The Blockchain and Us: Conversations about the brave new world of blockchains, cryptoassets, and the

Monty Munford speaks about his work as a tech advisor and writer, his adventures at the Malta Blockchain Summit interviewing John McAfee, how blockchain companies can improve their stories, blockchain companies in the UK and how Brexit affects them, the development of the blockchain ecosystem, characteristics of valuable tech companies, promising applications of blockchain technology, getting his wallet hacked, frustrations with blockchain technology, what should change, and where he sees the sector going.

Monty is an emcee/panellist/moderator​/interviewer ​​​and speaker in the blockchain space, he writes for his own blog Mob76Outlook, for The Telegraph, TechCrunch, The Economist, BBC Future, the Huffington Post, and he also runs Mob76, a tech consultancy that works with clients to become investible and prepares them for exit.

Monty Munford: https://twitter.com/montymunford, https://www.forbes.com/sites/montymunford, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/monty-munford, https://www.businessinsider.com/author/monty-munford  

Mob76: https://www.mob76outlook.com 

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Phil Zamani speaks about his blockchain projects Aergo and Blocko, the blockchain ecosystem in South Korea, differences between open source in Linux and blockchain technology, why blockchain consortiums might fail, why there are still few production systems live on blockchains, how non-software companies can go about getting started with pilot projects, what he learned from working with large corporations on blockchain projects in South Korea, why data needs to be shared to be most valuable, IOT pilots on blockchains, and much more.

Phil is the chairman of the AERGO Foundation and co-CEO at Blocko, Korea’s largest blockchain infrastructure provider. He has over twenty years of experience in managing open-source businesses and has worked as senior VP at Deutsche Telekom’s cloud business unit, VP of sales and business development at RedHat, and as Global Head of Big Data & cloud models at Banca Santander.

Phil Zamani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philzamani, https://twitter.com/ZamaniPhil

Aergo: https://www.aergo.io, https://twitter.com/aergo_io

Blocko: https://www.blocko.io, https://twitter.com/BlockoInc

Phil's article on parallels between Linux and blockchains: https://medium.com/aergo/drawing-a-parallel-between-linux-and-blockchain-160f79ca74e6 

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Eric Elliott speaks about creating the verifiable web with po.et, how fact-checking information has evolved since PGP, why we're not in 1998 with blockchain technology but in 1968, why people don't yet use decentralized applications and why that is OK for the moment, the future of AR/VR and blockchains, how artists and creators can benefit in a new economy that digital scarcity and artificial intelligence make possible, lessons from the music industry in dealing with technology, why the positive impact of blockchain technology outweighs negative effects, and the most important skill in the future.

Eric is the author of the book “Programming JavaScript Applications”, published by O’Reilly, he is the co-founder of the software mentorship platform DevAnywhere.io, and VP of Engineering at po.et, a shared, open, universal ledger designed to record metadata and ownership information for digital creative assets. He has contributed to software experiences for Adobe Systems, Zumba Fitness, The Wall Street Journal, ESPN, BBC, and top recording artists including Usher, Frank Ocean, Metallica, and many more.

Eric Elliott: www.medium.com/@_ericelliott, www.github.com/ericelliott, www.twitter.com/_ericelliott 

Eric's JavaScript course: www.ericelliottjs.com 

DevAnywhere.io: www.devanywhere.io 

Eric's book “Programming JavaScript Applications”: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/programming-javascript-applications/9781491950289 

Po.et: www.po.et, www,blog.po.et, www.twitter.com/_poetproject 

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Alison McCauley speaks about writing her book "Unblocked: How Blockchains Will Change Your Business", about the importance of blockchain literacy for executives, why blockchain communities need organizations on their side, how organizations can get started with blockchain technology, how to take blockchain ideas into the pilot stage with possible use cases, why companies will soon have competition from their own customers, how collaboration replaces the zero-sum game of many business models, how a token-infused sharing economy could create more value in the future, and the need for decentralization. Alison also speaks about conducting research for the book, her approach to writing and structuring the book, surprises and learnings when writing the book, risks of blockchains going to the dark side, why attention harvesting should stop, and much more.

Alison has a two-decades long strategy consulting career, where she advised technology-first startups and Fortune-500 companies, including PNC, Adobe, Oracle, IBM, First Data, and Verizon. She has been working with early stage teams in data science and analytics, machine learning, IoT, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence before turning her focus to the blockchain and cryptoasset space. Alison has a masters in sociology and organizational behavior from Stanford University, and she is the author of the book "Unblocked: How Blockchain Technology Will Change the Future", available in January 2019.

