Mike Carson is the CEO of Impervious (and Friendster): a Bitcoin-native ZK proof-native protocol which allows for scalable domain registrations on the Bitcoin blockchain. In this episode, he explains how & why he decided to disrupt ICANN.

Time stamps:

Introduction to the Podcast (00:00:41)

Importance of Digital Identity (00:02:44)

Overview of Spaces (00:05:25)

Development of Spaces (00:06:38)

Historical Context of Domain Names (00:08:38)

Challenges with Namecoin (00:10:02)

Censorship and Domain Ownership (00:12:49)

Technical Limitations of Ethereum (00:13:52)

Value of Impervious Spaces (00:17:27)

Functionality of Spaces (00:18:33)

Auction Mechanism Explained (00:19:58)

Sponsor Introduction (00:21:05)

Vlad introduces the episode's sponsors, Sideshift & Starkware

Concatenation Opcode Discussion (00:22:26)

Domain Access Query (00:23:29)

Decentralized Naming System Details (00:23:43)

Integration with Existing Systems (00:25:25)

Data Storage Capabilities (00:25:58)

Browser Integration Possibilities (00:27:02)

Redirecting vs. Building (00:28:28)

Squatting Prevention Measures (00:29:33)

Human-Readable Payment Addresses (00:30:35)

General Purpose Naming Integration (00:32:50)

Open Source Development (00:33:22)

Sidechains and Domain Names (00:33:55)

Scaling Bitcoin Discussion (00:35:00)

Self-Custody Consultancy (00:36:08)

Digital Identity Importance (00:37:09)

Potential of Naming Protocols (00:38:03)

Marketplace Potential for Spaces (00:40:00)

Value of Domain Names (00:40:27)

User Interface Development (00:41:07)

Selling Subspaces (00:42:13)

Concerns About Domain Services (00:42:50)

Past Domain Protocols (00:43:26)

Importance of Decentralized Naming (00:44:07)

Challenges of Competing with Established Services (00:48:24)

Community Support for Decentralized Projects (00:49:36)

Bitcoin Address Integration (00:50:59)

Zero Knowledge Proofs for Scalability (00:54:14)

Security and Decentralization of Block Space (00:56:08)

Community Adoption of Spaces Protocol (00:57:19)

Expected Launch Date for Spaces Protocol (00:58:16)

Overview of Other Projects (00:59:42)

Building for Handshake (00:59:46)

Focus on Spaces (01:01:04)

Following Spaces Updates (01:01:09)

Personal Branding and Friendster (01:02:55)

Domain Name Industry Insights (01:03:06)

Bringing Back Friendster (01:04:49)

Friendster's Historical Context (01:06:00)

Nostalgia for MySpace and Hi5 (01:07:15)

Onboarding Users to Bitcoin (01:08:04)

Final Thoughts and Encouragement (01:09:41)