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

As crypto evolves, it becomes clearer that the future will be multi-chain. Presently, moving funds between different blockchains is frustrating...to say the least. The current bridging solutions are prohibitive from a UX perspective, mainly due to how finality is reached across different blockchains. This translates to long wait times and anxiety when interacting with new protocols, caused by the incertitude of funds arriving safely on the other side. Another major blockage consists of gas fees, particular to each blockchain, which often require an additional swap. But what if, users could enjoy near-instant cross-chain swaps (sub-20 second) and one-click transaction aggregators?We were joined by Fig, co-founder of Squid Router, to discuss how they leverage Axelar's infrastructure to achieve one-click, near-instant cross-chain swaps, creating user-friendly interoperability.Topics covered in this episode:Fig’s backgroundHow Squid tackles interoperabilityBuilding a better DevEx & UX on top of Axelar’s securityChoosing what DEXes to wrap & aggregate in SquidOptimising gas fees, prices & MEV cross-chainSquid’s business modelIntegrating other messaging protocolsAddressing finality to reduce swap times below 20 secondsHow Squid x Axelar solve other bridging protocol issues (e.g. multichain hack)Squid use casesEpisode links: Fig on TwitterSquid on TwitterAxelar on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/498

Ethereum's merge and transition to a proof-of-stake consensus implied switching from proof-of-work mining to transactions being validated by entities that have an economic stake in the network. Proof-of-stake distributed networks are subject to complex game theory models (e.g. slashing). Distributed validator technology (DVT) enables a more modular validator stack at every level: key pairs, hardware and entities. This reduces trust dependencies and increases security for validator entities.We were joined by Collin Myers & Oisín Kyne, founders of Obol Network, to discuss Ethereum's 2.0 PoS consensus, the current validator landscape and how distributed validator technology (DVT) allows for an increased security and overall smoother UX for validator entities.Topics covered in this episode:Collin’s & Oisín’s backgroundsDistributed Validator Technology (DVT) explainedHow DVT improves user experience for different staking modelsReducing validator costs and increasing fault tolerance through DVTObol middleware approachObol v.2Interacting with other middleware from the Ethereum stackExpanding DVT to other ecosystemsFuture validator landscapeHow post-Danksharding data availability will be handled by an Obol clusterL2 Ethereum equivalenceEpisode links:Collin Myers on TwitterOisín Kyne on TwitterObol Network on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/497

Public transaction history in blockchains represents one of their key features which, alongside immutability, aim to provide an alternative to CeFi. However, this transparency comes at a price: privacy. As a result, different solutions have been proposed, that preserve privacy while maintaining all the other benefits of blockchain technology, but there currently isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to this problem. For example, zero knowledge proofs convey the validity of a transaction batch without sharing any other details, but the underlying arithmetic circuits are both complex as well as computational intensive. Umbra proposes a system that relies completely on elliptic curve cryptography, employing multiple private-public key pairs to achieve stealth payments.We were joined by Ben DiFrancesco, founder & CEO of ScopeLift, to talk about Umbra's privacy preserving stealth token transfer system and if the need for privacy on blockchains outweighs any implicit UX frictions.Topics covered in this episode:Ben’s backgroundUmbra's missionHow Umbra worksNon-interactive key distributionPotential solutions (& trade-offs) for Umbra's computational intensityGenerating private-public key pairs by the Umbra smart contractUser experience (UX) for senders and receiversFee structure for deterring griefing attacksHow Umbra works for ERC20 tokens & NFTsPrivacy preserving withdrawals from stealth addressesPrivacy vs. UX frictionSmart wallets & account abstractionPrioritising privacyEpisode links: Ben DiFrancesco on TwitterUmbra on TwitterScopeLift on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/496

