Beyond the Code

This episode was recorded live at Consensus Miami 2026.Jonathan Schmalfeld — known as 'Birdnals' across Crypto Twitter — is Policy Director at The Digital Chamber. He came up doing soft IP litigation, got into crypto around 2015, and eventually turned what he was doing for fun into his full-time work.We cover the NFT IP moment, what it takes to be a real Web3 lawyer, the knowledge-sharing culture that makes this community unique, and how he went from associate at a major law firm to advocating for the industry in front of Congress and regulators.---This episode is sponsored by FirstRead (use BYNDTHECODE10 for 10% off).This show is hosted by Yitzy Hammer. Make sure to 'follow' us and click the "alert" button so you don't miss any future episodes. Check out our new website: www.beyondthecode.fm

In this episode of Beyond the Code, Yitzy sits down with David Alexander “Alex” Scheer, founder and CEO of zkMe, a zero-knowledge identity network that lets users prove who they are - and meet KYC/AML requirements - without exposing their personal data. zkMe builds identity oracles that turn existing credentials (passports, bank accounts, credit scores, tax records and more) into reusable, privacy-preserving proofs using zero-knowledge technology. Alex shares how a career that started in mechanical engineering and aerospace, moved through automotive supply-chain consulting and software, and eventually led him to Shanghai, MiCA, and the decision to jump head-first into decentralized identity. We dig into why MiCA’s early drafts convinced him that Web3 would need a decentralized identity primitive to survive, and how zkMe is now serving millions of verified users while staying fully privacy-first and compliant. Together we unpack what zero-knowledge proofs actually are (in human language), why Alex thinks ZK is more foundational than blockchains themselves, and how zk-based KYC can both meet FATF-level requirements and keep users pseudonymous until regulators really have grounds to pierce the veil. We explore the tension between regulators who are increasingly open to ZK approaches and compliance officers who’ve done things the same way for 40 years, as well as how stablecoins, self-custodial wallets and secondary markets are forcing a rethink of identity and risk.From open banking ZK credentials and under-collateralized lending, to AI agents, the “machine economy,” and the business model behind decentralized compliance, Alex explains where zkMe is growing next and why he sees ZK identity as an anti-cyclical bet on crypto’s regulated future.

EY’s Global Blockchain Leader Paul Brody joins Yitzy on Beyond the Code to peel back the curtain on how big companies really operate (“chaos on the inside”), why public blockchains beat private networks, and what it takes to ship serious enterprise workflows on Ethereum. We trace Paul’s zig-zagging path—Nigeria during a coup, Apple’s textbook S&OP, a Samsung prototype with a young Vitalik—to EY’s privacy stack (Nightfall/Starlight) and his “pragmatic ETH-maxi” thesis. Also: the lore behind EY’s most coveted swag.Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pbrody/Paul on X: https://x.com/pbrody Book — Ethereum for Business (in Plain English): https://www.amazon.com/Ethereum-Business-Plain-English-Generate-Management/dp/1954892101Buenos Aires event:⁠ https://luma.com/kylnbzb8EY Blockchain (Nightfall/Starlight code): github.com/eyblockchain ・ blockchain.ey.comTimestamps:00:00 EY boxer-shorts 😄07:06 Paul’s backstory: Africa studies → Nigeria mobile → first trip to Israel10:49 The coup, payroll, and a Swissair IOU13:35 “Chaos on the inside”: Samsung & big-company reality21:33 Apple’s S&OP masterclass (sales/marketing/supply chain in lockstep)33:48 Bitcoin → Ethereum: CES 2015 prototype with Vitalik; the light-bulb moment37:43 EY Blockchain: services + software; why zero-knowledge privacy mattered45:36 OpsChain, tokenizing “stuff,” notarization, contract manager; Xbox case study51:15 “Pragmatic ETH-maxi”: why standardization and network effects matter54:37 Enterprise Ethereum Alliance: becoming chair; back to public-chain roots56:50 ETH as an asset; closing notes & where to follow Paul

In this episode of Beyond the Code, Yitzy sits down with Steve Epstein — a distinguished systems/cybersecurity & AI engineer with roots at Bell Labs (alongside Peter Shor & Lov Grover), decades at NDS/Cisco/Synamedia, and currently working at Rafael, in Israel’s defense sector.Steve explains, in plain English, why quantum computing threatens today’s internet (RSA, ECDH, ECDSA), what Q-Day means, and when [it might be] coming, and how post-quantum cryptography (PQC) must be rolled out across clouds, hardware, supply chains, and especially blockchains.We cover the journey from satellite-TV smart cards and anti-piracy cat-and-mouse, to Netflix’s cloud migration and account-sharing detection (one of Steve’s 40–50 patents), to the stark reality of “harvest-now, decrypt-later”. Bottom line: crypto agility and PQC migration have to start now if we want banking, messaging, and crypto ledgers to survive the 2029–2035 Q-Day window.Topics & Timestamps00:00 Intro — who is Steven Epstein (Bell Labs → NDS/Cisco → Rafael; 40–50 patents)07:45 Smart cards, satellite TV security, and why hardware upgradability mattered12:20 Cloud era: Netflix, AWS, microservices — and the collapse of legacy pay-TV models18:45 Piracy at scale: finding and knocking down illegal streams (and why it barely works)23:30 Quantum 101: Shor’s algorithm, RSA/ECDH/ECDSA risk, Q-Day timelines31:40 PQC overview: Kyber, Dilithium, Falcon, SPHINCS+, HQC; crypto-agility in practice36:50 Harvest-now/decrypt-later and why blockchains are uniquely exposed41:50 Migration realities: cars, routers, military systems, supply chains47:30 What to do now: prioritize PQC for wallets, ledgers, key exchanges, and messaging