https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voaeYnIJsAs

With an average block time of 5 seconds and sub-cent transaction gas fees, Celo focuses on scalability and ease of access in order to bring DeFi to those that need it the most. Celo’s vision of ensuring equal access is reflected through their mobile-first design, aiming to disrupt legacy TradFi. The upcoming transition to an optimistic L2 rollup aims to tap into Ethereum’s security, while maintaining minimal costs through Celo’s scalability and EigenLayer’s data availability solutions.

We were joined by Marek Olszewski & Rene Reinsberg to discuss Celo’s mobile-first approach to building a low-fee, high-throughput blockchain with real-world applications, and their transition to OP L2.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction & dYdX ad
1:27 – Rene’s and Marek’s backgrounds
4:36 – Celo’s design principles
6:54 – Celo’s scalability
11:00 – Mobile compatibility for blockchains and dApps
14:02 – Wallet UX
16:29 – Stablecoins as gas token & transaction confirmation times
21:04 – Optimising mobile accessibility
25:05 – SocialConnect & off-chain social identifiers
30:20 – Celo’s transition to an Ethereum OP L2
36:53 – Single block finality in an optimistic rollup
41:13 – Sequencer decentralisation
42:55 – Lowering costs of settling on Ethereum via EigenDA
49:29 – Credit Collective & Impact Market
57:16 – Mento DAO
59:22 – The future of Celo

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Marek Olszewski on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3sXh6WU
– Rene Reinsberg on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3N9l6Ky
– Celo on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3t896SO
– MiniPay on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3N9wvdp
– cLabs on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3GqqJk8
– Credit Collective on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3N3CAYL
– Impact Market on Twitter: https://bit.ly/46Hhzdo
– Mento Labs on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3RmaA5s

Sponsors:
– dYdX Foundation: The recently launched dYdX chain features new governance and token economics, that empower stakers and promote validator decentralisation. Bridge your DYDX tokens and contribute to the evolution of dYdX chain, fully permissionless and community driven. – https://bit.ly/47kqG59

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/524
#celo #ethereum #optimism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHK0TxVNfnw

Homo- (Greek prefix meaning ‘same’); -morphic (Greek suffix meaning ‘having a specific shape/form’)
Intuitively, one could deduct that homomorphic encryption indicates that the initial data and the encrypted result (cipher) could share the same form. Based on this property, it can be inferred that computation can be performed on the encrypted data, without prior decryption. By decrypting the result, you get the same output as the computation performed on the unencrypted data. While homomorphic encryption can be either additive or multiplicative, fully homomorphic encryption supports both types of operations. Unlike ZKPs, which are proofs of computational integrity, fully homomorphic encryption allows for encrypted data computation, without revealing additional information about the original data. This could provide the missing link for ensuring private transactions on blockchains’ public ledgers.

We were joined by Rand Hindi, CEO of Zama, to discuss fully homomorphic encryption solutions, how they differ from ZKPs & MPC, and how they can be leveraged to ensure compliant programmable privacy.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction & dYdX ad
1:17 – Rand’s background and his interest in privacy
7:07 – Meeting Pascal and founding Zama
8:54 – Fully homomorphic encryption (FHE)
10:39 – Zero knowledge proofs vs. Multi-party computation vs. Fully homomorphic encryption
23:47 – Taking fully homomorphic encryption ‘mainstream’
26:23 – Zama’s products
27:56 – fhEVM
33:04 – How multi-party computation would secure fhEVM
37:06 – Multi-key homomorphic encryption & functional encryption
39:05 – Deploying an FHE rollup
46:01 – FHE use cases
49:46 – Privacy
56:03 – Zama’s business model

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Rand Hindi on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3uxy5iX
– Zama on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3uuYJJc
– Fhenix on Twitter: https://bit.ly/49T9FjW

Sponsors:
– dYdX Foundation: The recently launched dYdX chain features new governance and token economics, that empower stakers and promote validator decentralisation. Bridge your DYDX tokens and contribute to the evolution of dYdX chain, fully permissionless and community driven. – https://bit.ly/47kqG59

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/523
#zama #privacy #ethereum #fhe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZI5aIhhGF0

The advancements of zero knowledge proving technology, hardware acceleration and proof recursion have significantly increased the efficiency of EVM-compatible zk provers. As a result, the former tradeoff in efficiency implied by EVM-compatibility is gradually improving. Translating Ethereum’s virtual machine bytecode ensures seamless scaling for applications, without the need for additional audits and security compromises.

