Bitcoin, Blockchain, And The Technologies Of Our Future

Last week, $1 billion of bitcoin was seized by the DOJ, money that a hacker allegedly stole from the Silk Road in 2012. The hacker's lawyer calls him a "modern-day Robin Hood".But a couple of things to keep in mind:1) The Hacker was most likely coerced to hand over the keys under heavy duress2) The money was given to the DOJ so that they can continue their war on p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ drugs, sending non-violent people to jail. Possibly the least noble use of the money I can think of.And I still have a LOT of questions about what actually took place. Petition for Trump to pardon Ross:https://www.change.org/p/clemency-for-ross-ulbricht-condemned-to-die-in-prison-for-a-website?hpLearn more about the Ross Ulbricht case:https://freeross.org/false-allegations/Watch on LBRY:https://open.lbry.com/@NaomiBrockwell:4/1-billion-Bitcoin-seized-by-DOJSupport the show

How private is Zoom, really?For years, Zoom claimed to have end-to-end encryption for all its calls, which means that users can communicate securely with each other, and no one else -- not even Zoom -- can access the call.It turns out this wasn't true, and yesterday the FTC reached a settlement with Zoom about its misleading language. Even though Zoom now actually IS rolling out e2eE for its users, is it a platform we can really trust? And how do the alternatives compare? Watch on LBRY https://open.lbry.com/@NaomiBrockwell:4/Is-Zoom-Spying-on-us:7?r=JBjAdauAdeysMGVDbHMJpNSQzbcMyqYgSupport the show

Another election has come and gone.And the winner is... the state.The money printers will continue to churn, that much we can expect.  In the past 12 months, the amount of US  Dollars in existence rose by over 41%.25% of all money ever created by the FED was created in the last 12 months. Let that sink in. It's no wonder bitcoin rose back above $15k today for the first time in almost 3 years.USD money supply chart:https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M1Support the show

Avanti, led by crypto OG Caitlin Long, was approved to become a bank in Wyoming. Quick Bytes:00:09 JPMorgan changes its tune: “Bitcoin has considerable upside and will become more valuable if people use it”01:32 China’s battle against stablecoins: anything that competes with their Central Bank Digital Currency will be outlawed02:43 Harvest Finance protocol hack! 10s of millions drained from their pools, 100s of millions more pulled from the site by users who didn’t want their funds stolen. 03:43 New Crypto Bank in Wyoming, and the dawn of a new crypto era: Avanti, founded by bitcoin OG Caitlin Long, was approved unanimously by the Wyoming State Banking Board to become a state-chartered bank – A special bank, for crypto. 07:24 Cointree message highlightSupport the show

There are 3 different types of consensus protocols:Classical, Satoshi's, and a new one released last year called AvalancheEmin Gün Sirer is a professor at Cornell and founder of Ava labs and he explains how each works, and the history behind them.The newest, Avalanche, was released anonymously last year by a group calling themselves "Team Rocket" ('Team Rocket' is a reference to Satoshi's enemy in Pokemon). They created an entirely new consensus protocol, that is now being experimented with by multiple groups in the crypto space, including Emin who is developing a protocol called "Ava" (I explain Ava in my next video).Watch the video version here:https://youtu.be/rNH0XhRoscUSupport the show

Back in 2014 I interviewed Joey Fiscella of Florin coin: A small alt coin where you could write messages to your loved ones that would be stored forever in the blockchain.Now 5 years later, Florin has transitioned to "Flo" with a really interesting use case, and you wouldn't believe the success they've had with some major organizations including Caltech and Tzero.To watch the video, visit: https://youtu.be/kEnPlBAq3-kSupport the show

Some baby tips from CEO of Sense chat Crystal Rose Pierce:When choosing a baby name, the first thing to do is make sure it's 12 characters, which is the length of an EOS wallet addressGet your baby involved early, ideally have her carry a crypto torch whilst still in uteroProof of Birth: Get her registered with a REAL identity on the blockchain, not one of these flimsy govt-issued identitiesThanks so much for chatting with me, Crystal! And congratulations to you and Brock for the arrival of your beautiful baby daughter Aurora! To watch the video version, visit: https://youtu.be/0A1xluO_94ISupport the show

The community has shown that we NEED a crypto alternative to Patreon. Too many people are being deplatformed, and payment providers have too much power. Crypto is censorship resistant, and is the obvious next step for those who believe in Freedom of Speech.Crypto-fuelled Patreon alternative "Bitbacker" was just acquired by Draper-backed startup "Flote". I chat with CEO Kingsley Edwards about how Flote is reimagining Social Media as we know it, and why censorship resistant money is important for content creators. Really exciting news for the Bitbacker community, and the crypto community at large!!Flote.app will be launching very soon! More details to come :)Support the show

Trader Cobb and I talk about the market movements over the past month, predictions for future trends, and some interesting coins and market opportunities that may have been overlooked.Support the show

2 Videos!Part 1: https://youtu.be/5hcApg3vjZYJustin Sun wins charity auction bid of $4.6 million for a lunch with Warren Buffett and 7 blockchain industry leadersPart 2: https://youtu.be/dh-i20UKcL0KIK:SEC sues KIK, things don't look good Australia cracks down on crypto tax avoidance schemes, as do many other parts of the world Samourai receives funding to fight bitcoin surveillanceLocalbitcoins removes cash in-person transactions from their platformScribd requests that many websites remove the bitcoin whitepaper after CSW files copyright claimBlock One to launch new social media platform called Voice, includes KYC identity confirmationFacebook's "globalcoin" will be tied to multiple currencies, and will be announced in JuneKomodo avoids $13 million theft by exploiting same bug as the hackersKodak launches blockchain "document management" systemCongressman Budd defends blockchain and also cryptocurrency in testimonyMarshall islands sets up non-profit to oversee SOV (their nationa

