John Barret, host of the delightful podcast bitcoinsandgravy, is on a mission to make sure that the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency world doesn't lose out on art, music, and entertainment. He has written several songs and parodies about the ecosystem, in an effort to both educate and entertain listeners about the world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency–especially since the majority of players in the ecosystem remain focused on the technical aspects. He offers some great thoughts on the long-term value of Bitcoin, which he states is the underlying protocol that a cryptocurrency with the same name happens to be built on. Though the coin acts as a reserve currency in the ecosystem, the underlying protocol will create huge change and innovation around the world. To listen to the latest podcast, visit www.bitcoinsandgravy.com.

Marcello, Demetrick, and Corey, founders, and hosts of The Bitcoin Podcast discuss how they each got into Bitcoin–from an investing standpoint to a computational interest. Initially, their goals for creating the podcast were to educate the general population–and themselves–on the basics of Bitcoin, so that individuals can make an informed decision about whether or not to get involved in the ecosystem. They started out just asking people to come on their show, as part of a roundtable format, and since 2015 have completed over 200 interviews. Their podcast is now part of a network of podcasts, each with their own areas of expertise, from investing, to Ethereum, to people just beginning in the ecosystem. They encourage others to begin their own podcasts, on any topic that interests them, as a way both to learn more and provide information to others who are interested. To start listening to The Bitcoin Podcast and other podcasts in their network, visit www.thebitcoinpodcast.com.

"We're trying to build a decentralized LinkedIn on the Ethereum blockchain," says Gaurang Torvekar, CTO, and co-founder of Indorse. While the benefits of doing so may not be immediately clear, Torvekar explains three fundamental problems with LinkedIn and other centralized social network sites: a lack of user control over their own data, the monetization of user data (with no return for the user), and the inability to validate user identity and information. By operating on a blockchain, Indorseallows its users to maintain complete control over their data and gain IND token rewards in direct proportion to their activity on the platform. But that's not all: Indorse has a system to ensure that every claim is validated by other users in the network before it ends up on a user's profile. How exactly does that work, and how can we know that it's reliable? Torkevar is eager to explain. Press play to learn more. Torkevar also discusses: * The use of an escrow smart contract in preventing scamming on the platform * New developments on the horizon and the prospect of all new ICOs having an Indorse profile * The different levels of confidence with each profile * How to find out more about Indorse or apply to get into the Private Alpha

John, Eric, and Chris each came to collecting through different ways–from childhood collecting, to seeing cryptocurrency memorabilia collecting as a merging of hobbies, to getting involved in the arena as a memorabilia producer at Bitcoin Penny. All of the most popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, LiteCoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Monero, and more have collectible coins that interested individuals can purchase. Coins fall into three categories–funded coins, which users can destroy and redeem for actual cryptocurrency; DIY coins, which can have a value assigned to them by the user; and non-funded coins, which are strictly for collecting purposes only. Memorabilia is not limited to coins, but can also include wallets and artwork. There is a variety of quality in these memorabilia, and published encyclopedias detail all the different items out there. Because many of the creators of these memorabilia are well-known, there is not much fraud in the industry. For more information, or to request that they bring specific pieces to the Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain Super Conference in February, you can contact them through the Bitcoin Talks Forums, in their collecting sub-forums. John goes by the user name minerjones, Eric by hybridsole, and Chris at bitcoinpenny.

Bitwage is a payroll and invoicing system build on top of Bitcoin, which allows wages from an employer located in the US, UK, or EU to be deposited directly into a special checking account. The funds deposited into this checking account are converted into Bitcoin, and then sent to the wallet of your choice. Workers are able to indicate what percentage of their paychecks will be sent to this checking account, with the account appearing to be a normal account to the employer. To date, Bitwage has completed $28 million in transactions, and boasts 18,000 users in over 90 countries around the world. This can be used by anyone from digital nomads to employees of large companies, or even government agencies. For more information, or to get started, visit www.bitwage.com.

