Blockchain Innovation: Interviewing The Brightest Minds In Blockchain

Jason Teutsch is a mathematician (PhD) and computer scientist whose research focuses on distributed systems, security, game theory, and algorithmic randomness. Jason is also the founder of TrueBit - a scalable verification solution for Blockchains. In this episode, Jason and I discuss:  The computational limitations of Ethereum smart contracts The definition of smart contract (hint: it’s not the same as a legal contract), gas, and the gas limit on Ethereum The “Verifier’s Dilemma,” a situation whereby Blockchain miners have little to no incentives to verify transactions (which is the problem TrueBit solves) Use cases for TrueBit, including LivePeer – a decentralized video streaming platform, AI, “Interactive ICOs,” and much more

Ted Livingston is the CEO and Founder of Kik Interactive – creators of Kik – a messaging app that connects the world through chat. After working at Blackberry, his boss encouraged him to start his own company, which he did in 2009. That company (Kik) has since grown to 15 million monthly users, a  billion-dollar valuation, $120 million dollars in venture funding, and an uber-successful $100 million-dollar ICO. In this episode, Ted and I discuss: His journey from Blackberry, to Kik, to Kin – which is the new cryptocurrency that powers the Kik messaging platform How back in 2010 Kik went from 0 to 1 million users in only 15 days The power of incentives in a decentralized network –and– Why Ted believes Bitcoin is fundamentally flawed, and how Kin addresses those flaws, to the point of maybe one day replacing Bitcoin as the world’s top cryptocurrency

Paul is President and Co-Founder of Impak Finance, a FinTech company focused on driving positive social impact. He has raised millions of dollars, and has been part of numerous exits, acquisitions, and IPOs. In August of 2017, Impak Finance made history by launching Impak Coin –  a cryptocurrency for a better world. That launch became Canada’s first compliant ICO – meaning Canadian regulators reviewed the ICO and gave it a thumbs-up. In this episode, we discuss: The step-by-step process Paul used to get his ICO approved by regulators How long the process took and the challenges he faced –and– Paul’s vision for the future, now that Impak has launched Canada’s first compliant token    

John is a veteran technology entrepreneur who co-founded a company called “Left” with Chris Jensen. Their mission is to use technology to change the world. Left is currently focusing on a project called RightMESH – a software-based, mobile mesh networking platform that enables users with mobile devices to connect via WiFi and Bluetooth without an internet connection. In this episode, we discuss: What a mesh network is What WiFi is (hint: you don’t need internet for WiFi) How Blockchain solves the identity problem in a mesh network –and– The keys to success for Blockchain/Crypto entrepreneurs

Arthur is the product development lead at AxiomZen. He is an Engineer by training with a Computer Science degree and a Master’s Degree in Human-Computer Interaction. CryptoKitties is a multi-million-dollar video game where players collect and breed digital cats on the Ethereum Blockchain. In this episode, Arthur and I discuss: What CryptoKitties is What motivated the AxiomZen team to create this game, and The implications of a new non-fungible ERC-721 token business model

Dr. Ben Goertzel is the CEO and Founder of SingularityNET, a Blockchain-based marketplace for Artificial Intelligence (AI).   He has a PhD in Mathematics and is known as the ‘father of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).’   In this episode, we discuss:   The basics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) The Singularity – popularized by Ray Kurzweil but originating much earlier – in the 1960s And most importantly, we explore the intersection of Blockchain and AI, both in today’s environment, as well as in the future

Emin Gün Sirer is a Professor of Computer Science at Cornell University and Co-director of IC3 (Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts)   He has made numerous contributions to both Bitcoin & Ethereum. His research spans, networking, distributed systems, and operating systems.   Professor Sirer created Karma – the first cryptocurrency to use a distributed mint-based proof-of-work – 6 years before Bitcoin existed.     In this episode, we discuss:   Emin’s invention – Karma – the first decentralized cryptocurrency pre-dating Bitcoin The pros and cons of Segwit2x (which has now been abandoned) Little-known aspects of Bitcoin’s architecture and history such as the Bitcoin Relay, Falcon, and Fiber networks, selfish mining, the lightning network, sidechains, and much more We also discuss some of the relatively unknown academics who contributed the theoretical foundations to what we now know as Bitcoin

