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

Stani Kulechov, founder of Lens Protocol, discusses the vision behind Lens, smart contract capabilities, feed generation algorithm on Lens, integrating on-chain and off-chain infrastructure, growth model, sponsored transactions, governance, and decentralised social media in this episode.

The maximal extractable value (MEV) problem, if left unchecked, could represent an existential threat to Ethereum’s core values. One might argue that it is a natural result of solving market inefficiencies, but it entices to centralisation and collusion in order to extract the highest amount of value. Additionally, through front-running and back-running, it creates unnecessary overhead, which caused up to 2.4% of the total network congestion back in DeFi summer of 2020 (according to Flashbots’ research). As current infrastructure cannot eliminate MEV altogether, Flashbots and other research groups have tried to come up with solutions to address its aftermath.We were joined by Stephane Gosselin, co-founder of Flashbots and Frontier Research, to discuss the MEV landscape, what research breakthroughs have been recorded and how they impact DevEx and UX.Topics covered in this episode:Reflecting on ‘Frontrunning the MEV crisis’Decentralising the MEV ‘supply chain’The vision behind Frontier ResearchRequest-for-Quotation (RFQ) explainedBlock buildingUniswap X and how it might impact LPs & block buildingDecentralising block buildingProposer-builder separation (PBS)MEV burnHow MEV influenced different applications’ UX IntentsEpisode links:Stephane Gosselin on TwitterFrontier ResearchFrontier Research on TwitterFlashbotsThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/511

Marko Baricevic, developer of Cosmos SDK, discusses the background and evolution of the SDK, its modules and VMs, value proposition and use cases, and its comparison with other frameworks. He also explores the use of Cosmos SDK to build rollups, adoption of fraud proofs, and the challenges of L2 scaling solutions.

Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, discusses Polygon 2.0, tokenomics, rollup interoperability, staking decentralization, and the multi-chain future outlook. They also explore the importance of trustless decentralized systems, differentiating between optimistic rollups and ZK rollups, and Polygon's role in blockchain construction and cross-chain interoperability.

After a 2021 frothy bull market, NFTs are currently experiencing the depression phase of the market cycle. However, despite the fact that only NFT art has truly found its product-market fit, NFTs in general represented the consumerist moment for crypto. In addition, they also provided a solution for tokenising real world assets (RWA) and intangibles, potentially penetrating markets worth hundreds of trillions of dollars. Moreover, similar to digital art, the advent of AI poses a challenge when it comes to establishing provenance, but this represents another utility for NFTs, as they can be traced back to their origin, given the public nature of blockchains.We were joined by Stephen Young and Storm from NFTFi, to discuss the general state of the NFT market, future prospects for NFT development and how their P2P NFT lending platform unlocks new sources of liquidity in this bear market.Topics covered in this episode:Stephen’s & Storm’s backgrounds and what allured them to NFT financeNFT market overviewTokenised real world assets (RWA)NFTFi’s peer-to-peer vs. peer-to-pool modelsHow other DeFi derivatives apply to the NFT marketNFT vs. fungible token market sizeBlur’s BlendNFT royaltiesNFT lending protocols differencesHow escrow contracts affect NFT ownership and utilityNFTFi roadmapInterest rates for different collectionsNFT art marketAI artCollateralizing RWAEpisode links: Stephen Young on TwitterStorm on TwitterNFTFi on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/508

Ethereum scaling solutions often resort to tradeoffs, sacrificing security or decentralisation in favour of scalability. However, zk rollups hold the potential of increasing throughput, while also inheriting the layer 1’s security. This is achieved through zero knowledge validity proofs, which are published on Ethereum mainnet. The final hurdle remains the sequencer decentralisation. zkSync was designed around EVM-compatibility, offering custom scaling solutions through its hyperchain architecture.We were joined by Alex Gluchowski, co-founder & CEO of Matter Labs, to discuss the zk rollup landscape, its bottlenecks, and what makes zkSync stand apart as the most popular rollup.Topics covered in this episode:High-level overview of zero knowledge proofsZK rollupszkSync EraZK ecosystem taxonomyRollup performance: bottlenecks & tradeoffsBridging between zkSync hyperchainsData availability. Validium vs. VolitionGovernance & security layersSequencer decentralisationEpisode links:Alex Gluchowski on TwitterzkSync on TwitterMatter Labs on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Meher Roy & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/507

