This episode is all things Zero Knowledge Proofs in a deep dive with Wyatt Benno and Houman Shadab from NovaNet who joined Keli Callaghan from Arrington Capital. NovaNet is the first full decentralized proving network, focused on making Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) portable and accessible for browsers, consumers devices and other constrained environments.  Wyatt and Houman explore the intricacies of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), how they are advancing the decentralized space and current applications and future use cases. The conversation delves into the evolution of ZKPs, their potential to redefine interactions in various sectors, and the legal frameworks surrounding privacy-preserving proofs. NovaNet’s innovative enhances inclusivity and modularity, allowing for cross-chain capabilities. The discussion also touches on  incentives for participation in the prover network and modularity, highlighting the transformative potential of ZKPs in industries such as AI, gaming, legal, and finance.

NovaNet on X: @NovaNet_zkp
Website: https://www.novanet.xyz/
Docs: https://devs.novanet.xyz/
Wyatt Benno on X: https://x.com/wyatt_benno
Houman Shadab on X: https://x.com/HoumanShadab 

In this episode, Shardeum Founder Nischal Shetty chats with Keli Callaghan about a new smart contract platform that linearly scales using dynamic state sharding. Nischal shares his journey into the crypto space, the evolution of the crypto market in India, and the importance of community engagement and education in driving adoption. He discusses the unique features of Shardeum, including its user-friendly transaction model and plans for future growth, emphasizing the role of community and node operators in shaping the platform's success. With Shardeum’s MainNet launching coming up in early May, tokenomics, node operators, and the Indian market opportunity are all covered topics. 

Links: 

X: https://x.com/shardeum 

Web: https://shardeum.org/ 

Whitepaper: https://shardeum.org/Shardeum_Whitepaper.pdf 

Nischal on X: https://x.com/NischalShetty 

In this episode of the Pirate Pod, Keli Callaghan interviews Sergey Gorbunov, CEO of Interop Labs and co-founder of Axelar Protocol, discussing the evolution of blockchain interoperability, the needs of retail (seamless access) and institutions(increasing demand for interoperability), and the role of stablecoins - especially when it comes to the the impact of the regulatory landscape. Sergey explains how Axelar’s technology simplifies cross-chain communication and enhances user experiences, while also addressing decentralization and security. Axelar’s Interchain Token Service is providing significant value when it comes to multi-chain asset issuance (think improved wallet experiences) and the Axelar virtual machine is bringing new functionality and creating a framework of smart contracts. This episode is a deeper dive on how fragmented experiences that are poised to get worse as the technology stack scales horizontally can be improved with Axelar. 

The session, which comes on the heels of headlines from the Axelar community including the appointment of Brian Brooks to the foundation board and an ETF for Axelar, highlights upcoming milestones for Axelar and the future of cross-chain applications.

For more information on Axelar: https://www.axelar.network/

In this episode of the Pirate Pod, Keli Callaghan interviews Julio Vieira, founder and CEO of Kluster.AI, a decentralized platform that enables developers to run and fine-tune large AI models using a global network of GPU providers. Julio shares his journey into the Web3 space, the challenges of GPU shortages, and how Cluster aims to provide cost-effective AI solutions through adaptive inference. The conversation explores various use cases, the importance of decentralization, and the future of AI in a decentralized world - including large scale inference at lower scale costs. 

Takeaways

• Kluster.Ai offers off-chain AI solutions with on-chain security.
• Asynchronous inference is a key offering of Kluster.Ai.
• Companies can save significantly on inference costs with tools like Kluster.Ai
• Decentralization allows for opportunistic pricing in AI.
• Data privacy and governance are crucial in AI deployment.
• The future of AI will involve more on-chain solutions.

In this episode of the Pirate Pod, Keli Callaghan interviews Charles, the founder of Nifty Island, a blockchain-powered UGC gaming platform that allows players to create and customize their own game worlds. Charles shares his background in crypto and his vision for the future of gaming, emphasizing the trend of player-created content and the democratization of game development. He discusses the unique economic model of Nifty Island, its multi-chain integration, and the importance of community engagement. The conversation highlights the potential for Nifty Island to become a leading platform in the gaming industry, particularly in the realm of user-generated content. Community engagement is ever important as the trend of players building games is accelerating due to lower costs and better tools.
Website: niftyisland.com
Twitter: https://x.com/Nifty_Island (@Nifty_Island)
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/niftyisland 

Albert Castellana, cofounder of GenLayer (https://www.genlayer.com/), chats with Keli Callaghan about his company is revolutionizing smart contracts through the introduction of Intelligent Contracts that leverage AI for decision-making. Albert shares his background in crypto, the evolution of smart contracts, and the limitations of current systems. He discusses how Genlayer's unique architecture and the launch of the Intelligent Oracle aim to address these challenges, enabling more complex and subjective decision-making processes (including how natural language processing will come into play). The conversation also touches on the future applications of Genlayer, the importance of community engagement, and the potential impact of AI on the blockchain ecosystem. The future of blockchain will involve far more complex and generative applications - this podcast episode is a must listen to gain a better grasp on how smart contracts will make subjective decisions and empower these applications of the future. 