Lisa Cheng is the Founder and Head of Research & Development for the Vanbex Group. Vanbex is a full stack professional services and development company specializing in Blockchain and Cryptocurrency.   Lisa is also an advisor for emerging tech startups and has expertise in business development and product strategy. Her background includes Fortune 500 companies, enterprise sales, big data, and SaaS.   In this episode, we discuss:   How Lisa got let go from several jobs and was on unemployment before working for organizations like the Ethereum Foundation and Mastercoin (now known as Omni) How she became the Founder of the Vanbex Group And how Vanbex’s Etherparty project raised $30 million in its ICO pre-sale

Anthony is the CEO and Founder of Decentral – a Toronto-based innovation hub focused on disruptive and decentralized technologies.   In early 2016, they created Jaxx – one of the top multi-cryptocurrency wallets on the market.   Anthony is also one of the founding members of Ethereum and the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada.   In this episode, we discuss:   Anthony’s epic journey to Cryptocurrency. From real estate, to the family patio door business, to geothermal drilling, and finally, to a serendipitous discovery of Bitcoin that eventually led to millions We discuss how he became one of the original 5 founders of Ethereum And of course, since he invented one of the most popular cryptocurrency wallets in the space, we discuss the inevitable consequences of the current ICO bubble

RedHat is a global software company providing open-source software solutions to enterprises. I spoke with Rich Feldmann who is the Global Director of Financial Services and is in charge of RedHat’s Blockchain initiative. In this episode, we discuss: RedHat’s Blockchain strategy An interesting project RedHat is working on with BlockApps, a “Blockchain-As-A-Service” company And how cryptocurrency exchanges could leverage RedHat’s expertise, if the conditions are right

Michael Oved and Don Mosites are Co-Founders of AirSwap – a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange. Michael is a veteran algorithmic trader and mathematician. Don is a former Google employee, serial entrepreneur, product designer, and full-stack engineer. In this episode, we discuss: What the design of a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange looks like The advantages of decentralized vs. centralized exchanges And we touch on issues like front-running by miners in traditional blockchain ecosystems  

Michael Casey is a Senior Advisor for the Digital Currency Initiative at MIT. Prior to that, he was a Senior Columnist for the Wall Street Journal. He spent 18 years covering global economic and financial trends and co-authored The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and the Blockchain are Challenging the Global Economic Order with Paul Vigna.  In this episode, Michael and I discuss:  His journey from the Wall Street Journal to the MIT Digital Currency Initiative His perspective on ICOs/token sales And how his co-author, Paul Vigna, became motivated to write a book on Cryptocurrency

Matthew Spoke is the CEO of Nuco, an enterprise software company set to launch its AION Blockchain network in the near future.   Matt is a CPA and former consultant at Deloitte. He is also a board member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance   In this episode, we discuss:   How in the not-so-distant future, we may have thousands of Blockchains How Nuco’s AION network is trying to become the router for a global network of Blockchains And we touch on some interesting concepts like Blockchain network bridges and proof-of-intelligence consensus

Don Tapscott is the best-selling author of Blockchain Revolution. He is also CEO of The Tapscott Group.   Some of his positions and accomplishments include:   Associate of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University Senior Advisor, World Economic Forum Chancellor, Trent University Member of the Order of Canada (the second highest honor for Canadian citizens) Ranked the 4th most influential management thinker in the world by Thinkers50. Adjunct Professor at the Rotman School of Management Co-Founder of the Blockchain Research Institute   In this short episode, we discuss:   How Don, a psychology major, ended up becoming one of the world’s foremost technology thought leaders We go over some of the seventy projects currently being worked on at the Blockchain Research Institute We also talk about Don’s son – Alex Tapscott – an investment banker turned “Blockchain guru,” and the projects he is working on

