Lab Radio

Ashe Oro, Liberty Entrepreneur and founder of Liberty VAs What is Liberty, Blockchains and Anarchy 3.0? Well, you're going to find out in this episode!  Ashe Oro has been around the Blockchain space for many years and has even hosted a podcast called Liberty Entrepreneurs, helping his audience learn the virtues of freedom, entrepreneurship and sovereign money. He began as a Computer Engineering student and eventually morphed into the Head of Business Development for Euro Pacific Bank.  In 2013, Ashe discovered how Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain tech can protect personal freedom due to its decentralized nature and ability to facilitate a free market of non-fiat digital currencies. In the Blockchain community, Ashe is: Building SteemSmarter, an analytics and reporting platform for the Steem blockchain. Advising Chintai, a decentralised leasing platform on EOS blockchain. Advising SelfKey.org, a decentralised identification network on Ethereum blockchain. "I help people build freedom. Everything else is de

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 th

Fazri Zubair, CTO and Cofounder at Lucid Sight On episode 62 of LAB Radio, your host, Chris Groshong chats with Fazri Zubair, a Los Angeles native, about his journey into the blockchain and cryptocurrency space through gaming at Lucid Sight. Lucid Sight is a gaming development studio, formed in 2015, located Santa Monica and has been building video games with frontier technologies like VR, AR and blockchain. Fazri and the two other cofounders had worked together in the past, had great chemistry and knew they all had to work together. The entrance into blockchain for Fazri was through a friend of cofounder, Randy Saaf, who introduced them to Ethereum. The use cases for smart contracts and provable digital scarcity was too tempting for them to ignore back in 2015. Some of the main issues they run into are UX/UI. The crossover from traditional gaming with in-game assets managed by a company producing the game to in-game assets controlled by the end user has a completely different feel. The end user has many bar

Alena Vranova, Strategy at Casa, Inc. Welcome to the second episode of OG Crypto Series on LAB Radio, with the very talented, Alena Vranova, currently heading up Strategy at Casa Inc. There is no doubt that she is an OG in the world of Crypto and Blockchain. For those of you that don't know her past, she was pivotal to the formation of Satoshi Labs, TREZOR hardware wallet and Slush Pool to name a few. Alena and I first met in August 2015 after the Keynote 2015 event in Los Angeles at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. We had some mutual friends in the space already and we instantly connected. I vividly recall how much positivity and good energy she gave off.  After a business success, Alena likes to take some time to scan the field and find out what is calling to her next. And after leaving Satoshi Labs, she eventually landed at Casa, Inc. In this episode you will hear about why she chose Casa and how Casa's solutions are powering a safer and more user friendly environment for Bitcoin users. Other things you wil

Anthony Paglino, Community Manager at Starfish Network SF Welcome to LAB Radio episode 61. Chris recently spent some time in San Francisco and had the great fortune to run into Anthony Paglino at Starfish Network's coworking space. Starfish Network is an agnostic blockchain community focused on building web 3.0 and providing a space for the community to leverage for events and meetings. Starfish Network was started by Alicia Ferratusco when the SF community was feeling pangs over lack of community space. Anthony came to Starfish from Tampa because he believes in the necessity to build tools for the future and San Francisco is the place where it can be accomplished. Anthony has an interesting past, which includes living in China after he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economics in 2008. Instead of looking at the recession as a bad thing, he took the opportunity to focus on learning how the world's most populous economy ran. Anthony is optimistic and realizes timing as well as location are important com

Daniel Popa, CEO of Anchor Welcome to episode 60 of LAB Radio. We had a chat with Daniel Popa, CEO of Anchor. Anchor is a "stable currency designed to preserve and enhance the value of your holdings. Anchor is pegged to the value of the global economy, protected by a safety net comprised of six pillars." Daniel elaborates on his LinkedIn: "Anchor is addressing one of the biggest issues in the global economy – how to preserve monetary value over time, stabilize the value of any given currency, lower its volatility and prevent devaluation. Anchor aims to solve the problem of transparency, liquidity, guarantee and trust on a global scale and thus tackle these burning issues directly, with the introduction of stability, facilitated by a decentralized true stable token and backed by the purchase of sovereign debt as the backing for the two-token system. Additionally, Anchor goes a step further than other cryptos, and proposes a solution for the systemic issue of instability in the financial markets in general. W

