CoinGeek Conversations

One of the most discussed presentations at CoinGeek New York was by a newcomer to its conferences, Jeffrey Baek. His Peersend product offers what appears to be an almost magical integration of BSV with existing websites such as Twitter, and, to come, Amazon. 

Peersend works through a Chrome extension which allows Jeff to superimpose his own Peersend icons onto Tweets, for instance, providing an instant mechanism for paying anyone on Twitter. 

If, as a Twitter user and BSV wallet-holder, you send money to someone who doesn’t know anything about BSV and has maybe not even heard of it, no problem! That person will see a tweet in their feed which invites them to collect whatever you have sent them (denoted in fiat, not BSV) through a Handcash wallet. They have to sign up to Handcash to collect the money. 

And if the target of your generosity doesn’t respond to your gift, don’t worry: your donation will be returned to you after 24 hours, so you can try to find someone more grateful.

It’s a simple onboarding process that could swell the numbers of BSVers spectacularly. And that’s part of Jeff’s motivation he says: “in order for Bitcoin to expand the ecosystem, we've been doing pretty well building our own siloed BSV services. But we wanted a service that could help out non-BSV people.”

Twitter is just one example of the use of Peersend, which Jeff explains more generally on this week’s CoinGeek Conversations: 

“You'll be able to send BSV pretty much anywhere on the internet, any web pages, any social media platform, as long as you see a Paymail address somewhere. So if you see a Paymail address on, say, a Medium post, then the extension will highlight the Paymail and from there you'll be able to send money directly with just one click.”

Peersend is a kind of identity management system which Jeff hopes will eliminate the inefficiencies of today’s internet where users need to register separately with each business. It would mean, he says, that platforms don’t ‘own you’ as they do now. With Peersend, all those separate relationships could be “merged together into a single identity and single cash system”. Jeff’s vision is of a seamless online experience where you only have to give you identity and financial details once, for use across the internet: “it's not bound to a currency or country or platform or anything like that.”

So how is that going to work in practice, when it comes to Amazon, for instance, where Jeff says you’ll be able to buy things without even registering for an Amazon account?

 “When you submit your home address at Peersend, then we'll create a Buy button on the product that you see on Amazon or eBay, and then you click to purchase it. Then we will take care of the currency conversion and order on behalf of you so that Amazon can deliver the product that you just bought.”

Jeff’s Peer Technologies is based in Seoul, South Korea, and has eight staff now. His current projects are just the start of his ambitions. He also has plans to build a BSV browser: “unless Bitcoin has its own browser that is fundamentally different from the existing browsers and has a money layer built in, it's very difficult for Bitcoin to succeed.”

If you thought digital currency was just another financial ‘boys club’, you may need to think again. The Women of BSV group is committed to carving out a place for women in a male-dominated industry. 

Ruth Heasman and Diddy Wheldon are the two founders of the group which describes itself on Twitter as “down to earth & welcoming.” On their YouTube channel they cover events, conduct interviews with BSV entrepreneurs and influencers and create educational videos for those looking to learn about Bitcoin.  

Ruth explains that the women don’t feel side-lined or oppressed: they are simply trying to “provide marketing and education and entertainment, just with a different slant that has more appeal to women because …a lot of it is quite dry.” 

 While they may find some BSV coverage too academic, they didn’t feel that way about the CoinGeek Conference in New York last week. On this week’s episode of CoinGeek Conversations, Diddy says she thought the speakers were “phenomenal.” 

Education is not the only goal for the Women of BSV. They are also hoping to bring a new perspective to businesses. Ruth says, “we’re trying to provide a bit of light relief really …in a more sort of chatty way. And we’re quite interested in the people themselves, the entrepreneurs so we’re asking slightly different questions and having a bit of fun with it.” 

Ahead of next week’s CoinGeek Conference in New York, Charles Miller speaks to Bitcoin Association Founding President, Jimmy Nguyen, about the complexities of organizing a live event in the time of Covid. 

 “It’s exciting - yet painful - because of Covid challenges with travel,” Jimmy says. Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, global lockdown restrictions have prevented many from traveling in and out of their countries but CoinGeek’s organizers haven’t let that interrupt their conference schedule and have now evolved a hybrid format combining in person and specially designed online experiences. 

 Being able to work on both those facets of an event at once has been “the silver lining in this cloud of covid,” Jimmy said. 

 So online viewers can expect a broadcast-quality show, complete with lights, cameras, directors, and a superb stage, whilst the conference will also welcome a live in-person audience. “It’s like going to be like a live awards show taping or TV show broadcast.”

 Similar to the last two conferences— CoinGeek Live 2020 and CoinGeek Zurich 2021— CoinGeek New York will showcase both live and virtual speakers on stage, to deliver the latest in the BSV ecosystem. And just like CoinGeek Zurich, the event will be livestreamed on CoinGeek’s YouTube channel where audiences around the world can conveniently tune in to enjoy the show. 

Charles, who attended CoinGeek Zurich in June, asked Jimmy whether there had been enough new developments in the past four months to justify another conference now. Jimmy was quick to point out that there will be a number of new project releases that he is very excited about, including updates on the first stablecoin on BSV, announcements about BSV use in the online gaming and eSports space and about the latest NFTs on BSV.

