We see momentum everywhere. We see our beliefs — that everyone has a right to privacy, that the pursuit of economic freedom is virtuous, that the future of money is an attack- and censorship-resistant cryptocurrency — being shared in communities all over the world by more and more people.
And we are inspired by the ideas and ideals — and the challenges — this movement is bringing forth.
Zooko witnessed this groundswell on trips to India and Singapore earlier this month, where he met with developers, privacy advocates, students, journalists and policy makers.
In Bangalore, he was introduced to reporters from The Hindu and The Economic Times and met the IT Minister of Karnataka to provide inputs on the state’s blockchain roadmap. He met the founders of several Indian crypto exchanges (Coinome, Unocoin and CoinSwitch), briefed Sequoia portfolio companies, and participated in a fireside panel hosted by Accel that included more than 50 leading investors, tech operators and senior professionals in the Bangalore ecosystem. In Chennai, he attended a dinner with 30 key blockchain and technology experts and met with Dr. Pandu Rangan, the Head of Cryptography at IIT-Madras to discuss the latest developments with Zcash.
In Singapore, Zooko presented at De/Centralize, a blockchain conference “examining the thematic interplay of decentralization and centralization in technology, economics and law,” forged a few new relationships with companies like Pundix, met with a number of top officials of the Singapore government, and he helped lead deep-dive blockchain training at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
The point of this brief post isn’t to provide a moment-by-moment itinerary of Zooko’s travels. But we point out some highlights because we were reminded that this movement we’re a part of is no small thing. We are encouraged and humbled, and our beliefs in freedom and economic opportunity are bolstered.
