“The public at large at first saw this as, ‘Oh okay, now bitcoin’s done, because Facebook can do it bigger, faster, better,’ not understanding the differentiators. This is actually an opportunity to differentiate, because these pretenders can’t do what bitcoin does.” — Andreas M. Antonopoulos

Hello to the community! The thirty-first episode of Decentralize This!, Enigma’s podcast hosted by Tor Bair, has just been released. Today we are very excited to feature Andreas M. Antonopoulos.

Andreas is a best-selling author, speaker, educator, and one of the world’s foremost bitcoin and open blockchain experts. In 2014, he wrote the one of the foundational books of the blockchain space, Mastering Bitcoin. He is also the author of The Internet of Money as well as his most recent book, Mastering Ethereum. He is widely respected in the blockchain space for not only his knowledge and ceaseless curiosity about decentralized technologies, but also for his extreme generosity in teaching others.

On Decentralize This!, we feature guests from around the blockchain and decentralization space. By taking a closer look at what prominent people are building and thinking about, we hope to find new ways to work together on creating solutions and getting these new technologies adopted at scale.

On this wide-ranging episode, Andreas talks about how the public’s perception of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies has shifted in the last decade, how Libra and centralized digital currencies will affect open blockchains (as well as our human rights), and how people inside and outside the decentralization space can and should work together to fight these growing threats.

Please listen using the link below and share with your friends, whether they’re in the decentralization space or not! We want to inspire people to think outside their day-to-day and come help us build a better future. If you want to suggest future guests, reach out to us on Twitter!

Decentralize This! is also available on Spotify and iTunes.

Who is Andreas M. Antonopoulos? (02:40)

How has the broad public’s understanding of bitcoin and other digital currencies changed in the past five years? (04:50)

Specifically in 2019, how have the broad public’s attitudes towards digital currencies changed? (11:25)

What has been the public’s reaction to Libra — and what has been your personal reaction? (15:45)

What might happen with the launch of government-backed digital currencies? (24:00)

How can we preserve the ethos of the decentralization space, given all these threats — both external and internal? (30:10)

Can we get more people to work on decentralized technologies, instead of contributing to “pretenders”? (37:25)

Can you talk about your decision to write Mastering Ethereum — and the reaction? (42:10)

Closing thoughts (50:30)