We were joined by Ye Zhang, co-founder of Scroll, to discuss the EVM-compatible zero knowledge landscape and how Scroll aims to stay true to Ethereum’s values and community.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction & dYdX ad
1:37- Ye’s background in zk research
3:16 – Hardware limitations for zk tech
6:41 – Founding Scroll
11:20 – Why Scroll went for EVM compatibility
17:19 – Efficiency of EVM- vs. non-EVM-compatible zk provers
22:44 – The timeline of ideating Scroll
28:20 – Scroll mainnet launch
32:02 – Building the Scroll community
44:55 – Scroll token
45:57 – Sequencer decentralisation
51:50 – Data availability, validiums and security tradeoffs
58:12 – L2 bridges and interoperability
1:05:52 – Roadmap

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Ye Zhang on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3uicT0d
– Scroll on Twitter: https://bit.ly/47jrZBk

Sponsors:
– dYdX Foundation: The recently launched dYdX chain features new governance and token economics, that empower stakers and promote validator decentralisation. Bridge your DYDX tokens and contribute to the evolution of dYdX chain, fully permissionless and community driven. – https://bit.ly/47kqG59

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/522
#scroll #zeroknowledge #ethereum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMoYDktz510

Leading decentralised perpetual exchange, dYdX recently migrated to Cosmos to build its own sovereign appchain, in order to provide its users a much better trading experience, while continuing to deliver DeFi innovations (e.g. permisionless markets). By having full control over the appchain’s parameters, the dYdX DAOs can shape the future of the protocol, starting from the very bedrock, ensuring proper distribution and incentives for the validator set. From early adopter of L2 zero knowledge proofs (STARKs), to building its own Cosmos appchain, dYdX has proven once again to be a trailblazer for new technologies.

We were joined by Charles d’Haussy, CEO of dYdX Foundation, to discuss dYdX V4’s recent migration to a Cosmos appchain and what challenges it solves in terms of: order book decentralisation, validator distribution and user experience.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
1:15 – Charles’ background, from Asia to CEO of dYdX
5:05 – dYdX’s history and V4’s transition to a Cosmos appchain
15:47 – How perpetual futures work
20:58 – dYdX supported assets and permissionless markets
29:24 – DeFi innovations vs. CEX UX
36:16 – The current state of dYdX V4’s alpha mainnet
39:31 – dYdX validator dynamics & order book decentralisation
46:43 – dYdX’s DAOs & governance
50:15 – Mitigating MEV (feat. Skip Protocol)
55:13 – Migrating to Cosmos
58:45 – Astropolis
1:06:30 – The intersection of crypto & AI

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Charles d’Haussy on Twitter: https://bit.ly/49yLIhZ
– dYdX on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3QUeUZx
– dYdX Foundation on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3QTPISU
– Charles’ Astroprolis Keynote (Cosmoverse Istanbul): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIZ2t-K-M4E
– Cosmos on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3PcqYEo

This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/521
#dYdX #Cosmos #futurestrading

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svRqJth72r0

The very nature of Ethereum addresses, expressed as random hexadecimal character strings, represents a big hurdle for mass adoption, as they are not human-readable. ENS domains were envisioned to not only solve this and provide a seamless UX, but to also be the cornerstone of on-chain identities. However, in the current multichain landscape, a plethora of decentralised naming services arose, which led to a heterogeneous domain name pool. As a result, ENS aims to expand to L2s and non-EVM chains, attempting to provide consistency, in order to further reduce user friction and limit conflicting domain names.