GenLayer on Twitter: https://x.com/GenLayer

GenLayer on Discord: https://discord.com/invite/m66872spFx

Docs / Getting Started: https://docs.genlayer.com/getting-started 

Chandra Duggirala, founder of Portal to Bitcoin, sits down with Keli Callaghan to discuss the advancements in Bitcoin's utility through Portal, a cross-chain decentralized exchange. Chandra shares his journey from medicine(?!) to crypto, going back to his realization of the importance of eliminating custodial risks in trading. The conversation explores the evolution of custody in the crypto space, innovations within the Bitcoin ecosystem, and the potential for DeFi on Bitcoin (currently sitting at a mere fraction of others such as Ethereal and Solana). With a recent publicly available TestNet, topics covered also include organic community growth,  community-driven product development, and what comes next for Bitcoin’s utility being enhanced through cross-chain swaps (without the need for third-party custody).

Portal to Bitcoin on
Twitter: https://x.com/PortaltoBitcoin
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/portaltobitcoin
Website / TestNet: https://nodes.portaltobitcoin.com/ 

Shady El Damaty, one of Holonym’s co founders, sits down with Keli to explore what privacy-preserving identity means - where every person is empowered with a key that only they can control to unlock rights to their digital person.  Shady shares his journey from academia to deep decentralized tech, discussing the challenges of data sharing in scientific research and how it led to the creation of Holonym (spoiler alert: hackathon blind dating). The conversation delves into the innovative technology behind Holonym, including the Mishti network for generating human keys, wallet as a protocol, and the implications for security, privacy, and decentralized identity in a way that is elegant and simple. Shady emphasizes the importance of balancing identity verification with anonymity and shares future plans for growth and user engagement. Holonym is "making digital human rights real" with @silkysignon, @mishtinetwork and @zer0nym.

Website: holonym.id
X:  @0xholonym

Disclaimer: The views discussed in this conversation are the views of the individuals, and not of Arrington Capital. This podcast is provided solely for informational purposes and is not financial, legal, tax or investment advice.

The participants of this podcast are not recommending any particular security, protocol, token, financial instrument, or other tradable asset or any investment strategy and is not offering to sell or soliciting to buy any security or asset. Arrington Capital may have an economic interest in any companies or protocols discussed in this podcast.

In this episode of the Pirate Pod, Michael Arrington (x.com/arrington) and Ron Palmeri (x.com/RonP) discuss TrainSpot, a new AI data marketplace focused on the intersection of content and ownership. They explore the implications of data ownership, the legal landscape surrounding content usage, and the challenges faced by content creators in monetizing their work. The discussion also touches on the future of copyright law and the need for a cultural movement to support content creators in the evolving digital landscape.

Topics covered include:

• TrainSpot’s approach with a two-sided marketplace for AI-related content and data
• Content creators’ control over how their data is used - and how they could be empowered
• Legal issues surrounding data scraping and copyright
• Monetization opportunities for content creators in the AI space
• Transparency in data value and the facilitation of fair compensation
• The uncertain future of content rights and AI integration 

For more information, visit trainspot.ai.

Disclaimer: The views discussed in this conversation are the views of the individuals, and not of Arrington Capital. This podcast is provided solely for informational purposes and is not financial, legal, tax or investment advice.

The participants of this podcast are not recommending any particular security, protocol, token, financial instrument, or other tradable asset or any investment strategy and is not offering to sell or soliciting to buy any security or asset. Arrington Capital may have an economic interest in any companies or protocols discussed in this podcast.

Konstantin Tkachuk chats with Keli Callaghan about the new startup he has recently co-founded: Titan Network, a new incentive layer for global idle resources. The Titan Network team has a vision for being the one-stop show for DePIN cloud services and joins the podcast to outline how they are making it a reality for people to take available resources they own and put them to work and be rewarded for it. 

Konstantin shares his unique background in Web3 and the evolution of Titan Network and how it is overcoming the barriers of entering the infrastructure system. The discussion covers a range of topics that include: 

• Technological advancements that enable Titan's operations, including why this advanced level of edge and cloud computing was not technically feasible in the past. 
• The potential future of decentralized cloud services as the world becomes more decentralized.
• Why Titan Network is built on Cosmos SDK (hint: being able to tailor to use cases on edge devices is hyper critical).
• Economic benefits for participants in the infrastructure systems of the future.
• Uptime, service level agreements for mission critical items, flexibility, and 50-80% cost savings.

The discussion also covers running nodes in outer space, early use cases, the current status of Titan Network, and how to get involved in Titan’s TestNet and upcoming MainNet. Learn more about Titan from their website and give them a follow on X.

Disclaimer: The views discussed in this conversation are the views of the individuals, and not of Arrington Capital. This podcast is provided solely for informational purposes and is not financial, legal, tax or investment advice.

The participants of this podcast are not recommending any particular security, protocol, token, financial instrument, or other tradable asset or any investment strategy and is not offering to sell or soliciting to buy any security or asset.