I am really excited about this episode which is a deep dive into the topic of Zero Knowledge, through the lens of one of its main actor, the Mina Protocol and its ecosystem, supported by the Mina Foundation.

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In this conversation, I have the chance to welcome, Kurt Hemecker, who is the Chief Operating Officer at the MINA Foundation. Kurt Hemecker brings over two decades of global business experience, including roles at the Facebook-backed Diem stablecoin project, and PayPal, to his new role as Chief Operating Officer at Mina Foundation.

With their holistic zero knowledge product suite including zkApps, zkBridges, and zkOracles, Mina is positioned to become the powerhouse for privacy and security in Web3. Mina has continuously shown signs of massive potential with one of the most efficient ZK proving technologies out there, world-class teams, and unparalleled success at building a global community.

Mina is the world’s lightest blockchain, powered by participants. Rather than apply brute computing force, Mina uses advanced cryptography and recursive zk-SNARKs to design an entire blockchain that is about 22kb, the size of a couple of tweets.

It is the first layer-1 to enable efficient implementation and easy programmability of zero knowledge smart contracts (zkApps). With its unique privacy features and ability to connect to any website, Mina is building a private gateway between the real world and crypto—and the secure, democratic future.

In this episode we talk about:
- what brought Kurt to crypto
- the privacy in the digital age and the ethics of technology
- decentralization, trust and power distribution
- how MINA is different from other ZK players
- we also go into the technical details of how to build on the MINA Protocol
- use cases spanning DeFi, Gaming, AI, logistics and supply chain but also healthcare
- the strategies to build and incentivize the MINA community

Plus so much more. Let’s get into the episode right now.

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MINA Foundation, MINA Protocol: https://minaprotocol.com/about

zkIgnite: https://minaprotocol.com/zkignite-cohort1-signup

0(1) Labs: https://o1labs.org

MINA Protocol on twitter: https://twitter.com/MinaProtocol

MINA Foundation on twitter: https://twitter.com/MinaFoundation

Kurt Hemecker on twitter: https://twitter.com/khem

Diem Project: https://www.diem.com/en-us/

Novi, digital wallet, shutting down: https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/2/23192501/meta-shutting-down-digital-wallet-novi-diem-cryptocurrency

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The podcasts Runway Series Originals, AMA VC, Human Factor, No-Code VC / Fit, Venture Talks & Solo-GP Series are produced by UPCOMINGVC® (⁠⁠⁠www.upcoming.vc⁠⁠⁠), created and hosted by Raphael Grieco (⁠https://olivecapital.vc⁠ / ⁠https://mint.rapha.elgrie.co⁠ / ⁠https://www.raphael-grieco.com⁠ / ⁠https://rapha.elgrie.co⁠)