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
Matthew Leising was one of the first mainstream journalists to understand the implications of blockchain technology for finance, culture and industry in general when he began covering it for Bloomberg News in 2015. He co-founded Decential Media in 2021 to focus exclusively on telling the stories of the founders, builders and visionaries who are creating a new decentralized economy and Internet experience. His expertise lies in Ethereum, where his sources include the people who invented and then built the world’s most-used blockchain. His 2020 book Out of the Ether is the definitive history of how the Ethereum blockchain was created.
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.