Blockchain Dialogues

In this episode, we discuss the importance of Blockchain Interoperability and why it is becoming increasingly important as blockchains move closer to mass adoption. Also, we take a detailed look at one of the most popular projects in the space - Polkadot. Listen in as we explore the various parts of the Polkadot ecosystem and how it looks to achieve interoperability.

In this episode, we take a deep dive into Ethereum’s Improvement Proposal EIP 1559 , that seeks to change the model on which transaction fees are charged on the Ethereum network. EIP 1559 proposes to change the current auction based model of transaction fees to one where the fees will become more predictable, thereby improving the user experience. The change has big implications for the Ethereum network as it burns a major portion of the gas fees instead of passing onto the miners, thereby bringing a deflationary component to the network’s economics as well. Listen in as we explore how EIP 1559 will change Ethereum.

In this episode, we interview Adrian Krion - CEO & Founder, Spielworks, to revisit the applications of blockchain technology in the gaming industry. Spielworks is behind the Wombat wallet which supports EOS and Telos blockchains. Also, the company has a gaming rewards platform called Womplay, that uses EOS tokens to reward its users. Guest – Adrian Krion – CEO & Founder, Spielworks Website – https://womplay.io/

In this episode, we interview Rafael Cosman - CEO & Co-founder, TrustToken. TrustToken recently launched the TrueFi protocol (TRU), which is an uncollateralized lending platform that allows vetted borrowers to request loans from lenders. We take a deep dive into how TrueFi works, and discuss the innovation that it brings with uncollateralized lending in the Defi space. Guest – Rafael Cosman – CEO, TrustToken Website – https://truefi.io/

In this episode, we look back at our 2 Year journey of podcasting that began in Jan 2019. During this time, we analyzed various innovative and promising blockchain protocols that looked to solve problems with existing protocols; we discussed various business use cases in industries such as Gaming, Logistics & Supply Chain, Healthcare, Media and Advertising, Art, etc. Also, we had the privilege to interview great guests from different backgrounds in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space. Listen in for a recap of all that happened at Blockchain Dialogues in the past 2 yrs.

In this Part 3 of our 3-part series on Defi Primer, we discuss some of the most important concepts in Defi such as Automated Market Makers (AMMs), Yield Farming, Vampire Attacks, DAOs, parameters of success in Defi, etc.

In this Part 2 of our 3-part series on Defi Primer, we discuss some of the most important concepts in Defi such as atomic swaps, Defi lending, flash loans, price oracles, prediction markets, synthetic assets and liquidity pools. For more advanced concepts, stay tuned for Part 3!

Decentralized Finance (Defi) has been the most popular use case in the cryptocurrency space that has taken the industry by storm recently. Being the single biggest driver of growth in the crypto market this year, Defi shows great promise to move cryptocurrencies closer to mass adoption. In this Part 1 of our 3-part series on Defi Primer, we start off covering the most basic concepts of conventional finance, in comparison with decentralized finance and introduce some of the most fundamental concepts and terminologies used in the Cryptocurrency and Defi industry. Also, to take a deep dive into detailed concepts such as flash loans, liquidity pools, Automated Market Makers(AMMs), atomic swaps, yield farming, etc., stay tuned for Part 2 and Part 3!

Blockchain technology for long has been seen as a game changer for the application of electoral voting. In this episode, we look at how voting has evolved over the past 200 yrs, how blockchain technology can be used to make the current voting mechanisms better and some of the main shortcomings that continue to exist. We look at some of the popular blockchain solutions proposed for voting. Also, we discuss some of the pilot projects around the world that have experimented with blockchain voting in recent years.

Stablecoins have been a hot topic in the cryptocurrency space in recent years, as they peg to real world assets to overcome the problem of price volatility. To explore how stablecoins can offer real world crypto payment solutions and move the industry closer to mass adoption, we are joined by Philippe Bekhazi - CEO, Stablehouse & XBTO International. XBTO is a world leading crypto finance firm, offering OTC trading, asset management services, VC investing and crypto mining solutions to institutions worldwide. Stablehouse is a global clearinghouse for stablecoins, offering a real-time cross blockchain payment solution. Guest - Philippe Bekhazi - CEO, Stablehouse & XBTO International Website - https://www.stablehouse.io/

Central Bank Digital Currencies in the past few years have been seen as a means by Govt.s to counter the rise of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and at the same time solve some of the existing problems of Govt. issued fiat money. CBDCs today are being designed by various central banks in different parts of the world to reduce the cost of cross-border remittances, increase financial inclusion, reduce dependence on cash and even make programmable money using smart contracts, something that was not possible before. In this episode we look at what CBDCs are, what problems they solve and what are the key things to keep in mind when designing them. Also , from a technology perspective, we'll take a look at how blockchain technology fits into designing CBDCs.

