Epicenter - Learn about Crypto, Blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin and Distributed Technologies

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