consensus algorithms. While work on Hashgraph begun in 2012, it’s design is radically different from today’s blockchain architectures. The Hashgraph team claims that it has found an optimal consensus algorithm design that will be impossible to significantly improve upon. We were joined by Mance Harmon, who is CEO of the Swirlds, the company developing Hashgraph. Our conversation covered the origin story of hashgraph, how it compares to existing consensus algorithms and how Hashgraph works. Topics covered in this episode: Leemon Baird and Mance Harmon’s long history of building companies together What motivated Leemon Baird to start working on Hashgraph in 2012 The existing categories of consensus algorithms and their problems How Hashgraph consensus combines voting and gossip protocols The performance characteristics of Hashgraph How a public Hashgraph network could look like Episode links: Hashgraph Homepage Hashgraph Whitepaper Hashgraph Consensus - Detailed Examples Sybil Attacks in Hashgraph Hidden Forces Podcast Episode on Hashgraph Lemon Baird's Talk on Hashgraph at Harvard Business School This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/219

Over the past year, cryptoassets have exploded in popularity. From a mere $18bn at the start of 2017, the aggregate market cap of all cryptoassets recently reached $820bn as interest in Bitcoin and its cousins went mainstream. Jack Tatar and Chris Burniske joined us to discuss their new book ‘Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor’s Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond’. It is one of the first systematic views on cryptoassets from a mainstream investor’s perspective. Topics covered in this episode: How Jack and Chris originally became interested in Bitcoin and cryptoassets Why the term cryptoassets is a good umbrella term for the different kinds of tokens The different categories of cryptoassets: Cryptocurrencies, cryptocommodities and cryptotokens How cryptoassets fit into an overall investment portfolio How to value cryptoassets Whether we are in a cryptoasset bubble and expectations for the future Episode links: Cryptoassets on Amazon Cryptoassets - Book Website Cryptoasset Valuations – Chris Burniske – Medium Why I like the term, “Cryptoassets” – Chris Burniske – Medium The Crypto J-Curve – Chris Burniske – Medium Bitcoins are the best investment in my retirement account - MarketWatch This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/218

A significant part of the modern digital economy, is underpinned by machine learning models that are trained to perform tasks such as facial recognition, content curation, health diagnostics etc. Data to train machine learning models is the essential commodity of this century – a sentiment captured by epithets such as “”Data is the new oil””. Today’s dominant AI paradigm has companies focus their efforts on gathering data from their users in order to train models and monetise usage of the model. This model has many consequences such as loss of privacy for the user, consolidation of data in a handful of large companies, low access to data for startups and a fundamental impossibility of collecting sensitive data such as markers for depression. Our guest, Andrew Trask, is building OpenMined – a platform that merges cryptographic techniques such as homomorphic encryption and multi-party computation and blockchain technology to create the ability to train ML models with private user data. OpenMined will allow AI companies of the future to develop models, have them trained on user data without compromising user privacy, and incentivise users to train their model. We walk through the OpenMined vision and its potential impact on AI business models and AI safety Topics covered in this episode: Challenges with the current AI paradigm OpenMined’s vision to allow training of AI models with private user data How OpenMined works under the hood Applications enabled by OpenMined Current state and OpenMined hackathon Episode links: OpenMined hackathon OpenMined website This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/217

Blockchain technologies are changing the way we think about data archival and storage. For instance, most database systems can only capture the current state of a data set. This means we must rely on secondary backup systems to ensure historical data can remain accessible, a stark contrast from what the most basic of blockchains provide out of the box. Database systems that offer immutability and historical context for data would be greatly beneficial for companies as it would make internal and external audits much less costly and time-intensive. We’re delighted to bring you an interview with Flip Filipowski and Brian Platz. Flip is a veteran entrepreneur whose career spans 50 years, having worked for and founded some of the world’s largest software companies of the 80’s and 90’s. He is also the CEO of SilkRoad Equity and a Founding Partner of Tally Capital. Brian’s background includes having founded A List Appart in 1994, which is among the oldest and most influential web development blogs, and SilkRoad Technologies. Flip and Brian join us to talk about their new company, Fluree. Their product, FlureeDB, is a scalable graph database which provides the benefits of blockchain technologies, such as immutability, replayability and fault tolerance. Currently, in development, the goal for FlureeDB is to support various consensus rules based on the network configuration: private systems, federated (or consortium) clusters, and fully decentralized public networks. Topics covered in this episode: Flip and Brian’s respective backgrounds and entrepreneurial ventures How blockchain will disrupt most major companies that exist today FlureeDB and the problem it is trying to solve How FlureeDB improves compliance procedures for enterprise How FlureeDB can address some of the challenges ahead with regards to GDPR FlureeDB’s technical infrastructure and elementary components The different consensus modes and scalability properties of FlureeDB Why they chose to structure the company as a Public Benefit Corporation FlureeDB’s development roadmap Episode links: Fluree Website FlureeDB Whitepaper Blockchain, Meet Database This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/216

The prospect of providing digital cross-border payments for the world’s unbanked and underbanked population has always been one of the key use cases for Bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies can be seen as a way for people in developing countries to participate in the global financial market by allowing easy cross-border payments, cheap remittance transactions, and simplified lending options. We’re pleased to be joined by Elizabeth Rossiello, CEO and Founder of BitPesa. BitPesa provides companies in frontier markets with the financial infrastructure to facilitate commerce and payments, where traditional financial markets are known to be fractured and expensive. As an early Bitcoin company founded in 2013, BitPesa is now present in a handful of African countries and provides essential financial services to businesses, allowing them to send and collect payments, and perform quick and affordable Forex trades. Topics covered in this episode: Elizabeth’s journey to Bitcoin and BitPesa BitPesa’s vision and how it compares existing mobile money platforms present in Africa BitPesa’s offering and how it has evolved since the company was founded in 2013 The primary pain points and barriers to doing business in developing African markets Foreign exchange markets in Africa The challenges and opportunities regarding blockchain adoption in African markets The future of Bitcoin as a payment system Episode links: BitPesa Elizabeth Rossiello Describes How BitPesa Slashes International Payment Fees BitPesa Founder Elizabeth Rossiello Keynotes at ConsenSys' Ethereal Summit Elizabeth Rossiello on Twitter This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/215

We’re joined by Christopher Fabian, Co-founder of Unicef’s Innovation Unit. We discuss how the global non-profit institution leverages innovative technology to solve real-world problems in humanitarian work. We explore the different applications of blockchain in the UN and Unicef, as well as the challenges we can anticipate when deploying these technologies in the developing world. Shaun Conway, Founder of Ixo Foundation, also joins the discussion as a startup working Unicef and talks about the value of a global reputation network for humanitarian projects. Topics covered in this episode: Chris’ and Shaun’s respective backgrounds A bit of background on the UN and Unicef Unicef’s Innovation Unit and Venture arm How Unicef evaluates the different technologies in the space (public, permissionned, etc.) The challenges faced when deploying new technologies in the developing world Unicef’s recent experimentation with an Ethereum smart contract Potential applications for blockchain at the UN and Unicef Unicef’s Venture arm and the types of projects in which they invest Ixo Foundation, their collaboration with Unicef and the value of a Proof of Impact blockchain network Episode links: Blockchain at UNICEF Christopher Fabian - Wikipedia UNICEF Ventures: Exploring Smart Contracts ixo foundation ixo foundation – Medium This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/214

In the blockchain world, few people are as brave as Tim Swanson when it comes to busting hype. Tim’s unbiased, honest, and sometimes controversial opinions provide a refreshingly realistic view of blockchain adoption and applications of this technology by people and businesses. Cutting through the hype, the over-sold press releases ad the blind optimism of a completely decentralized economy, Tim’s insights provide a sobering look at the state of the blockchain. Topics covered in this episode: Tim’s background and recent departure from R3 The current state of the enterprise blockchain market The state of Bitcoin in the context of the recent price increase Tim’s thoughts on the recent spike in ICO’s The rumors and concerns surrounding Bitfinex and Tether The rise of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as an asset class Current problems in Bitcoin: governance and centralization of power Tim’s new project: Post Oak Labs Episode links: Tim's Blog: Great Wall of Numbers Bitcoin Is Now Just A Ticker Symbol and Stopped Being Permissionless Years Ago Who are the administrators of blockchains? Eight Things Cryptocurrency Enthusiasts Probably Won’t Tell You Post Oak Labs This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/213

We were joined by Founder Adam Perlow and Developer Asher Manning of Zen, a public blockchain project focused on building a decentralized financial system. The core premise of Zen is that none of the public blockchain networks are focused on financial asset. Zen is aiming to fill that gap through a Bitcoin-like UTXO architecture that supports multiple asset and smart contracts to enforce complex ownership rules. We talked through their original design choices, their use of formal verification, connection to Bitcoin and vision for a fully decentralized financial system. Topics covered in this episode: Why existing public blockchains are ill-suited for financial instruments Why Zen chose to use a Bitcoin-like UTXO architecture How Zen uses formal verification to allow smart contracts without a virtual machine or needing gas How the Active Contract Set reduces the burden on the miners Walking through creating, trading and settling a call option on Zen How Zen allows payments to be settled in Bitcoin Getting data from the outside world with oracles Zen’s use of Proof-of-Work regulated by on-chain governance Episode links: Zen Protocol - A Financial Engine Zen Protocol - Whitepaper Zen Protocol - Deck Google Campus Presentation - YouTube Zen - Alpha Version Zen Protocol Founders Film - YouTube Oracles and Zen – Zen Protocol Zen’s contract lifecycle – Zen Protocol This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/212

Neufund CEO Zoe Adamovicz joined us to discuss how Neufund is creating a platform to allow companies to sell tokens backed by actual company equity. Topics covered in this episode: Neufund’s thesis of the revolutionary implications of token equity The difference between ICOs and Equity Token Offerings (ETO) Why from a regulatory perspective ETOs are uncomplicated How Neufund’s token Neumarks serves to build a community How the Initial Capital Building Mechanism is bootstrapping the ecosystem The long-term vision of creating a global stock market Episode links: Neufund Neufund Whitepaper Neufund Light Paper Neufund | ICBM Commit Page German Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) on ICOs and cryptocurrencies This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/211

Chaincode Labs Founder Alex Morcos joined us to discuss his journey, the role of the company in Bitcoin’s development and the views that drive his work. Topics covered in this episode: Alex’s background in high frequency trading as a founder of Hudson River Trading How Alex first learned about Bitcoin The vision of Chaincode Labs Why Bitcoin represents our only chance of creating digital gold Why Bitcoin’s resistance to change is one of its core features Why the NYA & SegWit2x approach was misguided How getting consensus around a hard fork blocksize increase could work Why Alex is not excited about the efforts to use blockchains in banks Episode links: Chain Code Labs, Inc Twitter Alex Morcos Why Bitcoin doesn’t need a solution – Alex Morcos – Medium No2x: Centralized Services – Alex Morcos – Medium No2x: Full Nodes – Alex Morcos – Medium This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/210

Scaling public blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum is a long standing technical challenge. In this episode, we cover Zilliqa which has pioneered a design to scale public blockchain throughput with the number of nodes by sharding the blockchain. Sharding has been hitherto proposed as a scaling technique by Ethereum. Zilliqa is one of the first projects to propose a concrete design with an operational testnet processing a couple thousand transactions per second across several shards. Our guests, Xinshu Dong (CEO) and Amrit Kumar (Crypto Lead), walk us through the objectives, protocol design and fundraising structure of this innovative project. We also briefly cover Zilliqa’s novel approach to designing a smart contract language and execution environment. Topics covered in this episode: Sharding as a scaling technique Different kinds of sharding, including state sharding and non-state sharding How Zilliqa works under the hood – consensus algorithms & transaction processing Zilliqa’s novel approach for a smart contract language Details of a new cryptocurrency, Zillings Episode links: Zilliqa Website Zilliqa Blog Zilliqa Whitepaper Prateek Saxena and his research group at NUS Singapore This episode is hosted by Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/209

For the very first time, all three Epicenter hosts found themselves in the same location. After attending Ethereum’s DevCon 3 in Cancun, we were at a Cosmos Retreat and discussed the conference, retreat, state of the Ethereum ecosystem and recent Parity hack. Topics covered in this episode: Recap of Ethereum’s DevCon 3 conference Current state of Ethereum The most interesting new projects at DevCon The post-DevCon Cosmos retreat The internet of blockchain thesis The case for blockchain’s having sovereignty The massive loss of funds due to Parity’s flawed multisig contract The pros and cons of an Ethereum hard fork Episode links: Ethereum Developers Conference (Devcon3) Cosmos - Internet of Blockchains Many Chains One Ecosystem Slides Many Chains One Ecosystem - YouTube "Ethereum Client Bug Freezes User Funds as Fallout Remains Uncertain - CoinDesk" Parity Multi-Sig Wallets Deployed After 7/30 Issue : ethereum Paritytech - Security Alert This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/208

We are joined by Micah Winkelspecht, CEO and Founder of Gem. What started as a Bitcoin API in 2014 has evolved into a leading provider of blockchain solutions for enterprise. Gem addresses the problem of digital data silos and the complexities they introduce when companies and individuals collaborate and share information. Their product, GemOS, provides a full-stack blockchain middleware platform which allows companies to build applications on top of blockchains protocols like Ethereum or Hyperledger Fabric. Topics covered in this episode: Micah’s background and how he got involved in the Bitcoin space How the company and product have evolved to support his original vision How blockchain technologies are transforming process digitization The siloed identity problem and what complexities it introduces for people and companies How GemOS is addressing fundamental issues in health care and insurance How blockchain technologies can support regulated industries Micah’s insights on creating awareness among enterprise clients The importance of building ecosystems and network economies which enterprise can leverage Episode links: Gem.co This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/207

Energy markets form a complex ecosystem of actors. Wholesale energy producers create energy through various means, grid operators transport electricity over long distances and deliver it to homes and businesses, who buy it from local utility companies. The utilities act as resellers in this scheme and take on much of the financial risk associated with selling a commodity which is consumed long before payment settlement from consumers. However, utilities have high operation and marketing costs and charge a high markup on the electricity they buy from wholesalers. Karl Kreder, Co-founder of Grid+, a Consensys project, joins us to talk about how blockchain technology can help disintermediate utilities and allow consumers buy electricity directly from producers. The Grid+ Agent is a hardware device which sits in your home, is connected to your energy meter and can interact with the power grid. The Agent has built-in logic allowing it to respond to your energy needs and predict usage. It is also equipped with a Trusted Execution Environment and a wallet which keeps private keys secure and can make near real-time payments to the network. Topics covered in this episode: Karl’s background and how he became part of Consensys Energy A high-level overview of the energy market and the different players in this ecosystem Where lie the inefficiencies and how they can be improved The challenges facing the energy market today The Grid+ Agent and its functionality How the Grid+ Agent works and how it interacts with the grid Other potential applications for the Grid+ Agent The economics of the Grid+ smart contract and how it handles risk The Grid+ token sale Episode links: Grid+ Grid+ Whitepaper What is Grid+? - YouTube This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/206

Galen Wolfe-Pauly, CEO of Tlon, the company behind Urbit, joined us to discuss one of the most radical and curious projects to come on the podcast. In development for 15 years already, Urbit aims to unravel the cloud computing paradigm that led to the creation of internet monopolies like Google and Facebook. Instead, in Urbit, each person has a personal server, a kind of digital sovereign entity, where applications are run, which leaves control and data in the hands of users. Galen joined us to discuss what the philosophy and ideas driving Urbit, how a radically different internet could look like and what our path is to get there. Topics covered in this episode: The 15 year long history and evolution of Urbit Understanding Urbit through the metaphors of a personal server, a personal blockchain, a republic or an operating function The main Urbit components Nock, Hoon and Arvo How Galaxies, Stars and Planets create Urbit’s hierarchy The Urbit namespace and why it has value How Urbit aims to radically reengineer how the internet works Episode links: Urbit - Website Urbit - An Overview Urbit - Beliefs and Principles Urbit - Interim Constitution Urbit and the Blockchain Wars This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/205

As the ICO boom continues to drive funding and interest in cryptocurrencies, mainstream consumer applications are increasingly looking towards tokenization. One of these was social network Pepo, founded by veteran entrepreneur and previous founder of fab.com Jason Goldberg. Faced with the difficulties of integrating blockchain, they decided to start Simple Token – a company focused on building easy solutions for mainstream applications to use blockchain. Simple Token CEO Jason Goldberg and Chief Technology Strategist joined us to discuss the case for branded token, Simple Tokens architecture and the balance between easy user experience and decentralization. Topics covered in this episode: Jason’s long history as an entrepreneur and the turbulent story of fab.com The perils of raising too much money How the quest to tokenize social network Pepo lead to founding Simple Token The opportunity in tokenizing mainstream consumer applications How Simple Token uses Ethereum and sidechains to allow companies to issue branded tokens How Simple Token backs branded tokens through a staking contract on Ethereum The economics of Simple Token and upcoming ICO Episode links: Simple Token | The Bridge between Cryptocurrencies and Consumer Apps. Jason Goldberg - This Week In Startups Simple Token Pitch Deck Simple Token Technical Whitepaper On the Rebound from Epic Failure – Hacker Noon Simple Token Telegram Channel This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/204

Nasdaq is one of the largest and most well known financial institutions in the World. As the second-largest stock market by market capitalization, Nasdaq is also one of the leading software companies in capital markets, providing its Nasdaq Financial Framework to exchanges all around the globe. Fredrik Voss, VP of Blockchain Innovation at Nasdaq, joins us to discuss how Nasdaq is leveraging blockchain technologies to propel itself into the future. Having invested in Chain and Stratumn, Nasdaq is taking a very hands-on approach, building products which it integrates into the various software solutions they sell. Topics covered in this episode: A high-level overview of Nasdaq as a stock exchange and software company Nasdaq’s thesis regarding blockchain technologies The potential challenges ahead What blockchain technologies bring to regulators regarding oversight and auditing Nasdaq’s Venture Program and its investment thesis Why Nasdaq chose to invest in Chain and Stratumn Types of applications built in partnership with Chain and Stratumn Fredrick’s views on Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) Episode links: Why Nasdaq Is Even More Optimistic About Blockchain Than It Was 3 Years Ago Inside Linq, Nasdaq's Private Markets Blockchain Project Nasdaq Executive Fredrik Voss Optimistic About Blockchain in Capital Markets Fredrik Voss, Nasdaq Vice President – About Blockchain This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/203

For many years, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies were regarded as little more than a nerdy curiosity by the financial world. But with the rise of Bitcoin and Ethereum, the process of cryptocurrencies becoming a recognized asset class has begun. One person at the forefront of this transformation is Ari Paul. Previously a portfolio manager at the University of Chicago’s $8 billion endowment, he recently left to start the cryptocurrency hedge fund BlockTower Capital. He joined us for an insightful conversation about one of the biggest trends in the industry. Topics covered in this episode: Ari’s background as a portfolio manager at the University of Chicago The difficulties of investing in cryptocurrency for a large endowment Why he started the cryptocurrency hedge fund BlockTower Capital How to construct a cryptocurrency portfolio The hedge fund vs the VC model in the cryptocurrency space Why cryptocurrencies represent an exceptional investment opportunity The operational complexities of running a crypto hedge fund Why an avalanche of institutional money is entering the blockchain space Episode links: The Cryptocurrency Investor Blog How to Think About Investing in Cryptocurrency: Why Exceptional Opportunities Exist How to Think About Investing in Cryptocurrency: What needs to exist Table Selection | The Cryptocurrency Investor The Wall Street Moment | The Cryptocurrency Investor BlockTower Capital Twitter - Ari Paul This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/202

Enterprise consortium blockchains have gained a lot of interest in recent months. And although we can see many applications for this particular type of network deployment, many questions remain to be answered before these systems can move to production. Issues related to scaling, network deployment, access controls and key management remain open at this point. With its deep roots in the enterprise, Microsoft hopes to have answers to these questions. Matt Kerner, Partner GM for Blockchains at Azure, joins us to discuss Coco Framework. Coco is an open-source system which promises to enable high scalability and offer confidentiality for enterprise blockchain consortiums. This novel framework leverages Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) to deliver blockchain networks with throughput comparable to database speeds. Topics covered in this episode: Matt’s background and role at Azure Azure’s high-level thesis regarding blockchains Coco Framework and how it fits in Microsoft’s vision The different components of Coco and its architecture The role of TEE’s in Coco How Coco achieves confidential transactions Identify management and network governance in Coco How Coco fits into other blockchain initiatives at Microsoft The framework’s roadmap Episode links: Announcing the Coco Framework for enterprise blockchain networks Introducing the Coco Framework - YouTube Coco Framework Whitepaper This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/201

In the past year, the first killer application of blockchain technology has emerged: venture funding. As blockchain-facilitated crowdfunding is disrupting venture capital at blistering speed, we are joined by Ciaran O’Leary, Founder and General Partner at BlueYard. BlueYard stands at the intersection of this transition. Structured as a traditional VC fund, its thesis focuses fully on the decentralized economy and it invests in tokens too. Ciaran joined us to discusses what blockchain means for VCs and its implications for BlueYard. Topics covered in this episode: Ciaran’s journey as a VC How the VC industry has been changing Why he founded Blue Yard and its investment thesis Value creation in a blockchain economy Buying equity vs buying tokens Why tokens and ICOs are erroding the distinction between hedge funds and VC funds Best practices for running ICOs Episode links: BlueYard Capital BlueYard Investment Thesis Filecoin Investment Article Protocol Labs Investment Article Userfeeds & why the web needs a new information ranking system OB1 & OpenBazaar – BlueYard Capital – Medium This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/200

Scalability and interoperability are two of the main issues facing blockchain protocols today. In a future in which entire industries and economies rely on distributed technologies, it is unclear how blockchain networks will support massive amounts of data, and exchange transactions in a trusted way. Peter Czaban, co-founder of Polkadot, joins us as we dive deep into the Polkadot Network. Polkadot is a heterogeneous multi-chain network, consisting of many connected chains (or parachains), all of which have their own set of features and characteristics. Transactions flow across chains, while Polkadot ensures the global security and consensus of the network, forming an ‘Internet of Blockchain networks’. Scalability is achieved through the parallel processing of transactions on the different parachains. Topics covered in this episode: Peter’s background and his role at Parity technologies What is the Polkadot project and what problems it is addressing How Polkadot handles the issue of scaling The different components of the Polkadot Network The various players in the network The consensus model used in Polkadot The types of applications Polkadot would enable The Web3 Foundation and its goals Episode links: Polkadot Website Polkadot Pre-Sale Website Polkadot Community Chat Aura Consensus This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/199

Nick Morgan, a former attorney at the SEC, joined us to discuss their recent report on the DAO and what it means for the ICO boom. Topics covered in this episode: The history and mandate of the SEC Nick’s years as a trial attorney at the SEC How the Howey Test is used to determine if something is a security The application of the Howey Test to the DAO case The weaknesses in their argument that token holders relied on the effort of others Why the SEC did not prosecute the Slock.it founders Why the SEC will likely focus on token sales involving fraud How the SEC’s limited resources will make it hard for it to impact the ICO boom The implications of the SEC report for cryptocurrency exchanges Episode links: SEC Press Release on The DAO SEC Report on Investigation of The DAO Seven Takeaways from the DAO Report - Kyle Mitchell EB134 – Emin Gün Sirer And Vlad Zamfir: On A Rocky DAO Nicolas Morgan Website The DAO Report: Understanding the Risk of SEC Enforcement - CoinDesk This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/198

After Bitshares and Steemit, Dan Larimer’s latest project EOS has also gathered lots of attention. Their record-setting crowdsale has already raised $300m and is continuing for another year. Dan joined us to discuss his journey in the industry, what connects the different projects, how EOS works and how the EOS crowdsale works. Topics covered in this episode: A history of Dan’s previous projects Bitshares and Steemit How Dan knows when the time has come to move to the next project Why they describe EOS as a decentralized operating system The EOS approach to scalability Benefits and downsides of the EOS fee model EOS’ Delegated Proof of Stake consensus How EOS handles malicious validators Addressing criticisms around EOS’s crowdsale terms and governance structure Episode links: EOS Website EOS Whitepaper EOS Consensus Presentation May 2017 - YouTube Vitalik Buterin Criticisms of EOS Dan Larimer's Response to Vitalik block.one This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/197

Prior to hosting his ground breaking podcasts Beyond Bitcoin and The Ether Review, Arthur Falls had left his home country of New Zealand to fish lobster off the coast of Maine. Like many people in the blockchain space, his unlikely journey into the world of decentralized technologies is a fascinating one, and he shares it with us in this episode. Arthur recently traveled to over a dozen locations around the World, conducting interviews for an upcoming documentary. He shares what he learned and his favorite experiences from this trip. Topics covered in this episode: Arthur’s unlikely journey from lobster fisherman to blockchain podcaster A brief history of his past projects and what he has going on at the moment His recent blockchain world tour and what he learned from that experience His views on the state of the ecosystem and institutional investment money now flowing into the space Episode links: The Ether Review Ether Review Legal Discussion #1 — Challenges in Blockchain Law Initial coin offerings now surpass early stage VC funding Hedge Funds Investing in Cryptocurrencies 'Exploding' - 62 in Pipeline This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/196

We’re joined by Loi Luu, Co-founder of KyberNetwork. This new decentralized exchange protocol, built on Ethereum, aims to match buyers with reserve operators, who create liquidity for crypto-asset pairs. Trades occur instantaneously and without the need for a trusted third party exchange operator. Topics covered in this episode: Loi’s background and involvement with various projects such as TrueBit, Smart Pool, and Oyente The desirable features of a decentralized exchange Other decentralized exchange projects and how they compare to KyberNetwork KyberNetwork’s unique design philosophy KyberNetwork’s user experience and how a trade occurs from start to finish The various actors in the network and their respective roles How KyberNetwork mitigates certain vulnerabilities, such as transaction front running How network actors are compensated KyberNetwork’s DAO governance model and development roadmap Episode links: KyberNetwork KyberNetwork Blog KyberNetwork White Paper This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/195

Bancor is a simple, but hard-to-understand protocol that enables price discovery and liquidity even for assets that aren’t actively traded. Co-Founder Eyal Hertzog joined us to explain how the Bancor protocol works and why they think it will play a key role in enabling a massive wave of small, but interconnected user-generated currencies. We dissected the workings of the protocol, its radical implications as well as the takeaways from their record-shattering, but controversial crowdsale. Topics covered in this episode: Eyal’s background in early internet startups The origin story of Bancor Why asset markets suffer from the double coincidence of wants problem The benefits of Bancor-based Smart Tokens How Bancor and BNT can create a liquidity network Why BNT benefits from network effects What went well and what didn’t go well about the Bancor Crowdsale Why Eyal thinks the price floor was a good idea Episode links: Bancor protocol Bancor Whitepaper Response to “Bancor is Flawed” – The Bancor Protocol Bancor at Coinfest 2017 in Amsterdam - YouTube Bernard Lietear, EURO architect discusses Bancor This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/194

