Blockchain Won't Save the World

“The Metaverse is Bullshit if you don’t solve a problem”... This and much more from some very knowledgeable experts who are building real Metaverse propositions today, as well as a closer look at legal, accessibility and diversity considerations for how we may spend our digital lives in future... We LOVE a roast on Blockchain Won't Save the World, and this just may be our best roast yet! I'm joined by Rutger van Zuidam (Odyssey Momentum), Keir Finlow-Bates (Orthoverse.io, Blockchain Wizard), Irina Heaver (Lawyer and Blockchain VC), Mauricio Magaldi (11:FS, BlockDrops) and newcomer Giselle Mota (NFTY Collective) who share their thoughts on: - What is the Metaverse (and what it should not be)? - What does it take to build a Metaverse? - What advice would you give to others starting out in the Metaverse? - How should we think about accessibility, diversity and inclusion in the Metaverse? - What are the worst Metaverse initiatives you've seen, and why? - Why we don't need pockets and roofs in the Metaverse, and - Skeuomorphism. Lots of skeuomorphism... I promise, but the end of this episode you will look at the Metaverse, and the concept of digital virtual collaboration in a whole different light. It's been one hell of a season, and this is the perfect way to bring it to a close. Thanks to every single listener and guest who have made the Blockchain Won't Save the World Podcast so successful, and who have brought our amazing community together over the past few years.

Students from the University of Auckland share what excites and scares them about some of the most well-known Blockchain platforms, including Cardano, Monax and 'Digital Street' Property Management. We also dive into some thoughtful discussion on decentralised governance, grants and treasuries, DAOs (Decentralised Autonomous Organisations) and who would be crazy enough to apply Blockchain in some of the least digitally mature industries in the world (Construction, Legal, Property).  Huge shout to Troy Egan, Abhinaw Sai and Mina Cu for the excellent preparation and fascinating insights from some of their own projects, and to Alex Sims from the University of Auckland for bringing us all together.  

We’re doing a playback of the 10 most interesting things we learned about Blockchain technology from Season 2 of Blockchain Won't Save the World. We’ve been to Canada, Brazil, The Netherlands, Germany, Malta, Israel, India, The UAE, Japan, Singapore and Australia; as well as launching the popular ‘Students React’ show, so there's a ton of great content to choose from. It was hard to pick the 10 best moments, but in the end we landed on the following: - The first ever digital currency: invented in 1934 (Switzerland, Efi Pylarinou) - How some countries are more decentralised than others (Germany, Katharina Gehra) - How to create a thriving Blockchain ecosystem (Netherlands, Marloes Pomp) - How Blockchain and Open Source is driving economic empowerment (India, Richa Joshi) - How Blockchain supports the bottom of the economic pyramid (Brazil, Isaque Eberhardt) - The challenges of launching a Blockchain business in a regulated country (Malta, Dave Pulis) - How not to regulate-away your entire Blockchain community (Canada, Don Tapscott) - The important role of Blockchain accelerators (Singapore, Ming Ng) - Enterprise Blockchains are not dead (Japan, Norbert Gehrke) - Diversity and inclusion have a chance with Blockchain technology (Akshata Namjoshi) Thanks to all of my guests from an amazing and inspiring second season of BWSTW. If you want to hear more from any of these speakers, check back on some of the earlier episode from this Season, or from Season 1. And watch out for an explosive Season 2 Finale, coming next month!... You guessed it... We're doing another Roast!...

It's the last destination of Season 2 before a very special 'Finale' episode, and where better to go than the country that many credit for being the birthplace of the Blockchain movement: Canada... Yes, Canada... Canada has had a surprisingly significant influence from the original Bitcoin white paper, to the founding of Ethereum, Crypto Kitties, the Blockchain Research Institute and much more... While Canadians are famously modest about their achievements, I'm going to do my civic duty and shine a light on the impressive Blockchain projects, the people and associations behind the rise of Blockchain in Canada. This might just be the most enlightening show we've ever produced, and we've got a VERY special guest speaker for this episode's Bonus Round! We include speakers from leading Blockchain organisations like Stellar, Shyft, Linux Foundation, Hut 8 Mining, Shopify, Guild One, Veritree, Deloitte, MHH Technology Group, Blockchain Supply Chain Association and Global University Systems; as well as leading academic institutions like ICTC, George Brown College, and the University of British Columbia... Oh, and a rather significant guest speaker... A veteran of 7 MILLION Ted Talk views, author of the most-read book on Blockchain, and founder of the Blockchain Research Institute: it's the legendary Don Tapscott! Do not miss the chance to hear the great man's take on the good and the bad of Blockchain in Canada, and what more is needed to scale Blockchain technology in Canada and around the world. Shout out to my other guests: Alexis Pappas, Amy Ter Haar, Derrick Emsley, Emma Todd, Erik Valiquette, George Petrovic, Hilary Carter, Jaime Leverton, Janine Moir, John S. Lee, Joseph Weinberg, Louisa Bai, Marc Lijour, and Vicki Lemieux.

