Decentralized Finance (Defi) has been the most popular use case in the cryptocurrency space that has taken the industry by storm recently. Being the single biggest driver of growth in the crypto market this year, Defi shows great promise to move cryptocurrencies closer to mass adoption. In this Part 1 of our 3-part series on Defi Primer, we start off covering the most basic concepts of conventional finance, in comparison with decentralized finance and introduce some of the most fundamental concepts and terminologies used in the Cryptocurrency and Defi industry.

To take a deep dive into detailed concepts such as flash loans, liquidity pools, Automated Market Makers(AMMs), atomic swaps, yield farming, etc., stay tuned for Part 2 and Part 3!

Blockchain technology for long has been seen as a game changer for the application of electoral voting. In this episode, we look at how voting has evolved over the past 200 yrs, how blockchain technology can be used to make the current voting mechanisms better and some of the main shortcomings that continue to exist. We look at some of the popular blockchain solutions proposed for voting. Also, we discuss some of the pilot projects around the world that have experimented with blockchain voting in recent years.

Stablecoins have been a hot topic in the cryptocurrency space in recent years, as they peg to real world assets to overcome the problem of price volatility. To explore how stablecoins can offer real world crypto payment solutions and move the industry closer to mass adoption, we are joined by Philippe Bekhazi – CEO, Stablehouse & XBTO International. XBTO is a world leading crypto finance firm, offering OTC trading, asset management services, VC investing and crypto mining solutions to institutions worldwide. Stablehouse is a global clearinghouse for stablecoins, offering a real-time cross blockchain payment solution.

Guest – Philippe Bekhazi – CEO, Stablehouse & XBTO International
Website – https://www.stablehouse.io/

Central Bank Digital Currencies in the past few years have been seen as a means by Govt.s to counter the rise of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and at the same time solve some of the existing problems of Govt. issued fiat money. CBDCs today are being designed by various central banks in different parts of the world to reduce the cost of cross-border remittances, increase financial inclusion, reduce dependence on cash and even make programmable money using smart contracts. In this episode we look at what CBDCs are, what problems they solve and what are the key things to keep in mind when designing them. Also , from a technology perspective, we take a look at how blockchain technology fits into designing CBDCs.

Advertising industry has been plagued with several problems in recent years, leading to several billions of dollars being lost annually. With the potential to provide solutions to several problems that the industry is facing – from reducing ad fraud, improving transparency, to building more consumer centric and less intrusive advertising models, blockchain is facilitating the creation of a new advertising ecosystem that can change the rules of online advertising forever. In this episode, we discuss the various challenges that the advertising industry faces and how various blockchain and cryptocurrency projects are looking to find innovative solutions to them.

Blockchain technology is being utilized in the art industry today for various applications such as proving the ownership of a piece of art by recording it on the blockchain, to creating markeplaces where collectors and artists can be connected together to buy and sell art. In this episode we discuss various projects that are looking to solve different kinds of problems that have plagued artists ,art foundations, museums and art collectors for decades. Some of the projects discussed are – Verisart, BLKART, Maecenas, Scarab experiment, DADA Art.

The COVID-19 outbreak has broken existing supply chains for goods and services, inundated healthcare systems and deeply impacted economies around the globe. In this episode, we take a look at where blockchain technology stands in the midst of the COVID crisis. Can Bitcoin act as a safe haven asset in an economic meltdown? Are Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) likely to see a faster rollout to replace cash? Also, we look at how the medical supply chains have gotten disrupted by COVID-19 and if blockchains can help improve the existing systems. We explore some of the blockchain projects from around the world such as WHO’s MiPasa solution with IBM to develop a COVID Information Highway, projects for better tracking of COVID related medical supplies, managing charities and donations in China, to using a blockchain based identity solution to fight COVID in UAE.

In this Part 2 of our two part series on Blockchain basics, we cover the most fundamental technology terms of blockchain technology. We discuss what are blocks, signatures, mining and other popular concepts such as Zero knowledge proofs, Quantum resistance etc.

In this Part 1 of our two part series of Blockchain basics, we focus on the business aspects of the blockchain industry and explain some of the most fundamental terms and keywords that are used in this space – such as ICOs, Stablecoins, Exchanges, OTC markets, etc.

In this episode we explore a particularly interesting effort to scale blockchains at Layer 0 i.e. the network layer, with Dr. Uri Klarman, Co-founder & CEO, Bloxroute Labs. The network layer is the underlying set of technologies upon which the world wide web runs. Bloxroute Labs is a company trying to solve the scalability problem at the network layer by building a Blockchain Distribution Network or BDN. We took a deep dive into Bloxroute’s solution, discussing how their Blockchain Distribution Network works, how it allows scaling of blockchains at the network layer and how the company plans to monetize it.

Guest: Dr. Uri Klarman, Co-founder & CEO, Bloxroute Labs
Website: https://bloxroute.com/