Roger Ver: Bitcoin, Liberty and the Scalability Roadblock (Episode 163)
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Roger Ver is one of the earliest Bitcoin investors and through his tireless evangelizing of the cryptocurrency became known as 'Bitcoin Jesus'. Roger joined us to discuss Bitcoin's incredible potential to foster liberty. We also discussed how the current stalemate about how to scale Bitcoin is threatening that potential. And, finally, the mining pool operated by his site Bitcoin.com that is supporting the Bitcoin Unlimited client.
Topics discussed in this episode: - How Roger Ver became the first investor in Bitcoin startups - What the Bitcoin community was like in 2011 - The appeal of Bitcoin for voluntaryists - Why the scalability stalemate is crippling Bitcoin - Bitcoin.com's new mining pool and support for Bitcoin Unlimited - His vision for the future of Bitcoin
Sponsors: - Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices - http://jaxx.io - Ledger: Smart card security for your Bitcoins - Get 10% off your first order when you use the code EPICENTER - http://ledgerwallet.com
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It's been an eventful year in the blockchain space, for the Epicenter podcast, and its hosts. Brian, Meher and Sebastien look back on 2016 and provide a few personal updates, give their thoughts and insights on how the space evolved, and make predictions on where they feel the industry will go in the next year.
Topics discussed in this episode:
- Brian, Meher and Sebastien give a few updates on their personal lives and professional projects
- The current state of VC funding in the blockchain space
- The application of blockchain technologies in enterprise and the corporate development cycle
- The current state of the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems and provide our thoughts on their respective futures
- Predictions for 2017 and speculations on how the industry will continue to evolve
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Bitcoin Venture Capital Funding: http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/
- Not Just Bitcoin: The Top 7 Cryptocurrencies All Gained in 2016: http://www.coindesk.com/not-just-bitcoin-the-top-7-cryptocurrencies-all-gained-in-2016/
- Validity Labs: https://validitylabs.org
- Stratumn Website: https://stratumn.com
- Tendermint: https://tendermint.com/
- Cosmos - Internet of Blockchains: https://cosmos.network/
- Dictator's Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/Dictators-Handbook-Behavior-Almost-Politics/dp/1610391845
Sponsors:
- Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices - http://jaxx.io
This episode is also available on :
- Epicenter.tv: https://epicenter.tv/165
- YouTube: http://youtu.be/oQA47uWLJ_0
- Souncloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-165
Watch or listen, Epicenter is available wherever you get your podcasts.
Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.
I caught up with Piper Merriam, who is the creator of the Populus IDE and Ethereum Alarm Clock. The Ethereum Alarm Clock is a live system of smart contracts that enables users to schedule calls for the future on the Ethereum network.
For instance, if you would like a contract to send you 100 ether 2 days later, you can order this kind of “future transaction” with the Ethereum Alarm Clock system.
Here he explains:
What Ethereum Alarm clock is and how it works.
How the design of the clock is trustless and decentralised.
Incentive structures. Why should people use the clock and how are system maintainers compensated?
Business opportunities for Ethereum enthusiasts with the Alarm clock.
Future plans.
Links:
Ethereum Alarm clock documentation: http://www.ethereum-alarm-clock.com/
- Visit our website: http://epicenterbitcoin.com
- Subscribe to the podcast: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/
- Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/epicenterbtc
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There is no doubt that proof of work, introduced in the Bitcoin white paper, has stood the test of time as a robust and resilient Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus mechanism. However, many issues may prevent Nakamoto Consensus from securely scaling over the long term. The risk of validator centralization, network forking, block scarcity and high energy costs required to mine a block have all been extensively debated with no realistic long-term solutions to date. A new paper titled "Algorand" attempts to addresses these problems.
We're pleased to be joined by Professor Silvio Micali, a computer scientist at MIT, who is known for his work in many of the technologies blockchains rely on today. As one of the co-inventors of zero-knowledge proofs, he has been decorated with a number of prizes and awards, including the Turing Award, which he received in 2012 for his work in cryptography.
Prof. Micali describes the concept of Algorand, an alternative approach to proof of work which offers high security guarantees while allowing the network to scale with demand. Relying only on a trivial amount of computation to validate transactions, Algorand also reduces the probability of network forks to near-zero. It uses novel mechanisms to select validators for blocks and enabling them to come to consensus on them.
Topics discussed in this episode:
- Professor Micali's fascinating career in the fields of computer science and cryptography
- The technical limitations of proof of work
- The ideal properties for a truly decentralized, secure and scalable cryptocurrency
- Algorand's new approach to Byzantine consensus
- Algorand's strong adversarial model
- How validators are randomly selected by the network
- How validators are chosen and how they arrive at consensus
- How Algorand guarantees a low probability of network forks
- How Algorand addresses the issue of scaling and block size
- Algorand's roadmap and future plans
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Algorand White Paper: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1607.01341v7.pdf
- Algorand talk by Silvo Micali on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xauku8XWoSE
- Silvio Micali - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Micali
Sponsors:
- Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices - http://jaxx.io
This episode is also available on :
- Epicenter.tv: https://epicenter.tv/169
- YouTube: http://youtu.be/a40Xt7GnPvs
- Souncloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-169
Watch or listen, Epicenter is available wherever you get your podcasts.
Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.
Support the show, consider donating: 38mSxjHc68Sz82V7mGoQTEkvttsjKbFjs7 (http://bit.ly/1wkY20L)
Mehdi Medjaoui (Co-founder and COO) & Elie Chevignard (CMO) are the two guys behind Oauth.io, a service which aims to provide a simple and standardized way for developers to implement Oath. Working in digital identity management, they have an interesting proposal on how to build personal identity management into the blockchain. This proposition would effectively take the power away from centralized single sign on services like Facebook and Google and make them decentralized.
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Oauth.io: https://oauth.io
- API Days: http://apidays.io
- OneName: https://onename.io
- NameID: https://nameid.org/
- Namecoin: http://namecoin.info/
- SQRL: https://www.grc.com/sqrl/sqrl.htm
Sponsors:
- Fairlay: http://fairlay.com/epicenter
Show notes: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/podcast/044
SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-044
Epicenter Bitcoin is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sébastien Couture.
- Visit our website: http://epicenterbitcoin.com
- Subscribe to our newsletter: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/newsletter
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/epicenterbtc
Support the show, consider donating: 1E4wyGGWVanUqbGxZvy3PTg2FtxSre7YqX (http://bit.ly/1PMCqNV)
A pioneering feature of Bitcoin is verifiability of transactions: It is designed to enable low-power devices and high end computers alike to be able to verify occurrences on the blockchain.
This observation led our guest, Adam Gibson, to wonder why webpages aren't so easily verifiable as a Bitcoin transaction? Can I prove to you that I have certain bank account balance over the internet? Why do we submit photocopies of passports rather than furnishing a cryptographically verifiable proof of citizenship by logging on to a Government site?
Born out of this intellectual itch is the TLS Notary protocol. It pioneers a new kind of auditing that enables participants to prove that a certain https page was in their browser. This protocol paves the way to brilliant designs for Proof of Reserves, Smart contract oracles and Decentralised fiat-to-bitcoin exchange.
Topics covered included:
- Why is the current Web structured to be not easily verifiable?
- What is TLS and how does it work?
- How TLS differs from SSL.
- The TLS Notary protocol
- Capabilities and limitations of TLS Notary.
- Applications of TLS Notary including provably honest smart contract oracles.
Links mentioned in this episode:
- The TLS Notary website: https://tlsnotary.org/
- Oraclize, the provably honest oracle service: http://www.oraclize.it/
- The TLS specification (TLS 1.0 RFC 2246): https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2246.txt
Sponsors:
- Ledger Nano: Smart card security for your Bitcoins - Get 10% off your first order when you use the code EPICENTER at http://ledgerwallet.com
- GTEC: Apply now to enter the GTEC Blockchain Contest and win prizes worth €50k http://epicenterbitcoin.com/gtec
Show notes: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/podcast/119
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-119
Epicenter Bitcoin is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.
- Visit our website: http://epicenterbitcoin.com
- Subscribe to our newsletter: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/newsletter
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/epicenterbtc
Support the show, consider donating: 3PUpexWAmAVjk6g1EMHWLFZyqXuLLryarX (http://bit.ly/1IX41tJ)
In the crowded race to become the leading ‘Bitcoin 2.0’ platform, Counterparty has stood out by avoiding fancy crowdsales and instead building a platform that works. The protocol, which sits on top of Bitcoin and thus benefits from the security of its mining power, allows issuing assets, paying dividends or trading in a decentralized way. Over the past year, it has been the platform of choice for many crowdsales and is also what powers LTBCoin.
Co-Founder Robby Dermody joined us for a discussion of the features and evolution of the project.
Topics covered included:
- Why they create the initial XCP supply by destroying bitcoins
- What the different components of the Counterparty system are
- What distinguishes embedded consensus systems like Counterparty
- Why crowdfunding has become a major use case for Counterparty
- Why Counterparty’s Ethereum-style smart contracts will play an important role in the future
- Their new company Symbiont, which aims to commercialize Counterparty's technology
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Counterparty: http://bit.ly/1DbbQfa
- Counterparty Architecture: http://bit.ly/1aaHr5n
- Devon Weller A Specification for the Counterparty Protocol: http://bit.ly/1GDnNeA
- Counterwallet: http://bit.ly/1F5QHFt
- Symbiont: http://bit.ly/1GgDGcg
- Blockscan Voting Scoreboard: http://bit.ly/1FvILdT
Sponsors:
- Buy and sell alt coins instantly with http://ShapeShift.io
Show notes: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/podcast/074
SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-074
Epicenter Bitcoin is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sébastien Couture.
