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Epicenter - Learn about Crypto, Blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin and Distributed Technologies

Latest episodes

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Jan 8, 2025 • 1h 5min

RedStone: The Oracle Pioneering the Future of DeFi - Marcin Kaźmierczak

The DeFi landscape has significantly evolved since 2018 when Chainlink was launched. Recent developments such as L2 rollups, liquid staking, restaking and the rise of BTC DeFi have created huge demand for more customizable, modular oracles that would be able to provide accurate data for countless use cases, crosschain. RedStone set out to do exactly that and are now securing over $6.6 bn worth of assets (1000+ assets), across more than 60 chains, without a single mispricing event.Topics covered in this episode:Marcin’s backgroundEarly oracle landscapeRedStone’s technical architectureNetwork incentivesData aggregation moduleNode operator modulePush vs. Pull oraclesRedStone’s business modelThe role of RedStone tokenPyth vs. RedStoneRestakingOracle extractable valueSynergies between oracles and institutional investorsEpisode links:Marcin Kazmierczak on XRedStone on XSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain.
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Jan 1, 2025 • 1h 7min

Privado ID & Quark ID: On-Chain ZK-Powered Unified ID - Diego Fernandez & Evin McMullen

Traditional KYC and AML regulations have often forced companies to comply, without having the right tools to do so. Simply storing users’ personal information led to the creation of security honeypots which haven’t gone unnoticed by hackers. Web3 solutions like Privado ID aim to cryptographically prove certain traits from a user’s personal data, without disclosing it to the enquirer. This is usually made possible through zero knowledge proofs which allow users to store their personal data on their own device and only exchange verifiable credentials with trusted issuers. City of Buenos Aires has adopted a similar implementation through their Quark ID system, a digital trust framework that creates a new digital identity system, giving people control over their information.Topics covered in this episode:Evin’s background and founding DiscoPolygon ID acquisition and blockchain agnostic decentralized IDsDiego’s background, from private to public practicePrivado ID and its registry of reputation issuersUse cases, DevEx and UXKYC and regulationsBuenos Aires digital ID systemReal world applications of Quark IDUX frictions and solutionsZK verificationSocietal impact and adoptionEthical considerations around DIDsThe role of blockchains in other real world applicationsEpisode links:Evin McMullen on XDiego Fernandez on XPrivado ID on XQuark ID on XSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.
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Dec 24, 2024 • 1h 9min

Abundance: The First 1 Gigagas/second Stack for Sovereign Rollups - Hilmar Orth

One of the most limited blockchain resources is blockspace. From Bitcoin’s Blocksize Wars to Ethereum’s scaling roadmap, a common denominator seems to have emerged in the form of rollups. Advancements in zero knowledge proofs have enabled trustless bridges, which are a cornerstone to onboarding liquidity to any blockchain. Furthermore, Celestia’s modular approach to blockchain architecture and their recent commitment to gigabyte blocks of data availability marked the beginning of commoditization for rollups. Abundance is the first rollup-as-a-service platform that is able to scale to 1 gigagas/second throughput, finally bringing off-chain applications, on-chain.Topics covered in this episode:Gelato’s pivot to rollup-as-a-service platformSovereign rollupsEnshrined bridges and settlement proofsAbundance and 1 Gigagas/second rollupsModularitySecurity assumptionsSequencer (de)centralisationSocial consensusCelestia’s DA layer bandwidthEthereum native rollupsDecentralisation and censorship-resistanceEpisode links:Hilmar Orth on XGelato Network on XAbundance on XSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.
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Dec 18, 2024 • 1h 11min

Monad: The EVM-Compatible 10,000 TPS L1 Blockchain - Keone Hon

Keone Hon, Co-founder and CEO of Monad Labs, dives into the groundbreaking design of Monad's EVM-compatible L1 blockchain, capable of processing over 10,000 transactions per second. He discusses the transition from traditional finance to decentralized trading, emphasizing the challenges of NFT trading. Keone outlines Monad's unique execution and consensus optimizations, including its use of asynchronous execution and MonadDB for efficient state storage. He also explores scalability, community engagement, and the innovative proposer-builder separation to enhance transaction efficiency.
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Dec 11, 2024 • 49min

