Blockchain Won't Save the World

Latest Episodes:

S4E5 Venly: Solving Blockchain's Tooling Problem w. Tim Dierckxsens Mar 23, 2024

Show notes

Note: This episode contains at least 2 very important knowledge bombs about the importance of SaaS for Web3, and the art of dealmaking for chain partnerships!

We've got more Blockchain infrastructure than we can possibly use... But is it USABLE?

Tim from Venly will explain the importance of developer tools to make Web3 more accessible to everyone...

Blockchains are brilliant. Tokens are tremendous. But development on most chains can be dire... Esoteric languages, confusing contracts, limited interoperability, and APIs that don't connect to anything legacy organisations actually use today. Venly are looking to change that.

In this show we'll talk about:

- The challenge of building with Blockchains today

- What do we mean by 'tooling' for Web3

- What's in the Venly tooling stack

- Example use cases where enterprises and projects are benefiting from SaaS / BaaS solutions

- What more is needed to see wider Web3 adoption

S4E4 VeChain: A Sustainable Blockchain with a Purpose w. Sunny Lu Mar 09, 2024

Show notes

How many Layer 1 Blockchains do you know that are mission-driven to support sustainability? VeChain might be the only one…

Not only that, they’re the only Blockchain whose whitepaper was co-authored by BCG. This is a serious team, with serious ambitions, and Sunny Lu joins us to answer YOUR questions.

Many Blockchains will say they are ‘sustainable’… Which is a common reference to the fact that their energy usage (through Proof of Stake Consensus) is 99% lower than Bitcoin’s. But are they driving change through enabling sustainability projects? VeChain are, and along with insights into the technology and the use cases, we talk about:

- The history of VeChain

- Why Blockchains uniquely benefit sustainability initiatives

- Collaboration with BCG and how a top consultancy committed to writing a Web3 whitepaper

- Blockchain incentive design, and how mature ‘X to Earn’ models have become in 2024

- What more is needed to see wider use of Blockchain and decentralised technology

S4E3 zkLogin & Sui: Scaling Blockchain-based Identity w. Kostas Chalkias Feb 24, 2024

Show notes

Onboarding is one of the biggest UX challenges with Web3, and Mysten Labs think they've cracked it with zkLogin. Single sign-on but privacy-preserving. I'm joined by Kostas Chalkias (AKA Kostas Kryptos) to learn more...

Google, Facebook and Apple have cornered the single sign-on (SSO) market in an attempt to improve UX but also capture more about YOU and what you do online... The emergence of Zero Knowledge technology paired with the existing SSO providers' tools can enable simple UX while protecting your ID and data. Curious? You should be.

Join me and Kostas, where we'll talk about:

- The problems with SSOs and credentials today

- An introduction to zkLogin

- Use cases and what can be built on top of zkLogin

- A beginners guide to the Sui network

- What more is required to see zk tech adopted more widely

- Guidance for people building with Blockchain and zk

S4E2 AvaCloud and the Importance of BaaS w. Nick Mussalem (Head of Product, AvaLabs) Feb 10, 2024

Show notes

We'll never get to widespread adoption of Blockchain and Web3 unless we can make it easy for enterprises and governments to easily integrate the tech. AvaCloud (from Ava Labs) believe they have cracked this problem...

I'm joined by Nick Mussallem, Head of Product for Ava Labs, who will share everything the Avalanche community has learned about Blockchain adoption. They have partnered with major enterprises, AAA games, top brands, and have a bustling Web3 ecosystem.

AvaCloud is the Avalanche 'Blockchain as a Service' (BaaS) offering that aims to make adoption and integration of decentralised technologies easy-peasy. But what does that mean, and why weren't we doing this before?

In this show we discuss:

- The rise of Avalanche and why it's different to other Blockchains

- The importance of Blockchain as a Service and how it helps

- The creation of AvaCloud and what's 'in the box'

- Use cases and real world examples of AvaCloud in action

- Advice for anyone looking to build with Blockchain technology

(Note: apologies for my audio quality - realised I wasn't using the podcast mic halfway through the show! smh)

S4E1 Charles Hoskinson Shares All He Has Learned About Blockchain Adoption (BTC, ETH, ADA, Midnight) Jan 28, 2024

Show notes

Season 4 of BWSTW kicks off with the legendary Charles Hoskinson. He shaped the direction of Ethereum and Cardano, and now Midnight. So you'll want to hear what he has to say about what is needed for Blockchain and Crypto to properly scale...

Charles is recognised as one of the leading thinkers when it comes to Web3, but is also the founder of a number of non-Blockchain businesses making use of disruptive technologies, so he brings a broad commercial perspective He also knows what it takes to scale Blockchain and Crypto ecosystems, from the code, to the community, to regulation and engaging with market intermediaries.

In this show we talk about the path ahead for Blockchain technologies for further enter the mainstream, including:

- What Charles has learned about adoption from his years with Cardano

- The imperatives for further use of decentralised technologies

- The main use cases where Blockchains can drive meaningful change

- His vision for Midnight, and where a data protection Blockchain succeed where others have so far failed, and

- Advice for enterprises and governments looking to engage with Web3, Blockchain & Dapps

S3E27 Season 3 Finale - The Roast of The Bear Market Nov 25, 2023

Show notes

Oh Mama! Who's ready to ROAST some Blockchains? Our favourite season-ending format is back, with some very special guests...