Thomas Linder is a Crypto Tax Lawyer from Zurich Switzerland. He is a Partner at MME Legal. MME is not just any law firm, it is the law firm behind the historic Ethereum token sale of 2014. Thomas was a Director at KPMG Switzerland, and is a Certified Tax Expert who graduated from the Swiss Tax Academy. In this episode, we discuss: How Thomas’s law firm, MME, was the legal advisor behind the iconic Ethereum token sale over 3 years ago, as well as other projects they’ve worked on like SingularDTV - A blockchain entertainment studio We go over ICOs, IPOs, and crowdfunding, pointing out the critical differences between each term We also break down the landmark SEC Investigative Report on DAO tokens or “D-A-O” Tokens, which came out on July 25th

Rahul Sood is the CEO and Founder of Unikrn, an E-Sports betting platform.   I first heard of these guys when Mark Cuban announced he would be investing in their ICO. Ashton Kutcher is also another key investor in the company.   After founding and selling several successful startups, Rahul went to work for Microsoft Ventures, before diving back into entrepreneurship with Unikrn.   In this episode, we discuss:   What E-Sports is How Unikrn plans to hold an ICO for a token they call “Unikoin Gold,” which will be used for E-Sports gambling on the Unikrn platform And, how Mark Cuban once declared he would never buy an E-Sports team, but that may be changing…     **Please note: Any comments about the Unikrn token sale should not be misconstrued as investment advice or considered an endorsement of Unikrn**

Chris Ballinger is the CFO and Head of Mobility Services at Toyota. Specifically, within the Toyota Research Institute (TRI) which leads Toyota’s efforts around autonomous vehicle technology – self-driving cars.   Chris previously worked at the White House and was a Senior Vice President at Bank of America.   He is also a formally trained monetary economist (which made for quite an interesting conversation).   In this episode, we discuss:   How Toyota plans on using Blockchain, AI, and Machine Learning to make its vision of fully autonomous vehicles, a reality The different functional areas where Blockchain would play a pivotal role How Nick Szabo’s 1998 paper on smart contracts, was the perfect primer for Chris

Bill is the CEO and Founder of Abra. What is Abra? Think of it as the “WhatsApp of Money.” A single app available in 200 cities that enables you to send money from your phone to any other phone, anywhere in the world.   Bill has co-founded a long list of Tech startups. He’s also worked for NASA, Goldman Sachs, and was a Senior Director for Netscape – the first commercially successful web browser.   In this episode, Bill and I discuss:   Why traditional remittance companies like PayPal, Western Union and Venmo are quickly becoming obsolete Abra’s secret hedging strategies And why the irrational exuberance we’ve seen with ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings), may result in buyer’s remorse

Brian Behlendorf is a legend in the open software movement. He is one of the creators of Apache – server software that powers most websites on the internet. He currently serves as Executive Director of Hyperledger – one of the most prominent Blockchain consortiums in the world. His list of accomplishments in the tech industry is beyond impressive:  Technology Advisor – White House & 2008 Obama Presidential Campaign President – Apache Software Foundation CTO – World Economic Forum Managing Director – Mithril Capital Management (venture capital firm) Board member – Mozilla Foundation, Benetech, Electronic Frontier Foundation  In this episode, Brian and I discuss the history of Hyperledger, the 8 projects under the Hyperledger banner (including several interesting use cases), and what Brian really thinks about the current ICO and cryptocurrency craze.

To celebrate Canada’s upcoming 150th birthday (on July 1st), I interviewed Canadian Blockchain entrepreneur Greg Wolfond. Greg is the CEO & Founder of SecureKey – an identity and authentication provider. He’s also a serial entrepreneur with over 30 years in FinTech, security and mobile solutions. Here are some of his accolades: Founded Footprint Software – a financial software company that he sold to IBM Founded 724 Solutions – a wireless infrastructure software provider he took public Entrepreneur of the Year Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 Named 100 Top Leaders in Identity In this episode, Greg and I discuss why Blockchain was a logical choice in building SecureKey’s digital identity network, the future of digital identities, and how two of Greg’s friends got their identities hacked and had mortgages put on their homes!