We were joined by Nick Johnson, founder of ENS, to discuss the current state of decentralised naming services from a multichain and L2 perspective, and how these ultimately tie into decentralised identities.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
0:51 – Nick’s background and ENS history
3:39 – The plethora of decentralised naming services
7:47 – ENS use cases
11:04 – Interacting with Web2 DNS
16:09 – L2 compatibility for ENS via CCIP Read
25:39 – ENS wrapper and subdomains
28:47 – CCIP Read
33:09 – Bridging ENS to non-EVM L2s
37:15 – Coinbase’s cb.id
38:41 – ENS and on-chain privacy OPSEC
48:12 – Account abstraction
55:20 – The future of ENS
1:00:10 – Governance

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Nick Johnson on Twitter: https://bit.ly/40ojBh4
– ENS on Twitter: https://bit.ly/40skwNM

This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/520
#ENS #ethereum #DNS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijBOAXrNOCk

While competition fosters innovation, the proliferation of different blockchains has resulted in the fragmentation and isolation of liquidity within each ecosystem. Early attempts to address this issue primarily involved bridges and wrapped assets. Unfortunately, these solutions were often vulnerable to hacks and exploits, and the value of wrapped assets was contingent on the security of the wrapper contract, rather than the underlying asset. Cross-chain swaps of native assets hold the promise of resolving liquidity fragmentation, but numerous technological challenges must be overcome to make them as seamless as same-chain swaps.

We were joined by Simon Harman, founder of Chainflip, to discuss multi-chain liquidity fragmentation and how Chainflip’s JIT AMM (Just in Time) aims to solve this, by providing cross-chain native swaps.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
0:23 – Simon’s background
8:17 – (Legacy) Bridging vs. Threshold Signature Scheme
15:22 – Chainflip’s Just in Time (JIT) AMM vs. Uniswap’s V3/X
23:54 – Providing liquidity on Chainflip
26:13 – Slippage and UX
31:30 – Deciding trading pairs
33:45 – Chainflip validators
40:34 – Validator stake auctions
49:33 – Governance
52:59 – Roadmap and bootstrapping liquidity

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Simon Harman on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3tXN1GD
– Chainflip on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3tWuPNz

This episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/519
#chainflip #amm #ethereum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW58LEP9uFk

Stablecoins represent a safe haven against crypto’s volatility, allowing participants to remain in the market, without off-ramping to fiat. While the major stablecoins are centrally issued (e.g. USDT, USDC, BUSD), there is a pressing need for an algorithmic variant or a synthetic dollar asset. (DAI is somewhere in between, since approximately 50% of its collateral is USDC). After Luna’s collapse, many jumped to point out its design flaws, yet such a concept would be crucial for crypto’s decentralisation and self-sustainability. Arthur Hayes proposed an interesting concept of NAKA synthetic dollar (NUSD), backed by Bitcoin and its inverse perpetual swap short. However, yield generation on $BTC is significantly lower than that of $ETH. A sustainable yield would help balance the cases in which funding rates would be negative.

We were joined by Guy Young, co-founder of Ethena, to discuss the stablecoin landscape and their synthetic eUSD, backed by staked ETH and its inverse perpetual swap.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
0:31 – Guy’s background and founding Ethena
3:27 – The history of stablecoins
7:06 – The stablecoin trilemma and transparency
10:42 – eUSD synthetic dollar mechanics
15:50 – Ethena’s insurance fund and hedging
19:47 – Minimising the impact of depegging
21:46 – Leveraging centralised liquidity while maintaining self custody through MPC
27:39 – User experience
30:38 – Risk factors
37:25 – CEX vs. DEX: liquidity, infrastructure, UX
41:38 – The potential of fixed return rates
45:59 – Supply & rates equilibrium

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Guy Young on Twitter: https://bit.ly/401lPTz
– Ethena Labs on Twitter: https://bit.ly/40bBGPy
– Arthur Hayes’ article proposing the Naka synthetic dollar: https://bit.ly/45GfHRG

This episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/518
#ethena #usde #ethereum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgwlVwj5IWg

One of the best known memes in crypto is: ‘Not your keys, not your coins’. This usually resurfaces whenever a (custodial) centralised exchange is hacked or goes bust altogether. Although Web3 provides the infrastructure for self custody, this often shares the fate of Pandora. Self-custody requires increased security measures, from both end-users, as well as application developers. Web3 wallets are the interface between users and decentralised applications deployed on blockchains. While Metamask still maintains the largest market share, a multitude of wallets have emerged, promising additional features and a better UX.

