Blockchain Innovation: Interviewing The Brightest Minds In Blockchain

Latest Episodes:

026: TrueBit – Blockchain Verification on Steroids with Jason Teutsch Feb 15, 2018

Show notes

Jason Teutsch is a mathematician (PhD) and computer scientist whose research focuses on distributed systems, security, game theory, and algorithmic randomness.

Jason is also the founder of TrueBit - a scalable verification solution for Blockchains.

In this episode, Jason and I discuss:

The computational limitations of Ethereum smart contracts
The definition of smart contract (hint: it's not the same as a legal contract), gas, and the gas limit on Ethereum
The "Verifier's Dilemma," a situation whereby Blockchain miners have little to no incentives to verify transactions (which is the problem TrueBit solves)
Use cases for TrueBit, including LivePeer – a decentralized video streaming platform, AI, "Interactive ICOs," and much more

025: Kik – The Billion-Dollar Crypto Unicorn with Ted Livingston Jan 31, 2018

Show notes

Ted Livingston is the CEO and Founder of Kik Interactive – creators of Kik – a messaging app that connects the world through chat.

After working at Blackberry, his boss encouraged him to start his own company, which he did in 2009.

That company (Kik) has since grown to 15 million monthly users, a billion-dollar valuation, $120 million dollars in venture funding, and an uber-successful $100 million-dollar ICO.

In this episode, Ted and I discuss:

His journey from Blackberry, to Kik, to Kin – which is the new cryptocurrency that powers the Kik messaging platform
How back in 2010 Kik went from 0 to 1 million users in only 15 days
The power of incentives in a decentralized network –and–
Why Ted believes Bitcoin is fundamentally flawed, and how Kin addresses those flaws, to the point of maybe one day replacing Bitcoin as the world's top cryptocurrency

024: Impak Coin – Canada's First Compliant ICO with Paul Allard Jan 18, 2018

Show notes

Paul is President and Co-Founder of Impak Finance, a FinTech company focused on driving positive social impact. He has raised millions of dollars, and has been part of numerous exits, acquisitions, and IPOs.

In August of 2017, Impak Finance made history by launching Impak Coin – a cryptocurrency for a better world.

That launch became Canada's first compliant ICO – meaning Canadian regulators reviewed the ICO and gave it a thumbs-up.

In this episode, we discuss:

The step-by-step process Paul used to get his ICO approved by regulators
How long the process took and the challenges he faced –and–
Paul's vision for the future, now that Impak has launched Canada's first compliant token

023: Disrupting the Internet with Mesh Technology – John Lyotier Jan 10, 2018

Show notes

John is a veteran technology entrepreneur who co-founded a company called "Left" with Chris Jensen.

Their mission is to use technology to change the world.

Left is currently focusing on a project called RightMESH – a software-based, mobile mesh networking platform that enables users with mobile devices to connect via WiFi and Bluetooth without an internet connection.

In this episode, we discuss:

What a mesh network is
What WiFi is (hint: you don't need internet for WiFi)
How Blockchain solves the identity problem in a mesh network –and–
The keys to success for Blockchain/Crypto entrepreneurs

022: CryptoKitties – Ethereum's New Killer App with Arthur Camara Dec 30, 2017

Show notes

Arthur is the product development lead at AxiomZen. He is an Engineer by training with a Computer Science degree and a Master's Degree in Human-Computer Interaction.

CryptoKitties is a multi-million-dollar video game where players collect and breed digital cats on the Ethereum Blockchain.

In this episode, Arthur and I discuss:

What CryptoKitties is
What motivated the AxiomZen team to create this game, and
The implications of a new non-fungible ERC-721 token business model

021: Blockchain Meets Artificial Intelligence with Dr. Ben Goertzel Dec 20, 2017

Show notes

Dr. Ben Goertzel is the CEO and Founder of SingularityNET, a Blockchain-based marketplace for Artificial Intelligence (AI).

He has a PhD in Mathematics and is known as the 'father of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).'

In this episode, we discuss:

The basics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
The Singularity – popularized by Ray Kurzweil but originating much earlier – in the 1960s
And most importantly, we explore the intersection of Blockchain and AI, both in today's environment, as well as in the future

020: Bitcoin is at $10,000 – Here's a Brief History with Professor Emin Gün Sirer Dec 04, 2017

Show notes

Emin Gün Sirer is a Professor of Computer Science at Cornell University and Co-director of IC3 (Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts)

He has made numerous contributions to both Bitcoin & Ethereum. His research spans, networking, distributed systems, and operating systems.

Professor Sirer created Karma – the first cryptocurrency to use a distributed mint-based proof-of-work – 6 years before Bitcoin existed.

In this episode, we discuss:

Emin's invention – Karma – the first decentralized cryptocurrency pre-dating Bitcoin
The pros and cons of Segwit2x (which has now been abandoned)
Little-known aspects of Bitcoin's architecture and history such as the Bitcoin Relay, Falcon, and Fiber networks, selfish mining, the lightning network, sidechains, and much more
We also discuss some of the relatively unknown academics who contributed the theoretical foundations to what we now know as Bitcoin

019: The $30-Million-Dollar Ether Party with Lisa Cheng Nov 22, 2017

Show notes

Lisa Cheng is the Founder and Head of Research & Development for the Vanbex Group. Vanbex is a full stack professional services and development company specializing in Blockchain and Cryptocurrency.

Lisa is also an advisor for emerging tech startups and has expertise in business development and product strategy. Her background includes Fortune 500 companies, enterprise sales, big data, and SaaS.

In this episode, we discuss:

How Lisa got let go from several jobs and was on unemployment before working for organizations like the Ethereum Foundation and Mastercoin (now known as Omni)
How she became the Founder of the Vanbex Group
And how Vanbex's Etherparty project raised $30 million in its ICO pre-sale

018: The Little-Known History of Ethereum, Decentral, and Jaxx with Anthony Di Iorio Nov 01, 2017

Show notes

Anthony is the CEO and Founder of Decentral – a Toronto-based innovation hub focused on disruptive and decentralized technologies.

In early 2016, they created Jaxx – one of the top multi-cryptocurrency wallets on the market.

Anthony is also one of the founding members of Ethereum and the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada.

In this episode, we discuss:

Anthony's epic journey to Cryptocurrency. From real estate, to the family patio door business, to geothermal drilling, and finally, to a serendipitous discovery of Bitcoin that eventually led to millions
We discuss how he became one of the original 5 founders of Ethereum
And of course, since he invented one of the most popular cryptocurrency wallets in the space, we discuss the inevitable consequences of the current ICO bubble

017: How RedHat is Quietly Transforming Enterprise Blockchain with Rich Feldmann Oct 20, 2017

Show notes

RedHat is a global software company providing open-source software solutions to enterprises.

I spoke with Rich Feldmann who is the Global Director of Financial Services and is in charge of RedHat's Blockchain initiative.

In this episode, we discuss:

RedHat's Blockchain strategy
An interesting project RedHat is working on with BlockApps, a "Blockchain-As-A-Service" company
And how cryptocurrency exchanges could leverage RedHat's expertise, if the conditions are right

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