Dave Collins and Jake Yocom-Piatt join us to talk about Decred, a cryptocurrency which introduces an innovative system of community-based governance into its blockchain. Decred implements a hybrid Proof of Work and Proof of Stake system in which miners validate transactions, while users can vote on new features and upgrades to the protocol. This clever approach enables efficient blockchain governance, which has demonstrated to be successful in a recent protocol upgrade on the live network. Topics covered in this episode: Dave and Jake’s respective backgrounds in the blockchain space The challenges addressed by Decred, specifically regarding blockchain governance Decred’s hybrid Proof of Work/Proof of Stake approach to governance How users of the network vote on protocol upgrade with “”tickets”” Possible downfalls and attack vectors to this approach How Decred’s governance model successfully implemented a hard fork on the production network Decred’s approach to development funding Episode links: Decred Website Decred Documentation This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/193

Hebrew University academics Aviv Zohar and Yonatan Sompolinski joined us to discuss their research at the forefront of blockchain technology. We talked about their early proposals for scaling Bitcoin using the GHOST protocol, which later inspired Ethereum. And then we discussed SPECTRE and a new type of network based on directed acrylic graphs (DAG). DAGs abandon the blockchain data structure to allow constant generation of blocks that later get merged achieving block times of seconds and throughput many orders of magnitudes above current blockchain network. Topics covered in this episode: How Aviv Zohar wrote one of the first academic papers on Bitcoin in 2011 The GHOST protocol and how it could allow much faster block times The difference between what Ethereum built and the GHOST protocol Why DAG (Directed Acrylic Graphs) have massive advantages over blockchains Towards massive on-chain scaling and speed with the SPECTRE Protocol Their view on existing DAG-based networks like IOTA and Byteball Episode links: SPECTRE Medium Post SPECTRE (full paper) Accelerating Bitcoin's Transactions Inclusive Blockchain Protocols On Bitcoin and Red Balloons Aviv's Website Yonatan's Website This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/192

Numerai Founder Richard Craib joined us to discuss his radical project to build a hedge fund with network effects. Numerai manages its portfolio by giving its data in encrypted form to data scientists who compete to create the best predictions and get paid with cryptocurrencies. Numerai expects to radically alter the structure of the hedge fund and asset management industry. Topics covered in this episode: How hedge funds work and what trends effect them Quantitative trading and the role of AI in investing How Numerai uses crowdsourcing and AI to manage its portfolio How Numerai lets data scientists build models without knowing the underlying data The Function of Numerai’s own token Numeraire Why Numerai is switching from paying data scientists in Bitcoin to Ethereum Numerai’s crazy goal of managing all the money in the world Episode links: Numerai Numerai Whitepaper An AI Hedge Fund Goes Live On Ethereum – Numerai – Medium A New Cryptocurrency For Coordinating Artificial Intelligence on Numerai Encrypted Data For Efficient Markets Building the Numerai Meta Model Introducing Numeraire This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/191

Shapeshift CEO Erik Voorhees joined us to discuss his journey in the industry, the evolution of the decentralized exchange Shapeshift and their latest project Prism. We spent most time diving into the mechanics and enormous potential of Prism. Prism allows users to create a portfolio of digital assets that is purely managed on the Ethereum blockchain and illustrates how blockchain-based financial products can be built. Topics covered in this episode: Erik’s journey in the blockchain space from SatoshiDice to Shapeshift Shapeshift’s evolution and long-term vision Erik’s view on ICOs and why they will disrupt the stock markets Prism – The world’s first trustless portfolio market platform The mechaniscs of Prism Why Erik supports SegWit2x Episode links: Shapeshift Website Erik Vorhees' Blog: Money and State Erik Vorhees Twitter Page Prism Exchange Introducing Prism - Blog Post Epicenter 130 with Erik Vorhees This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/190

After years of what has seemed like an endless debate, bitcoin may be at a crucial turning point in its relatively short lifetime. The question network scalability has divided the community into several factions which are seemingly irreconcilable. However, in just a few weeks, the future of bitcoin may be decided as miners and users throw their support behind one of many proposals to propel the bitcoin network into a new era. Bitcoin Developer and Principal Architect at Paxos, Jimmy Song, joins us to discuss the different scalability proposals for which miners are currently signaling their support. Among others, Segregated Witness (BIP 141), Emergent Consensus (Bitcoin Unlimited) and SegWit2x (The New York Agreement), are gaining significant traction among miners. Will one of these proposals gain majority support, allowing for the network to upgrade with relative ease, or will we enter a situation where one proposal is backed by a strong minority of users, potentially forking the network into two? Topics covered in this episode: Jimmy’s background as a Bitcoin Developer and former VP of Engineering at Armory A broad overview of bitcoin network’s current situation An overview of the different scaling proposals for which miners are signaling their support Important dates coming up in July and August of 2017 The difference between Segregated Witness and SegWit2x The UASF and how it may affect SegWit2x implementation Episode links: BIP91: The SegWit Activation "Kludge" That Should Keep Bitcoin Whole Examining Bitmain’s Press Release BIP 148 UASF Q&A Greg Maxwell: "a hasty snapshot of a few of my views" UAHF: A contingency plan against UASF (BIP148) How to Give Everyone More Control "Bitcoin Scaling Agreement at Consensus 2017 Bitcoin, UASF and Skin in the Game UASF BIP148 Scenarios and Game Theory Why the UASF Segwit Scenario is Hopelessly Naive [bitcoin-discuss] [Bitcoin-segwit2x] Alpha Milestone This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/189

Token sales, often called Initial Coin Offerings (ICO), are exploding in popularity. Seemingly each week a new record is hit with huge sums being raised by alpha-stage projects in almost no time. William Mougayar, an investor, author and blogger, who has been at the forefront of the token sale movement joined us to unpack the most dynamic trend in the blockchain ecosystem. We cover the great promise of token sales in disrupting venture capital and changing how startups are build and grown. We also address the apparent irrationality of valuations and what distinguishes a responsible from a reckless token sale. Topics covered in this episode: The current state of the ICO market Issues with recent ICOs such as BAT, Bancor and Gnosis Why more attention needs to be paid to the relationship between token and application usage How one should think about token valuations Whether we are in a bubble or not How VCs are responding to disruption through ICOs Episode links: Startup Management Blog "The Ultimate Reading List for Blockchain, Token and Cryptocurrency Sources" "Tokenomics – A Business Guide to Token Usage, Utility and Value" Raising Tokens to Build a Company or an Ecosystem? Business Blockchain on Amazon Vitalik Buterin on Token Sale Mechanisms Buyer Beware – AVC Token Summit YouTube Channel Token Summit Website Thoughts on the Bancor Token Sale This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/188

With most of the world’s computing power concentrated in Internet companies’ data centers, the Internet has become a very centralized place. The Golem project aims to build the sharing economy of computing power. This “global, open sourced, decentralized supercomputer” will function thanks to the combined power of a massive network of machines, from personal laptops to whole data centers. We’re joined by Julian Zawistowski and Alex Leverington, CEO and P2P engineer at Golem. We discuss how Golem hopes to create a more balanced distribution of computing power for the Internet. Topics covered in this episode: What is Golem and the problem it is addressing What may people and companies use Golem for How Golem compares to other projects like iExec or TrueBit Who are the different participants in the Golem network How Golem executes computations The role Ethereum has to play in Golem How payments work in Golem The economic model for Golem’s decentralized marketplace The project’s current status and roadmap Episode links: Golem Website Golem Blog Pre-Brass Golem 0.6.0 Released! This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/187

Our regulatory expert Siân Jones joined us to discuss her work on a regulatory framework for distributed ledger technology (DLT) for Gibraltar. We discuss how the framework differs from other efforts and aims to attract rather than curtail blockchain businesses. We also covered why the rapid changes require the flexibility of a principle-based approach to regulation. Finally, we discussed current trends around ICOs and how they could be impacted by regulation. Topics covered in this episode: How the Gibraltar DLT Regulatory Framework came about How Gibraltar’s approach differs from others like BitLicense Why a principle-based approach is preferable for technology regulation Why the framework focuses on custodial services, not decentralized protocols The path from proposal to regulation Recent trends in how ICOs are conducted Why principle-based regulation could improve the ICO market Episode links: Proposals for a DLT Regulatory Framework Want To Hold An ICO? CoinList Makes It Easy -- And Legal Thoughts on Tokens by Balaji S. Srinivasan Tezos COINsult This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/186

The saying goes: if you’re not paying for it, it’s likely that you’re the product. And with the rise of targeted ads, user behavior tracking, and alike, more and more users are turning to ad blocking software to protect their privacy and improve their browsing experience. In the last 25 years, the content monetization and Internet advertising industries have evolved to become complex ecosystems with multiple intermediating layers between users, publishers, and advertisers. This has created a situation where user’s rights are constantly violated and where little accountability exists. We’re joined by Brendan Eich, Founder, and CEO of Brave. As an early Internet pioneer, Brendan created Javascript while working at Netscape in the mid 90’s, and helped found the Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation, where he served as CEO for several years. Brave is a new desktop and mobile browser which blocks ads and tracking by default. This has the advantage of drastically improves page load times while protecting users’ privacy. But Brave is much more than just a browser. Their team will launch the Basic Attention Token, which will serve as the currency of attention marketplaces between publishers, advertisers, and users. With the ambition to turn the Internet advertising industry on its head, this new attention economy marketplace will eliminate the need for unneeded intermediaries, provide publishers with new content monetization models and remunerate users when they chose to share their data with advertisers. Topics covered in this episode: Brendan’s background as an early Internet pioneer How monetization of content and attention on the Internet are broken How the Internet advertising industry works and the players involved A high-level overview of the Brave browser Brave’s features and product roadmap The Basic Attention Token and its role as a currency for attention How BAT will serve to create attention marketplaces between publishers, advertisers, and users Episode links: Brave Website Basic Attention Token This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/185

Data is the new oil, and those who control massive amounts of it have a major competitive advantage. That advantage becomes exponential when that data is used to teach artificial intelligence. Companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon have a far greater probability of building strong AI than smaller actors simply by the sheer amount of user data and metadata they possess. Let’s now envision an alternate reality where big data lives on public infrastructure and is accessible to anyone who wishes to use it for the purpose of teaching AI. Big data as a public resource could have the potential to enable vast amounts of innovation at the edges, far greater than that of a small set of incumbents building large centralized AI systems. We’re joined by Trent McConaghy, who is the CTO and Co-founder of BigchainDB and Ascribe. Trent brings along a special surprise guest, Fred Ehrsam, former Co-founder at Coinbase. For the first half of the show, we have a fascinating discussion with Trent and Fred about the intersection of AI and blockchain technologies, and the implications of publicly available data sets on innovation in AI. For the second half of the show, we talk with Trent about the public implementation of BigchainDB, the Interplanetary Database (IPDB), and the applications for a public big data storage network accessible to all of humanity. Topics covered in this episode: The issues which arise with big data centralization in the context of building artificial intelligence How blockchain technologies could serve as the public data infrastructure for teaching AI How an AI might gain financial dominance over humanity by selling art on a DAO An update on Ascribe and BigchainDB The IPDB network and what goals it hopes to achieve The IPDB Foundation, its members and governance rules The technical components of the IPDB network Use cases and applications for a public decentralized global database Episode links: IPDB - Interplanetary Database Foundation IPDB Dev Portal This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/184

Naming systems are an important component of any networked information system. It’s difficult to imagine how the Internet could have been adopted by the masses had it not been for the Domain Name System, which translates machine-readable IP addresses into human-readable domain names. Blockchains, with their long and complex address formats, suffer from a similar problem. One might think a solution would be to apply the same naming system architecture we have for the public Internet to public blockchains. But DNS, in the eyes of many, is a largely flawed system. Centrally controlled by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Internet domain names are vulnerable to censorship and barriers to entry are kept artificially high – registering a new Top Level Domain (ex: .epicenter) costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. We’re joined by Alex Van de Sande and Nick Johnson to discuss their approach to creating an open, secure and decentralized naming system for the Ethereum Network. The Ethereum Naming System (ENS) allows users to register .eth domain names, which can be used in supporting Ethereum wallets and clients. Names are reserved by placing a deposit in a smart contract and can be mapped to any Ethereum addresses. So rather than sending funds to 0x8cd…0935, one would simply need to type a memorable name like epicenter.eth into their wallet. Backed by the Ethereum Foundation, ENS will likely become the defacto standard for name registration in Ethereum. Topics covered in this episode: Alex and Nick’s respective backgrounds and roles in the Ethereum Foundation How the Internet’s Domain Name System works The problems and pain points with DNS and how it is governed today What is ENS and what problems it is addressing The ENS auction system and how names are registered The different parties involved in ENS ENS’s technical architecture and governing smart contract The current governance model of ENS and future plans for increased decentralization of governance ENS’s economic model and technical roadmap Episode links: Ethereum Name Service ENS Registrar ENS Github Project ENS Gitter Channel ENS Twitter Bot This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/183

Coin Center is a non-profit in Washington DC that focuses on research and advocacy issues facing public blockchain networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Their aim is to protect users and foster innovation through achieving sound policies and regulations. Director of Research Peter Van Valkenburgh joined us to discuss the work of the center and the most pressing regulatory issues facing the industry today. Topics covered in this episode: The origins and objectives of Coin Center How to judge the success of Coin Center Why Peter is more bullish on permissionless than permissioned blockchains The three areas of blockchain regulation: Consumer protection, anti money laundering and securities His view about ICOs Why people should pay attention to money transmission regulations Episode links: Coin Center Website Open Matters: Why Permissionless Blockchains are Essential to the Future of the Internet Framework for Securities Regulation of Cryptocurrencies Twitter Peter Van Valkenburgh This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/182

The road to mainstream adoption of blockchain technologies is a long one. Although the user experience of wallets has greatly improved since the dark days of command-line only interfaces, decentralized applications continue to struggle with onboarding non-technical users. Jarrad Hope and Carl Bennetts, join us to discuss Status, a mobile Ethereum client which aims to turn the standard wallet experience on its head. At its core, Status is a mobile instant messenger client that leverages the Whisper protocol for secure peer-to-peer communication. Through its familiar messaging interface and elegant design, users can chat and send Ether directly in the app. As the first implementation of Ethereum’s Light Client Protocol, users may also use decentralized applications such as uPort, Gnosis and Aragon on their mobile phones. Built as an open source project, Status’ developer platform also allows developers to easily port their Dapps to the app. Topics covered in this episode: Jarrad and Carl’s background and journey to the Ethereum space Status’ vision for a friendly, mobile Dapp client Status’ technical architecture How Status leverages Ethereum’s Light Client and Whisper protocols The Status user experience and feature set Jarrad and Carl’s views on privacy and how Status fulfils their goal of privacy by default The long term vision for a Status Network The project’s roadmap and business model Episode links: Status: The Mobile Ethereum Client Status Reddit This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/181

Anyone who has ever started a company knows just how tedious that process that can be. Whether it’s establishing a shareholder’s agreement, defining the company’s constitutional structure, raising funds, or transferring shares, corporate governance procedures remain largely paper-based, requiring validation from multiple stakeholders, and their lawyers. Blockchain technologies, and specifically smart contracts, provide the rails upon which these processes can be digitized and streamlined, reducing operational costs, eliminating errors and automating menial tasks. Manu Thanabalan, CTO of Otonomos, joins us to discuss how his company is leveraging smart contracts to accelerate incorporation and automate corporate governance. Otonomos provides the tools and services which allow for anyone to start a company in any of the jurisdictions they support. Using their platform, founders are able to define board members and issue shares, while captables are kept up-to-date in real-time. Day-to-day governance mechanisms and standard procedures such as voting and share transfers are automated through a smart contact, which complies with local jurisdictional regulation. Topics covered in this episode: Mano’s background as a quantitative trader and how he transitioned into blockchain The fundamental problem Otonomos is addressing How we may be able to unlock a tremendous amount of value by liberating shares currently locked in private companies Leveraging smart contracts to automate standardized corporate legal procedures The types of constitutional rules which can be digitized and automated with smart contracts The ability to simplify accounting and auditing with Otonomos The Otonomos technology stack The current state of Otonomos and their product roadmap Episode links: Otonomos Website This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/180

Years into the great Bitcoin scaling debate no solution is in reach. Neither bigger blocks nor Segregated Witness have anywhere near consensus support. With the conflict escalating, a Bitcoin fork has become a real possibility.Electrum Developer Thomas Voegtlin joined us to discuss the state of the Bitcoin scaling debate. We discussed Bitcoin Unlimited, ASICBoost, SegWit activation without miner support and how a Bitcoin fork could play out. Possible outcomes include that Bitcoin Unlimited gains a majority of hashing power and starts mining bigger blocks. In the event of a fork, a proof-of-work change could be done to defend the minority chain from miner attacks. And lately a proposal was brought forward to activate SegWit without the support of the hashing power.Topics discussed in this episode:ASICBoost and its potential role in the conflictHow a Bitcoin fork could happenHow to split coins in case of a forkHow UASF could be used to activate SegWit without miner supportRequirements for UASF to be safeHow Electrum would handle a forkEpisode links:Electrum Bitcoin WalletASICBoost – Hacker NoonBitcoin's New Controversy: The AsicBoost Allegations Explained - CoinDeskTimo Hanke on ASICBoost and SegWit Non-ActivationFrom AsicBoost to UASF: Greg Maxwell on Bitcoin's Path Forward - CoinDesk[bitcoin-dev] Thomas Voegtlin: Soft Fork Threshold Signaling ProposalUASF Working Group[bitcoin-dev] Greg Maxwell: I do not support the BIP 148 UASFThomas Voegtlin: Electrum, SPV Wallets And Bitcoin Aliases — EpicenterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/179

For decades, science and academia have leveraged distributed computing to solve massive computational problems. Distributed grid computing schemes allow donors to volunteer their desktop computer’s idle resources toward scientific projects in physics, biology, and chemistry, where large amounts of parallel computing resources are necessary. Relying on software like BONIC, these networks provide features such as built-in fault tolerance and result verification. And with the proliferation of mobile and IoT, the potential for massively distributed grid networks has never been greater. Gilles Fedak, a researcher at the French computer science research body Inria, joins us to discuss a new project which aims to build a high-performance distributed cloud infrastructure marketplace. Relying on mature grid computing technologies, iExec utilizes Ethreum to organize a peer-to-peer marketplace of computing resources, allowing anyone to rent their idle resources to grid networks. If it succeeds to execute on its vision, this game-changing project could revolutionize distributed computing through cost reduction and the commoditization of resources. Topics covered in this episode: Gilles’ background as a distributed computing researcher Distributed computing and it’s applications in science and industry The problems we see in distributed computing networks The iExec project and its vision for a distributed computing resource marketplace How iExec works as an Ethereum smart contract The different components and participants of iExec The iExec token and upcoming crowds ale The project’s business model and roadmap Episode links: iEx.ec Website Gilles Fedak Home Page at ENS Lyon iEx.ec White Paper iEx.ec Crowdsale This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/178

Bitcoin and Ethereum miners collectively make up what is perhaps the most powerful computational resource in the world. However, mobile phones from the early 2000’s could arguably run more complex operations than these networks combined. While blockchains themselves may never reach the level of computational power of modern computers, they may be leveraged as the underlying verification layer for centralized computing. We’re joined by Jason Teutsch and Christian Reitwiessner. They are the co-authors of a visionary whitepaper which describes Truebit. This protocol would allow complex computations to be executed on off-chain systems while being validated by Ethereum miners. The results of these computations would consequently be available to on-chain smart contracts. Truebit makes clever use of proof systems and game theory to build a protocol where a Task Giver can ask a third party, the Solver, to execute a complex computation in exchange for a reward. Not limited to Solidity, these could be executed in traditional languages such as Go, Python or C++. Verifiers could then challenge the results, incentivising the Solver to be honest or see his reward be stripped away. This incentive structure would guarantee fast and reliable results while eliminating the need for a trusted third party. Topics covered in this episode: Jason and Christian respective backgrounds in the ecosystem. The core problem being addressed by Truebit Why a scalable decentralized computational resource is desirable How Truebit makes use of proof systems and game theory to enable trusted computations off-chain How the verification game works the incentive structures proposed in Truebit The various use cases for Truebit How Truebit could allow for blockchain interoperability without the need for “blockchain of blockchains” type networks Episode links: TrueBit Website TrueBit Subreddit TrueBit: Scalable Computation talk by Christian Reitwiessner at Ethereum Meetup in Berlin Slides for the Scalable Computation talk This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/177

In the world of Bitcoin podcast, there is one show which definitely stands out as the longest running, Let’s Talk Bitcoin! In its 4-year history, the show has produced over 320 episodes and expanded to become a network of podcasts which includes Epicenter and many others. We’re joined by Adam B. Levine the founder and host of Let’s Talk Bitcoin! It was thanks to Adam that Sébastien and Brian first connected in 2013, so in many ways, we consider him as the “”spiritual grandfather”” of Epicenter. Adam reflects on his signature show and the network he created in 2014. He discusses the future of the network and makes an announcement live on the show, which even takes us by surprise. Topics discussed in this episode: The history of the Let’s Talk Bitcoin! podcast What listeners can expect for the future of the show The LTB Coin reward token experiment, what was learned and the future of that project The Let’s Talk Bitcoin! Network and how it’s evolving The Tokenly project and its use cases Token.fm: a platform for music creators to sell licences to their music as tokens Episode links: Token.FM - Early Access BTC Media Adam B. Levine: Let’s Talk Bitcoin Network, LTBCoin, Monetizing Content & Crowdfunding — Epicenter Let's Talk Bitcoin! This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/176

For a long time the native asset of the Ripple network XRP was the cryptocurrency with the second biggest market cap. But with much of the supply controlled by Ripple, it remained surrounded by controversy. Still, XRP remains an interesting asset to enable cross-border payments in the future. Miguel Vias recently joined Ripple after a long career on Wall Street to develop XRP as a liquid and widely accepted asset. Topics covered in this episode: How Miguel Vias went from trading precious metals to XRP The similarities between precious metals and cryptocurrencies The role Ripple sees for XRP The connection between XRP and interledger Why the FinCEN fine changed Ripple’s course XRP’s role in cross-border payments How Miguel is trying to create liquid markets for XRP Episode links: Ripple Website CME Group Executive Miguel Vias Joins Ripple | Ripple "Ripple and R3 Team Up with 12 Banks to Trial XRP for Cross-Border Payments | Ripple" Q4 2016 XRP Markets Report | Ripple Welcome | Interledger FinCEN Fines Ripple Labs for Bank Secrecy Act Violations This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/175

In the footsteps of the finance industry, the energy sector has been caught by the blockchain fever. Conceived over a century ago, increased usage and an explosion of devices have made energy grids outdated. Smart grids offer a two-way dialogue where electricity and information are exchanged between utilities and its customers. This new grid takes advantages of connected devices and green energy production to provide more reliability, security and sustainability. Carsten Stöcker, Senior Manager Machine Economy & Blockchain at Innogy, shares his vision for how blockchains will serve as the transactional fabric for tomorrow’s smart grids. In this new paradigm, energy is locally produced and blockchains provide the rails on which local energy marketplaces can be built. The German utility has been conducting blockchain experiments for several years and is soon releasing the Mobility Transaction Platform moveX. The Ethereum-powered platform will serve an ecosystem of electric vehicles with transaction layer needed for charging, car sharing and mobility as a service. Topics covered in this episode: Carsten’s background in technology The history of RWE and creation of Innogy Business models in a decentralized economy How the energy grid system works The transition from the traditional grid to the smart grid How blockchains can be integrated in tomorrow’s smart grids Use cases for blockchain and energy Innogy’s moveX blockchain experiment for mobility Episode links: innogy Innovation Hub World Economic Forum - Decentral Blockchain Transaction Platform Share and Charge - Mobility on Blockchain Blockcharge - Electric Vehicle Charging on Ethereum Blockchain Genesis of Things - Industry 4.0 on Blockchain "Automating Machine Transactions and Building Trust in the 4th Industrial Revolution" "Free Electrons" - a new global energy start-up program This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/174

Writing his college thesis on Bitcoin in 2012 and becoming Coinbase’s first employee in 2013, Olaf Carlson-Wee has been at the forefront of cryptocurrency for many years. Recently, he left Coinbase to start Polychain Capital, a hedge fund focused solely on investing in cryptocurrencies and protocol tokens. Olaf joined us to discuss his journey in the industry and the investment thesis behing Polychain. Topics covered in this episode: How Olaf Carlson-Wee became Coinbase’s first employee The investment thesis behind Polychain Capital Why protocol tokens represent a huge investment opportunity The current state of tokensales Why the blockchain crowdfunding campaigns will start resembling VC deal structure His view on the state of the Bitcoin network and community Episode links: Polychain Capital Beyond Bitcoin: The future of cryptocurrencies - The Signal Bitcoin Will Never Be a Currency—It's Something Way Weirder | WIRED The Golden Age Of Open Protocols – AVC Blockchain Tokens and the dawn of the Decentralized Business Model Fat Protocols | Union Square Ventures a16z and USV invest $10m in new digital asset hedge fund The future is a decentralized internet | TechCrunch This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/173

With both the Bitcoin Unlimited and Segregated Witness efforts far from reaching majority support and exploding transaction fees, the debate around how to scale Bitcoin continues on. One of the key arguments against bigger blocks and Bitcoin Unlimited is that a blocksize restriction is needed to create a healthy fee market. Dr Peter Rizun has been researching the economics of transaction fees in Bitcoin extensively and joined us to discuss what dynamics affect fees and why he thinks the blocksize limit will eventually fall. Topics covered in this episode: Bitcoin seen through the eyes of a physicist The dynamics that determine transaction fees in Bitcoin How orphaning risks drive the fee market economics The relationship between the block reward and the fee market Why the blocksize limit will eventually fall Why Peter supports Bitcoin Unlimited The state of discussion between Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Unlimited Episode links: Dr. Peter Rizun's talk at Scaling Bitcoin Montreal 2015 Dr. Peter Rizun: "A Transaction Fee Market Exists Without a Block Size Limit" XT Nodes - Bitcoin Hashrate Distribution Bitco.in Forum Ledger - Peer-Reviewed Journal on Cryptocurrency and Blockchain This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/172

Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin joined us once again to discuss the state of Ethereum and the efforts to innovate the protocol. We covered the takeaways from the DAO fork, switching to the proof-of-stake system Casper and how to think about blockchain interoperability. Topics covered in this episode: – Lessons from the DAO hack – The security flaws of Proof-of-Work – Why Proof-of-Stake will provide more security and scalability – The state of Casper and transition timeline – Blockchain interoperability Episode links: Ethereum Foundation Ethereum R&D Roundup Valentine's Day December Development Roundup R3 Chain Interoperability Paper Epicenter 58: Ethereum, Proof-of-Stake and Future of Bitcoin Epicenter 91: Frontier Launch and Scalability This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/171