Welcome to episode 59 with Hailey Lennon, the Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs for bitFlyer US. If you're not familiar with bitFlyer, don't worry, it's only the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in Japan.  They have been in business since 2014 and are expanding throughout the US and European markets. Hailey and I finally get to sit down and talk about what her new role at bitFlyer entails. When Hailey and I first met in 2015/2016 she was working with Silvergate Bank to help launch their banking platform for legitimate cryptocurrency companies. We get to find out how she ended up at bitFlyer after starting out with one of the biggest and most crypto friendly bank in the US. We also talk about the path that led her to where she is today. Hailey and I both agree, more collaboration around compliance, regulation and oversight, even with competitors, is needed to advance the crypto and blockchain industry. There needs to be more open discussions and working groups stepping up to provide guidance to Regulatory Ag

Vault Logic is a all-in-one kiosk containing a traditional ATM and multi Cryptocurrency BTM, while also featuring Cash as a Service (CaaS). Some of the features include: This is not just a "ATM" only dispensing Cryptocurrency (of which it offers many beyond Bitcoin). It can handle buying cell phone minutes and will eventually allow users to pay bills through the kiosk. There is also a feature where the machine will pay users a premium by offering higher than spot market prices to help clear the machine of cash. There are also display ads on the machine which has a revenue share built in with the venue hosting the machines. Here are the technical specifications of the machine: We covered topics including how to pick a company to work with in the Blockchain space, what's the scene like and of course all about the Vault Logic Kiosk itself. We also covered some bio-hacking and practices Cassi engages in to stay balanced in her busy work world.

The Reserve Protocol This story about a stablecoin project called the Reserve Protocol is far different from most stablecoin projects you've heard of. Reserve's approach is to solve one of humanity's greatest challenges by creating an ethical and stable currency without government control. Combatting corruption of governments or central banks while protecting against hyperinflation are just a few of the driving forces behind this project. I really enjoyed speaking with Nevin Freeman, Cofounder and CEO of the Reserve Protocol. Specifically, what really drew me to this project were the positive things that I noticed about the brand. I don't remember the last time I saw a blockchain or crypto company with a whole webpage dedicate to ethics. Nevin and I get to connect over the inspiration and motivation to take on a project of this magnitude. We take a bit of a deep dive into his background growing up and his desire to solve problems for humans across the globe.  Reserve Ethics Today there is a severe lack of t

I had the pleasure of meeting Geovane and his colleague in a obscure little corner of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the Eureka Park section. I was excited to find a really cool little yet powerful computer that is an alternative to Raspberry Pi (as well as befriend two awesomely Brazilian technologists). This unit is proudly made in Brazil and rivals their English counter part (the Pi). On this episode of LAB Radio we caught up with Geovane Fedrecheski a computer science engineer, Ph.D candidate and team member of a Raspberry Pi alternative called Labrador.  Geovane Fedrecheski "In my career, I have helped LG Electronics to deliver great mobile phones for all Latin America and collaborated in the creation of a free MOOC that teaches IoT for non-technical people. I have taught programming for both children and adults, co-founded and dropped out of a startup, and did theater classes for two years to enhance my communication skills. I currently do Research and Software Engineering at University of São

I recently ran into Tatiana Moroz, of Crypto Media Hub while we were in Las Vegas together for the Unconfiscatable conference. Tatiana is one of the coolest people in the Bitcoin ecosystem. She throws great dinner parties with awesome guests. If she's not the one throwing the party, she always knows where the best one is. Oh, did I mention she can sing and play guitar. On top of all this, she's a great person and a pleasure to speak with too. On this occasion, we got to chat about maximalism and why she decided to attend the Unconfiscatable conference. She stresses the importance of knowing and "hodling" your friends close during crypto winter. We dive into the intersection her career in music and blockchain technology. Tatiana tells her thoughts about the current state of cryptocurrency adoption. Shout out to Marshall Hayner from Metalpay. Tatiana tells us what she's been up to and what she's got cooking for 2019. About Tatiana Moroz Tatiana Moroz is the founder and CEO of Crypto Media Hub, a PR, advertisin

