The Blockchain New Zealand Podcast

E29 - Brandon Bucher on Samourai, Privacy, & Lightning

Brandon Bucher is an engineer and the co-founder of LightningPay.nz. Brandon and I talk about the recent indictments against the Samourai founders whose wallet was operating a bitcoin mixing service. They are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business which echo with the privacy battles in the 90s over encryption. We get into lightning network adoption, privacy, and the future outlook of your UTXO. Timestamps: 00:00 Samourai indictment 08:22 moving the goal posts 16:26 privacy as choice 21:37 privacy long game 26:11 cypherpunks and the battle   32:26 lightning network  38:04 public info on lightning 41:09 adoption in lighting 49:12 UTXO scarcity 54:25 LightningPay.nz 1:02:25 rapid fire 1:05:24 fin Some notes from the show: * Samourai indictment [https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/founders-and-ceo-cryptocurrency-mixing-service-arrested-and-charged-money-laundering]  * coin-join/whirlpool [https://medium.com/samourai-wallet/introducing-whirlpool-surge-cycles-b5b484a1670f]  * Bitcoin fog [https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/03/12/bitcoin-fog-founder-convicted-of-money-laundering/]  * Tornado Cash founder sentenced to prison [https://www.wired.com/story/tornado-cash-money-laundering-case-crypto-privacy/]   * Coin Centre post by Peter Van Valkenburgh [https://www.coincenter.org/dojs-new-stance-on-crypto-wallets-is-a-threat-to-liberty-and-the-rule-of-law/]  * unannounced lightning channels [https://voltage.cloud/blog/lightning-network-faq/what-are-the-differences-between-public-and-private-channels/]  * Lighting charts [https://mempool.space/lightning]  * River Reports [https://blog.river.com/tag/river-research/]  * eCash [https://thebitcoinmanual.com/security/wallets/ecash/]  * Lightning Pay [https://lightningpay.nz/]  Contact Brandon: * X [https://x.com/BTCNautilus] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-bucher-a4b4b856/] Find Jeff: * X [https://twitter.com/Japple] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffnijsse/]  The BCNZ Pod: * Website https://podcast.blockchain.org.nz/ [https://bcnz.podbean.com/] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/BlockchainNZ]  * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-blockchain-new-zealand-podcast/id1623533537] * Google Podcasts [https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2JjbnovZmVlZC54bWw] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1BxGsdCsTp7EwERKF5Bm3x]  * iHeartRadio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/338-the-blockchain-new-zealand-96685118/]  Media & Sponsorship Enquires: * team@blockchain.org.nz  [team@blockchain.org.nz] Recorded at blockheight 842607. The BCNZ podcast was founded in 2022 by Jeff Nijsse and Bryan Ventura.

E28 - Ian Woolford on Digital Cash in New Zealand

Ian Woolford has made a career working at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and presently he's the director of money and cash which is overseeing the CBDC or Digital Cash program. The RBNZ is partway through a series of consultations to get public feedback and opinion on a Reserve Bank issued digital currency.  In this conversation Ian makes it very clear that the Reserve Bank wants cash to remain as close to regular cash as possible meaning that anonymity is preserved, and activity is not tracked. Ian also highlights that innovation in banking by banks has been woeful and they hope to encourage non-bank players to innovate here to provide more options for Kiwis. Timestamps: 00:00 intro 03:05 rural access to cash & services 08:24 balancing physical and digital cash 10:56 is this a CBDC? 12:21 blockchain? 15:14 benefits of digital cash 19:36 innovation in cash  24:54 privacy 28:40 banking access for startups 30:22 rapidfire 33:02 fin Some notes from the show: * rural cash trial program [https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2024/05/rural-towns-invited-to-apply-for-cash-service-trials--as-challenges-for-cash-users-grow]  * cyclone Gabrielle cash shortage [https://newsroom.co.nz/2023/05/09/disaster-response-shows-cash-still-king/]  * ESAS settlement [https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/payments-and-settlement-systems/exchange-settlements-account-system]  * Northern Rock's trouble [https://www.bbc.com/news/business-41229513]  * Nigeria's CBDC failure [https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2023/10/22/why-did-cbdc-fail-in-nigeria-valuable-lessons-for-developing-countries/]  * Sweden's e-krona [https://cbdctracker.org/currency/sweden-e-krona]  * Ecuador's Dinero Electronico [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666143821000107]   * RBNZ privacy support paper [https://consultations.rbnz.govt.nz/money-and-cash/digital-cash-in-new-zealand/user_uploads/designing-privacy-into-digital-cash.pdf]  * RBNZ Digital Cash Feedback [https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/money-and-cash/digital-cash]  Contact Ian: * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-woolford-21a6531a/] * RBNZ [https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/about-us/our-people/our-leadership-team#Ian_Woolford] Find Jeff: * X/Twitter [https://twitter.com/Japple] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffnijsse/]  The BCNZ Pod: * Website https://podcast.blockchain.org.nz/ [https://bcnz.podbean.com/] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/BlockchainNZ]  * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-blockchain-new-zealand-podcast/id1623533537] * Google Podcasts [https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2JjbnovZmVlZC54bWw] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1BxGsdCsTp7EwERKF5Bm3x]  * iHeartRadio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/338-the-blockchain-new-zealand-96685118/]  Media & Sponsorship Enquires: * team@blockchain.org.nz  [team@blockchain.org.nz] Recorded at blockheight 842510. The BCNZ podcast was founded in 2022 by Jeff Nijsse and Bryan Ventura.

