Epicenter – Podcast on Blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin and Distributed Technologies

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 … Continued

Support the show, consider donating: 1C2hPWvXCNG7GPk5rzkKfXwHoqjKMZuy7e (http://bit.ly/2dg5ipO) 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 included: - 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 Links mentioned in this episode: - Ethereum Foundation Website http://bit.ly/1IBWsHV - Ethereum YouTube Channel http://bit.ly/2dls6Wl - Insanity and Brilliance at Ethereum's Developer Conference http://bit.ly/2dmqSX4 - Melonport: Decentralized Asset Management on Ethereum http://bit.ly/2dwAGkD - Golem: Worldwide Supercomputer http://bit.ly/2dwAVvR - Metamask: Ethereum Browser Extension http://bit.ly/2dtZFCa - Cosmos Whitepaper http://bit.ly/2du03Au Sponsors: - BitFiniti Conference in Miami Beach Oct 30 - Nov 2: Go to bitfiniti.com/epicenter for discounts on registrations and presenter packages - Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices http://jaxx.io Show notes: http://epicenter.tv/150 YouTube: http://youtu.be/fZEgDubXtpU SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-150 Epicenter Bitcoin is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.

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.

Support the show, consider donating: 1P2CDWoYMhro1zowF1Wh2pyprexaZ1bgFH (http://bit.ly/2cS8d42) 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 patent law 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 included: - The patent law 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 Links mentioned in this episode: - Code is Law? Not Quite Yet http://bit.ly/2dd23x4 - Lessig's Code http://bit.ly/2clBUib - Lawrence Lessig Talk 'Thinking Through Law and Code' http://bit.ly/2dd17J6 - EB125 - Florian Glatz A Legal Framework for DAOs http://bit.ly/28w82nA Sponsors: - Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices http://jaxx.io - Ledger Nano: Smart card security for your Bitcoins - Get 10% off your first order when you use the code EPICENTER at http://ledgerwallet.com - BitFiniti Conference in Miami Beach Oct 30 - Nov 2: Go to bitfiniti.com/epicenter for discounts on registrations and presenter packages Show notes: http://epicenter.tv/149 YouTube: http://youtu.be/161_QEHJEgw SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-149 Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.

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 … Continued

Support the show, consider donating: 1PHcPiKDAZVJaZFw3vQiBZLTuESrkyVRdP (http://bit.ly/2cA5Jw4) 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 discussed 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 Links mentioned in this episode: - The Five Most Useful Properties of Bitcoin: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/the-five-most-useful-properties-of-bitcoin-cm628531 - When Should Developers Turn to Bitcoin?: cointimes.tech/2016/08/when-should-developers-turn-to-bitcoin/ - Darknet Customers Are Demanding Bitcoin Alternative Monero: www.nasdaq.com/article/darknet-customers-are-demanding-bitcoin-alternative-monero-cm671031 - The Power of Schnorr: The Signature Algorithm to Increase Bitcoin's Scale and Privacy: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/the-power-of-schnorr-the-signature-algorithm-to-increase-bitcoin-s-scale-and-privacy-1460642496 - BIP-47 vs BIP-75: How Will Bitcoin Wallets Maintain Privacy While Becoming Easier to Use?: http://coinjournal.net/bip-47-vs-bip-75-will-bitcoin-wallets-maintain-privacy-becoming-easier-use/ Sponsors: - BitFinity Conference in Miami Beach Oct 30 - Nov 2: Go to bitfiniti.com/epicenter for discounts on registrations and presenter packages - Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices http://jaxx.io Show notes: http://epicenter.tv/148 YouTube: http://youtu.be/BWwYubEgNuE SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-148 Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.

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 … Continued

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.

