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Bitwage is a payroll and invoicing system build on top of Bitcoin, which allows wages from an employer located in the US, UK, or EU to be deposited directly into a special checking account. The funds deposited into this checking account are converted into Bitcoin, and then sent to the wallet of your choice. Workers are able to indicate what percentage of their paychecks will be sent to this checking account, with the account appearing to be a normal account to the employer. To date, Bitwage has completed $28 million in transactions, and boasts 18,000 users in over 90 countries around the world. This can be used by anyone from digital nomads to employees of large companies, or even government agencies. For more information, or to get started, visit www.bitwage.com.
Imagine having a source of low-cost, basic nutrition growing indefinitely on your own countertop. "Think of it like a Keurig for nutrition…way more nutritious than the fruits and vegetables in your garden, and it takes a lot less space," says Elliot Roth, founder of Spira. With the use of a specific type of algae called spirulina-one of the most nutrient-dense food sources on the planet, composed of 60% protein by weight, 13 vitamins and 8 minerals-Roth aims to put the power of nutrition in the hands of the people. Spira emerged from very humble beginnings, as Roth recollects, "For a period of a couple of months, I was dumpster diving and looking for different ways to provide for myself. I think that a lot of people are in a very similar situation across the United States, so I took that problem and wanted to figure out how to turn it into an opportunity to solve it for everyone." Despite the immensity of its returns, spirulina requires very little to flourish: air, water, light and salts. Press play to learn more. Roth also discusses: * How to purchase a spirulina kit from livespira.com, what's included, and how to see your first harvest come to fruition * Why store-bought, processed forms of spirulina are inferior in terms of taste, nutrition and cost * How Spira can cater to individual nutritional requirements by providing specific types of salts that enable the growth of spirulina * The best and tastiest ways to consume spirulina, how long it can be stored, and the prospect of developing spirulina-based bars and breads
Luno.com is a Bitcoin platform that allows people to convert local currency into Bitcoin, and securely hold it until they wish to use it. It was originally developed with emerging markets in mind because Bitcoin has been rising against the US Dollar and the Euro, while many local currencies around the world have fallen by comparison, though now users also have the ability to convert Euros into Bitcoin through Luno as well. Because users can store, transfer, and switch between fiat and Bitcoin, it has been popular in areas underserved by traditional finance infrastructure, though it has different use cases around the world, which Van Rooyenhappily discusses. For more information, visit www.luno.com.
In 2014, Bread Wallet was created as a secure, user-friendly solution for sending and receiving Bitcoin (a wallet). But today, it's on the verge of becoming so much more: the term "wallet" will soon be dropped from the name to signify a shift away from a simple wallet and toward a decentralized banking platform. "What we envision is the continuation of this digitization of assets, these digital tokens that will come to represent many different things above and beyond money…these will be assets that combined would form your portfolio, and Bread would like to be the platform that allows you to hold everything," says Aaron Lasher, co-founder of Bread Wallet. Above all, Lasher and Bread Wallet's CRO, Brent Traidman, value security and ease of use through education, which is a good indication that these essential qualities will not be compromised amidst the coming revamp. "Educating people in this space is something everybody needs to do to bring more users into the ecosystem, so that's something we're definitely building into the new system," says Traidman. Tune in to learn how. Lasher and Traidman also discuss: * Bread Wallet's upcoming inclusion of Ethereum and ERC20 coins, and the fully redesigned app that's just days away from launching. * The measures are taken to ensure a high level of both security and privacy for users. * The Bitcoin Therapy Hotline (how and why it was started, and some interesting insight that's been gained from it). https://breadapp.com/blog/ http://fortune.com/2017/09/27/bitcoin-ethereum-ico-bread-wallet/
Sur BTC is fiat-gateway Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange located in Chile, with additional operations in Colombia and Peru. Though the exchange is open to people from around South America, the regulatory landscape is very different across the continent–from a very loose, liberal regulatory framework in Chile, to a more restricted framework in Bolivia. Torrealba discusses the need for clearer regulations, in order to keep people from being taken advantage of by Ponzi schemes using Bitcoin and other cryptos, but which still allows legitimate businesses to grow. Worried about the potential for stifling regulations created by politicians who don't fully understand the crypto ecosystem, Sur BTC is going to begin lobbying efforts to create regulations that foster growth but don't allow for individuals to be taken advantage of. Torrealba also discusses the different ways that crypto is used across South America, including remittances and as a means of escaping harmful regimes. To find out more, visit www.surbtc.com.
