Decentral Launches Bitcoin Talk Show and Video Channel

Toronto-based co-working space Decentral has rebranded, dropping 'bitcoin' from its name and launching two new sites including a 24-hour bitcoin video news service.

This will include the new Bloomberg-like information dashboard site Decentral TV, and a redesigned version of the original Decentral.ca site, which itself has a new focus on news updates and informational content.

Co-founder Anthony Di Iorio told CoinDesk Decentral's aim is to be "a home for decentralized and disruptive technologies", whatever form they may take, providing quality and in-depth reports from its Spadina Avenue studio and around the world.

He said:

"We want to make it the place where people are coming for everything they need in one spot."

The site will host multiple different video shows led by its flagship Decentral Talk Live show, a talk show-style program hosted by Di Iorio himself and partner Ethan Wilding, with a third rotating seat shared by up to 10 other hosts.

Viewers will be able to call or write in and ask questions of the hosts.

Other bitcoin video media producers will be invited to contribute too. The key, Di Iorio added, is quality.

"I think there's a lack of good quality (bitcoin) video content. There's a lack of reviews on products. Video reviews do really well, and I don't think there's anything in the bitcoin space that's really going in-depth with good product reviews. That's what we want to do."

Interviews for the flagship show will be done in Decentral's new studio and via Skype, featuring subjects from across the decentralized technology ecosystem.

News, reviews and more

So far the team has done interview series with representatives from various bitcoin ATM companies, is currently working on one with exchanges, and plans another with wallet services.

Di Iorio thinks there is enough material out there – whether it be news, reviews, or educational in nature – to supply about six hours of new content per day, which could then be repeated over a 24-hour period.

As well as the video content, Decentral TV's dashboard page features a selection of other news and information from the decentralized technology world: curated headlines from various daily news sources, price and mining data charts, and a ticker at the bottom of the screen showing price updates on the top 15 cryptocurrencies.

Users can configure their preferred exchanges and local currency for bitcoin prices. A dropdown playlist shows a selection of available videos.

As an incentive to viewers, Decentral TV will be running a 'hidden brain wallet' contest similar to the one used for its Rushwallet product, in which clues are hidden around the set for viewers to piece together. A total of 10 BTC will be up for grabs in the first two weeks.

Growing the team

Decentral began life as a co-working space for bitcoin startups, but has since expanded to house decentralized technology projects of all kinds, most notably crypto 2.0 project Ethereum.

Di Iorio said the organization is trademarking the 'Decentral' name in various jurisdictions with the goal of franchising its take on the co-working concept around the world.

"We're really building things up at Decentral. In-house we've got a graphic designer, lawyer, accountant, security specialist, developers – so we're really building up a good team and the co-working space is starting to pick up. It's going good."

Teams working at the Toronto location have produced the Kryptokit and Rushwallet bitcoin browser solutions, and the organization also hosts an accelerator fund to support entrepreneurs developing the second generation of cryptocurrencies.