Since inception, ARK has researched and published thoughts on the cryptocurrency ecosystem within Big Ideas and through articles, whitepapers, monthly Bitcoin reports and podcasts. Now, in coordination with Bitcoin Park, ARK is pleased to introduce a monthly conversation with leaders in the Bitcoin space, to discuss everything happening in the rapidly-changing and still nascent Bitcoin ecosystem. Published through the For Your innovation podcast channels, this monthly series aims to be informative and enlightening, including experts with diverse viewpoints.

Guests on this month’s Bitcoin Brainstorm include:

Conor Okus: Product Manager, Spiral

Steve Myers: Contributor, BitcoinDevKit (BDK) Project

Lisa Neigut (NiftyNei): Co-founder, Chief Instruction Officer, Base58

Rockstar Dev: Core Contributor, BTCPay Server

Mike Schmidt: Executive Director, Brink Technology

Yassine Elmandjra: Director of Digital Assets, ARK Invest 

Cathie Wood: Founder, CEO and CIO, ARK Invest

Rod Roudi: Co-Founder, Bitcoin Park

Key Points From This Episode:

00:00:00 Rod Roudi introduces the Bitcoin Brainstorm and hands over the floor to each of our fantastic guests

00:12:05 Rod asks Cathie to explain why she and ARK are interested in Bitcoin

00:17:57 Why work in an open-source environment rather than closed source?

00:29:55 Mike explains why it is important for Bitcoin’s code base to be open-source

00:33:13 How Bitcoin has a unique funding model that relies on community support and how open source in Bitcoin has evolved

00:43:09 Why it is challenging to find developers to work on Bitcoin and how Base58 is working to solve this problem

00:47:36 Lisa explains how she uses live action role play to teach Bitcoin development

00:53:36 How gamification can help kids learn how Bitcoin works on a basic level

00:58:41 What is the best way to support open-source development and Bitcoin projects?

01:10:49 Conor explains the Open Source design community

Important Links Mentioned In This Episode:

·     https://twitter.com/BtcpayServer/status/1704874856452366696

·     https://twitter.com/BtcpayServer/status/1671897255346053120

·     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7xJMno_B3U

·     https://spiral.xyz/blog/a-framework-for-sustainable-open-source-bitcoin-development/

·     Who is Bitcoin? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvHUOr8ruMw

·     Bitcoin Design Community: bitcoin.design