Justin Sun bid 4.6 million dollars in a charity auction to have lunch with Warren Buffett. He said that he did it to support the Glide Foundation, because he's a longtime fan of Warren Buffett, and also because he wants to help be a bridge between traditional finance and crypto. He announced he will invite 7 blockchain industry leaders to the lunch with him. Buffett is a longtime Bitcoin skeptic, and has famously referred to Bitcoin as "Rat Poison Squared". What would I say to Warren Buffett if I were invited to the lunch? What would you say? To watch the video of episode, visit:https://youtu.be/uiCGPLvqt68Support the show

I caught up with the team from Humanaction.io while I was in Kentucky, and we talked about why freedom is a radical movement, and what they're doing to help the culture around it. Their store focuses on crypto and Austrian economics, 2 of my favorite things.To watch the video of the episode, visit https://youtu.be/AemWmNviwtoSupport the show

Watch the video version of the episode here:https://youtu.be/rvCT5WRfC4UA lot of people talk derisively about large companies in the crypto space and how this "centralization" of power is bad. The Crypto Lark invited me on his channel and we discussed what "too much power" means, and the difference between private companies and governments having that power.We also talked about Binance's new DEX and their efforts towards decentralization.Check out The Crypto Lark's channel here:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl2oCaw8hdR_kbqyqd2klIASupport the show

SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce sat down with me at Consensus 2019 to talk about individual responsibility in the crypto space and not relying too heavily on the government's tick of approval."People have come to rely too heavily on what they see as an 'SEC seal of approval', and I always say to them, it's not that ... One of the best things we can do as a regulatory body is try to encourage skepticism."We talk about how regulatory bodies have been doing so far in keeping up with the crypto space, and the future of decentralization and how crypto is making us completely rethink regulation.Hester Peirce has been a strong supporter of crypto from within the SEC, and I'm very grateful for her time!To watch the video of this episode, visit: https://youtu.be/d7sZSpmluxYSupport the show

Earlier this week Matt Corallo pointed the finger and toxicity in Blockstream, that sparked a twitter debate and self-reflection about toxicity in general.From my point of view, there seems to be toxicity coming from all sides, not just one in particular. I looked at some examples of reddit comments posted the other day. And instantly regretted it.To watch the video of this episode, visit: https://youtu.be/E4JUkvlp4jESupport the show

The Tezos blockchain has been upgraded for the first time after stakeholders spent 3 months voting. The upgrade (called Athens A) reduces the minimum amount of tokens required for a user to become a baker on the network and increases computation limits on Tezos blocks to allow for larger transaction throughput.Tezos has a unique method of on-chain governance. Upgrades can be automated, decentralized, and self-funding.I talk to Arthur Breitman of the Tezos project about this process and the recent upgrade.To watch the video of the episode, visit: https://youtu.be/6f-ek3ssH1Q .Support the show

The Weekly Crypto Recap, with @zaphoid (Chris Karabats of SmartCash), and @ChrisPacia (Chris Pacia of Open Bazaar)News from the week:Kik launches a "crypto defense fund" to fight the SEC, adds $5 million and encourages the community to donate alsoWei Lui challenges CSW's copyright of the Bitcoin Whitepaper and files a competing copyright claimMiner attacks BCH, leading to a "soft fork" or "51% attack" to reverse the transactionsBitcoin "toxicity" hashed out over twitter between Samson Mow and Matt CoralloFirst ever Tezos upgrade activatedLiquidated Cryptopia owes creditors $2.7 millionSalesforce unveils first blockchain productFacebook's "GlobalCoin"Crypto Around the world:US:Some lawmakers ask for blockchain to be included on Trump's list of emerging technology initiatives. "Crypto" not mentioned(ASIC) (The Australian Securities and Investments Commission) issues guidance on ICOs and crypto assetsChina cracks down on local bitcoin far

Video version of episode: https://youtu.be/SFEgmnxMu_cRecently The Crypto Lark invited me on to his show, and we discussed the feud between Tether and the NYAG. The most recent development is that Bitfinex and Tether are arguing for case to be dismissed because they operate far outside of NY's jurisdiction. The Crypto Lark and I discuss the battle and the hypocrisy of targeting crypto for practices commonplace in traditional finance.Visit The Crypto Lark's channel here:https://www.youtube.com/user/larksongbird01Support the show

BitPay interviewed me at Consensus this year about my involvement in Bitcoin and the evolution of the blockchain space over the years.Thanks James from BitPay for the interview!Support the show

The weekly crypto recap: Where we go over all the latest news in crypto from the week. With @Zaphoid, aka Chris Karabats from SmartCashThis week in the news:Julian Assange has been indicted on 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act. Freedom of the Press is in dire straits, a disastrous precedent for the First amendment. Charges: https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/1037-julian-assange-espionage-act-indictment/426b4e534ab60553ba6c/optimized/full.pdf#page=1Japan seeks global response to Crypto, scrutinizes exchanges and hands out "crypto guidance" prior to G20Russian central bank considers gold-backed cryptoMontana passes bill to exempt utility tokens from securities lawsIRS says it will soon issue new crypto guidance re taxesLocalBitcoins bans buying in IranEU cracks down of coin mixers, while the EU central bank says "Crypto poses no threat to financial stability"Israel rules crypto is not money, but an asset subject to capital gainsAustralian employee faces jail for mining crypto at