E27 - Brooke Howard-Smith on AI & Web3 in the Creator Economy

Brooke Howard-Smith is the founder of Otterfish that is at the heart of the creator economy and influencer marketing. He's also a cofounder of Non-Fungible Labs which is now a part of Futureverse. Brooke and I broadly cover what's happening with AI and how its affecting everything digital and where Web3 fits in. We jump right in Brooke is talking about everyone leveraging what they love, being commercial and non commercial at the same time in the creator economy. Timestamps: 00:00 intro  00:56 monetizing & creator economy 05:15 web3 12:26 spotify, superapps, & AI 18:15 instagram & influence marketing 23:08 client AI tools in the creator economy  28:40 personal AI use  38:46 non fungible labs 41:55 fluf launch & futureverse 46:22 gemini's mis-launch 51:58 rapidfire 1:02:31 fin Some notes from the show: * Gino the Ghost on music https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb2NG6NWyhjisymBWg8aSXQ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb2NG6NWyhjisymBWg8aSXQ]  * Kurzweil's singularity https://www.singularity.com/ [https://www.singularity.com/]  * Otterfish https://otterfish.com/ [https://otterfish.com/]  * Brian Armstrong AI use https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1779946210226577913 [https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1779946210226577913]  * Futureverse https://www.futureverse.com/ [https://www.futureverse.com/]  * unstoppable art machine https://www.instagram.com/unstoppableartmachine/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/unstoppableartmachine/?hl=en]  * fluf launch https://nfts.wtf/what-the-fluf-3d-bunnies-break-the-blockchain/ [https://nfts.wtf/what-the-fluf-3d-bunnies-break-the-blockchain/]  * Gemini's mis-launch https://www.wired.com/story/google-gemini-woke-ai-image-generation/ [https://www.wired.com/story/google-gemini-woke-ai-image-generation/]  * Asian shopping https://youtu.be/p3RhRB3YJks?si=M-y5cZab34sQ3Q5G [https://youtu.be/p3RhRB3YJks?si=M-y5cZab34sQ3Q5G]  * Ready Player One announcement https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/ready-player-one-metaverse- [https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/ready-player-one-metaverse-warner-bros-discovery-1235862190/]warner-bros-discovery-1235862190/ [https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/ready-player-one-metaverse-warner-bros-discovery-1235862190/]  * Golden https://heresgolden.com/ [https://heresgolden.com/]  Contact Brooke: * X/Twitter [https://x.com/Brooke_hs] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookehowardsmith/] Find Jeff: * X/Twitter [https://twitter.com/Japple] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffnijsse/]  The BCNZ Pod: * Website https://podcast.blockchain.org.nz/ [https://bcnz.podbean.com/] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/BlockchainNZ]  * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-blockchain-new-zealand-podcast/id1623533537] * Google Podcasts [https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2JjbnovZmVlZC54bWw] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1BxGsdCsTp7EwERKF5Bm3x]  * iHeartRadio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/338-the-blockchain-new-zealand-96685118/]  Media & Sponsorship Enquires: * team@blockchain.org.nz  [team@blockchain.org.nz] Recorded at blockheight 839555. The BCNZ podcast was founded in 2022 by Jeff Nijsse and Bryan Ventura.

E26 - Leo Clark on Filmmaking, Nouns, & Decentralised Social Media

Leo Clark is a documentary filmmaker that is presently working with the Nouns DAO community. His latest film, NON-FUNGIBLE AOTEAROA, is debuting at the American Documentary and Animation Film Festival in Palm Springs with the tagline: See how NFTs and Nouns DAO are transforming people’s lives in New Zealand. In this conversation Leo and I talk about the Nouns project and what the community is doing with NFTs and funding artists, we get into Farcaster and decentralised social media and touch on CC-zero (CC0) licensing and how it aligns with web3. Timestamps: 00:00 intro & doco 12:13 NFT art 14:46 Nouns 20:58 community funding 26:06 Farcaster 31:46 Warpcast 35:50 incentives 39:59 mint everything 42:41 nouns cafe 46:42 CC0 no copyright 50:43 rapid-fire 52:13 fin Some notes from the show: * The Doco [https://nonfungibleaotearoa.xyz/]  * The Festival [https://amdocfilmfest.com/2024-films-m-r] * Nouns [https://nouns.wtf/]  * Prophouse [https://prop.house/]  * Nouns names a new species of frog [https://www.rainforesttrust.org/our-impact/rainforest-news/new-species-of-glass-frog-discovered-in-ecuador-named-nouns-dao/]  * Farcaster [https://www.farcaster.xyz/]  * Warpcast [https://warpcast.com/]  * Frames [https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2024/02/07/farcasters-dan-romero-explains-how-frames-did-what-x-twitter-doesnt/]  * CC0 No Copyright [https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/] Contact Leo: * X/Twitter [https://twitter.com/leoclark] * Warpcast [https://warpcast.com/leoclark.eth] Find Jeff: * X/Twitter [https://twitter.com/Japple] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffnijsse/]  The BCNZ Pod: * Website https://podcast.blockchain.org.nz/ [https://bcnz.podbean.com/] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/BlockchainNZ]  * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-blockchain-new-zealand-podcast/id1623533537] * Google Podcasts [https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2JjbnovZmVlZC54bWw] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1BxGsdCsTp7EwERKF5Bm3x]  * iHeartRadio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/338-the-blockchain-new-zealand-96685118/]  Media & Sponsorship Enquires: * team@blockchain.org.nz  [team@blockchain.org.nz] Recorded at blockheight 834418. The BCNZ podcast was founded in 2022 by Jeff Nijsse and Bryan Ventura.

E25 - Sam Kamani on Talent, Capital, and Markets in Web3

Sam Kamani has lots of experience in tech, from being a founder to a VC, an advisor, and an author. We talk about 3 important aspects to entrepreneurship: talent, ability to raise capital, and access to market. In the back third we get into trends in Web 3 including decentralised physical infrastructure (DePIn) and ETFs. Timestamps: 00:00 intro 01:12 realestate/density/Dubai  05:22 web3 in Dubai 09:29 capital & market access 15:57 New Zealand's rating 17:18 Sam's background 22:47 Kiwi access to capital 27:28 no-code tools 31:52 the 30 day startup  37:22 post covid  37:40 trends in web3 - stablecoins 46:52 DePIn 50:13 ETFs 56:45 rapid fire 1:00:20 fin Some notes from the show: * Norway's Oil Fund [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Pension_Fund_of_Norway]  * autowhale [https://autowhale.net/]  * Cookbook.dev [https://www.cookbook.dev/]  * Remix IDE [https://remix.ethereum.org/]  * The 30 Day Startup [https://www.amazon.com/30-Day-Startup-Create-Successful/dp/0473471949]  * PayPal stablecoin [https://www.reuters.com/technology/paypal-launches-stablecoin-crypto-push-2023-08-07/]  * Chris Rothfuss in Wyoming [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/09/14/wyoming-wants-to-become-americas-crypto-capital]  Contact Sam: * X/Twitter [https://twitter.com/samkamani] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/samkamani/] Find Jeff: * X/Twitter [https://twitter.com/Japple] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffnijsse/]  The BCNZ Pod: * Website https://podcast.blockchain.org.nz/ [https://bcnz.podbean.com/] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/BlockchainNZ]  * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-blockchain-new-zealand-podcast/id1623533537] * Google Podcasts [https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2JjbnovZmVlZC54bWw] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1BxGsdCsTp7EwERKF5Bm3x]  * iHeartRadio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/338-the-blockchain-new-zealand-96685118/]  Media & Sponsorship Enquires: * team@blockchain.org.nz  [team@blockchain.org.nz] Recorded at blockheight 832462. The BCNZ podcast was founded in 2022 by Jeff Nijsse and Bryan Ventura.