Around The Block Podcast Blockstreet HQ

Yiseul Cho is one of the most legendary investors and advisors in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. After co-founding Hashed, she has since created Perceptra, a blockchain production lab that works with hand-picked projects to bring their tech to the Asian market. In this interview, Elaine and Yiseul talk about her background and how she parlayed that into a career in blockchain, leaving South Korea years ago in search of blockchain development only to return after the country took a liking to Ethereum, and the two highest-potential sectors where she thinks blockchain will break through first.

List of Topics Covered in This Episode:
00:00 - Introduction to Yiseul Cho
01:35 - Blockchain as an emerging technology
03:20 - First things to wrap your head around when discovering blockchain
04:24 - Leaving and returning to South Korea, Hashed
06:40 - Blockchain development, especially in South Korea and San Francisco
08:00 - Utilizing blockchain with the end user in mind
10:20 - Perceptra, Yiseul’s blockchain production lab
13:15 - Blockchain and the general public
14:10 - Closing remarks

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Kyle Samani is one of the managing partners at Multicoin Capital, and also one of the most prominent writers / thought leaders in the cryptocurrency space. Elaine was able to catch up with him at San Francisco Blockchain Week, and they spoke about how he discovered cryptocurrency through Ethereum, the importance of writing in his growth as a thought-leader and investor, and Multicoin Capital’s views on the EOS Blockchain.

List of Topics Covered in This Episode:
00:00 - Introduction to Kyle Samani
01:21 - Discovering cryptocurrency though Ethereum
04:23 - Multicoin Capital and finding a career in cryptocurrency
07:28 - Scalability & Privacy
08:19 - How writing has helped Kyle as a thought leader and an investor
14:00 - EOS (vs. Ethereum)
21:35 - The most important realizations from public blockchains
22:10 - Closing remarks

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Laura Ortega is the Executive Director of the International Business Council at the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, and her objective is to increase global trading opportunities for Illinois by bringing investments and jobs to the state. In this interview, Laura and Elaine talk about how she's working with the International Business Council to promote blockchain adoption, the efficiency, transparency, and trust that companies can gain by implementing new tech, and the competitive advantages companies can find in Chicago and the rest of Illinois.

List of Topics Covered in This Episode:
00:00 - Introduction to Laura Ortega
01:41 - Illinois Chamber of Commerce
05:42 - International Business Council
08:31 - Unique ways that companies in the state are using blockchain
10:13 - Blockchain facilitating trade
11:19 - Why blockchain companies would want to set up in Chicago or Illinois
13:30 - Biggest challenges for blockchain
14:38 - Partnerships and working on blockchain in the future
15:57 - Closing remarks

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Shamus Toomey is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Block Club Chicago, a media outlet dedicated to giving reliable, hyperlocal coverage of Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. It was one of the first news companies that signed on the Civil Blockchain Network, which is now raising its ICO. In this interview, Shamus and Elaine talk about how he came to create Block Club Chicago, the company's partnership with Civil, and how blockchain can be applied at the grassroots level to promote local journalism.

List of Topics Covered in This Episode:
00:00 - Introduction to Shamus Toomey
01:28 - DNAinfo
05:17 - Learning about blockchain and discovering Civil
08:27 - Civil’s offerings
11:39 - Do journalists using Civil need to know about blockchain?
14:30 - Realizing blockchain can help revive journalism
17:31 - Block Club Chicago
19:05 - How does Civil support Block Club Chicago?
24:29 - “Better” journalism and local journalism
28:47 - Risks, challenges, and obstacles with integrating blockchain into the newsroom
30:54 - Civil’s token, CVL
32:10 - Blockchain’s long-term impact on journalism
34:03 - Closing remarks

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Matthew Roszak is one of the co-founders of Bloq - a company that builds solutions, dapps, and protocols for retailers and institutions. In this interview, Matthew and Elaine talk about how the concept of tokenized networks attracted him to the industry, how Chicago is building a local blockchain scene, and the story behind meeting Kim Kardashian and gifting her Bitcoin!

List of Topics Covered in This Episode:
00:00 - Introduction to Matthew Roszak
01:28 - Discovering blockchain and background in tech
03:08 - Investing thesis during the early days of cryptocurrency
04:42 - The appeal of tokenized networks
06:16 - Singapore, China, South Korea, Asia on blockchain
08:12 - Chicago and the local blockchain scene
11:06 - Gifting celebrities Bitcoin
13:17 - Blockchain powering charity, philanthropy, and social good
14:23 - Bloq Enterprise & Bloq Labs
15:50 - Matthew’s mission
16:35 - Closing remarks

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Daniel Jeffries is a writer, not only of dystopian sci-fi, but also on the decentralized world of blockchain technology. In this interview, Daniel and Elaine talk about how he differentiated himself from other writers in the blockchain space when he started years ago, how distribution at point of creation will be key for the wider adoption of cryptocurrencies, and how the community will one day create a killer app without even realizing it.

List of Topics Covered in This Episode:
00:00 - Introduction to Daniel Jeffries
01:30 - Sci-Fi writing, discovering blockchain
02:52 - Categories vs. iterations of technology
05:40 - The evolution of money
07:24 - How blockchain can go wrong
10:00 - Parallel economic operating systems
13:50 - Shifting the focus from creation of cryptocurrency to distribution
16:52 - Triple-entry accounting
18:45 - “Right now... If crypto is chess, it needs to become checkers”
20:30 - Bitcoin’s 50/50 shot at survival
23:15 - Daniel Jeffries plan for the future
25:00 - Closing remarks

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