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Ryan is the founder and CEO of Emergence, whose mission is to make blockchain more accessible and meaningful in video games. Ryan works to create a gaming ecosystem akin to a real-life metaverse.
The Impact of Narrative in Modern Gaming
Ryan pointed to games such as "Control," "Alan Wake," and "Life is Strange." He believes that gaming offers a unique medium for transmodal and networked narratives, allowing for more immersive and interactive experiences. Independent games like "What Remains of Edith Finch" have also captured seen success due to their experimental approaches to storytelling and consciousness.
The discussion touched on the challenges of adapting video games into other media. While some adaptations like "The Last of Us" and "Fallout" have been successful, others have fallen short due to a lack of understanding of the source material. Ryan emphasized the importance of creators deeply engaging with the original content to produce faithful and compelling adaptations.
Ryan observed that industries, including gaming, often become risk-averse when they reach the top, leading to pattern matching and a reluctance to innovate.
Initially working in Hollywood, Ryan became disillusioned with the industry's resistance to new and diverse storytelling. He shifted his focus to innovation, technology, and venture capital, recognizing that technology was beginning to outpace traditional entertainment mediums. This led him to become one of the first venture capitalists in Los Angeles to engage deeply with crypto and Web3 technologies.
Pioneering in Crypto and Web3 Technology
Ryan's early involvement in crypto began around the Ethereum ICO, where he recognized the potential for decentralized infrastructure to foster new ventures. He worked closely with industry pioneers and even assisted the Japanese government in understanding and integrating blockchain technology. His experiences underscored the importance of balancing decentralization and centralization for sustainable growth.
Ryan noted that extreme positions on either side carry risks. He believes that integrating decentralized technologies into existing systems requires nuance and consideration of all stakeholders, including governments and regulatory bodies.
Leveraging his background in both gaming and blockchain, Ryan founded Emergence to simplify Web3 integration for game developers. Emergence offers an SDK for game engines like Unreal Engine and Unity, allowing developers to easily incorporate blockchain features into their games. With over 50,000 downloads, the platform empowers developers to create innovative, decentralized gaming experiences.
Partnerships and Collaborations Shaping the Open Metaverse
Ryan emphasized the importance of storytelling and collaboration in building the open metaverse. Emergence has partnered with entities like Futureverse and influential figures such as Neal Stephenson, the author of "Snow Crash." These collaborations aim to create interoperable worlds and cinematic universes that extend beyond traditional gaming boundaries.
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Guil is the founder of neow3j, a development toolkit that simplifies building dApps on the NEO ecosystem. Songping is a Senior Marketing Manager at NEO, the first non-EVM smart contract blockchain.
Blockchain's Role in Transparency and Voting Systems
The discussion opened with the impact of the U.S. election results on the cryptocurrency market. We looked at how platforms like Polymarket enable people to financially engage with political events through prediction markets. Guil pointed out that such platforms showcase a significant use case for blockchain technology, offering transparency and verifiable outcomes. The host expressed a desire to see blockchain integrated into national voting systems to ensure integrity and prevent fraud. Guil agreed, emphasizing that while the technology exists, widespread adoption requires educating both the public and policymakers to build trust in these systems.
Neo's Unique Approach to Developer Friendliness
A major focus of the conversation was Neo's commitment to making blockchain development accessible. Unlike platforms that limit developers to specific languages like Solidity, Neo allows smart contracts to be written in multiple mainstream programming languages, including Java, Python, and C#. Guil explained that this is achieved through compilers developed by the Neo community, which translate these languages into NeoVM bytecode.
Guil and Songping emphasized that Neo's support for various programming languages is the result of collaborative efforts from global community teams. This decentralized development model encourages contributions from different regions and expertise, enhancing the robustness of the ecosystem. By not confining developers to a single language, Neo nurtures a diverse and dynamic community that can adapt to evolving technological demands.
We also discussed the launch of NeoX, an EVM-compatible sidechain designed to be MEV-resistant. NeoX represents Neo's multi-chain strategy, serving as a bridge between the Neo ecosystem and the broader EVM-compatible blockchain world. Guil detailed how a native bridge enables seamless interoperability between NeoN3, the main chain, and NeoX. This bridge allows assets and data to move freely between chains, enhancing user experience and breaking down barriers between different blockchain networks.
The Future of NFTs and Non-Fungible Items (NFIs)
Addressing the downturn in the NFT market, the conversation shifted to the potential of NFTs when combined with physical items, creating Non-Fungible Items (NFIs). Both guests expressed optimism about this integration, believing it could rejuvenate interest in NFTs. They shared examples of physical items like rings embedded with blockchain technology, which can interact with smart contracts to provide unique experiences—such as verifying identity at events or unlocking exclusive content in games. This blend of the digital and physical realms could open new avenues for utility and engagement in the NFT space.
A significant highlight was Neo's initiative to implement anti-MEV (Miner Extractable Value) resistance in NeoX. Guil explained that by utilizing encrypted mempools and delaying the revelation of transaction details until a block is finalized, NeoX aims to prevent malicious actors from exploiting users through front-running and other MEV strategies. This commitment to creating a fairer blockchain environment is expected to attract DeFi projects and users who are concerned about transaction security and integrity.
Towards the end of the conversation, Songping anonunced the ongoing Grind Hackathon, an event aimed at fostering innovation and supporting developers.
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Ally is the founder of Lilypad, a serverless distributed computing network for AI, ML and general compute. Stanley is a dedicated scientist, passionate about leveraging bioinformatics for transformative breakthroughs.
Embracing Decentralized Computing
Ally began her journey by running a café in Australia before diving into tech, mechatronics, and software engineering. Her eclectic experience led her from leading engineering projects to important roles at IBM and Protocol Labs, where her fascination with decentralized technologies was cemented. It was here she met Stanley, a bioinformatician and researcher, who would later join her in building Lilypad Tech.
