Taking back the Internet: Blockchains, Privacy, Web 3.0, and Figment.io :: with Andrew Cronk

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Andrew Cronk (Co-Founder, Figment.io) and I discuss practical ways to engage with the Web 3.0 stack, how to keep up with information in the blockchain space, how to learn and teach others about crypto technologies, and where everyone is going to be storing and sharing baby photos in the future.  

Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-19 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned. 

You can watch this episode via video here. 

In this episode we cover the following:   

2:30 - A quick discussion about what’s been happening in the blockchain world since summer 2020, i.e. the DeFi “boom.” 

4:09 - What has Figment.io been up to? Servicing two personas with three products. Coin holders and Web 3 developers, with validator nodes/staking, Hubble, and Data Hub.

7:00 - Figment Learn - new product for developers to learn how to build on blockchains. 

7:50 - Why do we need all these extra blockchains? Why do we need more than Ethereum?  

11:23 - Regarding the question “Where do you upload your baby photos?” // What is it now within the Figment team and what will it hopefully be in the near future? 

13:16 - What technology shifts are happening that are warranting the creation of these new blockchains? Trusted Execution Environments and Intel SGX, Oasis, Secret.Network. Users owning their own data. Example of the project looking at people sharing xrays/CT scans to train a model. 

16:03 - Would people training these models need to be compensated with a token? 

16:50 - Where are/would people’s images be stored in the Web 3 stack in this example? 

17:58 - What areas in the blockchain space is Andy most excited about? Where does it get his news about blockchains? Check out Messari. Privacy of data. Personal digital locker of data. 

20:10 - Commentary/questions about the multidisciplinary nature of blockchains - where does Andy like to spend his time? What things are working? Speculation, DeFi like Automated Market Makers (Uniswap), and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). OpenSea marketplace.     

25:10 - Example of a “receipt” that could be given to consumers who buy something. 

25:50 - More about Figment’s new Learn product. How does it work? Who is it for? (Peer to Peer learning system)

27:45 - Would people in Learn get paid in the token of the chain that is promoting content? Or what incentive mechanisms are in place?  

29:48 - As a developer today, what sorts of things can I do with DataHub?

30:34 - What are some examples of things I can build with NEAR? 

31:55 - Will DataHub have the APIs necessary to interact with NEAR? 

32:30 - Final thoughts from Andy to the Web 2 to Web 3 engineers and investors out there. Let’s take back the internet.