Validated

If blockchain is going to scale to billions of users with use cases like payroll and and savings, privacy is a prerequisite for adoption. But if privacy preserving technology is vulnerable to the law - think OFAC's sanction of Tornado Cash - how will adoption at that scale ever be possible? In this episode, Yannik Schrade (Elusiv) describes the possibility of a gray area between public and private...

When Congress passed Section 230 in 1996, it created the legal preconditions for the growth of the modern internet. Today, web3 faces legislative uncertainty in the US, harkening back to the state of the internet before Section 230. In this episode, Chris Grieco (Rain, ex-DOJ) and Lauren Culbertson Grieco (ex-Twitter)  offer a historical primer on Section 230 and consider the law in the context of...

Traditionally, maps have been built by centralized entities like governments and tech companies. But in this episode, Ariel Seidman discusses the potential of Hivemapper, a decentralized mapping protocol, to completely disrupt the space. When it comes to building a global map, Hivemapper claims that decentralized, community-owned infrastructure can produce a higher quality of service with more gra...

In this episode, Austin talks with Kevin Bowers, Chief Science Officer at Jump Trading. Kevin and his team are the brains behind Firedancer, Solana's second independent validator client. As Kevin describes the process of building Firedancer, it's clear that this episode is not only about building a validator client; it's about Kevins unique perspective on the 1% of computer science focused on maki...

In this episode, David Hoffman (Bankless) and Austin have an honest and multi-faceted conversation about the differences between Solana and Ethereum’s decisions, community, and future. David makes the case for an Ethereum-dominant future, and in doing so,  illuminates much about Ethereum's philosophy of design and the culture of its most fervent believers. Naturally, Austin makes a similar case on...

DeFi is defined as, “smart contracts that can execute trustless financial transactions," but beyond that, understanding what’s actually going on under the hood of DeFi protocols and how to use them is still a very narrow area of expertise. Wrapped assets, bridges, automated market makers––these are new tools foreign to the world of traditional finance. In this episode, Cindy Leow offers a primer o...

One of the things holding back crypto from mass adoption is bad UX. According to Ori Kwan (Orca), crypto's history of bad UX  isn’t just because of blockchain’s software constraints. It’s also because of the underrepresentation of designers’ voices. In this episode, Ori helps us understand how she thinks about building web3 products that are desirable, feasible, and viable, all from a designer's p...

In this live taping of Validated from NFT.NYC, Austin has an informal chat with his Solana Foundation colleagues Amira Valliani and Pedro Miranda. They discuss how web3 x web2 partnerships are evolving, the pros and cons of Central Bank Digital Currencies, and the disconnect between crypto Twitter and conversations among crypto regulators.  DISCLAIMER The content herein is provided for educational...

In this episode, Austin, Amira (Head of Policy at the Solana Foundation), and two ex-OFAC lawyers discuss regulation in web3 as it pertains to national security. Naturally, they discuss OFAC's sanction of Tornado Cash and consider other ways in which the government could have handled the situation. While the Tornado Cash sanction may be old news at this point, thoughtful conversations about the in...

Will mobile-first applications be a driving force of mass adoption during the next crypto bull run? With over 5 billion smart phone users around the globe, Chris Osborn, founder and CEO of Dialect, thinks that's a solid bet. In this episode, Chris discusses some of the innovative features that will set web3 messaging platforms like Dialect apart from their Web 2 counterparts. He also shares though...

Self-sovereignty is one of the foundational promises of crypto, but without self-custody, that promise simply falls flat. In this episode, Charles Guillimet (CTO of Ledger) discusses topics like the importance of self-custody and the role of security, in addition to the the evolution of Ledger's product offerings as the crypto industry has changed over the last decade.    DISCLAIMER The content he...

When Meta Angels launched in 2021, it branded itself as an NFT community using web3 to "harness real world opportunities." In late 2022, Meta Angels was acquired by Hug, an NFT curation platform, and their respective communities merged. In this episode, Meta Angels co-founder Alex Cavoulacos discusses how a values-driven NFT project can be sustainable and what it's like for an NFT community to und...