Support the show, consider donating: 1MjytrKGNVYkqPfmBKrm3MJzm36vH6m8ZR (http://bit.ly/2bNodUa) 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 included: - 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 Links mentioned in this episode: - Sarah Meiklejohn UCL Website: http://bit.ly/2bZ9zvh - Meiklejohn & Orlandi (2015): Privacy-Enhancing Overlays in Bitcoin http://bit.ly/2c2PVwV - Danezis & Meiklejohn (2016): Centrally Banked Cryptocurrencies http://bit.ly/2cC1FvJ - Meiklejohn et al (2016): A Fistful of Bitcoins http://bit.ly/2c2PQJH - EB70 - Michael Gronager: Chainalysis http://bit.ly/2c0BhpV - EB83 - David Andolfatto: Fedcoins and Cryptocurrencies Issued by Central Banks http://bit.ly/1W2Isib Sponsors: - Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices http://jaxx.io - Ledger Nano: Smart card security for your Bitcoins - Get 10% off your first order when you use the code EPICENTER at http://ledgerwallet.com - Hide.me: Protect your privacy and personal data with a free VPN account at Hide.me/epicenter Show notes: http://epicenter.tv/147 YouTube: http://youtu.be/FONaFZ0yhWA SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-147 Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.

Support the show, consider donating: 1M9u4VyTDXGjj9MD4hGZsxS2Jif2QrZ2Ap (http://bit.ly/2bEcI3o) 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 earn Bitcoin 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 Links mentioned in this episode: Yours website: http://yours.network Yours client: https://github.com/yoursnetwork/yours-core Sponsors: - BitFinity Conference in Miami Beach Oct 30 - Nov 2: Go to http://bitfiniti.com/epicenter for discounts on registrations and presenter packages - Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices http://jaxx.io Show notes: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/podcast/146 YouTube: http://youtu.be/SjJJi9Dqzvo SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-146 Epicenter Bitcoin is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy. - Visit our website: http://epicenterbitcoin.com - Subscribe to our newsletter: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/newsletter - Twitter: http://twitter.com/epicenterbtc

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. … Continued

Support the show, consider donating: 1JgH5r85kvDJWgRoAwZ9qDshth8N1Qviwf (http://bit.ly/2b9d4k0) 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 discussed 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 Links mentioned in this episode: - RexMLS Website: http://www.rexmls.com/ - RexMLS Beta: http://live.rexmls.com - RexMLS White Paper: https://github.com/rexmls/whitepaper Sponsors: - Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices http://jaxx.io Show notes: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/podcast/145 YouTube: http://youtu.be/lANKJ3CNTpM SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-145 Epicenter Bitcoin is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy. - Visit our website: http://epicenterbitcoin.com - Subscribe to our newsletter: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/newsletter - Twitter: http://twitter.com/epicenterbtc

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 … Continued

Support the show, consider donating: 1NuPtD5RvyfbFPCzCtLu9xxJJZZcnLzQE9 (http://bit.ly/2bBo7V7) 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 included: - 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 Links mentioned in this episode: - IOHK Scorex http://bit.ly/2bqM65q - IOHK - Input Output Hong Kong Website http://bit.ly/2aRE2sN - Charles Hoskinson: Hoskus Parvum Opus: A Brief Sojourn Back to Ethereum http://bit.ly/2aTQH44 - Ethereum Classic: keep censorship-resistant Ethereum going http://bit.ly/2brVMzc - ETC Declaration of Independence http://bit.ly/2bq8QmI - Let's Talk Bitcoin #304 Immutability vs Consensus Debate http://bit.ly/2aSjxvE Sponsors: - Ledger Nano: Smart card security for your Bitcoins - Get 10% off your first order when you use the code EPICENTER at http://ledgerwallet.com - Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices http://jaxx.io Show notes: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/podcast/144 YouTube: http://youtu.be/5040I0PW7rc SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-144 Epicenter Bitcoin is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy. - Visit our website: http://epicenterbitcoin.com - Subscribe to our newsletter: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/newsletter - Twitter: http://twitter.com/epicenterbtc

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. … Continued