Bankless The Culture of Starknet with Abdel Bakhta
Feb 18, 2024
In this engaging discussion, Abdel Bakhta, the Head of Ecosystem at Starkware, shares his journey from Ethereum core developer to onboarding users to Starknet. He dives into the evolution of Starkware's culture and the community-driven growth strategy that champions innovation and diversity. Abdel also explores the unique philosophy behind Starknet's identity, emphasizing the importance of 'keeping Starknet strange.' He elaborates on how the ecosystem is adapting to emerging regions and discusses the trade-offs between decentralization and governance through personal anecdotes.
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Abdel's Journey to StarkWare
- Abdel discovered Bitcoin in 2012 and Ethereum in 2015, which was a revelation.
- He championed EIP-1559 and worked on the Bezu client before exploring Cosmos and later joining StarkWare.
StarkWare's Early Focus and Contrast with EVM
- Starkware initially focused on application-specific StarkX chains for projects like dYdX and Sorare.
- This approach contrasted with other Layer 2s prioritizing EVM equivalence, leading to a perception of Starkware as "Stark maxis."
Redefining Ethereum Alignment
- Abdel, despite advocating for Ethereum alignment, believes that EVM compatibility shouldn't define it.
- He emphasizes philosophical and economic alignment, prioritizing security and DA on Ethereum.