Republic is an investment platform that allows anyone pretty much anywhere in the world, of any income and net worth, to invest in some of the best private equity startups. It allows regular people, not just a few wealthy accredited investors, to invest in highly vetted private startups, with as little as $10 or as much as $100,000 per investment. In the past, accredited investors were the only ones allowed to invest in startups through equity-based incentives. However the JOBS Act of 2016 created an exemption under the federal securities laws so that crowdfunding can be used to offer and sell securities to the general public. Republic launched just after the JOBS Act was passed with a goal to create an investment platform which was truly accessible to everyone. This was around the time that companies began raising funds with ICOs, and Republic was among the first platforms to offer a framework for Security Token Offerings. Republic has recently innovated again with their Republic Note product. This is a profit sharing token which allows investors to receive dividends when companies who raise money on the platform make an exit. The tokens are issued by Republic which distributes a portion of the exit profits to investors in proportion to their holdings. This is a similar model to the Binance Token, which isn't surprising since Republic was the first portfolio company of Binance Labs. Ken Nguyen, Co-founder and CEO of Republic, explains the advantages of crowdfunding over traditional investing, the long term regulatory implications, and the opportunities this model opens up for startup funding. Topics covered in this episode: Ken’s background and his history with AngelListThe implications from the JOBS Act 2016Ken’s vision for Republic and making investment more accessible for more peopleOverview of the US Securities Law and investingThe interaction between Republic and cryptoThe types of start-ups and investors using RepublicThe importance of the community aspect within start-ups on RepublicThe Republic Note tokenRepublic Note’s Reg A offering and what the benefits of this will beWhere Republic Note can be tradedEpisode links: Republic websiteRepublic on MediumRepublic NoteWhen will the Republic Note’s Reg A offering be qualified?Republic TwitterKen Nguyen TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/353

SKALE Network's modular protocol is one of the first of its kind to allow developers to build application specific blockchains. These are interoperable and compatible with the Ethereum mainchain, and the entire Ethereum ecosystem. They provide the benefits of decentralization without compromising on computation, storage, or security. The focus of SKALE Network is slightly different to other scaling solutions, many of which we have had on the show in the past. SKALE Network aims to scale smart contracts, not necessarily transaction throughput. Think of it as a highly performant Ethereum as a service side chain, where developers can deploy their own app specific blockchains. Within the scale network, their dapps will benefit from thousands of TPS with zero gas fees, and addons like file storage. In the future, it’s possible that SKALE will support other addons like machine learning. Jack O'Holleran, CEO and Co-Founder of SKALE Labs, talks about how they are tackling the scaling issues on Ethereum. Topics covered in this episode: Jack's background and how he got into cryptocurrencyJack's thoughts on the problem of scaling on EthereumWhat is a SKALE node and how to start oneComparisons to Cosmos, Polkadot and Eth 2.0 shardingThe SKALE NetworkThe purpose of the SKALE Manager and how it interacts with validators and nodesCreating a dapp on the SKALE networkWhat is the future of access to connectors - are stores an option?How security properties work on the networkWho are the users of SKALE and how does one onboard to the networkThe NODE Foundation - the launch and grants availableEpisode links: SKALE Labs WebsiteSKALE WhitepaperSKALE DevelopersSKALE DiscordThe NODE FoundationSKALE Labs TwitterJack TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/352