Web3 Innovators

In this episode of the Web3 Innovators podcast, host Conor Svensson interviews Kary Bhemaiah, the Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Capgemini Invent. Kary's journey from being a marine engineer to becoming a prominent leader in the Web3 space is truly inspiring. He shares his genuine passion for Bitcoin and explains how it has shaped his career in remarkable ways. The conversation moves on to discuss the challenges of adopting Web3 in large organisations, the influence of CBDCs and stablecoins, and the importance of building a stable ecosystem that doesn't rely solely on speculative token prices.

Key Moments:

• Kary's journey from marine engineer to Web3 leader and how Bitcoin sparked his interest in blockchain.
•  Challenges organisations face in adopting Web3 technologies and bridging the knowledge gap between technical experts and business owners.
• The impact of CBDCs and stablecoins on the industry and their role in influencing adoption and innovation.
• The potential of Web3 protocols to meet the growing demand for data storage, computation, and infrastructure services.
• The importance of focusing on real-world use cases and avoiding reliance on speculative token prices to build a stable ecosystem.

Standout Quote:
“The fact that you’ve got a lot of the large financial institutions, whether it’s BlackRock or it’s JP Morgan or other big banks who’ve been able to make significant savings by using blockchain in order to do their co-business functions. I think that’s given a lot more impetus for firms across the globe to look at it from a much more mature, adult in the room kind of standpoint.”

Resources:

Follow Kary on LinkedIn to stay updated on his latest projects and insights in the Web3 space.

Contact Kary Bheemaiah: LinkedIn
Kary is the Chief Technology & Innovation Officer at Capgemini Invent. In this role he has led/co-led the creation of their Quantum Lab, Metaverse Lab, pushed forward the WEB3 initiatives and their forthcoming work in Synthetic Biology. 
Kary is also part of Capgemini Group's Technology, Innovation and Ventures (TIV) council, which sets the agenda for the Group’s technology and innovation strategy. 

Outside of Capgemini Invent, Kary has spoken at 2 TEDx events and 2 TheNextWeb events to date. He has written for many leading publications like Written for MIT Tech Review, WIRED, Harvard Business Review, World Economic Forum, to name a few. He also wrote a book "The Blockchain Alternative” which was published in 2017.

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Welcome to our latest Web3 Innovators: Insights podcast episode where we dive into the fascinating world of Fully Collateralised Securities in DeFi. In this episode, we explore how blockchain technology is transforming the traditional financial industry and bringing new possibilities for investors and users alike. Join us as we unravel the potential of stablecoins and on-chain assets, and their impact on the global financial landscape.

Key Takeaways:

1. Stablecoins and On-Chain Assets: We start by examining the role of stablecoins as a cornerstone of the DeFi ecosystem. Discover how stablecoins provide crypto natives with on-chain dollars, free from the volatility of native cryptocurrencies, and how this model can be expanded to include a broader range of financial assets, including securities.
2. Bringing the S&P 500 On-Chain: Uncover the groundbreaking development of a token on Ethereum that tracks shares in an S&P 500 ETF. Explore the possibilities of this token named bCSPX (Backed CSPX) and its potential to democratize access to financial products worldwide.
3. Decentralized Finance: We delve into the concept of decentralized finance and how public blockchains are revolutionizing the distribution of financial assets. Learn about the programmable nature of blockchain assets and the opportunities it presents for innovation.
4. Traditional Financial Service Providers in DeFi: While fully native DeFi assets are gaining popularity, we discuss why the involvement of traditional financial service providers, like brokers and custodians, could be the key to driving widespread adoption of DeFi technology in finance.
5. Parallels with the World Wide Web: Drawing parallels with the evolution of the internet, we explore how the rise of on-chain securities and decentralized exchanges could streamline financial infrastructure and bypass traditional intermediaries.
6. Wholesale Finance and Trusting Public Networks: We consider the potential impact of blockchain technology on wholesale finance and how public blockchain networks may serve as a mutual trust layer for bridging different jurisdictions.

