We’re pleased to be joined by the legendary cryptographer and computer scientist, David Chaum. From his early beginnings at Berkley, David pioneered many of the cryptographic techniques used in secure systems and cryptocurrencies today. Blind signatures, which are used in zero-knowledge proofs, and mix networks, used in Tor heavily rely on his work. At the dawn of the Internet, David founded DigiCash, what many believe to be a direct ancestor of Bitcoin. Today, David continues to pursue his mission to bring data privacy to all as his most recent project, Elixxir, aims to create a truly private messaging and payment app with a mass-market appeal. Topics covered in this episode: - David’s background as a Ph.D. student at Berkeley and his thesis entitled “Computer Systems Established, Maintained, and Trusted by Mutually Suspicious Groups” - What drove him to work on cryptography and privacy systems - His relationship to the early cypherpunk movement - David’s contribution to cryptography primitives such as blind signatures, undeniable signatures, group signatures and mixers - The story of DigiCash and how the company was founded - The idea behind Cyberbucks and why the company ultimately went bankrupt - Cryptocurrency adoption as a chicken-and-egg problem - David’s personal views and practices with regards to online privacy - His thoughts on the blockchain space today and his views on the future of the industry - His current project, Elixxir, a messaging and payment app which protects users’ data and metadata Episode links:  - [David Chaum’s website](https://chaum.com) - [DigiCash](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/digicash.asp) - [lists.cpunks.org Mailing Lists](https://lists.cpunks.org/mailman/listinfo) - [DigiCash - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DigiCash) - [Blind Signatures for Untraceable Payments](https://www.chaum.com/publications/Chaum-blind-signatures.PDF) - [DigiCash announcement article from 1994](https://www.chaum.com/ecash/articles/1994/05-27-94%20-%20World_s%20first%20electronic%20cash%20payment%20over%20computer%20networks.pdf) - [Project Page: Multiparty Computation](https://www.chaum.com/spymasters/) - [Security without Identification](https://www.chaum.com/publications/Security_Wthout_Identification.html) - [Elixxir - Home](https://elixxir.io/) - [Elixxir - Real Cryptography, Real Time: Precomputations in Elixxir](https://elixxir.io/blog/real-cryptography-real-time) - [Elixxir - Why Mark Zuckerberg wants no privacy, why he wrote his letter,  and why it won’t help him](https://elixxir.io/blog/why-zuckerberg-wants-no-privacy) - [Elixxir - Point of Departure](https://elixxir.io/blog/point-of-departure) - [cMix white paper](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B1jv03qc8E1kx0kvGFx4blzwXrQepMyy/view) Sponsors:  - Vaultoro: Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg - http://vaultoro.com - Trail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.com This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: [epicenter.tv/304](https://epicenter.tv/304)

We’re joined by Eric Conner and Anthony Sassano, founders of EthHub. Started in January of 2019, EthHub’s goal is to provide a trusted, objective source of information for the Ethereum ecosystem. The platform is made up of an open-source documentation website, a weekly newsletter, and a podcast, “Into the Ether” hosted by Eric and Anthony. Both active and vocal members of the Ethereum community, they are known to embody what some consider to be Ethereum Maximalism. Topics covered in this episode: What is EthHub and why they decided to start the organization Eric and Anthony’s view on the current state of the Ethereum community The different cliques, factions, and sub-groups in Ethereum The role of the Foundation and Vitalik Buterin as they see it A close look into project funding in Ethereum and the emergence of DAOs for funding Reflections on Anthony’s “Why Ether is Valuable” piece The state of Ethereum 2.0 research and the different parties involved Their views on where the crypto space is heading in the next 5 years Episode links: EthHub website Into the Ether podcast EthHub Newsletter Why Ether is Valuable Is Ether needed for transaction fees? Ethereum Project Funding EthHub on Twitter Anthony Sassano on Twitter Eric Conner on Twitter Epicenter Meetup at TelAviv Blockchain Week – Monday September 16th Sponsors: Vaultoro: Trade gold to Bitcoin instantly and securely starting at just 1mg - http://vaultoro.com Trail of Bits: Trust the team at the forefront of blockchain security research - https://trailofbits.com This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/302