We were joined by Evgeny Yurtaev, co-founder & CEO of Zerion, to discuss the challenges of building a Web3 wallet and how Zerion aims to improve user experience, while still maintaining security.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
0:34 – Evgeny’s background
4:31 – The motivation behind building a Web3 wallet
9:16 – Zerion UX and security
12:16 – Seed phrase storing
14:17 – Zerion user profile
21:51 – Challenges in building a new wallet app
24:48 – Protecting users and potential attack vectors
32:39 – Supported blockchains and (seamless) bridging
40:26 – Account abstraction and MPC
44:57 – Business models for Web3 wallets

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Evgeny Yurtaev on Twitter: https://bit.ly/46IULKO
– Zerion on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3FegkXY

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/517
#zerion #web3 #ethereum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd9d9TslucQ

Back in 2017, there was no DeFi as we know it today, yet MakerDAO were already envisioning and building towards what they thought to be a certainty. The backbone of DeFi is represented by stable coins, and MakerDAO quickly understood this: they set out to build a decentralised stable coin, $DAI (and its precursor $SAI). Being collateral-backed, the smart contract needs to know the value of that collateral, but any off-chain price data is not readily available on-chain. This is where oracles come in and provide data feeds on-chain. MakerDAO’s internal oracle has been active since 2017 on Ethereum and has recently branched out, forming Chronicle. By using aggregated Schnorr signatures, Chronicle solves the problem of oracle cost-efficient scaling.

We were joined by Niklas Kunkel, founder of Chronicle, to discuss the challenges and tradeoffs that oracles regularly face, and how Chronicle is solving them, continuing the ethos of early MakerDAO.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
0:48 – Niklas’ background and the early days of MakerDAO
5:55 – How MakerDAO evolved over time and the adoption of DAI
11:03 – MakerDAO’s core principles
14:02 – Why Chronicle branched out from MakerDAO
17:46 – Oracle challenges & tradeoffs
24:44 – Oracle validators
39:24 – Business model for oracles
48:53 – Providing oracle services to different blockchains
53:27 – Schnorr signatures
56:13 – Chronicle’s supported chains and oracle offerings
59:07 – Real-world assets (RWA) and credit delegation

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Niklas Kunkel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3PS3Pqa
– Chronicle on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3RJA4KF
– Maker DAO on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3RLRaHA

This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/516

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WsCYsW8pFo

Data immutability and transparency are key features that define a blockchain’s public ledger. However, while transactions are indeed transparent, information surrounding the blockchain’s infrastructure layer is not readily available. Since Ethereum’s Merge to PoS and the introduction of staking delegation, actionable data on the validator and client status quos became crucial for the wellbeing of the network. Rated Network aims to build a reliable ‘reputation system for machines’ forming the infrastructure layer, through better data curation and improved transparency.

We were joined by Elias Simos, founder of Rated Network, to discuss data interpretation in blockchain infra and what conclusions can be drawn about validator performance, client diversity & much more.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
0:48 – Elias’ background and founding Rated Network
5:44 – Providing transparency in blockchain infrastructure layer
11:35 – Tapping into Ethereum’s data. The subjectivity of performance
20:00 – The consumer profile of Rated data
27:39 – Ethereum’s credible neutrality & client diversity
40:26 – EIP-7514 & managing Ethereum’s state bloat
55:45 – Governance: dev council vs. on-chain
1:01:53 – Expanding Rated to other PoS networks

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Elias Simos on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3RGQlQn
– Rated Network on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3LGOQ0S

This episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/515
#ratednetwork #ethereum #infrastructure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcuCbph5pco

Zero knowledge proof systems have found tremendous cryptographic utility in scaling blockchains, due to their ability to prove computational integrity, succinctly. However, despite recent advancements in ZKP R&D, their construction still requires special prover circuits. Their complexity is what gatekeeps zero knowledge technology to a select few astute teams. =nil; Foundation aims to challenge this status quo by providing an alternative through their zkLLVM circuit compiler and zk proof marketplace. By commoditising the production of custom proofs, =nil; Foundation unlocks an entire new range of applications employing zero knowledge technology.

