Ep. 69: The Intersection of VR & Cryptocurrency with Esteban Ordano of Decentraland

Esteban Ordano believes that decentralization is key to mitigating the risk that comes with digital communication, and his work uses VR to return our sense of immediacy, to recreate the personal connections that will lead to what he calls a ͚Renaissance of humanity.͛ So, what does the world look like at this intersection of virtual reality and cryptocurrency?

Esteban is the founder and CTO of Decentraland, a virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain where users can purchase land and build on it, limited only by their imaginations. Using a VR headset or web browser, Decentraland users become completely immersed in a 3D, interactive world where they can watch live music, shop with friends or even visit an underwater resort. Prior to Decentraland, Esteban worked as a software engineer at Google and BitPay.

Today, Esteban joins us to explain how the economic chaos in Argentina inspired his interest in the cryptocurrency space. He discusses the role decentralization plays in mitigating the risk of sharing information online and the way cryptographic systems facilitate radical governance. Esteban offers insight around Decentralands place at the intersection of virtual reality and cryptocurrency and how the platform enables the management of digital scarcity. Listen in to understand the major challenges of adoption in the VR and crypto space and learn how Decentraland is testing concepts of governance before they are applied in real life!

Topics Covered

Esteban’s introduction to the blockchain

• Article in Hacker News (2011)
• Meetup in Argentina (2013)

What sparked Esteban’s interest in Bitcoin

• Economic disaster in Argentina
• Opportunity to be game-changer

The most important role of decentralization

• Mitigate risk of sharing information
• One-on-one connections = Renaissance of humanity
• Efficient way to transmit info and measure impacts

How cryptographic systems facilitate radical governance

• Peer-to-peer way to make decisions
• Creates consequences (money where mouth is)

The intersection of VR and cryptocurrency

• Decentraland allows for testing concepts
• Missing link to creating free society

The significance of digital scarcity

• Virtual currencies enable scarcity, ownership
• Until now items on database modified by single entity

What the world might look like in 10 years if Decentraland succeeds

• Vitual economies, shopping and bars
• Send kids to Decentraland University

The major challenges of crypto and VR adoption

• Security, efficiency on through-put (crypto)
• Hand-tracking and affordability (VR)

Esteban’s definition of success

• ‘Surprised a little every day’

Connect with Esteban

Decentraland https://decentraland.org/
Decentraland on Twitter https://twitter.com/decentraland
Decentraland on GitHub https://github.com/decentraland
Esteban on Twitter https://twitter.com/eordano
Esteban on Medium https://medium.com/@eordano

Resources

Streamium https://streamium.io/
Livepeer https://livepeer.org/
SpankChain https://spankchain.com/
Hacker News https://news.ycombinator.com/
Peter Rubin on Boost VC https://www.boost.vc/podcast-archive/2018/5/24/season-3-ep-8-unlocking-the-intimacy-between-people-through-vr-with-peter-rubin-of-wired
Beat Saber http://www.beatsaber.com/
Echo Arena https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1369078409873402/
Oculus Go https://www.oculus.com/go/
CRISPR https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRISPR

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/
Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/
Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC