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

Shapeshift CEO Erik Voorhees joined us to discuss their new platform Prism. Prism allows users to create a collateralized portfolio of digital assets purely using Ethereum smart contracts.

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. 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?

Investor and Author William Mougayar joined us to unpack token sales / ICOs and understand what is driving the current explosion of interest.

With most of the world's computing power concentrated in Internet companies' data centers, the Internet has become a very centralized place. 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.

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.

We're joined by Brendan Eich, Founder, and CEO of Brave. As an early Internet pioneer, Brendan created Javascript, and helped found the Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation. Brave is a new desktop and mobile browser which blocks ads and tracking by default. Their team will launch the Basic Attention Token, which will serve as liquidity in attention marketplaces between publishers, advertisers, and users.

Support the show, consider donating: BTC: 1CD83r9EzFinDNWwmRW4ssgCbhsM5bxXwg (http://bit.ly/2rChHfs) ETH: 0x8cdb49ca5103Ce06717C4daBBFD4857183f50935 (http://bit.ly/2pEUs2f) 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 discussed 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 Links mentioned in this episode: - Brave Website: https://brave.com - Basic Attention Token: https://basicattentiontoken.org/ Sponsors: - Ledger: Smart card security for your Bitcoins - http://ledgerwallet.com This episode is also available on : - Epicenter.tv: https://epicenter.tv/185 - YouTube: http://youtu.be/MUtHhYes6-A - Souncloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-185 Watch or listen, Epicenter is available wherever you get your podcasts. Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.

Support the show, consider donating: BTC: 127AsgERpdaAuierL1jKMP52RgfKu22tGo (http://bit.ly/2q4uFC2) ETH: 0x8cdb49ca5103Ce06717C4daBBFD4857183f50935 (http://bit.ly/2pEUs2f) 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 publically 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 discussed 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 Links mentioned in this episode: - IPDB - Interplanetary Database Foundation: https://ipdb.foundation/ - IPDB Dev Portal: https://developers.ipdb.io/ Sponsors: - Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices - http://jaxx.io This episode is also available on : - Epicenter.tv: https://epicenter.tv/184 - YouTube: http://youtu.be/XpCi_XbWAzk - Souncloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-184 Watch or listen, Epicenter is available wherever you get your podcasts. Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.

We're joined by Trent McConaghy, CTO and Co-founder of BigchainDB and Ascribe, and Fred Ehrsam, former Co-founder at Coinbase. We have a fascinating discussion about the intersection of AI and blockchain technologies. We also discuss the public implementation of BigchainDB, the Interplanetary Database (IPDB), and the applications for a public big data storage network accessible to all of humanity.

Support the show, consider donating: BTC: 1LvYWeH6kxhq3o99yNRRedyMufroWkAMkk (http://bit.ly/2pDNES7) ETH: 0x8cdb49ca5103Ce06717C4daBBFD4857183f50935 (http://bit.ly/2pEUs2f) 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 discussed 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 Links mentioned in this episode: - Ethereum Name Service: https://ens.domains - ENS Registrar: http://registrar.ens.domains/ - ENS Github Project: https://github.com/ethereum/ens/ - ENS Gitter Channel: https://gitter.im/ethereum/go-ethereum/name-registry - ENS Twitter Bot: https://twitter.com/EnsBot Sponsors: - Ledger: Smart card security for your Bitcoins - Get 10% off your first order when you use the code EPICENTER - http://ledgerwallet.com - Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices - http://jaxx.io This episode is also available on : - Epicenter.tv: https://epicenter.tv/183 - YouTube: http://youtu.be/rBx5UPzF68w - Souncloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-183 Watch or listen, Epicenter is available wherever you get your podcasts. Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.

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 allows users to register .eth domain names, and map those names to any Ethereum address.

Support the show, consider donating: BTC: 12NpdVpGQHLGjvPQFJZFqU5hLMkr4ctkyd (http://bit.ly/2p2iEaQ) ETH: 0x8cdb49ca5103Ce06717C4daBBFD4857183f50935 (http://bit.ly/2pEUs2f) 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 discussed 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 Links mentioned in this episode: - Coin Center | Coin Center: https://coincenter.org/ - Open Matters: Why Permissionless Blockchains are Essential to the Future of the Internet | Coin Center: https://coincenter.org/entry/open-matters - Framework for Securities Regulation of Cryptocurrencies | Coin Center: https://coincenter.org/entry/framework-for-securities-regulation-of-cryptocurrencies - Twitter Peter Van Valkenburgh: https://twitter.com/valkenburgh This episode is also available on : - Epicenter.tv: https://epicenter.tv/182 - YouTube: http://youtu.be/Y6QHi3r59dw - Souncloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-182 Watch or listen, Epicenter is available wherever you get your podcasts. Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.

Coin Center Director of Research Peter Van Valkenburgh joined us to discuss the most important policy issues facing Bitcoin and other open blockchain networks.

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. Through its familiar messaging interface and elegant design, users can chat and send Ether directly in the app, and use popular Dapps like uPort and Gnosis.

Support the show, consider donating: BTC: 1DBKQ5LmB7GSr8ijGsH6GDsfDh9zKocr4F (http://bit.ly/2qfw885) ETH: 0x8cdb49ca5103Ce06717C4daBBFD4857183f50935 (http://bit.ly/2nKneP1) 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 discussed 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 Links mentioned in this episode: - Status: The Mobile Ethereum Client: http://status.im - Status Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/statusim/ Sponsors: - Ledger: Smart card security for your Bitcoins - Get 10% off your first order when you use the code EPICENTER - http://ledgerwallet.com This episode is also available on : - Epicenter.tv: https://epicenter.tv/181 - YouTube: http://youtu.be/kMVHp6zmaJY - Souncloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-181 Watch or listen, Epicenter is available wherever you get your podcasts. Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.