Stanley’s path is equally unconventional. With a decade of experience in bioinformatics, his focus has primarily been on developing high-performance computing systems for medicine and research. His dedication to open science and connecting distributed computational power to global researchers aligned perfectly with Ally's vision. Together, they aim to solve critical bottlenecks in computing through their startup.
The Origin of Lilypad Tech
Lilypad Tech was born out of frustration with the limitations of traditional centralized computing systems. Ally and Stanley identified a critical need: researchers across various fields, especially those in academia and startups, lacked affordable and scalable access to computing power. Lilypad offers an on-demand distributed compute network that is open to both Web3 and Web2 communities. Through Lilypad, users can tap into available GPUs and CPUs for a wide range of tasks, from training machine learning models to simulating quantum algorithms.
Ally explains, “We’re creating a protocol where compute jobs are matched dynamically with nodes based on their specifications, ensuring optimized resource allocation without middlemen overheads.” This peer-to-peer marketplace for computational tasks leverages reputation systems and multi-verification methods to guarantee job quality and security, ultimately aiming to lower the cost of computing by significant margins compared to services like AWS.
The Vision of Lilypad: Modularity and Flexibility
One of the defining features of Lilypad Tech’s architecture is its modular approach, which allows for the integration of cutting-edge technologies as plugins. Ally emphasizes the potential for integrating privacy measures such as Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) into Lilypad’s protocol. While FHE remains computationally intensive, the modularity of Lilypad enables users to choose and implement privacy solutions as they become feasible.
Bioinformatics and Open Science: Stanley’s Story
For Stanley, Lilypad is not just a project but a platform to advance his lifelong mission of applying machine learning to biological research. He shares a compelling story about his early work in bioinformatics and its intersection with AI. From language processing at Google to developing high-performance computing for medical research, Stanley has witnessed first-hand how distributed systems can democratize scientific discovery.
One of Stanley’s current projects involves leveraging Lilypad’s computing power for genome sequencing, specifically through collaborations like the Human Pan Genome Consortium. He notes that the cost of sequencing a single T2T genome currently stands at half a million dollars, with only fifty patients having been sequenced globally. By drastically lowering these costs, Lilypad aims to accelerate breakthroughs in personalized medicine and genetic research.
Lilypad’s first incentivized testnet is already live, with plans to launch on the mainnet in early 2025.
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Nick is the founder of Chronicle Labs and former member of the Maker team. Nik is a strong believer in decentralization and transparency, especially when it comes to Oracles.
Building DeFi Infrastructure
Nick joined the founding team of Maker, venturing into a landscape where decentralized finance was virtually non-existent. There were no decentralized exchanges (DEXs), lending protocols, stablecoins, or the necessary infrastructure to support them—including oracles.
To bring their vision of an open financial system to life, Nick and his team had to build foundational tools from scratch. They developed the first DEX on Ethereum over a weekend and created the initial oracles alongside Mariano Conti. These early efforts were crucial in setting the stage for the vibrant DeFi ecosystem we see today.
Oracles act as an interoperability layer between blockchain networks and external data sources. Nick offers a simple analogy: "Imagine blockchain networks as your phone in airplane mode—cut off from the outside world. Oracles are what reconnect your phone, allowing it to access external information."
Despite their importance, oracles have often been the Achilles' heel of DeFi. Many hacks and exploits stem from oracle manipulation, underscoring the need for more robust solutions.
Observing stagnation in oracle innovation, Nick founded Chronicle Labs to tackle these challenges head-on. "Oracle innovation had clearly started to lag behind DeFi innovation," he notes. Chronicle aims to build a new oracle system from the ground up, focusing on transparency, security, and performance.
Key vulnerabilities in existing oracles include
Centralization Risks: If an oracle relies on a single data provider, it becomes a single point of failure.
Lack of Transparency: Users often have no way to verify where data originates or how it's processed.
Scalability Issues: High computational costs limit the number of validators and the frequency of updates.
Real World Assets (RWAs): The Next Frontier in DeFi
Nick is particularly excited about the integration of Real World Assets into DeFi. "DeFi needs a catalyst to go from billions to trillions in TVL," he asserts. RWAs bring a vast pool of high-quality collateral into the DeFi ecosystem, offering a path to unprecedented scalability.
Chronicle recently launched its RWA Oracle to facilitate this integration. Unlike traditional assets, RWAs aren't inherently transparent or verifiable on-chain. Chronicle's RWA Oracle bridges this gap by providing crucial information such as purchase dates, yields, maturity dates, and more.
An illustrative example of RWA integration is Chronicle's collaboration with M^0, a protocol that combines the best aspects of centralized issuers like Circle and decentralized platforms like MakerDAO.
How It Works: Users lock traditional financial assets, such as treasury bills, in a custodian account. They can then borrow stablecoins against these assets.The RWA Oracle independently verifies the assets held in custody, ensuring transparency and security. This model offers the scalability of centralized issuers while maintaining decentralization. It addresses limitations in both existing models and presents a sustainable way to scale DeFi.
Nick believes that for DeFi to realize its full potential, it must adhere to the core crypto ethos of transparency and decentralization. "If we scale DeFi in the wrong way, if we lose this core ethos, then what are we really doing here?" he asks rhetorically.
Chronicle Labs is committed to setting industry standards by: ensuring transparency, maintaining decentralization, and focusing on security.
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James is the COO at Unity Wallet, a self-custodial cryptocurrency wallet previously known as Savl. With a background in disruptive technologies, he offers valuable perspectives on the future of digital finance.
The Changing Landscape of Bitcoin ETFs
The discussion began with surprising statistics on Bitcoin ETF ownership, revealing that 76% are held by private individuals and only 24% by institutions. This challenges the common perception that ETFs are primarily for institutional investors. James views this as a positive development, providing legitimacy to Bitcoin and Ethereum while offering a low-fee entry point for investors wary of the technical hurdles associated with crypto.
