In this discussion, Kevin Owocki, co-founder of Gitcoin, and Meg Lister, GM of Grants Labs, dive into the transformative journey of Gitcoin from centralized funding to a decentralized model. They explore exciting funding mechanisms like quadratic funding and retroactive public goods funding, designed to bolster community contributions. The conversation also touches on innovative concepts such as Angel Investing 2.0 and the Gitcoin Passport, which addresses sybil attacks. Their ultimate goal? A capital allocation system that supports what truly matters to communities worldwide.
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Gitcoin's Origin
Kevin Owocki, with a computer science background, co-founded Gitcoin in 2017.
He aimed to use crypto to fund open-source software due to a lack of reciprocation in the Web2 space.
insights INSIGHT
Gitcoin 1.0 vs 2.0
Gitcoin 1.0, a centralized platform, primarily funded emerging Ethereum projects.
Gitcoin 2.0 is a decentralized suite of protocols, enabling any EVM-based ecosystem to fund public goods.
insights INSIGHT
Quadratic Funding Explained
Quadratic funding democratically distributes matching funds based on the breadth of community support.
Projects with broader support receive a larger share, amplifying smaller contributions.
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Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze
Laura Shin
The Cryptopians delves into the story of idealists, technologists, and opportunists fighting to bring cryptocurrency to the masses. The book focuses on the founding of Ethereum by Vitalik Buterin and the subsequent crypto fever it created. It introduces readers to larger-than-life characters such as Buterin, Charles Hoskinson, and Joe Lubin, highlighting the personal and professional conflicts that shaped the early days of Ethereum. The narrative explores the booms, busts, and internecine wars within the crypto world, revealing it as a deeply personal struggle to influence the coming revolution in money, culture, and power.
In this episode, Laura interviews Meg Lister, GM of Grants Labs at Gitcoin, and Kevin Owocki, co-founder of Gitcoin.
They discuss the evolution of Gitcoin from a centralized platform to a decentralized suite of protocols, Gitcoin 2.0, which allows any Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) based ecosystem to fund its public goods. They also talk about the various funding mechanisms available, including quadratic funding, retroactive public goods funding, and conviction voting.
The team is also exploring more futuristic concepts such as private voting systems, angel investing 2.0, and impact attestations. The ultimate goal for Gitcoin is to create a capital allocation infrastructure that funds what matters to communities, whether they are towns, states, countries, or online interest groups.
Show highlights:
Kevin's background and how he came to found Gitcoin and why Meg joined the company
The differences between Gitcoin 1.0 and 2.0
What quadratic funding is and why it is important in the blockchain ecosystem
The problem of sybil attacks and how Gitcoin Passport aims to solve it
Why Gitcoin has changed its approach to put more focus on scaling Ethereum rather than other types of grants
How Gitcoin is trying to solve capital allocation efficiency with Allo (Capital Allocation) Protocol
What streaming quadratic funding is and how it differs from traditional quadratic funding
How retroactive public goods funding (RPGF) works
What conviction voting is and how it addresses some of the current problems in DAOs
Which projects are using Gitcoin Passport and what for
Why Gitcoin is so focused on the Ethereum ecosystem and whether they will launch in other chains
What the purposes of the GTC token are and how it could become a flywheel for Gitcoin
How Gitcoin can become sustainable long-term, since it's free to use at the moment
The features that are coming down the line for Gitcoin, including privacy and onchain "angel investing"
What the future could look like if Gitcoin succeeds in its mission, according to Kevin
Unchained 