The recent history of L2s has shown that there doesn’t need to be ‘one chain to rule them all’ or an ‘ETH killer’. Instead, a healthier approach would be to find the best solution for a specific need, taking into consideration any potential tradeoffs. Avalanche has done just that, focusing from the get-go on delivering high transaction throughput, using their unique subnet architecture, consensus protocol and warp messaging. HyperSDK continues this conviction, offering a framework for developers to spin up customisable, high performance virtual machines.We were joined by Patrick O’Grady, VP of Engineering at Ava Labs, to discuss HyperSDK and how it enables building customisable, high performance VMs on Avalanche subnets.Topics covered in this episode:Patrick’s backgroundAvalanche’s consensus protocolSubnetsAvalancheGo design conceptsWarp messagingStaking and subnet validatorsHyperSDKHyperSDK vs. Cosmos SDKAvalanche throughput parametersCustom solutions for developersEpisode links: Patrick O'Grady on TwitterAva Labs on TwitterAvalanche on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Meher Roy & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/506

We couldn’t miss EthCC 6 and we got to sit down with Vitalik Buterin to discuss hot topics from the Ethereum ecosystem: MEV, staking derivatives, privacy, decentralisation and future interoperability. Ethereum’s merge to proof-of-stake brought with it the emergence of liquid staking derivatives (LSD). Similarly to mining pools in proof-of-work consensus models, staking pools could pose a risk to Ethereum’s decentralisation. In terms of privacy preserving solutions, the advances in zero knowledge research were a big breakthrough, especially as EVM-compatibility became possible. Maximal extractable value (MEV) remains a pressing matter, but hopes are that the upcoming proposer-builder separation (PBS) will alleviate it.Topics covered in this episode:EthCC 6 updates and development across Ethereum’s ecosystemMEV and proposer-builder separation (PBS)Liquid staking derivatives (LSD), governance and decentralisationPrivacyZK proofs and decentralised identifiers (DID)Ecosystem interoperabilityCross-chain bridge securityConclusionsEpisode links:Vitalik ButerinEthereum Foundation on TwitterEthCC on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Friederike Ernst & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/505

Blockchains are secured through the economic incentives offered to their validators/miners. The more robust the network effect among validators, the more difficult it is for that blockchain to be compromised. However, building a truly decentralised and reliable validator set is not a trivial task. As a result, hub and spoke ecosystem designs like Cosmos’ (and even Polkadot’s), aim to share the main hub’s validator set and security to their ‘consumer’ chains (parachains in Polkadot’s case). Neutron relies on interchain queries, interchain accounts and interchain (replicated) security to deliver the most secure CosmWasm smart contract platform in the Cosmos ecosystem. We were joined by Avril Dutheil, GM at Neutron, to discuss Neutron’s smart contract platform and how it leverages replicated security (ICS) and interchain accounts (ICA).Topics covered in this episode:Avril’s background and the value prop behind NeutronPractical examplesInterchain accounts and different use casesInterchain securityAtom hub vs. Polkadot relay chain. Onboarding and security modelsOffboarding Cosmos consumer chainsReplicated security vs. Modular blockchainsNeutron’s token utility and governanceEpisode links: Avril DutheilNeutron on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/504

Stablecoins represent the backbone of DeFi, allowing complex financial applications to be protected from external volatility. From fiat-backed to algorithmic, there are multiple approaches to issuing and backing stablecoins. While US regulations are looming over the crypto industry, Monerium released a fully regulated on-chain euro stablecoin, the EURe, enabling direct SEPA transfers, on- and off-ramp.We were joined by Sveinn Valfells, CEO of Monerium, to discuss the European E-Money Directive and how it set the ground for fully regulated on-chain currencies (EURe) built on top of SEPA.Topics covered in this episode:Sveinn’s background and building MoneriumRegulated on-chain EUR and seamless SEPA on- and off-rampsHow electronic money regulation differs from MiCAWhat assets back EUReMonerium’s business modelEURe’s adoption compared with other stablecoins (USDC, USDT)Issuing other currencies on-chainCBDCs and the banking sectorChallenges of building on SEPAIBAN discriminationKYC limitationsDeFi and stablecoin backingReal world assets used as on-chain collateralEpisode links: Sveinn Valfells on TwitterMonerium on TwitterThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/503