Decentralization vs. Institutional Adoption
The conversation highlighted the paradox of early crypto ideals versus current trends. Originally, crypto was about self-custody and financial independence from traditional banks. Now, the enthusiasm for institutional players like BlackRock entering the space seems to contradict those early principles. James acknowledges this shift but notes that ETFs make practical sense for investors wanting to allocate a portion of their portfolio to crypto without dealing with self-custody complexities.
James's Journey from Digital Music to Crypto
James shared his experiences in the digital music industry, where he launched one of the first legal music download services before Napster's rise. His involvement in anti-piracy gave him early insight into how systems such as BitTorrent can disrupt traditional industries. Living on Wall Street during the 2008 financial crisis and witnessing the Occupy Wall Street movement further fueled his interest in Bitcoin as an egalitarian financial solution.
Drawing parallels between the music industry's battle against piracy and the crypto world, James emphasized that user experience is key. Attempts to curb piracy through restrictive measures often backfired by making legal products less attractive than pirated versions. Similarly, in crypto, creating user-friendly platforms is essential to encourage legitimate participation.
Unity Wallet was conceived to address shortcomings in existing crypto wallets, particularly in user interface and self-custody features. James explained that many wallets were not intuitive and lacked true ownership functionalities. Unity Wallet aims to provide a robust, user-friendly experience while allowing users to operate fully in the DeFi space. Focusing on the top 250 coins, it offers services like staking and partnerships that enable spending crypto on everyday items like Netflix subscriptions and mobile top-ups.
Unity Wallet integrates social elements, including an end-to-end encrypted messenger and a community platform for users to engage and share content. These features aim to build a sense of community and make the crypto experience more interactive and secure.
The wallet addresses the challenges of navigating multiple blockchain networks by allowing users to select from various chains within the app. While emphasizing user responsibility, Unity Wallet provides warnings and intuitive interfaces to minimize the risk of errors when transacting across different blockchains.
The Future of Digital Wallets
James envisions significant growth in digital wallets, especially in unbanked regions where mobile phones are prevalent. He predicts a convergence of traditional finance and DeFi, with wallets becoming central to everyday financial activities. This shift could democratize access to financial services globally.
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Yannik is the co-founder of Arcium, a decentralised network focusing on confidential computing. Yannik's passion for technology started with building mods for video games.
What is Arcium?
Arcium is a decentralized confidential computing network built to allow secure computations over encrypted data. Unlike traditional cloud computing, Arcium does not rely on centralized servers or trusted hardware. Instead, it utilizes cryptographic techniques, specifically Secure Multi-Party Computation (MPC), to ensure that multiple parties can jointly compute functions over data without any party being able to see the actual data. This breakthrough allows for the development of private and secure applications without sacrificing transparency or decentralization.
One of the core concepts Yannik introduces is the Decentralized Confidential Computing Zone (DCZ), a network where nodes can register, trustlessly form clusters, and offer their compute resources to perform confidential operations. The technology Arcium uses leverages existing blockchains as a consensus layer, enabling confidential computations to be integrated directly into smart contracts.
How does Arcium encryption work?
At a high level, Arcium’s innovation lies in the ability to perform computations over encrypted data, ensuring data privacy throughout the process. The idea that data can be processed without being decrypted sounds almost paradoxical, but it is made possible through technologies like Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) and MPC.
While Fully Homomorphic Encryption allows for computations to be done directly on encrypted data, it is slow and computationally expensive, with a performance penalty of up to 1,000 times compared to plaintext computations. In contrast, Arcium uses MPC, a more efficient alternative that divides computations into a preprocessing phase and an online phase.
MPC allows multiple participants in a computation to hold secret shares of data. These shares are manipulated locally before being combined to produce a final output. This method not only ensures confidentiality but also maintains efficiency, which is crucial for large-scale applications like DeFi and AI training.
Why Arcium Chose MPC Over FHE
Arcium’s decision to use MPC, instead of relying solely on FHE, comes down to performance and trustlessness. The inefficiencies of FHE, particularly when dealing with complex operations like multiplications, make it unsuitable for many real-world applications. FHE suffers from noise accumulation, where repeated computations degrade the accuracy of the data. This problem can be partially solved with bootstrapping, but this process introduces further delays.
In contrast, MPC allows for computations to be split between multiple participants in a way that avoids noise accumulation. By using somewhat homomorphic encryption for simpler operations like addition and relying on precomputed randomness for more complex tasks like multiplication, Arcium can achieve near-plaintext speeds without sacrificing security. This efficiency is key to making confidential computing accessible to a wider range of applications and industries.
A Privacy-First Approach for a Decentralized Future
Yannik believes that privacy will be a critical issue as blockchain technology scales into mainstream applications. He points out that while blockchains offer transparency, they often fail to protect user privacy. Everything recorded on a public ledger is visible to anyone, which may not be acceptable for enterprises or individuals who need confidentiality in their transactions.
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Dillon is the co-founder of Common, a platform designed to simplify decentralized governance. His journey into crypto began with mining Ethereum in college.