One of the key issues with blockchain networks is the lack of interoperability. In the early days of Bitcoin, blockchain interoperability was far from people’s minds. However, as new networks continued to emerge and gain traction, the ability to move assets freely from one blockchain to another has become a critical feature. We’re joined by Jae Kwon, CEO and Founder of Tendermint, the team which is launching the Cosmos Network. Cosmos aims to build the internet of blockchains: A global network of blockchains, connected through hubs that allow trustless token transfer. Jae joined us to discuss the Cosmos vision, the underlying Tendermint consensus algorithm and upcoming fundraiser. Topics covered in this episode: What Cosmos is and the problems it hopes to solve How Tendermint and Ethereum relate to Cosmos How Cosmos differs from other attemps to solve blockchain interoperability Cosmos’ consensus algorithm, BFT-PoS The role of Hubs and Zones in the Cosmos Network Cosmos’ native asset, Atom, and its role in creating liquidity for inter-blockchain exchange How validator nodes will be chosen Governance in the Cosmos Network Applications for Cosmos The Atom fundraiser and Cosmos’ product roadmap Episode links: Cosmos: Internet of Blockchains Tendermint Epicenter 113: Tendermint - Private Modularized Blockchains Cosmos Whitepaper This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/170

There is no doubt that proof of work, introduced in the Bitcoin white paper, has stood the test of time as a robust and resilient Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus mechanism. However, many issues may prevent Nakamoto Consensus from securely scaling over the long term. The risk of validator centralization, network forking, block scarcity and high energy costs required to mine a block have all been extensively debated with no realistic long-term solutions to date. A new paper titled “Algorand” attempts to addresses these problems. We’re pleased to be joined by Professor Silvio Micali, a computer scientist at MIT, who is known for his work in many of the technologies blockchains rely on today. As one of the co-inventors of zero-knowledge proofs, he has been decorated with a number of prizes and awards, including the Turing Award, which he received in 2012 for his work in cryptography. Prof. Micali describes the concept of Algorand, an alternative approach to proof of work which offers high security guarantees while allowing the network to scale with demand. Relying only on a trivial amount of computation to validate transactions, Algorand also reduces the probability of network forks to near-zero. It uses novel mechanisms to select validators for blocks and enabling them to come to consensus on them. Topics covered in this episode: Professor Micali’s fascinating career in the fields of computer science and cryptography The technical limitations of proof of work The ideal properties for a truly decentralized, secure and scalable cryptocurrency Algorand’s new approach to Byzantine consensus Algorand’s strong adversarial model How validators are randomly selected by the network How validators are chosen and how they arrive at consensus How Algorand guarantees a low probability of network forks How Algorand addresses the issue of scaling and block size Algorand’s roadmap and future plans Episode links: Algorand White Paper Algorand talk by Silvo Micali on YouTube Silvio Micali - Wikipedia This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/169

In the last year, blockchain protocols have matured at an exciting pace. Open source projects like Ethereum, the Eris stack and Tendermint are behind much of the experimentation being conducted at leading companies. These protocols would not be where they are today if it wasn’t for the hard work of dedicated open source developers. One of those people is Rick Dudley. An opinionated and passionate developer, Rick is involved in multiple projects. He works as a DevOps at Monax, works closely with Vlad Zamfir on implementing Casper in Ethereum, is a leading member of the Coala organization and is Founder and CEO of the startup Vulcanize. Rick gives us insider insights on Ethereum and on how the project may evolve, in particular, once Casper is implemented and when more robust, strongly typed language VMs are made available to the protocol. Topics covered in this episode: How Rick got involved with blockchain and Ethereum His views on the Ethereum’s planned transition to Casper The risks and benefits of moving to Casper The subtle differences between Casper and Tendermint The recent break up of the Synereo project Greg Meredith’s work on Rchain and Rholang, and how that relates to Ethereum Potential synergies between Zcash and Ethereum Vulcanize and VulcanizeDB Episode links: Time waits for no one (Medium post) "Method for portability of information between multiple servers patent" Vulcanize.io Coalition of Automated Legal Applications Epicenter episode with Vlad Zamfir Strong and weak typing - Wikipedia π-calculus - Wikipedia This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/168

After the successful Ethereum crowdfunding campaign, musician and web developer Peter Harris saw a path to creating a fair, decentralized music streaming platform. Out of that Resonate was born. Peter joined us to discuss why the dysfunctional structure of the music industry results in a bad deal for musicians and why a decentralized platform supported by blockchain technology and run as a cooperative represents a better way forward. Topics covered in this episode: How technology changed the ability of musician’s to make money Why streaming platforms don’t compensate musicians fairly The story of how Peter came to found resonate Why Stream-to-Own is a better way to compensate artists Why Resonate chose to build on BigchainDB The benefits of the cooperative structure for decentralized platforms The Resonate crowd-owning campaign Episode links: Resonate Website Resonate Crowd-Owning Campaign Resonate - Stream-to-Own Resonate - Building a Blockchain Database Epicenter 126: Trent McConaghy on BigchainDB COALA IP This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/167

Years into the controversy around how to scale Bitcoin, there have been many challengers to Bitcoin core’s dominance. After XT, Classic and others have faded, Bitcoin Unlimited has been gaining traction and emerged as plausible new way forward. Bitcoin Unlimited wants to make the block size a parameter that is set by miners and nodes, but not fixed at a network level. They argue a natural fee market would emerge, allowing Bitcoin to rapidly scale and realizing its promise of electronic cash as well as store of value. The project is also member-driven, with democratic decisions driving its development decisions. Core developer G. Andrew Stone and Bitcoin Unlimited President Andrew Clifford joined us for the episode. Topics covered in this episode: How Stone and Clifford first got involved in Bitcoin The history of the blocksize debate and Bitcoin core alternatives Why the Bitcoin block size should be determined by miners not developers The natural fee market that would arise controlling the size of Unlimited blocks How the non-profit organization behind Bitcoin Unlimited works How a transition to Bitcoin Unlimited could look like Episode links: Peter Rizun: How Bitcoin Unlimited deals with large blocks Bitcoin Unlimited Website G. Andrew Stone: Examining Effect of Single Transaction Blocks on Network Peter Rizun: A Transaction Fee Market Exists Without a Block Size Bitcoin Unlimited Member Forum Bitcoin Network Hashrate Distribution This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/166

It’s been an eventful year in the blockchain space, for the Epicenter podcast, and its hosts. Brian, Meher and Sebastien look back on 2016 and provide a few personal updates, give their thoughts and insights on how the space evolved, and make predictions on where they feel the industry will go in the next year. Topics covered in this episode: Brian, Meher and Sebastien give a few updates on their personal lives and professional projects The current state of VC funding in the blockchain space The application of blockchain technologies in enterprise and the corporate development cycle The current state of the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems and provide our thoughts on their respective futures Predictions for 2017 and speculations on how the industry will continue to evolve Episode links: Bitcoin Venture Capital Funding Not Just Bitcoin: The Top 7 Cryptocurrencies All Gained in 2016 Validity Labs Stratumn Website Tendermint Cosmos - Internet of Blockchains Dictator's Handbook This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/165

Ari Juels, a Professor at Cornell Tech (Jacobs Institute) and former Chief Scientist of RSA, joins us to discuss his work two of his blockchain-related research topics: Authenticated Data Feeds for Smart Contracts and criminal smart contracts. One of the shortcomings of decentralized smart contracts is their inability to retrieve information from the outside world. Smart contracts can’t make API calls to websites and data feeds, but rely on oracles to feed real-world information to the chain. This potentially requires a high trust in the oracle operators. Authenticated data feeds promise to solve the problem by relying on Intel’s novel SGX hardware. We also talked about how criminals could use smart contracts to more efficiently conduct crimes such as incentivizing the theft of private keys or even soliciting real-world crimes such as murder. Topics covered in this episode: Ari’s background in cryptography and cryptocurrencies The pain points with oracles as we describe them today The idea behind Authenticated Data Feeds The hardware and software architecture of the Authenticated Data Feed model and how hardware isolation works How Authenticated Data Feeds could be used to create criminal smart contracts The differents ways in which criminals could use Authenticated Data Feeds to release bounties for crimes such as private key theft or even murder Countermeasures to fight criminal smart contracts The Initiative For Cryptocurrencies & Contracts (IC3) and its raison d’être Episode links: Ari Juels' website Town Crier: An Authenticated Data Feed for Smart Contracts (white paper) The Ring of Gyges: Investigating the Future of Criminal Smart Contracts (white paper) IC3 - The Initiative For Cryptocurrencies & Contracts CCS 2016: Criminal Smart Contracts Talk Zero Days: Stuxnet Documentary This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/164

Roger Ver is one of the earliest Bitcoin investors and through his tireless evangelizing of the cryptocurrency became known as ‘Bitcoin Jesus’. Roger joined us to discuss Bitcoin’s incredible potential to foster liberty. We also discussed how the current stalemate about how to scale Bitcoin is threatening that potential. And, finally, the mining pool operated by his site Bitcoin.com that is supporting the Bitcoin Unlimited client. Topics covered in this episode: How Roger Ver became the first investor in Bitcoin startups What the Bitcoin community was like in 2011 The appeal of Bitcoin for voluntaryists Why the scalability stalemate is crippling Bitcoin Bitcoin.com’s new mining pool and support for Bitcoin Unlimited His vision for the future of Bitcoin Episode links: Bitcoin.com Roger Ver Uncut Video Bitcoin Unlimited BLOCKTRAIL | Bitcoin API and Block Explorer Hashrate Distribution Mining Pools & Clients BLOCKTRAIL | Bitcoin API and Block Explorer Roger Ver: TIme to End the Block-Size Blockade Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/163

Few crypto projects have gotten as much attention and caused as much controversy as Steem. The blockchain-based social media platform launched early this year and managed to gain real user traction building up a vibrant community of contributors. The Steem token quickly entered bubble territory reaching a market cap of almost $400m and losing 90% of its value since. Steem Co-Founder and CEO Ned Scott joined us to discuss the ambition of the project and its short tumultous history. We also discussed some of the accusations against Steem and its unorthodox launch. Topics covered in this episode: How Steem was launched out of the BitShares community The different components and tokens of the Steem system How Steem rewards content contributors The controversial Steem launch and criticisms of the project Why Steem transitioned from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake The potential disbalance of power due to the Steem distribution How Steem managed to build a vibrant user community Episode links: Steem Website Steemit.com Why Every Blockchain Needs a Constitution Charlie Shrem Article on Steem Launch The History of Steem Launch in Words of Dan Larimer Bitcoin Talk Thread on Steem Launch Bitcoin Stackexchange: What is Steem? This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/162

In their relatively short lifespan, blockchain technologies have already undergone significant milestones. Bitcoin’s blockchain, often referred to as Blockchain 1.0, features a simple database ledger that records transactions in a chronological order and represents the state of the network to participants. Ethereum, or Blockchain 2.0, introduced the notion of smart contracts. Microsoft’s Bletchley Project introduces a new modular architecture which might mark a new milestone for blockchain technologies. Marley Gray, Principal Program Manager Blockchain at Microsoft, joins us to talk about Microsoft’s approach to blockchain architecture. With enterprise in mind, Bletchley introduces the concept of “Cryptlets”, the core building blocks for introducing a secure middleware tier into blockchain application infrastructure. These computational units, running off-chain, on secure trusted container enclave hardware, could provide trusted data to on-chain smart contract logic. Topics covered in this episode: Marley’s background and experience at Microsoft Why Microsoft is aggressively pursuing blockchain technologies (compared to other large tech companies like Amazon, Google, Facebook, etc) Microsoft’s Azure Blockchain-as-a-Service offering Project Bletchley, its goals and the problems it is trying to address The primary use cases in which Bletchley may provide value How Bletchley addresses the issue of deploying consortium style blockchains What are Cryptlets and how do they relate to Bletchley How Cryptlets are different from Oracles How Cryptlets could provide data to Ethereum-style smart contracts Episode links: Bletchley Whitepaper Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) | Microsoft Azure This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/161

As a lead developer of the Apache webserver and founder of the Apache Software Foundation, Brian Behlendorf has played a central role in building internet architecture. Recently, he became Executive Director of the Hyperledger Project that aims to build foundational blockchain technology in an open-source, collaborative way. Topics covered in this episode: Brian’s role in the development of the Apache server and Apache Software Foundation The flaws in how blockchain software is currently being developed Why blockchain needs a foundation to steer the development of its foundational technology The key lessons from the Apache Software Foundation that inform Hyperledger’s approach Hyperledger’s membership and organizational structure The role of software licenses and why he favors Apache Episode links: Hyperledger Website Brian Behlendorf's Wikipedia page Brian Behlendorf's Website Blockchain Meetup Berlin Hyperledger Talk This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/160

Stratumn CEO Richard Caetano and Head of Research Anuj das Gupta joined us to discuss their work to bring security and integrity to processes. We covered the philosophy behind the company and why they use cryptography and other technologies coming out of the crypto space while shunning a classical blockchain design. Topics covered in this episode: How Paris-based startup Stratumn was founded Why Stratumn’s thinking revolves around processes How Proof-of-Process secures the who, what, where, when and why of each step of a process How Stratumn uses Zero Knowledge Proofs to protect privacy The connection between Proof-of-Process and blockchain protocols Why using cryptography to secure processes didn’t gain traction earlier but does so today Episode links: Stratumn Website Proof-of-Process white paper Use case book Chainscript Stratumn Blog This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/159

System scalability and extensibility of system features are two central problems around which research in the cryptocurrency / blockchain industry has centered. For example, the Blockstream sidechains project foresaw hundreds of blockchains coordinating together to form an ‘Internet of Chains’ delivering extensibility to the Bitcoin system. Recently, Dr. Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum and Parity, put forth Polkadot, a technical vision to achieve the similar end-goals using different system architecture. Polkadot could enable individual blockchain networks to share security and communications infrastructure with other blockchain networks, forming in effect an ‘Internet of Blockchain networks’. Melonport, a team based out of Zurich, has taken up the challenge of deploying the Polkadot network and also building decentralized asset management software on the same network. In this episode we converse with Mona El Isa and Reto Trinkler, co-founders of Melonport, in order to discover more about the overall vision. Topics covered in this episode: Melonport, a team based out of Zurich, has taken up the challenge of deploying the Polkadot network and also building decentralized asset management software on the same network. In this episode we converse with Mona El Isa and Reto Trinkler, co-founders of Melonport, in order to discover more about the overall vision. Description of problem(s) Polkadot seeks to resolve Analogous design problems from technological history Overview of Polkadot network Overview of Melonport asset management software How Melonport and Polkadot connect with each other Next steps for the team Episode links: Melonport website Melonport white paper melonproject on GitHub Melonport explainer video Polkadot Network Polkadot white paper Parity and Melonport joint press release This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/158

String Labs founders Tom Ding and Dominic Williams joined us to discuss their project DFINITY, a next-generation blockchain network. Through leveraging technological advances, DFINITY aims to deliver an infinitely scalable decentralized cloud that will be able to power applications from decentralized search to supply chain applications. We covered DFINITY’s approach to scalability, interoperability, consensus as well as their sophisticated approach to governance: The Blockchain Nervous System. Topics covered in this episode: Tom and Dominic ended up founding String Labs The DFINITY project and objective of an infinitely scalable decentralized cloud How consensus works in DFINITY Governance in DFINITY through the Blockchain Nervous System Threshold Relay signatures and other new technologies that are part of DFINITY The importance and mechanics of public/private blockchain interoperability DFINITY’s business model Episode links: String Technology DFINITY Shanghai Talk DFINITY Shanghai Presentation Slides Introducing Random Beacons Using Threshold Relay Chains Random Beacons in Decentralized Networks This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/157

As is the case with most luxury goods, the diamond industry is faced with the issues of theft, fraud, and counterfeiting. Illegal activity is present at every level of the supply chain, which collectively costs the industry and its insurers hundreds of millions of dollars each year. In recent years, international treaties and regulation have been put in place in an attempt to combat illegal activity, but criminals are most often a step ahead. Leanne Kemp, CEO of Everledger, joins us to explain how her company is using advanced geological techniques, and blockchains, to bring more traceability to the diamond industry. Everledger, whose clients include many of the largest insurance companies, builds software which allows for a diamond’s unique characteristics to be hashed and notarized in the blockchain. Hence, a stone’s provenance, and the trail of ownership can be traced, therefore limiting the opportunities for fraud and making it difficult for stolen diamonds to re-enter the market. Topics covered in this episode: Leanne’s background as a technologist A broad overview of the diamond industry A look at the diamond supply chain What roles banks and insurance companies play in the supply chain How diamonds are uniquely fingerprinted The Kimberly process and other regulations Everledger’s technology stack and business model Other sectors which can also benefit from increased traceability Episode links: Everledger Kimberley Process This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/156

Attracting over 70 of the world’s biggest financial institutions to its consortium in just over a year, R3 has accomplished a formidable task. Aiming to rethink the fabric of the financial system, they first conducted experiments testing blockchain platforms for their member and last year began developing their own distributed ledger platform: Corda. The effort to build Corda was lead by R3 CTO Richard Brown and the former Bitcoin developer and R3 lead architect Mike Hearn. In a wide-ranging discussion, we covered the vision of the project and why it represents a radical departure from existing blockchain platforms. Topics covered in this episode: The origin story of R3 Why existing blockchain designs didn’t meet their needs How the R3 team lead a design effort to develop a new platform from scratch The business problem Corda is aiming to solve The components of Corda’s architecture How Corda handles privacy Notaries and preventing double spends Open sourcing Corda and the plan to join Hyperledger Episode links: R3 Corda: What Makes it Different Introducing R3 Corda: A Distributed Ledger for Financial Services Corda: An Introduction [PDF] R3 Website E151 - Ian Grigg: Ricardian Contracts and Digital Assets Prehistory Smart Contract Templates: Foundations, Design Landscape & Research Directions This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/155

As content becomes more and more abundant and immediately available at our fingertips, our limited attention is a barrier for those whose business it is to attract and harness it. In this context, large (social) media companies understand that attention is a scarce commodity, and, as has been demonstrated, those who control attention wield enormous power over our society. We’re joined by Greg Meredith, CTO of Synereo, to talk about how this new Blockchain platform rebuild the attention economy. In a sense, Synereo is to attention, what Bitcoin is to money, in effect, removing intermediaries from the transaction between those who have attention, and those who wish to attract it. Greg, also gives his insights on how functional programming languages could allow for verifiable computational smart contracts. Topics covered in this episode: Greg’s background as a mathematician and his work on Microsoft’s BizTalk Process Orchestration How he transitioned into the crypto-currency space What is Synereo and what the project is trying to achieve Greg’s thoughts on the attention economy and how it is fundamentally broken Synereo’s technology stack How Vlad Zamfir’s Casper consensus algorithm influenced Synereo Rholang, Synereo’s functional smart-contracting language Synereo’s economic model and product roadmap Episode links: Synereo Synereo White Paper Logic as a distributive law Quit social media by Dr. Cal Newport Deep Work by Dr. Cal Newport This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/154

A topic which is often discussed is the limited use of Ethereum applications without stable cryptocurrencies. Prediction markets are a prime example of this. When one makes a prediction using Ether, he or she is in fact entering into to speculations: one being the outcome of the actual prediction, the other being the price of Ether when the prediction resolves. Projects like Maker DAO try to solve the problem by developing complex systems to ensure that a blockchain token keeps its value in sync with fiat currencies. But Decentralized Capital is taking a different approach by issuing fiat-pegged tokens on Ethereum that are backed by bank deposits. CEO Alex Wearn joined us to explain their approach to providing a fundamental piece of Ethereum infrastructure. Topics covered in this episode: The problem Decentralized Capital is trying to solve What the architecture of Decentralized Capital looks like The relationship between Crypto Capital and Decentralized Capital Why the ability of freezing and confiscating assets is required Some of the best use cases for Decentralized Capital The regulatory environment of Decentralized Capital The Decentralized Capital business model Episode links: Decentralized Capital Website Decentralized Capital is Live article Introducing Decentralized Capital Video Decentralized Capital and Dapp Integration Compliant Decentralized Exchange IDEX Decentralized Capital's DVIP Memberships This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/153

In 2012, a year after discovering Bitcoin in Argentina, Dutch economist Tuur Demeester became one of the first people to advocate investing in Bitcoin to a mainstream audience. Tuur joined us to discuss his thesis for investing in Bitcoin and how it has evolved over time. We also talked about the road ahead and how other cryptocurrencies and Ethereum compare as investment opportunities. Topics covered in this episode: How Tuur discovered Bitcoin in Argentina in 2011 The case for investing in Bitcoin The current state of Bitcoin and metrics he looks at Projections for the Bitcoin price How Bitcoin compares to gold The current state of the financial markets Episode links: How to Position for the Rally in Bitcoin Report Why I'm Short Ethereum (and long Bitcoin) Why Bitcoin is the Petroleum of Our Time Bitcoin - Why It Now Belongs in Every Porfolio Adamant Research Podcast on Soundcloud Tuur Demeester Twitter This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/152

Before 2013 few people paid attention to Bitcoin and blockchain, yet even back in the 1990s a vibrant group of prioneers pursued the vision of financial cryptography and digital cash. One of these was financial cryptographer and software developer Ian Grigg, who today works as an architecture consultant for R3. Grigg joined us for a discussion of the history of the digital cash, Bitcoin and his work on Ricardian Contracts, which foreshadowed today’s smart contracts. Topics covered in this episode: The origin story of financial cryptography DigiCash and the startup scene around it in the 1990s Ricardian Contracts and why contracts are central to digital assets Ricardian Contracts vs blockchain Episode links: Ricardian Contract Paper Financial Cryptography Website Financial Cryptography in 7 Layers R3CEV Brown, Carlyle, Grigg & Hearn: Corda - An Introduction This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/151

Last week the biggest blockchain-focused developer conference took place in Shanghai, China: Ethereum’s DevCon 2. Epicenter show host Meher Roy was at the conference and brought back his impressions and insights for a comprehensive discussion of the current state of Ethereum projects and the Ethereum community. Topics covered in this episode: What Ethereum’s developer conference DevCon 2 was like The big change in going from concepts to alpha version over the last year The continued lack of sustainable business models in Ethereum The lack of interest by Venture Capitalists and the big tech companies in Ethereum and blockchain technology The current state and incentive problems of crowdsales Three areas of focus in Ethereum: Scalability, Privacy and Governance The search for the next protocol Episode links: Ethereum Foundation Website Ethereum YouTube Channel Insanity and Brilliance at Ethereum's Developer Conference Melonport: Decentralized Asset Management on Ethereum Golem: Worldwide Supercomputer Metamask: Ethereum Browser Extension Cosmos Whitepaper This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/150

That blockchains represents a fundamental technological revolution has become widely accepted. What is still more nebulous, but could turn out just as disruptive is how smart contracts while transform the legal system and our understanding of what contracts are and how they work. Legal researcher Lukas Abegg who is currently finishing his PhD on copyright issues around 3d printing and has been researching smart contracts as well joined us to discuss the question whether code is law and what blockchain can learn form 3d printing. Topics covered in this episode: The copyright questions around 3d printing How legal issues around 3d printing are like issues around smart contracts How information theory can help us conceptualize smart contracts The thesis of Lessig’s book ‘Code is Law’ The case for law regulating code Why Alternative Dispute Resolution has big potential for blockchain applications Episode links: Code is Law? Not Quite Yet Lessig's Code Lawrence Lessig Talk 'Thinking Through Law and Code' EB125 - Florian Glatz A Legal Framework for DAOs This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/149

We’re joined by Kyle Torpey, a freelance writer, and journalist who writes for a number of publications in the blockchain space including Bitcoin Magazine, Coin Journal, and others. Know for his well-written articles and in-depth reporting on the important topics affecting Bitcoin today, Kyle provides his point of view on the scalability debate and gives an update on the recent and upcoming changes to the bitcoin protocol. Topics covered in this episode: An update on the scalability debate The outcome of the recent Hong Kong scalability workshop and code dev meeting in California The Bitcoin core development process The recent release of Bitcoin Code 0.13.0 The inclusion of Segregated Witness and what it enables Upcoming features in the roadmap Takeaways from the Ethereum hard fork Division in the Bitcoin community The evolution of the Bitcoin ecosystem in the last 2 years Potential mainstream applications for Bitcoin Episode links: The Five Most Useful Properties of Bitcoin When Should Developers Turn to Bitcoin? Darknet Customers Are Demanding Bitcoin Alternative Monero The Power of Schnorr: The Signature Algorithm to Increase Bitcoin's Scale and Privacy BIP-47 vs BIP-75: How Will Bitcoin Wallets Maintain Privacy While Becoming Easier to Use? This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/148

With academic research on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies still in its infancy, Sarah Meiklejohn’s track record of publications in the area stands out. The UCL computer science professor has explored topics ranging from anonymity in Bitcoin to how a central bank could go about issuing a cryptocurrency. Topics covered in this episode: What techniques can be used to deanonymize Bitcoin users How Bitcoin’s usage evolved over time Whether privacy-enhancing overlays in Bitcoin currently work What a cryptocurrency issued by a central bank could look like The architecture of RSCoin Episode links: Sarah Meiklejohn UCL Website Meiklejohn & Orlandi (2015): Privacy-Enhancing Overlays in Bitcoin Danezis & Meiklejohn (2016): Centrally Banked Cryptocurrencies Meiklejohn et al (2016): A Fistful of Bitcoins EB70 - Michael Gronager: Chainalysis EB83 - David Andolfatto: Fedcoins and Cryptocurrencies Issued by Central Banks This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/147

In the last 20 years, content publishing platforms have proliferated to an almost insane number. There are countless places where people and companies can post articles, blogs, videos, photos, live content and so on. Despite this diverse offering, little innovation has happened in monetizing content, which still mostly remains ad-based. We’re joined by Ryan X. Charles, Bitcoin Developer and Founder of Yours. Yours would like to address the monetization problem by allowing content producers to earnBitcoin when they create good content. Yours is an in-browser application which implements a Bitcoin wallet and enables micro-transactions through their own implementation of the Lightning Network. Content Creators are paid by Curators who attribute value to the content. Curators are themselves rewarded when content they find valuable goes viral. Topics discussed in this episode: Ryan’s background as the Lead Developer of BitCore, and his experience at BitGo and Reddit What is Yours and what types of applications it enables The technical components of Yours The Yours application and how users post and access content Why he chose to build Yours on bitcoin How micropayments are implemented in Yours How Yours addresses the issue of copyright infringement What challenges Yours may face in order to reach critical mass Episode links: Yours website Yours client This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/146

