Validated

Multisigs, short for "multiple signatures," are wallets that require multiple private keys to authorize transactions. In the wake of 2022's many collapses, multisigs have increasingly become the default security paradigm in both the Solana ecosystem and the crypto space more broadly. In this episode, Stepan Smikin (Squads) discusses the many use cases for multisigs and the importance of having a security-first mindset, while also s...

Technology has defined the form and function of storytelling since the beginning of time. In this episode, storyteller, artist, and professor Lance Weiler offers an optimistic perspective on how blockchain, AI, and other frontier technologies will affect storytellers across mediums. Rather than discussing the tech behind NFTs on Solana, Lance shows us what it's like for an artist to apply that technology to human expression. He con...

In today's episode, Austin moderates a panel discussion about compression with Jon Wong (Solana Foundation), Noah Prince (Helium Foundation), and Ilmoi (Tensor). Compression is a way of storing data on Solana that reduces costs by orders of magnitude. For now, its most common use case is compressed NFTs. With compression, you can mint one hundred million NFTs for two thousand dollars. Jon, Noah, and Ilmoi dive into the tech of how ...

Transparency is one of the key features of blockchain, and block explorers play an important role in that transparency. However, navigating explorers on Solana can have a high learning curve, even for crypto natives. This is due to Solana’s abstract data structures, a feature that makes indexing and interpreting data on the blockchain difficult. In this episode, Fathur Rahman (SolanaFM) discusses ways of building block explorers on...

As of 2023, the gaming industry is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Why disrupt something that's working so well by introducing blockchain into the equation? In this episode, Michael Wagner (ATMTA/Star Atlas) makes the case for blockchain games. Star Atlas, the flagship game that Michael and his team are working on, is a AAA game that uses Solana as its main infrastructure. He describes why this design is compelling for Star ...

With Anchor, Backpack, and Mad Lads under his belt, Armani Ferrante is one of Solana's most senior and prolific developers. In this episode, Armani reflects on the values and design philosophies that first attracted him to the Solana ecosystem and where he thinks the ecosystem is headed. He also discusses some of the tech behind xNFTS and Backpack, their use cases, and the importance of building applications users actually want. 

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RWAs (Real World Assets) are assets that exist in the real world that are tokenized on chain. The RWA market comprises things like equity, fine art, loans, and more, all of which globally account for trillions of dollars in value. In this episode, Trevor Bacon discusses Parcl's unique approach to real estate as an RWA. He's bullish on opportunities such as higher liquidity and lower barriers to entry for retail investors. Although ...

If web3 had an intuitive Venmo-like app for sending and receiving crypto, could that expedite mass adoption? Aleksei Zakharov (Ottr) seems to think so. Aleksei describes how blockchain-based products such as Ottr can give users the experience of a modern bank, all without the bank. Banking 3.0, as he calls it, eliminates the possibility of bank failures, all while making USD more accessible to emerging markets and reducing friction...

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 transactions on blockchain. Throug...

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 web3. Could Section 230 apply to b...

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 granular data than a centralized netwo...

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 making things as fast and efficient as ...

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 behalf of Solana. This is a conver...

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 on how both the technical and practi...

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 point of view. 

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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. 

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The content herein is provided for educational, informational, and entertainment pu...

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 intersection of blockchain, national ...

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 thoughts on why crypto has taken so long ...

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 herein is provided for educational, info...