We were joined by Misha Komarov, co-founder of =nil; Foundation, to discuss the use cases and challenges of building the first marketplace for (outsourced) zero knowledge proofs.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
0:40 – The vision behind =nil; Foundation
8:35 – Use cases for zk tech
12:45 – zkLLVM circuit compiler
20:06 – Homomorphic encryption, ZKPs & privacy solutions
25:48 – ZKP marketplace
29:50 – Why proof markets (currently) run on DBMS
35:23 – Marketplace actors
38:26 – Proof generators vs. PoW miners
42:34 – Infrastructure challenges
45:00 – Future roadmap

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Mikhail Komarov on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3Plf3ms
– =nil; Foundation on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3PrbVWh

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/514

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmaKQAM4UUY

Web3 #gaming has the potential of onboarding millions of users into crypto, but it first needs to solve 5 critical problems.
#Immutable is building THE one-stop-shop for Web3 game development, ushering in the next major shift in gaming!

Entire discussion: https://epicenter.tv/episodes/513
#shorts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1Lyrqg9e88

Apart from its numerous financial applications, blockchain technology could also disrupt the gaming industry, causing a paradigm shift towards true digital ownership, one that would create new incentive models for both players, as well as developers. Up until recently, technological barriers seemed cumbersome for most game developers, but the advancements of layer 2 scaling solutions made on-chain integrations viable. Immutable set out to create an all-in-one platform for developers, empowering them to create a lush gaming ecosystem to seamlessly onboard Web2 players.

We were joined by Robbie Ferguson, co-founder of Immutable, to discuss the state of Web3 gaming and Immutable’s contribution to this paradigm shift.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
0:38 – Robbie’s background and founding Immutable
6:37 – The pitfalls of centralised in-game asset marketplaces
11:05 – Web3 game development challenges
24:00 – Onboarding the Web2 gaming scene
31:26 – Immutable’s value prop
35:25 – Integrating Polygon’s zkEVM with the STARK-powered Immutable X
37:47 – Immutable SDK & DevEx
41:03 – AppStore’s Web3 policies
43:23 – Immutable Passport
48:35 – Enforceable royalties
53:34 – $IMX

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Robbie Ferguson on Twitter: bit.ly/3PQbGWt
– Immutable on Twitter: bit.ly/3Rqrb8I
– Gods Unchained on Twitter: bit.ly/3sW5aUS
– Guild of Guardians on Twitter: bit.ly/48jEKNa

This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/513
#immutable #nft #blockchaingaming

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDrsoHsqLYM

#Polygon 2.0 aims to create the ‘value layer of the Internet’ through its interoperable aggregator layer.

Entire discussion: https://epicenter.tv/episodes/509
#shorts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-8k8N_r3Yk

Social media revolves around content creation, and while the content itself could be tokenised through NFTs, SocialFi aims to take it a step further. The recently released friend.tech app went to show that users might be interested in something more than just content – creator shares. This implicitly links back to handles and profiles, and we can slowly start to unveil the primitives of social media. Lens Protocol predates the friend.tech venture, in both timeline, as well as scope. While social media became synonymous with monopolistic central entities, Lens Protocol aims to build the decentralised bedrock for Web3’s social layer. These primitives would not only be interoperable with any Web3 application, but they would redefine content creation, feed generation and monetisation.

We were joined by Stani Kulechov, founder of Lens Protocol & Aave, to discuss decentralised social graphs and how to leverage smart contracts to build the primitives for Web3’s social layer.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
0:47 – The vision behind Lens
3:10 – Lens V2 and smart contract capabilities
5:32 – Social media development platform
9:31 – Defining the Web3 social media primitive
20:08 – Feed generation algorithm on Lens
23:06 – Integrating on-chain and off-chain infrastructure
26:08 – The tragedy of the commons in decentralised social media
35:53 – Can a public good architecture also accommodate private goods?
39:27 – Growth model, sponsored transactions and monetisation
44:49 – Governance and decentralised social media

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Stani Kulechov on Twitter: bit.ly/45Jt6Jx
– Lens Protocol on Twitter: bit.ly/3Pygfoc
– Aave on Twitter: bit.ly/3Pveb00

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/512

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB3XSbZ_Op0

Hyperchains are fully customisable #zksync instances that run in parallel & communicate with each other via trustless bridges. This is made possible by having all #hyperchains share the same ZKP circuits.