One of the sectors which is ripe for disruption is the real estate industry. In the US for instance, a handful of historic and very powerful players operate what is known as MLS, or Multiple Listing Services, and hold unofficial monopolies on residential and commercial real estate listings. Brokers, who depend on these listing services to sell properties, agree that their incumbent positions have created a situation where fees have continued to rise, while little to no added value has been added for their users. Stephen King and Russel McLernon join us to explain RexMLS, a decentralized Multiple Listing Service built on Ethereum and IPFS. Currently in beta, the DApp would allow brokers to list properties at a very low cost, and be accessible to international markets, something which is lacking in the current model. Topics covered in this episode: The basics of MLS or Multiple Listing Services What is RexMLS and the problems it is trying to address The benefits of a decentralized MLS The different technical components of RexMLS Why they chose Ethereum and IPFS The user experience of RexMLS The product’s roll-out phases How users are incentivized to participate in the system The RexDex token exchange and the token injection model RexMLS’s governance model Episode links: RexMLS Website RexMLS Beta RexMLS White Paper This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/145

From BitShares to his central role during the inception of Ethereum Charles Hoskinson has continually influenced key projects in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space. After departing the Ethereum project in 2014, he has recently stepped back into the limelight by pledging support and resources to turn the fledgling Ethereum fork ETC into a viable project. Charles joined us together with Alex Chepurnoy, a developer at his company IOHK. Besides Ethereum Classic, we talked about IOHK and Scorex, IOHK’s modular blockchain framework project that Alex Chepurnoy has been leading. Topics covered in this episode: The vision and activities of IOHK Scorex: A Modular Blockchain Framework Conflicts of vision that lead to Charles’ departure as original CEO of Ethereum in 2014 Why the hard fork broken Ethereum’s social contract Why ETC should differentiate and find its own path The role governance could play in ETC’s future Episode links: IOHK Scorex IOHK - Input Output Hong Kong Website Charles Hoskinson: Hoskus Parvum Opus: A Brief Sojourn Back to Ethereum Ethereum Classic: keep censorship-resistant Ethereum going ETC Declaration of Independence Let's Talk Bitcoin #304 Immutability vs Consensus Debate This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/144

Prediction markets are fascinating financial instruments which have proven to be accurate at making predictions on things like the outcome of elections, geopolitical events and sporting events. But in our heavily regulated financial world, they are the subject of much controversy. In 2013 for instance, a well-known US prediction market, Intrade, was forced to shut down following a civil suit filed by the CFTC. While some people consider prediction markets to be a useful tool for society, others consider them to be a form of gambling, which is one of the reasons why they have been met with such resistance in certain countries. A purely decentralized prediction market would operate outside the scope of the regulated financial world and be resistant to censorship and outside intervention. We’re joined by Joey Krug, Co-Founder and Core Developer at Augur, a decentralized prediction market built on Ethreum. The project, which was initially meant to be a Bitcoin sidechain, has ported to Ethereum and is currently in beta on the Testnet. Users can forecast real-world events, such as the outcome of the US election, and earn profits if they are accurate in their predictions. Reporting on events is crowdsourced using a consensus-based system similar to proof-of-stake. Topics covered in this episode: How prediction markets work The controversy around prediction markets The Augur project and what it is trying to achieve The evolution of Augur The different components of Augur Reporting on events and the reputation token Security, attack vectors and how they can be mitigated Augur’s business model The ethical aspects of prediction markets Augur’s structure and governance Episode links: Augur Augur Git Repo Augur Docs EB139 – Martin Köppelmann: Gnosis – The Ethereum Prediction Market EB97 – Paul Sztorc: Truthcoin & Prediction Markets, From Information-Overload To Crowd Intelligence EB98 – Robin Hanson: Futarchy, Prediction Markets And The Challenge Of Disruptive Technology EB141 – Ralph Merkle: Revolutionizing Democracy Using DAOs This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/143

Blockchain smart contracts are self-executing contracts composed of computer code. These programs, which are executed by the entirety of the network, enforce the rules described within the code. Effectively, in this realm, code is law. And as we’ve seen recently, altering the outcome of that code after it has been deloyed, should we later realize that it was flawed or did not produce an intended result, can be messy. In addition, there are instances where human intervention can be necessary or even desirable. Take a mortgage agreement for example. Should a smart contract be entrusted with the responsibility of making a decision when the borrower can no longer make his payments? In cases such as this, subjective human intervention is be necessary. Scot Farrell and Claire Warren, lawyers at the global law firm King & Wood Mallesons, think that humans should not be automated out of every process. While code is logical and predictable, it cannot act reasonably or take into account certain unforeseen events. They have proposed DnA contracts (Digital and Analog), where automation can occur when absolute automation is possible, but where humans may intervene at the edges and provide input when needed. Topics covered in this episode: What issues DnA contracts are trying to address The basic concepts behind DnA contrats The scenarios where DnA contracts may be valuable Examples of DnA contracts applied to interest rate swaps and mortgages How DnA contracts could be integrated with blockchain technologies The impact of DnA contracts on legal services Episode links: How to use humans to make “smart contracts” truly smart DnA Contracts proposal on GitHub This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/142

Legendary scientist and cryptography pioneer Ralph Merkle joined us to discuss his recent paper on DAOs. Merkle examined how the voting mechanisms in today’s democracies are flawed and how a decentralized, transparent DAO making decisions using prediction markets could create more efficient democratic systems. Topics covered in this episode: Merkle proofs, Merkle Roots and his early forays into cryptography Blockchains as living organisms Why DAOs will be subject to a Darwinian evolutionary process Why voting is flawed and we need new governance methods to save democracy The concept of a DAO democracy How prediction markets and futarchy would help govern a DAO democracy Episode links: Ralph Merkle DAO Democracy Paper [PDF] Ralph Merkle's Homepage Ralph Merkle's Wikipedia page EB98 - Robin Hanson: Futarchy, Prediction Markets Tim Urban: Why Cryonics Makes Sense Alcor - Life Extension Foundation This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/141

Exchanges are often criticized as a central point of failure of the cryptocurrency space. This isn’t without justification as, in recent years, we have seen a number of exchanges get hacked, robbed, or embezzled by their founders, which is far from insignificant. One proposed alternative are decentralized exchanges that would allow people make peer-to-peer trades using sophisticated smart contracts. However, there remains the fundamental challenge of interfacing with the legacy banking system. Manfred Karrer joins us for a lengthy discussion on Bitsquare, a decentralized cryptocyrrency exchange which supports most fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. Built to be a decentralized equivalent of LocalBitcoins, the Bitsquare client, which connects to the peer-to-peer network, uses Tor by default, which makes it almost completely anonymous. There are also a number of safeguards in place to eliminate the potential for fraud and theft, as well as an arbitration system to resolve disputes between traders. Topics covered in this episode: The motivation behind Bitsquare The Bitsquare client and user experience A walkthrough of a typical trade The mechanics of the order book The fiat currency transfer mechanism The current and future arbitration process Manfred’s thoughts on DAOs Bitsquare’s product roadmap Episode links: Bitsquare Website Bitsquare Whitepaper Risk Analysis Arbitration System Github Repo This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/140

Few things arouse among free market believers and enthusiasts of decentralization as prediction markets do. By allowing people to bet on any range of outcomes they promise more efficient markets and better information. Few people have worked with as much dedication on making the promise of prediction markets a reality as Martin Köppelmann. After founding the Bitcoin prediction market Fairlay, he turned to Ethereum and started the Ethereum-based prediction market Gnosis. We discussed his views on the DAO heist, differences between Fairlay and Gnosis and their upcoming tokensale. Topics covered in this episode: How the DAO heist happened and what we should learn from it The Bitcoin prediction market Fairlay From Fairlay to Gnosis: Building a prediction market on Ethereum The Gnosis architecture Gnosis’ planned crowdsale and DAO Gnosis business model and what will determine the value of the tokens The difference between Gnosis and Augur Episode links: Gnosis Website Gnosis Forum Fairlay 7 Reasons to Make a Prediction The Big TheDAO Heist FAQ - Part 1 The Big TheDAO Heist FAQ - Part 2 EB98 - Robin Hanson: Futarchy and Prediction Markets episode This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/139

Security researcher and RSK co-founder Sergio Lerner joined us to discuss RSK (also Rootstock), the project to launch a turing-complete smart contract sidechain to Bitcoin. We talked about how he got into the industry, spending countless days analyzing Bitcoin for vulnerabilities and finding a few along the way. And, of course, RSK, the ambitious project to strenghten the Bitcoin ecosystem through adding smart contract capabilities. Topics covered in this episode: How Sergio initially got involved in the Bitcoin space His early work on turing-complete cryptocurrencies going back to 2012 Why financial inclusion is the most important problem to solve Merged mining and RSK’s security model How RSK compares to Ethereum RSK’s business model Episode links: Rootstock (RSK) website Drivechain BIP Proposal This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/138

With recent news surrounding The DOA and the Brexit vote causing a stir in the blockchain world and beyond, it seems like a regulatory update is due. So we called up our favorite regulatory affairs specialist Siân Jones to enlighten us on some of the recent developments in Bitcoin and blockchain regulation. Topics covered in this episode: The Brexit and it’s potential impacts on the Blockchain and Fintech space in the UK The Bank of England opening its doors to more than a thousand financial institution and payment service providers Some of the initiatives by the UK government to potentially adopt blockchain technologies The recent European Parliament plenary sitting on virtual currencies and the Distributed Ledger Technology Task Force An update on BitLicense and its impacts a year and a half after being adopted in New York The potential regulatory implications of DAOs Episode links: European Digital Currency & Blockchain Technology Forum Coinsult This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/137

The lack of an explicit governance mechanism has created deep problems for Bitcoin. Ethereum, with the DAO-related soft/hard-fork discussions, may face similar challenges ahead. Yet, already in 2014 Arthur Breitman quietly started working on cryptocurrency network Tezos that has an explicit mechanism to let coinholders vote on protocol upgrades. Our discussion with Breitman centered around how explicit governance could lead to a more secure and evolutionary protocol. We also discussed Tezos’ approach to smart contract that tries to prevent bug-riddled and insecure smart contracts such as the DAO which has thrown Ethereum into a deep crisis. Topics covered in this episode: Why stakeholders voting on forks can prevent consensus attacks The mechanics of Tezos’ governance How an upgrade mechanism could allow Tezos to rapidly and radically evolve Why the programming language in which smart contracts are written is crucial for security Why a functional language that allows formal proofs such as OCaml is more suited for smart contracts than Ethereum’s solidity The road ahead for Tezos Episode links: Tezos website Tezos position paper [PDF] Tezos whitepaper [PDF] This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/136

For many the promise of decentralized applications and DAOs is to be beyond the limitations and rigidity of the existing legal system. There is no question that where DAOs can roam freely, innovation can accelerate. But can the law, courts and regulations be left behind so easily? Lawyer Stephen Palley joined us to discuss what happens when the new and old worlds collide and how courts will look at what goes on in the land of DAOs and DApps. Topics covered in this episode: Whether trust is reduced, removed or just shifted elsewhere in blockchain systems If creating decentralized applications could create liability risks Why courts will impose a legal structure if a formal one doesn’t exist The concept of jurisdiction and how it could affect DAOs Why one should be careful with saying a DAO provides insurance Episode links: How to Sue A DAO Blockchain Jurisdiction Smart Contracts and Smart Lawsuits Blockchain and the First Law of Lawmodynamics Smart Contracts, Performance and Trust DAO Insurance Company, Inc All of Stephen Palley's LinkedIn Posts EB125 Florian Glatz: Defining a Legal Framework for DAOs EB132 Stephan Tual: A Universal Sharing Network and a $150m DAO This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/135

Raising $150m+ through its toke sale, ‘The DAO’ has become the most notable decentralized application to date. The ambitious goal of the project is to form an decentralized organizations that efficiently makes investment decisions and generates a return for the token holders. Computer Science professor Emin Gün Sirer and researcher Vlad Zamfir joined us to discuss the various security issues with the daring project and why they’ve called for a temporary moratorium on funding proposals. Topics covered in this episode: How the DAO works What the role of the curators is What splits are and how they became a way to withdraw funds Why the DAO has a bias towards approving proposals How attackers could ‘stalk’ token holders when withdrawing their funds How the DAO can be upgraded Episode links: A Call for a Temporary Moratorium on The DAO Blog Post A Call for a Temporary Moratorium on The DAO Full Paper PDF EB132 – Stephan Tual: Building A Universal Sharing Network On Ethereum And A $150M DAO Understanding the DAO Accounting The DAO website Meher's 'split DAO' reward token attack This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/134

One of the problems often cited when talking about cryptocurrencies is their level of volatility compared to traditional fiat currencies. This makes most cryptocurrencies a poor instrument for storing value, and introduces complexities when making purchases in fiat amounts. Stable cryptocurrencies include mechanisms which allow them to stay pegged to fiat currencies like the US Dollar or Euro. They present a number of advantages, and, in addition to taking the headache out of making purchases, can be used by cryptocurrency traders who need a stable unit of account for hedging their assets. We talk to brothers Pascal and Julien Hamonic, Core Members of the Nu team about the NuBit stable cryptocurrency. Similarly to the mechanisms that keep our body temperature stable, NuBits relies upon the introduction of new coins into circulation when demand increases, and for coins to be taken out of circulation when demand drops. Shareholders (NuShareholder) vote on these measures as the network relies on custodians who bring liquidity into the market in exchange for dividends, and on speculators who “”park”” coins in exchange for potential returns when demand increases again. Topics covered in this episode: What is NuBits and what is the goal it is trying to achieve The different components of Nu (NuBits, NuShares) The economic mechanisms behind the $1.00 USD peg Who are the different participants in the network (NuBits users, NuShareholders, custodians) The important role of custodians in providing liquidity to the network The consensus model used in Nu The initial allocation of NuBits and NuShares The governance mechanisms in Nu Episode links: Nubits NuBits Whitepaper This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/133

In this episode we welcome back Stephan Tual, the COO of Slock.It, a German startup working at the intersection of the Internet of Things and the Ethereum blockchain. Slock.It’s small team also wrote the smart contracts that power ‘The DAO’, a decentralized capital management entity that recently raised north of $160 million for investing into Ethereum based projects. ‘The DAO’ has been featured in many mainstream news outlets, such as New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Economist. The interview explores the vision, motivation and challenges behind both ‘The DAO’ and Slock.It. Topics covered in this episode: Stephan’s background and role as CCO at Ethereum Foundation. What is ‘The DAO’ and how it relates to Slock.It. DAOlink and the business opportunity of enabling interactions between DAOs and traditional firms. Opportunities, assumptions and challenges for ‘The DAO’. Vision and products of Slock It – Univeral Sharing Network and the Ethereum computer. Episode links: Slock It Website The DAO The DAO on Github The DAO Whitepaper Why I’ve Resigned as a Curator of the DAO Is The DAO going to be DOA? This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/132

One of the foundational problems in payment networks is that they are mostly uninteroperable. This problem exists at all levels, from consumer payment solutions like PayPal, to national and multi-national banks. This complexity is brought on by the proprietary nature of payment networks, and moving value from one to another requires a negotiation between parties on which common payment network to use in a transaction. We saw similar problems in the early days of the Internet, assembled around protocols which allow for data to be routed and move between networks in a standardized way. We’re joined by Stefan Thomas and Evan Schwartz, co-creators of Interledger. This neutral protocol would bring the same level of interoperability we know take for granted around the flow of data, to payments, thus allowing money to move freely across networks. A market maker, who holds accounts in both networks, would receive funds in escrow from a sender, and move funds to an escrow account with the receiver, getting paid by the sender when he shows the proof the funds were delivered to the receiver. Topics covered in this episode: What is Interledger and what problem is it trying to solve Interledger’s architecture How connectors and routing works, and how we may compare it to the way data flows on the Internet Cryptographic Escrow and its role in Interledger Requirements for payment solutions to become Interledger compatible Interledger’s community group at the W3C How Interledger applies to micropayments Ripple’s role in Interledger Episode links: Interledger Interledger Whitepaper Interledger + WebTorrent - Demo by Evan Schwartz Interledger Architecture Interledger Github Interledter Slideshare Ripple Lab Episode 92 with Stefan Thomas This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/131

In the short history of the Bitcoin industry, there has been an impressive amount of high profile hacks, ranging from a few hundred thousand to many millions of dollars. In all of these, customers, Bitcoin users, where robbed of their funds because poor security policies, negligence, incompetence, or plain old scamming. Recently, the cryptocurrency conversion service ShapeShift fell victim to a hack in which over $200,000 of company funds were stolen, initially by an employee, and then by a hacker to whom this employee had sold sensitive company information. Luckily, no customers lost any money as ShapeShift does not hold any funds on behalf of users. We talked to ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees who walks us through this captivating ordeal, which sounds like it could be the plot of a movie. He speaks about how the company is trying to recover and what he has learned from this unfortunate event. Topics covered in this episode: How the ShapeShift hack went down What steps the company has taken to avoid this from happening again What he learned from the hack ShapeShift’s long-term vision as a company and product Ethereum’s role in their recent growth His history as an entrepreneur in the Bitcoin space His views on libertarianism and the long-term impact of Bitcoin on that movement Episode links: Looting of the Fox: The Story of Sabotage at ShapeShift Bitcoin.com podcast - Details of the Shapeshift.io Hack The Slaying of Bearwhale Erik's Blog This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/130

As the blockchain field continues evolving rapidly, Sebastien, Meher and Brian take some time to discuss the current environment and the longer term implications of blockchains. We discussed how smart contracts could affect the pace of innovation and the competitiveness of industries. We also talked about the role DAOs will play and what we can take away from the current DAO crowdsale and its connection with Slock.it. Topics covered in this episode: How companies running on smart contracts could impact the pace and cost of innovation A smart contract-based insurance example Why smart contracts and blockchains will challenge our understanding of organizations The current state of DAOs Slock.it and the DAO crowdsale Episode links: Maciej Olpinski's Blog Slock.it The DAO EB108 - The Big Chain Powwow This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/129

When Jed McCaleb discovered Bitcoin, there didn’t even exist an online marketplace to trade the cryptocurrency yet. The experienced founder who had earlier started file sharing site eDonkey, acted fast and started the first Bitcoin exchange MtGox which he later sold to now-infamous Mark Karpeles. Jed later founded the pioneering Ripple project before leaving to start Stellar. We discussed his journey through the industry and the ambitious plans Stellar has to create an open financial system that will give access to financial services to a much broader spectrum of humanity. Topics covered in this episode: Jed’s early involvement in the industry and founding of MtGox and subsequently Ripple Why Jed left Ripple and started Stellar How Ripple and Stellar differ The Stellar Consensus Protocol Why the organization behind Stellar is a non-profit foundation Stellar’s focus on developing markets and Nigeria in particular The role and distribution of Stellar’s currency Lumen Episode links: Stellar Website Stellar Consensus Protocol Bitcoin-Lumen Giveaway Stellar Graphic Novel Digital Gold by Nathaniel Popper This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/128

We were joined by repeat guest Anthony di Iorio, a definite contender for having (co-)founded the most projects in the blockchain space including Ethereum, Kryptokit, Decentral and Jaxx. We got an update on the vibrant Toronto blockchain scene and Decentral. The main discussion revolved around the new wallet Jaxx that is simultaneously a Bitcoin and Ethereum wallet and takes a significant step towards a more unified and accessible cryptocurrency experience. Finally, we discussed his recent appointment as Chief Digital Officer at the Toronto Stock Exchange / TMX Group and the upcoming trade show Blockchain World Expo. Topics covered in this episode: Update on Decentral and Kryptokit How the Jaxx wallet Unique UI challenges of Ethereum wallets The role of community in bringing innovation to corporates His role as Chief Digital Officer at the TMX Group The upcoming Blockchain World Expo in Toronto Episode links: Jaxx Bitcoin and Ethereum wallet Decentral Decentral.tv Blockchain World Expo This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/127

One of the major drawbacks of Bitcoin is its low transaction throughput. Maxing out only a handful of operations per second, there have been many proposals to scale it up so that it can compete with existing distributed database technologies. As the blockchain’s demand continues to increase, it’s unclear if the Bitcoin protocol will ever be able to handle thousands, if not millions of transactions per second. BigchainDB is taking a different approach. Rather than trying to scale up blockchain technology, it starts with a big data distributed database, RethinkDB, and adds blockchain features and characteristics. Trent Mcconaghy, Co-founder and CTO of Ascribe and BigchainDB, joins us to talk about how this protocol may become to databases, what IPFS and Ethereum are to distributed filestorage and computing, respectively. Able to perform more than one million writes per second and capacities in the petabytes, BigchainDB has the ambition to become the world’s public database platform. Topics covered in this episode: A brief update on Ascribe since Trent was last on the show The motivations behind BigchainDB and that problems it’s trying to solve How BigchainDB plans to solve the typical scalability bottlenecks found in blockchain protocols BigchainDB’s capacity, performance and latency characteristics BigchainDB’s consensus model, applied to RethinkDB Potential application for BigchainDB, in both centralised and decentralised application stacks Episode links: BigchainDB BigchainDB Whitepaper Ascribe Left Gallery 23vivi This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/126

The relatively new concept of a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), is often praised as a new type of organizational structure that has no identifiable owner or owners, and whose actions are automated and determined solely by a pre-defined set of rules. Views on DAOs differ widely. On one hand, members of the Bitcoin/blockchain space often portrayal them as AI-like swarm organisms, free from the shackles of nation-states, and that can act at will regardless of laws or regulation. On the other hand, legal experts caution that, like corporations, DAOs and their creators could be held liable in civil lawsuits, and that they may be served a hard dose of reality when they end up in court. We are joined by Florian Glatz, attorney, researcher and software developer (not to mention the proud owne r of the awesome domain name blockchain.lawyer). We discuss some of the basic legal concepts surrounding contracts and in what ways smart contracts may or may not fit within our existing legal framework. We also dive deep into DAOs, and address some of the challenges they may pose in the near and distant future. Topics covered in this episode: The history of innovation in law How merchant law (Lex Mercatoria) emerged in the 13th century How we can define smart contracts The legality of smart contacts The need for natural language contracts vs. contracts which are written in code Decentralized Autonomous Organizations The Slock.it DAO What would happen if one tried to sue a DAO Episode links: Florian's Website What are Smart Contracts? In search of a consensus Smart Contracts, Platforms and Intermediaries How to Sue A DAO How to Incorporate a DAO This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/125

The challenges Bitcoin’s wild volatility represents for achieving mass adoption have made the necessity for stable cryptocurrencies apparent long ago. With Ethereum applications, the problem is even more apparent as many use cases from predcition markets to insurance are impractical using the even more volatile ether. Maker DAO is an ambitious attempt to solve the problem by building a bank-like system to issue a value-stable currency on Ethereum. Rune Christensen joined us to discuss the need for Maker and the complex system to guarantee stability. Topics covered in this episode: Why money is the most successful product ever What makes stablecoins are necessary The different components of Maker such as the stablecoin Dai, the token MKR and the role they play Why Maker needs insurance against black swan events Maker’s different planned stages of increasing decentralization The MKR token sale and its value proposition for investors Episode links: Maker DAO Maker DAO Whitepaper Maker DAO DevCon Talk EB60 with Robert Sams: Volatility and the Search for a Stable Cryptocurrency This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/124

We’re joined by , Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, investor and all around emblematic figure of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Brock tells his story, from his early beginning a entrepreneur in his teens, to the massively successfull video game industry businesses he built in the early 2000s. As Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, he gives us his perspective on how the Foundation’s role has evolved over time and its areas of focus going forward. Brock also weighs in the recent debates around governance and block size. Topics covered in this episode: The lemonade-stand beginnings of Brock’s entrepreneurship story How he became involved in gaming and pioneered the sale of digital goods The 400,000-strong professional gamer supply chain he built in China His first contact with Bitcoin and the initial concerns he had Blockchain Capital and how he ended up investing in dozens of Bitcoin startups The blocksize debate and whether Bitcoin needs an explicit governance process The future of the Bitcoin Foundation Episode links: This Week in Startups with Brock Pierce The Finanser Interview with Brock Pierce Blockchain Capital Brock Pierce – Bitcoins Are The Digital Gold 2.0 This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/123

For Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn, part of the cypherpunk movement since the early 1990s, the vision of a decentralized financial system that has both openness and privacy has existed since long before Bitcoin. After many failed attempts, Bitcoin proved that that vision could be achievable. But Bitcoin also failed to deliver on the privacy features as blockchain analysis allows tracing movements and deanonymizing many users. Zooko joined us to discuss his project Zcash, a fully anonymous cryptocurrency that is scheduled to launch in July. Through Zcash’s use of ground-breaking Zero Knowledge Proofs (or zkSNARKs) the blockchain will leak no information about sender, recipients nor amounts. It was a fascinating discussion of the most anticipated launch of a cryptocurrency since Ethereum. Topics covered in this episode: Zooko’s long cypherpunk history How overconfidence derailed many cypherpunk projects Why Bitcoin’s privacy is broken and how Zcash provides true privacy The too-good-to-be-true Zcash team Why Zcash is based on a fork of Bitcoin How the initial parameter generation creates a potential security weakness Why Zcash believes in an evolutionary approach to designing cryptocurrency protocols Episode links: Zcash website Why Zcash - Project Announcement Zerocash: Decentralized Anonymous Payments from Bitcoin [PDF] EB116 - Eli Ben-Sasson: Zero Knowledge Proofs This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/122

For orthodox Bitcoiners central banks are often seen as the incarnation of evil. But , alas, in the case of two Carribean central banking economists the feeling of reprehension wasn’t reciprocated. Winston Moore and Jeremy Stephen were formerly associated with the Central Bank of Barados and fascinated by the potential of cryptocurrencies, they explored the consequences of their central bank holding Bitcoin as part of their international reserves. They joined us for a discussion of central banking, the pecularities of monetary policy in a small island nation and what Bitcoin could bring to the equation. Topics covered in this episode: The function of central banks The role international reserves hold for central banks The peculiar challenges of central banks of small island nation states How speculative attacks on central banks work Why central banks may want to hold cryptocurrencies as part of their portfolio How Bitt plans to issue Barbados Dollar using the Bitcoin blockchain and the open asset protocol Episode links: Paper on inclusion of cryptocurrencies in international reserve portfolio of Central Bank of Barbados [PDF] Barbados Cryptocurrency Startup Bitt Bitt launches Barbados Dollar on blockchain Winston Moore's Website Jeremy Stephen's Website EB Episode 83 with David Andolfatto on Fedcoin and central bank issued cryptocurrencies This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/121

The problem around content monetization is one which content producers are constantly trying to solve. At the core of this problem is a mismatch between supply and demand. Content, which is increasingly abundant, is captured by human attention, which is in limited supply. The volume of content being produced is growing at staggering rates while total human attention remains flat. Our guest, , argues that the current content monetization model is outdated, broken and is in need of an overhaul. Previously at Google and YouTube, Maciej has a broad understanding content monetization models and lays out a vision for open marketplaces for attention using blockchains. He argues that content discovery systems like the Google Page Rank algorithm and Facebook’s News Feed could be replaced by open networks based on the mechanics of Bitcoin. Topics covered in this episode: How the current content monetization model works and why it’s broken The inner workings of content discovery The economics of content discovery Open marketplaces for attention and reputation New web-native business models for content discovery Episode links: Maciej's blog This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/120