As the second Avalanche summit drew to a close, Sebastien Couture and Sunny Aggarwal sat down with Emin Gün Sirer for a fascinating conversation exploring future innovation narratives in crypto. Longtime friend of Epicenter, Ava Labs' founder and CEO shared his unique insights on the industry, from both a founder, as well as a former academia perspective.Given Avalanche's consensus & architecture, it boasts high TPS and scalability properties, incentivising founders to build better products in the AVAX ecosystem.One of the most controversial narratives is that of LLMs (i.e. ChatGPT) powering smart contract development by bypassing programming languages and even bytecode altogether. The question arises if replacing the human third-party with an AI fixes trust issues or not, but only time will tell which piece of code we can actually consider 'law'.Topics covered in this episode:Emin’s background, from academia to running a multi-billion dollar companyMain takeaways from the 2nd Avalanche summitInnovation narratives in the Avalanche ecosystem. NFTs & blockchain gamingThe Avalanche architecture, consensus & scalabilityAvalanche’s evolutionChatGPT smart contracts & no-code blockchainsAuditing AI & securityInnovation vs. StagnationBitcoin, BTC.b & ordinalsBridging Cosmos with Avalanche: IBC x WarpBest & worst products built by cryptoEpisode links: Emin Gün Sirer on TwitterAvalanche on TwitterAva Labs on TwitterShrapnel on TwitterGunzilla Games on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/495

When it comes to top-tier VCs, very few equal Andreessen Horowitz' (a16z) impressive portfolio, which stretches over both Web2 and Web3. Their crypto venture arm includes investments in most industry verticals, from infrastructure projects to NFTs and blockchain gaming. Constructing such a solid investment thesis requires conviction in the long-term prospects of the industry, as well as an influential network.We were joined by Ali Yahya, GP at Andreessen Horowitz, to discuss about a16z structure, operations and investment thesis, as well as the broader crypto landscape and value proposition.Topics covered in this episode:Ali’s backgroundWhy Google didn’t embrace cryptoa16z’s team structureThe role of a GP in a VCa16z’s thesis when it comes to crypto investingWhich crypto niches Ali is most bullish onGovernance vs. platform riskValuation-based investmentsProtocol revenue and monetary premium for L1sToken vs. EquityHow to prevent banking crisis contagion for crypto projectsEpisode links: Ali Yahya on Twittera16z cryptoa16zThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/494

The end of 2022 and beginning of 2023 were marked by centralised institutions failing: from CEXes to CeFi itself, contagion spread quickly in over-leveraged and opaque entities. Amidst this chaos, (crypto)people turned their hopes, once again, to DeFi. However, in lack of traditional enforcing mechanisms, not even battle-tested decentralised lending protocols could find a solution to provide under-collateralised loans, aka credit. Mars Protocol, with its unique hub & outposts architecture, aims to answer this need in the Cosmos ecosystem, by deploying on Osmosis and tapping into its deep liquidity. From manual leverage to credit and yield farming, Mars will feature a wide suite of DeFi products.We were joined by Jose Macedo, founder of Delphi Labs, to discuss the history of Delphi Digital, their learnings from incubating projects and the vision behind Mars’ ‘Red Bank’ DeFi products.Topics covered in this episode:Jose’s backgroundDelphi Digital’s historyIncubating projects on Solana and TerraLearning from TerraThe vision behind Mars ProtocolMars’ DeFi suiteDifferent risk parameters and collateralsMars’ module architecture (outposts) in the Cosmos ecosystemHow Mars Protocol differs from OsmosisMars Protocol roadmap & Mars v.2Ecosystem acceleratorEpisode links: Jose Macedo on TwitterDelphi Labs on TwitterDelphi Digital on TwitterMars Protocol on TwitterAstroport on TwitterOsmosis on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/493

We often take data storage for granted, but the rise of centralised storing facilities (i.e. AWS, GCP, Azure, etc.) hangs over like Damocles’ sword. When it comes to blockchains, full nodes store that network’s complete data history. Even if storage costs are set to decrease as technology evolves, so do blockchains accumulate more data over time. An interesting solution would be to create a decentralised backup for blockchain data and Arweave is a prime candidate for it. There is but a missing link represented by uploading and validating different blockchains’ data. This is where KYVE steps in, offering a decentralised validating solution to verify uploaded blockchain data and even retrieve it from Arweave, on demand. This also extends to off-chain data, opening new possibilities for data availability and scalability.We were joined by John Letey, founder and CTO of KYVE Network, to discuss the challenges and use cases of decentralised data storage and how blockchain interoperability could benefit from it.Topics covered in this episode:John’s backgroundWhy KYVE migrated to a Cosmos app-chainHigh-level explanation of KYVEKYVE’s data pools and data streamsHow KYVE connects to ArweaveValidating uploaded blockchain dataHow Arweave worksKYVE v.2How slashing is handledKYVE use casesFuture roadmapEpisode links: John Letey on TwitterKYVE Network on TwitterKYVE NetworkArweaveThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/492

