Zero Knowledge

SummaryIn this week’s episode, Anna and Tarun catch up with Andrew Miller. They cover his early work on consensus, ZK and MPC before switching focus to the topic of his current work: TEEs. They map his evolving opinion on TEEs and explore why they could be seen as an optimal solution to many of the blockchain challenges. Here’s some additional links for this episode:Andrew Miller worksSoK: Research Perspectives and Challenges for Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies by Bonneau, Miller, Clark, Narayanan, Kroll, Felten Zerocash: Decentralized Anonymous Payments from Bitcoin by Ben-Sasson, Chiesa, Garman, Green, Miers, Tromer, and Virza The Honey Badger of BFT Protocols by Miller, Xia, Croman, Shi, and SongDelegaTEE: Brokered Delegation Using Trusted Execution Environments byMatetic, Schneider, Miller, Juels and CapkunRatel: MPC-extensions for Smart Contracts by Li, Soska, Huang, Bellemare, Quintyne-Collins, Wang, Liu, Song and MillerEkiden: A Platform for Confidentiality-Preserving, Trustworthy, and Performant Smart Contracts by Cheng, Zhang, Kos, He, Hynes, Johnson, Juels, Miller and SongDemo of IT from Xyn and RyanComplete Knowledge: Preventing Encumbrance of Cryptographic Secrets by Kelkar, Babel, Daian, Austgen, Buterin and JuelsOff-Chain Coordination via Liquefaction - James Austgen | MEV-SBC ’24This week Anna and Zaki Manian dive into the Cosmos ecosystem and ask the question: is Cosmos Dead? zkSummit12 is happening in Lisbon on Oct 8th! Applications to attend are now open at zksummit.com, apply today as tickets are limited!Episode SponsorsAttention, all projects in need of server-side proving, kick start your rollup with Gevulot's ZkCloud, the first zk-optimized decentralized cloud! Get started with a free trial plus extended grant opportunities for premier customers until Q1 2025. Register at Gevulot.com.Aleo is a new Layer-1 blockchain that achieves the programmability of Ethereum, the privacy of Zcash, and the scalability of a rollup.As Aleo is gearing up for their mainnet launch in Q1, this is an invitation to be part of a transformational ZK journey. Dive deeper and discover more about Aleo at http://aleo.org/.If you like what we do:Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | LinktreeSubscribe to our podcast newsletterFollow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YouTube Read transcript

Arnaud Schenk, co-founder of Aztec and creator of the Polaris Fellowship, dives into the nuanced world of trust infrastructure and programmable cryptography. He highlights the pitfalls of trustless systems and the need for established norms in online communities. Their conversation traces the roots of digital culture back to 60s counterculture and discusses how community dynamics drive innovation. Schenk emphasizes the interplay between collaboration and trust, and the importance of creating supportive digital environments for the crypto ecosystem.

Naveen Durvasula, a matching markets and mechanism design expert, joins Tarun to dive deep into restaking in cryptocurrency. They explore the foundations of restaking mechanisms and how they can be optimized. The conversation also touches on the complexities of validator decision-making and the risks tied to Alternative Validator Services. Furthermore, they discuss the intersection of theoretical concepts and practical applications in blockchain, emphasizing the need for clarity in understanding operational dynamics.

SummaryIn this week’s episode, Anna chats with Connor O’Hara from Celestia. After discussing the latest ZK Hack Montréal event where Connor was a judge, they dive into his professional background, the ecosystems he has been a part of and what led him to work on Celestia. They then discuss various ZK-focused initiatives within the Celestia ecosystem.Here’s some additional links for this episode:Episode 311: The Launch of Celestia and Beyond 03:22 ZK Hack Montréal 08:08 ZK Hack Devfolio24:33 Episode 151: John Adler on Optimistic vs ZK Rollup and the data availability problem30:24 Episode 208: Digging into Data Availability with Ismail Khoffi from Celestia41:26 Episode 220: The Road to Plonky2 with Brendan and Daniel from Polygon Zero46:49 Vitalik Buterin Endgame Blog Post 49:41 Light Nodes Everywhere: Why & How - Connor O'Hara at Modulard Summit 56:29 ZK11: 1 Circuit, 5 Rollups: Building a Re-Usable DA Integration for ZK Rollups - Connor O'HaraCheck out the ZK Jobs Board for the latest jobs in ZK at jobsboard.zeroknowledge.fm Episode SponsorsGet ready to build with intention. Anoma is the universal intent machine, introducing a new era of applications where you define the outcomes you want. Follow Anoma on X to learn more at x.com/anomaAleo is a new Layer-1 blockchain that achieves the programmability of Ethereum, the privacy of Zcash, and the scalability of a rollup.As Aleo is gearing up for their mainnet launch in Q1, this is an invitation to be part of a transformational ZK journey. Dive deeper and discover more about Aleo at http://aleo.org/.If you like what we do:Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | LinktreeSubscribe to our podcast newsletterFollow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YouTube Read transcript

