Charlie kicks off the show discussing Bitcoin’s resurgence with recent banking failures. Charlie gives an introduction to Jonathan Chester and his company Bitwage. Jonathan shares what made him interested in Bitcoin in 2013 and how things have changed since he first joined the industry. Jonathan and Charlie reflect on why Bitwage and Bitinstant were created. Jonathan explains how Bitwage works and the habits of its users. Jonathan and Charlie discuss paying bills directly with Bitcoin. Jonathan talks about the avenue Bitcoin provides for populations outside of the US to protect wealth. Charlie shares why he thinks Bitcoin is the superior, easier currency in most countries. Jonathan explains how Bitcoin can’t have a bank run.

Charlie introduces Aaron Kaplan and Prometheum. Aaron discusses his thoughts on securities laws serving as a framework for crypto. Aaron explains the significance of the DAO report. Charlie and Aaron discuss tokens going through a proverbial car wash to become compliant. Aaron walks through Prometheum’s capabilities and how it will help companies launch compliantly. Charlie and Aaron speculate on how “bank runs” on crypto could’ve been avoided. Aaron shares what he views as securities in crypto and how Prometheum can support them. Aaron provides his thoughts on how regulators and the crypto industry ended up where they are today. Aaron speculates on how recent companies failed so spectacularly in the crypto industry. Aaron shares Prometheum’s beliefs on digital assets as securities and how they will support them. 

Charlie begins the show by introducing Hugo Philion and giving him the opportunity to share how Flare began in the crypto industry and why oracles are so important. Hugo explains Flare’s state connector. Charlie provides his thoughts on proof of stake. Hugo shares that State Connector is the solution to the tyranny of the majority of stake. Hugo explains Flare’s Web Connector and the broad distribution of Flare. Hugo shares how Songbird came about and gives a fun example of how it was recently used. Charlie and Hugo talk about how to solve the cross-chain problem.

Charlie and Benton Yaun begin the show by discussing the Wall Street Journal’s article on the Metaverse being a Meh-taverse and their interpretation of how the metaverse is currently performing. Benton shares his unconventional background and how he came into the crypto world. Charlie talks about the evolution of online communities within crypto and Benton shares his insights on growing a community around a project. Charlie and Benton discuss super fans and whether or not Elon Musk saved Twitter. Benton shares what gaps he’s seeing in the social space currently. Charlie and Benton dive into ChatGPT from a social perspective. Benton predicts how large audiences will be onboarded to Web3 and blockchain tech. Benton discusses messaging and brand narratives and the importance of both of these in building brands. Benton shares what platforms target various audiences.  

Charlie begins the show with an introduction to Protocol Labs and IPFS, asking Juan to take him back to the beginning. Juan shares the goals of IPFS and how they accomplish those goals. Juan explains the difference between storage and content delivery and how IPFS comes into play. Juan discusses what drew him to Web3. Charlie and Juan discuss Orwellian censorship examples in history and how crypto comes into play. Juan explains why mesh networks didn’t take off. Juan dives into the power that the centralized internet gives to corporations and governments. Juan talks about blockchain adoption and how he sees AI integrating into the world. Juan shares his thoughts on trust, but verify. Juan explains why tokens are successful in blockchain technology. Charlie compares the French pension system to rewards on blockchain. Juan shares the importance of verifiability, even without transparency. Juan and Charlie ideate how the adoption of blockchain could impact daily life.

Manu Drijvers kicks off the discussion differentiating DFINITY’s Internet Computer from other EVM-based smart contracts. Manu talks about how DFINITY scales without heading toward centralization. Charlie and Manu discuss nodes and determining their level of decentralization. Manu shares his background and what drives him, diving into cryptography. Charlie and Manu talk about the term Bitcoiners and what it means to them. Manu explains how DFINITY’s ckBTC works. Manu shares what he thinks the relationship between AI and crypto will be as we move forward. Charlie shares his experience with ChatGPT. Manu explains why DFINITY is pursuing a wrapped Bitcoin option. 

