The Crypto Conversation

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Presearch - Building a sustainable decentralized search platform May 20, 2021

Show notes

Colin Pape is the founder of Presearch, a community-powered, decentralized search engine that provides better search results while protecting privacy and rewarding users with crypto when they search.

Why you should listen:

Colin says the best way to compete with Google is to build a framework that enables people from all over the world to collaborate on an open and decentralized search engine. Presearch is preparing to release its first decentralized technology – a new search engine experience that runs on node servers operated by Presearch community members. The new Presearch Engine offers results that are as good as the world's top search engines. It also provides an additional layer of data through community packages which makes those results even better. For example, you can search Presearch for "Bitcoin" to see what the crypto package looks like. Over time, there will be additional results provided by a user-curated supplementary index.

Key takeaway:

Presearch is dedicated to creating significant value for marketers who want to reach Presearch users. Advertisers can stake their PRE to a keyword, and whichever advertiser stakes the most tokens will have its ads displayed when a user searches on the term selected. Advertisers confer the most external value on PRE, so their success is important to the ecosystem.

Supporting links:

Presearch

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Crypto's marketing challenge - Bitstamp is making moves in the U.S. May 18, 2021

Show notes

Ben Pousty is the US Marketing Lead for Bitstamp, a crypto exchange with offices in Luxemburg, London and New York. We talk to Ben about Bitstamp's new "For All The Ways We Crypto" campaign, the challenges of crypto marketing, Bitcoin's unit bias issue, and more.

Supporting links:

Bitstamp

Bitstamp U.S. expansion

Bitcoin is key to an abundant energy future

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Elon Musk Vs Bitcoin part 2 - Crypto market sentiment check May 18, 2021

Show notes

Last week Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin. He said that Tesla is concerned about the increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining. In response, the crypto markets crashed with Bitcoin falling to $42,000. Let's look at the subsequent tweets from Elon, reaction from the Bitcoin community, the Doge angle, and speculate on what happens next.

Supporting links:

The Investors Guide to Bitcoin and the Environment

Is this Elon's Doge wallet?

Bitcoin is key to an abundant energy future

Elon crashes Bitcoin - The Bitcoin mining energy debate begins May 13, 2021

Show notes

Elon Musk tweeted today that Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin. He said that Tesla is concerned about the rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining. In response, the crypto markets crashed with Bitcoin falling 12% to $49,000. In this podcast, Andy reacts to Elon's tweets and suggests some resources that argue that Bitcoin mining incentivizes a renewable energy future.

Supporting links:

Bitcoin Mythology

The Investors Guide to Bitcoin and the Environment

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0x_nodes - DeFi's cross chain yield aggregation network May 12, 2021

Show notes

Owl is the cofounder of 0x_nodes, a cross-chain yield aggregation network. 0x_nodes is a network of deployed systems that allow users to move, acquire, and build yield-bearing strategies with non-native assets across EVM and non-EVM-based blockchains.

Why you should listen:

One of the fundamental problems across the crypto ecosystem is the lack of interoperability between blockchains. The ability to easily move value between blockchains will unlock the next growth cycle in decentralized finance. This is the problem that 0x_nodes seeks to solve.

To the non-technical, Web 3.0 feels seamless. Video streaming, global zoom conferences, smartphone apps, gaming, and social media. Everything is integrated and it all just works. Through innovation and fast development cycles, 0x_nodes aims to end the fragmentation of the Ethereum network — and make interoperability commonplace for all.

Key takeaway:

0x_nodes is a cross-chain protocol that allows synthetic asset movements between blockchains — enabling broader yield aggregation strategies. Being able to seamlessly move value between blockchains will open up a new world of financial products and services. 0x_nodes will start on the Ethereum mainnet first — deploying nodes throughout the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) ecosystem.

Instead of utilizing a spoke network topology, 0x_nodes will be comprised of a core mesh network between EVM ecosystems — and will bridge the EVM network with external blockchain networks. This unidirectional yield aggregation pulling from EVMs to the mainnet will create new opportunities for yield, while simplifying the experience for the user.