In addition, Jimmy mentioned looking forward to the presentation of Blarecast, the much-anticipated music platform launching on the BSV blockchain. He is also excited to hear from the founder of Aequantium, who is expected to talk about a new use of tokens as a financial instrument.

What was Jimmy’s rationale for choosing the conference slogan “It’s About Time?” He said it comes from the fact that Bitcoin SV system elements are – indeed - about time. “The white paper did not call it a blockchain, it is described as a distributed timestamped server.” 

In addition, Jimmy explains the other connotations that can be derived from the theme. “It's about time for Bitcoin to be useful and not to be just treated as a speculative investment asset or a store of value; it's about time for the blockchain ecosystem to be more legally compliant; it's about time for real global adoption; it's about time for Bitcoin SV’s power, that as we know were limited by the scaling wars, to finally really be unleashed.”

Coincidentally, CoinGeek New York will be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Times Square. To register to be an online participant, go to: https://coingeekconference.com. There’s still time!

Craig Massey is a man on a mission. A mission to show the world what companies can achieve when they use Bitcoin SV. That’s why he has co-founded the Satoshi Block Dojo, a start-up accelerator for budding entrepreneurs with ideas for building on the BSV blockchain. The London based programme will offer successful applicants 12 weeks of support, investment opportunities and up to £150,000 in backing. 

 An experienced entrepreneur himself, Craig Massey was inspired to get into the BSV space by his joint co-founder Richard Boase, a Bitcoin journalist and BSV devotee. Craig says he was shocked by the difference in what he was hearing about the digital currency from Richard and the negativity he was seeing online. 

 This confusing contradiction drove Craig to find out more and really do his research. He says that he spent 150 hours watching videos of Craig Wright, when he should have been relaxing on a beach in the Caribbean.  

 “The deeper I went and the deeper you go, you actually uncover what I think is the most amazing opportunity.” That opportunity, to build on the BSV blockchain and utilise the original Bitcoin protocol is something that Craig is jumping into with both feet. 

 The accelerator has already accepted six founders who will be starting their journey in January 2022. Craig says that he’s chosen to focus on businesses who plan to build real world applications, rather than infrastructure companies which are already prevalent in the space. 

Most tech startups can only dream of the early achievements of InvoiceMate. Before its official launch later this year, the Dubai-based company already has four customers using its product and the prospect of another to be added soon. And these aren’t just a few friends doing them a favour: they include, for instance, a large government institution, SALIC - the Saudi LIvestock and Investment Company.

No wonder Muhammad Salman Anjum is bullish about the prospects for InvoiceMate. He calls himself Chief Mate but in any other company would be called CEO. “We are the world's first ever blockchain-powered invoice-management system,” says Muhammad. He insists that he’s “not using blockchain for the sake of blockchain” but rather because its features are right for the particular requirements of invoicing: 

“This is a process of workflow which requires a lot of trusted digitisation ...and blockchain is that enabler. And that is the reason why we have chosen blockchain to give power to our invoice management system. It's the right fit. Organisations are seeing this as a missing link in their existing IT architecture, and that's why they are seeing us as a value.”

The InvoiceMate software integrates with ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems such as Oracle, SAP or Microsoft Dynamics adding a specialised functionality which puts it in competition, not with the ERP systems as a whole, but with invoicing options they may offer as add-ons. But InvoiceMate can also be used on its own, as several of its early customers are doing.

As for the choice of the Bitcoin SV blockchain to power InvoiceMate, Muhammad made that decision after considerable experience with permissioned blockchains and a relatively long history of interest in the sector - even to the extent of having been a visiting expert on no less than three blockchain cruises, starting around 2018.

Part of what swung him in favour of Bitcoin SV was its low transaction fees and the chance to make them predictable to his clients through working closely with TAAL, a transaction processor. TAAL is happy to do deals with InvoiceMate to sell a certain number of transactions for a fixed rate or over a fixed period. That allows InvoiceMate to give its customers certainty about their costs when they subscribe to the service.

The customer doesn’t need to worry about transaction processing of course: they are only interested in the service as they are using it. Indeed, as Muhammad says “they sometimes even don't know which blockchain we are using”.

Speaking on this week’s CoinGeek Conversations, Muhammad also discusses his new role as Head of the Bitcoin Association’s first regional hub, also in Dubai, which covers the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. It’s a job that’s “very close to my heart,” Muhammad says, as he considers himself “primarily an educator”:

‘The whole objective is to educate the different sides of the ecosystem, like developers, like academia, government ...When it comes to the regulators and the government entities, we want them to again learn what are the implications of blockchain in the public sector and at the same time, we can help them in the regulatory framework for the crypto side. So in totality, it's more of an educational role.”

If InvoiceMate can sign up more big customers, that will be a prime example with which to educate those learning about BSV through the Bitcoin Association. 

In the fourth and final installment of our CoinGeek Conversations special episodes, Natalie Mason picks out three fascinating interviews from past shows that showcase note-worthy educators in the Bitcoin SV ecosystem. 

