We organized the first Berlin Circle at the iconic Holzmarkt 25 on Oct. 17, a venue many Berliners see as a grassroots response to the city’s gentrification. The event brought together a diverse group of thinkers, activists, and builders to explore winnable issues for local impact. Here’s a recap of the evening:
Overview
Attendance: 20 RSVPs (via Luma), 8 attendees
General Note: No consensus on a single “winnable” issue, but the discussion was energetic and engaging, with potential for deeper exploration in future sessions.
Participants
Holke – Founder at Hypercerts Foundation and research scientist at Protocol Labs. Focused on decentralized tech for funding public goods, exploring impact certificates, and decentralized verifiers. Mentioned projects like GainForest, Gitcoin, and Hypercerts.
Justus – Physics student and activist with Students for Liberty. Engaged in traditional politics in the Baltic Sea region, with a skeptical perspective on crypto.
Irena – COO at Valueverse Polis Labs (Prague). Background in the art market, now working on token engineering and tokenomics analysis.
Dan – Berlin-born builder at Moonity, currently outside crypto. Developing an empathy app to help children break tantrum spirals. OG Bitcoiner and co-founder at Otori.
Balazs – Research engineer at Status and Codex. Background in classical finance and zero-knowledge proofs, part-time contributor to Logos.
Chris K. – Logos supporter.
Stojan – DJ.
Chris E. – From Ephema, arrived late and left shortly after.
Brainstorming: Winnable Issues
The group explored several potential projects, each with unique challenges and opportunities:
Food-Waste Reduction Platform
Problem: By the time people hear about surplus food, it’s often already spoiled.
Notes: Regulatory hurdles could be a challenge, but anonymity might encourage participation. Potential partner: Haus der Statistik (Berlin) to help navigate rules.
Inspiration: Too Good To Go, Restaurants du Cœur (France).
Challenge: Reducing operational hassle for restaurants—must be easy to use.
Women’s Safety / Dating “Red-Flag” App
Concept: Peer-shared reports or warning signals about potentially dangerous dates.
Considerations: Safety, defamation risks, moderation, verification, and legal compliance.
Substance Checker (Anti-Rape-Drug & Quality Check)
Concept: Test kits or checkpoints to verify substances and detect adulterants.
Considerations: Legal framework, liability, lab partnerships, and public health collaborations.
Borrowing/Rental App (Local P2P Library)
Concept: Borrow instead of buy; ratings system similar to Kleinanzeigen/eBay, with a community feel like Nebenan.
Considerations: Liability deposits, trust & ID verification, and handling lost/damaged items.
Deliver Surplus Food to People in Need
Concept: Phone-based requests; QR wallet hosted elsewhere; tokens redeemable at partner bakeries/groceries.
Considerations: Phone access among unhoused people, fraud prevention, and merchant onboarding.
Regulated, Non-Anonymous Market for Drugs (Decentralized Silk Road)
Concept: Move transactions out of anonymity for harm reduction and traceability.
Considerations: Significant legal risks, platform accountability, and developer anonymity.
Support for Porn Professionals
Concept: Better payment and safety infrastructure for adult content workers.
Considerations: Platform compliance (banking/app stores), moderation, chargebacks, and legal challenges.
Inspiration: SpankChain
