My guest today is Mitja Goroshevsky, CTO of TON Labs. TON Labs is a core developer of the Free TON blockchain protocol and TON OS (operating system). Free TON is a fast, secure, and scalable blockchain and network project, capable of handling millions of transactions per second if necessary, and both user-friendly and service provider-friendly. One might think about Free TON as a huge distributed supercomputer, or rather a huge "super server", intended to host and provide a variety of services. Free TON is based on a flexible multi-blockchain platform called TON Blockchain, which is capable of processing millions of transactions per second, with Turing-complete smart contracts, upgradable formal blockchain specifications, multi-cryptocurrency value transfer, support for micropayment channels and off-chain payment networks. Before Co-Founding TON Labs in 2018, Mitja spent over two decades in the IT industry, establishing various successful businesses such as DeltaThree Communications, the first international voice over IP provider; Internet Telecom, a telecoms and enterprise-grade IP solution provider; and BrainsMatch, a Machine Learning company. Following a productive stint in the telecoms and IT space, Mitja ventured into the world of blockchain and served as the Chief Architect for US-based ShelterZoom. Aside from his expertise in entrepreneurship, IT, and blockchain, he also participated in various research projects and has co-authored several patents in distributed computing. All of this to say, Mitja is incredibly knowledgeable and provides and wealth of knowledge. In our conversation, we cover Free TON and Ton Labs, unlocking the power of DeFi, scaling blockchains, decentralization, and much more. We begin our conversation with Mitja going over his personal history within crypto and how the founding of TON Labs and Free Ton. We discuss the importance of learning multiple programming languages and Mitja gives his advice to developers about which smart contracts language he would recommend learning and why. Our conversation transitions to the discussion about scaling and how traditional telecom companies approached their scaling problem over a decade ago. We continue our conversation about scaling by focusing on best practices and approaches to scale blockchains. We pivot our conversation by discussing the future of DeFi and the impact on Layer-1s as the projects built on top of them begin gaining mainstream adoption. The looming Ethereum schism and the implications on the broader community. Our conversation continues by discussing the TON Blockchains and the evolution of blockchain infrastructure. Mitja does an excellent job at explaining sharding. Our conversation flows into the importance of interoperability to create money legos. We finish our conversation by discussing the future of stablecoins. Please enjoy my conversation with Mitja Goroshevsky. -- Ledn: Ledn provides financial products to help you unlock the power of digital assets. With a secure and easy-to-use platform, it’s the simplest way to earn interest, borrow, and trade your BTC and USDC. For maximum accountability, Ledn offers Proof of Reserves attestations to give you peace of mind while you make the most of your Bitcoin. Untold Stories listeners can receive $50 in free BTC when you create a new loan. More info at https://untoldstories.link/LEDN Public: Start investing with as little as $1 and get a free slice of stock up to $50 when you join Public.com today. Visit public.com/UNTOLDSTORIES to download the app and sign up. -- This podcast is powered by Blockworks. For exclusive content and events that provide insights into the crypto and blockchain space, visit them at https://blockworks.co