Entire discussion: https://epicenter.tv/episodes/507
#shorts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppJowMRcS_M

#HyperSDK offers out of the box primitives to ensure maximum performance for any VM built on #Avalanche.

Entire discussion: https://epicenter.tv/episodes/506

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxNW9mQLw7k

The maximal extractable value (MEV) problem, if left unchecked, could represent an existential threat to Ethereum’s core values. One might argue that it is a natural result of solving market inefficiencies, but it entices to centralisation and collusion in order to extract the highest amount of value. Additionally, through front-running and back-running, it creates unnecessary overhead, which caused up to 2.4% of the total network congestion back in DeFi summer of 2020 (according to Flashbots’ research). As current infrastructure cannot eliminate MEV altogether, Flashbots and other research groups have tried to come up with solutions to address its aftermath.

We were joined by Stephane Gosselin, co-founder of Flashbots and Frontier Research, to discuss the MEV landscape, what research breakthroughs have been recorded and how they impact DevEx and UX.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
0:43 – Reflecting on ‘Frontrunning the MEV crisis’
9:20 – Decentralising the MEV ‘supply chain’
11:40 – The vision behind Frontier Research
14:58 – Request-for-Quotation (RFQ) explained
20:18 – Block building
26:09 – Uniswap X and how it might impact LPs & block building
29:36 – Decentralising block building
37:40 – Proposer-builder separation (PBS)
45:10 – MEV burn
51:43 – How MEV influenced different applications’ UX
55:14 – Intents

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Stephane Gosselin on Twitter: bit.ly/3PjzDoy
– Frontier Research: bit.ly/3PlJZV3
– Frontier Research on Twitter: bit.ly/3Z2OAPl
– Flashbots: bit.ly/3EmdIqz

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/511
#MEV #flashbots #ethereum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_08JBRUkLM0

From the very beginning, Cosmos set out to provide an alternative to the monolithic blockchain architecture proposed by Ethereum. Cosmos SDK was the cornerstone of this vision, as it allowed developers to spin up blockchains effortlessly. Its modularity enabled custom, self-sovereign chains to become a reality. And, instead of being a jack of all trades, those chains were centred around a sole purpose, thus transforming them into appchains. In turn, as the ecosystem grew, appchains had to be interoperable with one another, but this was already a core feature of Cosmos, via IBC. Before Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap, appchains were thought to be a much-needed scaling solution. However, with the advancements of zero knowledge technology, the Cosmos SDK now faces another set of challenges as it navigates the market demand for L2 scaling solutions.

We were joined by Marko Baricevic, Cosmos SDK product lead, to discuss the development philosophy behind the Cosmos Hub and how appchains evolved over time.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
0:36 – Marko’s background
2:49 – Cosmos SDK’s history and high-level overview
12:53 – Cosmos SDK modules and VMs
18:14 – Ethereum’s & Cosmos’ development philosophies
25:13 – Cosmos SDK value prop and use cases
31:16 – Cosmos SDK vs. other frameworks (e.g. Substrate)
35:00 – Token value accrual and the fragmentation dilemma
40:45 – Using the Cosmos SDK to build rollups
44:58 – Cosmos SDK vs. Avalanche’s HyperSDK
49:23 – Adoption of fraud proofs and validity proofs by the Cosmos SDK

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Marko Baricevic on Twitter: bit.ly/3syBk8D
– Cosmos on Twitter: bit.ly/3PcqYEo
– Cosmos SDK on Twitter: bit.ly/3qPYEOP
– Interchain Foundation on Twitter: bit.ly/3KRpoW8
– Binary Builders on Twitter: bit.ly/3srWOnK

This episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/510
#cosmos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBrdBMU1nqE

#HyperSDK encompasses the minimum requirements for a high-throughput #Avalanche VM, while also allowing developers to customise it.

