315: Filling crypto’s data gap: Catherine on ZK-proofed databases & institutional growth

Catherine (Space and Time) breaks down why blockchains alone can’t power complex apps—and how a verifiable, decentralized database with ZK proofs closes the gap for enterprises, devs, and AI agents. We cover: what SxT is, how its patented ZK approach offloads compute to a single node and proves correctness on-chain, why institutional adoption is sticky, and marketing tactics that actually work in Web3 (what to outsource vs keep in-house). She also shares the Indonesia education rollout (UGM + Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison/IOH), token-powered payments, and what she’d do with unlimited community budget.Key timestamps (YouTube format)[00:00:00] Opening clip: From “future of money” to “verifiable data for smart contracts” [00:01:00] Live at Token2049: who Catherine is and what we cover [00:02:00] Origin story: joining Space and Time to solve crypto’s database gap [00:03:00] Mission: empower devs/enterprises/AI agents with verifiable data [00:04:00] Why chains ≠ databases: limits, complexity, and enterprise SLAs [00:05:00] The core innovation: patented ZK proofs for database compute [00:05:45] How it works (plain English): single-node compute, on-chain verification [00:06:30] Catherine’s background: technical marketing roots → Web3 [00:07:00] Founder tip: what to outsource vs keep internal (PR, events, community) [00:08:00] Campaigns that win: enterprise/institutional stories beat gimmicks [00:09:00] Example: Microsoft Fabric integration momentum[00:10:00] Listening to the market: community as your feedback engine [00:11:00] Indonesia rollout: IOH partnership and 100k+ students onboarding [00:12:00] UGM framework: verifiable diplomas/records; SXT as payment rail [00:13:00] Longevity question: decentralization and community node operators [00:15:00] If starting today: what they’d build vs leverage in the ecosystem [00:16:00] Why institutional demand is slow but sticky (and good for cycles) [00:17:00] Competing for attention vs building fundamentals and partnerships [00:18:00] What Space and Time needs now: builders to ship with verifiable data [00:19:00] Who they admire: Chainlink’s dual GTM (community + enterprise) [00:20:00] Unlimited budget thought experiment: country leads and community depth [00:20:45] Advice to community managers: shared values, inclusion, tight feedback loops [00:21:30] Close: links, how to try SxT, and why this matters for Web3 buildersConnecthttps://www.spaceandtime.io/https://twitter.com/SpaceandTimeDBhttps://discord.gg/spaceandtimeDB https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinehdaly/https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-and-time-db/DisclaimerNothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. Finally, it would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend.Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/