Building open source software is a collaborative process which relies on good faith and willingness of volunteers. While most of the software we use daily relies heavily on open-source libraries, incentive models are broken. Repo maintainers are eager to see their projects evolve, but have little leverage to encourage developers to contribue. And projects contributors create enormous value by dedicating their time and expertise while getting little in return. Both open and closed-source projects utilize bountied to source engineering talent. Combined with blockchain technologies, there is a potential to create efficient, two-sided markets which align incentives for all participants. We’re joined by Kevin Owocki, who is the Founder of Gitcoin. The Ethereum-based platform leverages the open source community to incentivize and monetize work, remunerating developers for pull requests made to projects. Gitcoin was itself built using Gitcoin and is today facilitating bug bounty payments for dozens of blockchain projects. At the time of writing, over 200 projects have used the platform to distribute over $340,000 in bounties to developers. As Gitcoin continues to grow, the goal is to expand its reach to the broader open-source ecosystem. Topics covered in this episode: Kevin’s background as a software engineer The fundamental challenges in open-source development and funding What is Gitcoin and how it addresses incentive alignment How Gitcoin works from the perspective of both project funders and contributors The platforms usage statistics (projects funded, contributors, bounties paid, etc.) How Gitcoin may be used to fund closed-source bountied and public goods Kevin’s proposal for recurring payments in Ethereum (EIP1337/ERC948) How Gitcoin is funded and the project’s business model Gitcoin’s roadmap moving forward Episode links: Gitcoin website Gitcoin leaderboard and top earners Gitcoin stats 1337 Alliance EIP 1337 - Subscriptions on the blockchain ERC948 - Recurring Subscription Models on Ethereum Delphi Systems Bountysource Thank you to our sponsors for their support: The open, decentralized trading protocol for ERC20 tokens using the Dutch auction mechanism. More at epicenter.tv/dutchx. Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/257

The Tezos whitepaper, published in 2014, anticipated several areas that would become major issues for blockchain networks. Especially around governance and smart contract security, Tezos proposed original solutions. The project later went on to raise $232m in the biggest token sale at the time. Recently, the Tezos network launched as the first of a wave of innovative next-generation blockchain networks. We were joined by Tezos co-founders Arthur and Kathleen Breitman to discuss the history of the project, how the network functions today and how it could develop going forward. Topics covered in this episode: What inspired the original Tezos vision from 2014 The critical importance of formal verification and governance Why Arthur thinks the blockchain scalability problem is overrated The case against decentralized applications Why the ability to evolve and adopt new features is critical for Tezos success Tezos’ Proof-of-Stake and emerging baking ecosystem The Tezos Foundation drama and Johann Gevers The relationship between their company DLS and the Tezos Foundation Episode links: Tezos Website E136 - Tezos – A Self-Amending Crypto-Ledger Tezos Whitepaper The $1 Billion Tezos Blockchain Is Officially Launching Monday Inside the Crypto World's Biggest Scandal | WIRED Tezos Twitter Thank you to our sponsors for their support: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks. More at aka.ms/epicenter. Simplify your hiring process & access the best blockchain talent . Get a $1,000 credit on your first hire at toptal.com/epicenter. This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/255