S9 E9 | Infra vs Apps, Shared Sequencers, and Dungeon Masters w/Jill Gunter (Espresso)

Sep 19, 2024

Jill Gunter, Chief Strategy Officer at Espresso Systems, sheds light on the crucial balance between blockchain infrastructure and applications. She uses clever analogies, such as mountain hiking and Dungeons and Dragons, to explore shared sequencers and their role in decentralized gaming. Jill also discusses misconceptions about Espresso ahead of its mainnet launch and emphasizes the importance of supportive networks for women in tech, particularly mothers. Her insights make complex concepts accessible for both newcomers and seasoned developers.

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Intro

00:00 • 4min

Balancing Infrastructure and Applications in Crypto

03:34 • 11min

Shared Sequencing in Decentralized Gaming

14:40 • 15min

Navigating Composability in Blockchain Development

29:23 • 21min

Motherhood in Silicon Valley

50:05 • 6min

Understanding Shared Sequencing in the Crypto Space

55:48 • 2min

Empowering Conversations on Women's Experiences

57:59 • 2min

In our final episode of Season 9, we’re speaking with Jill Gunter, Chief Strategy Officer at Espresso Systems, the coordination layer that unites chains, rollups, and applications.

We start off with a hot topic nowadays which is whether we should be focusing more on building infrastructure or apps. You might assume you know where Jill stands on this topic as someone who’s working on a middleware solution, but there’s actually a lot more to the story from her perspective.

Jill has lots of excellent analogies to help us better understand technical concepts like shared sequencers and rollups, and she debunks some common misconceptions people have about Espresso ahead of their mainnet launch this quarter.

This is an excellent episode for the nontechnical person to listen to to better understand how various components of blockchains work, as well as for the more technical person to have some of their uncertainties about shared sequencers and the work Espresso is doing around that cleared up.

Jill was nominated for Rehash by Meg Lister and voted onto the podcast by Richie Bonilla, Irina Marinescu, Meg Lister, and Diana Chen.

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IMPORTANT LINKS:

Jill’s Twitter
Espresso’s Twitter
Layer 2s as cultural extensions of Ethereum by Vitalik Buterin

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro

3:47 Infra vs apps

14:40 What is Espresso and what are shared sequencers? ELI5

35:13 Future of Layer 2 blockchains

39:01 Ethereum vs Solana

48:47 Future of zk rollups

50:07 Being a new mom in crypto

56:31 Can You Not

58:44 Follow Jill

DISCLAIMER: The information in this video is the opinion of the speaker(s) only and is for informational purposes only. You should not construe it as investment advice, tax advice, or legal advice, and it does not represent any entity's opinion but those of the speaker(s). For investment or legal advice, please seek a duly licensed professional.