Blockchain Innovation: Interviewing The Brightest Minds In Blockchain

Jerry Cuomo is the Vice President of Blockchain Technologies at IBM. In this episode, Jerry and I discuss: - How Jerry and his father are lifelong “IBMers.” - How IBM first embraced Ethereum before helping form Hyperledger - The IBM Blockchain Platform and how IBM is using blockchain to revolutionize supply chain management for big name clients like Walmart, Maersk, Dole, Kroger, and many more - Sovereign identity and private vs. public blockchains

Mitch Steves is a Silicon-Valley-based Research Analyst at RBC Capital Markets. In this episode, Mitch and I discuss: -How his predictions may have driven up the price of Ether by over 1,000% in 2017 -We review his bold report on blockchain and cryptocurrencies -I pick his brain on ICOs and how to value cryptocurrencies For required disclosure on the companies discussed, please use the following disclosure link - https://www.rbccm.com/GLDisclosure/PublicWeb/DisclosureLookup.aspx?entityId=1

Dr. Leemon Baird is the inventor of Hashgraph and the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Swirlds Inc. Hashgraph is a new data structure and consensus algorithm. **This interview was conducted before the Hedera Public Ledger announcement.** In this episode, Leemon and I discuss: -What a Hashgraph is. How does it compare to a Blockchain? -Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) – Leemon does a brilliant job of explaining this -Exciting use cases for Hashgraph

Aaron Wright is a Professor of Law at the Cardozo School of Law in New York City. He is also the co-inventor of OpenLaw – a blockchain-based protocol for the creation and execution of smart legal agreements In this episode, Aaron and I discuss: • What OpenLaw is • What the SAFT is (including some of its lesser known deficiencies) -and- • The future of ICOs from a legal perspective

Taylor Monahan is the Co-Founder of MyEtherWallet. She also recently launched a new venture – MyCrypto.com. In this episode, Taylor and I discuss: -How MyEtherWallet came to be -The absence of women in Crypto, and why this technology cannot go mainstream without women -Taylor’s description of what the ideal ICO would look like -Her prediction for ICOs over the next decade (hint: it’s not what you would think)

Jason Teutsch is a mathematician, computer scientist, and founder of TrueBit - a scalable verification solution for Blockchains. In this episode, Jason and I discuss:  -The computational limitations of Ethereum smart contracts -The definition of smart contract, gas, and the gas limit on Ethereum -The “Verifier’s Dilemma,” a situation whereby Blockchain miners have little to no incentives to verify transactions (which is the problem TrueBit solves) -Use cases for TrueBit

Ted Livingston is the CEO and Founder of Kik – a messaging app that connects the world through chat. Kik boasts a  billion-dollar valuation, $120 million in venture funding, and a $100 million-dollar ICO. In this episode, Ted and I discuss: -Kin – the new cryptocurrency that powers the Kik messaging platform -The power of incentives in a decentralized network -Why Ted believes Bitcoin is fundamentally flawed, and how Kin addresses those flaws

Paul is President and Co-Founder of Impak Finance, a FinTech company focused on driving positive social impact. Impak Finance made history by launching Impak Coin –  a cryptocurrency for a better world. That launch became Canada’s first compliant ICO. In this episode, we discuss: -The step-by-step process Paul used to get his ICO approved by regulators -How long the process took and the challenges he faced –and– -Paul’s vision for the future

John Lyotier co-founded “Left” with Chris Jensen. Left is currently focusing on a project called RightMESH – a mobile mesh networking platform that enables you to connect via WiFi and Bluetooth without an internet connection. In this episode, we discuss: -What a mesh network is -What WiFi is (hint: you don’t need internet for WiFi) -How Blockchain solves the identity problem in a mesh network –and– -The keys to success for Blockchain/Crypto entrepreneurs

Arthur is the product development lead at AxiomZen. CryptoKitties is a multi-million-dollar video game where players collect and breed digital cats on the Ethereum Blockchain. In this episode, Arthur and I discuss: -What CryptoKitties is -What motivated the AxiomZen team to create this game, and -The implications of a new non-fungible ERC-721 token business model

Dr. Ben Goertzel is the CEO and Founder of SingularityNET, a Blockchain-based marketplace for Artificial Intelligence (AI).  He has a PhD in Mathematics and is known as the ‘father of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).’  In this episode, we discuss:  -The basics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) -The Singularity – popularized by Ray Kurzweil -The intersection of Blockchain and AI

Emin Gün Sirer is a Professor of Computer Science at Cornell University and Co-director of IC3 (Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts). Professor Sirer created Karma – the first cryptocurrency to use a distributed mint-based proof-of-work – 6 years before Bitcoin existed.    In this episode, we discuss:  -Emin’s invention – Karma – the first decentralized cryptocurrency pre-dating Bitcoin -Little-known aspects of Bitcoin’s architecture and history

Lisa Cheng is Founder of the Vanbex Group. Vanbex is a full stack professional services and development company specializing in Blockchain and Cryptocurrency. In this episode, we discuss: • How Lisa got let go from several jobs and was on unemployment before working for organizations like the Ethereum Foundation and Mastercoin • How she became the Founder of the Vanbex Group • And how Vanbex’s Etherparty project raised $30 million in its ICO pre-sale

Anthony is the CEO and Founder of Decentral and Jaxx. He is also one of the founding members of Ethereum and the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada. In this episode, we discuss: • Anthony’s epic journey to Cryptocurrency, including a serendipitous discovery of Bitcoin that eventually led to millions • We discuss how he became one of the original 5 founders of Ethereum • And of course, we discuss the inevitable consequences of the current ICO bubble

RedHat is a global software company providing open-source software solutions to enterprises. I spoke with Rich Feldmann who is the Global Director of Financial Services and is in charge of RedHat’s Blockchain initiative. In this episode, we discuss: -RedHat’s Blockchain strategy -An interesting project RedHat is working on with BlockApps, a “Blockchain-As-A-Service” company -And how cryptocurrency exchanges could leverage RedHat’s expertise, if the conditions are right