Building a truly decentralised, peer-to-peer network, based on a built-in identity system, limits the ecosystem’s interoperability with the outside world. Onboarding developers and users to Urbit was only the first hurdle. On-ramping crypto was a whole different & daunting task. Uqbar set out to build an execution layer on top of Urbit, enabling smart contracts, which would ultimately settle, via a ZK rollup, on Starknet.We were joined by Tim Galebach, founder of Uqbar, to discuss the different design choices involved, from Hoon programming DevEx to a hybrid ZK-optimistic rollup.Topics covered in this episode:Tim’s backgroundUrbit explainedHow Uqbar took shapeIntegrating crypto in the Urbit stackHoon’s usability and DevExAI-enabled UqbarUqbar interoperabilityRollup vs. L1 approach for UqbarHybrid ZK-optimistic rollupGetting from programming in Hoon to ZK proofsUse cases for Uqbar & UrbitEpisode links: Tim Galebach on TwitterUqbar on TwitterUrbit on TwitterUqbarThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/491

Considering the abundance of cryto projects launching constantly, making sound investment decisions requires both ample experience in the space, as well as a reliable network. Predicting future trends in such a volatile industry is a skill very few possess, especially since narratives evolve at a rapid pace. Ryan Zurrer is one of the OG participants and investors in the blockchain industry, with an experience of more than 10 years and an impressive portfolio of investments. From BTC mining to ICOs, DeFi and more recently NFTs & play-to-earn gaming (P2E), Ryan has witnessed all the major cycles in crypto.We were joined by Ryan Zurrer, founder of Dialectic AG, to discuss about the crypto investment landscape and the evolution of the industry from BTC to P2E gaming.Topics covered in this episode:Ryan’s background, from BTC mining to ICOs and P2E gamingKeepers in blockchain networks explainedAxie Infinity and the evolution of play-to-earn gamingWeb2 vs. Web3 gaming and the importance of communitiesNFTs in art, culture and blockchain gamingTraditional vs. digital fine artDialectic’s investment strategiesMEV & market efficiencyGeopolitical climate and crypto investmentsPsychedelics & MAPSEpisode links:Ryan ZurrerDialectic AGVine VenturesMAPSThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/490

When it comes to scaling blockchains, there are 2 main types of off-chain solutions: sidechains and L2s (i.e. rollups, state channels). These are all intended to scale monolithic L1 blockchains. However, the core functional layers of a blockchain could also be reinvisioned as customisable building blocks. This idea led to the creation of modular blockchains, which handle execution, consensus and data availability separately from one another, thus considerably increasing throughput.Dymension is a Cosmos modular blockchain hub that acts as settlement layer for RollApps (app-specific chains).Sebastien was joined by Barry, Head of Product at Dymension, to discuss the advantages of developing modular blockchains, their scalability and how RollApps integrate in this environment.Topics covered in this episode:Barry’s backgroundThe evolution of scaling solutions & Dymension’s RollAppsThe nuances of different types of rollups (L1 vs. L2, Ethereum vs. Cosmos)The scalability trilemma and modular blockchainsCosmos’ ICS scalingThe architecture of Dymension and its RDKHow RollApps choose the data availability layerRollApp interoperabilityIncentivising sequencer neutralityNetwork roles in Dymension and differences between SDK & RDKUse cases & limitations of RollAppsFuture roadmapEpisode links: Barry on TwitterDymension on TwitterDymension's websiteThe Interop Podcast on TwitterCelestia on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/489