Charlie and Mark Miller take a trip to the past and the start of smart contracts. Charlie kicks off the show sharing an abstract that Mark wrote in 1988 that envisioned a future of smart contracts. Mark shares what was missing from that abstract when it comes to blockchain, diving into solving the problems of ignorance and malice brought on by centralization. Mark explains Polycentrism and how it relates to consensus mechanisms. Charlie shares his thoughts on Bitcoin and its lack of need to make decisions. Mark talks about the road to immutability and the DAO bug on Ethereum. Mark shares info on Agoric and how it’s building a blockchain on utilizing familiar technology. Mark dives into finality, proof-of-stake, and differences between Bitcoin and Ethereum. Charlie and Mark hypothesize consensus scenarios with Ethereum. Mark shares Agoric’s capabilities and its governance mechanism.

Patrick McClain with The Reimagined podcast, Anthony Garretts from Gonzaga and Danny Cook at the University of Illinois interview Charlie Shrem. Charlie gives a history of who he is and how he got involved in crypto. Charlie discusses crypto company investing woes and how SBF relates. Charlie provides background on BitInstant and what it means to be a Bitcoiner. Charlie and Patrick discuss transparency and freedom and how blockchain technology can make companies more money. Charlie shares how his view of Bitcoin has changed over the years and how it first became valuable. Charlie provides his perspective on how Bitcoin improves lives and has a value proposition worldwide. Charlie predicts how blockchain tech will be used in the future. Charlie addresses how crypto previously scaled and how it will scale moving forward. Patrick dives into a big block and small block explanation and the conspiracies about Bitcoin being attacked. Charlie reflects on these conspiracy theories and his thoughts regarding them. Charlie shares how he continues to learn in this industry. Charlie gives his thoughts on how mass adoption of blockchain will happen. Charlie and Patrick end the show giving advice to students who are considering a career in blockchain. 

Former Bloomberg journalist and founder of DeCential Media Matt Leising and Charlie start the show discussing how they feel about the industry so far in 2023. Matt shares his thoughts on journalism and its growth and challenges within the blockchain niche. Matt provides his experience with writing his book Out of the Ether. Matt gives his thoughts on why people say the early Ethereum heist was the best thing that happened to the industry. Matt shares why he made the decision to leave Bloomberg to create DeCential. Matt gives a brief history of the Ethereum heist and how the whitehackers became involved. Charlie and Matt discuss how this industry is full of interesting stories. Charlie and Matt compare the crypto community to religion. Matt shared what pushed him over the edge to become a crypto “zealot.” Matt shares his experience getting to know Vitalik during his book writing. 

Charlie begins the show by introducing CIO of Fox and President of Blockchain Creative Labs (BCL), Melody Hildebrandt and the importance of her as a guest. Melody dives into how BCL was dreamed up. Melody discusses how Fox is a risk-taking business and how that’s important in setting the foundation in blockchain and moving the industry forward. Melody shares their experience bringing components of The Masked Singer to the blockchain and the failures and successes of teaching a new audience how to use this new technology. Melody discusses the importance of identifying the value proposition to get fans and creators interested and engaged with this technology. Charlie talks about “Just Dance” and the disappointing finance and incentives for creators. Charlie and Melody talk about putting the Hollywood Waterfall on-chain and how that benefits creators and their income stream. Melody talks about Krapopolis and how NFT holders have helped shape its creation. Melody gives her thoughts on regulations and Fox’s approach. Melody teases Fox’s possible future DAO plans. Melody and Charlie talk about SMS’s breakthrough moment and hypothesize what crypto’s moment will be. Melody explains how Fox determines what’s working and what’s not when it comes to crypto activations. Charlie reflects on his experiences in crypto and how important friction is in the industry. Melody talks about “signed trust” and where it is worth pursuing.