Support the show, consider donating: 3L1PitPnkVd7yWd69EnumxyJ24ajvVuJN3 (http://bit.ly/1QBM5JS) The idea of using the Bitcoin blockchain to represent and track the ownership of off-chain assets is almost as old as Bitcoin itself. One of the startups that is pursuing this vision is Berlin-based Ascribe, which allows creators to register ('ascribe'), transfer and archive digital art. Ascribe CTO Trent McConaghy joined us for a fascinating discussion of their ambitious goals to enable a so-far elusive secondary market for digital art, help creators monetize their work and ultimately retrofit an entire ownership layer to the internet. Topics covered included: - Why ownership in the internet is broken - How Ascribe wants to realize the vision of Project Xanadu of an internet with bi-directional links and baked-in copyrights - How the SPOOL (Secure Public Online Ownership Ledger) protocol works - The components of the Ascribe tech stack - How Ascribe will crawl and similarity-match the entire internet to retrofit an internet of ownership - Why Ascribe focuses first on the digital art market Links mentioned in this episode: - Ascribe: http://bit.ly/1IqTzxY - SPOOL Protocol: http://bit.ly/1AOPQCw - Cointemporary: http://bit.ly/1Kxscjc - Project Xanadu Wikipedia: http://bit.ly/1Rri9kQ - Rewiring the Internet for Ownership with Big Data and Blockchains: http://bit.ly/1FrMes1 - Slides: http://bit.ly/1BHm9E1 Sponsors: - Shapeshift: Buy and sell alt coins instantly at http://ShapeShift.io Show notes: http://epicenterbitcoin.com/podcast/078 SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-078 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: 1C2hPWvXCNG7GPk5rzkKfXwHoqjKMZuy7e (http://bit.ly/2dg5ipO) Last week the biggest blockchain-focused developer conference took place in Shanghai, China: Ethereum's DevCon 2. Epicenter show host Meher Roy was at the conference and brought back his impressions and insights for a comprehensive discussion of the current state of Ethereum projects and the Ethereum community. Topics covered included: - What Ethereum's developer conference DevCon 2 was like - The big change in going from concepts to alpha version over the last year - The continued lack of sustainable business models in Ethereum - The lack of interest by Venture Capitalists and the big tech companies in Ethereum and blockchain technology - The current state and incentive problems of crowdsales - Three areas of focus in Ethereum: Scalability, Privacy and Governance - The search for the next protocol Links mentioned in this episode: - Ethereum Foundation Website http://bit.ly/1IBWsHV - Ethereum YouTube Channel http://bit.ly/2dls6Wl - Insanity and Brilliance at Ethereum's Developer Conference http://bit.ly/2dmqSX4 - Melonport: Decentralized Asset Management on Ethereum http://bit.ly/2dwAGkD - Golem: Worldwide Supercomputer http://bit.ly/2dwAVvR - Metamask: Ethereum Browser Extension http://bit.ly/2dtZFCa - Cosmos Whitepaper http://bit.ly/2du03Au Sponsors: - BitFiniti Conference in Miami Beach Oct 30 - Nov 2: Go to bitfiniti.com/epicenter for discounts on registrations and presenter packages - Jaxx: Wallets that Unify the Blockchain Experience Across Devices http://jaxx.io Show notes: http://epicenter.tv/150 YouTube: http://youtu.be/fZEgDubXtpU SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-150 Epicenter Bitcoin is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.

Support the show, consider donating: BTC: 1MjciB4vYxC9LKQSWrkCfAniq4GnSMZzB2 (http://bit.ly/2ptdEB3) ETH: 0x8cdb49ca5103Ce06717C4daBBFD4857183f50935 (http://bit.ly/2nKneP1) Anyone who has ever started a company knows just how tedious that process that can be. Whether it's establishing a shareholder's agreement, defining the company's constitutional structure, raising funds, or transferring shares, corporate governance procedures remain largely paper-based, requiring validation from multiple stakeholders, and their lawyers. Blockchain technologies, and specifically smart contracts, provide the rails upon which these processes can be digitized and streamlined, reducing operational costs, eliminating errors and automating menial tasks. Manu Thanabalan, CTO of Otonomos, joins us to discuss how his company is leveraging smart contracts to accelerate incorporation and automate corporate governance. Otonomos provides the tools and services which allow for anyone to start a company in any of the jurisdictions they support. Using their platform, founders are able to define board members and issue shares, while captables are kept up-to-date in real-time. Day-to-day governance mechanisms and standard procedures such as voting and share transfers are automated through a smart contact, which complies with local jurisdictional regulation. Topics discussed in this episode: - Mano's background as a quantitative trader and how he transitioned into blockchain - The fundamental problem Otonomos is addressing - How we may be able to unlock a tremendous amount of value by liberating shares currently locked in private companies - Leveraging smart contracts to automate standardized corporate legal procedures - The types of constitutional rules which can be digitized and automated with smart contracts - The ability to simplify accounting and auditing with Otonomos - The Otonomos technology stack - The current state of Otonomos and their product roadmap Links mentioned in this episode: - Otonomos Website: http://otonomos.com This episode is also available on : - Epicenter.tv: https://epicenter.tv/180 - YouTube: http://youtu.be/i7e_ORfk-Lg - Souncloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-180 Watch or listen, Epicenter is available wherever you get your podcasts. Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.

Support the show, consider donating: 1HK9HmWCTVvA6hH6nVQ33fycbU5ZrEFgwf (http://bit.ly/2huTEdi) Few crypto projects have gotten as much attention and caused as much controversy as Steem. The blockchain-based social media platform launched early this year and managed to gain real user traction building up a vibrant community of contributors. The Steem token quickly entered bubble territory reaching a market cap of almost $400m and losing 90% of its value since. Steem Co-Founder and CEO Ned Scott joined us to discuss the ambition of the project and its short tumultous history. We also discussed some of the accusations against Steem and its unorthodox launch. Topics discussed in this episode: - How Steem was launched out of the BitShares community - The different components and tokens of the Steem system - How Steem rewards content contributors - The controversial Steem launch and criticisms of the project - Why Steem transitioned from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake - The potential disbalance of power due to the Steem distribution - How Steem managed to build a vibrant user community Links mentioned in this episode: - Steem Website: https://steem.io/ - Steemit.com: https://steemit.com/ - Why Every Blockchain Needs a Constitution: https://steemit.com/blockchain/@dan/why-every-blockchain-needs-a-constitution - Charlie Shrem Article on Steem Launch: https://steemit.com/steem/@charlieshrem/was-the-launch-of-steem-a-scam-or-the-only-legal-way-thoughts-on-steem-by-charlie-shrem-a-week-later - The History of Steem Launch in Words of Dan Larimer: https://steemit.com/steem/@joseph/the-history-of-steem-steemit-launch-in-the-words-of-dan-larimer-from-the-early-launch-days - Bitcoin Talk Thread on Steem Launch: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1427230.0 - Bitcoin Stackexchange: What is Steem?: http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/46007/what-is-steem-and-steemit 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/162 - YouTube: http://youtu.be/gg_MHqXa4yI - Souncloud: http://soundcloud.com/epicenterbitcoin/eb-162 Watch or listen, Epicenter is available wherever you get your podcasts. Epicenter is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain, Sébastien Couture & Meher Roy.