When Shift Happens Podcast

E137: Ava Labs CEO: Crypto's Next Boom Will Happen Within 5 Years!

20 snips
Sep 4, 2025
Emin Gun Sirer, CEO and Co-founder of Ava Labs, shares insights from his journey as a computer science innovator. He discusses the evolution of internet currencies, highlighting Avalanche's unique approach to overcoming blockchain challenges. Sirer examines the shift from scams to scalable solutions in crypto, emphasizing the potential for transformative financial applications. He emphasizes the necessity of user-friendly technologies and explores how decentralized finance will reshape asset ownership in the next five years.
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ANECDOTE

Early Frustration Drove Engineering Focus

  • Emin grew up frustrated because everyday systems in Turkey simply didn’t work reliably.
  • That childhood experience drove him to build large-scale systems that actually work.
ANECDOTE

Karma Predated Bitcoin's Ideas

  • In 2002 Emin created Karma, an internet currency to incentivize file sharing and uploads.
  • Karma included proof-of-work minting years before Bitcoin popularized the idea.
INSIGHT

Bitcoin Fused Consensus With Minting

  • Satoshi combined coin creation with consensus, making mining also confirm recent history.
  • That technical fusion made Bitcoin more open and lightweight than earlier designs like Karma.
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