It's been way too long since my last post, so this is going to be a bit of a whirlwind summary of a crazy summer! Three big things that've consumed my summer in a really good way: Launching a zero-knowledge SNARK-based cryptocurrency called ZenCash, helping the Seasteading Institute create a free society paradise in Tahiti, and traveling to Odessa to speak at BIP-001.
I'll write separate articles on each of these events, but just want to stop procrastinating and get back to Steeming!
Launching ZenCash
There needs to be a whole lot more freedom in the world. We've been on a decades long negative trend towards pervasive spying, complete loss of privacy, deprivation of basic human rights, etc. Enough is enough! Now we have the technology to bring back a little bit of privacy with cryptocurrencies, and I wanted to dive in with everything I had to build what I think needs to be built.
That's the motivation for why I co-founded ZenCash, a privacy coin leveraging zero-knowledge cryptographic proofs and building out a whole bunch of cool things useful to the liberty-minded human, such as
- End-to-end encrypted network of compensated secure nodes
- Secure messaging embedded into wallets and stand-alone apps
- IPFS document publishing
- Decentralized governance via a DAO
- Integrated censorship-resistant technologies
Not to mention that there's just a whole bunch of jerks in the crypto world, so we're focusing hard on our culture, trying to be the Zappos of the crypto industry with the friendliest, most supportive community build on a foundation of respect. There's more than just software in building a great and enduring ecosystem, humans happen to be a big part of that!
Seasteading in Tahiti
If you like the idea of human rights, freedom, and living with cool people on an island paradise, look no further! Check out the Floating Island Project that the Seasteading Institute is building in Tahiti!
In May I was able to give a talk in Tahiti on Blockchain Innovations and Social Entrepreneurship. The government of French Polynesia is very open to blockchain and so there is potentially a major opportunity to develop the region as a crypto hub. In addition to having Crypto Valley in Zug, we could have a Crypto Archipelago in the South Pacific!
BIP-001 in Odessa
Another really cool thing I got to do this summer was participate in BIP-001, or the [in]famous Blockchain Incredible Party put on annually by Distributed Lab. This is an awesome get-together by some of the industries most interesting, and fun, personalities.
My talk was on Cryptofinance and Privacy, the big message that projects need to be built on strong privacy from the start in order to be globally ubiquitous and maximally useful to society.
More "deets" to come on each of these, especially the on-going fun we're having with ZenCash!
Rob Viglione is co-founder of ZenCash, a privacy-oriented cryptocurrency hyperfocused on usability, and a PhD Candidate in Finance where he does research in cryptofinance, venture capital, and asset pricing, and teaches "Bitcoin & Blockchain Applications in Finance." He is President of the Carolina Crypto Club, volunteers to help create startup societies with the Seasteading Institute, and serves as an advisor to Hero Engine World, a blockchain-based platform using artificial intelligence and real-time massive scale 3D modeling and scenario simulations to help SmartCities with Disaster Recovery and Emergency Management. He is a passionate libertarian who advocates peace, freedom, and respect for individual life.