Colorado Blockchain Gold
“GOLD!” This is the thought that comes to mind as I look again at the Decentralize Colorado meetup banner, created by local Colorado artist, @optictopic.
There most likely wasn’t any “real” mountain gold in the six lightning talks on Monday night at the Turing School of Software & Design in Denver, but surely more than a few nuggets of new blockchain information were revealed to those that attended. Check out the full recording of the live stream below. A big thanks goes out to @optictopic for helping to set the decentralized tone of our new meetup with the banner. Check out more of his amazing work here.
Here’s an overview of the ideas presented on Monday night…
Dave Craige — Blue Chip Crypto Projects
Dave’s information-rich presentation comes from a wealth of knowledge about the blockchain space. He elegantly boils down the current array of over 1500 coin platforms to those that will be the best performers in the future and he also highlights some of his favorite local projects. Don’t miss following him on Twitter and subscribing to his curated crypto list. Check out Dave’s presentation slides, watch his video presentation and follow him: Dave Craige.
Naveen Mishra — Empowering Users By Breaking Data Silos
With Standard Meta, Naveen Mishra is aiming to provide tools for cryptocurrency transparency and research data similar to what Edgar provides for traditional securities. With so many cryptocurrencies in existence, combined with a history of ponzi schemes and large scale hacks in the blockchain space, projects like StandardMeta are sorely needed. Connect with Naveen at (@standardmeta) and https://standardmeta.com/. Check out Naveen’s video presentation.
Russell Castagnaro — How CryptoCommerce Might Change the World
Russell is the CEO of Wampei.com. His presentation focused on the Wampei platform, which enables cryptocurrency as a payment method for businesses and customers that have embraced it. Russell’s company is yet another way that the barriers to to mainstream cryptocurrency acceptance are being challenged. Connect with Russell at @wampei on Twitter and http://wampei.com/. Check out Russell’s presentation slides and watch his video presentation.
Duke Crawford — Crypto on NDN, Faster and Safer Than IP
Duke’s presentation was a glimpse into the future, focused on NDN, an emerging network platform that that has speed and security advantages over TCP/IP. It was exciting to learn about this new platform and look forward to hearing updates as developments progress. Connect with Duke on Twitter at @dukecrawford. Check out Duke’s video presentation.
Erik Johnson — ETHDenver Hackathon Winner, Cache the Game
More details and future plans were presented by Erik Johnson, co-creator of Cache, an Ethereum-powered online game based on the classic game Drug Wars. Cache takes place in a future world dominated by cryptocurrencies, corruption, and cartels. The game’s 8-bit retro design fits perfectly with the game setting. Very cool project. Connect with Erik at @cachethegame on Twitter or via https://cachethegame.com/. Check out Erik’s presentation slides and watch his video presentation.
David Croissant — Skywire Meshnet and VPN on Skycoin
Nobody likes the poor service and monopoly power that results from a centralized cable tv and internet provider. With skywire, David presented a decentralized alternative based on a community driven meshnet powered by the Skycoin blockchain ecosystem. David’s presentation revealed another glimpse into the future. Connect with David’s project on Github: https://github.com/skycoin/skywire. Check out David’s video presentation.
Thank you to everyone that came out to present at the meetup and be part of the audience, especially those that traveled up from south of Denver and Colorado Springs on a rainy night!
Also, I want to send a big thank you to Trevor Schrock (@KJTechnical), co-organizer of the Decentralize Colorado meetup, for helping to get things rolling and being a great sounding board on all things crypto. His perspectives have been extremely valuable and his photography is amazing.
Since I didn’t make a presentation in on Monday myself, I realize now that I haven’t been properly introduced. My name is Will Carter. I’m originally from the Chicago area and have been in Denver for the last seven years. I am hooked on Colorado and the mountains. Professionally, I have been a web developer since 2001. A few years ago I took a break to assess my path and explore life “away from the keyboard”. I’ve recently returned to the space and am currently exploring how things have progressed since I have been away, discovering what’s ahead, and how I can best contribute. I have been fascinated with multiple aspects of crypto and blockchain for the last six months, especially the fountain of data it produces. I am grateful for the opportunities that have come from connecting with the talented and diverse Colorado Blockchain community. Here’s my current portfolio, focused on dataviz and web maps. Please let me know if you find something interesting: https://fergusdevelopmentllc.github.io/
Lastly, if YOU have a burning blockchain related idea or project that you would like to share with the community, please contact us about presenting at an upcoming meetup. One of the main goals of Decentralize Colorado is to be platform independent and open to ideas from all perspectives of the blockchain space. Join us at the next meetup and tell us about the aspect of blockchain that has your attention, in ten minutes or less. Connect with us on Twitter @decentralizeco. Thank you!
Here’s the full meetup live stream recording: https://youtu.be/lcRak8lkrxw