As the world of finance continues to evolve, Fully Collateralised Securities represent an exciting frontier in DeFi. Join us as we explore the intersection of blockchain, crypto, and traditional finance, and uncover the potential for a decentralized financial future. 

Stay informed, subscribe to our podcast, and never miss an episode as we navigate the dynamic landscape of finance and technology.

Chainlens is a leading blockchain explorer for Ethereum and Substrate networks.
Find out more - http://chainlens.com

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In this episode of the Web3 Innovators Podcast, Dotun Rominiyi, Blockchain Strategy – Emerging Technologies at LSEG, shares his journey into the world of blockchain technology. Starting from his early encounter with Bitcoin during his time at Barclays Investment Bank to his fascination with Ethereum's decentralised compute capabilities, he paints a picture of the evolving landscape of blockchain. 

Key Moments:

• Dotun's experience in the video games industry and how it fostered a keen interest in emerging technologies. 
• The fascination with blockchain technology and how it presents opportunities to represent assets of value and enable decentralised compute.
• The importance of considering regulatory constraints and compliance requirements when exploring blockchain solutions in the financial industry.
• The need for precise, evolutionary approaches to blockchain integration in heavily regulated environments like the London Stock Exchange Group.
• The unique innovation of blockchain and its potential to revolutionise various sectors beyond technology considerations.
• The need to understand and navigate the complex legal structures and regulations governing financial markets.
• The potential of blockchain in simplifying and automating regulatory compliance and contractual enforcement.

Standout Quote: "We do exist in a heavily regulated environment, so whatever we do, we have to think about the context of regulation, the realities of that, and what that means for the types of obligations that we have, the types of obligations that our clients have, and the constraints that entities within the ecosystem have to navigate when they think about the commercial activities they engage in." - Dotun Rominiyi

Resources:

• Stay updated with the latest developments and insights from the LSEG website.
• Follow LSEG on Twitter for industry news and updates.

Contact Dotun Rominiyi: Twitter | LinkedIn
Dotun Rominiyi, Blockchain Strategy – Emerging Technologies at LSEG, is responsible for steering adoption and engagement of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies across both internal group businesses and across the wider capital markets landscape. Dotun and his team are currently focused on delivering a number of internal initiatives as well as partnerships with FinTechs and capital market institutions. Previously he ran technology as CTO of the blockchain start-up BlockEx, as well as co-founding a commercial blockchain gaming venture prior. Dotun has an extensive background as an expert technologist and software engineer, across both the financial services (in automated derivatives trading & execution) and video game sectors. 

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In this Web3 Innovators: Insights episode, we explore J.P. Morgan's remarkable 7-year journey with blockchain technology and web3. From their early days of experimentation to becoming pioneers in the space, join us as we unravel the key lessons and insights that have made J.P. Morgan a driving force in the blockchain revolution. Get ready to dive into the future of finance with this insightful exploration of one of the world's largest banks' commitment to blockchain innovation.

Key Takeaways:

1. Be Prepared for the Long Road Ahead:
   • Discover J.P. Morgan's unwavering commitment to blockchain since 2015.
   • Explore over 60 proof of concepts and initiatives, both internal and client-facing.
   • Learn about key milestones, including their enterprise-focused fork of Ethereum - Quorum, the launch of Onyx Digital Assets, and their participation in the Monetary Authority of Singapore's Project Guardian.
2. Steel Sharpens Steel:
   • Gain valuable insights from J.P. Morgan's experimentation and learn from both successful and unsuccessful projects.
   • Understand the importance of continuous learning and refinement to identify the most impactful use cases for blockchain.
3. Embrace Uncertainty:
   • Uncover how J.P. Morgan strategically navigated the web3 landscape using both public and private blockchains.
   • Learn about their approach to tokenization and the implementation of decentralized identity to ensure transaction transparency and regulatory compliance.
4. Shaping the Future:
   • Explore the potential of asset tokenization and its role in J.P. Morgan's ecosystem initiatives.
   • Learn about the future possibilities, including a trademarked cryptocurrency wallet - J.P. Morgan Wallet, and the Liink network's transformative impact on payment-related information exchange.

