Epicenter - Learn About Blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin And Distributed Technologies

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 c

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 w

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 t

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

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

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

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 Authenticat

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

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 Steem

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

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 op

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 visio

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 In

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 e

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 l

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 p

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 a

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:

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