Fighting Regulation with Decentralisation with Erik Voorhees & Udi Wertheimer

 
 
WBD383 - Erik Voorhees - Large Banner.png

Where to find the show

Download Episode MP3 File
The file will open in a new window. Click down arrow to download the file.

“Regulators are not going to be happy that there are unregulatable systems out there...Bitcoin has shown that if you get to a degree of decentralization you cannot be stopped.”
— Erik Voorhees

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Location: Remotely
Date: Tuesday 3rd August
Company: ShapeShift / Independent
Role: CEO, Founder / Developer, Consultant, Bitcoin Activist

Erik Vorhees was a very early bitcoiner, drawn to it because of its alignment with his Libertarian beliefs. Erik created one of the first widely used applications on Bitcoin, Satoshi Dice. A ‘provably fair’ betting game that at one time made up around 50% of all bitcoin transactions.

In 2014, in the wake of the Mt.Gox collapse, Erik built ShapeShift, a trading platform that allowed the user to trade bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies without KYC or counterparty risk, which again aligned with both Erik’s and Bitcoin’s Libertarian ethos.

However, in 2018 regulation pushed ShapeShift to KYC every customer and comply with various surveillance and reporting requirements. Erik decided the best way to push back against this would be to dismantle the legal company and move instead to a protocol, forming a Decentralised Autonomous Organization (DAO). 

In this interview, I talk to Shapeshift Founder & CEO Erik Voorhees and Developer & Consultant Udi Wertheimer. We discuss the increasing regulatory pressure, decentralising a company and whether tokens have merit.

TIMESTAMPS

00:06:38: Introductions
00:08:27: Background to ShapeShift
00:10:22: SatoshiDICE
00:17:35: ShapeShift pressured into KYC
00:21:08: Different views of "consumer protection"
00:24:36: Exiting the system with decentralisation
00:32:35: Government vs known crypto personalities
00:38:54: Decentralising the company
00:40:13: ShapeShift's revenue model
00:42:15: Liquidity pools explained
00:45:01: Costs of decentralising the company
00:46:20: Compensation for employees
00:48:41: Profits for token-holders
00:51:04: The merit of tokens
00:55:15: Criticisms of ShapeShift's decentralisation
00:58:03: Risks of decentralising the company
01:04:09: The Infrastructure Bill
01:10:22: Final comments

 

SUPPORT THE SHOW

If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:

If you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

SPONSORS

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

SHOW NOTES

Connect with Erik:

Connect with Udi:

Mentioned in the interview:

Other Relevant WBD Podcasts:

PodcastPeter McCormack