AI and the Rapid Evolution of Search Engines
The podcast begins with a discussion on the rapid advancements in AI, particularly new releases like Llama, Grok, and SearchGPT. The host is fascinated by how quickly AI evolves, introducing groundbreaking features almost monthly. Dillon shares his excitement for AI tools like Perplexity, a search engine that blends chat features with quick, context-based results. However, both acknowledge the challenge of AI’s "hallucinations"—when systems give inaccurate answers—and wonder how long it will take to overcome this flaw.AI’s Role in Natural Interfaces and Future Tech
The conversation shifts to how AI is used in everyday life, with the host explaining his use of ChatGPT’s voice mode to assist with coding and gaming. Dillon is intrigued by this usage and suggests that voice could be a more natural interface in the future. They also explore the potential of neural devices like "The Crown," a non-invasive technology that could allow users to control devices with thought patterns. The possibilities for human-computer interaction seem endless.AI and Crypto: The Coming Intersection
Dillon believes that as AI and crypto converge, exciting new applications will emerge, such as AI-powered agents that could participate in decentralized systems. He references OpenAI’s development framework, explaining how AI’s evolution from basic chatbots to complex agents could dramatically impact crypto ecosystems. The integration of AI into crypto could lead to automated governance models and smarter decision-making processes.Simplifying DAO Governance
Dillon's platform, Common, is designed to make governance more accessible for decentralized organizations. Initially born out of his experience with Ethereum and the DAO, Common simplifies voting and governance processes by integrating forums, token-based voting, and proposal systems. Dillon highlights how Common solves the problem of fragmented decision-making in DAOs by providing a unified platform for discussion and action.
Common has already been adopted by organizations like LinksDAO, a decentralized golf course community, and 1Inch, a decentralized exchange. LinksDAO showcases how blockchain tools can be applied to real-world interests, while 1Inch’s recognized delegates program incentivizes active community participation, boosting engagement in governance.
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Parker McCurley is the founder of Decent Labs. Decent aims to push decentralized governance and organizations forward through the use of blockchain technology.
How did Decent Labs start?
Founded in 2017, Decent Labs started as a decentralized application development agency during the wild days of the ICO boom. Parker and his co-founder Adam dove into the crypto world by attending conferences and networking directly with emerging blockchain projects. They would walk up to project booths, ask about their protocols, and soon found themselves working on Solidity development contracts, building decentralized applications (dApps) on Ethereum.
As the industry evolved from ICOs to more complex forms of decentralized finance (DeFi) and decentralized governance, Decent Labs played a significant role in helping blockchain startups build and scale. But Parker always had a deeper vision in mind: transitioning his centralized agency into a decentralized organization governed by the principles of blockchain technology.
What is Decent DAO?
Parker's desire to decentralize Decent Labs and move beyond traditional organizational models led to the creation of Decent DAO. He saw the traditional corporate structure as incompatible with the values of the blockchain space, where decentralization and community-driven governance are key. As Parker put it, being a CEO in an industry focused on decentralization felt “disingenuous.”
Decent DAO aims to provide a fully decentralized organization, governed by its community, not a CEO or board of directors. This transition from a centralized company (Decent Labs) to a decentralized one (Decent DAO) was not without its challenges, but it was necessary to align with Parker’s vision of true decentralized governance.
One of the most fascinating aspects of this shift was the creation of a governance token and on-chain mechanisms that allow participants to make decisions collectively, through proposals and voting. In this system, token holders have a say in the direction of the DAO, ensuring transparency and accountability.
One of the key challenges Parker discussed during the interview was the process of transitioning from a traditional corporate structure to a decentralized organization. This transformation—dubbed “DAOfication”—involves rethinking how roles, leadership, and governance are structured.
In a DAO, roles need to be fluid and adaptable. Parker emphasizes that some positions need to be “sticky” and take the form of elected leadership, while other roles can be more transient and filled by community members on a project-by-project basis. The goal is to balance decentralization with efficiency, ensuring that the organization doesn’t collapse under the weight of its own complexity.
The Intersection of Decentralization and Law
In the U.S., a group of people participating in a DAO could be seen as operating an unlimited liability partnership, meaning that each member could be held personally liable for the DAO’s activities. This is why creating a legal entity, such as a DAO LLC or a foundation, becomes essential for protecting the individuals involved.
As the world continues to grapple with the possibilities of blockchain and decentralized technology, pioneers like Parker McCurley are leading the charge, proving that DAOs are not just theoretical concepts but practical, real-world solutions with the potential to change the way we organize, collaborate, and govern.
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Jon Allen is the Founder of Game7, a company dedicated to advancing the web3 and blockchain gaming ecosystem. Jon is a long time cryptocurrency believer and former military officer.
The Role of DAOs in Gaming
Allen describes DAOs as transformative tools that can shift the paradigm from traditional, top-down governance models in gaming to more inclusive and democratic structures. This shift can potentially address long-standing issues in the gaming community, such as unfair revenue distribution, lack of transparency, and limited player influence on game development. DAOs empower players by giving them a stake in the decision-making processes, fostering a deeper connection between developers and their communities.
One of the core aspects of Game7's philosophy is the focus on community. Allen emphasizes the importance of building games that provide more than just entertainment; they need to foster engagement, interaction, and community building. This is achieved through the DAO structure, where each player's input can directly influence the game's direction. The communal efforts in DAOs can significantly enhance player engagement and satisfaction, promoting a model where players feel genuinely invested in the game's outcomes.
Challenges of Blockchain in Gaming
Despite the optimism surrounding blockchain in gaming, challenges remain. Issues such as scalability, user experience, and the integration of blockchain technology without compromising gameplay quality are significant hurdles. However, Allen is confident that these can be addressed through continuous innovation and community feedback. The potential benefits, such as enhanced security, transparency, and new economic models within gaming, present compelling reasons to pursue this integration.
Future Directions
Looking ahead, Allen envisions a future where blockchain is seamlessly integrated into the gaming industry, transcending its current niche status. The focus will likely shift toward enhancing user experience and ensuring that blockchain serves as a beneficial addition to gaming, rather than a cumbersome requirement. As Game7 continues to develop and implement DAOs within games, the broader gaming industry may look to these models as benchmarks for combining technology with user-centric governance.
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Steve Wade is the CEO of Midnight Evergreen, a web3 gaming company creating deconstructed MMO experiences. Steve started his career as an eSports player and built a digital currency in 2005.
Steve's Early Days
In 2005, Steve created a digital currency called the Zyon token, which was used internally by game developers. This innovative system allowed developers to exchange their time and skills within a collaborative environment, though it faced legal challenges due to labor laws. Despite this early setback, Wade's passion for digital economies persisted, leading him to further explore the potential of blockchain in gaming.
Steve's early experience as an eSports player and deep understanding of digital economies laid the foundation for Midnight Evergreen.
At Midnight Evergreen, Wade envisions a new genre of MMOs that deconstruct traditional gaming elements into standalone experiences, all interconnected through a central social hub, Evergreen. This approach allows for diverse gameplay experiences while maintaining a cohesive ecosystem.
One of the unique aspects of Midnight Evergreen is its embrace of bots. Players can earn or purchase bots, which can then be used to farm resources across different games within the ecosystem. This innovative approach aligns with Wade's belief in the value of participation over mere ownership in Web3 environments.
Building the Evergreen Ecosystem
Evergreen serves as the social hub connecting all of Midnight Evergreen's games. By breaking down an MMO into various mini-games such as fishing, racing, or house decorating, each with its own standalone appeal, the ecosystem allows for a more dynamic and interconnected gaming experience. These games, while independent, contribute to the overall narrative and player progression within the MMO.
Wade emphasizes the importance of community and player-driven economies. Players can trade items across games, creating a circular economy that enhances the longevity and engagement of each title. This system not only enriches the player experience but also sustains the game's lifecycle beyond the typical three to six months seen in many modern games.
Focus on Double-A Games
Midnight Evergreen's strategy focuses on developing double-A (AA) games, which strike a balance between indie and triple-A (AAA) titles in terms of budget and production quality. These games, with budgets ranging from $1 million to $5 million, aim to deliver high-quality experiences without the excessive costs associated with AAA titles. By partnering with specialized studios, Midnight Evergreen can produce a variety of games efficiently and cost-effectively.
Community and Governance
Community involvement is central to Midnight Evergreen's vision. The company plans to implement a governance system where the community can vote on which games to develop next, using a token-based voting mechanism. This democratized approach leverages the collective wisdom of the gaming community to identify potential hits and ensure that the games developed resonate with the audience.
Future Prospects and Industry Trends
Looking ahead, Wade sees the future of gaming as one where the distinction between Web2 and Web3 blurs, with live service games incorporating elements of both. He believes that the ability for players to participate in and contribute to the game's ecosystem will become a standard expectation.
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Chrissy Hill is the interim Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer at Parity Technologies. Parity is the core entity behind the development of Polkadot and Kusma blockchains.
Chrissy’s journey into the world of blockchain and web3 started in her previous role working for former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. During her decade-long tenure as COO and General Counsel for Blair, she was introduced to the basics of blockchain and web3. This exposure came through the Institute for Global Change, which focused on how technology, including blockchain, could transform digital governance around the world, particularly in developing nations.
In October 2021, Chrissy joined Parity Technologies, attracted by its long-term vision and commitment to regulatory compliance. Her experience in law and compliance made her the perfect fit for navigating the complex regulatory landscape of the blockchain industry.
Parity Technologies and the Polkadot Ecosystem
Parity Technologies is a leading contributor to the Polkadot ecosystem, responsible for maintaining and upgrading the relay chain. The company plays a crucial role in the development and support of Polkadot and its canary network, Kusama. Polkadot is known for its implementation of parachains, which are individual blockchains that run in parallel within the Polkadot ecosystem, enabling scalability and interoperability.
The Web3 Foundation, another significant entity within the Polkadot ecosystem, issued the native token DOT and supports over 600 projects within the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems.
Challenges in the Blockchain Industry
One of the significant challenges in the blockchain industry, as Chrissy pointed out, is the perception and understanding of the technology by regulators and the public. Chrissy emphasised the importance of making the technology more relatable and understandable to people outside the industry. This involves demystifying the jargon and presenting the technology in a way that highlights its real-world applications and long-term vision.
Polkadot governance and regulatory compliance
Chrissy's background in law and regulation has been instrumental in shaping Parity Technologies' approach to compliance. She discussed the proactive efforts made by Polkadot to engage with regulators worldwide, including in the US, Japan, Switzerland, and the UK. These efforts aim to educate regulators about the technology and advocate for sensible regulations that promote innovation while protecting consumers.
A significant achievement for Polkadot is that its native token, DOT, has not been classified as a security by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This is a testament to the careful regulatory approach adopted by the Polkadot ecosystem from the outset.
One of the most anticipated features is the introduction of Snowbridge, a trustless bridge between Polkadot and Ethereum. This bridge will enable ERC-20 token transfers and smart contract calls, fostering greater interoperability between the two ecosystems.
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Dean Tribble is the CEO of Agoric, a Layer 1 blockchain facilitating multi-chain protocols and JavaScript-native smart contracts. Dean helped launch the first production smart contract in 1989.
Dean's introduction to cryptography dates back to the early '80s when he encountered RSA encryption and engaged in discussions with like-minded enthusiasts. His initial skepticism towards Bitcoin, due to some of its limitations compared to earlier digital currencies like CyberCash and DigiCash, eventually gave way to a deeper involvement in the blockchain space around 2017. This period marked a pivotal transition from traditional cryptography to the innovative world of blockchain technology.
What is Agoric?
Agoric is built on the foundation of enabling smart contracts to foster cooperation among strangers, ultimately aiming for a more cooperative world. Agoric's approach emphasizes the importance of smart contracts as tools for creating trust and facilitating interactions between third parties without the need for intermediaries.
Unlike other smart contract chains, Agoric allows developers to use JavaScript along with its familiar features, in order to create smart contracts. This choice is strategic, as it opens up blockchain development to a vast pool of developers who might not be familiar with more specialized languages like Solidity.
Dean highlighted that JavaScript's inherent security and its standardization through ECMAScript make it an ideal language for smart contract development. The strong separation between user mode and system mode in JavaScript ensures that developers can create secure and reliable applications without unintended access to critical system functions.
What is Agoric Orchestration?
