Episode 20: Scaling On Chain Financial Apps

Algorand came on the scene in 2017 with the promise of a blockchain that would bring radical improvements to the scale and speed of blockchain transactions. The Algorand team has delivered in a big way with blockchain infrastructure that can scale to billions of users, tens of millions of daily transactions, all with negligible transaction fees. And, unlike first-generation blockchains, Algorand’s platform was designed from the ground up to address the unique requirements of global payment applications and financial networks.    These are critically important attributes for the stablecoin ecosystem as large financial institutions around the world begin to add digital dollars to the mix of products and services offered to businesses and clients. Just a few days ago, USD Coin (USDC), the fastest growing, fully-reserved and regulated digital dollar stablecoin surpassed $2.3 billion marketcap, representing nearly 500% growth YTD and over $130B in on-chain transaction volume since launching just two years ago.    To keep pace, Centre Consortium, which oversees the USDC standard and protocol, announced a framework for Multichain USDC. Earlier this month, Algorand became the second public blockchain to be certified by Centre as an officially supported chain for USDC.  With the launch, Algorand brings over 1,000 tps and transaction fees of 1/20th of a cent to the USDC ecosystem. In conjunction with the announcement, Circle announced broad support for USDC on Algorand in its global financial account and platform services for businesses around the world.   This week, it's with great pleasure that we bring Algorand founder, Turing Award winner, and MIT professor, Silvio Micali, to the show to share his thoughts on the state of the Algorand blockchain the major innovations coming down the road, including the implications for the use of USDC. We're also excited to have Algorand CEO, Steve Kokinos, on to discuss the incredible trajectory of the organization, the fast-growing global community, and industry and use-case priorities as we round out 2020, what's shaping up to be an amazing year for stablecoins and proof-of-stake blockchains.   Live on YouTube Thursday September 24th at 1p ET, Watch each week live on YouTube, and be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts,  Spotify and YouTube.