Stay informed, subscribe to our podcast, and never miss an episode as we navigate the dynamic landscape of finance and technology. 

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In this episode, we dive into the fascinating world of tokenization and its potential to bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralised finance (DeFi). Our host, Conor Svensson, chats with Erwan Mismaque, COO of Backed Finance, who has been at the forefront of this movement. They explore the journey of adopting cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, and how it led to the founding of a company focused on bringing real-world assets onto the blockchain. 

Key Moments

• How the concept of blockchain technology, allowing value transfer without intermediaries, attracted Erwan which led him to explore Bitcoin.
• The challenges and excitement of creating tokenized assets on the blockchain, mentioning Backed's pioneering work in creating an ERC20 token version of the S&P 500 ETF on Ethereum.
• The potential of tokenized fixed income instruments and their impact on the financial markets, opening opportunities for average users to participate in strategies previously accessible only to investment banks or hedge funds.
• The need for crypto to embrace regulatory frameworks and create standards to attract mainstream users, making blockchain technology accessible and seamless in the background of everyday life.
• The future of Web3, envisioning a time when blockchain-powered transactions and decentralised finance become so user-friendly that users won't even realise they are interacting with blockchain technology.
• Backed’s focus lies in expanding their platform to a wider audience, onboarding more customers to mint and redeem assets, and bringing more fixed income products on chain.  
• Backed's aim to increase general awareness to encourage more DeFi protocols to build on top of Backed's tokens, boosting their utility in the market.

Standout Quote:
"Crypto is still very niche and very small market. I think the most successful companies in crypto will not try to take market share from other crypto competitors. The real game is about attracting users that are not already on-chain. That's where you can create a lot of value."

Resources:

 • Follow Backed on Twitter & LinkedIn

 • Explore the Backed website.

Contact Erwan Mismaque: Twitter | LinkedIn
Erwan Mismaque is the COO of Backed, a crypto start-up that brings fully backed real-world assets on-chain through freely transferable tokens. With a decade of financial markets and crypto experience, he joined Backed in 2021 as VP of Business Development, where he developed industry awareness and partnerships for the business.

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In this Web3 Innovators: Insights podcast episode, we delve into the intriguing world of digital currencies and explore the concept of "Backdoor CBDCs." We discuss how certain stablecoins, like USDC, might inadvertently become collateralised by central bank reserves through intermediaries, sparking concerns among traditional banks. Additionally, we examine the potential of synthetic CBDCs and how they offer a unique approach to overcoming regulatory hurdles in the ever-evolving payment system landscape.

Key Discussion Points:

1. Backdoor CBDCs - Unraveling the Mechanism:
   • What distinguishes a backdoor CBDC from a synthetic CBDC?
   • Understanding how a stablecoin like USDC might be collateralised by central bank reserves without direct involvement with the central bank.
   • Insights into Blackrock's involvement and their use of the Federal Reserve's reverse repo facility (RRP).
2. Synthetic CBDCs - A Novel Solution:
   • Exploring the concept of synthetic CBDCs that are not issued by central banks but rely on a tokenised deposit system.
   • Overcoming regulatory complexities in establishing blockchain-based payment systems.
   • Examining the Bank of England's omnibus account and its implications on wholesale financial markets.
3. USDC vs. Retail CBDCs - Assessing the Landscape:
   • Understanding the characteristics of USDC as a retail crypto currency provided by Circle.
   • Comparing retail CBDCs potentially issued by commercial banks on public blockchains, with a focus on J.P. Morgan and Citi dollars.
   • Analysing issuer risk and the need for a robust regulatory framework to safeguard retail holders.

Join us in this exploration of the future of digital currencies and the potential implications for the financial ecosystem. We unravel the complexities of backdoor CBDCs, discuss the challenges of traditional banks, and envision the path ahead for retail digital currencies. Tune in to gain valuable insights and be part of the conversation on the rapidly evolving world of CBDCs and stablecoins.