Orchestration is Agoric's solution to the challenge of chain abstraction, which aims to make the use of assets and services seamless across different blockchains. This concept is crucial for mainstream adoption, as it abstracts the complexities of blockchain interactions, allowing developers to build applications that operate smoothly across multiple chains. Orchestration involves APIs for smart contracts that can manage positions, activities, and assets on various chains, providing a unified interface for developers and users alike.
As blockchain ecosystems grow, the need for cross-chain applications becomes increasingly evident. Dean explained that Agoric's orchestration capabilities enable developers to create applications that leverage assets and services from multiple chains. This flexibility is vital for building robust decentralized applications that can operate in a diverse and interconnected blockchain landscape.
Next steps for Dean and Agoric
Agoric's primary focus is on building a thriving developer community and deploying applications that demonstrate the platform's capabilities. Dean emphasized the importance of growing an economy around Agoric's technology, driving adoption, and creating value for stakeholders.
The platform's design encourages collaboration and integration, making it easier for developers to enhance their applications with new functionalities.
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Christian is the Head of Partnerships at Anchain, a Web3 security firm that gained notoriety for exposing FTX. Anchain aims to minimize the impact of security breaches and improve the reaction time across the industry.
What is Anchain?
Anchain offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to improve the security of Web3 ecosystems. These tools enable real-time monitoring and risk assessment, essential for identifying and mitigating potential threats before they escalate into major security breaches.
One of the unique aspects of Anchain is that they use AI-driven analytics that analyse transactions to detect any suspicious activities. By leveraging machine learning models, the company effectively flags high-risk transactions and entities. This is being used for preventing financial crimes and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards, thereby reinforcing the security infrastructure of digital assets.
Notable Work
Anchain is helping keep crypto safe by collaborating with various governmental and law enforcement agencies. These partnerships help expose and identify bad actors in the space such as the Lazarous group - the infamous North Korean hacker organisation responsible for the Harmony hack.
It was Anchain that confirmed the identity of the attackers, and provided valuable information to law enforcement agencies.
According to Christian, Anchain was also the ones to expose FTX. After carrying out on-chain analysis, the team at Anchain discovered suspicious financial activity taking place between Alameda Research and FTX. The information was soon sent to Bloomberg, who broke the news soon after. This prompted the Twitter fight between CZ and SBF - which eventually led to SBF answering for the financial crimes that he had comitted.
This industry needs all the help it can get to discourage attackers and minimise damages, and Anchain are doing some great work on this.
Anchain Website
Christian's Twitter
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Join Bancor contributor Jen Albert and project lead Mark Richardson for a deep dive into algorithmic DeFi trading. Carbon DeFi is Bancor's most advanced DeFi product featuring on-chain crypto trading bots and automation.
What is Carbon DeFi?
Developed under Mark Richardson's lead, Carbon DeFi makes a bold step away from traditional automated market maker (AMM) systems by eliminating pooled capital and liquidity pools, thus allowing users to engage directly with the market through uniquely designed trading curves.
The Core Philosophy of Carbon DeFi
The driving philosophy behind Carbon DeFi is to enhance user agency and reduce the inefficiencies prevalent in existing DeFi platforms. Mark and Jen discuss how traditional AMMs often cater more to token issuers than to the traders themselves, creating an environment ripe for reevaluation and improvement.
Carbon DeFi’s model is built around giving users more control over their trading strategies, thereby aligning better with the decentralized ethos of blockchain. With Carbon DeFi, users have granular control over
By moving away from the standard AMM model, which typically relies on pooled resources, Carbon DeFi allows for a more direct interaction between buyers and sellers. This not only enhances transaction efficiency but also mitigates some common risks associated with pooling funds, such as impermanent loss and vulnerability to smart contract exploits.
Although Carbon DeFi doesn't use a traditional order book, you it's a lot closer to an order-book style of trading rather an a liquidity provider approach. On top of that, Carbon DeFi allows users to automate their deFi trading with strategies such as recurring orders, range and swing trading, in a fully peer-to-peer, decentralised system.
Through Arb Fast Lane, Carbon DeFi can also perform advanced arbitrage opportunities across various chains.
Regulatory Considerations and Future Outlook
The discussion also moved in the direction of the regulatory landscape surrounding DeFi crypto. Mark and Jen highlight how Carbon DeFi navigates these complexities by engaging with regulators, particularly in jurisdictions like Switzerland and the United States. Looking ahead, they plan to expand Carbon DeFi's capabilities to support a broader range of financial instruments and transactions, aiming to bridge the gap between traditional finance and DeFi further.
As DeFi continues to evolve, platforms like Carbon DeFi are pivotal in pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in decentralized finance. With their user-centric approach and continuous innovation, Mark Richardson and Jen Albert are set on a path to redefine the norms of cryptocurrency trading.
Carbon DeFi Website
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Eitan is the CEO and co-founder of Kima, a decentralised money transfer protocol that aims to connect all of finance. Kima's vision is to create a transfer layer for all assets, including stocks, fiat and crypto.
The Birth of Kima and Its Mission
Eitan’s fascination with Satoshi Nakamoto's white paper on Bitcoin evolved into a pioneering project to develop the first Bitcoin cold wallet, addressing key security issues within digital currencies. This project laid the foundation for what would eventually become Kima. With a vision to eliminate financial intermediaries, Kima is creating a system that allows for the secure, direct management of funds across different blockchain ecosystems and beyond.
Understanding Kima: A Blockchain Relayer and Settlement Layer
At its core, Kima functions as both a relayer and a settlement layer within the blockchain sphere, facilitating secure transactions. Unlike traditional systems that depend heavily on intermediaries such as banks or payment platforms, Kima leverages blockchain technology to execute transactions directly within its network. This approach not only reduces transaction fees but also significantly enhances the security and speed of global money transfers.