Supporting links:

0x_nodes

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Acala - The DeFi Hub of Polkadot May 11, 2021

Show notes

Bette Chen is the co-founder of Acala - the DeFi hub of Polkadot, powering open finance applications and removing the need for financial intermediaries.

Guest:

Bette Chen

Why you should listen:

The mission of the Acala project is to support and nurture the financial applications of the decentralized web. The drivers of this mission are delivering financial stability, liquidity, and accessibility for all.

Key takeaway:

Acala offers a suite of financial primitives, including: a trustless staking derivative (liquid DOT - LDOT), a multi-collateralized stablecoin (aUSD) backed by cross-chain assets, and an AMM DEX – all with micro gas fees that can be paid in any token. Acala is a blockchain platform custom-built for DeFi and powered by ACA.

Supporting links:

Acala

Galaxy Digital Doge Report

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Dogecoin - How a whimsical meme became the best performing asset of 2021 May 07, 2021

Show notes

Dogecoin, a memecoin that was abandoned by its founders, is the best performing crypto asset of 2021, appreciating more than 12,000% YTD. With high-profile backers such as Elon Musk and Mark Cuban, can Doge stay the course or is it set to crash and burn?

Why you should listen:

Andy takes a deep dive into a new report by Galaxy Digital that takes a 360 angle look at Dogecoin's fundamentals. The report finds a large number of positives and some serious negatives as well. Dogecoin may have always been a joke, but it's a joke that keeps getting both funnier and more serious too.

Key takeaway:

On the positive side of the ledger, Doge is the best performing major digital asset year to date. More people own Doge than at any other time. Doge is dominating the cultural conversation thanks to memes and to Elon Musk.

There are negatives. Dogecoin has zero development. Few people run full nodes and those who do have difficulty downloading the chain or staying synced with the network. There's no market infrastructure, barely any wallet software, and despite being more than 7 years old, many exchanges don't support it. There is no long-term narrative or use-case supporting its wide adoption. And it's not clear whether DOGE holders are dogmatic about the coin's long-term prospects.

Supporting links:

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The IDEX DEX - Hybrid Liquidity and the future of decentralized exchanges May 06, 2021

Show notes

Alex Wearn has a background in product development for tech companies such as Amazon. He now brings a user-first product lens to decentralized exchanges. Alex is the CEO and co-founder of IDEX, one of the first decentralized exchanges.

Guest:

Alex Wearn

Why you should listen:

The IDEX goal is to create a non-custodial exchange that has the same user experience as a centralized exchange, eliminating the choice that users have to make today between functionality and fund safety.

Key takeaway:

IDEX has just announced the IDEX Hybrid Liquidity model. This new innovation is a response to the rise of AMM based DEXes. However, AMMs have issues with failed transactions, high slippage, front-running bots, and high gas fees. These issues are a result of users being close to the blockchain. The IDEX Hybrid Liquidity approach attempts to smooth out these issues while still maintaining the core ethos of a DEX - remaining non-custodial.

Supporting links:

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Bobby Lee & The Promise of Bitcoin, the future of money and how it can work for you May 05, 2021

Show notes

Bobby Lee is the Founder of Ballet Crypto, co-founder of BTCChina, and he is the author of a superb new book called The Promise of Bitcoin: The Future of Money and How It Can Work for You.

Why you should listen:

With a software engineering and computer science background, Bobby Lee has always been technologically inclined. So when his brother Charlie Lee introduced Bobby to Bitcoin in 2011, he understood its significance immediately. After dedicating himself to Bitcoin for the last ten years, Bobby has written a book that tells his story and explains why Bitcoin's journey has only just begun.

Key takeaway:

Bobby says that understanding and projecting the value of Bitcoin can be daunting - while the path is never a straight line, Bitcoin continues to grow in interest and appreciate in value. While Bitcoin is still working out its kinks - corporations and governments are likely to become more interested in Bitcoin, and interested in acquiring it as an asset.

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