TAIPEI,Taiwan–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum joins Taiwan’s First Digital Minister Audrey Tang in the latest episode of the TaiwanPlus Original video podcast “Innovative Minds with Audrey Tang,” following fellow tech trailblazer, YouTube co-founder, Steve Chen from the inaugural episode. Instead of speculating the future of the crypto, Buterin and Tang exchange views on decentralized governance in a world that is increasingly interconnected through the web.
When discussing solutions related to trust and security issues in crypto and other DAOs (Decentralized autonomous organization), Buterin introduces a mechanism called “Soulbound token,” which he believes can work beyond finance even apply to voting systems. Tang notes that for the future of digital participation in Taiwan’s open government, Soulbound may serve as a decentralized alternative to multi-factor authentication.
Known for his commitment to ethics in the tech community, Buterin discusses society’s lack of a “global public square,” where people around the world would be free to equitably exchange ideas. He explains that platforms like Twitter, which Buterin notes are often overly skewed towards Western voices, don’t adequately fill this gap. Like all innovations, he believes it will be a process that requires discussion, and the virtues of decentralized decision-making will help society to determine “what kind of a global public square or lack of one actually makes sense.”
Buterin and Tang agreed that for better or worse, social media and online communities are beginning to play a key role in geopolitics. “The war in Ukraine is definitely a watershed moment for the crypto space,” Buterin says, explaining how crypto users managed to raise more money than some nation states in supporting the Ukranian cause. But there are also risks associated with the integration of politics and digital information. For example, Russian intelligence has kept a close watch on public information forums and the crypto space during this period.
Encouraging the world’s next generation to pursue a breadth of interests and take bold risks, Buterin ends the interview by saying, “The best way to get in is just to actively contribute and participate and see where it takes you.”
The host, Audrey Tang, has been stewarding Taiwan’s social innovation, open government, and youth engagement policies since 2016. While they both began their career as developers and programmers, Buterin and Tang found themselves inspired by democracy and the potential of technology to improve lives and have now taken on unique positions at the intersection of innovation and governance.
Upcoming featured guests on the video podcast include U.S. House of Representatives member Ro Khanna and the former President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves. The two-part video podcast will be launched on June 17th and 18th worldwide on the TaiwanPlus website and YouTube, and the podcast version will be available on major podcast platforms. TaiwanPlus is the first English language, global news and entertainment media platform from Taiwan launched in 2021.