During the last bull run, legacy fashion brands raced to incorporate web3 into their strategy. Now, with consumer demand for web3 in hibernation, where does that leave marketers in the traditional fashion space who are still bullish on web3?  In this episode, Lisa Pillette (CMO of Fossil Group) discusses Fossil's venture into NFTs and how the company's attitude toward web3 has changed in the last...

To skeptics, blockchain-based AI may sound like a solution in search of a problem. But to Humayun Sheikh, founder and CEO of Fetch, decentralized AI has the power to revolutionize how we transact on the Internet by creating truly peer-to-peer information systems. That sounds straightforward enough, but consumer-facing AI is still in its infancy, and the industry faces many hard questions in the ye...

Crypto venture investing has plummeted from all time highs, but maybe perceiving this as a "crypto" problem is the wrong way of looking at it. Through the lens of seasoned investors, Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal (Acquired) help us make sense of the present moment of crypto venture and the future conditions under which investing in crypto will become attractive again.  DISCLAIMER The content her...

Running a blockchain network requires sophisticated hardware and software working together. The term "blockchain infrastructure" refers to any component of this system that actually facilitates the existence of a blockchain. In this episode, we talk with Aaron Henshaw, co-founder of Bison Trails, a pioneering blockchain infrastructure platform that was later acquired by Coinbase. Aaron shares his...

In 2019, Li Jin was a tech VC and evangelist for specialized Web 2 platforms and marketplaces. Now, she's all in on web3. From Li's point of view, many of the "passion economy" businesses that were hard to scale in Web 2 are actually more viable in web3. Her current thesis is that ownership - not just revenue - is the next big opportunity in tech, and the best way to facilitate that is on web3. DI...

Zero-knowledge proofs are one of the most compelling and counterintuitive technologies in crypto today. How can you prove something with zero knowledge of the thing you're proving? This episode examines the current and future use cases of zero-knowledge systems while having an honest dialogue about both their challenges and promise.  DISCLAIMER The information on this podcast is provided for educa...

Black Dave is a multi-disciplinary artist best known for his music NFTs. Unlike many artists who migrate to web3 from Web 2, web3 is where Black Dave got his start. Dave's web3 origin story is not only unique, but also a crucial part of his success. Dave shares his thoughts on digital culture, community building, the intersection of web3 with the mainstream music industry, and more. DISCLAIMER The...

A century ago, infrastructure was synonymous with big things, like bridges, roads, and electrification projects financed by nation states or the world’s largest corporations. But today, the nature of infrastructure is changing. Thanks in large part to the introduction of tokens, infrastructure can now be decentralized, deployed by individuals to solve real-world problems. This is exactly what Dece...

Permanent information storage is not just a means of preserving data, but a way to resist the grip of authoritarian regimes. According to Sam Williams, co-founder of Arweave, immutable storage systems are a revolutionary movement that will make a more objective truth accessible forever.  DISCLAIMER The information on this podcast is provided for educational, informational, and entertainment purpos...

Being a crypto journalist - a good crypto journalist - is hard work. When it comes to reporting, no other sector requires the same level of technical proficiency, an understanding of financial markets, and a primer in digital anthropology. In this conversation, Austin and Danny navigate a lot of complicated topics including conflicts of interest within crypto native media, reporting in an industry...

Ryan Selkis, founder of Messari, has been a crypto investor, writer, and advocate since 2013. As someone who has witnessed multiple market cycles firsthand, Ryan is as optimistic as ever about the future of blockchain. Throughout this episode, Austin and Ryan find paradoxical silver linings in the tumult of 2022. Looking forward, they discuss how DC's views of crypto are changing, exciting new sec...

Introducing Validated, a new podcast where host Austin Federa talks to people who are rethinking the internet — and our world. No hype cycles. No financial advice. Just conversations on the biggest ideas shaping the future of the internet. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

0:00 - Intro 1:19 - Web3 School in Sierra Leone 10:53 - An Artist and Monke Go to Washington 25:25 - How Compression Will Decimate Network Costs on Solana  DISCLAIMER The information on this podcast is provided for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only, without any express or implied warranty of any kind, including warranties of accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any part...