- Visit our website: http://epicenterbitcoin.com
- Subscribe to our newsletter: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/newsletter
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/epicenterbtc
Support the show, consider donating: 3HqLKkYSjzx6zmPN6jFt2R9XYw5BpooPjX (http://bit.ly/1bxn7fA)
When one is busy driving a technological and societal revolution forward, complying with complicated regulatory requirements is rarely a top priority. Yet, the reality is that at this stage the often ambigious and rapidly evolving regulatory landscape can have an outsized impact on the fate of cryptocurrency startups and on the adoption/integration into existing systems.
Epicenter Bitcoin Regulatory Correspondent and founder of COINsult Siân Jones joined us for an update on the state of Bitcoin regulation in a variety of jurisdiction.
Topics included:
- The recent statement by the UK’s treasury on digital currencies
- How the Isle of Man keeps pioneering a cryptocurrency-friendly environment
- The stance of the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) towards Bitcoin
- The insanity of the looming BitLicense rules and difficult-to-predict consequences they may have
Links mentioned in this episode:
- COINsult: http://bit.ly/1jrH1er
- UK HM Treasury: Digital Currencies - Response to the Call for Information http://bit.ly/1BJ3rvn
- Isle of Man Introduces Regulation for Bitcoin Businesses http://bit.ly/1Ny79Q3
- California Bill Proposes License Requirement for Bitcoin Businesses http://bit.ly/1F98Dfq
- Bitlicense Comment Period Closes http://bit.ly/1DdcNDY
Sponsors:
- Buy and sell alt coins instantly with http://ShapeShift.io
Show notes: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/podcast/072
SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-072
Epicenter Bitcoin is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sébastien Couture.
- Visit our website: http://epicenterbitcoin.com
- Subscribe to our newsletter: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/newsletter
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/epicenterbtc
Support the show, consider donating: 3QtQp7mYUkYRyUe2CtAUZrCdkDY56wEfvJ (http://bit.ly/1bxmFOo)
The cryptocurrency ecosystem is increasingly divided into different camps. There are those betting and working on the eventual mainstream success of Bitcoin. And there are those who take elements of Bitcoin’s technology and repurpose them to improve existing systems.
Hyperledger is one of the projects firmly in the latter camp. They are envisioning a world where innumerable interoperable ledgers are operated by different parties. Hyperledger is their tool for the creation and management of these ledgers. CEO Dan O’Prey and CTO Daniel Feichtinger joined us for a discussion of the project, underlying technology and their view of where the cryptocurrency ecosystem is going.
Topics covered included:
- Why Hyperledger is trying so solve a fundamentally different problem than Bitcoin
- How networks consisting of known parties can have massive performance and scalability advantages over anonymous networks
- Why Hyperledger doesn’t have or need its own currency
- How Hyperledger can vary the degree of decentralization and security depending on use-case
- Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT)
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Hyperledger: http://bit.ly/1C6fdQx
- Meher Roy’s Internet of Money Whitepaper: http://bit.ly/1IjDPfM
- Practical Bynzantine Fault Tolerance: http://bit.ly/1xW0pHQ
Sponsors:
- Buy and sell alt coins instantly with http://ShapeShift.io
Show notes: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/podcast/073
SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-073
Epicenter Bitcoin is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sébastien Couture.
- Visit our website: http://epicenterbitcoin.com
- Subscribe to our newsletter: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/newsletter
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/epicenterbtc
Support the show, consider donating: 39c9iyKAAssTZLbdtPRBQLEaDct7h9v17s (http://bit.ly/1NRFydR)
When Robin Hanson invented the concept of prediction markets almost thirty years ago, he felt he had stumbled on a concept with huge implications. By allowing people to bet on the likelihood of future events, prediction markets promise to allow better forecasts and better decision making.
Research into the area has been vibrant, culminating in Hanson's concept of Futarchy: A prediction-market based governance system. At the same time, the real-world applications have been few and far.
Hanson, an associate professor of economics at George Mason University, joined us to discuss his invention, futarchy and the challenges of disruptive technology.
Topics covered included:
- How prediction markets can surface information
- The history of prediction markets
- How futarchy works
- Whether futarchy could settle the blocksize debate
- Why prediction markets failed to get wide adoption
- How Bitcoin is facing a similar adoption challenge
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Science 'The Promise of Prediction Markets' http://bit.ly/1PJ2bAn (PDF)
- Futarchy: Vote Values, But Bet Beliefs http://bit.ly/1KFhx7v
- Robin Hanson's Blog Overcoming Bias http://bit.ly/1KFhwAx
Sponsors:
- Shapeshift: Buy and sell alt coins instantly at http://ShapeShift.io
- Hide.me: Protect your privacy and personal data with a free VPN account at http://Hide.me/epicenter
Show notes: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/podcast/098
SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-098
Epicenter Bitcoin is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sébastien Couture.
- Visit our website: http://epicenterbitcoin.com
- Subscribe to our newsletter: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/newsletter
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/epicenterbtc