A pioneering feature of Bitcoin is verifiability of transactions: It is designed to enable low-power devices and high end computers alike to be able to verify occurrences on the blockchain. This observation led our guest, Adam Gibson, to wonder why webpages aren’t so easily verifiable as a Bitcoin transaction? Can I prove to you that I have certain bank account balance over the internet? Why do we submit photocopies of passports rather than furnishing a cryptographically verifiable proof of citizenship by logging on to a Government site? Born out of this intellectual itch is the TLS Notary protocol. It pioneers a new kind of auditing that enables participants to prove that a certain https page was in their browser. This protocol paves the way to brilliant designs for Proof of Reserves, Smart contract oracles and Decentralised fiat-to-bitcoin exchange. Topics covered in this episode: Why is the current Web structured to be not easily verifiable? What is TLS and how does it work? How TLS differs from SSL The TLS Notary protocol Capabilities and limitations of TLS Notary Applications of TLS Notary including provably honest smart contract oracles Episode links: The TLS Notary website Oraclize, the provably honest oracle service The TLS specification (TLS 1.0 RFC 2246) This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/119

A typical online transaction today isn’t very different from how it was done 25 years ago at the dawn of the Internet. In fact, online payments haven’t changed much at all. When we want to pay for something online, we copy very sensitive credit card information into a form on a website and trust that website to capture it securely and make proper use of it. If this seems like an old and antiquated way to pay, that’s because it is, and it costs billions of dollars per year in security and fraud prevention. The World Wide Web Consortium wants to standardize the way we pay online, making it more secure, and hopefully a better experience for users. is a computer scientists and Standards Lead at the W3C. We talk about some of the core problems with dealing with credentials on the web and making online payments. Specifically, we discuss the Web Payments Working Group (WPWG), and their efforts to bring banks, payments providers and browser manufacturers together to converge around a standard set APIs to make for a better and more secure payment experience for all users. Topics covered in this episode: Manu’s interest in Bitcoin and blockchains His role in building the JSON-LD standard What is the W3C, what are it’s roles and how does it operate The level of interaction between the Bitcoin community and the W3C The fundamental problems of dematerialised payments online What it means to standardize payments online The Interledger Payments Community Group Manu’s company Digital Bazaar Episode links: Web Payments at the W3C Digital Bazaar This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/118

In the midst of the heated blocksize debate one could be forgiven to think that there is very little Bitcoin developers are able to agree on. Yet, when core developer and Blockstream co-founder Pieter Wuille introduced the concept of segregated witness at the Scaling Bitcoin conference in Hong Kong most of the Bitcoin community quickly rallied behind the proposal. Eric Lombrozo, CEO of wallet company Ciphrex and responsible for running the segregated witness testnet, joined us to discuss the proposal and its implications. Segregated witness, it turns out, does not only provide an elegant way to increase the blocksize via a soft-fork, it also solves transaction malleability and greatly simplifies updating the Bitcoin’s scripting language. It’s a crucial topic and may well enable a new wave of accelerated innovation in Bitcoin. Topics covered in this episode: The various benefits of segregated witness The mechanics of segregated witness How segregated witness solves transaction malleability How segregated witness could increase the blocksize to 2-3MB with a soft fork What segregated witness means for wallet developers How segregated witness could facilitate development of off-chain networks such as Lightning Network The important difference between hard forks and soft forks How segregated witness will allow updates of Bitcoin’s script language via soft forks Episode links: Scaling Bitcoin Talk by Pieter Wuille Let's Talk Bitcoin! #277 Separating Signatures with Segregated Witness Gavin Andresen: Segregated Witness is Cool Bitcoin Magazine Series on Segregated Witness Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Eric Lombrozo's company Ciphrex This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/117

Zero Knowledge Proofs are methods of providing cryptographic proofs to another party while keeping some information secret. The simple concept of ZKP offer tantalizing possibilities: Banks could prove solvency without revealing depositors. Governments could prove the fairness of an election without compromising privacy. Computer science professor Eli Ben-Sasson joined us to discuss where blockchains and cryptocurrencies intersect with Zero Knowledge Proofs and related technologies such as zkSNARKs. It offered a fascinating view into what will surely become a core part of blockchain tech in the future. Topics covered in this episode: What are proof systems? Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) and other terminology such as SNARKs and zkSNARKs The mechanics of Zero Knowledge Proofs The role of performance in Zero Knowledge Proofs Applications of ZKPs The widespread potential impact of ZKP to verify processes Episode links: Eli Ben-Sasson's Website SNARKs for C talk by Madars Virza Stackexchange: What are SNARKs SNARKs for C paper [PDF] Zerocash Talk This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/116

The idea that in the future tokens will play a crucial role in networks and organizations to incentivize decentralized collaboration and reward contribution is not new. It’s the original decentralized autonomous organization idea that has informed many projects that have been on the podcast (Swarm, Ethereum, Factom, Storj, etc). For Matan, the vision originally led to found decentralized ride-sharing application LaZooz. One year ago, he left LaZooz to found Backfeed, which is building the tools that so far have been missing to make mass collaboration without a central party possible. Topics covered in this episode: How he became interested in blockchains and started the ridesharing application LaZooz Backfeed’s vision for a social operating system for decentralized organizations The role of reputation, proof-of-value and tokens in Backfeed The applications Backfeed is currently building The business of model of Backfeed Episode links: Backfeed website Backfeed: An Introduction for Mere Mortals Matan Field DevCon Talk about Backfeed This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/115

Vinay Gupta has been a programmer, 1990s cypherpunk, ‘resilience guru’, Ethereum release coordinator and currently collaborates with Consensys to mainstream smart contract technology. He also invented the Hexayurt, a cheap and resilient architectural structure for disaster-stricken communities. Recently, Vinay has become a thought leader in the cryptocurrency space. He is famed for his eloquence and ability to distill the crypto-finance technological paradigm into easy big-picture visualisations. Check out this podcast for some unique insights into technology, politics and history. Topics covered in this episode: His work on resilience. The connection between resilience and cryptocurrencies A history of the cypherpunks – who they were, what they believed in and why they failed. Why smart contracts matter? What is special about them? The impact cryptocurrencies will have on capitalism Why cryptocurrencies could be a great tool to explore basic income Episode links: Vinay Gupta - Dangerous Old Men: cypherpunk's failure, Ethereum's success Vinay Gupta - Resilience Guru | London Real Simple Critical Infrastructure Maps Vinay Gupta | Computers that just work | State of the Net 2015 Vinay's site re.silience.com This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/114

As blockchain technologies mature, new protocol specifications are emerging, which take unique approaches to software design and how consensus is achieved. We have talked about Multchain and OpenChain in the past, but Tendermint promises to be a viable solution for many permissioned blockchain use cases. It’s design is modular, meaning that the application layer (smart contract) and the consensus layer are completely independent. This provides added flexibility and allows for business logic to be written in practically any programming language. In addition, its unique approach to consensus, a round-robin Proof-of-Skate algorithm, is much better suited for permissioned blockchain scenarios than Proof-of-Work. Meher and Sebastien talk to Tendermint co-founders, Jae Kwon, Dustin Byington and Ethan Buchman, about this promising new blockchain protocol and how it is different from other projects we’ve seen so far. Topics covered in this episode: How Tendermint came to be and how it has evolved since its creation Smart contract programming and the Tendermint Socket Protocol (TMSP) How Tendermint makes use of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) Tendermint’s approach to PoS consensus and its scalability benefits Use case for permissioned and public blockchains Future plans and business models Episode links: Tendermint Tendermint for fast settlements Tendermint vs PBFT Tendermint specification This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/113

Permissionable blockchains have gained much attention from enterprise this past year, and specifically, the traditional fiance and FinTech sectors. As new protocols emerge and the technology is matures, it is becoming apparent they are simply a new class of database, one which integrates business logic (smart contracts) and a consensus layer (PoS, PoW, etc). is the CEO of Eris Industries, a company which specializes in building permissioned blockchain systems for enterprise. Their aim is to deliver the technologies which enable companies to easily build and deploy applications which make use of blockchain and smart contract technologies. Topics covered in this episode: Casey’s impressive background as an engineer, Marine soldier, lawyer and startup founder Eris Industries and what the company is trying to achieve Permissionable blockchains and their usefulness in industrial applications Smart contracts, how to explain them and legal status How blockchains can be used to revolutionize the way organizations construct business processes The idea of Blockchains-as-a-Service The various use cases for blockchain technologies Episode links: Eris Industries 2Gather This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/112

Andrew Miller is a computer science PhD student at the University of Maryland who focuses on cryptocurrency. Having gotten involved in Bitcoin in 2011 and focused on cryptocurrencies early in his research work, he is one of the most prolific researchers in the field. Our discussion mainly focused on security aspects of Ethereum including their gas model, Proof-of-Work algorithm and plans to switch to Proof-of-Stake. Topics covered in this episode: How he got involved in doing research on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies The blossoming of academic interest in the topic His work on analyzing Ethereum’s gas model Potential vulnerabilities of the Gas model Ethereum’s PoW algorithm How Ethereum handles the block size limit Episode links: Andrew's University Website Ethereum Analysis: Gas Economics and Proof of Work Overview Ethereum Analysis: Gas Economics Ledger Journal Hawk: Privacy-Preserving Smart Contracts This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/111

With over 600,000 views, James D’Angelo’s educational videos at the World Bitcoin Network are among the most popular resources on Bitcoin. Besides his excellent technical explanation, he has also been vocal about the dangers of the increasing centralization of mining. James joined us to talk about his background as a rapper, the World Bitcoin Network, his proposal to use the Bitcoin blockchain to fight climate change and his argument that keeping Bitcoin decentralized would require sacrificing the anonymity of miners. Topics covered in this episode: How he first learned about Bitcoin and started the World Bitcoin Network His proposals on identity and climate change The crucial mistake Satoshi made in designing Bitcoin Why none of the current ideas can solve the underlying problem of the centralization of mining power Why decentralization should be the only design criterion for Bitcoin His Axiom: That anonymity and decentralization of miners are inversely correlated How Identity-based Mining could foster decentralization Episode links: World Bitcoin Network YouTube channel Article about his Sno-Caps proposal to use Bitcoin to fight climate change Sno-Caps Whitepaper Bitcoin Nodes and Noses A new mystery about Satoshi hidden in the Bitcoin block-chain 'Typical American' from James D'Angelo earlier rap band The Goats James D'Angelo's talk 'What is the Bitcoin Revolution?' Bitcoin in Uganda video with James This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/110

Identity is probably one of the most important constructs in our society. In our modern world, protecting one’s identity has become complex, as we no longer rely solely on governments to prove who we are. In addition, most identity sources can be easily compromised. Credit cards and social security numbers weren’t developed with the Internet in mind, and other identifiers such as logins and passwords aren’t well suited truly secure authentication and authorisation. We’re joined by Tim Pastoor, Founder of 2way.io, to discuss how we can improve control of our identities using concepts borrowed from Bitcoin. Tim walks us through how people could better manage different identities and build reputation networks using Identifi, a global address book protocol invented by Martti Malmi, one of the very first Bitcoin users. We also talk what role this system could play in the future as autonomous agents and artificial intelligence become more prevalent. Topics covered in this episode: The history of identity systems and how traditional identity systems are broken How the invention of Blockchain technologies changed the way we think of identity The Identifi protocol and how it works How we can build reputation through Webs of Trust (WoT) The future of identity and how Identifi could provide ID for IoT, robots, autonomous agents and artificial intelligence 2Way.io and what the company is trying to achieve Episode links: 2Way Identifi protocol Identifi service This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/109

The Bitcoin and blockchain industry has been through a lot this year. While the Bitcoin price has experienced relative stability, perhaps indicating slow growth, the space has grown into a rich and diverse ecosystem of startups and open technologies. Through inspiring proof-of-concepts and exciting use cases, blockchain technologies have gained legitimacy as a viable technology to improve transparency, reduce costs and optimise processes, to name a few of it’s benefits. In this episode, all three Epicenter Bitcoin hosts, Brian, Sebastien and Meher, come together to look back on the events which marked the space this past year, and speculate on where thing may be heading in the future. Topics covered in this episode: Shift in focus from Bitcoin to blockchain technologies Public vs. private blockchain debate Bitcoin blocksize debate Media censorship and r/Bitcoin dictatorship Ethereum and it’s flourishing ecosystem Sebastien’s new startup: Stratumn This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/108

Gideon Greenspan, a computer scientist and CEO/Founder of the Israeli startup Coin Sciences, joined us for a discussion of their private blockchain platform MultiChain. Besides diving into the popular question of what’s the point of a private blockchain, we covered his earlier colored coins implementation as well as his view that blockchains are best understood as a novel database paradigm. Topics covered in this episode: How Gideon got involved in the blockchain space Their colored coins implementation MultiSpark and why it failed to get traction Why he saw a market for an open-source private blockchain platform and started MultiChain What mining diversity is and how it is used for consensus in MultiChain How permissions work in MultiChain The issues of privacy in blockchains and why you can’t have auditability and privacy How private blockchains differ from regular distributed databases The five criteria to decide if a project needs a blockchain The problem he sees with smart contract blockchains Episode links: Multichain website Multichain Whitepaper Colored coin protocol CoinSpark Avoiding the pointless blockchain project Private blockchains are more than 'just' shared databases Smart contracts: The good, the bad and the lazy This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/107

Christian Decker is a PhD student at ETH Zurich, where he is currently finishing up the world’s first PhD thesis entirely about Bitcoin. The computer scientist has been part of the Bitcoin community since 2009 and just recently turned off his last miner after 6.5 years! We talked about the current scalability debate and what his research indicated what blocksize could reasonably be handled today. We also discussed his proposal for Duplex Micropayment Channels. Like the Lightning Network, Duplex Channels use a network of payment channels to enable cheap, instant and trustless offchain transactions. The proposal, which he is currently implementing, is one of the most promising approaches to scaling Bitcoin. Topics covered in this episode: How losing 9000 btc got him on the front page of the New York Times The scaling Bitcoin debate and what blocksize could be handled today How payment channels work and could be used for off-chain transactions The advantages Duplex Micropayment Channels have with regards to privacy The differences between Duplex and the Lightning Network Whether off-chain transactions could work on Ethereum as well Episode links: Christian Decker's ETH homepage A Fast and Scalable Payment Network with Bitcoin Duplex Micropayment Channels [PDF] Bitcoin Meets Strong Consistency [PDF] Information Propagation in the Bitcoin Network [PDF] Epicenter Bitcoin Lightning Network Episode This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/106

With Proof-of-Stake (PoS) a blockchain is secured not by spending an external resource such as electricity but by using value internal to the chain itself. The promise of higher security at a lower cost is what also drives Ethereum to plan a move away from Proof-of-Work to PoS in the future. Ethereum researcher Vlad Zamfir, who leads their effort in the complex search for the optimal PoS consensus system joined us for an in-depth discussion of the challenges of PoS, the approach Casper is taking and what consensus in Ethereum land could look like in the future. Topics covered in this episode: How he became interested in consensus and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) Why Ethereum plans to switch to the PoS systems Casper in the future What the Long-Range Attack and Nothing-at-Stake problems are and how Casper addresses them How a betting mechanism is used to get validators to reach consensus What centralization pressures exist for validators and what operating a validator will look like The role of security deposits in Casper The difference between Tendermint and Casper Whether forks create big UI/UX issues for Casper Why Casper is very light client friendly Episode links: Introducing Casper - Ethereum Blog Review of Casper, Ethereum’s proposed Proof of Stake Algorithm Casper Protocol Specification Slasher, Ghost and Other Developments in Proof-of-Stake Epicenter Bitcoin Episode 58 with Vitalik Buterin on Proof-of-Stake This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/105

Businesses with the alleged potential to become the next Google are plentiful in Bitcoin-land, but finding actual commercial success is a lot harder. The best example of a commercial success is gift card company Gyft that became known as the first place to give access to a wide range of merchants for bitcoin holders and later achieved the largest exit so far in the crypto space in an acquisition by payments company First Data. Gyft CTO joined us to talk about how he got involved in FinTech, what makes gift cards so interesting and how recently Gyft has been trying to reinvent gift cards by using the power of the blockchain. Topics covered in this episode: Giyom’s early involvement in FinTech in the early 2000s His previous projects Bernal Bucks and Credibles that explored gift cards and alternative currencies Why gift cards are a great place for financial innovation The mechanics of gift cards today and why their security is broken How Gyft Block can improve the security of gift cards using the blockchain Why Gyft moved their gift cards off the Bitcoin blockchain onto private blockchains Giyom’s view on the utility of Bitcoin and private blockchains Episode links: Giyom's blog Gyft’s Giyom Lebleu: Following Linux ‘The Most Likely Path for Bitcoin’ [CoinJournal] Future of Money Interview. Part I. On Credibles and owning digital currencies issued by brands you love Gyft Payments giant First Data acquires Gyft in an effort to bring digital gift cards to the masses [Pando] Gift Block Bernal Bucks Credibles This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/104

One of the concerns confronting the Bitcoin community is that of scaling the transaction throughput rate: How do we go from the current rate of approx. 5 transactions per second to a thousand times that? In this episode, we talk to Emin Gun Sirer and Ittay Eyal from Cornell University regarding Bitcoin NG; a next generation Bitcoin blockchain design that addresses some protocol based limitations preventing Bitcoin from increasing transaction throughput. Their proposal also enables fast (initial) transaction confirmations on the order of 10-20 seconds. Topics covered in this episode: Metrics to measure the security and fairness properties of Nakamoto consensus as implemented in Bitcoin. A network emulation of Bitcoin designed by their team to study properties of Bitcoin network. Technical design of Bitcoin NG Concerns with Bitcoin NG Impact of Bitcoin NG on various stakeholders if it is adopted in the main Bitcoin network. Episode links: Bitcoin-NG White Paper Bitcoin-NG: A Secure, Faster, Better Blockchain Bitcoin-NG and the Blockchain Test bed (Scaling Bitcoin Workshop Slides) This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/103

Among the dividing themes in the Bitcoin space is the idea of public versus private blockchains. While some argue that private and permissioned blockchains can offer better scalability and lower latency for enterprises, others insist the Bitcoin blockchain will offer the best level of security and robustness longterm. Recently, projects have emerged that propose the best of both worlds by leveraging both off-chain and on-chain transactions. This is the idea behind Openchain, an “open source distributed ledger technology, suited for organizations wishing to issue and manage digital assets in a robust, secure and scalable way.” Openchain uses a client-server model where there is only one authoritative validating node. Read-only observer nodes keep the central node honest by auditing transactions in real time. About every 10 minutes, a copy of the Ledger, and its transactions, is hashed and inserted into a Bitcoin transaction so that it can be fossilised in the blockchain. We’re joined by Flavien Charlon, the one-man operation behind Predictious, Coinprism, the Open Transactions Protocol and now Openchain. We talk about this fascinating new software, which aims to offer enterprises a digital ledger protocol that is highly scalable while enjoying the benefits of the Bitcoin blockchain for immutability. Topics covered in this episode: Flavien gives an update on Coinprism and his other projects The Openchain protocol and what it’s trying to achieve The technical architecture of Openchain and the client-server model it implements How Openchain uses the Bitcoin blockchain to “anchor” transactions into every block Openchain’s consensus model The ability for Openchain to interoperate with other ledgers and blockchains Flavien’s thoughts on what the ecosystem might look like in 10 years Episode links: Openchain Openchain Docs This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/102

A brilliant fact about crypto-economic blockchains is that they enable the construction of naming systems that transcend limits imposed by Zooko’s triangle. Traditional naming systems such as human names, Domain Name System (DNS) and Facebook profile names are subject to Zooko’s triangle and cannot be secure, human memorable and decentralised at once. For instance human names such as Meher Roy are human-memorable and decentralised but not secure (nothing prevents hundreds of people being called Meher Roy). Domain Names like are secure and human-memorable but require a central authority to hand out names. OneName leverages Bitcoin to build a Global Identification system called blockchain ID. Blockchain IDs for users can be associated with real world identity data such as social media profiles, government issued papers etc. In this episode we converse with Ryan Shea and Muneeb Ali, co-founders and leaders of OneName, Blockstore and BlockStack. They explain the rationale and vision behind their push for a Global Decentralised Identification and Verification system. Topics covered in this episode: Zooko’s triangle and how Bitcoin breaks the triangle The general idea behind blockchain ID, how it works and its component transactions Why OneName migrated their blockchain ID system from the Namecoin to the Bitcoin blockchain Technical design of Blockstore and how it enables decentralised storage and association of large datasets to blockchain IDs Vision and use cases for Decentralised Identity, authentication and identity verification. The notion of Probabilistic Identity Episode links: Intentional Naming System Zooko's triangle Why Onename is Migrating to the Bitcoin Blockchain Blockchain ID Organization of Schemas Blockstack BlockStore This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/101

We’ve made it to episode 100! Our guest for our celebratory episode is Juan Benet, inventor of the Inter-Planetary File System and founder of Protocol Labs. IPFS is a distributed file system that seeks to connect all computing devices with the same system of files. The possibilities for IPFS could range from distributed cloud hosting to websites without central servers to even replacing HTTP. It’s a project as audacious as any we’ve had on the podcast and Juan did an outstanding job explaining the technology and vision. Topics covered in this episode: Why HTTP is broken and how IPFS could complement and ultimately replace it The different technologies IPFS is based on including DHT, Git, Bittorrent and SFS How IPFS could enable the ‘permanent web’ by distributing file storage Content-addressing and how hosting works on IPFS Mutable content and the Interplanetary Naming System (IPNS) Filecoin and incentivizing hosting on IPFS Why IPFS is a great fit for smart contracts How he wants to build and monetize core internet protocols with his company Protocol Labs Episode links: IPFS website IPFS whitepaper (PDF) Replication on IPFS Neocities blog post Filecoin Protocol Labs This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/100

One of the key innovations of Bitcoin is the ability to easily implement payment channels. A number of use cases have been discussed or demonstrated, among which is the idea of pay-per-use. This is particularly useful when charging for things like WiFi or streaming video by the second. With this in mind, one could imagine a line of communication between two peers, where data flows in one direction and payments flow in the other. This is the idea behind Streamium, a free and open-source service which allows content creators to stream live video directly to viewers, and get paid instantly. We’re joined by Manuel Aráoz and , the two brilliant software engineers from Argentina who created Streamium. They have worked together on numerous Bitcoin projects these past few years, including ProofOfExistence.com, Faradam, Decentraland, RelayStore, and actively contributed to the BitCore javascript library. Topics covered in this episode: The current state of Bitcoin in Argentina The general idea behind Streamium, how it works and its technical components How payment channels are implemented in Streamium and its various use cases The Faradam project The prospect of alternative content funding models made possible by Bitcoin micropayments Proof-of-existence and what innovations blockchain technologies brings to data notarization The Decentraland project and the vision for a blockchain-based virtual reality Episode links: Streamium Faradam Decentraland Proof of Existence The Mental Accounting Barrier to Micropayments by Nick Szabo Manuel Aráoz's About.me profile Esteban Ordano's personal website This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/099

When invented the concept of prediction markets almost thirty years ago, he felt he had stumbled on a concept with huge implications. By allowing people to bet on the likelihood of future events, prediction markets promise to allow better forecasts and better decision making. Research into the area has been vibrant, culminating in Hanson’s concept of Futarchy: A prediction-market based governance system. At the same time, the real-world applications have been few and far. Hanson, an associate professor of economics at George Mason University, joined us to discuss his invention, futarchy and the challenges of disruptive technology. Topics covered in this episode: How prediction markets can surface information The history of prediction markets How futarchy works Whether futarchy could settle the blocksize debate Why prediction markets failed to get wide adoption How Bitcoin is facing a similar adoption challenge Episode links: Science 'The Promise of Prediction Markets' (PDF) Futarchy: Vote Values, But Bet Beliefs Robin Hanson's Blog Overcoming Bias This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/098

Prediction markets are considered one of the most promising applications of blockchain technology. Although the concept and some early implementations have existed for years, decentralized prediction markets present a number of advantages to their centralized counterparts. joins us to discuss Truthcoin, a “Peer-to-Peer Oracle Protocol which absorbs accurate data into a blockchain so that Bitcoin-users can speculate in Prediction Markets”. We dive deep to explore the advantages of decentralized prediction markets, their various real-world applications, and their potential to revolutionize the creation and propagation of knowledge in our society. On this episode, we are thrilled to introduce a new co-host on Epicenter Bitcoin, Meher Roy. He has a biochemical engineering background and previously worked as an adviser to HyperLedger. Since discovering Bitcoin, he spends most of his free time understanding blockchain technology and its potential impact on our lives. We’re confident that Meher will bring a high level of understanding and critical thinking to the topics we cover, and we’re certain our listeners will be as happy as we are to have him on the show. Topics covered in this episode: What are prediction markets and why they are useful The mechanics of prediction markets The potential for prediction markets to provide useful aggregation to today’s abundant information The parallels between crowd intelligence and artificial intelligence The different components of Truthcoin and the state of the project How Truthcoin differs from other decentralized prediction markets Episode links: Truthcoin Website This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/097

It is often said that technology is neutral. It’s certainly commonplace for Bitcoin to be thought of as such. In reality, technologies may be characterized as an embodiment of human intention, and therefore, cannot be considered as culturally or politically neutral. At least, this is the opinion of our guest, . A research scientist at MIT Media Lab and CEO of ID3, a nonprofit which aims to deploy a new generation of trusted digital institutions, John has spent the last seven decades researching the interaction between technology and society. He joins us for a fascinating discussion on the flaws of our institutions in present day society and how we can leverage technology to build a new social ecosystem. Topics covered in this episode: The political values of Bitcoin The idea of cooperative currencies The current state of identity and data ownership, and how it may be improved The governance of decentralized technologies How cybernetics and self-organizing systems may be applied to governance The Open Mustard Seed framework Episode links: ID3 Institute for Data-Driven Design From Bitcoin to Burning Man and Beyond From Bitcoin to Burning Man and Beyond (Amazon) Open Mustard Seed Talk by John Clippinger: Bitcoin and Beyond This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/096

As the debate about forks, the blocksize and decision making in Bitcoin continues, we are joined by Adam Back. Adam is best known for his invention hash-cash which became one of the fundamental building blocks of Bitcoin. He is also the inventor of the sidechains concept and founder and president of Blockstream, the single biggest employer of Bitcoin core developers. With Adam we talked about the different blocksize proposals and how a decentralized cryptocurrency should be governed in general. He is an influential conservative voice in the current debate and has been warning that a rapid increase of the blocksize could undermine the decentralization of Bitcoin. Topics covered in this episode: Adam’s concerns with Bitcoin XT and the approach by Gavin Andresen and Mike Hearn Why Adam favors a slower blocksize increase to preserve decentralization How Bitcoin will function as a settlement network in the medium-term with the bulk of transactions going through the Lightning Network or sidechains Why forks are in Bitcoin are different from forks in other open source projects The upcoming Scaling Bitcoin workshop in Montreal Episode links: Scaling Bitcoin Montreal Event Blockstream Gavin Andresen's BIP 101 Jeff Garzik's BIP 100 Adam Back's blocksize proposal List of different blocksize proposals This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/095

