Part 1- Swarm"If the Ethereum blockchain is the CPU of the world computer then Swarm is the hard disk."Swarm is a native base layer service of Ethereum which acts as a decentralized storage and communication system. Swarm aims to provide a decentralized peer-to-peer storage that is decentralized, DDOS-Resistant and has zero downtime. A built in incentive system makes Swarm self sustaining and enables trading resources for payment.  Listen as the guys discuss how swarm works, how is it different from other web3 storage solutions such is IPFS and Filecoin and what are the advantages of using Swarm.Part 2 - GPT-3OpenAI has recently given consumers the access to GPT-3, an autoregressive language model,  which allows them to build apps using AI models. It can perform a wide range of natural language task and Codex, translating natural language to code.The guys discuss the possibilities it opens up for building apps, how can we use AI for trading crypto and what projects are currently in works using AI.

In the the year 2021 users spent over $41 billion on NFT platforms. OpenSea was and still remains the most popular marketplace for NFT users and it alone was responsible for almost $15 billion of the total volume in 2021. We might be in a bear market now but the interest around NFTs hasn't wavered off by a lot. So in this short episode of Missing Links Stephen and Brock talk about an NFT collection launched by Brock and his friends (Hot Dog Time Machine). They talk about different technical components that are involved in launching an NFT and what does the future look like for NFTs once this bear market subsides. 

After attending Devcon in Bogota, Stephen and Brock are back and this week they talk about Layer 3. Vitalik Buterin co-founder of Ethereum has recently talked about what kind of L-3 is possible and what problems does this address. https://vitalik.ca/general/2022/09/17/layer_3.htmlLayer-1 is the base block chain i.e. Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.  Whereas Layer-2 is a roll up on top  of the Layer-1 i.e. Optimism and Arbitrum.  Layer-2 provides scalability and performance improvements by taking  transactions off the main chain without sacrificing on security. So a concept that pops up over and over again is can we go up another layer and build a Layer-3 and provide more scalability on top of Layer-2. Listen as the guys discuss if L-3 is really a possibility? Can we simply have a better L-2 without having a need for a L-3? If L-3 is the way forward for scalability on Ethereum  blockchain then what solutions it will provide. 

This week on Missing Links Stephen, John and Brock talk about Fiat on-ramps and off-ramps.Most financial apps built in web 3 require an on-ramp and off-ramp service to exchange currencies between fiat and crypto. With the adoption of cryptocurrency in the mainstream, governments and regulatory authorities had to step in to put in some laws to stop  illegal activities that may be carried out by the use of cryptocurrencies. Know Your Customer or commonly known as KYC was put in place as a legal requirement to comply with the new laws. An effective KYC requires 3 things1. Knowing customer's identity2. Knowing their financial activities3. Knowing the risk they poseAll cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet providers are required to integrate KYC processes. There are some issues when it comes to KYC as each exchange and wallet requires their own KYC process, which is an issue that needs a solution if more people are to use cryptocurrencies as the main mode of payment. Listen as the guys talk about the regulations around cryptocurrencies, the issues with the current KYC procedures and how it effects web 3 as a whole. 

In this Episode of Missing Links John, Brock and Stephen talk about data storage using IPFS, Filecoin and Arweave. IPFS is a protocol created by Protocol Labs to share and transfer verifiable data between a peer to peer network. Filecoin is a complimentary protocol  built on top of IPFS which incentivizes node operators to store data for a given period of time. Filecoin offers contract based storage to its users, where users have to pay a monthly fee in order for a network of nodes to store that data for an agreed amount of time. Arweave offers a completely different economic model to Filecoin. Arweave offers permanent storage for a one time up-front free.Listen as the guys discuss, how each of these protocols work, what are the pros and cons of each protocol,  how do they handle data and how do they incentivize miners to ensure availability and reliability of data storage.  

Cryptocurrency addresses are long strings of letters and numbers which are needed to send funds over Ethereum's network.  If a user wants to send funds they need to ensure that they type each letter and number correctly, as any mistake will lead to those funds being lost. ENS provides a solution to this problem by converting these complicated long addresses into easily readable text. So just as the name suggests ENS or Ethereum Name Service gives a name to a blockchain address. Listens as the guys talk about ENS, what it is, how it works, the ENS token and what is the future of ENS.

The Merge is the biggest and most anticipated upgrade in the history of Ethereum.  This marks the beginning of a new era for Ethereum where it transitions from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. In The Merge the Ethereum Mainnet will merge with the Beacon Chain but the guys think its less of a merge and more of a switchover. In this Episode of Missing Links, John, Brock and Stephen the differences between proof-of-stake and proof-of-work. What are the security implications of The Merge? Will The Merge be a success for Ethereum? And what effects will it have on the crypto market?

Non-Fungible Tokens commonly known as NFTs are tokens held on blockchain that are a representation of a unique physical or digital asset and in some cases both. Each NFT has a unique ID which makes each token unique, making them different from a cryptocurrency token where users own a volume of the same token.  Real Estate is expected to be the biggest use for NFTs  but it is currently dominated by collectibles.  It's still early days in the world of NFTs, yet there are a lot of use cases such as metaverse, gaming, events, e-commerce, royalties that are being explored.In this episode of Missing Links, John, Brock And Stephen discuss what is an NFT? What are the different ERC standards of NFTs?  What are the current use cases for NFTs? And what is the future of NFTs in Web 3.0.

Tornado Cash has been in the news lately due to multiple different reasons. In this Episode John, Brock and Stephen discuss Tornado Cash. What it is? How it works? And with all the speculation around it lately, is it really a good thing or a bad thing?U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has declared any sort of interaction with Tornado Cash illegal for U.S citizens, which makes any funds being withdrawn from Tornado Cash illegal. This move has drawn a lot of criticism from the crypto community as people stand to lose their funds. On the other hand, Alexey Pertsev, the developer behind Tornado Cash has been arrested in Netherlands.They also discuss about Dusting; where people have been sending small amounts of funds from Tornado Cash to random accounts, putting the account owners under scrutiny as well. Such one case is of Brian Armstrong (CEO of Coinbase) where he was sent funds from Tornado Cash into his account, even though there is no evidence that he has personally used Tornado Cash. 

In this episode of Missing Links John, Brock and Stephen discuss Layer 2. What it is? And why it is needed in Web 3.0? And they also discuss what is the biggest issue with Ethereum right now?Layer 1 is the main chain  or the infrastructure on which applications, networks and protocols are built upon. The primary characteristic of Layer 1 is the consensus mechanism.  Layer 2 is a derivative of Layer 1 where transaction rate can be controlled with its own consensus mechanism.Scalability is the biggest problem with Ethereum right now. Ethereum is packed with transactions that cause congestion resulting in higher cost of transactions. Layer 2 provides a solution this problem. Listen as the guys talk about Layer 2 and the upcoming Ethereum 2.