Messari's Unqualified Opinions

Tendermint Director of Research Zaki Manian reflects on the origins of the Cosmos project, including their 2017 crowdsale and the success of their “Game of Stakes” incentivized testnet. He also provides some color on why he thinks the Cosmos ATOM token has value right now, the role it currently plays in the Cosmos ecosystem as well as the role it can play in the future. Lastly, he weighs in on the global smart contracting platform landscape, ETH 2.0, the regulatory environment that has projects looking to Asia and the latest on the Binance DEX, which is being built using the Cosmos SDK & Tendermint consensus. --- If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

On the 11th anniversary of Bitcoin’s genesis block, former Coinbase CTO Balajis Srinivasan launched Nakamoto.com to much fanfare, as well as controversy surrounding the site’s choice of name. On the latest episode of Unqualified Opinions, Balaji and Ryan discuss the intent behind the site, which at present boasts curated insights from 60 high-profile contributors, including Zooko, Naval, Vitalik. Balaji shares his concerns over the uncomfortable places modern technology and social media are taking society as well as his philosophy for building a future that he’d want to live in.  The conversation covers the evolution of crypto discourse online and how Nakamoto.com aims to create a more civil place for discussion with Bitcoin as its foundation.  --- If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

Gone are the days when a blockchain network could launch quietly, coordinated over an online forum by an anonymous developer or when a small number of technically minded people could participate in a low-profile token sale. While the early days of Bitcoin and Ethereum came with their own inherent challenges, the high profile network launches of today come with a new set of concerns. How do you gain developer mindshare? How do proof-of-stake networks grapple with the threat of exchanges centralizing staking? What’s the best way to handle token distributions in today's investor driven landscape?  In this conversation, Ryan and Algorand CEO, Steve Kokinos discuss what it’s like to be at the helm of a newly launched smart contracting platform in 2020.  --- If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

In this episode, we take a walk down memory lane through Bitcoin’s chaotic early years. Required listening for anyone who got into the industry post 2017 and is missing context behind some of Bitcoin’s longest standing feuds and divisions.  We cover Samson’s origin story as a pivotal player throughout Bitcoin’s first civil war, the history of Blockstream (and associated conspiracy theories), the blocksize debate and the infamous New York Agreement. Samson also shares his gripes with the Ethereum community along with what he expects from the Lightning Network and smart contract functionality on Liquid in 2020. --- If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

Matt Spoke is the founder and CEO of the Open Application Network, formerly known as Aion. In this discussion, Matt and Ryan discuss the OAN’s strategic shift to focusing on solving problems that exist within large online marketplaces. Matt lays out his vision for a future where YouTubers own their subscribers and can offer them discounts on Shopify or where drivers for Uber and Lift own their reputations and can use them to benefit on other online marketplaces. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

Oded Wertheim provides and update on Orbs, which is a project building public blockchain infrastructure designed for enterprises. In this conversation Oded details Orbs’s approach to collaborating with enterprises and how it differs from the private/permissioned approach taken by Hyperledger and R3’s Corda. Oded also lays out the problems that public chains solve for enterprises and how trust will be a standard feature built into the products of the future. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

Jake Yocom-Piatt is the project lead of Decred: a hybrid proof-of-stake/proof-of-work blockchain that re-thinks development funding, on-chain governance and consensus mechanisms. In this conversation, Jake discusses how his experience contributing to Bitcoin lead to the creation of Decred and how the project aims to compete as one of the top store-of-value chains. Jake and Ryan discuss Decred’s roadmap, including its integration of the lightning network, additional privacy features and more. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

Ryan interviews Simon Taylor, Co-Founder of 11:FS. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

Ryan interviews Max Pertosovskiy, Head of Growth at Waves. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io

Qiao Wang, Director of Product at Messari, interviews Chris McCann, Founding Partner at Proof of Capital. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with your colleagues & friends, rate, review, and subscribe.This podcast is presented by BlockWorks Group. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at: https://www.blockworksgroup.io