Episodes
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Decentraland pioneered the crossover of Blockchain and the Metaverse, and now they're back with version 2.0. And they've been working on some important things along the way...
I'm joined by Yemel Jardi, a Web3 veteran, developer, Executive Director of Decentraland, and occasional virtual 'celebrity'.
We take a look back over the launch and growth of Decentraland, the challenge of competing with established gaming and VR categories, and what it took to develop Decentraland 2.0, including:
- Decentraland 101
- The state of the Metaverse in 2024
- Decentraland vs. Fortnite vs. Minecraft
- Parties, Hide & Seek, and What Decentraland User Get Up To
- The Challenge of Building Governance for a Virtual World
- What More is Needed to See More People Use Virtual Worlds
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Without Blockchain nodes, there would be no Blockchain. But not all nodes are created equal. And many chains are falsely claiming 'decentralisation'. Chris from BlockJoy is on a mission to enable better Blockchain infrastructure...
The reality is that Web3 is still heavily dependent on the Cloud. But should users, developers and communities care: 'Yes' according to Chris.
In this episode, we'll give everyone an introduction to Blockchain nodes, and cover a range of other important topics, including:
- Nodes 101
- Mapping Web3's Cloud Dependency
- Why Bare Metal Servers are 'So Back'
- What It Takes to Build Validator Infrastructure
- How We Deliver 'Better' Decentralisation
- The Future of Blockchain Infrastructure
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Episodes manquant?
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The ZK series continues with Hubert and vlayer: an exciting team looking to give back control and equitability of data using Blockchain technology...
If you're not paying attention to zero-knowledge technology at this point in the evolution of the internet and decentralised applications, you should be. And it's refreshing to see that not all teams are correlating the 'data opportunity' with just AI - but the wider petabytes of data that humans and businesses create every day.
On this show, Hubert and I will delve deeper into the applications for ZK in building a more equitable internet for all of us, including:
- WTF are Web Proofs
- Why the world needs another data infrastructure company (and where others have failed to-date)
- Learnings from Hubert's experience with data fraud, and what needs to change to protect sensitive data in future
- The vlayer origin story, and major use cases
- Why people should care about data protection
- Alternative approaches to data protection and comparisons
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Many (including myself) are hailing ZK as the technology that will finally enable mass adoption of Web3. But how? And what's missing today that ZK provides?
Ken Timsit is a Web3 veteran and a strong advocate for ZK tech. He is MD of Cronos Labs and its Particle B ecosystem accelerator, and was previously CRO at Consensys.
On this show, we're going to be covering as much as possible on the proposition and benefits of zero-knowledge, and how it is being applied in Web3 today, including:
- An introduction to Cronos
- An overview of the ZK landscape, and how it’s being used today (Roll-ups, data protection, EVMs, L1s vs. L2s) - Important use cases for ZK
- The opportunity for ZK and DeFi to drive further adoption - Challenges and limitations of ZK today
- What more is required for wider adoption of Web3 in general
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Are Blockchain & AI force multipliers or competitors? Will Blockchain 'unlock' AI adoption, or is the reality much less positive?...
Arthur Breitman, Co-founder of Tezos, was working with AI and Self-Driving Cars long before he stepped into Blockchain. So he has an informed view, and a desire to see both technologies succeed, albeit without the hype!
On this episode, we'll look to demystify the value of Blockchain and AI, and debunk narratives that talk to Blockchain and AI either being critical for each others' success, or too different to be able to work well together.
On this show, we'll cover:
- Arthur's Web3 and AI journey to-date
- An introduction to the unique capabilities of AI and Blockchain technologies
- Evaluating the claim that "AI needs crypto, and crypto needs AI.”
- Distinguishing between genuine opportunities and hype - What more is needed to see adoption of AI and Blockchain together at-scale
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MoonPay are one of the biggest names in Web3. And without 'ramps' and tools that connect to Web2, the decentralised internet will never reach full potential.
