This week on The Defiant Podcast we speak with Uri Kolodny and Eli Ben-Sasson, the co-founders of Starkware, one of the leading Layer 2 scaling solutions for Ethereum. Post Merge, Ethereum continues to rely on scaling solutions like Starkware and will continue to do so, according to the network’s long-term roadmap. Visa processes 1700 transactions per second, and that number is often quoted as the Holy Grail for a blockchain to become a viable settlement layer for finance. They explain how that can be achieved with the help of Starkware. In the early stages of building Starkware, Uri and Eli had decided not to launch a token. After two years of running Starkware and StarkNet being in alpha, is a STARK token on the horizon? Currently, Starkware is solely used for scaling Ethereum. We talk about Uri and Eli’s plans to expand Starkware’s services to other Layer 1s. Finally, we discuss the future of scaling solutions, decentralized applications, DeFi, NFTs, and more. 🙏 Thanking our podcast sponsors: 1inch is a DEX aggregator that finds the best rates across multiple networks. Why use a single DEX when you can use them all? Find your best deal at 1inch. ZenGo is a crypto wallet that uses biometric encryption, 3FA authentication and MPC  wallet cryptography instead of private keys. Aleo is enabling developers to build their own private and scalable apps. Currently in their third incentivized testnet phase, you can find more information at https://leo-lang.org/ Oasis.app aims to be the most trusted entry point to the Maker Protocol and to DeFi. You can borrow DAI, multiply your exposure and earn. Try it Now!

Eli Ben-Sasson, Co-founder of StarkWare, discusses scaling Ethereum with ZK proofs and validity rollups. Topics include: ZK-VMs vs ZK-EVMs, computational integrity, on-chain gaming, decentralizing the sequencer, quantum-resistant proof systems.

The Stark token is here! After waiting for almost 6 years we're thrilled to share that one of the earliest and most promising layer 2's has just released official details on their token, STRK. They are provisioning it to users of Starknet, to stakers in the Ethereum ecosystem, open source developers and so many more. A total of 1.3 Million wallets are eligible to receive the $STRK token, are you one of them? Joining us today is Starkware founder and CEO Eli Ben-Sasson, and Starknet CEO Diego Oliva who are here to walk us through all you need to know about the big launch. ✅ Check Eligibility Here: https://provisions.starknet.io/  ------ 🏹 USE PODCAST24 FOR 10% OFF https://bankless.cc/Citizen2024  ------ 🎧 Listen On Your Favorite Podcast Player:  https://bankless.cc/Podcast  ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🐙KRAKEN | MOST-TRUSTED CRYPTO EXCHANGE https://k.xyz/bankless-pod-q2    ⁠  🔗CELO | CEL2 COMING SOON https://bankless.cc/Celo    🗣️TOKU | CRYPTO EMPLOYMENT SOLUTION https://bankless.cc/toku    🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle    💸 CRYPTO TAX CALCULATOR | USE CODE BANK30 https://bankless.cc/CTC  🦄UNISWAP | ON-CHAIN MARKETPLACE https://bankless.cc/uniswap  ------ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 05:28 Timing Of The Launch 07:36 Denominate Fees in Stark Tokens 12:29 Starknet Readiness 16:53 Starkware/Starknet Company Design 21:24 Distribution of $STRK 26:01 Total Supply of Token 27:12 Provisions For Stakers 32:16 Provisions Via Staking Pool 33:10 StarkEx Users 36:44 Release Dates 40:26 What's Next? 43:43 Exciting Community Narratives 48:19 Closing Thoughts ------ RESOURCES Eli: https://twitter.com/EliBenSasson  Diego: https://twitter.com/jdiegooliva  Starknet: https://twitter.com/Starknet  ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