Alison McCauley: http://www.alisonmccauley.io, https://www.linkedin.com/in/unblocked/

Alison's book "Unblocked: How Blockchains Will Change Your Business" (out in january 2019): http://www.unblockedfuture.com

Also discussed in this episode:

Alex "Sandy" Pentland et al.: "The new deal on data", http://civics.com/NewDealOnData/

Tim Wu's book "The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires", https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8201080-the-master-switch

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Alexander Bulkin speaks about combining social sciences with blockchain technology at CoinFund (which he co-founded), why crypto funds are becoming tech companies, the antifragility of cryptoassets, cryptoeconomic primitives and the challenges with developing them, why you don't need one blockchain to achieve network effects, how blockchain technology could enable decentralized marketplaces, the drawbacks for crypto businesses in the United States, the power of communities, and much more.

Alexander is the co-Founder and Managing Director at CoinFund, and he is a multidisciplinary thinker with a special interest in social and technological innovation, bridging technological insight with social science and psychology. He has 13 years of experience in developing pricing, risk management, and high-frequency trading software at Goldman Sachs, and he is holding a dual degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from New York University and a Masters Degree in Organizational Psychology from the Process Work Institute in Portland, Oregon.

Alexander Bulkin: https://medium.com/@aleksandr.bulkin, https://twitter.com/coinfund_al 

CoinFund: http://www.coinfund.io, https://www.twitter.com/coinfund_io 

Adapt Toolkt: http://www.adaptk.it, https://twitter.com/adaptkit 

Nicholas Nassim Taleb's book "Antifragile": https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13530973-antifragile 

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Trent McConaghy speaks about creating a data economy with Ocean Protocol, token engineering and design, bringing artificial intelligence to the blockchain, how Facebook could tokenize itself to melt into the user community, why AI researchers often miss the most mundane solutions, how we're moving from nature 1.0 to nature 2.0, smart decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), how DAOs could provide universal basic income (UBI), Estonia's blockchain initiatives, token engineering, ethics in blockchain technology and engineering, creativity, Berlin as a blockchain hub, and much more.

Trent is the founder of the Ocean Protocol, a decentralized data exchange protocol to unlock data for artificial intelligence. He has a PhD in engineering, where he focused on machine creativity, and he also advises Estonia, Germany and other governments on strategies related to blockchain technology and AI.

Trent McConaghy: http://www.trent.st, http://www.twitter.com/trentmc0 

Ocean Protocol: http://www.oceanprotocol.com/, http://www.twitter.com/

Also mentioned in the episode:

Data.world: http://www.data.world

Daimler's Car2Go: http://www.daimler.com/products/services/mobility-services/car2go/

Nature 2.0: http://www.medium.com/@trentmc0/nature-2-0-27bdf8238071

Towards a Practice of Token Engineering: https://blog.oceanprotocol.com/towards-a-practice-of-token-engineering-b02feeeff7ca?gi=3e6ef6d6546f

Interview with Anish Mohammed: http://www.theblockchainandus.com/anish-mohammed

Room 77, Berlin: http://www.room77.de/

Ben Franklin's book "Poor Richard's Almanack": http://www.benjamin-franklin-history.org/poor-richards-almanac/

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Ryan Jesperson speaks about his journey to becoming the president of the Tezos Foundation, his outlook for Tezos and its technological innovations. He explains Tezos' on-chain governance and how it could solve the tragedy of the (digital) commons, how he organized the Tezos community in a petition to hold the foundation accountable, dealing with adversity and personal criticism, making sure the foundation stays decentralized, what makes Tezos a blockchain 3.0, Tezos' baking ecosystem and what happens with the foundation's baking proceeds, which role Tezos could play in a "blockchain future", his concerns about the state of the blockchain space, and much more.

