Urbit, Nockchain, and the Current State of Sovereignty Technology 3da2m

In this episode, I look back on my journey with Urbit, the ambitious project to rebuild the internet, why I stepped back, detailing the project's unexpected twists, including the challenges faced by startups attempting to build on the platform and the surprising return of founder Curtis Yarvin. I take an honest look at how his initial timeline expectations were off and the difficulties encountered, like the "death by a thousand paper cuts" from technical issues that made building on Urbit painful. This period offered significant learning about technology projects, market sentiment, and the allure of hype cycles. I share how these experiences shaped my current, more measured approach, as well as my year long involvement with Zorp, a startup from the Urbit ecosystem now building Nockchain, a novel zero knowledge proof of work blockchain. He discusses the potential of ZKPs and why I've adopted a strategy of patient, behind the scenes work before public promotion. I also discuss working on Nockchain, even building an anonymous following for its blog from scratch. I talk about Nockchain's imminent "fair launch," where anyone can begin mining. This episode is a candid reflection on past miscalculations and a look at a new venture in radical sovereignty technology. 01:21 Discovering Urbit 02:44 Involvement with Urbit 04:44 Challenges and Reflections 05:38 The Independent Scholar 06:57 Urbit's Market Dynamics 15:31 Urbit Startups and Setbacks 22:49 The Rise and Fall of Urbit 23:38 Orbit's Struggles and My Realizations 24:54 Current State and Future Potential of Urbit 31:42 The Promise of Zero Knowledge Proofs 35:18 Introducing Nock Chain 38:31 Reflections and Lessons Learned 45:05 The Launch of Nock Chain Other Life ✦ The coolest free newsletter in the world: https://otherlife.co ✦ The monthly PRINT edition: https://otherlife.co/upgrade ✦ My new book, The Independent Scholar: https://otherlife.co/scholar 6c5fx