S15 E36: Eli Ben-Sasson on STARKs, Rollups & Privacy

May 23, 2024

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Back in 2014, Eli Ben-Sasson co-authored the Zerocash paper, which proposed a ZK SNARK system that creates anonymous Bitcoin payments. Around the same time, he also spoke about the compression benefits of zero-knowledge proofs – a full Bitcoin node can be synced within seconds just by verifying against a valid proof. More recently, he became interested in STARKs and built a company around this cryptographic breakthrough. If SNARKs require a trusted setup, then STARKs are a major leap towards trust minimization. If Bitcoin activates the OP_CAT soft fork, then this ZK rollup scheme also becomes possible to enable great privacy and low-sized transactions. Time stamps: Introduction to the Podcast (00:00:35)  What is a Zero-Knowledge Proof? (00:02:03)  Vision for Bitcoin Node Synchronization (00:04:09)  Current State of Zero-Knowledge Proofs (00:05:44)  Challenges in Implementing Zero-Knowledge Proofs (00:06:38)  Importance of OP_CAT Opcode (00:09:19)  Comparison of OP_CAT and OP_CTV (00:12:04)  Differences Between SNARKs and STARKs (00:13:13)  Popularity of SNARKs and STARKs (00:17:47)  Ellie's Journey to Starkware (00:19:52)  The Future of Zcash (00:23:50)  The Importance of Zcash Ceremony (00:24:17)  User Experience Challenges with Zcash (00:24:38)  Impact of Zcash on Zero-Knowledge Proofs (00:26:13)  Scaling Solutions: Sidechains vs. Rollups (00:27:03)  Stark Technology as a Gold Standard (00:27:20)  Quantum Computing Threats to Bitcoin (00:29:19)  Proactive Measures Against Quantum Threats (00:31:55)  Benefits of Starks Beyond Quantum Security (00:32:25)  Resurgence of the Block Size Debate (00:33:34)  Future of Bitcoin with Starks (00:34:15)  Cultural Shift in Bitcoin Development (00:35:12)  Data Availability in Blockchains (00:37:02)  Scalability Solutions and State Differences (00:40:34)  Founding Starkware: Joy and Challenges (00:42:33)  Drivechain and Stark Integration (00:46:02)  Efficient Operations for STARKs (00:47:02)  Bitcoin's Conservative Approach (00:48:22)  Integration with Bitcoin (00:49:55)  User Experience with STARKs (00:51:00)  Understanding Starkware and Starknet (00:53:43)  Starknet's Features and Capabilities (00:54:49)  Opportunities for Bitcoin Enthusiasts (00:56:11)  Potential Collaboration with Elizabeth Stark (00:58:56)  The Future of STARKs (01:01:20)  Following Starknet and Starkware (01:04:29)