Crypto Metaphysics (feat. Grant Hummer and Matt Liston)

In this extra special episode, the boys are joined by Grant Hummer and Matt Liston, two of Ethereum's most original gangsters, to discuss the blockchain's complicated past, its mistakes and pitfalls, and what the future might hold for our favorite L1. Matt, a cofounder of Augur and Gnosis, previously worked for the Ethereum foundation, while Grant founded San Francisco's oldest Ethereum developer meetup. Assisted by your handsome co-hosts, our guests also explore the future of blockchain on Urbit, the pitfalls of inadequate leadership, startup pessimism, how to found a crypto religion, and the metaphysical ecstasy of blockchain contemplation. This is an episode you won't want to miss.

Timestamps:

• 0:00—Intro

• 1:25—The dark, twisted history of Matt Liston

• 5:15—The macabre, terrifying background of Grant Hummer

• 8:01—Capital formation and the "Golden Age" of ICOs

• 17:33—The state of Ethereum today (and the case for optimism)

• 26:35—Crypto metaphysics and a blockchain religion

• 37:14—Scaling, functional crypto, and the development of "fundamentals"

• 44:59—Urbit, baby (and Uqbar)

• 48:11—The mistakes of early Ethereum and the importance of leadership

• 58:53—Is Urbit ready for the outside world?

• 1:06:06—Wrap-up

• 1:08:16—Outro

Mentions:

• Out of the Ether by Matthew Leising

• The Cryptopians by Laura Shin

• The Infinite Machine by Camila Russo

• The Tyranny of Structurelessness by Joe Freeman

Connect:

• Matt Liston (~tacsup-datsyn

• Grant Hummer (~habnec-fidlyx / @gphummer)

• ~bichul-ritsen (@bichulR)

• ~timluc-miptev (@basileSportif)

• ~nilrun-mardux (@AlephDAO)

And, if you liked the episode, don't forget to give us a five star review. Say something nice and we'll even read it on the pod.