₿🗣️ Privacy and Scriptless Scripts

Hi everyone, we can set up another meetup before the holidays after all!

A lot of people have been wondering lately about the GDPR and privacy laws, and how all this might apply to blockchains, as the data contained in the transactions and "smart contracts" of an immutable blockchain is in most cases pretty personal and usually cannot be altered or removed.

There is a lot that can be debated about this complex topic in any desired broadness and depth, with plenty of material for several evenings, but tonight we're going to pick out certain aspects.

First we are going to learn if and how businesses and startups in the space are affected by these regulations already today, what they are doing about it, and what their stance about user privacy is in general.

Suffice to say and in any case, the individual's privacy on the technological level has actually and always been the goal of the movement that eventually led to the creation of Bitcoin.

So later in the evening we're going to look at how "smart" contracts, and the data required to run them, might look like in the future when a technique named "Scriptless Scripts" is applied. The scripts of this type are executed off-chain, and are merely settled on-chain.

So what does this mean? We're going to learn about the cryptographic toolbox and the mathematical building blocks for the future of programmable money and more, in a way that also laymen can gain insights and the ability to assess the practical implications and the impact on the use-cases they care about.

The timing is good because the first altcoins, called "Grin" and "Beam", which are based on the so-called "Mimblewimble" blockchain format, are about to launch these days. Besides being related to Scriptless Scripts, this format helps blockchains also to scale better, while improving privacy and fungibility. The implementation of these concepts into Bitcoin is on the roadmap, but it might still take a few years.

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Speakers:

Daniel Wingen, product & business manager, startup builder, entrepreneuer, crypto-enthusiast

• https://blockkeeper.io
• https://twitter.com/danielwingen
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielwingen/

devdig, software developer and enthusiastic applied cryptography amateur

• https://blockchain-consulting.net/

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Rough plan:

18³⁰ Doors

18⁴⁵ Welcome from your hosts

19⁰⁰ Talks

20³⁰ Q&A and discussions

21⁰⁰ Networking, open end

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Many thanks to Raphael and EQS for hosting us this time! They will have some interesting announcements. https://www.eqs.com/

Refreshments and food will be provided for.

Subject to changes/additions.

Illustration from https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/scriptless-scripts-how-bitcoin-can-support-smart-contracts-without-smart-contracts/

(Our meetup group is organized by independent enthusiasts and not affiliated with venues, sponsors, or external speakers of this or past events. Views expressed by them do not necessarily represent our own. We aim to educate i.a. by putting forward the various viewpoints and opinions in the crypto-currency and blockchain space, encouraging discussions to enable everyone to make up their own minds. In particular, our program is not to be understood as investment advice.)