Kima's Impact on Financial Transactions
Kima’s approach aims to address several critical pain points in the current financial system, including high fees, slow transfer speeds, and security vulnerabilities. By automating and decentralizing the transaction process, Kima allows users to move money across borders without the need for costly intermediaries like SWIFT or PayPal. This could revolutionize remittances and international business transactions, making them more accessible to a global audience.
Eitan also highlighted the platform’s unique approach to managing funds without traditional smart contracts, which are often susceptible to hacks. Instead, Kima relies on the blockchain itself or manage transactions.
The Road Ahead: Scalability and Future Plans
Looking to the future, Kima plans to expand its services to support a wider range of currencies and blockchain networks, enhancing interoperability in the financial sector. This includes adding support for fiat currencies, creating a bridge between traditional banking systems and modern blockchain technology. The ultimate goal is to make financial transactions as seamless and straightforward as sending an email.
As blockchain technology continues to mature, protocols like Kima offer that crucial infrastructure layer that developers can use to build a new generation of applications and services.
Kima Website
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Jason is the Ecosystem Lead at Zama, a cryptography company that works to introduce Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) to blockchain. FHE is almost like magic, as it allows computing data without ever decrypting it.
What is Fully Homomorphic Encryption?
FHE is a type of encryption that allows computations to be performed on encrypted data, without ever needing to decrypt it. This might sound like magic, but it's a real technology that's set to revolutionize how we handle data privacy.
Imagine you could send your DNA to a medical provider without worrying about privacy breaches. They could perform tests on your encrypted data and return results that only you could decrypt. This is the promise of FHE — maintaining the confidentiality of your data throughout the entire process.
Why Isn't FHE Everywhere?
Despite its potential, FHE isn't widely used yet. Historically, the technology was too slow and computationally expensive for practical use. However, Zama.ai has been making strides in this area, improving performance by thousands of times since their inception, making FHE more feasible for real-world applications, especially in blockchain.
Zama has in fact been 10x ing the performance of FHE year on year.
FHE in blockchain
Blockchain technology presents unique challenges and opportunities for privacy. Transparency, while a fundamental feature, is also a limitation when privacy is needed. This is where FHE can play a crucial role. By enabling confidential transactions on transparent networks like Ethereum, FHE could help blockchain achieve a balance between transparency and privacy, much like moving from HTTP to HTTPS improved security on the internet.
On chain privacy is becoming a significant topic of discussion in the industry and FHE could provide a new way to interact with on-chain protocols while never sharing personal information.
Jason also highlighted ongoing projects that work with Zama.ai, where they're integrating FHE with various blockchain protocols to enhance privacy without compromising on the composability that makes blockchain technology so powerful. The Cosmos privacy network Secret is in fact in the process of adopting and testing out FHE.
Quantum Resilience
Another significant aspect of FHE is its resilience against quantum computing attacks. Due to the paradigms such as entaglement and superposition quantum computing is capable to easily break many encryption protocols, making it a highly disruptive technology when it hits the market.
FHE offers a quantum-resistant alternative, ensuring long-term security post quantum-computing.
In order to get there, the computational intensity of FHE needs to be addressed through further optimizations and potentially through specialized hardware like GPUs and ASICs designed to handle these kinds of cryptographic calculations.
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Zama Website
Aesir Website
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Steffen Cox is the co-founder of the DM3 Protocol, a network designed to act as a the glue for all messaging apps. Before dm3, Steffen built slock.it alongside former core Ethereum dev Christoph Jentzsch.
The Core Functionality of dm3
dm3 was envisioned as a tool leveraging blockchain registry for ENS to create a decentralized registry for public keys and communication details. This registry would ensure that any message sent is encrypted and verifiable, countering the pitfalls of traditional email systems which often remain unencrypted or are siloed within specific platforms.
The long term vision is to create a unified application for all messaging, whether it's email, WhatsApp, Telegram etc.
Security and accessibility
One of the key aspects that Steffen highlighted was the need for security and privacy in communications, something the current email systems lack comprehensively. With DM3, the aim is to use blockchain technology for its inherent security features, allowing users to have encrypted and verifiable communications effortlessly.
Even with encrypted services like WhatsApp, communication is confined within the platform. dm3’s vision extends beyond these limitations by facilitating a system where communication protocols from various networks can interlink seamlessly through dm3’s decentralized messaging framework.
DM3 proposes a unique approach to tackle the scalability and efficiency issues prevalent in traditional and current blockchain-based messaging systems. By employing a relay network of decentralized nodes, dm3 ensures that messages are not just secure and private but also efficiently managed without overloading the network, addressing significant scalability concerns seen in other peer-to-peer messaging systems.
Future Plans and Community Involvement
Looking ahead, Steffen is excited about the evolution of dm3, emphasizing the protocol’s shift towards becoming a community-driven project. The upcoming features include enhancing the system's interoperability layer and expanding its functionality with new updates that promise to make the protocol more robust and versatile.
dm3 Website
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Austin Federa is the Head of Strategy at the Solana Foundation, and a seasoned expert in blockchain technology. In this episode we cover several blockchain innovations including Token Extensions.
Austin's entry into the crypto world was marked by an early setback during the infamous Mt. Gox incident, which temporarily deterred him from the industry. His return was sparked by a project at a fintech startup aimed at developing a borrowing and lending token on Ethereum. Although the project never reached fruition, it was a pivotal moment for Austin, aligning his career with blockchain technology's potential.
The Evolution of Blockchain Use Cases
The conversation delved into the evolution of blockchain applications, from simple transactional uses to complex smart contracts and decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions. Federa highlighted the shift from viewing blockchain through a narrow financial lens to recognizing its broader potential for creating automated, transparent, and secure systems across various sectors.
Solana's Approach to Blockchain Architecture
Austin is particularly enthusiastic about Solana’s approach to blockchain architecture. Unlike Ethereum, which has explored sharding and layer 2 solutions to scale, Solana aims to maintain a single, global state that ensures composability and high throughput. This vision, according to Federa, not only simplifies development on the blockchain but also maximizes its efficiency and speed, addressing some of the most critical challenges faced by competing blockchains.
