Ep 63 - A Deeper Look at Building Blockchains, Algorithms and Proofs
Release Date: 05/02/2019
Ep 83 Election Authenticity in Latin America and beyond
LAB Radio
Together let’s count all the votes Carlos Torriellos is changing the political system in Latin America. He is the face of a volunteer group, consisting of concerned citizens in Guatemala, called Fiscal Digital. This translates to, “The Digital Witness”. Their goal is to certify post-election paper ballot results in a corrupt and broken system. Last year, in mid 2019, Guatemala held an election. Everything was going fine, until doubt was cast on the official results through social media. The situation escalated quickly and no one seemed to have a solution. The election officials began...
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Ep 82 - Darknet Market Research with Cedric Dahl - 1000X Group
LAB Radio
Darknets Rising The Darknet is powered by cryptocurrency. On episode 82 of LAB Radio we speak with Cedric Dahl of 1000X Group about this controversial place. Most people have heard of the Darknet, but know what really goes on or how it operates. We dispel some myths and provide insight to why crypto is used predominantly on darknet markets. Cedric, like most of us, shrugged off Bitcoin when first told by a friend. The only difference for most us the is when the clock first starts ticking. For Cedric it was 2010. By the time he became a believer, he was farther ahead of the game than...
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Ep 81 - The Free Republic of Liberland
LAB Radio
The Creation of a New Nation Welcome to the Free Republic of Liberland. Wait you've never heard of this country? "Well, that's a pretty normal response", says Joey Langenbrunner, Deputy Head of Mission to the United States. Liberland is new. The micronation, like Somaliland, will have existed for 5 years on April 13th, 2020. The delegation is planning a big celebration. They are launching they're own blockchain for governance and a cryptocurrency called Merits. Although, they are starting to get recognition internationally, they are still not recognized by the UN. This micronation...
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Best of 2019 - LAB Radio - Episode 80
LAB Radio
This episode is LAB Radio's "Best of 2019". It's composed of several clips from guests over the past year. For many, 2019 will be one of those years in crypto that won't stand out in people's minds much. It wasn't flashy. There wasn't a lot fanfare. CNBC wasn't pumping XRP. It was quiet and people were busy building great things. I was fortunate to sit down with many amazing people this year to discuss their thoughts and contributions on the industry. Unfortunately, I had to narrow it down to just a hand full of clips but, trust me, all of our guests were fire. I know you'll enjoy hearing...
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Ep 79 - Creating Effective Blockchain Legislation w/ Caitlin Long
LAB Radio
Caitlin Long knows Blockchain Law Caitlin Long joins LAB Radio host Chris Groshong, just days after resigning from the Wyoming Blockchain Taskforce. I had asked her specifically to come on the show to comment on concepts the newly formed California Blockchain Taskforce can glean from her pioneering efforts. We waste no time getting into the issues around the Uniform Law Commission's (ULC) Uniform Regulation of Virtual Currencies Businesses Act or URVCBA. Particularly the supplemental portion which strips the property rights of owners. Ms. Long says if we're not careful we may only recognize...
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Ep 78 - The Crypto Curator, Paul McNeal
LAB Radio
The Crypto Curator, Paul McNeal The first person I met at the conference was the always smiling, Crypto Curator, Paul McNeal. I had no idea Paul was the host of a crypto news show, but after talking to him, I knew he had the chops and would make a great guest for LAB Radio. Paul's path into crypto took a circuitous route to say the least. Like many, he was able to leverage a previous skillset to help him land where he is today. Initially Paul heard about Bitcoin from the by . This officially made him the "go-to" Bitcoin guy when the monthly Chamber of Commerce Tech...
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Ep77 -Lourdes Miranda, Crypto Financial Crimes Analyst
LAB Radio
Money Launderers Beware Cryptocurrency Analyst and Financial Crimes Investigator, Lourdes Miranda joins us for episode 77 on LAB Radio. Lourdes’ expertise lies in her years working from a compliance and financial crimes angle. Her knowledge of the Bank Secrecy Act led her to a career in the intelligence community, primarily the CIA. She knows the ins and outs of how money launderers operate. So when she was approached to join, admittedly she didnt know much about cryptocurrencies. That didnt bother the Agency one bit. She told their cyber security teams, if they taught...
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Ep 76 - Hannah Rosenberg - Chicago's Queen of Crypto
LAB Radio
Chicago's Queen of Crypto When I noticed the talented Hannah Rosenberg would be speaking at the conference, you have no idea how happy I became. I had recently visited Chicago at the end of August and I was able to sit down with Hannah and record an episode. Unfortunately, the recording had some technical issues and it was unusable. I wasn't going to let a second opportunity slip by. Hannah got started in crypto back in 2014 and is one of the most involved and passionate people in the industry. She is the Managing Director of the Blockchain Institute, the Lead...