Of all the people to run into during the Unconfiscatable conference in Las Vegas, it was awesome to see Scott Bambacigno. Alphapoint Scott, as he's known, is one of the first people I remember being involved in a crypto company as early as 2014. Not only is he a rockstar amongst his peers, he is a founding member of Alphapoint. Alphapoint is one of those companies that you probably don't know exists. It's a software company with one of its main focuses on helping its clients build crypto exchanges. Scott and I grabbed a quiet corner and some loungey black leather chairs, then settled in to catch up. I asked him why he chose to attend Tone Vays' Unconfiscatable conference and whether or not he is a maximalist. Scott dives into how he got started with Bitcoin and his career in Silicon Valley. He talks about what the industry was like in 2013. We get into topics like, "What is a Blockchain?" and how some archaic systems are poised for collapse. He shares his bright outlook on how the industry may mature and grow

Ep 53 - Unconfiscatable with Gabe Higgins - BlockSpaces Here we are at the Unconfiscatable conference in Las Vegas. I've been pleasantly surprised with the venue, quality of content and the the number of familiar faces. One of those faces belonged to Gabe Higgins. Gabe and I have been crossing paths since 2013 on twitter and 2015 at events and through the Edge Slack channel as Ambassadors. Gabe is such a great guy. He has the type of values and big picture vision that make him someone you want to work and hangout with. Gabe also runs an incubator/coworking/events space called BlockSpaces, which offers a collaborative environment for the crypto and blockchain communities and also hosts educational events. Gabe and I set up shop in the media lounge and started to chatting. Gabe talks with us about how he got started in Bitcoin back in 2013. We cover why he came to the conference and the difficulties of having to pivot your business' focus. I ask Gabe what it's like to be in a relationship with your cofounder. W

On this episode of LAB Radio we talked global remittances, markets, market making and how to use the Blockchain to help the cash-in and cash-out businesses. We brought on George Harrap, CEO and co-founder of Bitspark, a bank-less money transfer ecosystem. Bitspark enables businesses and people to cash in and cash out of cryptocurrencies and fiat across developing nations (and is enabling liquidity for 150+ foreign currencies) George Harrap, CEO and co-founder of Bitspark "A Cryptocurrency and Blockchain pioneer, one of the early users of Bitcoin since 2011, I co-founded Bitspark (Hong Kong) in 2014 with the mission of bringing low cost fast cryptocurrency based settlement to cross border transactions. Often an international speaker around the world, I am focused on empowering individuals and businesses with blockchain based payments to further financial inclusion and bring greater cost efficiencies leading to better world without the need for the legacy banking system." Here's a timeline of their company a

On this inaugural OG Crypto Series episode, I, Chris Groshong sit down with Managing Partner at Stillmark Capital, Alyse Killeen to discuss what it takes to have longevity in the Crypto and Blockchain industry. This is a new series we're launching called The "Crypto OG Series" where I tap into my rolodex of VIPs, movers and shakers from the Blockchain space that have been around the industry and share their knowledge, perspective and philosophies. In this one, we talk about Venture Capital in Crypto and Alyse’s philosophical approach to investing through Stillmark Capital. Are there any differences between LA and Silicon Valley approaches to investing? And what does she look for in founders and does emotional intelligence play a factor? Hear a story about the history of entrepreneurship in her family dating back several generations. Alyse and I first met at an afterparty in June of 2014 as part of a conference (no longer in existence) called Coin Congress. She said some very motivating words to me that helped

