We at Decential Media feel there is too much focus in the media on the technological aspects of this industry that leaves a cold taste in many people’s mouths. Readers and viewers are left feeling that blockchain and defi are complicated, scary and too hard to understand. We disagree. To combat this misperception, we want to humanize the people who are at the forefront of this new alternative so as to set them apart from the corporate, centralized power structure that leaves people feeling helpless in the face of the technology they consume.
Decential will do this through a fundamental commitment to honesty, empathy, revelation and integrity. Our films, documentary series and journalism will strive to always put characters first, with all their warts and humanity on full display. We believe this will spread adoption of defi technology, cryptocurrency and the central tenant that peer-to-peer networks for the first time in human history allow a different path to be forged. There is also a spirituality that runs among many of the people creating this new alternative and we want to highlight that as a way to draw in newcomers. It’s not cynical to say that many of the people who created Ethereum did so in a passionate attempt to make the world a better place. That’s the message Decential wants to convey.
Matthew Leising
Matt has been a reporter since 2001 and for the past 17 years has been with Bloomberg News. He began covering crypto in 2015 as one of the first mainstream journalists to understand what the breakthrough of blockchain technology could mean for finance, culture and industry in general. His expertise lies in the Ethereum blockchain world, where he knows the people who invented and then built the world’s mostused blockchain.
He’s written extensively on the intersection of Wall Street and decentralized finance and how new peer-to-peer systems can change the way the current Internet works. He’s one of the foremost experts on the DAO, the early and ill-fated defi experiment in Ethereum that was hacked to the tune of $55 million in 2016. This all culminated in his 2020 book Out of the Ether, the Amazing Story of Ethereum and the $55 Million Heist That Almost Destroyed It All.
Neil Berkeley
Neil Berkeley is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and entrepreneur. His third feature film, Gilbert, chronicles the life and career of beloved and intensely private comedian, Gilbert Gottfried. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017 and was distributed by Gravitas Ventures with exclusive SVOD on Hulu. His first feature film, Beauty Is Embarrassing, premiered at SXSW in 2012 and chronicles the life and times of the inspiring artist Wayne White. The film won several Best Documentary Awards and was featured in PBS’ Independent Lens in January of 2013. His second feature, Harmontown, premiered at SXSW in 2014 and follows self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon on an emotional, cross-country journey of self-discovery. Berkeley most recently served as showrunner for Amazon’s stand up comedy doc series, Inside Jokes.