Advertising industry has been plagued with several problems in recent years, leading to several billions of dollars being lost annually. With the potential to provide solutions to several problems that the industry is facing - from reducing ad fraud, improving transparency, to building more consumer centric and less intrusive advertising models, blockchain is facilitating the creation of a new advertising ecosystem that can change the rules of online advertising forever. In this episode, we discuss the various challenges that the advertising industry faces and how various Blockchain projects are looking to find innovative solutions to them.

Blockchain technology is being utilized in the art industry today for various applications such as proving the ownership of a piece of art by recording it on the blockchain, to creating markeplaces where collectors and artists can be connected together to buy and sell art. In this episode we discuss various projects that are looking to solve different kinds of problems that have plagued artists ,art foundations, museums and art collectors for decades. Projects discussed - Verisart, BLKART, Maecenas, Scarab experiment, DADA Art.

The COVID-19 outbreak has broken existing supply chains for goods and services, inundated healthcare systems and deeply impacted economies all around the globe. In this episode, we take a look at where blockchain technology stands in the midst of the COVID crisis. Can Bitcoin act as a safe haven asset in an economic meltdown? Are Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) likely to see a faster rollout to replace cash? Also, we look at how the medical supply chains have gotten disrupted by COVID-19 and if blockchains can help improve the existing systems. We explore some of the blockchain projects from around the world such as WHO's MiPasa solution with IBM to develop a COVID Information Highway, projects for better tracking of COVID related medical supplies, managing charities and donations in China, to using blockchain based identity solution to fight COVID in UAE.

In this Part 2 of our two part series on Blockchain basics, we cover the most fundamental technology terms of blockchain technology. We discuss what are blocks, signatures, mining and other popular concepts such as Zero knowledge proofs, Quantum resistance etc.

In this Part 1 of our two part series of Blockchain basics, we focus on the business aspects of the blockchain industry and explain some of the most fundamental terms and keywords that are used in this space - such as ICOs, Stablecoins, Exchanges, OTC markets, etc.

In this episode we explore a particularly interesting effort to scale blockchains at Layer 0 i.e. the network layer, with Dr. Uri Klarman, CEO Bloxroute Labs. The network layer is the underlying set of technologies upon which the world wide web runs. Bloxroute Labs is a company trying to solve the scalability problem at the network layer by building a Blockchain Distribution Network or BDN. We took a deep dive into Bloxroute's solution, discussing how their Blockchain Distribution Network works, how it allows scaling of blockchains at the network layer and how the company plans to monetize it. Guest: Dr. Uri Klarman, Co-founder & CEO, Bloxroute Labs Website: https://bloxroute.com/

The Media industry is a broad ecosystem with many different players from video sharing platforms to traditional broadcasters, to music creators to the various technology companies providing specific solutions for media companies. In an existing online media space, where the power of central companies is becoming increasingly dependent on social influencers, the industry faces several challenges around revenue sharing with content creators, censorship of information or even mangement of digital ownership rights of content creators. In this episode we focus on various projects that are looking to solve different types problems in this ecosystem. We discuss projects such as LBRY, DTube and Props that are looking to tackle the online video space, and are looking to compete with companies such as Youtube. We take a closer look at the Theta project, that is looking to create an alternative video delivery network for better quality delivery, along with making it cheaper than existing CDNs. We also discuss some specific examples from the music industry where blockchain technology is being used for better management of ownership rights and distribution of royalties.

In this episode, we explore the buzzing new space of Decentralized Finance (Defi) with Anton Mozgovoy, ex CTO at the Humaniq project. Decentralized finance can simply be described as conventional finance built over a decentralized ecosystem on a blockchain. This includes payment systems, lending services, decentralized exchanges and many others. Defi continues to grow in popularity as a use case of blockchain technology as it looks to solve the problems of financial inclusion and banking the unbanked, something that legacy financial institutions have been unable to do. Guest: Anton Mozgovoy, ex CTO at Humaniq Website: https://mozgovoy.me/

Healthcare industry is a vast ecosystem, that includes several stakeholders like healthcare service providers, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, drug suppliers and others. In this episode, we look at some of the key areas in the healthcare ecosystem where major problems currently exist, and we look at some of the various projects that are using blockchain technology to solve some of these problems.

