Episode #81: Redefining Trust

Our guest today is Mariana Dahan who not only holds a PhD degree from ESCP Europe Business School and Paris II University in France, but she is the Senior Operations Officer in the Office of the World Bank catalyzing progress towards identification systems using 21st century technology solutions.

With the recent Bitfinex hack and even going back to the 2008 crisis – best viewed as a breakdown in public trust in the banks’ role as ledger-keepers, the entire notion of centralized trust is being questioned. With Google Trends data showing that searches for the word “blockchain” have exponentially increased, we may be entering the peak of the hype cycle for blockchain and distributed ledger technology. But here’s the thing: the blockchain is a major breakthrough. That’s because its decentralized approach to verifying changes in important information addresses the centuries-old problem of trust, a social resource that is all too often in short supply, especially amid the current era’s rampant concerns over the security of valuable data.

Financial transactions: trust bearing and encapsulating of the value of money throughout history

In addition, a listener from the show, James, based in London, joins us for the roundtable! He initially began BitcoinMinersUK to sell just mining hardware, now he has become a lot more interested in Bitcoin and is looking into providing advice on mining for people who use renewable energy and building exchange, marketplace and other services.

Outro: https://soundcloud.com/alexanderjlewis/afternoon