Zero Knowledge

This week Anna and Tarun chat with Martin Köppelmann, CEO of Gnosis. The company was known for championing prediction markets, but Gnosis has now shifted to making key infrastructure products. Martin chats about this transition and explains Gnosis’s current products, which include a unique DEX called CowSwap and a number of products for managing DAO treasuries and governance.Here are some links for this episode:Gnosis & Full Node with Friederike Ernst, Zero Knowledge episode 94SafeSnap introductory postGnosis Protocol V2 introFlashbots with Phil Daian and Stephane Gosselin, Zero Knowledge episode 168Aping into DeFi and NFTs with Andy Chorlian and Tarun Chitra, Zero Knowledge episode 181If you’re looking for a job in the world of blockchain and zero knowledge, don’t forget to check out our Jobs Board! Listings include engineering, applied crypto and business roles from top companies in the space.Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Least Authority & PrivateStoragePrivateStorage is a private, secure and end-to-end encrypted storage solution created by Least Authority, a leader in the security of distributed systems. Privacy is at the core of their work. PrivateStorage was created using privacy and security by design principles, and includes features like end-to-end encryption, zero knowledge access passes and accountless authorization, to ensure users have greater anonymity and assurance that their data is protected. PrivateStorage cannot see user data when it is stored on their grid.Visit PrivateStorage and register to be notified once the service is launched. This is a one time notification email and not a mailing list. The addresses will be deleted after the notification email is distributed. If you like what we do:Follow us on Twitter - @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeRead up on the r/ZKPodcast subredditGive us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A Support our Gitcoin GrantSupport us on the ZKPatreonDonate through coinbase.commerceOr directly here:ETH: 0xC0FFEE1B5083230a5154F55f253B6b6ae8F29B1aBTC: 1cafekGa3podM4fBxPSQc6RCEXQNTK8ZzZEC: t1R2bujRF3Hzte9ALHpMJvY8t5kb9ut9SpQDOT: 14zPzb7ihiBeaUn9jdPW9cHKGBd9qtTuJE75hhW2CvzLh6rT Read transcript

This week Anna and James chat with Elena Nadolinski, founder of Iron Fish, about the new privacy network and what led her to this point.Elena recounts her journey into crypto, starting from AirBnB and falling into the rabbit hole of Ethereum hackathons, Solidity, and NFTs, eventually leading her to exploration of zero knowledge proofs for honest computation. This deep dive into SNARKs and Sapling led to the creation of Beanstalk, later Iron Fish, which aims to be the shielded pool for all other blockchain assets.Note: James is an investor in Iron FishHere are some links:Elena’s slides about Sapling from ZconIron Fish whitepaperHalo with Sean Bowe and Daira Hopwood, Zero Knowledge Episode 123Zexe: Zero Knowledge Computation with Pratyush Mishra, Zero Knowledge Episode 85Ariel Gabizon on his work with zkSNARKs, Zero Knowledge Episode 86Don’t forget to subscribe to the ZkMesh newsletter, aggregating all of the latest developments in ZK each month. The next release is due this week!We also launched a newsletter for announcements related to what we do at ZK podcast. Subscribe to make sure you never miss a zkSessions or studyClub event!Thanks to this episode’s sponsor, Aave Aave is an open source, decentralised non-custodial liquidity protocol on Ethereum. With Aave, users can participate as depositors meaning they provide liquidity to earn a passive income. or they can also act as borrowers to borrow in an overcollateralized way or undercollateralized way (think: one-block liquidity Flash Loan). Aave has also deployed a new market on Polygon’s sidechain to let users pay much lower gas fees. Assets can be transferred from Ethereum with the Polygon Bridge and put to use on Aave’s Polygon markets.Learn more about it in the link to the blog here:If you like what we do:Follow us on Twitter - @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeRead up on the r/ZKPodcast subredditGive us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A Support our Gitcoin GrantSupport us on the ZKPatreonDonate through coinbase.commerceOr directly here:ETH: 0xC0FFEE1B5083230a5154F55f253B6b6ae8F29B1aBTC: 1cafekGa3podM4fBxPSQc6RCEXQNTK8ZzZEC: t1R2bujRF3Hzte9ALHpMJvY8t5kb9ut9SpQDOT: 14zPzb7ihiBeaUn9jdPW9cHKGBd9qtTuJE75hhW2CvzLh6rT Read transcript