The Regulatory Landscape and Its Impact
A significant portion of the discussion was dedicated to the regulatory challenges and complexities within the blockchain industry. Austin argued that while regulation is crucial for the healthy development of financial technologies, it often lags behind innovation, creating barriers that hinder the potential growth and adoption of blockchain technology. He cited examples from different regulatory approaches worldwide, discussing their impact on innovation and consumer protection.
DeFi and the Future of Finance
Austin is bullish on the future of DeFi, seeing it as a transformative force in the financial sector. He compared the current state of DeFi to early internet companies, suggesting that while there are risks involved, the potential for DeFi to streamline and democratize financial services is immense. According to him, the challenge lies in balancing innovation with consumer protection, ensuring that as DeFi evolves, it does not replicate the exclusivity and inequities of traditional finance.
Looking Ahead: Solana's Place in a Decentralized Future
As the conversation wrapped up, Austin reflected on Solana's role in the future of blockchain. He emphasized Solana's commitment to high transaction speeds, low costs, and an architecture that supports robust, scalable applications. For Austin, the goal is not just to compete with other blockchains but to contribute to a decentralized ecosystem that offers real solutions to real-world problems.
Build on Solana
Austin's Twitter
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Rob is the co-founder of DIMO, a blockchain-based IOT solution with a focus on making cars smarter. With DIMO, users can monetize their vehicle's data and access brand new features for their car.
The problem that DIMO have identified is that cars lag drastically behind in the realm of connectivity and smart technology.
Rob’s vision with DIMO is to bring the digital sophistication of smartphones to vehicles. By leveraging blockchain technology, DIMO aims to create a decentralized platform where cars of any make or model can establish a digital identity and interact seamlessly with a network of services and applications. This shift not only enhances the functionality available to car owners but also introduces new layers of efficiency and convenience that are currently missing from most automotive experiences.
Why Blockchain?
The automotive industry is highly fragmented with hundreds of manufacturers and service providers who operate in silos, making universal standards and cooperation challenging. Blockchain technology provides a neutral, decentralized ledger that can serve as a trusted repository of data accessible by various stakeholders without the need for intermediaries.
For vehicles, this means everything from secure, peer-to-peer car sharing services, smarter and more efficient insurance models, and even the ability to have cars autonomously perform tasks like parking and paying for their own parking fees. Essentially, blockchain can do for cars what the internet did for information — make it universally accessible and infinitely more useful.
The Role of DIMO in Vehicle Connectivity
DIMO acts as a catalyst in this transformation by offering both hardware and software solutions that allow vehicles to connect to its blockchain platform. The platform not only ensures that cars can communicate with each other and with different apps and services but also maintains robust security and privacy controls, allowing owners to control who gets access to their vehicle's data.
This connectivity is achieved through a combination of native integrations with vehicle manufacturers and universal devices that plug into a car's OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) port. These devices enable older vehicles, not just new models, to connect to DIMO's network, making the platform widely accessible.
A Peek Into the Future of Connected Vehicles
The potential applications of a fully integrated vehicle connectivity platform are vast. Imagine a world where your car not only drives you safely to your destination but also communicates with city infrastructure to find parking, negotiates traffic efficiently, and even makes service appointments. Or consider the possibilities in logistics and fleet management where every vehicle's location, condition, and availability are tracked in real time, with all data securely stored and shared on a blockchain.
Moreover, the data generated by these connected vehicles can be immensely valuable. By analyzing data on driving patterns, vehicle performance, and maintenance needs, companies can offer more personalized and cost-effective services, from insurance to repairs.
DIMO Website
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Gabriele is the creator of Rigoblock an on-chain protocol for asset management, aiming to democratize the trading and investment landscape. The platform empowers aspiring traders to deploy DeFi strategies swiftly and cost-effectively.
Rigoblock facilitates the creation of "smart pools" - smart contracts that hold tokens and interact with external applications, ranging from decentralized exchanges to governance and staking applications.
One of the unique features of Rigoblock is its ability to build a publicly verifiable track record for traders, enhancing transparency and security within the DeFi ecosystem. It abstracts the complexities of token approvals, mitigating the risks associated with token mismanagement and approval exploits, thereby safeguarding trader assets.
Rigoblock can be used by individual traders willing to explore the DeFi world of trading, and even by institutional investors that can operate a pool where users can deposit their funds.
From Traditional Finance to Crypto Innovation
Gabriele's journey into the crypto was fueled by the value of Bitcoin as a hedge against monetary inflation, eventually leading him to Ethereum for decentralized applications. His background in hedge fund trading and risk assessment laid the groundwork for developing Rigoblock. The platform's inception was driven by the vision to leverage Ethereum for asset management, a vision that required navigating the young ecosystem of Solidity development and decentralized exchanges.
Rigoblock's Governance and Security Model
Rigoblock is a community-driven ecosystem governed by its users through the GRG token. This governance model ensures that the protocol evolves in alignment with the collective interests of its stakeholders, from approving new applications to overseeing protocol upgrades. A nuanced governance mechanism balances innovation with security, allowing pool operators to opt into upgrades while safeguarding their assets against potential governance attacks.
Rigoblock opens up new paradigms for asset managers, enabling both manual and automated management of pooled assets. The platform's design eradicates the traditional fee structures, replacing them with a performance-based reward system driven by the GRG token. This model incentivizes pool operators to enhance the protocol's security and their pools' performance, creating a win-win situation for both managers and investors.
As the DeFi landscape continues to evolve, so does the conversation around security, trust, and adoption. Gabriele envisions a future where DeFi's inherent transparency and verifiability foster a new era of asset management, but acknowledges the ongoing challenges in completely eliminating trust from the equation.
Rigoblock Website
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