Stay informed, subscribe to our podcast, and never miss an episode as we navigate the dynamic landscape of finance and technology. 

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In the first episode of Season 7, host Conor Svensson interviews Bill Laboon, Head of Education and Grants at the Web3 Foundation. 

Key Moments:

•  Bill's journey into the blockchain world, triggered by his fascination with hash functions.
•  His early interest in Bitcoin and Ethereum, leading to full-time involvement in the blockchain industry. 
• Polkadot's innovative approach as a foundation for other blockchains and its scalability-focused architecture.
• The concept of parachains and how developers can build their blockchains using Substrate or the Polkadot SDK.
• Polkadot's on-chain governance, where referenda are voted upon and enacted by the code itself.
• Contrasting Polkadot's on-chain governance with Ethereum's more traditional approach.
• The potential use cases of Polkadot beyond DeFi, including government regulatory agencies and real estate ledgers.
• Polkadot's scalability which makes it suitable for various applications.

Standout Quote:

"Polkadot is really best described as a bet against blockchain maximalism. That it makes sense to have different blockchains that can do different things. However, all of these blockchains share the same security, right? So if you're part of the Polkadot network, your parachain is as secure as any other parachain."

Resources:

 • Web3 Foundation: Nurturing and stewarding technologies and applications in the fields of decentralised web software protocols.
• Polkadot: Learn more about the Polkadot network and its innovative approach to blockchain interoperability and scalability.
• Substrate/Polkadot SDK: Explore the software development kit that allows you to create your own blockchains and parachains on the Polkadot network.
• Governance on Polkadot: Dive into the concept of on-chain governance and how it empowers participants to propose and implement changes to the Polkadot ecosystem. • Polkadot Wiki: A comprehensive resource to explore all aspects of Polkadot.

Contact Bill Laboon: Twitter | LinkedIn

Bill Laboon is the Head of Education and Grants at Web3 Foundation. Prior to the Web3 Foundation, he spent five years teaching Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Bill also has several years of experience in software engineering and management. He is the author of two books: A Friendly Introduction to Software Testing, an undergraduate textbook; and Strength in Numbers, a near-future novel set in a world in which cryptocurrency has eliminated traditional money.

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In the tenth episode of our new season of Web3 Innovators, our host Conor Svensson is joined by Elena Sinelnikova is the Co-Founder and Decentralization Coordinator at Metis. She is also CEO at Crypto Chicks.

Episode highlights:

• How and why Elena founded Crypto Chicks
• The diversity of people working within Web3
• The advice that Elena would give to recruiters trying to encourage applicants from a more diverse background
• How Metis was formed to create the infrastructure for a layer 2 solution
• Other work that Metis is focusing on
• The biggest challenges with layer 2 networks
• Elena explains what ZK rollups and optimistic rollups are and the work Metis is doing to combat the challenges they face
• Elena’s advice for anyone wanting to become involved in Web3
• Where Elena believes Web3 technology will be in 10 years time

Key Takeaways:

• When we opened Crypto Chicks back in 2016 at Conferences there were hardly any women, probably one or two women per thousand people. And now we see about half and half. So the picture changed dramatically. - Elena
  
  
• We wanted to create layer two. And not only layer two, we also wanted to create a Web3 economy where people can go create a business, find a job, create a nonprofit organisation, create their own project, and fundraise. - Elena
  
  
• Optimistic roll ups - and here is a little educational piece, is the transactions process in batches. So instead of adding transactions, one by one and saving them into layer one, layer two actually captures these transactions, bundles them up in one batch, and saves the whole batch into layer one. - Elena
  
  
• All layer twos are innovating. We already have successes where layer twos are lowering the cost quite significantly and also speeding up transactions quite significantly. - Elena
  
  
• So right now, for us, the most important part is we have this ability to build. We have the capability, we have great minds that are building and we know that we are bringing good to the world. - Elena

