In this episode of Talking Crypto, @gabrielhaines interviewed Andras Kristof, CEO/founder of @ether_cards and @MarkHahnel, Chief Scientist of @genomesio. We'll find out what Ether Cards is about and also learn more about the collaboration with Genomes.io.
🔹 Started with blockchains around 2013 when $ETH did not exist and $BTC was $10
🔹 Build the first $BTC ATM in Asia in 2014
🔹 Built a system where anyone can build and issue their own tokens by forking @Ripple
🔹 But $ETH came out and they switched over there
🔹 Academic background - PhD in stem cell biology and genomics
🔹 Pulled into the tech and data world after that
🔹 Knew Andras when Genomes.io were with @ConsenSys
🔹 Going to collaborate with Ether Cards and use their platform
🔹 Worked in a startup in 2011 and the sysadmin told him to use the server to mine $BTC at night
🔹 Andras told him not to bother. $BTC was at 10 cts
🔹 Sysadmin retired 5 yrs ago
🔹 Rediscovered BTC in the year it went from $10 to $1000
🔹 Ripple has the right idea but needed to be modified
🔹 Removed $XRP to prevent pump and dump, included ring signatures from $monero to make it private
🔹 Worked well, could issue ERC-20 tokens but no smart contracts
🔹 Wanted to connect physical objects with NFT meaningfully
🔹 But 3 yrs ago, nobody cared about NFTs
🔹 Found out that trad VC are more interested in financial projects
🔹 Their system can provide funding and monetisation mechanism for hard-to-fund cases
🔹 Wanted to put his career on the blockchain
🔹 Using NFT as tools to react and change with real-life events
🔹 Used different facets of the Ether Cards platform e.g. Traits, Forge, Layers
🔹 If you have a physical collectible figurine and you put it on the shelf for 3 months, it'll collect dust
🔹 Likewise, Ether Cards also collect $DUST, an ERC-20 token
🔹 Can be used to exchange for NFT, reserve NFT drops, update cards etc
🔹 NFT allows creators to monetize their creativity - Ether Cards is building the toolset for that
🔹 2 ways to connect physical objects to NFT
🔹 The easy way is for NFT to be redeemable for physical objects
🔹 Mark's experience with ConsenSys is very positive
🔹 Exposed to a lot of experienced people in the space e.g. @danfinlay from Metamask, guys from @Dharma_HQ
🔹 Advised him to get all the tech stack in Genomes.io sorted out first
🔹 https://t.co/cpRJ0f6QFg will airdrop $GENE to all Ether Cards holders
🔹 Tokens can be used in the https://t.co/cpRJ0f6QFg ecosystem
🔹 More detail can be found in the article: blog.ether.cards/genomes-io-par…
🔹 Can use the NFT to quickly get a critical mass of 10,000 genomes
🔹 Their NFT can also have $GENE/$GNOME airdropped to holders
🔹 Provability of vaccine status to prevent people from faking
🔹 Andras: Be Kind
🔹 Mark: Was thinking more from a business point of view - will put in something to the effect that everyone is going to get their genome sequenced in their lifetime
Blockchain + Web3 is revolutionary, but what is limiting their potential to change the world are the challenges involved in indexing and accessing data on the blockchain itself. @ZettaBlockHQ aims to address this issue.
• Has a #Web3 startup team that operates globally
• The team is led by two experienced co-founders, Scott Shi and Chi Zhang
🔸Scott Shi (@scottshics)
• Has over a decade of expertise in engineering
• Worked at companies like @Uber, @salesforce & EA
🔸 Chi Zhang
• Was a product manager at @databricks
• Holds a PhD from @UCBerkeley
• Experience in building data and #AI products
• Proven track record of supporting data-driven
organizations
He discusses anthropology, Web3 and other subcultures, and many other interesting topics with @chaserchapman in this episode of On The Other Side 👇
Background
🔹 An anthropologist
🔹 Is an artist
🔹 A DAO contributor
🔹 Has a Substack, but it’s not really a newsletter, but a cultural report
Substack
🔹 It’s more an anthropological collection of a subculture
🔹 Trying to record the why and the what behind the different projects
🔹 Important to have a bird’s eye view to see the connections
🔹 Is an obsessively curious person. Have always been searching for cool stuff
Today, I'll be sharing the book highlights of @peterthiel's Zero to One. Peter Thiel is a serial entrepreneur who helped to start up many companies, like @PayPal and @PalantirTech, and invested in Facebook.
If he has something to say about startups, I want to know. Read on 👇
There are 2 kinds of progress:
• Horizontal (1 to n)
• Vertically (0 to 1)
E.g. Horizontal progress is about getting existing products distributed to more places (globalization), while vertical progress is about coming up with new products (tech).
From the book's title, you should be able to deduce which is the better kind of progress. Going from zero to one will be hard, but the rewards will be way better than going from 1 to many.
👉 Look for companies that go from 0 to 1 instead of 1 to n.
🔹 People remember the year for all the terrible stuff that happened
🔹 Important to remember the positive events too (e.g. the merge)
🔹 The merge is a transaction inclusion time decrease
🔹 Have multiple zk-EVM implementations that will have a mainnet launch in 2023
🔹 @signinwitheth has seen massive gains in adoption
🔹 Cryptocurrency payments worked during the invasion of Ukraine
🔹 Have always recommended @KeePassXC or @Bitwarden:
🔸 KeePassXC: A completely offline tool. Reserved for extreme scenarios
🔸 Bitwarden: A secure password manager that synchronizes your password database across multiple devices
Now
🔹 Online password managers have advanced quite a bit
🔹 Every reputable password manager encrypts everything on your machine before it goes into the database
🔹 Does not recommend LastPass, 1Password, Dashlane
🔹 For people new to password managers, he recommends Bitwarden