Ryan is the President of the Tezos Foundation, and before, he was the Chief Operating Officer at Divvy, a FinTech company. Prior to his work at Divvy, Ryan was an executive, turnaround specialist, and tech entrepreneur in the healthcare industry and he helped launch the humanitarian Self-Reliance Services initiative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Ryan Jesperson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-jesperson-23b0053a/ 

Tezos: https://tezos.com/, https://www.twitter.com/Tezos, https://www.twitter.com/TezosFoundation 

Wired article "Inside the World's Biggest Crypto Scandal": https://www.wired.com/story/tezos-blockchain-love-story-horror-story/ 

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Cedric Waldburger speaks about being part of the team that later became Dfinity, leading growth at the company, why education might be the killer app for blockchain technology, his motivation and approach to storytelling, differences between Dfinity and other blockchain startups, starting his first company at age fourteen, why mentors are so important, measuring his life in quarters, productivity tools for entrepreneur, his investment theses, why he doesn't normally invest in ICOs, investing for learning, different types of blockchain entrepreneurs, why he finds the blockchain space so fascinating, how he makes better decision, why he likes simple questions that don't have simple answers, owning only 64 things, minimalism vs. consumerism, growing up in Switzerland, building "the blockchain state", what blockchain technology could do for the world, misunderstandings about blockchain technology, and what he's still learning as an entrepreneur.

Cedric holds a master in computer science, and he is a serial entrepreneur, startup founder, investor and blockchain enthusiast since 2012. He co-founded DFINITY – a blockchain startup backed by Andreesen Horowitz – and eight other high-tech companies in Europe and the US. He also has a video blog where he documents his experiences and travels and he produces the video series Inside Dfinity.

Cedric Waldburger: https://cedricwaldburger.com, https://twitter.com/cediwaldburger

Dfinity: https://dfinity.org, https://twitter.com/dfinity

Inside Dfinity: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuhDt1vhGcrei3pfj8sDr0ewA64PxxT4m

Also mentioned in the podcast:

Entrepreneurs' Organization: https://www.eonetwork.org

Richard Feynman's book "Surely you're Joking, Mr Feynman!" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5544.Surely_You_re_Joking_Mr_Feynman_

Dan Harmon's story circle: http://channel101.wikia.com/wiki/Story_Structure_101:_Super_Basic_Shit

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Joey Krug speaks about evaluating investments at Pantera Capital, why healthcare, finance, energy, and government are ripe for disruption, why too much money is bad for entrepreneurs, why location matters for funds but less for projects, how incumbent tech companies deal with blockchain technology and tokens, why blockchains won't transform information, why people don't care about their privacy and how to overcome that, why progress is much faster than we notice, how Augur got support for Trezor wallets, his experience as a Thiel fellow, why the cost of a university degree far outweighs its value, why theory and practice often differ, why UI/UX is the most important thing that should improve in the blockchain space, and why he would love to fast forward to the year 2048.

Joey Krug is the co-founder of Augur, a prediction market and one of the first ICO on Ethereum. He is also co-chief investment officer at Pantera Capial's crypto hedge funds. Before joining Pantera, Joey built a point of sale system enabling Bitcoin payments with sound and Bluetooth, and he also started an AngelList syndicate that is now one of the top fifteen by backing.

Joey Krug: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeykrug, https://www.twitter.com/joeykrug

AngelList syndicate: https://angel.co/joeykrug

Pantera Capital: https://www.panteracapital.com, https://twitter.com/PanteraCapital

Augur: https://www.augur.net, https://twitter.com/AugurProject

Peter Thiel's book "Zero to One": https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18050143-zero-to-one

Bitcoin white paper: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

Ethereum white paper: https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/White-Paper

The Blockchain and Us newsletter

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Jesse McWaters speaks about analyzing the impact of blockchain technology on industry and society at the World Economic Forum, disruption vs. collaboration in the financial sector, why blockchain technology gives people a license to image a future without constraint, the role of established financial institutions in the cryptoasset space, why the road of blockchain entrepreneurs differs from those in the FinTech space, how the blockchain narrative changed in recent years, blockchain regulation, checks and balances, code of conduct in ICOs, why blockchain technology might become less of a binary idea in the future, and much more.

Jesse leads the World Economic Forum’s exploration of fintech and financial innovation where he works with financial executives, regulators and a global network of innovators to analyze the implications of open banking, blockchains, digital identity, and AI on the financial sector and society. Jesse is a frequent speaker and media commentator on CNBC’s Closing Bell, in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, and the New York Times and he has presented his analyses to financial institutions and global policymakers such as the Financial Stability Board, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the Federal Reserve Board, the Peoples Bank of China, the European Parliament, and the FDIC.

Jesse McWaters: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/authors/jesse-mcwaters/, https://twitter.com/rjmcwaters

Previous interview with Jesse for my blockchain documentary (2017): https://blockchain-documentary.com/jesse-mcwaters-wef/

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