As the debate about the blocksize continues to roar through the Bitcoin community, Gavin Andresen joins us to take a step back and ask the big questions: How should these decisions be made in the first place? What does the governance of Bitcoin look like now and what do we want it to look like in the future? In a challenging time for Bitcoin, it’s a critical discussion to have with the Chief Scientist of the Bitcoin Foundation and successor of Satoshi. We cover everything from the current blocksize debate to the nature of forks to how decisions will be made in Bitcoin XT. Topics covered in this episode: MIT Digital Currency Initiative The way Gavin thinks about Bitcoin How were decisions made throughout Bitcoin’s history What the Nakamoto/market consensus is Forking the software vs a fork of the blockchain Who should make decisions in Bitcoin and how the interest of different stakeholders should be reconciled Why the desirable state is to move towards many different implementations How decisions will be made for the Bitcoin XT code base Episode links: Eli Durado: How should Bitcoin be governed? Arvind Narayanan: Bitcoin faces a crossroads, needs an effective decision-making process Matt Asay: Why you should fork your next open-source project Robles & Gonzalez-Barahona, A comprehensive study of software forks Chinese Mining Pools Call for Consensus; Refuse Switch to Bitcoin XT Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies - Chapter 7: Community, Politics, and Regulation BIP 100 Proposal This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/094

Ever since the financial system collapsed in 2007, the call for alternatives has grown louder. Bitcoin itself can be seen as such an alternative. Simon Dixon’s search for a way to put capitalism on a sounder financial footing began before Bitcoin with a focus on equity crowdfunding. Since then he has built Bank to the Future into an innovative crowdfunding business that takes an aggressive contrarian stance. He has also launched an investment fund focused on cryptocurrencies together with Max Keiser called Bitcoin Capital. He joined us for a fascinating discussion about the flaws of the banking system, Bitcoin and the search for alternatives. Note: Our sponsor Vaultoro is raising an equity crowdfunding round on Bank to the Future. Read about the details and invest here: Topics covered in this episode: Why capitalism is built on a broken banking system The problems Bitcoin solves The flawed ways banks approach blockchain technology How Bank to the Future is a contrarian bet on the financial system Bitcoin Capital, the fund he started with Max Keiser How Bitcoin Capital and BnkToTheFuture work together Episode links: Bitcoin Capital Tranche 2 'Bank to the Future' Book on Amazon Bitcoin Capital on the Keiser Report Simon Dixon TEDx Talk Money Creation in the Modern Economy Naked Capitalism This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/093

In a long-overdue episode, we finally had the chance to dive into one of the most known but poorly understood cryptocurrency/blockchain project: Ripple. Reviled by many in the Bitcoin space, we put aside any prejudices and sat down for a fascinating conversation with Ripple Labs CTO Stefan Thomas. We talked about his early days in the Bitcoin space, how Ripple came about, what the Ripple network looks like today and how its consensus protocol works. Topics covered in this episode: ‘ early experiences in the Bitcoin space How Ripple was created The problem Ripple is trying to solve How the Ripple consensus algorithm works Whether Ripple is decentralized or not What the correspondent banking system is and how Ripple wants to disrupt it The recent FinCen fine and what it means for Ripple Episode links: Ripple Ripple Labs Ripple Labs Fined $700,000 by FinCen Richard Gendal Brown: The Deep Insight at Ripple's Cores Peter Todd Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm Review Ripple Consensus Protocol Whitepaper This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/092

Close to two years after the initial whitepaper, the revolutionary Ethereum network has finally launched. The decentralized smart contract platform is, without a doubt, the most exciting cryptocurrency project since Bitcoin. The versatile platform with its turing-complete scripting language aspires to power the distributed applications of the future. Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin joined us for the second time to discuss the Frontier Launch, future plans for scalability, governance and the road ahead for the organization and the protocol. Topics covered in this episode: Ethereum’s frontier launch and the upcoming development stages The plans for how to create a scalable blockchain architecture The thinking around transitioning to proof-of-stake The state and new board of the Ethereum Foundation How Ethereum’s development will be funded in the longer term His thoughts on the governance of Ethereum and Bitcoin When private blockchains make sense and if Ethereum What mistakes were made during the development of Ethereum This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/091

Bitcoin mining and the intricate game theory that surround it is a topic that we’ve visited many times. Difficult to grasp in its complexity, it is these dynamics that determine the security of Bitcoin in the short and in the longer term. This time we were joined by none other than Dave Hudson. He is the author of the leading mining blog hashingit.com, VP of Software at PeerNova and had a long career in chip manufacturing including at Qualcomm. We talked about dynamics in the mining market, security issues with Bitcoin’s design and his data-informed views on the blocksize debate. Topics covered in this episode: How he became interested in mining and what metrics he finds most interesting How miners would be affected by a blocksize increase The flaws in Satoshi’s design of the reward scheme Why transaction fees will not make up for the block reward decrease in 2016 and why that will lessen the security of Bitcoin The long-term role of Bitcoin as a settlement network The problem with accepting 0-conf transactions The future of mining and why 21 Inc’s plans seem nonsensical Episode links: Dave's Personal Blog Waiting for blocks The Myth of the Megabyte Bitcoin Block The Future of Transactions Fees Bitcoin SF Devs Seminar: A deep dive into understanding Bitcoin mining hashrates Dave's company PeerNova This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/090

Amidst all the discussion of alternative uses of blockchains, it is often forgotten that the very first fork of Bitcoin, Namecoin, pursued a daring vision for a decentralized, censorship-resistant internet. Greg Slepak, co-founder of the okTurtles Foundation joined us for an interesting discussion of DNS, Namecoin and how blockchains can be used to decentralize the internet. Topics covered in this episode: What DNS is and the role it plays in the architecture of the internet What man-in-the-middle attacks are and why certificate authorities offer poor protection How certificate authorities, SSL, IP routing and VPNs work Why the current model is broken from a privacy and security perspective How Namecoin and the blockchain could enable a decentralized and more secure internet The security risks when online identity is tied to a private key and how they could be mitigated What DNSChain is and what projects okTurtles is working on Episode links: okTurtles Foundation Namecoin Primer Namecoin Website Airplane Wifi is not safe DNSChain demo This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/089

In this episode, we revisited the perennial topic of digital currency regulation with Siân Jones, our regulatory correspondent and founder of the regulation-focused virtual currency consultancy COINSULT. With the final version of the BitLicense, what may turn out to be the most influential document for digital currency regulation, is now out. Besides diving into many different aspects of the onerous BitLicense, we talked about California’s coming rules, how Bitcoin startups will be affected and the implications of Ripple’s fine. NOTE: Since the episode was recorded the advocate general at the EU Court of Justice recommended that Bitcoin be exempt from VAT. Topics covered in this episode: A brief primer on BitLicense and the process by which it emerged What the key aspects of BitLicense are and how they changed through the revisions Why BitLicense will stifle innovation by dramatically increasing the cost and bureaucratic burden of running a digital currency startups How different companies are responding to the rules Why California’s virtual currency draft bill got a lot of things right What Ripple got fined for and why FinCEN could go after most cryptocurrency startups for the same reasons The status of the European Court of Justice case on VAT Episode links: NY BitLicense rules and regulations California's virtual currency draft bill FinCEN fines Ripple Labs Inc. What Ripple's FinCEN fine means for the digital currency industry Canada Senate digital currency report ECJ official proposes Bitcoin VAT exemption Siân's company COINSULT This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/088

Solving the pain points of online payments was the applications that garnered the most attention in Bitcoin’s early days. In recent times, as consumer adoption of Bitcoin payments has been underwhelming much of that attention has shifted elsewhere. Nevertheless, companies keep working hard on making the vision of a universal, global payment system a reality. Among those companies, one stands out as the top contender to compete with existing payment systems: Bitnet. Funded with a heavy warchest and the company is ran by veterans of Visa and Cybersource, a company started in 1994 to help merchants accept credit cards online that was sold to Visa in 2007 for $2bn. They have been working behind the scenes to get Bitcoin to break through with merchants. CEO John McDonnell joined us for an important discussion of how online payments work today, why they are broken and how Bitcoin will revolutionize the industry. Topics covered in this episode: The story of Cybersource and payments in the early day of the internet The pain points with online payments for merchants and consumers today The role of the different actors such as payment processors, card networks, merchants and issuing banks The niches where Bitcoin payments could break through first Why coming from inside the payment industry provides Bitnet with a huge advantage Why they are focusing on Payment Service Providers instead of acquiring merchants directly His view on BitLicense and how it will affect Bitcoin payment processors Episode links: Bitnet Richard Gendal Brown: Why the payment card system works the way it does Richard Gendal Brown: Simple explanation of fees in the payment card industry Wikipedia e-commerce credit card payment systems This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/087

Peter Thiel argued in his book ‘Zero to One’ that the way to build a great and highly profitable company is to build a monopoly. But with decentralized technologies, there is a real question whether these monopolies can be built or whether the monopolies will end up being publicly owned goods (like Bitcoin) that can’t be monetized directly. William Mougayar, who is an experienced tech executive and angel investor, has been writing extensively about these issues and was one of the investors in OB1, the venture-backed company launched by the founders of the decentralized market place Open Bazaar. He joined us for a discussion of the cryptocurrency space, Ethereum, Open Bazaar and monetizing decentralized technologies. Topics covered in this episode: Bitcoin as the new, thin cloud His long-term predictions about where the space is going What kind of business models are the most promising Why he chose to invest in OB1, the company behind Open Bazaar What the state of Venture Capital in the cryptocurrency space is Episode links: Predictions in Cryptography, Blockchains and Consensus Protocols The Old Cloud is Dead, Welcome the New Cloud The Business Imperative Behind the Ethereum Vision An Operational Framework for DAOs Union Square Ventures: Introducing OB1 Peter Thiel: Competition is for Losers This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/086

Revolutionary progress doesn’t happen without lots of work and in the case of Bitcoin that requires many different startups building technology. Few have contributed to this as much as Silicon Valley based startup accelerator Boost VC, which has been focusing on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency startups since 2013. Focusing exclusively on Bitcoin for an extended time, they’ve invested in companies such as Blockcypher, Coinprism, Coinjar, Mirror, Snapcard, Zapchain and many others. Boost VC Founder Adam Draper joined us to discuss running an accelerator, their investment thesis and why they’ve chosen to add Virtual / Augmented Reality startups to the program. NOTE: Applications to join the next tribe of Boost startups can be submitted until Wednesday July 1. If you’re interested in applying go here: Topics covered in this episode: The qualities they look for in companies (8:50) What the overarching Boost VC investement thesis is (14:40) His view on the BitLicense rules and how they affect cryptocurrency startups (38:14) How regulatory concerns have risen among their startups (41:40) Why they chose to add Virtual / Augmented Reality to the program (47:50) Episode links: Boost VC Adam Draper: New York's BitLicense Will Hurt Startup Incubators William H. Draper III: The Startup Game But with bitcoins... AB 129 California Cryptocurrency Law This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/085

One topic that is guaranteed to cause heated discussion among cryptocurrency enthusiasts is the idea that blockchains can be controlled by known validators and function without an underlying cryptocurrency. Some think this is a non-sensical idea fabricated by those spineless enough to want to appease regulators and but clueless enough to miss the whole point of cryptocurrencies. But others believe that Bitcoin is unsuited for a lof of ‘Bitcoin 2.0’ applications and that permissioned ledgers have wide-reaching potential to increase efficiency and transparency. Tim Swanson joined us for an important discussion of permissioned ledgers. He’s among their best-known proponents and has recently published a whitepaper discussing how they work and looking at different startups in the space. Topics covered in this episode: Why the ‘blockchains without bitcoin’ idea is so controversial Why it is strange that KYC is done widely on Bitcoin users but not on the validators Why even semi-decentralized blockchains can provide big efficiency gains Why the 51% attack possibility is an obstacle for the use of the Bitcoin as a settlement network Why financial institutions don’t care about censorship resistance but do care about irreversibility Episode links: Tim Swanson: Permissioned Distributed Ledgers Whitepaper Tim Swanson: Needing a Token to Operate a Distributed Ledger is a Red Herring Robert Sams: No, Bitcoin is not the future of securities settlement JP Koning: Why bitcoin has failed to achieve liftoff as a medium of exchange This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/084

Many people think of Bitcoin as the ultimate contender against the power of central banks, most importantly the Federal Reserve System. But that is certainly not the only way that cryptocurrencies and the blockchain can be used and one particularly interesting idea is that central banks could issue their own cryptocurrencies. To discuss how this could be done and what the consequences could be we were joined by David Andolfatto, a Vice President of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and a professor of Economics at Simon Fraser University. The views and opinions expressed by ou guest are his own and should in no way be attributed to his employer. Topics covered in this episode: What makes good money? How does Bitcoin fare in comparison? What is Fedcoin and how could it work? Why the tension between a governments desire for control and the desires for ‘permissionless innovation’ could make this difficult to implement Whether Fedcoin would threaten fractional reserve banking Why competition between currencies, both governmental and non-governmental, could be a good thing Episode links: David Andolfatto: Why Gold and Bitcoin Make Lousy Money David Andolfatto: On the Desirability of a Government Cryptocurrency Business Insider Interview with David Andolfatto Robert Sams: Seignorage Shares This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/083

Whether the block size should be increased to 20MB has created more controversy than any other question in Bitcoin’s recent history. For some, it is an urgent and necessary step in Bitcoin’s evolution. Their view is that leaving the block size at 1MB would be irresponsible inaction with potentially catastrophic consequences. Others see increasing the block size as unnecessary and a dangerous first step down a slippery slope towards a more centralized Bitcoin. We were joined by Mike Hearn, along with Gavin Andresen the most outspoken supporter of a block size increase. He is also the creator of Bitcoin XT, a modified fork of Bitcoin Core, that may become the vehicle for the push for bigger blocks if no agreement is reached regarding Bitcoin Core. Don’t miss this crucial conversation! Topics covered in this episode: What would happen if blocks started being consistently full Whether bigger blocks create a centralization risk Why Bitcoin core development has become pervaded with toxic division What Bitcoin XT is and how it differs from Bitcoin Core The roadmap ahead and how a transition to BitcoinXT would occur Update on Lighthouse Episode links: The Capacity Cliff Crash Landing Let's Talk Bitcoin! #217 The Bitcoin Block Size Discussion Gavin Andresen Moves Ahead with Push for Bigger Blocks Bitcoin Dev Mailing List Lighthouse This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/082

From the mysterious creation story, to the early development among a small group of cypherpunks, to the emergence of the Silk Road, the collapse of MtGox, to the entry of a tidal wave of VC money and the Silicon Valley elite, Bitcoin’s short history has been action-packed. It’s no surprise that this could make for a riveting story and NY Times journalist Nathaniel Popper’s book ‘Digital Gold – Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money’ is precisely that. Popper joined us for a conversation about his must-read book about the remarkable story of Bitcoin. Topics covered in this episode: How Nathaniel Popper ended up writing a book about Bitcoin Why he chose ‘Digital Gold’ as a title and some of its different connotations Why he chose to focus on the people and stories of Bitcoin rather than the technology The story of the Silk Road and how it played such a critical role in the early days of Bitcoin How Xapo CEO Wences Casares came to play a crucial role in evangelizing Bitcoin among Silicon Valley’s power players The rising tension and passing of influence between the old, ideological guard and the newer Silicon Valley crew Episode links: Get 'Digital Gold' on Amazon Nathaniel Popper's website Can Bitcoin Conquer Argentina article Decoding the Enigma of Satoshi Nakamoto This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/081

Since Gavin Andresen’s proposal to increase the Bitcoin block size, how Bitcoin can scale to accommodate higher transaction volumes has been heatedly debated among developers. One of the most promising long-term options to allow near infinite scalability is the Lightning Network. Joseph Poon and , the co-authors of the whitepaper, joined us for a discussion of scalability and how the lightning network could allow massive numbers of off-chain transaction in a trustless way. Topics covered in this episode: Why Bitcoin has a scalability problem How payment channels work and the architecture of the Lightning Network Why the Lightning Network would still require a block size increase How transaction fees would work in the Lightning Network How the Bitcoin blockchain would take on a court-like function to ensure honest off-chain behavior The risks and downsides to the Lightning Network Episode links: Gavin Andresen - Why Increasing the Block Size is Urgent Mike Hearn - The Capacity Cliff Mike Hearn - Crash Landing Rusty Russell - Series on the Lightning Network Part 1 Rusty Russell - Series on the Lightning Network Part 2 Rusty Russell - Series on the Lightning Network Part 3 Rusty Russell - Series on the Lightning Network Part 4 Lightning Network Whitepaper Lightning Network website This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/080

Started in May 2013, Coinkite has by now almost advanced to senior citizen status in the short-lived Bitcoin startup space. CEO Rodolfo Novak joined us for a discussion about what drove their initial interest in Bitcoin, why they initially focused on providing ‘bank-like’ services and how they’ve transitioned to powering the infrastructure of countless Bitcoin startups with their API. We also discussed multi-sig and the business strategy they pursued that allowed them to be profitable and not require venture funding. Topics covered in this episode: How Coinkite started Why they have come away from calling themselves a Bitcoin bank Why they have been putting so much emphasis on multi-sig How they’ve ended up building an insane amount of features The transition of their business model to providing a powerful API for startups What the Bitcoin ecosystem in Toronto is like Episode links: Coinkite Coinkite-Ledger Partnership How to use Ledger Nano with Coinkite p2sh.info This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/079

The idea of using the Bitcoin blockchain to represent and track the ownership of off-chain assets is almost as old as Bitcoin itself. One of the startups that is pursuing this vision is Berlin-based Ascribe, which allows creators to register (‘ascribe’), transfer and archive digital art. Ascribe CTO joined us for a fascinating discussion of their ambitious goals to enable a so-far elusive secondary market for digital art, help creators monetize their work and ultimately retrofit an entire ownership layer to the internet. Topics covered in this episode: Why ownership in the internet is broken How Ascribe wants to realize the vision of Project Xanadu of an internet with bi-directional links and baked-in copyrights How the SPOOL (Secure Public Online Ownership Ledger) protocol works The components of the Ascribe tech stack How Ascribe will crawl and similarity-match the entire internet to retrofit an internet of ownership Why Ascribe focuses first on the digital art market Episode links: Ascribe SPOOL Protocol Cointemporary Project Xanadu Wikipedia Rewiring the Internet for Ownership with Big Data and Blockchains Slides This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/078

Few question that educating people about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies is one of the most important and challenging tasks to achieve mass adoption. And perhaps even fewer disagree that there is no one more gifted at communicating the revolutionary potential of Bitcoin than Andreas M. Antonopoulos. A technologist, entrepreneur, LTB host and author, he has been speaking, writing and educating about Bitcoin for years and become one of the most popular people in the Bitcoin space. He joined us to talk about his new book, his journey in the Bitcoin space, educating lawmakers about Bitcoin and the exciting future awaiting us. Topics covered in this episode: Why he wrote ‘Mastering Bitcoin’ and how the reception has been so far What he currently spends him time on How he introduces new people to Bitcoin What NOT to do when telling someone new about Bitcoin His experiences speaking in front of the Canadian and Australian Senate Why he believes in the community’s ability to keep evolving Bitcoin Episode links: University of Nicosia Digital Currency MOOC Canada Senate Hearing Disrupt Athens Talk Personal Website Mastering Bitcoin on github Mastering Bitcoin on Amazon This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/077

Bitcoin’s approach to solving the double spending problem is to make a collusion and attack on the network prohibitively expensive. One of the main factors that will determine Bitcoin’s chance of survival in the long-term is whether the behavior that maximizes the profits of miners contributes to or sabotages the health of the network. The game theory that determines this is complex and our understanding of it still incomplete. But research is increasing and two people who have been at the forefront of this work are , a professor in computer science at Cornell University, and Ittay Eyal, a post-doc at the same department. They joined us for a fascinating discussion of their work on ‘selfish mining’, the incetive structure that underlies Bitcoin and their recent positive conclusions from the Miner’s Dilemma. Topics covered in this episode: Emin Gün Sirer’s early interest in cryptocurrencies and work on a cryptocurrency to incentivize bittorrent users in 2004 What selfish mining is and how miners could profit from withholding blocks How an attacker would execute a selfish mining attack Why the miner’s dilemma implies that the equilibrium might be small mining pools Why the lack of security of clients and servers is holding back adoption Episode links: Selfish Mining paper (PDF) Miner's Dilemma blog post Miner's Dilemma paper (PDF) Hacking, Distributed Meni Rosenfeld's paper on mining pool reward systems (PDF) This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/076

As the cost of computing continues to plummet, the number of connected devices is increasing dramatically. In the future powerful computing capacity will be in billions of devices ranging from the lightbulb to the car door to new wearables. This new internet of things (IoT) will dramatically change our lives. Paul Brody, a Technology Strategist and the former VP of Mobile and IoT at IBM, joined us for a discussion of where the IoT is going. We discussed their white paper on why a decentralized, blockchain-based internet of things could solve the problems of the current IoT in terms of privacy, scalability, and business models. Topics covered in this episode: What the Internet of Things and its core value proposition is Why the current IoT business models are broken How a decentralized IoT infrastructure would be more secure, scalable and economically feasible What role the blockchain could play in a decentralized IoT The three components of IBM’s ADEPT proof-of-concept Episode links: IBM Democracy of Devices Whitepaper Paul Brody IFA Talk IBM Empowering the Edge Report IBM Empowering the Edge Use Cases IBM & Samsung ADEPT Demo at CES This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/075

In the crowded race to become the leading ‘Bitcoin 2.0’ platform, Counterparty has stood out by avoiding fancy crowdsales and instead building a platform that works. The protocol, which sits on top of Bitcoin and thus benefits from the security of its mining power, allows issuing assets, paying dividends or trading in a decentralized way. Over the past year, it has been the platform of choice for many crowdsales and is also what powers LTBCoin. Co-Founder Robby Dermody joined us for a discussion of the features and evolution of the project. Topics covered in this episode: Why they create the initial XCP supply by destroying bitcoins What the different components of the Counterparty system are What distinguishes embedded consensus systems like Counterparty Why crowdfunding has become a major use case for Counterparty Why Counterparty’s Ethereum-style smart contracts will play an important role in the future Their new company Symbiont, which aims to commercialize Counterparty’s technology Episode links: Counterparty Counterparty Architecture Devon Weller A Specification for the Counterparty Protocol Counterwallet Symbiont Blockscan Voting Scoreboard This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/074

The cryptocurrency ecosystem is increasingly divided into different camps. There are those betting and working on the eventual mainstream success of Bitcoin. And there are those who take elements of Bitcoin’s technology and repurpose them to improve existing systems. Hyperledger is one of the projects firmly in the latter camp. They are envisioning a world where innumerable interoperable ledgers are operated by different parties. Hyperledger is their tool for the creation and management of these ledgers. CEO Dan O’Prey and CTO joined us for a discussion of the project, underlying technology and their view of where the cryptocurrency ecosystem is going. Topics covered in this episode: Why Hyperledger is trying so solve a fundamentally different problem than Bitcoin How networks consisting of known parties can have massive performance and scalability advantages over anonymous networks Why Hyperledger doesn’t have or need its own currency How Hyperledger can vary the degree of decentralization and security depending on use-case Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) Episode links: Hyperledger Meher Roy’s Internet of Money Whitepaper Practical Bynzantine Fault Tolerance This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/073

When one is busy driving a technological and societal revolution forward, complying with complicated regulatory requirements is rarely a top priority. Yet, the reality is that at this stage the often ambigious and rapidly evolving regulatory landscape can have an outsized impact on the fate of cryptocurrency startups and on the adoption/integration into existing systems. Epicenter Bitcoin Regulatory Correspondent and founder of COINsult Siân Jones joined us for an update on the state of Bitcoin regulation in a variety of jurisdiction. Topics covered in this episode: The recent statement by the UK’s treasury on digital currencies How the Isle of Man keeps pioneering a cryptocurrency-friendly environment The stance of the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) towards Bitcoin The insanity of the looming BitLicense rules and difficult-to-predict consequences they may have Episode links: COINsult UK HM Treasury: Digital Currencies - Response to the Call for Information Isle of Man Introduces Regulation for Bitcoin Businesses California Bill Proposes License Requirement for Bitcoin Businesses Bitlicense Comment Period Closes This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/072

Creating a new token and selling it to fund the development of software has become a preferred way of fundraising for cryptocurrency entrepreneurs. It’s a tempting tool, allowing startups to avoid traditional investors, build a community and allow anyone anywhere to own a stake in the project. For participants, there is the promise of big financial upside and being part of novel undertakings. Lisa Cheng, whose consulting firm Vanbex has accompanied many crowdsales, joined us for a discussion of this revolutionary way to fund and monetize open source software. Topics covered in this episode: Why crowdfunding and cryptocurrency are a natural fit A brief history of crowdsales in the cryptocurrency space US securities law and the questionable legality of token sales The value of writing a solid white paper before launching a sale Elements of a successful coin launch The role of companies like Swarm and Koinify in conducting crowdsales Episode links: An Interview with Lisa Cheng Tokenizing the User Experience Token Sales and the US Securities Law David Johnston DApps Whitepaper Vanbex Group This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/071

When spinning up a few hundred data-gathering Bitcoin nodes prevented some breadwallet users from transmitting bitcoin transaction, a minor panic quickly erupted about the Bitcoin compliance startup Chainalysis and their supposed sybil attack on the Bitcoin network. Chainalysis CEO Michael Gronager joined us for a discussion of what happened and what role transaction monitoring will play in the future. We dove deep into the tension between the desires for user privacy and the requirements to achieve integration into existing financial services. Topics covered in this episode: How Chainalysis’ nodes caused problems for breadwallet What damage a large scale sybil attack could really do to Bitcoin The role transaction monitoring will play to achieve Bitcoin integration in existing systems Why transaction-related blockchain analysis does not threaten Bitcoin’s fungibility The best way users can protect their anonymity Episode links: CoinDesk: Chainalysis CEO Denies Launching Sybil Attack Bitcoin Talk Discussion Reddit: A Bitcoin Compliance Startup is Sybil Attacking the Network Reddit: Chainalysis versus Mycelium Story Inside Bitcoin Article This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/070