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Ep 75 - Celsius Network - Providing benefit above all else
LAB Radio
Celsius Network is changing the game I was thrilled to interview, not only one of the Celsius Network top brass, but two at the same time. We rarely get a duo as dynamic as CEO, Alex Mashinsky and Head of Global Partnerships, Leah Jonas. I knew this was going to be fun and informative. You don’t have to go deep into a search for the name Alex Mashinsky before you uncover a plethora of amazing feats. Not only does Alex have an eye for the future, but he understands what it takes to get there. A big part of “getting there” is surrounding yourself with amazing people...
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Ep 74 - "Where's my Crypto Insurance?" - InsureYourBit
LAB Radio
Our guest on episode 74 of LAB Radio is InsureYourBit’s founder, Doug Moeller. Doug is passionate about providing crypto related insurance to individuals and entities who regularly use uninsured third party custodians as a regular part of their business. Stay in crypto long enough and you will eventually hear of or be a part of an exchange hack. US based residents who are used to traditional financial services, like banking, are familiar depositors insurance. They receive this as part of the banks agreement with the FDIC. However, the FDIC only insures one kind of deposit, US...
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Derek Sorensen, Pyrofex Research Mathematician
Derek Sorensen is a Pyrofex Research Mathematician, has an MSc in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Oxford and is set to start his PhD this fall at the University of Cambridge, where he will study logic and topology.
"I'm a motivated mathematician who wants to solve new and exciting problems. I thrive in a challenging and changing environment, as a boring routine can seem a bit soul-sucking to me. I have learned programming languages, software programs, organizational structures and spoken languages in the past to solve problems and am willing to learn about anything to address new and changing circumstances I'm placed in. Challenges are exciting to me and I'm always looking for something bigger and better to sink my teeth into." Source
On this episode of LAB Radio, Aaron Mangal asked Derek all kinds of deep math questions like: What are proofs and algorithms? What are they for? What are some non-crypto use cases and of course what are the Crypto uses?
Who is Pyrofex? A Utah-based Blockchain Startup Founded by ex-Googlers
"Pyrofex Corporation is Utah Valley’s first blockchain and cryptocurrency startup. Founded in the Spring of 2016 by ex-Googlers Mike Stay and Nash Foster, Pyrofex works hard to create the next generation of blockchain platforms, applications, and development tools. With its headquarters in the Riverwoods area of Provo, UT, Pyrofex has grown from a pair of co-founders to a team of around two dozen professionals. Our focus is on reliably delivering high-quality work and our reputation bears that out. Pyrofex was founded by mathematicians and computer scientists who wanted to build an engineering first company. One that hires special talent, gives them difficult and interesting work, and the tools and support to succeed."
CDelta is a Blockchain built on their custom-made protocol, Cassanova
CDelta is a proof of stake based Blockchain focused on high speed transactions and throughput for financial transactions. They custom built Cassanova, a leaderless optimistic pre-Nakamoto consensus protocol which is what CDelta runs on.
"Pyrofex introduces Casanova, a leaderless optimistic consensus protocol designed for use in the blockchain contexts. Casanova produces blocks in a directed acyclic graph (DAG) rather than in a chain and combines voting rounds with block production by singling out conflicting transactions.
C∆’s physical network achieves unparalleled performance by mirroring the shape of the Internet itself. Using a tiered network architecture, local validators connect to backbone validators with guaranteed priority bandwidth. Using this architecture, C∆ ensures the fastest block propagation and the lowest transaction confirmation latencies.
C∆ is unique among blockchains. Most blockchains are stuck finding a total ordering of all the world’s transactions. This process is very slow because every block requires an expensive consensus-finding protocol. Using Casanova and a simple UTXO transaction model, the C∆ blockchain eliminates this work and finalizes most transactions immediately. Only when a user attempts to double-spend does C∆ perform expensive and slow consensus finding. As a result of this innovation, C∆ confirms most transactions at wire speed. An attacker can only make his own transactions slower, but cannot materially affect the throughput of the rest of the network." Source
Check out this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmGGJcAdWks
During this episode, you will learn:
- How Derek discovered his interest in Math
- His impressions of Cryptocurrenc from a math perspective
- What proofs are
- What algorithms are and how are they designed
- What consensus mechanisms are and how do they differ from algorithms (Plus Who creates them and how)
- Derek's thoughts on Proof of Work (PoW) algorithms vs Proof of Stake (PoS) and Delegated proof of stake (DPoS)
- His thoughts on Distributed Hash Tables (DHTs) and other Blockchain "alternatives"
- How their "Optimistic Consensus" is different/better than what's already out there
- The algorithm and consensus mechanism behind it
- How their customized Blockchain was built
- How the company plans to tackle adoption with so many other options on the market
For show notes and more visit: https://coinstructive.com/ep63-derek-pyrofex/