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World Congress 2022 • Jun 14, 2022

Blockchains are Dumb

Jonan Scheffler

What if the greatest strength of a blockchain is that it's functionally dumb? Discover how deterministic code and verifiable mathematical truth can finally replace opaque institutional trust.

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#1 about 3 min

Adopting a healthy skepticism toward blockchain technologies

Adopting a healthy skepticism helps developers objectively evaluate decentralized technologies without getting caught up in hype.

#2 about 3 min

Recruitment trends and early cryptocurrency encounters

Early foundational experiences with Bitcoin shape how engineers interpret the modern web3 recruitment landscape.

#3 about 4 min

Historical evolution of monopolies and corporate structures

The history of the Dutch East India Company reveals the true origins of modern monopolies and centralized corporate control.

#4 about 3 min

ARPANET and the quest for resilient decentralized networks

Early defense initiatives drove the creation of fault-tolerant, decentralized computer networks intentionally designed to withstand devastating infrastructure failures.

#5 about 4 min

The Byzantine Generals Problem and managing malicious actors

Mathematical consensus enables distributed networks to function securely even when specific internal actors provide fraudulent information.

#6 about 2 min

Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance in distributed computing systems

Academic research on practical Byzantine fault tolerance officially solved exponential scaling limits for computing systems managing adversarial nodes.

#7 about 3 min

Satoshi Nakamoto and the reaction to centralized finance

Deep discontent with traditional financial bailouts and entrenched corporate monopolies inspired the rebellious creation of the Bitcoin genesis block.

#8 about 2 min

Public key cryptography and seed phrase security vulnerabilities

Managing complex cryptographic private keys and public seed phrases creates tremendous security risks for average non-technical users.

#9 about 2 min

Custodial wallets versus the risks of self-custody platforms

Centralized exchanges holding private keys recreate the exact systemic vulnerabilities and restrictive access limits of traditional banking institutions.

#10 about 2 min

Proof of work and computational hashcash spam prevention

Deterministic cryptographic guessing games definitively secure networks by requiring provable computational effort before a system approves any transactions.

#11 about 2 min

Proof of stake validators and aligned economic incentives

Threatening sudden financial loss for malicious node validators secures active networks while drastically reducing overall electricity consumption metrics.

#12 about 1 min

Governance challenges and time-locked token staking protocols

Locking stake durations directly balances systemic power against wealthy network participants in newer decentralized token voting protocols.

#13 about 2 min

Testing new governance models with reliable decentralized protocols

Blockchain ecosystems offer unique digital platforms to experiment with transparent representative frameworks amid rapidly rising democratic partisanship.

#14 about 3 min

Replacing centralized trust with deterministic smart contract execution

Public verified code and automated execution functions permanently remove hidden operational dependencies to create highly mathematically predictable organizational systems.

Matching moments

2:12 min

Navigating the complexities and trust limitations of blockchain networks

Darrel Idiagbor Darrel Idiagbor · World Congress 2023

2:26 min

How new technological solutions generate entirely new problems

Rene Kokott Rene Kokott · Europe 2026 Virtual

9:23 min

Recognizing blockchain utility and shaping future internet protocols

Brian Whippo Brian Whippo · Coffee With Developers

2:12 min

Introduction to blockchain, NFTs, and smart contracts

Hendrik Ebbers Hendrik Ebbers · LIVE

6:50 min

Audience Q&A on Web5 and decentralization protocols

Angie Jones Angie Jones · World Congress 2023

5:00 min

Addressing anonymity and complexity in technical adoption

Darrel Idiagbor Darrel Idiagbor

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Upcoming sessions on this topic

Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 16:10–16:40

Mainstage

ZTA: Zero Token Architecture

Kelsey Hightower

Minimalist

Kelsey Hightower
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 24, 2026 · 14:50–15:20

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The Era of Machine-Driven Defense is Here: Headless Security

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Founder & CTO of Sysdig

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World Congress 2026 North America

September 24, 2026 · 11:00–11:30

Stage 7

Responsible AI Architecture with Zero Trust Agents

Ashok Prakash

Staff ML Engineer at Apple

Ashok Prakash
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 14:50–15:20

Outdoor Stage

On the Public Clock: Open-Source Defense When You're Not in the Club

Nicholas Muy

VP Engineering Platform and Security at Scrut.io

Nicholas Muy
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 12:55–13:25

Stage 5

Not managing your content platform is surrendering your data to someone else.

Daniel Fau, Tom Warwick

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September 25, 2026 · 12:20–12:50

Stage 4

Give the Agent a Budget, Not a Token

Sachin Malhotra

MTS @Anthropic

Sachin Malhotra

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