We’re joined by Jerry Brito, Executive Director of Coin Center. Having discovered Bitcoin in 2011, Jerry was among the first lawyers to talk about crypto in the U.S. capital. In 2014, he founded Coin Center, a leading research and advocacy center focussing on cryptocurrencies. In this enlightening conversation, we talk to Jerry about his paper titled “The Case for Electronic Cash,” in which he articulates why private peer-to-peer payments are essential to an open society. We also discuss Libra and the possible regulatory challenges the proposed private cash system may face. Finally, Jerry explains the recent FinCEN guidance on cryptocurrencies, which broadly follows the recommendations of Coin Center. Topics covered in this episode: Jerry’s background as a lawyer and his crypto beginnings in D.C. Coin Center, it’s mission and the primary battles which the organization is fighting “The Case for Electronic Cash” paper and why cash is vital for a free and open society The main dysfunctions of cashless societies Jerry’s high-level views on Libra How Libra is different from other cryptocurrencies and electronic payment systems The backlash immediately following the announcement and how it was received by governments Ways in which Libra could be regulated The recent FinCEN guidance and how it affects cryptocurrency users and companies Episode links: Coin Center Jerry Brito's website FinCEN’s new cryptocurrency guidance matches Coin Center recommendations The Case for Electronic Cash The differences between Bitcoin and Libra should matter to policymakers Jerry's thoughts on Libra (tweetsorm) Jerry response to Libra Association's Head of Policy on sanction's list (tweetsorm) Buidl Asia HackAtom Seoul DappCon – 20% off with the code “EpicenterDappcon2019” Announcing the Chorus One Podcast Cosmology – A newsletter about the Cosmos network Sponsors: Vaultoro: Vaultoro - Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg Azure: Azure - Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/296

We're joined by Rob Dawson, Head of Product at PegaSys. PegaSys is the protocol engineering spoke of ConsenSys, and the team building Pantheon, a Java implementation of the Ethereum client. The Pantheon client was built from the ground up as both a mainnet, and consortium chain client. Written in Java with an Apache 2.0 license, it benefits from being easily accessible to enterprises, who predominantly use that language. The PegaSys team has built additional features into the Pantheon client like privacy, permissioning, and the ability to deploy chains on IBFT, a consensus algorithm better suited for consortium networks of up to 40 validators. Working closely with other protocol teams (Geth and Parity), and being a founding member of the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance, PegaSys is also working towards Ethereum 2.0. Topics covered in this episode: Rob’s background as an enterprise Java developer and how he became involved in the blockchain space The role of PegaSys in the broader ConsenSys ecosystem The Pantheon client and why they chose to build a new Ethereum client The case for Java and why enterprise has a preference for this language Pantheon’s unique features of privacy, permissioning, and performance What is Istanbul BFT and how it differs from Parity POA and Tendermint BFT The types of applications which are better suited for IBFT The Ethereum Enterprise Alliance (EEA) and PegaSys’ work on standards PegaSys’ work on Ethereum 1.x and Ethereum 2.0 The team's recently announced certification program Episode links: PegaSys Website Introducing Pantheon, a Mainnet Java Client - Demo & Roadmap (Devcon4) Another day, another consensus algorithm. Why IBFT 2.0? Scaling Consensus for Enterprise: Explaining the IBFT Algorithm Blog Posts and Webinars - Pantheon PegaSysEng/pantheon: An enterprise-grade Java-based, Apache 2.0 licensed Ethereum client PegaSysEng/artemis: Java Implementation of the Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain Komgo Sponsors: Trail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.com Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/294