On this episode, Lise Li Bitcoin Association China Manager talks about the technological advancements in China and how the Bitcoin SV blockchain can fit right into the country’s socio-cultural environment; Michael Hudson, Bitstocks and Gravity CEO talks about their company’s mission and guiding philosophies; and Liz Louw, a digital marketing and content strategist shares her research methodologies in writing ‘What is Bitcoin?’  

To get free access to Liz’s eBook, click on this link: What is Bitcoin?

In the third of four CoinGeek Conversations special episodes, Natalie Mason picks out her favourite moments from previous interviews with technologists in the Bitcoin SV ecosystem. 

 On this episode, Dean Little, Founder and CEO of Bitping, fresh from winning 2019’s Bitcoin SV Hackathon, explains the political benefits his idea can bring to the world; Luke Rohenaz, CEO of TonicPow talks about how he utilises social media and shared network protocols; and Richard Baker, former CEO of Geospock, explores the opportunities for Bitcoin SV to move into the lucrative cloud market.  

  Join Natalie next week as she picks three more guests from past shows for the episode, “The Educators.”  

In the second of four CoinGeek Conversations special episodes, Natalie Mason picks out highlights from some of her favourite past shows featuring exciting visionaries in the BSV space. 

 On this episode, Lorien Gamaroff,CEO and co-founder of Centbee, shares his hopes for what Bitcoin can achieve in developing countries like his native Zimbabwe; Jack Liu, founder of RelayX explains what attracted him to Bitcoin and how he hopes micropayments can revolutionise the way we live; and Brendan Lee, founder of Elas Digital, talks about his ambitious plans for the Bitcoin SV blockchain in Tuvalu and the rest of the world. 

 Join Natalie next week as she picks three more guests from past shows for the episode, “The Technologists.”  

In the first of four CoinGeek Conversations special episodes, Natalie Mason picks out highlights from some of our favorite past shows that featured top entrepreneurs in the BSV space. 

On this episode, Josh Petty, CEO and founder of the social media platform Twetch, explains how an effective business model can contribute to the success of a company; Stephan Nilsson, CEO of UNISOT, discusses the benefits of a public blockchain such as BSV in the global supply chain industry; and Robert Rice, CEO and founder of Transmira, talks about his journey in the virtual reality space and monetizing on his XR platform, Omniscape.  

 Join Natalie next week as she picks three more guests from past shows for the episode, “The Visionaries.”

Financial cryptographer Ian Grigg wanted to help protect Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous inventor of Bitcoin, without knowing who that person was. He figured that anyone in favour of the libertarian politics of the community loosely called cypherpunks around 2012 ought also to believe that Satoshi should be allowed to stay anonymous if that was their choice. (Ian believed Satoshi was a group of people, albeit led by one key individual.)

In the second of a two-part interview for this week’s CoinGeek Conversations, Ian explains he was concerned that an attention-seeking US government prosecutor might bring charges - perhaps for running Bitcoin as an unlicensed money services business or for money laundering. If that happened, it would produce “a very odd situation where Satoshi has invented something of fantastic potential benefit to the world. And here's some prosecutor who's figured out how to make a career winning move. And he's going to destroy these people.”

Ian’s first idea was to nominate Satoshi for the Turing Prize - after checking that there was nothing in the rules to say that a nominee must have a known, conventional identity. There was strife in the crypto world at the time between BTC, Ethereum and other groups but, Ian said, “just that little symbol brought together a bunch of enemies in the field who agreed that this was a good thing to do.”

As a result of Ian’s work, “one of the team contacted me”. She didn’t reveal her link with Satoshi, but she seemed to be under a lot of stress, “like they were living in a pressure cooker”. Ian wondered about the Satoshi connection, but “all I had was this crazy person talking to me, and this person knew quite a lot of stuff. So I was interested.”

They continued to communicate online until Ian “pretty much convinced myself, ‘yes, OK, I'm talking to the Satoshi team now’.” But his correspondent wasn’t telling him: “she was definitely keeping that secret. But I waited and waited and waited. And eventually she said, ‘you've got to meet Craig. He's, you know, he's a good guy’.”

This led to a meeting with Dr Wright in a London pub, where Ian unobtrusively put Craig through his Satoshi paces: “I actually threw a bunch of test questions at him. Not that they sounded like test questions, but they were tests that I constructed in my mind, three of them, and each one he just sailed through.”

Nothing was said on either side about Craig being Satoshi. But Ian felt the clincher was in a slightly abrupt response from Craig that he believes revealed more than Craig had intended. 

As they were parting, Ian told Craig that he and a group of his friends were trying to help Satoshi by publicly offering support and arguing against the unmasking of Satoshi: “and I him asked directly, 'can you help me?' And he said 'no, I can't help you'. And it was so direct, it was so immediate that I realised he was revealing himself in that answer because I caught him in having to say directly, no, he can't help that - because he is Satoshi.”

Nothing more was said that night, but later, corresponding with the Satoshi associate who had set up his meeting with Craig, Ian says he “managed to get [her] to reveal the full story. And then we were OK after that.”