John Vallis #14: Ivan on Tech

This conversation was recorded while I was on the 'Blockchain Cruise' in August 2018.

I became familiar with Ivan in the summer of 2017, when I came across his videos on YouTube. It was just after the ICO breakout, where several new coins were being launched everyday, and there was a lot of money being made.

Naturally, many people wanted to know what the hell was going on. What were these things? It wasn't just Bitcoin? It went up how much?

So, sensing the need for some explanation and insight into these new projects, and the industry as a whole, Ivan started posting videos on YouTube, explaining in simple terms what was going on.

Of course, many people were making videos on YouTube, all claiming to know much more than they likely did, and most just talking about price.

However Ivan had a background in computer science, and clearly spent a lot of time attempting to understand this new technology, so he titled his videos simply as: "(Name of project) - Programmer Explains".

This simple yet compelling title, combined with Ivan's ability to distill complex technology into relatively simple and concise explanations, garnered lots of interest in his videos.

Fast-forward a year and a half, and Ivan is now a very well-known personality in the Crypto world, and continues to grow his media presence, as well as explore other ways to engage further in this fascinating industry.

So, when I saw him, I introduced myself and asked him if he'd like to sit down for a chat.

We talked about his (new) career, the bear market of 2018, the scaling debate, legitimacy of 'alt coins', and lots more.

Enjoy!