Australia has been a latecomer to Blockchain, Crypto and Web3, but that may be about to change... We get an exclusive interview with Steve Vallas, CEO of Blockchain Australia, right at the close of Australia Blockchain Week 2022. Steve explains why the mood has never been more positive around Blockchain; why the government is taking Crypto seriously; and why, after a talent exodus, Aussie Blockchainers are beginning to return home. In this episode we cover: - The highlights of the largest and most successful Australia Blockchain Week ever (250 speakers, 4 cities, all sectors) - Australia's Blockchain and Crypto community - Why government interest and conversations about Blockchain are '10x-ing' in Australia - Australia's first Blockchain unicorn - What a forward-looking regulatory regime in Australia could look like (including recognition of DAOs) - The state of Blockchain talent and diversity in Australia Check out more about Australia Blockchain Week here: www.blockchainweek.com.au Check out Blockchain Australia here: https://blockchainaustralia.org

Want to learn about the opportunities and challenges of working with Blockchain technology in Africa? We hear first hand from students looking into applying Blockchain for anti-counterfeit medicines, food traceability, and voting. We also hear some fascinating insights into how African countries are applying unique physical security methods to provide security, authenticity and prevent fraud. Students from Nigeria, Kenya and Rwanda share what excites and scares them about some of the most well-known Blockchain use cases, including PharmaLedger, BitCerts, IBM Food Trust and BallotChain (eVoting). Huge shout to Clare, Faith, Joseph, Ridwan (and Kayode our coordinator) for the fascinating insights and local anecdotes from working with technology in Africa.

At one time, Japan was the largest Bitcoin trading nation in the world. After tragic hacks to Mt. Gox and CoinCheck exchanges everything changed. Regulations came in, Blockchain talent deserted, while large enterprises continued to research DLT use cases. Can the recent excitement around NFTs, DeFi and DAOs rejuvenate this once proud crypto nation?... There remains a lot for us to learn from the Blockchain community in Japan: it's powerful and far-reaching Blockchain Associations, expertise in CBDCs, 80-strong consortium focused on digital assets, the Digital Yen stablecoin that is accepted for tax payments in certain prefectures, and some inspiring grass roots projects such as Astar network and a plethora of new entrants to the NFT space that could already be considered 'mass adoption'. This is both a sad and inspiring story, with much to learn for anyone working in Blockchain around the world... Shout to my amazing guests: Aya Walraven (Mercari), Norbert Gehrke (Tokyo Fintech), Ken Kawai, (Anderson, Mori & Tomotsune), So Saito (So & Sato), Marisa Yoshikawa McKnight (Liquid), Tamara Soykina (Far East Blockchain), Ryu Takaki (IBM), Mamoru Fujimoto (SBI R3), Kazumasa Miyazawa (Soramitsu), Kohei Kurihara (Privacy By Design Lab), Toshi Matsuda (FDFA) and Mario Larangeira (Tokyo Institute of Technology) 

It’s another Students React podcast, and this one is a must listen. The Blockchain students from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania present some fascinating projects, some learnings from their experience with crypto, and a very unique ‘in-house’ project that drew serious debate, including: - Cardano Foundation - Energy Web - Chainalysis Inc. - Boba - Mina Protocol (formerly Coda) - Zuz Lab (link in the comments) As well as some wider discussion around Pussy.Finance, the value of meme coins, whether open source vs. zero knowledge will become the dominant mode for Blockchain transactions, and much, much more.  Always inspiring to hear the future leaders of the world talking about Blockchain. Shout to Seth Goldstein and Ishgun Singh Arora for helping bring us all together. The future of Blockchain in Pittsburg is looking bright... As ever, this show should not be seen as investment advice. Always DYOR, and stay safe out there.

The UAE is the hottest nation in Blockchain right now! We cover everything from government, enterprise, crypto, legal, tax and how to the UAE plans to attract 1,000 developers a month... The federal government and the c.50 free zones within the UAE are all competing to bring Blockchain, Digital Assets and Crypto innovation to the region. From aggressive national strategies, to incentivising and investing in start-ups, and forming collaborations with some of the biggest players in Blockchain, the UAE is more than just a tax haven for Crypto OGs. Featuring guests from the Dubai Blockchain Centre, Dubai Future Foundation, DMCC, Tezos Foundation, CV VC, du, Etisalat, IBM, Biconomy, Karm Legal, Keystone Law, Abed Group, WoM Protocol and much more... Whether you're into enterprise Blockchain or Web 3 and DeFi, this episode has something for everyone, as well as deep dives on the attraction of Free Zones, why start-ups pay hundreds of thousands of dollars on tax and legal advice, and bilateral government projects with Blockchain. Shout to my amazing guests, including: Marwan Alzarouni (Dubai Blockchain Centre), H.E. Gabriel Abed (Ambassador of Barbados to the UAE), Faisal Al Hawi (Dubai Future Foundation), Fatma Elsafty (du), James Bernard (DMCC), Irina Heaver (Keystone Law), Anthony Butler (IBM), Hubert Thonhauser (Tezos Foundation), Lara Abdulmalak (Unlock Blockchain), Alexia Hefti (Abed Group), Jorge Carrasco (Etisalat), Oliver von Wolff (CV Labs / CV VC), Akshata Namjoshi (Karm Legal), Melanie Mohr (WoM Protocol), Maria Vovchok (World of Web3 Summit), Ahmed Al-Balaghi (Biconomy)

Excited to bring you a follow-up to one of the most popular podcasts from Season 1. I'm joined by Holger Koether (IOTA) and Sebastian Becker (Riddle & Code) to discuss the cutting edge work happening in Europe and further afield. In this show we cover: - Benefits of combining Blockchain and IoT - Key use cases that IOTA and R&C are working on today - Creating a European-wide Blockchain infrastructure on public blockchains, enabling machine-to-machine transactions - Learnings for anyone to apply to their own Blockchain & IoT projects If you want to hear more on this topic, check out Season 1 Episode 10 with David Sønstebø and IOTA from Season 1