5-years and 20 million customers later, Ivan Soto-Wright has learned a lot, and has a lot to say about what it takes to onboard new and skeptical users to Web3. The UX has also come on a LONG way since the early days.
In this LinkedIn Live, we'll talk about:
- Ivan’s Web3 ‘origin story’
- The problems with Web3 UX, and how they're gradually being solved
- What are 'on ramps' & the various aspects of MoonPay’s business today
- Ivan's most valuable use cases for Blockchain & Crypto
- The hardest things MoonPay had to solve in scaling the business
- Learnings from partnerships with PayPal, Adidas, Gucci, Nike & MasterCard
- What are the critical things needed to see further adoption of Web3, and what is the upcoming MoonPay roadmap
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SpaceAI is a project that might just blow your mind! We've seen a range of DePIN projects capture the imagination, but not that have a full-stack offering that works both in Space and on Earth...
DePIN projects typically offer one of compute, connectivity or storage. Few do all at once. And it's even less likely to find a project with literal space-age hardware that works as well on satellites as it does buried underground.
Welcome to SpaceAI. The coolest DePIN project you've never heard of. The SpaceAI team is already working with governments, energy providers, telcos, satellite operators and many others. So this is technology that is being used TODAY. Not for when Elon starts terraforming Mars...
In this podcast Diego shares the origins of SpaceAI, along with:
- Why the Space Economy needs Blockchain technology - The role of hardware and IoT for enabling DePIN
- Use cases for Space AI's hardware and DLT
- How to build Web3 tech on existing open standards
- The next steps for use of Space tech (in Space and on Earth)
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Devon is one of the best Marketeers of the Web3 era. He'll share frameworks & strategies from his time at Ava Labs, Immutable & F/AS that can help any Web3 project grow. Do not miss this!...
Marketing is everything from understanding the market, the competition, establishing digital and physical channels, finding your voice, amplifying your community, and enabling them to amplify your work as much as you do...
In this 'Masterclass', Devon will share his experience working with some of the biggest and most successful Blockchain projects, including:
- What does Web3 marketing comprise
- The art of storytelling and building a narrative
- How to communicate across different media types
- How to harness a Web3 community for growth
- The importance (or not) of 'KOLs'
- Which 'narratives' in 2024 are hot, or just hot air...
If you're working in growth, marketing, or leadership for a Web3 project, you NEED to hear what Devon has to say. -
What does it take to grow a global Blockchain ecosystem? Listen to the Gnosis story and you'll find out. There's more to it than you think...
Successful ecosystems are more than simply the Blockchain. They're more than simply the technology. It's about bringing together core tech, developers, capital and users, all wrapped up with shared and aligned incentives
Dr. Friederike Ernst is a co-founder of Gnosis, and has been a big part of their overall rise and success, and she will help share some of the key components of the Gnosis ecosystem, and what it took to build it.
On this show we cover:
- Friederike’s journey as a co-founder of Gnosis
- The overall Gnosis Ecosystem (Chain, Pay, DAO, Studios, Capital)
- How Gnosis Chain differs from other L1s
- How Gnosis Pay is transforming payments
- The importance of decentralised governance, and how Gnosis DAO works in practice
- What more is needed to see wider use of Web3 tech -
Olta is one of the most experienced lawyers in Web3, and has been busy supporting Avalanche, Owl Explains and now Enclave Markets - an exchange targeting institutions that provides privacy through transacting over a secure enclave.
From our show, recorded at Money 20/20, we also discuss the current state of regulation and recent enforcement actions in the US, and why it is forcing projects 'offshore'.
We cover:
- Opportunities with Digital Assets and Blockchain in Finance
- The legal, regulatory and compliance challenges to overcome before we see wider Web3 adoption
- The challenges with transparent ledgers and businesses wanting to protect sensitive data
- Where lawyers go to learn more about Blockchain
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Zero-Knowledge (ZK) technology has gathered a huge following globally, but is still little-known and under-appreciated in Web3 circles. But it is showing huge value providing scalability and data protection for Web3 builders and users alike.
