Epicenter - Learn about Crypto, Blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin and Distributed Technologies

It is one thing to invest in early stage companies, but to do so in a nascent industry that constantly reinvents and rediscovers itself is a whole different venture. Richard Muirhead co-founded Fabric Ventures in 2012 around the thesis of supporting the Open Economy. While at first this meant investing in Bitcoin-related projects, once Ethereum was announced, a new horizon unveiled, filled with tremendous potential. Since then, the Open Economy thesis was adapted to match technological breakthroughs, and it is now centered around artificial intelligence, distributed computing and self sovereignty (over both fungible, as well non-fungible assets).

Topics covered in this episode:

• Richard’s background and how he founded a crypto VC
• Fabric Ventures’ thesis
• How the AI thesis evolved
• User-generated AI
• On-chain autonomous agents
• Upcoming DeFi innovations
• Web3 trends that took Richard by surprise
• Missed opportunities
• The impact of crypto liquidity & market cycles on VC investing
• How to vet projects in early investment phase

Episode links:

• Richard Muirhead on Twitter
• Fabric Ventures on Twitter
• Fabric Ventures

Sponsors:

• Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io
• Chorus One: Chorus One is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst.

In a world constantly torn by social division amplified by polarizing scissor statements throughout social media, Taiwan conducted a social experiment aimed at strengthening social unity while also embracing diversity. Plurality details how Taiwan’s Digital Minister Audrey Tang and her collaborators achieved inclusive, technology-fueled growth that harnessed digital tools to provide an antidote to information chaos and warfare. The open-source book is living proof that present global challenges can be solved through democratic solutions that embody a decentralised ethos.

We were joined by Audrey Tang and Glen Weyl, co-authors of Plurality, to discuss the social dynamics they studied and how technology can be used to unite rather than divide.

Topics covered in this episode:

• How Audrey & Glen met and Plurality’s genesis
• Audrey’s journey from civic hacker to Taiwan’s Digital Affairs Minister
• How democracy is perceived around the world
• Establishing a co-creating mentality
• Scissor statements and how to avoid division
• How Polis works
• Leveraging Web3 to strengthen democracy & social collaboration
• Decentralised co-ownership
• Web3 governance
• Human facilitators

Episode links:

• Audrey Tang on Twitter
• Glen Weyl on Twitter
• Plurality Book on Twitter
• Plurality Institute on Twitter
• Radical xChange

Sponsors:

• Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io
• Chorus One: Chorus One is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

As more and more L2s launch promising to scale Ethereum, they end up competing for the same market share, userbase and liquidity. Apart from this harsh reality, crosschain interactions should be as seamless as possible in order to bridge different L2 ecosystems. Polygon envisions a scalable future in which various zero knowledge rollups post their proofs on an aggregation layer before settling on Ethereum, thus lowering latency and transaction costs as crosschain interactions take place expeditiously, without involving the L1 mainnet.

We were joined by Sandeep Nailwal & Brendan Farmer, to discuss Polygon’s aggregation layer and how it aims to solve the current fragmentation of Ethereum L2 scaling solutions.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Polygon’s ZK expansion and the acquisition of Mir Protocol
• Polygon’s aggregation layer
• Block building between different L2s
• Shared sequencing & asynchronous sequencing
• Security guarantees of the aggregation layer
• Sequencer decentralisation & censorship resistance
• Chains using Polygon’s aggregation layer
• Pessimistic proofs
• Can optimistic rollups be included in the aggregation layer?
• Type 1 prover and Plonky3
• The evolution of ZKP systems
• Ensuring ZK rollup integrity
• The future of scalability

Episode links:

• Sandeep Nailwal on Twitter
• Brendan Farmer on Twitter
• Polygon on Twitter

Sponsors:

• Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io
• Chorus One: Chorus One is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

In a world where a handful of (centralised) entities hold the majority of staked Ethereum (either directly or via delegation), the network’s decentralisation and security might be in peril. While there are multiple proposals being discussed to address this pressing matter, from reducing issuance after a certain breakpoint (~30% of total ETH being staked) to introducing more severe slashing for colluding entities, education and guidance remain paramount. EthStaker is a community led project whose goal is to guide, educate, support and offer resources for stakers, in order to lower the barrier of entry for solo stakers.