This is where we cut loose, make fun of ourselves (and others), throw a little shade (in a respectful way) and generally find humour in the weird nuances of Blockchain and Web3.

This time round, we're roasting the daft things that happen when the Bear Market comes around, token values drop, funding gets cut, scam projects get exposed, and dodgy 'influencers' start looking for work in AI or McDonalds...

And to help stoke the fires, and bring the funny, I'm joined by some legendary Web3 OGs who have seen more than their fair share of stupid Blockchain things in their illustrious careers:

Mathew Sweezey (The Enterprise Guy)

Irina Heaver (The Crypto Lawyer)

Diego Borgo (The Brand and Culture Guy)

Sandra Helou (The Metaverse Builder)

Keir Finlow-Bates (Architect & Engineer Extraordinaire)

Emily Landon (The Web3 Recruiter)

So join us for a light-hearted look at the ridiculous things that go on in our industry, peppered with some jokes, some war stories, and some predictions of when this Bear Market will end...

S3E26 Aptos & The State of Enterprise Blockchain w. Charles Adkins, Nov 11, 2023

Show notes

We finally did it! Charles Adkins, an enterprise innovation and blockchain veteran is finally going to bless the podcast, and share his view on why 300 Fortune 500's using NFTs is barely the start of Web3 adoption...
If you don't know, Charles is the guy who advises the likes of Nike, Walt Disney, Red Bull, and Polygon how to drive success with emerging technology. And for the past year he's been helping Aptos to secure some of the world's most notable Blockchain collaborations.
Is Blockchain dead? Does the Metaverse still need Web3 technology? Are all the projects and funds flowing into AI now?... We discuss this and more, including:
- Why should the enterprise world be interested in Blockchain?
- What makes a great Blockchain use case?

- Why does Charles always have a copy of 'Move Over Brokers, Here Comes the Blockchain' within reach?
- What is Aptos doing differently that is making enterprises take note?
- What will drive wider adoption of decentralised technologies?
- What advice would he give other chains or enterprises building with Blockchain technology

S3E25 Midnight: Empowering Data Protecting DApps w. Mauricio Magaldi (Head of Product) Oct 28, 2023

Show notes

Midnight, a data protection Blockchain developed by Input Output (IOHK)(a core contributor to Cardano), has just launched, but what does this mean for Web3?
I'm joined by Midnight's Head of Product, Mauricio Magaldi, for a wide-ranging discussion on why data remains a huge issue (and cost) in Web2 as well as Web3, and how Midnight's unique architecture and zero knowledge technology can help any developer to build better apps.
This is a show for anyone who uses, builds or buys applications in their daily life.
We discuss:
- Why data remains an underrated issue for individuals and companies
- What do we mean by data protection, and what good looks like
- Why decentralisation can be great for apps, but where major Blockchains have failed in terms of data and metadata protection to-date
- Why Midnight exists today
- What Midnight's technology is all about
- How to get involved in early access to Midnight's devnet

S3E24 Cloud Killer: Storj and the Decentralised Storage Movement w. Ben Golub Oct 13, 2023

Show notes

For Web3 and Decentralised Apps (DApps) to reach mainstream, we need a place to store data that isn't just the Blockchain. We need decentralised storage! And Storj has been leading the way since 2014. But there's a twist. Decentralised storage isn't just (only) about enabling Web3...
I'm joined by Ben Golub, CEO of Storj Labs and the former CEO of Docker, who knows a thing or two about scaling technology. And we're going to have a 'full stack' conversation about how, when and if DApps will ever reach mainstream.
In this show we'll be discussing:
- The history of DApps and how they differ from 'traditional' apps
- The importance of Decentralised Storage to scale DApps
- How Storj is differentiated from other solutions (centralised and decentralised)
- Why you shouldn't store everything on a Blockchain
- What more is needed to see wider adoption of Web3
- Advice to anyone looking to build DApps that scale

S3E23 Moonbeam: Interoperable Blockchains and the Future of DeFi w. Derek Yoo (Founder, Moonbeam) Sep 30, 2023

Show notes

Why haven't we made interoperable Blockchains, yet? Why should we care? Is Decentralised Finance a credible alternative to big banks? And how did Moonbeam get to 1 MILLION smart contracts?
All big questions in the world of Web3, and ones that Derek Yoo (Founder of Moonbeam) is very familiar with. But the macro market story will tell you, we're not quite at 'mass adoption' of DeFi, and we're still seeing a lot of Blockchain maximalism in the world, as new chains grapple for product-market fit.
We'll discuss all this and more, including:
- The importance of DevX and UX
- Derek's rationale for building on the Polkadot network
- DeFi maturity and its value to the world today
- How Moonbeam attracted a million smart contracts to the platform
- The wider challenge of attracting developers Blockchains and Web3
- 'Competition' from the proliferation of L2s and L3s
- What more is needed to see wider use of DApps and Web3 tech

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Blockchain Won’t Save the World

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected