#168 – Silvio Micali: Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Algorand, Bitcoin, and Ethereum
Lex Fridman Podcast
Lex Fridman
4.7 • 13.6K Ratings
🗓️ 15 March 2021
⏱️ 121 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Silvio Micali is a computer scientist at MIT, Turing award winner, and founder of Algorand. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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EPISODE LINKS:
Silvio’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/silviomicali
Algorand’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Algorand
Algorand’s Website: https://www.algorand.com/
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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(08:55) – Blockchain
(11:52) – Cryptocurrency
(14:42) – Money
(18:56) – Scarcity
(20:37) – Scalability, Security, and Decentralization
(24:03) – Algorand
(40:36) – Bitcoin
(43:39) – Ethereum
(45:10) – NFTs
(48:34) – Decentralization of power
(52:42) – Intelligent adaptation
(55:25) – Leaders
(58:31) – Freedom
(1:01:31) – Privacy
(1:04:15) – Bitcoin maximalism
(1:08:01) – Satoshi Nakamoto
(1:12:39) – One-way function
(1:16:52) – Pseudorandomness
(1:21:34) – Free will
(1:23:39) – Will quantum computers break cryptography?
(1:28:44) – Interactive proofs
(1:35:38) – Mechanism design
(1:43:04) – Favorite meal
(1:46:18) – Book recommendations
(1:53:15) – Advice for young people
(1:55:48) – Fear of death
(1:58:29) – Meaning of life
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The following is a conversation with Sylvia McColley, a computer scientist at MIT, |
| 0:04.8 | winner of the Toring Award, and one of the leading minds in the fields of cryptography, |
| 0:10.2 | information security, game theory, and most recently, cryptocurrency and the theoretical |
| 0:16.3 | foundations of a fully decentralized, secure, and scalable blockchain and Algorand, |
| 0:22.8 | a company of cryptographers, engineers, and mathematicians that he founded in 2017. |
| 0:28.4 | Quick mention of our sponsors, Athletic Greens Nutrition Drink, the Information In-Depth |
| 0:35.3 | Tech Journalism website, Forcigmatic Motion Coffee, and Better Help Online Therapy. |
| 0:42.0 | Click the sponsor links to get a discount at the support this podcast. |
| 0:46.0 | As a side note, let me say that I will be having many conversations this year on the topic of |
| 0:51.0 | cryptocurrency. I'm reading and thinking a lot on this topic. I just recently finished reading |
| 0:57.2 | the Bitcoin Standard, a book I highly recommend. As always, with this podcast, I'm approaching |
| 1:03.3 | it with an open mind, with compassion, with as little ego as possible, and yes, with love. |
| 1:11.1 | I hope you go along with me on this journey, and don't judge me too harshly on any likely |
| 1:17.4 | missteps. As usual, I will play devil's advocate, I will, on purpose, sometimes ask simple, |
| 1:24.9 | even dumb questions, all to try and explore the space of ideas here, with as much grace as I can |
| 1:30.9 | muster. I have no financial interests here, I only have a simple curiosity and a love for knowledge, |
| 1:37.2 | especially about a set of technologies that may very well transform the fabric of human civilization. |
| 1:44.4 | If you enjoy this thing, subscribe on YouTube, review it on Apple Podcast, follow on Spotify, |
| 1:50.0 | support it on Patreon, or connect with me on Twitter, and Lex Friedman. As usual, I'll do a few |
| 1:55.5 | minutes of ads now. There's time stamps, so you can skip, but if you skip, please do still check |
| 2:00.9 | out the sponsors, click the links by the stuff, whatever you have to do. It really is the best way |
| 2:06.6 | to support this podcast. This show is sponsored by Athletic Greens, the only one daily drink to |
... |
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