Ethereum 101
Make Me Smart
Marketplace
4.6 • 5.5K Ratings
🗓️ 1 December 2021
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It’s time to talk about bitcoin’s digital cousin: ethereum. This is a type of blockchain operating system that allows you to trade the cryptocurrency called ether. But it does much more, including things called smart contracts that are changing the way people do business.
“What it really does is allows for the possibility that the middleman gets eliminated from the equation … if you have a good idea in blockchain and in ethereum, you can kind of go directly to users or investors to raise the money you want to start your business,” said Matt Leising, co-founder of DeCential Media, which covers the world of crypto, decentralized finance and the blockchain.
On the show today, we’ll get a lesson in how ethereum works, the advantages and disadvantages and why supporters believe it’s not going away. So regulators should catch up quick!
In the News Fix, we’ll hear positive news about boosters for teens and hear a warning about how omicron may mess with inflation. Plus, regulators are cracking down on Facebook, but they’re not the ones you’re thinking about.
Then, listeners say farewell to Molly and a bananas answer to the Make Me Smart question.
Here’s everything we talked about today:
- “Understanding Ethereum, Bitcoin’s Virtual Cousin” from The New York Times
- “For Rules in Technology, the Challenge is to Balance Code and Law” from The New York Times
- “Powell Lays Groundwork for Faster End to Stimulus as Inflation Outlook Worsens” from The Wall Street Journal
- “Covid News: Pfizer to Seek Approval for Boosters for 16- and 17-Year-Olds” from The New York Times
- “Facebook Parent Told to Sell Giphy by U.K. Regulator” from The Wall Street Journal
- Audio: “Make Me Smart” listeners write a special song for Molly (visit our show page to listen)
Finally, it’s Giving Tuesday. Give now to help us reach $100,000 in donations and unlock another $100,000 from the Investors Challenge Fund. To donate, go to Marketplace.org/givesmart. And thank you for your generosity.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey everyone, I'm Molly Wood. Welcome back to Make Me Smart. The show where none of us is |
| 0:10.1 | as smart as all of us. Thanks for joining us. Sorry, I sound like this. I'm just going |
| 0:13.4 | to say it early and often. I wish I didn't. Just got it on it. I'm calling Rosalas Tuesday |
| 0:22.8 | today, time for our weekly deep dive into a single topic. Today Ethereum, Ethereum. What it is, |
| 0:31.5 | the difference between Ethereum and Ether, what it can do for you, all of that stuff. I personally |
| 0:37.7 | am really excited about this because I'm going to learn so much on this podcast today. |
| 0:40.8 | Yeah, the reason that we have chosen to talk about Ethereum specifically is that it is |
| 0:47.7 | more than a cryptocurrency. It's the one that is almost like an operating system, like |
| 0:52.9 | a software layer. You can create all kinds of applications on it that you can't necessarily |
| 0:58.0 | on Bitcoin. In fact, this was made evident recently when a group called Constitution |
| 1:06.9 | Dow, tried to buy a copy of the Constitution, was raising money in Ether. There's all this |
| 1:13.1 | sort of smart contract stuff. If we have already lost you, I'm going to stop talking now |
| 1:16.9 | because we're going to have a very 101 level conversation about all this and what it means |
| 1:22.6 | for business in the future with Matt Licing, formerly Bloomberg News co-founder of Decentral, |
| 1:28.8 | which rhymes with essential media, which covers the world of crypto, DeFi and the blockchain. |
| 1:34.2 | He also wrote a book called Out of the Ether, the amazing story of Ethereum and the $55 million |
| 1:39.3 | high set almost destroyed it all, which I also want to know about Matt. Thank you very much |
| 1:47.7 | for having me. What did we get right and what did we get wrong there in the beginning? |
| 1:52.1 | That was spot on. I'm impressed. We're off to a great start. |
| 1:55.9 | Great. I guess, let's start with the basics. Can you explain Ethereum and where it came |
| 2:04.6 | from as sort of an alternative to Bitcoin? |
| 2:08.3 | No way I like to do this is first just a little bit about Bitcoin and then we'll get onto |
... |
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