Epicenter - Learn about Crypto, Blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin and Distributed Technologies

We’re joined by Christopher Fabian, Co-founder of Unicef’s Innovation Unit. We discuss how the global non-profit institution leverages innovative technology to solve real-world problems in humanitarian work. We explore the different applications of blockchain in the UN and Unicef, as well as the challenges we can anticipate when deploying these technologies in the developing world. Shaun Conway, Founder of Ixo Foundation, also joins the discussion as a startup working Unicef and talks about the value of a global reputation network for humanitarian projects. Topics covered in this episode: Chris’ and Shaun’s respective backgrounds A bit of background on the UN and Unicef Unicef’s Innovation Unit and Venture arm How Unicef evaluates the different technologies in the space (public, permissionned, etc.) The challenges faced when deploying new technologies in the developing world Unicef’s recent experimentation with an Ethereum smart contract Potential applications for blockchain at the UN and Unicef Unicef’s Venture arm and the types of projects in which they invest Ixo Foundation, their collaboration with Unicef and the value of a Proof of Impact blockchain network Episode links: Blockchain at UNICEF Christopher Fabian - Wikipedia UNICEF Ventures: Exploring Smart Contracts ixo foundation ixo foundation – Medium This episode is hosted by Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/214

In the blockchain world, few people are as brave as Tim Swanson when it comes to busting hype. Tim’s unbiased, honest, and sometimes controversial opinions provide a refreshingly realistic view of blockchain adoption and applications of this technology by people and businesses. Cutting through the hype, the over-sold press releases ad the blind optimism of a completely decentralized economy, Tim’s insights provide a sobering look at the state of the blockchain. Topics covered in this episode: Tim’s background and recent departure from R3 The current state of the enterprise blockchain market The state of Bitcoin in the context of the recent price increase Tim’s thoughts on the recent spike in ICO’s The rumors and concerns surrounding Bitfinex and Tether The rise of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as an asset class Current problems in Bitcoin: governance and centralization of power Tim’s new project: Post Oak Labs Episode links: Tim's Blog: Great Wall of Numbers Bitcoin Is Now Just A Ticker Symbol and Stopped Being Permissionless Years Ago Who are the administrators of blockchains? Eight Things Cryptocurrency Enthusiasts Probably Won’t Tell You Post Oak Labs This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/213

We were joined by Founder Adam Perlow and Developer Asher Manning of Zen, a public blockchain project focused on building a decentralized financial system. The core premise of Zen is that none of the public blockchain networks are focused on financial asset. Zen is aiming to fill that gap through a Bitcoin-like UTXO architecture that supports multiple asset and smart contracts to enforce complex ownership rules. We talked through their original design choices, their use of formal verification, connection to Bitcoin and vision for a fully decentralized financial system. Topics covered in this episode: Why existing public blockchains are ill-suited for financial instruments Why Zen chose to use a Bitcoin-like UTXO architecture How Zen uses formal verification to allow smart contracts without a virtual machine or needing gas How the Active Contract Set reduces the burden on the miners Walking through creating, trading and settling a call option on Zen How Zen allows payments to be settled in Bitcoin Getting data from the outside world with oracles Zen’s use of Proof-of-Work regulated by on-chain governance Episode links: Zen Protocol - A Financial Engine Zen Protocol - Whitepaper Zen Protocol - Deck Google Campus Presentation - YouTube Zen - Alpha Version Zen Protocol Founders Film - YouTube Oracles and Zen – Zen Protocol Zen’s contract lifecycle – Zen Protocol This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/212

Neufund CEO Zoe Adamovicz joined us to discuss how Neufund is creating a platform to allow companies to sell tokens backed by actual company equity. Topics covered in this episode: Neufund’s thesis of the revolutionary implications of token equity The difference between ICOs and Equity Token Offerings (ETO) Why from a regulatory perspective ETOs are uncomplicated How Neufund’s token Neumarks serves to build a community How the Initial Capital Building Mechanism is bootstrapping the ecosystem The long-term vision of creating a global stock market Episode links: Neufund Neufund Whitepaper Neufund Light Paper Neufund | ICBM Commit Page German Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) on ICOs and cryptocurrencies This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/211

Chaincode Labs Founder Alex Morcos joined us to discuss his journey, the role of the company in Bitcoin’s development and the views that drive his work. Topics covered in this episode: Alex’s background in high frequency trading as a founder of Hudson River Trading How Alex first learned about Bitcoin The vision of Chaincode Labs Why Bitcoin represents our only chance of creating digital gold Why Bitcoin’s resistance to change is one of its core features Why the NYA & SegWit2x approach was misguided How getting consensus around a hard fork blocksize increase could work Why Alex is not excited about the efforts to use blockchains in banks Episode links: Chain Code Labs, Inc Twitter Alex Morcos Why Bitcoin doesn’t need a solution – Alex Morcos – Medium No2x: Centralized Services – Alex Morcos – Medium No2x: Full Nodes – Alex Morcos – Medium This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/210