This episode of LAB Radio was a part of our coverage of CryptoBlockcon where Chris Groshong interviewed Erin Nakamoto. As described on Erin's website, here's a brief bio: "My story is a relatively short one. I was working in DTLV in the group sales department of the D Las Vegas in 2014 when they announced to the staff that they were now accepting bitcoin for payment. They had us open a Blockchain wallet, told us not to lose our passwords (private keys) and gave us all a small amount. That same day, I had a gentlemen call me and ask if he could host a bitcoin meetup at our hotel. We met, and the rest is history! …WELL, fast forward a couple of years, I absolutely lost my private keys, but that same gentlemen that called…not only did we plan an awesome meetup together, but we fell madly in love and are still together today. So, all in all, I lost $75 bucks but I found the love of my life so it worked out pretty well for me. My life has changed drastically. I have since taken over the Las Vegas Bitcoin Meetup

This episode of LAB Radio was a part of our coverage of CryptoBlockcon where Chris Groshong interviewed Adam Koltun, Lead Business Strategist of Quantum Resistant Ledger (QRL). Chris Groshong (left), CEO of CoinStructive Inc, and Adam Koltun (right), Lead Business Strategist of Quantum Resistant Ledger (QRL) As Adam so eloquently put it in their recap blog post, the conference itself was a cornucopia of very different industries squished together in an expansive venue: "The event was held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. In addition to CBC, the MLB Winter Meetings, and a National Finals Rodeo competition was being held nearby, so many of the competitors were staying at Mandalay Bay. Certainly, literal cowboys, baseball executives and blockchain enthusiasts rubbing shoulders made for some interesting juxtapositions. As much as those of us within the industry can sometimes get weary of terms like “adoption” or “mainstream” or “awareness” — moments like these serve as an eloquent reminder, to me, that bl

On this LAB Radio, episode Aaron Mangal and Chris Groshong talk security, the Internet and origin story of how MetaCert helps protect users from malicious links with CEO and founder, Paul Walsh. Paul Walsh, CEO and founder of MetaCert and co-founder of W3C Mobile Web Initiative Paul is an early web pioneer in security and safety for users having helped create projects like the W3C Mobile Web Initiative who's mission includes "ensuring that the Web be available on as many kind of devices as possible". He also helped create standards and classifications for Uniform Resource Locations (URLs) as a part of his work at the W3C organization. "I'm CEO of MetaCert. In 2017 we completely eradicated phishing on Slack for the crypto world. In 2018 we pretty much brought a stop to phishing for the crypto world on Telegram. 2019 is going to be our most important year - our mission is to eradicate phishing for everyone who uses our new email security solution for native mobile email. Previously... I was part of the team t

On this LAB Radio, episode Aaron Mangal talks technology, Blockchain and BUIDLing with Barbara Bickham, founder of Trailyn Ventures and the International Blockchain Accelerator. Barbara Bickham is a CTO, Investor and Entrepreneur and founder of the International Blockchain Accelerator Barbara is a Berkley, University of Chicago Alumni, coder, CTO and Technology Advisor with extensive experience across industries like: FinTech, Fashion, Wearables, Wireless, Security, Media and Entertainment, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain. Her current areas of expertise are in Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, and Internet of Things (IoT). She even won an award from Gartner for her work writing a REST API for an IoT platform. "I bridge the gap between professionals that speak in technology terms with professionals that speak primarily in financial terms. I represent a company to investors, key clients and strategic partners. I also have over 4 years experience preparing and evaluating companies

On this LAB Radio, episode Chris Groshong talks shop with Jeff Zhou, founder of TrustNote, a mineable public DAG ledger with a two-tier consensus mechanism. (Cryptographic Algorithms: BLAKE2, BIP32-Ed25519) The architecture is designed for high concurrent transactions and confirmation times.  Jeff Zhou, Founder of TrustNote  Jeff's background began with chip making and eventually led him to realizing the lack of scalability with Bitcoin: "A few years back Jeff Zhou started working on blockchain and at that time he developed BTC+LTC dual mining chips and hardware, the technology was sold to a world-wide market.Jeff then tried to develop an IoT software platform based on blockchain technology, and after several months of trial and development, he encountered serious issues with scalability and the transaction fees were very high. Issues like these prevent mass adoption of the blockchain technology and ultimately drove the foundation of the TrustNote open source project and its development of a fast, scalable