Support the show, consider donating: 1GQWvzN8pDZFugnryQnnanAVBgtpUmbCXu (http://bit.ly/1We4Nbg) Among the dividing themes in the Bitcoin space is the idea of public versus private blockchains. While some argue that private and permissioned blockchains can offer better scalability and lower latency for enterprises, others insist the Bitcoin blockchain will offer the best level of security and robustness longterm. Recently, projects have emerged that propose the best of both worlds by leveraging both off-chain and on-chain transactions. This is the idea behind Openchain, an “open source distributed ledger technology, suited for organizations wishing to issue and manage digital assets in a robust, secure and scalable way.” Openchain uses a client-server model where there is only one authoritative validating node. Read-only observer nodes keep the central node honest by auditing transactions in real time. About every 10 minutes, a copy of the Ledger, and its transactions, is hashed and inserted into a Bitcoin transaction so that it can be fossilised in the blockchain. We’re joined by Flavien Charlon, the one-man operation behind Predictious, Coinprism, the Open Transactions Protocol and now Openchain. We talk about this fascinating new software, which aims to offer enterprises a digital ledger protocol that is highly scalable while enjoying the benefits of the Bitcoin blockchain for immutability. Topics discussed in this episode: - Flavien gives an update on Coinprism and his other projects - The Openchain protocol and what it’s trying to achieve - The technical architecture of Openchain and the client-server model it implements - How Openchain uses the Bitcoin blockchain to “anchor” transactions into every block - Openchain’s consensus model - The ability for Openchain to interoperate with other ledgers and blockchains - Flavien’s thoughts on what the ecosystem might look like in 10 years Links mentioned in this episode: - Openchain: http://openchain.org - Openchain Docs: http://docs.openchain.org Sponsors: - Shapeshift: Buy and sell alt coins instantly at http://ShapeShift.io - Ledger Nano: Smart card security for your Bitcoins - Get 10% off your first order when you use the code EB09 at http://ledgerwallet.com (valid until 09/30/15) - Hide.me: Protect your privacy and personal data with a free VPN account at Hide.me/epicenter Show notes: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/podcast/102 SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-102 Epicenter Bitcoin is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sébastien Couture. - Visit our website: http://epicenterbitcoin.com - Subscribe to our newsletter: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/newsletter - Twitter: http://twitter.com/epicenterbtc

Support the show, consider donating: BTC: 1LvYWeH6kxhq3o99yNRRedyMufroWkAMkk (http://bit.ly/2pDNES7) ETH: 0x8cdb49ca5103Ce06717C4daBBFD4857183f50935 (http://bit.ly/2pEUs2f) Naming systems are an important component of any networked information system. It's difficult to imagine how the Internet could have been adopted by the masses had it not been for the Domain Name System, which translates machine-readable IP addresses into human-readable domain names. Blockchains, with their long and complex address formats, suffer from a similar problem. One might think a solution would be to apply the same naming system architecture we have for the public Internet to public blockchains. But DNS, in the eyes of many, is a largely flawed system. Centrally controlled by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Internet domain names are vulnerable to censorship and barriers to entry are kept artificially high – registering a new Top Level Domain (ex: .epicenter) costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. We're joined by Alex Van de Sande and Nick Johnson to discuss their approach to creating an open, secure and decentralized naming system for the Ethereum Network. The Ethereum Naming System (ENS) allows users to register .eth domain names, which can be used in supporting Ethereum wallets and clients. Names are reserved by placing a deposit in a smart contract and can be mapped to any Ethereum addresses. So rather than sending funds to 0x8cd...0935, one would simply need to type a memorable name like epicenter.eth into their wallet. Backed by the Ethereum Foundation, ENS will likely become the defacto standard for name registration in Ethereum. Topics discussed in this episode: - Alex and Nick's respective backgrounds and roles in the Ethereum Foundation - How the Internet's Domain Name System works - The problems and pain points with DNS and how it is governed today - What is ENS and what problems it is addressing - The ENS auction system and how names are registered - The different parties involved in ENS - ENS's technical architecture and governing smart contract - The current governance model of ENS and future plans for increased decentralization of governance - ENS's economic model and technical roadmap Links mentioned in this episode: - Ethereum Name Service: https://ens.domains - ENS Registrar: http://registrar.ens.domains/ - ENS Github Project: https://github.com/ethereum/ens/ - ENS Gitter Channel: https://gitter.im/ethereum/go-ethereum/name-registry - ENS Twitter Bot: https://twitter.com/EnsBot Sponsors: - Ledger: Smart card security for your Bitcoins - Get 10% off your first order when you use the code EPICENTER - http://ledgerwallet.com - Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices - http://jaxx.io This episode is also available on : - Epicenter.tv: https://epicenter.tv/183 - YouTube: http://youtu.be/rBx5UPzF68w - Souncloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-183 Watch or listen, Epicenter is available wherever you get your podcasts. Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.

I caught up with Jamie Burke and Aron van Ammers, who are exploring a really cool direction - credit unions built using smart contracts. Credit Unions are organisations that match borrowers and lenders that have some level of mutual trust - for example connecting alumni of a university who have liquidity with current students needing liquidity (loans). We explore how smart contracts could enable the next generation of credit unions through themes such as: Current challenges with credit unions - underutilisation of capital, governance challenges. Advantages of moving to a smart contract architecture. Participants and design of money circle. Potential challenges with the idea. The team behind Money Circles. Check out the video to get an appreciation of how global jurisdiction independent blockchains and smart contracts could enable normal people to better achieve their financial aims and build a better society. - Visit our website: http://epicenterbitcoin.com - Subscribe to the podcast: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/ - Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/epicenterbtc

Steven Morell and Gabriel Mirón join us to discuss the recent New York Department of Financial Services BitLicense proposal. Our regulatory affairs correspondent Siân Jones also joins us briefly to give a general overview of this proposed legislation. We also take the opportunity to talk about Bitcoin's development in Latin America, notably as a means to disrupt the remittance market, a multi-billion dollar industry. Our guests also talk about their respective companies. Steven is Chief Product Officer at Moneero, a company based in Uruguay and which is building a full suite of Bitcoin services. Gabriel is CEO of MEXBT, a Bitcoin exchange based in Mexico. Links: - BitLicense draft proposal press release: http://on.ny.gov/1zYJt1a - BitLicense draft proposal document: http://on.ny.gov/1n6s2Xq - MEXBT: http://bit.ly/1k8LeEE - Moneero: http://bit.ly/1p8EO73 Show notes: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/eb-029 Running time: 1:05:43 Epicenter Bitcoin is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sébastien Couture and is available on iTunes, SoundCloud, Mixcloud, Stitcher and other podcast aggregators. Website: http://epicenterbitcoin.com Subscribe: http://feed.epicenterbitcoin.com Subscribe to our Friday newsletter: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/newsletter Twitter: http://twitter.com/epicenterbtc Tip the show: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/tips