Imagine having a source of low-cost, basic nutrition growing indefinitely on your own countertop. "Think of it like a Keurig for nutrition…way more nutritious than the fruits and vegetables in your garden, and it takes a lot less space," says Elliot Roth, founder of Spira. With the use of a specific type of algae called spirulina-one of the most nutrient-dense food sources on the planet, composed of 60% protein by weight, 13 vitamins and 8 minerals-Roth aims to put the power of nutrition in the hands of the people. Spira emerged from very humble beginnings, as Roth recollects, "For a period of a couple of months, I was dumpster diving and looking for different ways to provide for myself. I think that a lot of people are in a very similar situation across the United States, so I took that problem and wanted to figure out how to turn it into an opportunity to solve it for everyone." Despite the immensity of its returns, spirulina requires very little to flourish: air, water, light and salts. Press play to learn more. Roth also discusses: * How to purchase a spirulina kit from livespira.com, what's included, and how to see your first harvest come to fruition * Why store-bought, processed forms of spirulina are inferior in terms of taste, nutrition and cost * How Spira can cater to individual nutritional requirements by providing specific types of salts that enable the growth of spirulina * The best and tastiest ways to consume spirulina, how long it can be stored, and the prospect of developing spirulina-based bars and breads

Luno.com is a Bitcoin platform that allows people to convert local currency into Bitcoin, and securely hold it until they wish to use it. It was originally developed with emerging markets in mind because Bitcoin has been rising against the US Dollar and the Euro, while many local currencies around the world have fallen by comparison, though now users also have the ability to convert Euros into Bitcoin through Luno as well. Because users can store, transfer, and switch between fiat and Bitcoin, it has been popular in areas underserved by traditional finance infrastructure, though it has different use cases around the world, which Van Rooyenhappily discusses. For more information, visit www.luno.com.

In 2014, Bread Wallet was created as a secure, user-friendly solution for sending and receiving Bitcoin (a wallet). But today, it's on the verge of becoming so much more: the term "wallet" will soon be dropped from the name to signify a shift away from a simple wallet and toward a decentralized banking platform. "What we envision is the continuation of this digitization of assets, these digital tokens that will come to represent many different things above and beyond money…these will be assets that combined would form your portfolio, and Bread would like to be the platform that allows you to hold everything," says Aaron Lasher, co-founder of Bread Wallet. Above all, Lasher and Bread Wallet's CRO, Brent Traidman, value security and ease of use through education, which is a good indication that these essential qualities will not be compromised amidst the coming revamp. "Educating people in this space is something everybody needs to do to bring more users into the ecosystem, so that's something we're definitely building into the new system," says Traidman. Tune in to learn how. Lasher and Traidman also discuss: * Bread Wallet's upcoming inclusion of Ethereum and ERC20 coins, and the fully redesigned app that's just days away from launching. * The measures are taken to ensure a high level of both security and privacy for users. * The Bitcoin Therapy Hotline (how and why it was started, and some interesting insight that's been gained from it). https://breadapp.com/blog/ http://fortune.com/2017/09/27/bitcoin-ethereum-ico-bread-wallet/

Sur BTC is fiat-gateway Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange located in Chile, with additional operations in Colombia and Peru. Though the exchange is open to people from around South America, the regulatory landscape is very different across the continent–from a very loose, liberal regulatory framework in Chile, to a more restricted framework in Bolivia. Torrealba discusses the need for clearer regulations, in order to keep people from being taken advantage of by Ponzi schemes using Bitcoin and other cryptos, but which still allows legitimate businesses to grow. Worried about the potential for stifling regulations created by politicians who don't fully understand the crypto ecosystem, Sur BTC is going to begin lobbying efforts to create regulations that foster growth but don't allow for individuals to be taken advantage of. Torrealba also discusses the different ways that crypto is used across South America, including remittances and as a means of escaping harmful regimes. To find out more, visit www.surbtc.com.