Cosmos is a project that describes itself as the Internet of Blockchains, a project that many consider to be a key piece of the puzzle to making blockchains interconnectable and practically feasible in the future. Cosmos looks to become the universal solution that connects many different blockchains together and enable them to exchange data among each other. In this episode, we look at what the Cosmos project is, a little bit about its history, how it works and how it compares with some of the other projects that are trying to connect different blockchains together.

In this episode of the Blockchain Dialogues podcast, we discuss the Logistics and Supply Chain Management systems in various businesses around the world and how Blockchain technology is solving real world problems to make them more efficient and reliable. Blockchains today are being used for Supply Chain applications, in everything from tracing the origin and supply of diamonds, to ensuring the safety of meats and other perishables in the food industry. It is also being used by logistics service providers, trucking and freight carriers for purposes from data authentication to ensuring that the transport records are tamper proof at every point. In this episode, we take a look at the various public blockchain solutions that are addressing the various pain points in logistics and supply chain environments, along with some of the enterprise solutions in the industry as well.

In this episode of the blockchain dialogues podcast, we talk about an industry that is seen by many to be in natural synergy with a strong use case for Blockchains. A space where Blockchain based assets can solve a real problem for buyers and sellers in a market that largely remains centralized - the $138 billion industry of gaming. From being able to issue game based assets as tokens on a blockchain, utilizing decentralized exchanges for buying and selling game based assets, to producing new monetization models for game developers - blockchain technology is seen as an enabler in many different ways. We look at Gaming as an industry, explore how blockchain technology fits into the various use cases of gaming and look at some of the prominent blockchain gaming projects that are in the works today.

In this episode of the Blockchain Dialogues podcast, we talk about a group of cryptocurrencies that have been a topic of interest in the crypto space both from the perspective of technology as well as business - Stablecoins. They are something which are seen to be indispensable for connecting cryptocurrencies to real world assets. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies primarily designed to remain stable in price, by pegging to a stable asset such as the US Dollar and depending on the method of collateralization, stablecoins can be of many types. In this episode, we look at the various kinds of Stablecoins, how they work and what role they can play in the cryptocurrency space.

In this episode we talk about a first of its kind pure PoS protocol that claims to deliver decentralization, scalability and security - Algorand. Algorand is a blockchain based system that utilizes the Byzantine Agreement message passing protocol to reach consensus among network participants. It has a protocol still under development and is looking to become a blockchain based payments platform. We look at what Algorand is, what makes it different from other blockchain systems, its advantages, disadvantages and future prospects.

In this episode of the Blockchain Dialogues podcast, we discuss an interesting new protocol called the Mimblewimble Protocol. Mimblewimble looks to solve some of the shortcomings of Bitcoin by improving upon two key aspects of bitcoin that being - scalability and privacy. It uses an innovative new technology to cut through transactions making the blockchain much smaller thereby helping with scalability. And it also implements what is known as Confidential transactions, helping with greater anonymity and privacy. In this episode, we discuss why Mimblewimble became a topic of interest in the bitcoin community, what makes it different from other technologies, how it works and its pros and cons.

In this episode of the Blockchain Dialogues podcast, we look at an important aspect of public blockchains i.e. Governance. Blockchain governance in simple terms can be described as a collection of rules, regulations, policies, incentives and penalties, that, a distributed network of people, can adopt in order to ensure; that the goals of the network are being met, the network is following certain commonly agreed upon mechanisms to improve itself, and to ensure that the network is not being compromised at any point of time. In this episode we look at the importance of on-chain governance, off-chain governance, specifically how a network like Ethereum handles both, what are Ethereum Request for Comments or (ERCs), what are Ethereum Improvement Proposals etc.

A blockchain oracle can be defined as a program or a software than can identify information from outside a blockchain and translate it in a way so that it can be used within the blockchain, through the usage of smart contracts. What makes oracles important in the blockchain ecosystem is that Oracles make existing real world information such as supply chain management data, stock market information, information from pressure or temperature sensors within a manufacturing environment or any other data for that matter, directly usable within a blockchain. In this episode, we look at how oracles work, the different kinds of oracles that can conceptually exist and the various projects and companies that are working towards realizing oracles.