Friendly scamming with the Lightning Network

File sharing has been around for quite some time now, but some projects -such as the mainnet launch of filecoin, the timely reason for this episode - aim to add token-driven incentive structures into a world that was previously run by altruism and pragmatism. Crypto Finance's Head of Research, Dr. Lewin Boehnke, looks at the cryptoeconomics and token value proposition of distributed file storage. Due to poor audio quality near the end of the recording, we unfortunately had to cut this session a bit short, removing some of the Q&A.

Patrick Heusser, Head of Trading with Crypto Broker AG, shares his vision about what is needed to make DeFi relevant to a broader audience over the next five to ten years and which players - states and corporations - are to likely make this happen. Not everybody in the Crypto Finance group shares that same vision, which made for a very lively discussion.

Blockchains fork from time to time, there are ample examples. Some fork more than others and for different reasons. Crypto Finance’s Head of Research, Dr. Lewin Boehnke, takes the likely BCH chain split, planned for 15 November, 2020, as a sufficient reason to reflect on the ideological differences among blockchain communities and how and why this influences the likelihood of a chain split as a mechanism for resolving disagreements.

Most retail users would agree that it's a good thing that financial institutions that handle their money have some degree of regulatory supervision. Many holders of crypto assets hold in high regards their right to financial privacy and reject any attempts at supervision. What happens if financial institutions handle crypto assets on behalf of clients? They have to be held to high standards and need to fulfil their AML obligations. The announcement of an automated and compliant transfer between Crypto Broker AG and Mt Pelerin (https://www.cryptofinance.ch/en/first-automated-compliant-digital-asset-transaction/), itself a big but straightforward and expected step following the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), raised some privacy concerns in the purer crypto-centric community. We brought in 21 Analytics founder Lucas Betschart to discuss what happened during this transaction, what type of information are and have to be exchanged, and with whom they are shared. We further discuss what impact this has on crypto asset holders who choose to not store their coins with a third party but be their own bank (spoiler: none).

Yes, the title is clickbait. No, we did not actually scam anybody and it is not really possible to do so (although we have a sneaking suspicion that some players are attempting just what is described in this episode). Lightning's distinct topology is not as intuitive as bitcoin's simple 'broadcast every information to everybody' approach. That is the perceptual disadvantage of its better algorithmic scaling. In this hands-on session, Dr Lewin Boehnke, Crypto Finance Head of Research, discusses this topology and the implications for routing, overall fee, and fee-gaming ideas.

When Ethereum Classic had its first noteworthy 51% attack, back in January 2019, Crypto Finance AG's Head of Research, Dr. Lewin Boehnke, felt obliged to record an 'Instant Emergency Education Session' for the team, to classify what happened and combat fear uncertainty doubt about that threatened to spread from this isolated event throughout the whole crypto asset ecosystem. With now three 51% attacks happening on Ethereum Classic within just the last month, the attention is not that high anymore, and the attacks more a reflection of the overall state of ETC than a specific event. Still, it seems like a good time to publish -outside the usual publication cycle every second Friday- this previously internal recording from 19 months ago. It is just as relevant now as on the day of recording.