Succinct: Every Rollup Will Be a ZK Rollup! - Uma Roy

Polynomials are quintessential in machine learning for establishing relationships between outputs and inputs. However, there is also a field in cryptography which could not be made possible without polynomials - zero-knowledge technology. In zero-knowledge proof systems, computations are often represented as arithmetic circuits, and these circuits are translated into polynomials. This process is crucial for generating proofs that can demonstrate the correctness of computations without revealing the underlying data. The involved complexity explains the massive adoption hurdle for zk rollups compared to optimistic ones. Succinct aims to simplify the use of zero-knowledge proofs by providing a zkVM (SP1) that allows code written in languages like Rust to be proven in a privacy-preserving way. By doing so, it aims to lower the barrier to implementing zk-rollups and increase their adoption.Topics covered in this episode:Uma’s background and her interest in zero knowledge techHow Succinct’s story beganZK light clientsZK circuitsSP1 and the RISC-V instruction setThe prover networkUse casesZK rollups and commoditizing ZKPsIncentivizing proversSuccinct’s business modelSupported blockchain applicationsBottlenecks in ZK adoptionSuccinct metricsSP1’s competitive advantage and future roadmapThe real world impact of verifiabilityEpisode links:Uma Roy on XSuccinct on XSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.
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6 snips
Dec 3, 2024 • 1h 10min

Bitcoin OS: Bitcoin Block 853626 Changed Everything For BTC Smart Contracts - Edan Yago

Edan Yago, a contributor to BitcoinOS with extensive experience in Bitcoin development, discusses the transformative potential of Bitcoin as a programmable asset. He highlights the historical significance of block 853626, enabling zero-knowledge proofs on Bitcoin for the first time. Yago explores how BitcoinOS could revolutionize cryptocurrency by unlocking applications like staking and governance. He also contrasts Bitcoin's evolving programmability with Ethereum's smart contracts while discussing the implications of the recent U.S. election on the crypto landscape.
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Nov 26, 2024 • 1h 6min

Symbiotic: Scaling Shared Security Through Restaking - Misha Putiatin

Misha Putiatin, Co-founder and CEO of Symbiotic, shares insights on their innovative restaking protocol aimed at enhancing decentralization in blockchain networks. He discusses the challenges of bootstrapping validator sets and the importance of maintaining decentralization. Misha explains how Symbiotic's architecture promotes economic security and details the role of Liquid Restaking Tokens in optimizing staking models. The conversation also touches on the future of restaking across various blockchains and the balance between smart contract immutability and necessary upgrades.
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Nov 19, 2024 • 1h 4min

Ari Juels: Can AI Weaponize Blockchain Smart Contracts? - Chainlink

Ari Juels, a Cornell professor and chief scientist at Chainlink, dives into the potential perils when AI meets blockchain. He warns about rogue smart contracts that could be weaponized for criminal purposes and discusses their convoluted relationship with large language models. Juels also tackles the evolving landscape of decentralized organizations, ethical considerations in governance, and the importance of transparency to prevent malicious activities. Plus, he elaborates on innovative metrics like 'voting block entropy' that could reshape DAO performance assessments.
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Nov 12, 2024 • 44min

Citrea: Modular Rollup Framework on Bitcoin - Orkun Mahir Kilic

Bitcoin’s lack of native programmability, coupled with advancements in zero knowledge cryptography, has led to rollups being explored as a substitute for an execution layer. Citrea’s approach involves using Bitcoin as a data availability & settlement layer for their zero knowledge rollup. These rollups not only lower transaction costs, but they also enable smart contracts to use Bitcoin’s L1 security and further incentivise miners to secure the chain despite halving rewards. In order to inherit Bitcoin’s security, zk proofs are inscribed in Bitcoin blocks.Topics covered in this episode:Orkun’s backgroundInscriptions, BitVM and zk rollups on BitcoinOptimistic bridgingSequencerProgrammability solutions on BitcoinBitVM developmentCitrea ecosystem developmentcBTC vs. custodial wrapped BTCThere is no second best!PoW, halving block rewards and how rollups incentivise minersCitrea’s efficiency & fee reductionBitcoin as an inflation hedgeEpisode links:Orkun Mahir Kilic on TwitterCitrea on TwitterBitVMSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch.
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11 snips
Nov 4, 2024 • 1h 5min

Anoma: Solving Cross-Chain Interoperability Through Intents - Adrian Brink

Adrian Brink, Co-founder of Anoma, dives into the revolutionary concept of cross-chain interoperability and privacy in decentralized applications. He explores how Anoma transforms traditional dApps into an intent-driven model, allowing users to define desired outcomes more easily. The discussion highlights the significance of a modular architecture and the importance of decentralization for resilient infrastructure. Adrian also addresses the challenges and innovations in cryptocurrency privacy, emphasizing user agency amidst regulatory changes.

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