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Before 2013 few people paid attention to Bitcoin and blockchain, yet even back in the 1990s a vibrant group of prioneers pursued the vision of financial cryptography and digital cash. One of these was financial cryptographer and software developer Ian Grigg, who today works as an architecture consultant for R3.

Grigg joined us for a discussion of the history of the digital cash, Bitcoin and his work on Ricardian Contracts, which foreshadowed today's smart contracts.

Topics covered included:

- The origin story of financial cryptography

- DigiCash and the startup scene around it in the 1990s

- Ricardian Contracts and why contracts are central to digital assets

- Ricardian Contracts vs blockchain

Links mentioned in this episode:

- Ricardian Contract Paper http://bit.ly/2cOnQsU

- Financial Cryptography Website http://bit.ly/2dM4men

- Financial Cryptography in 7 Layers http://bit.ly/2d9GRXT

- R3CEV http://bit.ly/2dVJiRX

- Brown, Carlyle, Grigg & Hearn: Corda - An Introduction http://bit.ly/2dmtPLP

Sponsors:

- Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices http://jaxx.io

- BitFiniti Conference in Miami Beach Oct 30 - Nov 2: Go to bitfiniti.com/epicenter for discounts on registrations and presenter packages

Show notes: http://epicenter.tv/151

YouTube: http://youtu.be/wokvO1ptE1k

SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-151

Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.