We were joined by Superphiz & Nixorokish, to discuss the current Ethereum staking landscape and what challenges need to be addressed to ensure the network’s decentralisation and security.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Superphiz’ & Nixorokish’ backgrounds
• Ethereum staking evolution
• Staking options
• Liquid staking
• Centralization risks
• Incentivizing solo staking
• Lowering ETH issuance proposal & network security
• Solo stakers
• How a healthy staking ecosystem looks like
• The importance of client diversity
• Socio-political collusion
• Misc.

Episode links:

• Superphiz on Twitter
• Nixorokish on Twitter
• EthStaker on Twitter
• EthStaker

Sponsors:

• Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io
• Chorus One: Chorus One is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

One could argue that psychedelic research has experienced a similar journey as crypto, in the sense that decentralised communities bound together to fund research where centralised entities refuse to do so. One of the greatest hurdles in modern science is access to research funding, and DeSci aims to provide a solution through decentralised crowdfunding. In addition, IP rights are incontestably attributed with the help of blockchain technology, as they cannot be altered at a later date. However, as the human mind is unique and moulded by each individual’s life story, establishing a causal relationship between consumption and their beneficial or detrimental effects can be extremely biased.

We were joined by Dima Buterin & Paul Kohlhaas, to discuss the vast subject of psychedelics (especially in relationship to trauma), how research has progressed and how decentralisation pushes the field forward (DeSci).

Topics covered in this episode:

• Dima’s & Paul’s backgrounds
• Discovering psychedelics
• Dealing with trauma
• Psychedelics throughout history and societies
• How Molecule DAO was founded
• DeSci & on-chain IP
• Ethereum early days, causality & rationality
• PsyDAO
• Network states
• Misc

Episode links:

• Dima Buterin on Twitter
• Paul Kohlhaas on Twitter
• Molecule DAO on Twitter
• Psy DAO on Twitter

Sponsors:

• Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io
• Chorus One: Chorus One is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain.

The approval of Ethereum spot ETFs sent shockwaves through the industry as policymakers pivoted abruptly from threatening to veto FIT21 bill, to a pro-crypto discourse. One could say their hand was forced by the imminent US elections, but Ethereum is now officially classified as a commodity, nonetheless. As the regulatory hurdle seems, for the time being, surpassed, one should not forget the values promoted by the crypto movement from the get-go: decentralisation and permissionlessness. However, everyday users tend to overlook these aspects in favour of a more streamlined user experience. As technology evolves and scaling solutions mature, better UI & UX represent crucial goals in the race for end user adoption.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Crypto regulations: FIT21 & Tornado Cash trial
• Ethereum spot ETF
• Is Ethereum a commodity or a security?
• Scaling solutions & end user adoption
• The importance of decentralisation
• How Web3 lowers barriers of (permissionless) competition
• Regulatory and legal hurdles
• Educating ‘normies’ & UX
• Technology: depoliticising money
• Berlin blockchain week & Dappcon 2024 wrap-up

Episode links:

• Austin Griffith on Twitter
• Mona El Isa on Twitter
• Peter Van Valkenburgh on Twitter

Sponsors:

• Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io
• Chorus One: Chorus One is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst and Brian Fabian Crain.

The massive success of the recently approved spot Bitcoin ETF showed tremendous interest from large institutional players. Even despite negative takes in public appearances, behind the curtain, more and more ‘smart money’ accumulate $BTC, either directly or through ETF shares. The same is to be expected for Ethereum, yet uncertainty still looms due to its proof-of-stake consensus model and, ultimately, staking yield. While crypto natives quickly embraced both ETH staking as well as liquid staking, institutions could not justify the higher risk profile and lack of regulatory compliance. Alluvial and Liquid Collective seek to change this and provide ultrasound infrastructure for enterprise-grade security in liquid staking. 