Scaling public blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum is a long standing technical challenge. In this episode, we cover Zilliqa which has pioneered a design to scale public blockchain throughput with the number of nodes by sharding the blockchain. Sharding has been hitherto proposed as a scaling technique by Ethereum. Zilliqa is one of the first projects to propose a concrete design with an operational testnet processing a couple thousand transactions per second across several shards. Our guests, Xinshu Dong (CEO) and Amrit Kumar (Crypto Lead), walk us through the objectives, protocol design and fundraising structure of this innovative project. We also briefly cover Zilliqa’s novel approach to designing a smart contract language and execution environment. Topics covered in this episode: Sharding as a scaling technique Different kinds of sharding, including state sharding and non-state sharding How Zilliqa works under the hood – consensus algorithms & transaction processing Zilliqa’s novel approach for a smart contract language Details of a new cryptocurrency, Zillings Episode links: Zilliqa Website Zilliqa Blog Zilliqa Whitepaper Prateek Saxena and his research group at NUS Singapore This episode is hosted by Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/209

For the very first time, all three Epicenter hosts found themselves in the same location. After attending Ethereum’s DevCon 3 in Cancun, we were at a Cosmos Retreat and discussed the conference, retreat, state of the Ethereum ecosystem and recent Parity hack. Topics covered in this episode: Recap of Ethereum’s DevCon 3 conference Current state of Ethereum The most interesting new projects at DevCon The post-DevCon Cosmos retreat The internet of blockchain thesis The case for blockchain’s having sovereignty The massive loss of funds due to Parity’s flawed multisig contract The pros and cons of an Ethereum hard fork Episode links: Ethereum Developers Conference (Devcon3) Cosmos - Internet of Blockchains Many Chains One Ecosystem Slides Many Chains One Ecosystem - YouTube "Ethereum Client Bug Freezes User Funds as Fallout Remains Uncertain - CoinDesk" Parity Multi-Sig Wallets Deployed After 7/30 Issue : ethereum Paritytech - Security Alert This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/208

We are joined by Micah Winkelspecht, CEO and Founder of Gem. What started as a Bitcoin API in 2014 has evolved into a leading provider of blockchain solutions for enterprise. Gem addresses the problem of digital data silos and the complexities they introduce when companies and individuals collaborate and share information. Their product, GemOS, provides a full-stack blockchain middleware platform which allows companies to build applications on top of blockchains protocols like Ethereum or Hyperledger Fabric. Topics covered in this episode: Micah’s background and how he got involved in the Bitcoin space How the company and product have evolved to support his original vision How blockchain technologies are transforming process digitization The siloed identity problem and what complexities it introduces for people and companies How GemOS is addressing fundamental issues in health care and insurance How blockchain technologies can support regulated industries Micah’s insights on creating awareness among enterprise clients The importance of building ecosystems and network economies which enterprise can leverage Episode links: Gem.co This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/207

Energy markets form a complex ecosystem of actors. Wholesale energy producers create energy through various means, grid operators transport electricity over long distances and deliver it to homes and businesses, who buy it from local utility companies. The utilities act as resellers in this scheme and take on much of the financial risk associated with selling a commodity which is consumed long before payment settlement from consumers. However, utilities have high operation and marketing costs and charge a high markup on the electricity they buy from wholesalers. Karl Kreder, Co-founder of Grid+, a Consensys project, joins us to talk about how blockchain technology can help disintermediate utilities and allow consumers buy electricity directly from producers. The Grid+ Agent is a hardware device which sits in your home, is connected to your energy meter and can interact with the power grid. The Agent has built-in logic allowing it to respond to your energy needs and predict usage. It is also equipped with a Trusted Execution Environment and a wallet which keeps private keys secure and can make near real-time payments to the network. Topics covered in this episode: Karl’s background and how he became part of Consensys Energy A high-level overview of the energy market and the different players in this ecosystem Where lie the inefficiencies and how they can be improved The challenges facing the energy market today The Grid+ Agent and its functionality How the Grid+ Agent works and how it interacts with the grid Other potential applications for the Grid+ Agent The economics of the Grid+ smart contract and how it handles risk The Grid+ token sale Episode links: Grid+ Grid+ Whitepaper What is Grid+? - YouTube This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/206

Galen Wolfe-Pauly, CEO of Tlon, shares insights on Urbit, a groundbreaking project aiming to reinvent the internet through personal servers. He discusses its 15-year evolution and the philosophy that contrasts traditional internet architectures. Key topics include Urbit's unique components—Nock, Hoon, and Arvo—and its governance system likened to a digital republic. Galen envisions a future of decentralized social networks where users regain control over their data, promising a radical shift in how we interact online.