Powering an estimated 5-10% of all Bitcoin transactions, Electrum is one of the leaders of the Bitcoin wallet space. The open-source walled was started in 2011 and played a key role in the development of the light-weight SPV wallets. Developer Thomas Voegtlin joined us for a discussion of Electrum, their recent 2.0 release and the rapidly evolving Bitcoin wallet space in general. Topics covered in this episode: The evolution of Bitcoin wallets and what motivated him to start Electrum Electrum 2.0 and its new features such as Multi-sig and hardware wallet support The security tradeoffs between using an SPV wallet versus a full node client How Bitcoin aliases could do away with Bitcoin addresses Episode links: Electrum Electrum Github Repo On the Privacy Provisions of Bloom Filters in Lightweight Bitcoin Clients BIP 39 BIP 37 Versum MIT paper This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/069

Is Bitcoin secure from attacks that could destroy the currency? To a large part, this is determined by how expensive it is to carry out an attack and by the potential profits the attacker could generate. Ideally, an attack is so expensive to carry out that no profit-driven attacker would engage in it. But in this episode, Brian argues that the cost of attacking Bitcoin will likely decrease in the future and the ability to short Bitcoin and thus benefit from an attack will increase dramatically. Topics covered in this episode: How an attacker would need to go about shorting bitcoin How the kamikaze mining pool could be used to bribe miners to join the attacker Why all profit-driven miners will have an incentive to join the attack, whether or not they believe it will succeed Why the block halving in 2016 could be an exceptionally dangerous time for Bitcoin, since an attack would be cheap to execute and likely to succeed How a gradual decrease of the block reward, instead of the 4-year halving rhythm would reduce risk Episode links: Bitcoin Development Mailing List Thread - Death by halving This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/068

What Bitcoin did for money, OpenBazaar is trying to achieve for commerce. Born as a fork of the Dark Market project, OpenBazaar aims to facilitate online trade by removing unneeded middlemen. Built as an open source protocol, users simply install the application on their computer to gain access to marketplaces available on the network. From the app, they may also place items or services for sale by creating “Ricardian contracts”, which get propagated to the network and made accessible to everyone to see. The protocol, which uses Bitcoin as a means of payments, utilises multi-signature transactions. This makes it possible for transacting parties to include third-party arbitrators, who may intervene in the event of a dispute. We talked to Brian Hoffman, the project’s Lead Developer, about this paradigm-shifting project and the potential it has to disrupt person-to-person marketplaces such as eBay. Currently in beta, OpenBazaar is due for a full release in Q1-Q2 of 2015. Topics covered in this episode: History and current status of the project Mechanics of a simple transaction on OpenBazaar Ricardian contracts OpenBazaar’s proposed arbitration model Reputation and the important role it plays in peer-to-peer trading Business models that may be threatened by this technology Episode links: OpenBazaar OpenBazaar Git Repo Ricardian Contracts OpenBazaar Reddit Bitrated This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/067

Levin Keller is known to many in Berlin as the man who warned everyone about the dark scenario where buying Bitcoins in Europe would be subject to VAT. As with the VAT issue, Levin was also concerned with the complexity of filing tax returns. For merchants and companies dealing in Bitcoin, keeping track of gains and losses makes proper accounting a messy ordeal. His startup, Coyno, hopes to solve that by providing standalone, read-only bookkeeping for your existing wallets. Coyno allows you to import the public seed from your HD wallet and keeps track of transactions. The service, currently in beta, reads your wallets’ public addresses and stores bookkeeping information whenever a transaction occurs. By recording the exchange rate at the time of transaction, Coyno can generate reports of taxable events, allowing users to more easily file their taxes. By allowing Coyno to read all your wallets, it’s able to differentiate incoming and outgoing transaction from funds being moved within your organization, a feature lacking from other reporting tools. Levin also talks about his journey of being incubated at the Axel Springer Plug and Play Accelerator in Berlin. He also weighs in on some of the challenges of building a Bitcoin startup and attracting investors in Europe. Episode links: Coyno Beta Coyno announcement Axel Springer Plug and Play This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/066

Backbone to the financial system? Powering decentralized technology? The first true world currency? There is probably who hasn’t dreamt of a world ten years from now when Bitcoin would be all those things. The promise of cryptocurrencies are enormous, but will Bitcoin really emerge as the winner? And how can we reconcile this grand vision for Bitcoin with an ecosystem where projects launch new coins and blockchains every day? The one project that rekindles those Bitcoin dreams and paints a potential path to Bitcoin’s ultimate success are sidechains. Developed by Adam Back, Greg Maxwell and several other Bitcoin core developers, sidechains aims to allow the permissionless, rapid innovation of alt chains, but using the established monetary base and network of Bitcoin. It’s a complex project, but with Blockstream founders and sidechains visionaries Adam Back and Greg Maxwell we couldn’t have had better companions on our journey into understanding the coming Bitcoin-Sidechains-Macrocosm. Topics covered in this episode: The motivation behind sidechains The concept of digital scarcity Concerns about the security of sidechains Different stages of sidechains from federated pegs to merged mining to block extension Episode links: Blockstream Sidechains white paper Saving Bitcoin From Destruction This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/065

Adam B. Levine, the “Spiritual Grandfather” of Epicenter Bitcoin and Editor-in-Chief of Let’s Talk Bitcoin, joins us to share is “crazy” passion for information and cryptocurrency. Never shy when it comes to talking about complicated subjects, Adam divulges his ideas about the next iteration of the experimental Let’s Talk Bitcoin Network and his newly launched standalone token vending machine, SwapBot. Adam also opens up about his role as the Chief Visionary Officer of CoinPowers and why it ultimately failed as a project. We also get Adam’s take on the future of crowdfunding and what role he sees himself playing within the crypto community moving forward. Topics covered in this episode: The integral part Adam played in the creation of Epicenter Bitcoin How the Let’s Talk Bitcoin podcast show and network were born The Tokenly Platform The recent discontinuation of certain LTB Network shows LTBCoin and the problems it aims to solve Tokens Vs. cryptocurrencies Content monetization and crowdfunding Episode links: Let's Talk Bitcoin LTBCoin SWAPBOT Prototype Tokenly Project This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/064

When it comes to Bitcoin, Tim Swanson is known to many as the man who sees the glass half empty. Whether or not that’s true, it’s fair to say that Tim has critical opinions about Bitcoin and questions many of the assumptions held by those who wish to see it succeed. A researcher and educator, he is the author of several books including “Great Wall of Numbers: Business Opportunities and Challenges in China” and “Great Chain of Numbers: A Guide to Smart Contracts, Smart Property and Trustless Asset Management”. He also blogs about Bitcoin, economics and various other topics at OfNumbers.com. He currently serves as an advisor to Hyperledger and is Head of Business Development at Melotic. Topics covered in this episode: True cost of Bitcoin transactions Bitcoin as a niche technology Vs. Consensus-as-a-service and semi-trusted networks Hyperledger, a decentralised ledger platform Melotic, a digital asset exchange Bitcoin’s adoption as a payment system Trusted transparency in mining Remittances Episode links: OfNumbers.com Dave Hudson's Blog (Hashing It) Slicing data: what comprises blockchain transactions? OP-ED: The Rise and Rise of Lipservice: Viral Western Union Ad Debunked A Year After the Non-Apocalypse: Where Are They Now? Architecture of Internet Money This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/063

Eris Industries spawned when three people got together to come up with a solution to Olivier Janssens’ £100K bounty to replace the Bitcoin Foundation with software. Their proposal, initially called Project Douglas and built on top of Ethereum, was designed to replicate the functions of a trade association on a blockchain. Today, Eris has evolved into a Distributed Application Software Stack, with which developers can rapidly deploy distributed applications that are flexible, legally compliant and secure. Interestingly, Eris allows organisations and companies to adopt blockchain technology without being fully decentralised. We’re joined by one of the Founders and COO of Eris Industries, Preston Byrne, who explains how Eris works and talks about some of the practical use cases which may arise. Siân Jones is also here to weigh in on some of the innovative aspects of this exciting open-source project. Episode links: Eris Industries: Deserver White Paper Thelonious White Paper Eris Package Manager White Paper Eris Legal Markdown White Paper Blockchain Your Business in 7 Steps This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/062

Every quarter, CoinDesk releases its excellent State of Bitcoin Report proving an accurate benchmark of where the Bitcoin ecosystem stands. We were very fortunate to be joined by the man who compiles the State of Bitcoin Report, Garrick Hileman. As an economic historian at the London School of Economics and a frequent contributor to CoinDesk, Garrick is best know as an expert on Bitcoin and other currencies. We would like to pay our respects to the 17 innocent people who lost their lives in the recent terror attacks in Paris. Our thoughts are with their families and loved ones. Je suis Charlie! Topics covered in this episode: The recent $5m hack on Bitstamp Startup activity and VC investments The continually slumping Bitcoin price Merchant and user adoption What we should look forward to in 2015 Episode links: Garrick's Website Stake of Bitcoin 2015 Report (CoinDesk) New Index Ranks Argentina 'Most Likely' to Adopt Bitcoin (CoinDesk) This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/061

That the bitcoin price is highly volatile is no secret. Opinions differ on whether that is just an inevitable roadblock to be passed on the way to world domination or whether it represents a fundamental flaw that will prevent Bitcoin from ever achieving widespread use as a medium-of-exchange. Seasoned hedge fund trader and monetary systems expert Robert Sams, is of the latter view and has been among the leaders in conceptualizing what a stable cryptocurrency should look like. It’s an issue that is at the very heart of how the cryptocurrency ecosystem will develop. Topics covered in this episode: Why volatility is an obstacle to cryptocurrency adoption The two big problems of creating a stable cryptocurrency His proposal for a stable cryptocurrency: Seignorage Shares How finance professionals perceive Bitcoin Episode links: Seignorage Shares Whitepaper Robert Sams Blog Ethereum Blog Search for a Stable Cryptocurrency XeroClear Twitter This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/060

As we wrap up 2014, Brian and Sebastien have a fireside chat and look back on some of the areas of Bitcoin they thought were the most defining. They also look out to 2015 and give their thoughts about what to expect in the coming year. This episode also marks the show’s 1-year anniversary, so celebratory drinks are in order. No guests or scripts for this one, just a candid conversation between the Epicenter Bitcoin founders. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/059

At just 20-years young, Vitalik Buterin is one of the most brilliant minds in the cryptocurrency space. Previously, a co-founder of Bitcoin Magazine, he has conceptualized Ethereum, the most radical and ambitious cryptocurrency project since Bitcoin. After raising $18m in a crowdsale, a team of over 30 are working on launching the project by March 2015. In his work on designing a system for the future, he has been grappling with many of the hardest problems in the cryptocurrency space over the past year. Topics covered in this episode: How Ethereum has evolved since the white paper The problems of Proof-of-Work Why Proof-of-Stake is the future of consensus protocols Why his main focus has been on consensus issues and scalability Why Bitcoin will never be stable enough to price things in The flawed ideology of ‘Bitcoin maximalism’ that prevents people from considering Proof-of-Work alternatives Episode links: Ethereum How to get started: Your first DApp in under one hour Ethereum Proof-of-Concept 7 Proof of Stake: How I Learned to Love Weak Subjectivity Slasher: A Punitive Proof-of-Stake Algorithm This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/058

CoinTelegraph Chief Editor, Allen Scott, and writer, Ian DeMartino join Sebastien (Brian is away) for a conversation about the independent Bitcoin media. Cryptocurrencies enable new business models and monetization opportunities for content producers, which CT is fully utilizing. Allen and Ian explain their innovative system whereby content creators are paid according to the success of their articles, which it determines by measuring the number of shares on social media. CoinTelegraph is an independent news site that specializes in Bitcoin and digital currencies. Freelance writers, who all get paid in Bitcoin, produce the vast majority of their content. CT’s long-term ambition is to grow along with Bitcoin and become a front runner in the cryptocurrency news space. Episode links: Cointelegraph Article Contest This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/057

We are joined by Daniel Krawisz, the Director of Research at the Satoshi Nakamoto Institute. Daniel co-founded that organization last year with Michael Goldstein and Pierre Rochard to educate the Bitcoin community on the foundational ideas that led to the creation of Bitcoin. The Satoshi Nakomoto Institute is dedicated to shedding light on the ideological history of Bitcoin and keeping its controversial roots from being marginalized. Topics covered in this episode: What it means to be a libertarian, crypto-anarchist The perception of Bitcoin and the future of the bitcoin ecosystem The viability of alternative currencies Episode links: The Satoshi Nakamoto Institute Bitcoinist.net Youtube channel This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/056

SolidX Partners CEO Daniel Gallancy joined us for a discussion of Bitcoin, institutional investors and how his company is working on creating a bridge between the two. While there is no question that interest in cryptocurrencies has risen dramatically – also among the financial elite, there is still a big chasm separating the two worlds. With Daniel we explore how it could be bridged, when it will happen and what the consequences could be. Topics covered in this episode: How SolidX offers institutional investors exposure to bitcoin using Total Return Swaps The perception of Bitcoin on Wall Street The relationship between VC investments and direct bitcoin purchases If a derivatives market could undermine the security of Bitcoin Episode links: SolidX This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/055

Daniel Peled, CEO of Gems, and Tom Kysar, Marketing Lead at Koinify, join us to talk about a project that aims to revolutionize social messaging. As one of the first decentralized social networks built on blockchain technology, Gems hopes to put the ownership of the network back in the hands of its users. While large centralized social networks collect your information and sell it to advertisers, Gems is building on a different model in which users only receive solicited messages and get paid when companies advertise to them. Gems is also a cryptocurrency which can be traded between users within its mobile app. The initial crowdsale, organized by Koinify, will run from December 1st to January 5th. Episode links: Gems Koinify Gems Token Sale Details & Update on the Koinify blog This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/054

Keeping Bitcoins safe from theft is probably one of the things Bitcoin holders worry the most about. Historically, there have been a number of recommended best practices like paper wallets, BIP 38 wallet cards and cold storage. Although these remain relatively safe ways to store Bitcoins, implementing these solutions can be complicated and difficult to manage for day-to-day transactions. Recently, some companies have begun introducing multi-signature HD wallet services, where 2-out-of-3 signatures are required to sign transactions. These solutions offer security and usability, with the assurance that Bitcoins will remain safe, and the ability to transact with ease. In fact, the website P2SH.info tracks the adoption of multi-sig, and it has been growing exponentially in recent months. Which brings us to our guest: Arianna Simpson, an Account Specialist at BitGo, a company that provides a simple multi-signature HD wallet solution for individuals and businesses. We talked to Arianna about BitGo and the services they offer, discuss different use cases for multi-sig HD wallets and make projections about the evolution of the wallet space from different angles. Episode links: BitGo Arianna's blog Amount of Bitcoins held in multi-sig addresses This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/053

Today’s episode is all about Factom, an open source project which aims to solve three core problems which apply to all Bitcoin 2.0 applications: Speed, Cost, and Bloat. Rather than writing every transaction to the blockchain, Factom allows decentralized applications to write blocks of transactions to Factom blocks, which themselves get hashed and stored to the bitcoin blockchain. At its core, Factom provides Proof of Existance, which allows for any digital artifact to be reduced to a hash that proves that artifact’s existance at a specific point in time. We are joined by Factom CEO, Paul Snow, and President, Peter Kirby, to explore the different applications of Factom as well as the technical workings of this very interesting and promissing project. Episode links: Factom Factom White Paper This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/052

David A. Johnston is a very active member of the Bitcoin community. Aside from speaking at about every Bitcoin conference there is, David is the Managing Director of the DApps Fund, a board member MSC Protocol Foundation, as well as Co-founder and Executive Director of the BitAngels Network. On this episode we go deep in to decentralized applications, and who better to talk to about DApps than the creator of “Johnston’s Law” which states “Everything that can be decentralized, will be decentralized”. We talked to David about the recent whitepaper he co-wrote titled “The General Theory of Decentralized Applications, DApps” which defines the different types of DApps and a number of best practices with regards to funding, token distribution, business models, etc. We also discussed the DApps Fund, BitAngels Network and the Master Protocol, and his involvement with those projects. Episode links: DApps Whitepaper "Decentralized Applications - the future of Bitcoin and virtual currencies?" - CoinSummit San Francisco 2014 Crowdsale Best Practices Paper DApps Fund BitAngels Network Mastercoin Foundation This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/051

Nicolas Courtois is a cryptographer and senior lecturer at University College London. He has been studying cryptocurrencies for some time and has written a number of papers on bitcoin. His talk is titled “Cryptographic Security of ECDSA in bitcoin” in which he exposes the security vulnerabilities in the specific variation of the Elliptic Curve digital Signature Algorithm used in bitcoin. Episode links: Slides for this presentation Nicolas Courtois’s Wikipedia Page Personal blog On The Longest Chain Rule and Programmed Self-Destruction of Crypto Currencies paper Nicolas’s Bitcoin Publications This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/050

Meni Rosenfeld is Founder of Bitcoil and Chairman of the Israeli Bitcoin Association. Having organized several meetups and conferences in Israel, he is a very active member of the Israeli Bitcoin community. Meni has been studying mining pool reward methods for several years and in 2011, wrote a paper titled “Analysis of Bitcoin Pooled Mining Reward Systems”. This research gave him a broad understanding the reward system landscape and the issues with many of the methods used by pools. He later wrote proposals for alternative non pay-per-share methods and which would render pool hopping impossible: the geometric method and double geometric method. Episode links: Mining Pools Reward Methods Talk - Bitcoin 2013 Conference [YouTube] Analysis of Bitcoin Pooled Mining Reward Systems [paper] Summary of mining pool reward systems [paper] Analysis of hashrate-based double-spending [paper] Meni Rosenfeld's vanity thread [Bitcoin Talk Forum] Geometric method [Bitcoin Talk Forum]: New cheat-proof mining pool scoring method Double geometric method [Bitcoin Talk Forum]: Hopping-proof, low-variance reward system Mine in multiple pools to reduce variance [Bitcoin Talk Forum] Multi-PPS [Bitcoin Talk Forum] ASIC will not centralize Bitcoin mining [Meni’s blog] Blocksize Economics by Gavin Andresen [Bitcoin Foundation] Proof of Activity: Extending Bitcoin’s Proof of Work via Proof of Stake [paper] Israel Bitcoin Meetup Group Israeli Bitcoin Community Facebook Page This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/049

BTC2B Brussels conference on October 16 & 17, 2014 This episode features two parts of a session on Bitcoin marketing. First, Richard Caetano, founder of Handshake and btcReport, talks about the importance of sharing stories to create user engagement. Then, you’ll hear a panel discussion moderated by Richard with Jeremy Garder, Executive Directory of the College Cryptocurrency Network, and Sebastien Couture, as panelists. They talk about how the Bitcoin industry can grow adoption though integrated product & marketing strategies. This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/048

The College Cryptocurrency Network is a non-profit organization which aims to provide students, academics, and faculty with the guidance and resources required to start independent Bitcoin clubs on college campuses and in schools. Since being founded in early 2014, the CCN has grown to well over 100 chapters, on every continent, from middle schools to PhD programs. Director of Student Outreach, Jacob Sears, and Creative Director, Dean Masley, join us to talk about the CCN’s work and their personal experiences with starting clubs in their respective universities. We also talked about how the concept of Bitcoin is received by students and the potential for blockchain innovation and adoption on university campuses. Episode links: College Cryptocurrency Network This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/047

Shawn Wilkinson, founder and lead developer of Storj, joins us for our first deep dive into a decentralized application. Storj’s particular domain is the decentralization of cloud storage. Their applications allow users to store their files in a decentralized peer-to-peer network that promises to be more secure and effective. At the same time, it creates a market where people can earn money by renting out spare hard disk space. Topics covered in this episode: Why cloud storage lends itself to decentralization How the efficiency of Storj compares to conventional providers like Dropbox The architecture of Storj including the applications Driveminer and Metadisk How Storj interacts with protocols such as Counterparty and Ethereum The Storjcoin X crowdsale and its economics Episode links: Storj Metadisk Metadisk Beta Driveshare Stroj Talk Storj & Metadisk whitepapers This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/046

Every quarter CoinDesk puts out its excellent State of Bitcoin Report providing a snapshot of where the Bitcoin ecosystem is at. We took this opportunity to go back to our original formation and have a discuss of the report and the state of Bitcoin in general. It was lots of fun! Topics covered in this episode: Bitcoin Adoption Metrics Our January Predictions The continually slumping Bitcoin price Merchant adoption Startup activity and VC investments Episode links: CoinDesk State of Bitcoin Q3 2014 Epicenter Bitcoin Predictions 2014 [EB30 - Radko Albrecht](Bitbond: https://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-030) This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/045

Mehdi Medjaoui (Co-founder and COO) & Elie Chevignard (CMO) are the two guys behind Oauth.io, a service which aims to provide a simple and standardized way for developers to implement Oath. Working in digital identity management, they have an interesting proposal on how to build personal identity management into the blockchain. This proposition would effectively take the power away from centralized single sign on services like Facebook and Google and make them decentralized. Episode links: Oauth.io API Days OneName NameID Namecoin SQRL This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/044

The Isle of Man has been an area of interest for many Bitcoin companies as of late. The local government of this small British Crown Dependency, located in the middle of the Irish Sea, wants to attract Bitcoin businesses by adopting light regulation as well as providing accessible banking relationships and infrastructure for companies dealing in crypto. This business-friendly approach has made the island an ideal place for tech, aerospace and e-gaming companies to establish, which has been a great benefit for the local economy in the last few decades. As an example, the leading online gaming site Poker Stars now employs some 200 people on the island. With the support of the Economic Development Department, the Isle of Man recently hosted Crypto Valley Summit to help promote their wiliness to work with Bitcoin companies. Siân Jones was at the event and captures this enthusiasm in three interviews, which we discuss on the show: Topics covered in this episode: Peter Greenhill, CEO of e-Gaming Development at Isle of Man Department of Economic Development Paul Davis, CEO of Counting House who specializes in payment solutions Archie Watt, Head of e-business and Micky Swindale, Head of Advisory at the global consultancy firm KPMG Episode links: Crypto Valley Summit Isle of Man Economic Development Department COINsult This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/043

Tom Ding is the CEO and Founder of Koinify, a platform for funding decentralized applications. Think of Koinify as a sort of Angel List to bootstrap and fund a new decentralized economy, specifically decentralized applications. With his company, Tom hopes to help build the decentralized app which help push this technology to the mainstream. With his extensive knowledge of this space, we talked about the future of DACs and DAPPs and discussed some of the challenges these new models are facing, from profitability to the obvious legal aspects. This episode was recorded over a live Google Hangout. It was our first attempt at doing a live video show and unfortunately we didn’t get the recording right. Our apologies for the bad sound quality, we’ll get the next one right. Episode links: Koinify 2020: A Call for DApps and DAOs This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/042

Siân Jones was recently in London for the Inside Bitcoins conference. She interviewed two people with extensive knowledge of regulation and how it should apply to Bitcoin. Marco Santori is Chairman of the regulatory affairs committee of the Bitcoin Foundation and recently appointed Global policy council of for Blockchain. As the New York Department of Financial Services BitLicense proposal nears the end of it’s second 45-day challenge period, Mr. Santori gives his predictions on what the legislation will look like when it is passed, which he expects to happen by the end of this year. Amor Sexton is a lawyer at Adroit in Sydney Australia, a commercial law firm that specializes in Bitcoin and actively represents the Bitcoin industry when hen liaising with the Australian government. In her talk with Siân, she spoke about the Australian government’s recent guidance and draft ruling on the tax treatment of crypto currencies, with regards to income tax, capital gains tax and GST. They point out how these draft rulings differ from those proposed in other jurisdictions and explore how they will affect merchants and Bitcoin holders in the future. Episode links: Inside Bitcoins London COINsult COINsult Blog This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/041

La maison du Bitcoin is a dedicated Bitcoin center located in the heart of ”Silicon Sentier”, which is situated in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. Founded by entrepreneurs Eric Larchevêque and Thomas France, La maison du Bitcoin is an open space where people are encouraged to walk in and get information about Bitcoin. It also offers a variety of services such as a co-working space for bitcoiners and the ability to purchase Bitcoin over the counter. It’s also the home to meetups, conferences and training seminars. For 10% off the upcoming Euro Bitcoin conference happening on October 8 in Paris, go to EuroBitcoin.org and use the code EPICENTER. Episode links: La Maison du Bitcoin French Bitcoin Association Coinhouse Euro Bitcoin Conference This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/040

Dr. Bastian Brand is an investment manager at Pathfinder Capital. Pathfinder Capital is a London-based Venture Capital firm that focuses on frontier markets and cryptocurrencies. He is also the founder of the Bitcoin Startups Munich group and was previously a consultant at McKinsey. The episode focused on his comprehensive paper surveying the investment landscape in the cryptocurrency space. We discussed the advantages of buying bitcoins versus investing in cryptocurrency startups, the prospect of Bitcoin 2.0 projects, and his views on the different sectors of the Bitcoin industry. Episode links: Pathfinder Capital The Intelligent Cryptoinvestor Blog Bitcoin Startups Munich Bitcoin Startups Munich Meetup This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/039

Flavien Charlon is the founder of coloured coin wallet Coinprism. Colored coins allow people and organizations to securely issue and trade real-world assets like commodities, stocks and bonds on the bitcoin network. Coinprism recently won the global Startup Challenge hosted by the Bitcoin Foundation in May 2014. Other notable projects include Predictious, a Bitcoin-based prediction market. He has 8 years of experience in software engineering at Microsoft, building large scale distributed systems, and is a graduate of Ecole Centrale Lyon, where he received an Msc. in Engineering. For 10% off Inside Bitcoins London on September 15 and 16, use the discount code EPICIBC14 Episode links: Coinprism Colored Coins Open Assets Protocol Flavien Charlon speaking at CoinSummit San Fransisco This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/038

Thomas Spaas, director of the Belgian Bitcoin Association and an international tax lawyer in Antwerp, and our regulatory affairs correspondent Siân Jones, join us to discuss a Swedish court case on VAT, the European Value Added Tax. The case has made it all the way to the Court of Justice of the European Union and may set the precedent for how the sale of Bitcoin will be taxed. For 10% off Inside Bitcoins London on September 15 and 16, use the discount code EPICIBC14 Register for Inside Bitcoins London This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/037

Today’s panel discussion is called “The ever changing landscape of Bitcoin mining” where moderator Jez San is joined by some of the most prominent figures in the mining industry, Marc Aafjes of Bitfury, Dave Carlson of Megabigpower, Timo Hanke of Cointerra and Naveed Sherwani of Peernova. The discussion revolves around several key topics, notably, everyone seems to agree the industry should move away from the term mining and start calling it transaction processing. They also discuss the rapid evolution of ASIC processors in the last year, the importance of improving the overall power efficiency of the network and where ASIC production is heading. They also talk about a highly debated subject which is the shift from home mining to centralised data centers. The panels ends with predictions on the total hashing power of the network at the end of this year. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/036

George Samman is co-founder and COO of the Bitcoin derivatives exchange, BTC.sx. George helps us get a broad understanding of derivatives as a financial product, and we explore their uses in the context of Bitcoin. He also brings his perspective with regards to bridging the gap between Wall Street and the Bitcoin ecosystem. As a Chartered Market Technician, he has a very technical view on market movements and gives us his thoughts on the recent BTC price fluctuations. Episode links: BTC.sx SeedCoin George Samman This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/035