Topics covered in this episode:

• Mara’s background
• ETH 2.0 and the current staking landscape
• Liquid Collective
• ETH ETF and staking concerns
• The risks of adjusting staking emissions
• Restaking and new opportunities
• Institutional staking and risk optimization

Episode links:

• Mara Schmiedt on Twitter
• Alluvial on Twitter
• Liquid Collective on Twitter

Sponsors:

• Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io
• Chorus One: Chorus One is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

This episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch.

5 years, 20 Grants, 3715 projects crowd-funded and over $60M raised towards public goods funding, from 4.2M unique donations. Gitcoin’s headline numbers are indicative of the massive success their quadratic funding (QF) and public goods funding models (PGF) have seen over the years. With Gitcoin 2.0, crowd-funding is further decentralised, Allo Protocol being open-source and permissionless: any ecosystem treasury can create their own Gitcoin Grants program to help their community fund what matters to them.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Kevin’s background and Gitcoin’s journey so far
• The utility of Gitcoin Passport
• Gitcoin Grants sybil protection dilemma
• Public goods & capital allocation
• Quadratic funding (QF) & retroactive public goods funding (RPGF)
• New allocation models introduced by Gitcoin 2.0
• $GTC token utility & decentralising Allo Protocol
• The current landscape of DAOs

Episode links:

• Kevin Owocki on Twitter
• Gitcoin on Twitter
• Gitcoin Governance Forums

Sponsors:

• Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io
• Chorus One: Chorus One is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

The initial scaling roadmap for Ethereum featured execution layer sharding. However, the rapid advancements of layer 2 scaling solutions in general, and zero knowledge proofs in particular, caused a restructuring of the original plan. The reason was that rollups would have required less changes made to Ethereum’s base layer, hence lower risks. On the other hand, Near Protocol was designed from the ground up as a sharded system, capable of withstanding billions of transactions simultaneously, without sacrificing decentralisation or security.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Illia’s & Alex’s backgrounds
• Sharding and blockchain scalability
• Challenges of building a sharded blockchain
• Near namespace
• Shard security & validator sampling
• Stateless validation and data availability
• State witnesses and chunk producers
• Block production
• Shards vs. Rollups
• How Near could further improve
• Leaderless chunk production
• Chain abstraction

Episode links:

• Illia Polosukhin on Twitter
• Alex Skidanov on Twitter
• Near Protocol on Twitter

Sponsors:

• Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io
• Chorus One: Chorus One is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

This episode is hosted by Meher Roy.

Long regarded as an impending black swan, Tether has successfully weathered out the contagion and bank runs caused by Luna’s collapse in the depths of the 2022-2023 bearmarket. Since then, a large portion of Tether’s reserves has been shifted to treasury bills, which are the closest dollar proxy, positioning Tether among the top 20 holders of T-bills, worldwide. However, navigating the Tether FUD was not the first rodeo for Paolo Ardoino, as he has also previously led Bitfinex, which successfully recovered after a $72M hack, back in 2016. The worldwide adoption of USDT, especially in emerging markets and developing economies, serves as a testament to Tether’s commitment to create a product with tangible real-life applications.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Paolo’s background
• How Bitfinex succeeded
• DEX vs. CEX UX
• Entrepreneurship and company culture
• Founding Tether and its use cases
• Expanding Tether’s cross-chain support
• Tether’s reserves and long-term vision
• Stablecoin wars: BUSD & USDC
• Decentralized stablecoins and bank runs
• The potential of diversifying physical backing
• Holepunch & Keet - the P2P renaissance
• Incentivising P2P interactions

Episode links:

• Paolo Ardoino on Twitter
• Tether on Twitter
• Bitfinex on Twitter
• Holepunch on Twitter
• Keet on Twitter

Sponsors:

• Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io
• Chorus One: Chorus One is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst.