315: Filling crypto’s data gap: Catherine on ZK-proofed databases & institutional growth
Description
Catherine (Space and Time) breaks down why blockchains alone can’t power complex apps—and how a verifiable, decentralized database with ZK proofs closes the gap for enterprises, devs, and AI agents. We cover: what SxT is, how its patented ZK approach offloads compute to a single node and proves correctness on-chain, why institutional adoption is sticky, and marketing tactics that actually work in Web3 (what to outsource vs keep in-house). She also shares the Indonesia education rollout (UGM + Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison/IOH), token-powered payments, and what she’d do with unlimited community budget.
Key timestamps (YouTube format)
[00:00:00 ] Opening clip: From “future of money” to “verifiable data for smart contracts”
[00:01:00 ] Live at Token2049: who Catherine is and what we cover
[00:02:00 ] Origin story: joining Space and Time to solve crypto’s database gap
[00:03:00 ] Mission: empower devs/enterprises/AI agents with verifiable data
[00:04:00 ] Why chains ≠ databases: limits, complexity, and enterprise SLAs
[00:05:00 ] The core innovation: patented ZK proofs for database compute
[00:05:45 ] How it works (plain English): single-node compute, on-chain verification
[00:06:30 ] Catherine’s background: technical marketing roots → Web3
[00:07:00 ] Founder tip: what to outsource vs keep internal (PR, events, community)
[00:08:00 ] Campaigns that win: enterprise/institutional stories beat gimmicks
[00:09:00 ] Example: Microsoft Fabric integration momentum
[00:10:00 ] Listening to the market: community as your feedback engine
[00:11:00 ] Indonesia rollout: IOH partnership and 100k+ students onboarding
[00:12:00 ] UGM framework: verifiable diplomas/records; SXT as payment rail
[00:13:00 ] Longevity question: decentralization and community node operators
[00:15:00 ] If starting today: what they’d build vs leverage in the ecosystem
[00:16:00 ] Why institutional demand is slow but sticky (and good for cycles)
[00:17:00 ] Competing for attention vs building fundamentals and partnerships
[00:18:00 ] What Space and Time needs now: builders to ship with verifiable data
[00:19:00 ] Who they admire: Chainlink’s dual GTM (community + enterprise)
[00:20:00 ] Unlimited budget thought experiment: country leads and community depth
[00:20:45 ] Advice to community managers: shared values, inclusion, tight feedback loops
[00:21:30 ] Close: links, how to try SxT, and why this matters for Web3 builders
Connect
https://twitter.com/SpaceandTimeDB
https://discord.gg/spaceandtimeDB
https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinehdaly/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-and-time-db/
Disclaimer
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