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Kevin Bayuk: Is Cryptocurrency "Good" for the Next Economy?

Ryan Honeyman
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Today, LIFT Partners Kevin Bayuk and Ryan Honeyman chat about the topic of decentralization and how this manifests to varying degrees within the blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

We start off with some simple definitions, clarifying the differences and relationships between the concept of a decentralized ledger, the blockchain, and the cryptocurrencies that use it.

The important questions here are around who benefits from these systems and platforms, and whether it is possible to create cryptocurrencies and decentralization that serve more people. This raises the important theme of governance and how it can decide the fate of a technology or company.

The last part of our chat is spent looking at historical and contemporary examples of decentralization, and how these can inform our vision of what a decentralized world might look like.

One of the most valuable ideas here is to position new technologies as ethical tools to build cornerstones of a more equitable world, with less self-interest and wealth accumulation.

Key Points From This Episode:

  • A quick definition of terms; decentralized ledger, blockchain, and bitcoin

  • The opportunities and challenges of reducing the exploitation associated with intermediaries

  • Looking at some of the more equitable examples of cryptocurrency such as FairCoin.

  • A litmus test for blockchain projects; avoiding self-interested wealth accumulation

  • The exciting work being done by the team at Regen Network on the Terra Genesis project

  • Considering a few historical examples of successful decentralized communities

  • Contemporary initiatives that are running against mainstream economic trends

  • Imagining a future of locally-reliant economies and the language necessary for this

Tweetables:

“I think it's helpful to disambiguate cryptocurrency from blockchain. And even to disambiguate blockchain as a form of decentralized ledger.” — Kevin Bayuk, @LIFT_Economy

“Bitcoin shows up as concentrating wealth in very few hands, if you look at the ownership.” — Kevin Bayuk, @LIFT_Economy

“There are some things that add value over time, but in the long run, they decay. Imagine if we could design our currencies to be in alignment with the natural world.” — Kevin Bayuk, @LIFT_Economy

“The allure of hyper-accumulation of wealth becomes the main driver for a lot of the projects.” — Kevin Bayuk, @LIFT_Economy

“When we are able to help each other meet our needs without having these intermediaries there is less leakage and more local self-reliance.” — Kevin Bayuk, @LIFT_Economy

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

  • FairCoin — https://fair-coin.org/

  • Holochain — https://holochain.org/

  • Regen Network — https://www.regen.network/team/

  • Nori — https://nori.com/

  • For All the People — https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781604865820

  • NEXTSYSTEMS — https://nextsystems.com/

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