Vaultoro is a centralized exchange that allows individuals to use Bitcoin to purchase gold, which is then held for you in a high-security vault in Switzerland. Unlike traditional banks, where money deposited becomes property of the bank to use or lose, trading Bitcoin for gold means that you will always have this gold waiting for you. Monthly audits means that your gold is safe, is always available when you want to use it, and monthly statements are issued to all individuals. Eventually, Vaultoro plans to offer a basket of commodities for users to trade in, including silver and platinum, and possibly palladium and other cryptocurrenceis. They are also working on creating a debit card that would allow users to spend their gold in real time. For more information, visit www.vaultoro.com.
Current energy markets are highly inefficient. Particularly in Texas, where Grid Plus was founded, the biggest inefficiencies are through the retailers, or utility companies. These retailers are not responsible for creating energy nor for maintaining the grid, and yet have nearly a 100% markup on the energy purchased through them. Grid Plus plans to change that, by using the Ethereum blockchain to allow consumers to pay for electricity in real-time. This means that paying consumers wont have to subsidize the bills of individuals who don't pay, much of the administrative costs of traditional retailers can be eliminated, and energy sold to consumers for a lower cost–saving the average consumer an estimated 35-40%. Pre-paying with fiat or credit cards allows digital tokens to be sent to the consumer agent, who will facilitate the paying of energy in real-time. This system also will allow people to purchase solar panels and put energy back into the grid. Ultimately, they hope to incentivize peer-to-peer transactions, and the creation of local grids. For more information, visit www.gridplus.io.
Brian Deery, Chief Scientist at Factom, returns to the podcast to offer his insight on a variety of topics, including atomic swaps and centralized versus decentralized exchanges. "Decentralized exchanges are badly needed…lower fees… higher liquidity…the absence of surveillance…political neutrality…and greater security," says Deery. So, why haven't decentralized exchanges already been widely adopted? What's stopping them from taking hold in the crypto world? Should people be putting their trust in centralized exchanges? Deery pulls from a wealth of knowledge to provide in-depth answers to all of these questions and more. Tune in to hear Deery discuss more on the following: * Exchange issues: including Mt. Gox, BTC-e, Bittrex, and ShapeShift * How exactly atomic swaps work, and why they are necessary in order for decentralized exchanges to work * The New York Agreement and political neutrality
The fourth annual Texas Bitcoin Conference is just around the corner, slated for October 28-29 in Austin, Texas. "I think this is a period of great innovation, and people are looking to see how to use the blockchain to solve real problems…and how to take part in such a way that…when cryptocurrency explodes, they've got a roll, they've got a piece of it. So a lot of this conference is going to be focused on that, and on the technology, the opportunities, and how to use cryptocurrencies as a store of value," says Snow. But he was sure to add that the topics won't shy away from current controversies, but will address them head on: what does Bitcoin Cash mean for Bitcoin, what does SegWit 2x mean, and what is the roadmap going forward? * Tune in to hear Snow discuss more, including the following: * Some of the speakers and sponsors that will be attending * Insights and accomplishments that have come out of conferences from previous years * The different types of workshops that will be available, and the "20-20-20" format of the conference * How to find out more details (and where to get discount codes!)
Interested in getting involved in the world of cryptocurrency, but have no idea where to begin? Overwhelmed by the amount of information out there, and unsure of which is legitimate? You're not alone: this is exactly where both Troy Mihalek and Ryan Faust found themselves just a couple of years ago. "We focused CryptoVice around our journey over the last year and a half of being in cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. We found that when we jumped in, there was a lot of terminologies, and a lot of things that we felt were over our head. We didn't understand," says Faust. CryptoVice is an educational platform providing the latest information, news, and perspective on cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, and the blockchain. Tune in to learn more. * The long-term effects of ICO regulation (and how it may be a good thing) * The nature and importance of physical Bitcoin, and the Encyclopedia of Bitcoin * Where to access CryptoVice learning materials, videos and tutorials (and how to get in contact with Mihalek or Foust)
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