Blockchain Scotland Meetup
Welcome to the Monthly Blockchain Scotland Meetup at the Bayes Centre in Edinburgh. The event takes place at the ground floor in G.03.
Notice: The first talk starts earlier than originally planned
17.00 - 17.20
Arrivals & Networking
17.20 - 17.40 "Stablecoins and their Evolution" by Aishwary Gupta, Global Head of Payments, Polygon Labs (remote)
The talk is going to focus on how the stablecoins are becoming more and more mainstream and getting more adopted with companies, brands, fintech etc.
Polygon is a blockchain platform designed to address Ethereum's scalability challenges by providing Layer 2 scaling solutions. It enhances transaction speeds, reduces costs, and maintains security by using sidechains, proof-of-stake validators, and advanced technologies like zk-rollups and optimistic rollups.
17.40 - 17.55 Q&A
17.55 - 18.00
Welcome from the organizer
18.00 - 18.10 Short break
18.10 - 18.30 "Sortes: A Trustless welfare lottery system" by Steve Li, Cofounder at Sortes.fun, CEO, Externality Labs (remote)
Fairness, Transparency, Security! Tracing its roots to Roman rituals around 100 B.C., 'SORTES' signified 'FATE' and was a method to glimpse the future. Over time, it transitioned into an equitable lottery, ensuring a widespread distribution of wealth.
18.30 - 18.45 Q&A
18.45 - 19.05 Break with refreshments
19.05 - 19.25 "Network School: a Tech Monastery for dark talents" by Leonardo Manfrini, Network School (remote)
The talk will introduce Balaji’s Network School as a start-up society for techno-optimists: a tech monastery where dark talents train through autonomy and challenge. Leonardo will share his own experiment within this greater experiment: running async Learnathons and prototyping LearnOS as an open coordination layer for sovereign learners. It’s a glimpse into how education, protocol culture, and high-agency collaboration converge at the frontier.
About the speaker: Leonardo Manfrini is one of the 256 members of Network School v2 and co-founder of Impssbl (now Pensiero Inc.).
About Balaji: Balaji S. Srinivasan is an influential entrepreneur, investor, and technologist, best known as the former CTO of Coinbase and a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. He has co-founded several successful startups, including Counsyl, Earn.com, Teleport, and Coin Center, and is recognized for his pioneering work in the fields of crypto, genomics, and decentralized technology. Balaji holds multiple degrees from Stanford University and is the bestselling author of "The Network State," where he explores the future of digital communities and network-driven societies.
19.25 - 19.40 Q&A
19.40 Introductions + Announcements
20.00 Pizza & drinks
(incl. vegan options)
Networking and drinks until 9.30 pm in Bayes
21.30 - 23.00 Networking in the Pear Tree
Drinks and networking in the Pear Tree until 11 p.m.
At the pub they are offer drinks and dinner (until 10 pm).
Please join us to the Pear Tree where the discussions will continue.
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