SummaryIn this week’s episode, Anna chats with Jens Groth and Daniel Marin from Nexus. They catch up on all things Groth16 with the author himself before diving into a variety topics, such as formal verification in the context of ZKPs, the Nexus architecture, the benefits and challenges of building a system from the ground up, folding and IVC plus the properties these offer in a zkVM context and much more. Here’s some additional links for this episode:ZKProof Conference in Berlin Nova: Recursive Zero-Knowledge Arguments from Folding Schemes by Kothapalli, Setty, and TziallaNexus zkVMEpisode 284: Using Formal Verification on ZK Systems with Jon Stephens Jens Groth Publication ListNexus Docs Nexus 1.0 MachineEnabling General-Purpose Verifiable Computing | Daniel Marin (Oct 2023) on YouTubeNexus 2.0 SETI@home zkSummit12 is happening in Lisbon on Oct 8th! Applications to speak or attend are now open at zksummit.com, speaker applications close TODAY (Aug 14th) and early bird tickets for attendance are limited!Launching soon, Namada is a proof-of-stake L1 blockchain focused on multichain, asset-agnostic privacy, via a unified shielded set. Namada is natively interoperable with fast-finality chains via IBC, and with Ethereum using a trust-minimized bridge.Follow Namada on Twitter @namada for more information and join the community on Discord. Aleo is a new Layer-1 blockchain that achieves the programmability of Ethereum, the privacy of Zcash, and the scalability of a rollup.As Aleo is gearing up for their mainnet launch in Q1, this is an invitation to be part of a transformational ZK journey. Dive deeper and discover more about Aleo at http://aleo.org/.If you like what we do:Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | LinktreeSubscribe to our podcast newsletterFollow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YouTube Read transcript

Joe Bonneau, Assistant Professor at NYU and Research Partner at a16z crypto research, dives into cutting-edge zero-knowledge technologies. He discusses naysayer proofs, which simplify verification in cryptography. The conversation then shifts to the role of zero-knowledge middleboxes in enhancing online privacy and the DARPA SIEVE Project aimed at advancing ZK methods. Bonneau also explores decentralized sealed-bid auctions, showcasing how blockchain can ensure privacy while maintaining transparency in bidding processes. A wealth of knowledge and innovation unfolds!

Ismael Hishon-Rezaizadeh and Charalampos Papamanthou discuss zk-powered coprocessors, Verifiable SQL, Reckle Trees, prover marketplace, infrastructure, and bringing general computing concepts into decentralized blockchain systems. They explore the benefits for dApp developers, historical data access challenges, and the use of ZKPs for secure validation.

Hart Lambur from Across discusses cross-chain interoperability and Uma, sharing insights on bridges, messaging speed, intent structures, and interoperability challenges. The conversation covers financial optimizations, stake attacks, growth predictions, and the Ethereum vs Solana competition. The hosts also banter about Belgium, events in Brussels, and the rise of financial nihilism in the crypto space.

Learn about the upcoming ZK Hack event in Montreal happening on August 9th to 11th. Attendees can hack on ZKTools, meet experts, and find collaborators. Partners like RISC-Zero, Novonet, Gevilot, and O1 Labs will showcase tools and offer bounties.

Varun Srinivasan, co-founder of Farcaster, discusses the innovative design space and applications of the project. Topics include decentralized social networks, combatting spam, storage rent, privacy, Sign in with Farcaster, user control, and community-based optimization.