Entire discussion: https://epicenter.tv/episodes/506

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLXHI7V8TMI

The advancements in zero knowledge tech caused a shift in Ethereum’s scaling roadmap, from sharding to rollups.
Sandeep discusses key differences between the main L2 scaling solutions, and why #Polygon chose the #ZK path.

Entire discussion: https://epicenter.tv/episodes/509
#Matic #Ethereum #scaling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScBmw7F2fZ0

Alex Gluchowski identifies 3 main hurdles that rollups have to overcome in their quest to scale blockchains, and discusses how #zkSync tackles them.

Entire discussion: https://epicenter.tv/episodes/507
#ethereum #scaling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTeSHnVEluo

What started out as Matic Network, in 2017, and later rebranded to Polygon, in 2021, it is now facing another major milestone: Polygon 2.0. Apart from a tokenomics update, their plans include building an aggregation layer for every scaling solution that will settle on Ethereum. This will not only provide crucial rollup interoperability, but it will also further offload Ethereum by recursively combining multiple proofs into a single one.

We were joined by Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, for a fascinating discussion on Polygon’s future revamp, their views on infrastructure decentralisation and interoperability.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
1:05 – Sandeep’s background and the vision behind Matic
10:13 – Polygon 2.0
12:35 – ZK rollup vs. Validium
27:28 – Multi-purpose sharding
31:00 – Tokenomics
36:18 – Staking decentralisation
38:51 – Interoperability
46:03 – The multi-chain future outlook
54:47 – Blockchain adoption and use cases

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Sandeep Nailwal on Twitter: bit.ly/45fK7e8
– Polygon on Twitter: bit.ly/3KNngi6
– Polygon Labs on Twitter: bit.ly/3qtSwM9

This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/509
#polygon #ethereum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PIFxkph1Bc

Rollups aim to scale #Ethereum by offloading transactions from the L1 mainnet to the L2 (off-chain), leaving Ethereum to handle only settlement & data availability.

Entire discussion: https://epicenter.tv/episodes/507
#zksync #scaling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivP7hCRWc8A

In order for crypto to reach mass adoption, blockchains need to scale: throughput📈; cost📉.
ZK proofs are one of the most promising solutions to date, because they also address the scalability trilemma.

Entire discussion: https://epicenter.tv/episodes/507
#zksync #ethereum #scaling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt5TtMRHjOA

Since #ethereum PoS Merge and the advent of liquid #staking derivatives (LSD), #decentralisation has become more important than ever!

Entire discussion: https://epicenter.tv/episodes/505

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyjWDdWyHBM

After a 2021 frothy bull market, NFTs are currently experiencing the depression phase of the market cycle. However, despite the fact that only NFT art has truly found its product-market fit, NFTs in general represented the consumerist moment for crypto. In addition, they also provided a solution for tokenising real world assets (RWA) and intangibles, potentially penetrating markets worth hundreds of trillions of dollars. Moreover, similar to digital art, the advent of AI poses a challenge when it comes to establishing provenance, but this represents another utility for NFTs, as they can be traced back to their origin, given the public nature of blockchains.

We were joined by Stephen Young and Storm from NFTFi, to discuss the general state of the NFT market, future prospects for NFT development and how their P2P NFT lending platform unlocks new sources of liquidity in this bear market.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
1:04 – Stephen’s & Storm’s backgrounds and what allured them to NFT finance
5:55 – NFT market overview
11:27 – Tokenised real world assets (RWA)
14:50 – NFTFi’s peer-to-peer vs. peer-to-pool models
24:06 – How other DeFi derivatives apply to the NFT market
28:04 – NFT vs. fungible token market size
31:53 – Blur’s Blend
35:26 – NFT royalties
38:58 – NFT lending protocols differences
41:27 – How escrow contracts affect NFT ownership and utility
46:25 – NFTFi roadmap
47:52 – Interest rates for different collections
51:33 – NFT art market
56:30 – AI art
1:00:12 – Collateralizing RWA

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Stephen Young on Twitter: bit.ly/47ruKAO
– Storm on Twitter: bit.ly/47rXhGw
– NFTFi on Twitter: bit.ly/3Oyv9ZC

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/508

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhBcx_AA1CU

Ethereum scaling solutions often resort to tradeoffs, sacrificing security or decentralisation in favour of scalability. However, zk rollups hold the potential of increasing throughput, while also inheriting the layer 1’s security. This is achieved through zero knowledge validity proofs, which are published on Ethereum mainnet. The final hurdle remains the sequencer decentralisation. zkSync was designed around EVM-compatibility, offering custom scaling solutions through its hyperchain architecture.