Boasting an impressive CV, including the likes of PayPal, Diem, Libra and now Mina, Kurt Hemecker knows a thing or two about bringing complex technology to regulated industries. Which is exactly the skillset Web3 needs right now.
On this show we discuss:
- Kurt's path to Mina
- The mission and role of Mina Foundation
- The importance of ZK tech for Web3
- Examples of ZK apps and use cases that Mina are supporting
- What more is needed to see wider use of ZK and Web3 tech
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Wallets are a critical interface for any user of Dapps and Web3 services. But the UX and functionality is often so complex or limited. Not for long...
If you've been in Web3 for a while, chances are you've used Metamask once or twice. You're ok with having to manually add your random tokens, or get quoted astronomical gas fees from time to time. But better things are on the way.
Metamask and Mesh are working together to bring aggregation of multiple accounts across the crypto-verse, more comprehensive transaction history, integrations with a wide range of brokers and exchanges, and simpler logins with high levels of security. Want to know more?...
On this show we discuss:
- A beginners guide to Metamask
- What use cases / pain points Mesh are we trying to address with their multiple integrations and feeds
- Lessons learned from Mesh and Metamask's massive integration efforts
- The importance of Stablecoins in scaling Web3
- When we will see wider adoption of Web3, dapps and decentralised tech
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Web3 gaming is just getting started, but most people think it's just about the protocol or the tokens... What about the DATA?
We get a fascinating insight into what game developers need to create decentralised gaming economies... The team at Helika have worked with top studios like Yuga Labs, Proof of Play, Animoca Brands and many more, and have seen the early promise of Web3 gaming fall flat because of one particular challenge: DATA.
Actually, it's more than just data. It's how to design, collect, interpret and act on data; as well as designing a coherent game economy that can work in harmony with a decentralised crypto economy. No mean feat.
In this show we'll discuss:
- The maturity of the Web3 gaming ecosystem
- What makes Web3 hard for traditional game developers
- The importance of data for Web3 games
- What is different when it comes to decentralised games and digital assets
- Best practices for data management in gaming
- Advice to any company looking to build with Web3 tech
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Want to meet the man who's trying to integrate ALL the Blockchains? That's no mean feat. Jan-Jaap Jager is transforming Web3 and making it easier for anyone to build Dapps on one or many different chains...
We've said this before, but Web3 will never reach 'mass adoption' if applications are hard to develop, and we don't provide tooling for developers and teams who don't want to learn random Blockchain coding languages.
Step forward Chainstack! It is their mission to make Blockchain development and infrastructure easy to use, and to give developers and organisations as much choice as possible when it comes to starting and supporting their Web3 journeys. Public. Private. Subnets. APIs. It's all here...
In this show we'll cover:
- The origins of Chainstack
- The problems with building on Blockchains today
- The importance of BaaS and SaaS for Web3 to scale
- The most exciting or impactful use cases that Chainstack enables
- What it takes to manage a portfolio of 25+ Blockchains
- Advice to anyone looking to build Dapps or Blockchain offerings
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DePIN is a sector where Blockchain tech is having a major impact. We talk this, and Filecoin’s 6-year history with Porter Stowell.
Decentralised Physical Infrastructure Networks: In short, the democratisation of compute, storage, communication and more. Optimising existing industrial-grade infrastructure and also allowing individuals to participate in a P2P sharing economy. Sound interesting and disruptive? It is.
Amazon and Google aren’t exactly quaking in their boots, but they’re watching with interest, and have been making moves in Web3 to make sure their legacy businesses doesn’t get blindsided by Blockchain.
Filecoin has been leading the charge, particularly in storage, since 2017 and was one of the most love projects from Web3’s previous growth cycle. Porter gives us his take on the emergence of DePIN, what it REALLY takes to scale viable decentralised networks, as well as:
- A Filecoin 101 for those who are new here
- How to manage supply and demand in DePIN networks
- The art of the ‘deal’ for B2B, large-scale storage
- What more is needed for DePIN networks to become attractive to enterprises and a wider user base
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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
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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
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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
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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)
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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
- Montre plus