This episode features a panel discussion called “Decentralized Applications and Appcoins.” Flavien Charlon, founder of Coinprism, Ron Gross of the Mastercoin Foundation and Gavin Wood of Ethereum discuss the fascinating things which are happening in the so-called Bitcoin 2.0 space. The panel starts with a short status update on each of the panellist’s respective projects. They also dig into some of the legal implications, lay out the security challenges and give their thoughts on how they feel the appcoin and DAC space will evolve in the coming years. Episode links: Coinprism Mastercoin Ethereum This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/034

Edmund Edgar is the founder of Reality Keys. His startup won the Startup Challenge award at the Bitcoin 2014 Conference in Amsterdam. They are providing cryptographic data feeds on real-life events. This can then be used to base derivatives, contracts or insurances on. There is no question that services like Reality Keys will play a key role in crypto currency’s future. Previously he was Director of Information Technology at Princeton Review Japan and he is also a graduate of Oxford University. Read the blog post summarising this episode on Bitcoinist.net. Episode links: Reality Keys By My Coins Edmund Edgar on Twitter Codius Truth Coin This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/033

CoinSummit London Conference Series – July 10 and 11, 2014 In this episode we talk to Olivier Janssens, a Bitcoin early adopter and investor, and his associate Andrew Turner. We discussed Olivier’s recent $100,000 bounty replace the Bitcoin Foundation. He told us why he chose Mike Hearn’s Lighthouse project as the winner of 40% of that bounty and the effect that Lighthouse could have on Bitcoin core development funding. We also interviewed Michael Jackson. He’s the former COO of Skype and currently a VC at Mangrove Partners. We discussed the recent EBA opinion paper. We also talked about his experiences with the regulation of new and disruptive technologies from his days at Skype as well as investing in Bitcoin companies. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/coinsummit-london-04

Coinapult’s CEO Ira Miller and marketing specialist Freya Stevens join us for a discussion about their company and plans for the future. We particularly dove into their new Locks feature, which allows people to ‘lock’ the value of their bitcoins to other assets such as US Dollar, Euro or gold from directly within the Coinapult wallet. The goal is to remove one often-named barrier to mainstream adoption: volatility. We also talked about the amazing ‘Let the Bit Drop’ project, which involves sending bitcoin per SMS to every resident of a small Carribean island. A party in Q4 will launch the project and educational materials will be given to residents via government channels. Episode links: Coinapult Coinapult Locks Let the Bit Drop Bitcoin UK Podcast This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/032

CoinSummit London Conference Series – July 10 and 11, 2014 This episode features a panel discussion called “The challenges of operating a Bitcoin business in Europe”. Peter Smith, COO of Blockchain.info, Mark Lamb, CEO of Coinfloor and Frank Schuil CEO, of Safello provide their insights on some of the challenges of running a Bitcoin business on the old continent. These challenges include regulatory compliance, establishing banking relationships and establishing trust with consumers. The panel is moderated by Adam Vaziri of Diacle. Episode links: European Banking Authority EBA opinion on “virtual currencies” This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/coinsummit-london-03

Gavin Wood joins us for an episode that is all about Ethereum. The uniquely ambitious Ethereum project with its turing-complete programming language is building a platform on which the next generation of decentralized applications can be run. While the project is still in development, the goal is to provide the infrastructure for the completely decentralized web of the future. The first part of the episode features an interview of Ethereum CTO and lead developer of the C++ client Gavin Wood. In the second part of the episode, Brian discusses the crowdsale of Ethereum’s own cryptocurrency ether that is currently going on from an investment perspective. Episode links: Ethereum This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/031

CoinSummit London Conference Series – July 10 and 11, 2014 Our second CoinSummit Episode is out! In it we have two fantastic interviews. In the first one we discussed transaction fees, the economics of Bitcoin and the coming relaunch of Coinometrics with Jonathan Levin. Jonathan is a co-founder of Coinometrics and just finished his Master’s thesis on Bitcoin at Oxford University. In the second interview we talked with Peter Todd, one of the thought leaders in the Bitcoin space. We covered the economics of transactions, mining centralization and the state of Bitcoin development. Peter is a core developer and also an advisor to projects such as Mastercoin and Dark Wallet. He’s also come up with a number of important innovations such as treechains and stealth addresses. Episode links: CoinSummit Coinometrics This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/coinsummit-london-02

Radko Albrecht joins us to discuss his startup, the Bitcoin-based peer-to-peer lending platform, BitBond. We dove deeply into why Bitcoin-based peer-to-peer lending is such a compelling proposal. We also talked about a lot of the intricacies such as volatility, reputation and loans pegged to fiat currencies. The final part we discussed raising venture capital for European Bitcoin startups and how Bitcoin will change the financial industry. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/030

CoinSummit London Conference Series – July 10 and 11, 2014 We start our coverage of CoinSummit with Garrick Hileman, CoinDesk contributor & Economic Historian at LSE, who delivers the opening “State of Bitcoin” keynote, a data-driven assessment of how the Bitcoin Ecosystem is developing. The second part of the episode features a panel discussion called Will Bitcoin Last the Distance where Jeff Garzik, Bitcoin core developer, Prof. Emin Gün Sirer, Cornell University, Peter Todd, Bitcoin a core developer discuss the issue of mining centralization. This panel is moderated by Angel Investor Jez San. Episode links: CoinSummit CoinDesk State of Bitcoin 2014 “How to Disincentivize Large Bitcoin Mining Pools” by Emin Gün Sirer “It's Time For a Hard Bitcoin Fork” by Emin Gün Sirer “Jeff Garzik Announces Partnership to Launch Bitcoin Satellites into Space” on Coindesk This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/coinsummit-london-01

Steven Morell and Gabriel Mirón join us to discuss the recent New York Department of Financial Services BitLicense proposal. Our regulatory affairs correspondent Siân Jones also joins us briefly to give a general overview of this proposed legislation. We also take the opportunity to talk about Bitcoin’s development in Latin America, notably as a means to disrupt the remittance market, a multi-billion dollar industry. Our guests also talk about their respective companies. Steven is Chief Product Officer at Moneero, a company based in Uruguay and which is building a full suite of Bitcoin services. Gabriel is CEO of MEXBT, a Bitcoin exchange based in Mexico. Episode links: BitLicense draft proposal press release BitLicense draft proposal document MEXBT Moneero This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/029

This episode is part of our coverage of the Bitcoin 2014 Conference which took place in Amsterdam from May 15 to 17, 2014. These interviews were conducted by Siân Jones and focus on the area of regulation. Topics covered in this episode: Patrick Murck, General council of the Bitcoin Foundation Preston Byrne, Securitisation lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright in London This episode is hosted by Siân Jones. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/bitcoin2014-08

The recent publication of a European Banking Authority opinion on “virtual currencies” has caused great concern among actors of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Siân Jones joins us to dissect this 46-page document and the 70+ risks it identifies. Siân also helps us better understand the EBA, its role and the extent of its influence in the European Union. We also briefly recap the Coinsummit conference which took place in London and which we attended. Episode links: European Banking Authority EBA opinion on “virtual currencies” Bitcoin receives red carpet welcome in the Isle of Man [City A.M.] sle of Man Launches Digital Currency Startup Incubator [Coindesk] COINsult This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/028

This episode is part of our coverage of the Bitcoin 2014 Conference which took place in Amsterdam from May 15 to 17, 2014. These interviews were conducted by Siân Jones and focus on the area of regulation. Topics covered in this episode: Bryan Skarlatos, Partner at Kostelanetz & Fink Estaban van Goor, Indirect Tax Lawyer at PwC Jerry Brito, research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University Luis Cuende, hacker and European Commission advisor This episode is hosted by Siân Jones. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/bitcoin2014-07

Today we’re joined by two guests. Tatiana Moroz is a singer-songwriter, anti-war activist and a very active bitcoin enthusiast and evangelist. Recently, Tatiana created Tatiana Coin, the very first musical artist coin on the Counterparty Protocol. She also recently joined Bitcoin Magazine as their sales director and joins us from New York. Wendell Davis is also with us again from Thailand. He’s the creator of the beautiful Hive wallet and CEO of Humint, a company which aims to help companies create and deploy branded coins. Wendell is quite knowledgeable in crowd sale platforms as well as new crowdfunding models and will help us dissect some of the challenges and opportunities of creating custom coins. Episode links: EBA: Financial Institutions Should Avoid Bitcoin, Await Regulation (CoinDesk) EBA opinion on “virtual currencies” document Tatiana Coin Website Tatiana Coin on Coinpowers Woman’s Crypto Association Hive Web Hive Wallet Hummint This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/027

Topics covered in this episode: Anthony di Iorio (Founder Decentral, Founder Ethereum, Toronto Bitcoin Meetup, Executive Director Bitcoin Alliance of Canada) Arthur Corry (Managing Director Decentral Accelerate) Ethan Wilding (Resident Philosopher and Ethereum) Michael Perklin (Bitcoinsultants, Director Bitcoin Alliance Canada, Founder Crypto Currency Certification Consortium) Episode links: Decentral Decentral Accelerate Bitcoin Alliance Canada Bitcoin Toronto Meetup Crypto Currency Certification Consortium (C4) Bitcoinsultants Bitcoin: The End of Money Kickstarter As We Know It Bitcoin: The End of Money - Matt Miller Interview This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/026

This episode is part of our coverage of the Bitcoin 2014 Conference which took place in Amsterdam from May 15 to 17, 2014. Topics covered in this episode: Adam Ludwin, Devon Gundry & Eric Rykwalder of Chain.com Rodolfo Novak, CEO of Coinkite Roop Gill, videographer for Coindesk David Bailey, Founder and Editor-in-Chief yBitcoin magazine Nic Cary, CEO of Blockchain This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/bitcoin2014-06

Today out guest is Mike Hearn who many of you are familiar with. He’s one of the first Bitcoin users and the developer of bitcoinj, a Java library used by a number of popular Bitcoin wallets such as the Andoid wallet, Multibit and Hive. Until recently he was working at Google and is now working full-time on Bitcoin, including an interesting crowd-funding platform called Lighthouse. Episode links: Lighthouse Assurance contracts Arianna Simpson - Game Theory, Assurance Contracts, and Crowdfunding with Bitcoin Venumeris Mike Hearn talk at Coinscrum 2014 in London BitcoinJ BitcoinJ on Github This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/025

This episode is part of our coverage of the Bitcoin 2014 Conference which took place in Amsterdam from May 15 to 17, 2014. Topics covered in this episode: Adam Cleary, founder of Bullion Bitcoin and Tamás Blummer of Bits of Proof Frédéric Martin and Nicolas Baca of Prismcide Patrick Melton of the Coinsider This Podcast Marco Peereboom, CEO of Coinvoice This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/000-2

Guest Joel Dietz talks about his new company Swarm, a very exciting cryptocurrency-based fundraising platform. Their idea is to provide a more efficient, decentralized and versatile version of Kickstarter. In the future, they also hope to allow companies to sell shares or share-like coins to raise funding. Our conversation took place just a day before the start of the commencement of their own coin SwarmCoin, which will finance the development of the platform. Episode links: Swarm CounterWallet US Marshals Bitcoin Auction Google & Yahoo add Bitcoin prices CoinSummit This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/024

This episode is part of our coverage of the Bitcoin 2014 Conference which took place in Amsterdam from May 15 to 17, 2014. Topics covered in this episode: David Schwartz, Chief Cryptographer at Ripple Labs Jon Peters, CEO of Cambrian Edward Karatov, responsible for business development at Cryptonit.net Eiso Vaandrager, VC with Green Gateway Fund Richard Caetano & Matt Tuzzolo developers of BTC Report app This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/bitcoin2014-04

On today’s show, we have Eddy Travia who joins us from Hong Kong. Eddy is co-founder and Chief Startup Officer at Seedcoin, a seed-stage virtual incubator for Bitcoin startups. He is also the founder of the Bitcoin Institute, a platform to facilitate research into different aspects of cryptocurrencies such as trading, market making, and entrepreneurship. Eddy along with Seedcoin also organised the first Bitcoin conference in Asia in November 2014. Topics covered in this episode: Crypotopay BTC.sx Coin Simple Hive Wallet MEXBT DealCoin zSIM: no URL Episode links: Apple Policy Update May Open Door for Bitcoin Transactions (Coindesk) CoinJar back in the App Store (reddit) Fred Ehrsam on CNBC (reddit) CoinJar on iTunes Apple App Store Review Guidelines Seedcoin Havelock Investments Bitcoin Institute This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/023

This episode is part of our coverage of the Bitcoin 2014 Conference which took place in Amsterdam from May 15 to 17, 2014. Topics covered in this episode: Bobby Lee, CEO of BTC China (@btcchina) Charlie Lee, creator of Litecoin and software engineer at Coinbase (@litecoin) Philippe Rodriguez, President of Bitcoin France (@philrod) Filip Roose, co-founder of Orillia and co-founder of the Belgian Bitcoin Association (@filiproose) Episode links: BTC China Litecoin Coinbase Bitcoin France Belgian Bitcoin Association Orillia This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/bitcoin2014-03

On episode 22 we had Wendell Davis on, who is CEO of two Bitcoin startups. The first one is Hive, a popular and user-friendly Bitcoin wallet targeted at Mac Users (and Android). His second startup, Humint, aims to help companies and brands issue their own cryptocurrencies – think loyalty points. Our discussion of Hive covered wallet business models, usability and the payment protocol. After we talked about the crazy future awaiting us when everyone from a hot dog stand to your grandmother starts issuing their own currency. Finally, we covered some news topics such as the announcement by DISH to start accepting bitcoin and Bitex.la raising $2m to build Bitcoin exchanges in South America. Episode links: Hive Wallet Hive’s Payment Protocol Implementation Humint DISH Press Release bitex.la This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/022

This episode is part of our coverage of the Bitcoin 2014 Conference which took place in Amsterdam from May 15 to 17, 2014. Topics covered in this episode: Jon Matonis, Executive Director and board member of the Bitcoin Foundation (@jonmatonis) Marc Barach, CMO of Jumio (@MarcBarach) Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase (@brian_armstrong) Radoslav Albrecht, Founder of Bitbond (@RadkoAlbrecht) JF Gallas, Chairman of the Board of the German Bitcoin Foundation (@jfgallas) Episode links: Bitcoin Foundation Germany and the Netherlands join the Bitcoin Foundation as affiliates Jumio Coinbase BitBond Bundesverband Bitcoin This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/bitcoin2014-02

For episode 21 we had Asher Tan on CEO of CoinJar, a very successful Australian Bitcoin startup that offers similar services to Coinbase. We talked about the plans with CoinJar, what we think of Circle’s new product and the recent price increase. Levin Keller, who is a board member of the German Bitcoin foundation, joined us to talk about a recent statement by the German Finance ministry on Bitcoin. He has been warning about a possible sales tax on Bitcoin for months and that seems to be happening now. We talked through what the recent announcement means for businesses and where we’re likely to go in the future. Episode links: CoinJar CoinJar Stories Circle Circle Product Video Bitstamp requiring proof of source before withdrawal Statement by Bundesverband Bitcoin on sales tax This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/021

This episode is part of our coverage of the Bitcoin 2014 Conference which took place in Amsterdam from May 15 to 17, 2014. To start off our coverage of the event, we have the keynote presentation by Patrick Byrne (@OverstockCEO), CEO of Overstock.com. Mr Byrne talked about the history of liberalism and the upcoming crypto revolution. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/bitcoin2014-01

We recorded episode 20 in Amsterdam the morning after the Bitcoin 2014 conference organized by the Bitcoin Foundation. Our two guests for the post-conference sit-down were Jorge Timon (twitter.com/timoncc) and Mark Friedenbach (twitter.com/MarkFriedenbach). Jorge is the founder of Freicoin, which is, from an economic perspective, one of the most innovative altcoins. They are also the creators of Freimarkets, which aims to bring Bitcoin 2.0 capabilities into the Bitcoin feature set itself. Finally, they are part of the newly formed Blockstream company, which will develop the Sidechains proposal. Episode links: Freicoin Freimarkets Whitepaper Understanding Sidechains Blockstream This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/020

For episode 19, we had David El Achkar on as our guest host. He is a Bitcoin entrepreneur in Beirut and the founder of the Bitcoin Lebanon group. We talked about the broken state of payments in the Middle East and David’s startup, Yellow Pay. Episode links: Yellow Pay Shu Bitcoin Dark Wallet Moolah Moolah Publishes Dogecoin Customer Funds Audit Amid USD Deposit Freeze (Coindesk) Proof that Moolah.io is a legitimate business (reddit) BitBay raises $30 million in funding Bitcoin 2014 Amsterdam Conference This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/019

For episode 18, Meinhard Benn was on as our guest host, while Sebastien was enjoying a few days off. Meinhard is the lead software developer for Bitcoin Brothers, a Bitcoin mining startup based in Berlin. Topics covered in this episode: Dark Wallet: Features, privacy and is this good or bad for Bitcoin? Every MIT undergrad will receive $100 in BTC Can Bitcoin scale? Blocksize, bandwidth, etc. Bitcoin Brothers’ ambitious mining project Episode links: Dark Wallet Bitcoin Brothers MIT Bitcoin Club This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/018

After having guests on for our last few episodes, it was back to the original cast of Brian and Sebastien for an episode. Episode links: Spin-offs on Bitcoin Talk Forum BitUndo Xapo debit card Bit-Card This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/017

We had two excellent guests on. Stephan Tual is the Chief Communications Officer for the Ethereum project, founder of the London Ethereum meetup and has played a crucial role in building out the Ethereum community. Max Kaye is a Australia-based developer focused on decentralized applications and the developer of Cryptonet, a library to build arbitrary blockchain-based structures. Episode links: Ethereum Ethereum Whitepaper London Ethereum Meetup Eudemonia Cryptonet on github This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/016

This week, we have Joel Hampton on as a guest host, a rather nomadic entrepreneur, currently based in Sydney. His startup Spendr.io is building a site to help people find high-quality, bitcoin-accepting businesses. Episode links: Cyprus police issues arrest warrant for bitcoin entrepreneur (Cyprus Mail) Danny Brewster Bitcoin Talk post Spendr Understanding Sidechains Square Market Accepts Bitcoin This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/015

Brian’s away on vacation this week so joining us as a guest host is Jaron Lukasiewicz, CEO of Coinsetter. We talk about IRS guidelines and what impact they may have on everyday Bitcoin use, China’s “crackdown” on Bitcoin and the effect on price, a new startup brings wallets to iPhones and Jaron tells us about Inside Bitcoins New York were we will be taking part in a panel about the future of exchanges. Episode links: Coinsetter IRS Virtual Currency Guidance This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/014

On today’s show we have Sian Jones as a guest host. Sian is a consultant at Coinsult and specialized in cryptocurrency regulation. She helps us get to the bottom of recent rulings and guidances about Bitcoin. Episode links: Coinsult IRS Virtual Currency Guidance Tax treatment of activities involving Bitcoin and other similar cryptocurrencies HMRC scraps VAT on virtual currency Bitcoin (BBC) Isle of Man Welcomes Digital Currency Exchanges ‘No License Required’ (Coindesk) UK Digital Currency Association (UKDCA) This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/013

Topics covered in this episode: The new update of the core Bitcoin client to version 0.9 Strange rumors about a Bitcoin ban in China OKCoin and Bitstamp raising $10m each and the business of Bitcoin exchanges KnCMiners’ first Scrypt mining product the Titan goes on preorders The proposal for a new Bitcoin symbol This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/012

This episode is part of our coverage of the Inside Bitcoins conference which took place in Berlin February 12 and 13, 2014. This episodes features two talks with different perspectives on Bitcoin exchanges. In the first segment, Jaron Lukasiewicz, CEO of Coinsetter gives a talk on the interesting business opportunities in and around the Bitcoin exchange ecosystem. Then, Nir Halutzy, Account Executive, Incapsula talks about some of the security challenges exchanges face every day and takes us through an actual DDoS mitigation scenario. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/eb-inside-bitcoins-berlin-05

On today’s show we have Jonathan Levin on as a guest host. He’s an economist at Oxford University and co-founder of Coinometrics. Topics covered in this episode: Our meetups in Berlin and Lille Jonathan’s thoughts on the vibrant London Bitcoin scene The latest updates on the MtGox story The future of Bitcoin exchanges Xapo’s $20m funding round Whether altcoins will inflate the money supply? This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/011

This episode is part of our coverage of the Inside Bitcoins conference which took place in Berlin February 12 and 13, 2014. This episode features two inspiring talks on Bitcoin its potential as a tool for change. We kick off with Oliver Flaskaemper (twitter.com/flaskaemper), Managing Director at Bitcoin.de who gives his keynote presentation on why Bitcoin cannot be banned. Then Marcia Hoffman (twitter.com/marciahofmann) an attorney involved in broad range of technology law and policy issues, gives an amazing talk about privacy, free speech and government policy as it applies to Bitcoin. Enjoy This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/eb-inside-bitcoins-berlin-04

Topics covered in this episode: The curious story of Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto Recent transactions indicating MtGox may still possess large amounts of bitcoin Mark Karpeles’ shady Past Blockchain.info’s acquisition of RTBTC The new VAT guidance on Bitcoin in the UK This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/010

This episode is part of our coverage of the Inside Bitcoins conference which took place in Berlin February 12 and 13, 2014. In this episode, we bring you feature interviews we did with five people bringing innovation to the Bitcoin space. They talked to us about the innovative projects they are working on, their impressions on the conference as well as their outlook on bitcoin’s future. Enjoy Topics covered in this episode: Johann Barbie – 37coins.com Támas Blummer – bitsofproof.com Pamir Gelenbe – hummingbird-ventures.com & coinsumm.it Jaron Lukasiewicz – coinsetter.com Hans Henrik H. Heming – bips.me This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/eb-inside-bitcoins-berlin-03

On today’s show we’ll talk about the Mt. Gox situation, covering : the history of recent events, the Crisis Strategy Document and what it means, theories on what really could have happened as well as the outlook for Mt. Gox, Bitcoin exchanges and Bitcoin in general. In addition, we’ll talk about Neo & Bee’s opening in Cyprus and the new decrease in transaction fees. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/009

This episode is part of our coverage of the Inside Bitcoins conference which took place in Berlin February 12 and 13, 2014. This episode features a first set of interviews we did over the course of the 2-day event. You’ll hear the many conversations we had with entrepreneurs, developers, investors and the conference organizers. Thank to all the people who agreed to talk to us! Topics covered in this episode: Alan Meckler of Mediabistro – twitter.com/alanmeckler Thomas Hessler of UFOstart – twitter.com/ThomasHessler Andreas Schildbach, developer of the Android Bitcoin Wallet – twitter.com/schildbach Elie Chevignard, freelance journalist – twitter.com/Elie__ Philippe Rodriguez of Avolta Partners – twitter.com/philrod Hubert Gertis of gertis.media – twitter.com/hubert Rafael Rodriguez organizer of the Texas Bitcoin Conference – texasbitcoinconference.com Stanislav Wolf of bitcoin-konferenz.de – twitter.com/bit_stan Moe Adham of BitAccess – twitter.com/moeadham Josh Zerlan of Butterfly Labs – butterflylabs.com Tuur Demester, investor and economist – twitter.com/tuurdemeester This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/eb-inside-bitcoins-berlin-02

On today’s show we talk about: Topics covered in this episode: Last weekend’s ‘Berlin, Texas Bitcoin Hackathon’ here in Berlin. The continued MtGox-journey of disaster. The arrival of the Bitcoin ATM wave to US shores. TigerDirect’s Bitcoin offer & Balanced’s Bitcoin integration. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/008

This episode is part of our coverage of the Inside Bitcoins conference which took place in Berlin February 12 and 13, 2014. The night before the conference, we were at Room 77, the world’s first brick and mortar establishment to accept bitcoin. We were joined by many members of Berlin’s bitcoin community and attendees of the conference. Thank to all the people who agreed to talk to us! Topics covered in this episode: Max Gotzler from Biotrakr – biotrakr.de Felix Weis from Bitalo – bitalo.com David Bailey from yBitcoin Magazine – ybitcoin.net Johnathan Brown – twitter.com/bluedroplet Oscar a developer from Vienna Bastian Brand from Pathfinder Capital – pathfinder.vc Matt Roszak from Silk Road Equity – silkroadequity.com Onyx Ashanti – onyx-ashanti.com Eric Benz from ZipZap – zipzap.com Gary Ubsdell from ICE3X – ice3x.co.za Joerg Platzer from Room 77 and CECG – cecg.biz Tatiania Moroz – tatianamoroz.com This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/eb-inside-bitcoins-berlin-01

On today’s show, we’re joined by Johann Barbie, founder of 37Coins, an SMS based wallet solution. Johann weighs in on the recent transaction malleability fiasco and helps us better understand what’s really going on. We also talk about recent news out of Florida where two men where arrested after selling Bitcoins to Federal Agents posing as criminals. Thanks again to Johann for joining us and letting us record out of his kitchen where he brewed us some mean Nero (Burning ROM) tea. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/007

Topics covered in this episode: Apple banning Blockchain.info’s iPhone app The breakdown and looming death of MtGox Auroracoin: A new and innovative Icelandic cryptocurrency BitWall’s paywall experiment with the Chicago Sun Times BitTag: A cool bitcoin price tag This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/006

Topics covered in this episode: The arrest of Charlie Shrem – BitInstant CEO and ex-Vice Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation The guy who’s taking on the US government to get his Silk Road coins back New York hearings on bitcoin regulation The latest bitcoin regulation news in France BTC China accepting bank deposits again Dogecoin’s olympic quest A brief Ethereum update This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/005

Topics covered in this episode: TigerDirect becoming the largest retailer to accept bitcoin The prospects of the mighty Google accepting bitcoin Marc Andreessen’s post comparing bitcoin to personal computers and the internet BitCologne The latest bitcoin ATM stories Ethereum Update: News on the fundraiser terms and launch This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/004

Topics covered in this episode: A host of new businesses start accepting Bitcoin Coinye Coin gets shut down The FBI may sell Bitcoins seized from Silk Road Skyhook announces a sub-$1000 Bitcoin ATM French Senate holds Bitcoin hearings Ethereum: what it is and what it means for the future of Bitcoin This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/003

Topics covered in this episode: Bitcoin ATMs as they pop up around the world Zynga starts accepting Bitcoin in some of its games A new service that allows you to easily create your altcoins India changes positions on regulation GHash.io reaches critical mining power and how the centralization of mining threatens the stability of Bitcoin Elliptic Vault offers a new Bitcoin insurance service This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/002

In our first episode of Epicenter Bitcoin, we make our predictions for 2014. From security to regulation to mainstream adoption, we discus 9 areas where bitcoin could face the most change. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/001

In our pilot episode, we talk about the latest news in regulation. Specifically, we talk about the recent regulatory stories out of France, Switzerland and China. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/000