We were joined by Alex Gluchowski, co-founder & CEO of Matter Labs, to discuss the zk rollup landscape, its bottlenecks, and what makes zkSync stand apart as the most popular rollup.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
1:04 – High-level overview of zero knowledge proofs
9:02 – ZK rollups
14:55 – zkSync Era
17:01 – ZK ecosystem taxonomy
21:59 – Rollup performance: bottlenecks & tradeoffs
35:00 – Bridging between zkSync hyperchains
43:25 – Data availability. Validium vs. Volition
53:08 – Governance & security layers
1:08:52 – Sequencer decentralisation

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Alex Gluchowski on Twitter: bit.ly/3DGjmn4
– zkSync on Twitter: bit.ly/3qhSXsM
– Matter Labs on Twitter: bit.ly/3YmfrFy

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/507
#zksync #ethereum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRifljimClM

The recent history of L2s has shown that there doesn’t need to be ‘one chain to rule them all’ or an ‘ETH killer’. Instead, a healthier approach would be to find the best solution for a specific need, taking into consideration any potential tradeoffs. Avalanche has done just that, focusing from the get-go on delivering high transaction throughput, using their unique subnet architecture, consensus protocol and warp messaging. HyperSDK continues this conviction, offering a framework for developers to spin up customisable, high performance virtual machines.

We were joined by Patrick O’Grady, VP of Engineering at Ava Labs, to discuss HyperSDK and how it enables building customisable, high performance VMs on Avalanche subnets.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
1:08 – Patrick’s background
4:30 – Avalanche’s consensus protocol
13:59 – Subnets
18:47 – AvalancheGo design concepts
24:24 – Warp messaging
29:46 – Staking and subnet validators
42:50 – HyperSDK
51:07 – HyperSDK vs. Cosmos SDK
55:20 – Avalanche throughput parameters
1:09:35 – Custom solutions for developers

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Patrick O’Grady on Twitter: bit.ly/3rPXoeQ
– Ava Labs on Twitter: bit.ly/44IJ5ax
– Avalanche on Twitter: bit.ly/41rlI2G

This episode is hosted by Meher Roy & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/506

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx2t86UWqPw

We couldn’t miss EthCC 6 and we got to sit down with Vitalik Buterin to discuss hot topics from the Ethereum ecosystem: MEV, staking derivatives, privacy, decentralisation and future interoperability. Ethereum’s merge to proof-of-stake brought with it the emergence of liquid staking derivatives (LSD). Similarly to mining pools in proof-of-work consensus models, staking pools could pose a risk to Ethereum’s decentralisation. In terms of privacy preserving solutions, the advances in zero knowledge research were a big breakthrough, especially as EVM-compatibility became possible. Maximal extractable value (MEV) remains a pressing matter, but hopes are that the upcoming proposer-builder separation (PBS) will alleviate it.

Topics discussed in this episode:
0:00 – Introduction
0:44 – EthCC 6 updates and development across Ethereum’s ecosystem
5:05 – MEV and proposer-builder separation (PBS)
9:03 – Liquid staking derivatives (LSD), governance and decentralisation
20:09 – Privacy
27:39 – ZK proofs and decentralised identifiers (DID)
43:30 – Ecosystem interoperability
49:46 – Cross-chain bridge security
52:21 – Conclusions

Links mentioned in this episode:
– Vitalik Buterin on Twitter: bit.ly/44YvRpR
– Ethereum Foundation on Twitter: bit.ly/3rz7f8t
– EthCC on Twitter: bit.ly/3Y6ofzo

This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Friederike Ernst and Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: https://epicenter.tv/505