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Ian Grigg: Ricardian Contracts and Digital Assets Prehistory

Episode Summary

Before 2013 few people paid attention to Bitcoin and blockchain, yet even back in the 1990s a vibrant group of prioneers pursued the vision of financial cryptography and digital cash. One of these was financial cryptographer and software developer Ian Grigg, who today works as an architecture consultant for R3. Grigg joined us for a discussion of the history of the digital cash, Bitcoin and his work on Ricardian Contracts, which foreshadowed today's smart contracts.

Episode Notes

Before 2013 few people paid attention to Bitcoin and blockchain, yet even back in the 1990s a vibrant group of prioneers pursued the vision of financial cryptography and digital cash. One of these was financial cryptographer and software developer Ian Grigg, who today works as an architecture consultant for R3.

Grigg joined us for a discussion of the history of the digital cash, Bitcoin and his work on Ricardian Contracts, which foreshadowed today’s smart contracts.

Topics covered in this episode:

• The origin story of financial cryptography
• DigiCash and the startup scene around it in the 1990s
• Ricardian Contracts and why contracts are central to digital assets
• Ricardian Contracts vs blockchain

Episode links:

• Ricardian Contract Paper
• Financial Cryptography Website
• Financial Cryptography in 7 Layers
• R3CEV
• Brown, Carlyle, Grigg & Hearn: Corda - An Introduction

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/151