Silvio Micali & Steven Kokinos: Algorand – In Pursuit of the Blockchain Trilemma (#323)

The blockchain trilemma is the generally accepted concept that it's not possible to scale public and permissionless blockchains without compromising on security, decentralization, or both.

While the industry seems focused on building Layer 2 solutions to scale the transaction capacity of public networks, Algorand believes it has solved the trilemma, offering a network that scales without compromise to security or decentralization.

Silvio Micali, Algorand's Founder and Head of Research, as well as the company's CEO, Steven Kokinos, discuss the project's background, recent protocol upgrades, and how Algorand will create a great ecosystem for developers.

Topics discussed in this episode:
- Silvio’s path from academia to blockchain entrepreneurship
- What Algorand addresses that other blockchains don’t
- The blockchain trilemma: security, decentralization, scalability
- How Algorand mitigates risk present on other blockchains
- The TEAL smart contract language and how it's unique
- Building primitives: atomics swaps, asset issuance, and a smart contract language called TEAL
- Applications and use-cases for Algorand
- The Algorand Foundation
- What’s next for Algorand

Links mentioned in this episode:
- Algorand Website: http://bit.ly/2RMrw5d
- Whitepaper: http://bit.ly/30DbGxy
- Algorand on Twitter: http://bit.ly/2RbWowQ
- Algorand on Medium: http://bit.ly/2uiBRxk
- Algorand on YouTube: http://bit.ly/37cxORR
- Algorand Year in Review (YouTube): http://bit.ly/364Fc0o

Sponsors:
- Status: A multi-purpose communication tool that combines a peer-to-peer messenger, secure crypto wallet, and web3 browser - https://status.im/
- Cosmos: Compete to win 100,000 ATOM by building and running Cosmos Zones - https://cosmos.network/goz/
- Pepo: Meet the people shaping the crypto movement - https://pepo.com/epicenter

This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/323