Scalability and interoperability are two of the main issues facing blockchain protocols today. In a future in which entire industries and economies rely on distributed technologies, it is unclear how blockchain networks will support massive amounts of data, and exchange transactions in a trusted way. Peter Czaban, co-founder of Polkadot, joins us as we dive deep into the Polkadot Network. Polkadot is a heterogeneous multi-chain network, consisting of many connected chains (or parachains), all of which have their own set of features and characteristics. Transactions flow across chains, while Polkadot ensures the global security and consensus of the network, forming an ‘Internet of Blockchain networks’. Scalability is achieved through the parallel processing of transactions on the different parachains. Topics covered in this episode: Peter’s background and his role at Parity technologies What is the Polkadot project and what problems it is addressing How Polkadot handles the issue of scaling The different components of the Polkadot Network The various players in the network The consensus model used in Polkadot The types of applications Polkadot would enable The Web3 Foundation and its goals Episode links: Polkadot Website Polkadot Pre-Sale Website Polkadot Community Chat Aura Consensus This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/199

After Bitshares and Steemit, Dan Larimer’s latest project EOS has also gathered lots of attention. Their record-setting crowdsale has already raised $300m and is continuing for another year. Dan joined us to discuss his journey in the industry, what connects the different projects, how EOS works and how the EOS crowdsale works. Topics covered in this episode: A history of Dan’s previous projects Bitshares and Steemit How Dan knows when the time has come to move to the next project Why they describe EOS as a decentralized operating system The EOS approach to scalability Benefits and downsides of the EOS fee model EOS’ Delegated Proof of Stake consensus How EOS handles malicious validators Addressing criticisms around EOS’s crowdsale terms and governance structure Episode links: EOS Website EOS Whitepaper EOS Consensus Presentation May 2017 - YouTube Vitalik Buterin Criticisms of EOS Dan Larimer's Response to Vitalik block.one This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/197