• We need more people, like entrepreneurs who create those ideas, create those businesses, who go and try and build and make mistakes. And we see in the space right now there are a lot of projects, but we can always have more because each one brings a very unique value proposition. - Elena

Follow Elena on Twitter

Shout outs:

• Natalia Ameline
• Kevin Liu

Resources:

• Bitcoin
• Ethereum
• Optimistic Rollups
• Z-K Rollups
• MetisDAO

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In the ninth episode of our new season of Web3 Innovators, our host Conor Svensson is joined by Arthur Gervais, Associate Professor of Information Security at University College London

Episode highlights:

• How doing his PhD on blockchain increased Arthur’s interest in the space
• The growth of Bitcoin technology within the academic world
• The research he and his PhD students are doing, looking at how challenges are evolving over time
• The disconnect between the academic and the practitioner communities
• The differences between the technology which may be valuable in practise and what academics are focusing on
• Applying existing understandings and lessons learned from the regular Finance domain to their research
• The lending and borrowing side of DeFi
• The topics they are working on for their next paper
• How we can mitigate the risk of security exploits
• Where Arthur sees DeFi in 10 years

Key Takeaways:

• In many cases we are more fascinated by interesting problems that bring new security properties about. And blockchains and particular proof of work, at that time was such a technology, right? It solved the double spending problem in a new way that we haven't thought about before. And this in itself was already groundbreaking. - Arthur
• With DeFi and the advent of Ethereum and more aggressive smart contracts in general. We found this great new playground. Now we have an expressive language and we can play on that. - Arthur
• I feel this is where, for me, most of the exciting opportunities lie on the research side, what is unsolved and how can we solve it? Arthur
• The decision trade table they created is designed to help classify protocols into different models,  it's a tool that brings a lot of power. It's an enabler for anyone to try out these protocols, and it's an enabler for attackers too. - Arthur
• Security is all about having multiple walls and having multiple layers of protection, right? Your iPhone, for example, doesn't have only one feature to protect you from somebody hacking your phone, right? - Arthur

Resources:

• Bitcoin
• Ethereum
• Bellman-Ford Algorithm 

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In the eighth episode of our new season of Web3 Innovators, our host Conor Svensson is joined by Bo Brustkern, Co-Founder and CEO of Fintech Nexus, a niche media company covering innovation in financial services.

Episode highlights:

• How one of Bo’s Co-Founders insisting he bought at least one Bitcoin initially got him interested in the space
• The research he undertook to fully understand the role DeFi and DAOs were going to play in the evolution of financial services
• How Fintech Nexus developing into a Web3 business benefits the community
• Why Bo believes regulation is the biggest challenge the industry faces 
• The impact of the way different world governments interpret Web3 technologies will have on regulation
• “Economic dissatisfaction breeds war”, Cordell Hull, US Secretary of State (1933- 1944)
• The impact of accredited investor laws in the US
• The technology advances Bo sees when attending Web3 conferences
• How Bo sees blockchain and Web3 technology impacting events in the future
• Fintech Nexus USA event in May 2023

Key Takeaways:

• As a media company, we're so focused on developing. Doing our work for the benefit of the community. It's the perfect place to be to both consume and report on, to engage in, to discuss Web3 technologies and if we do our job really well then both sides benefit. - Bo
  
  
• I don't think we're headed in the right direction. I think there really are sceptics are beyond sceptical. They are becoming really quite effective in trying to beat back the Web3 economy and blockchain technology and the various crypto tokens that are part of that. In the end, will those sceptics win? - Bo

• We not only have to embrace the technologies, but we have to embrace the values behind those technologies. - Bo
  
  
• The majority of the world's people have the freedom where they can choose to work with these technological innovations. Now, of course, the regulatory climate in the US does create some hurdles for people, but people can still hold cryptocurrencies and get involved in these projects. - Bo

Connect with Bo on Twitter

Resources:

• Peter Renton
• Jason Jones 
• FTX
• Temple Bikes
• National Western Stock Show
• Gary Vaynerchuk
• Eth Denver
• Fintech Nexus USA

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