This week Anna and Tarun chat with Andy Chorlian. Andy recounts the many interesting moments through his crypto journey, including being at Maker during Black Thursday, living through DeFi Summer, and then jumping into NFTs with Top Shot and PleasrDAO. Taking a break from his degen career, Andy is now developing Fractional, a protocol for fractionalizing NFTs. He explains how it works under the hood and how the concept could bridge the DeFi and NFT worlds.Here are some links for this episode:An overview of the NBA Top Shot platform to understand what it’s about.Andy’s NBA Top Shot stats page.The WSJ article featuring Andy’s “messy” desk.Where Media & Music Meet NFT & Blockchain, Zero Knowledge Episode 167 featuring Andre Anjos (RAC) and Trevor McFedries (Brud). An intro to FractionalThe Snowden NFT pieceIf you’re looking for a job in the world of blockchain and zero knowledge, don’t forget to check out our Jobs Board! Also, make sure to subscribe to our new Substack to be updated of any future zkSessions, Jobs Fair, StudyClub or another of our many initiatives.Thanks to this week’s sponsor, O1 Labs, the creators of Mina ProtocolMina is the world’s lightest blockchain – powered by participants. Mina is a layer-one protocol, creating a private gateway between the real world and crypto. The entire chain is around 22kb — even as it scales, thanks to zk-SNARKs. The ecosystem is growing fast and Mina's mainnet has just gone live, offering users a platform to build a private gateway between the real world and crypto, visit minaprotocol.com to find out more.If you like what we do:Follow us on Twitter - @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeRead up on the r/ZKPodcast subredditGive us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A Support our Gitcoin GrantSupport us on the ZKPatreonDonate through coinbase.commerceOr directly here:ETH: 0xC0FFEE1B5083230a5154F55f253B6b6ae8F29B1aBTC: 1cafekGa3podM4fBxPSQc6RCEXQNTK8ZzZEC: t1R2bujRF3Hzte9ALHpMJvY8t5kb9ut9SpQDOT: 14zPzb7ihiBeaUn9jdPW9cHKGBd9qtTuJE75hhW2CvzLh6rT Read transcript

This week, Anna and James chat with Antonio Juliano, founder of dYdX, a derivatives exchange on Ethereum that recently transitioned to a StarkEx-powered L2 infrastructure. Antonio brings a product-centric perspective to using scalability tech. He explains the choice of going for StarkWare’s products and how it compares to other layer ones or rollups. The conversation delves into questions like dYdX’s position in the decentralization spectrum, how that is going to change in the future, and what the L2 solution enables on the product side.Here are some links for this episode:StarkWare’s docs on the StarkEx technology adopted by dYdX dYdX’s FAQ on major features and decisions in the platform.Validium with DeversiFi & Starkware Zero Knowledge episode 138Loopring with Matt & Brecht, Zero Knowledge episode 161Unwrapping Optimism with Ben and Mark, Zero Knowledge episode 177.The next zkSessions focused on ZK Languages is happening on May 19 at 6 PM CET / 9AM PT!Signup on Hopin now - https://hopin.com/events/zksessions-the-zk-languages-showdownThe second ZK Jobs Fair happens on May 19 8 PM CET / 11AM PT - Apply here if you are actively looking for a new role and only want to attend this! And for all job listings, check out the ZK Jobs Board for open positions. Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Least AuthorityLeast Authority is a leader in the security of distributed systems. They provide security consulting services, develop open source products and contribute to the advancement of learning and research in the field. Signup for Least Authority’s newsletter to be notified on the release of the ZKAPs Whitepaper, PrivateStorage, security audit reports, job openings and more.Visit https://leastauthority.com/newsletter to join the mailing list.If you like what we do:Follow us on Twitter - @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeRead up on the r/ZKPodcast subredditGive us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A Support our Gitcoin GrantSupport us on the ZKPatreonDonate through coinbase.commerceOr directly here:ETH: 0xC0FFEE1B5083230a5154F55f253B6b6ae8F29B1aBTC: 1cafekGa3podM4fBxPSQc6RCEXQNTK8ZzZEC: t1R2bujRF3Hzte9ALHpMJvY8t5kb9ut9SpQDOT: 14zPzb7ihiBeaUn9jdPW9cHKGBd9qtTuJE75hhW2CvzLh6rT Read transcript

This week, Anna and James host Ed Felten and Steven Goldfeder, co-founders of Arbitrum, an Optimistic Rollup project born before the term "Optimistic Rollup" was even coined.Ed and Steven tell Arbitrum’s story, from its beginnings as a chain-agnostic university project in 2014 to become an Ethereum-based Optimistic L2 Rollup solution based on fraud proofs. They cover Arbitrum’s interactive fraud proofs, how they differ from other solutions like Optimism, and how Arbitrum and the Optimistic Rollup helps Ethereum scale.Here are some links for this episode:Inside Arbitrum, an accessible general explainer about what is the Arbitrum rollupUnwrapping Optimism with Ben and Mark, Zero Knowledge episode 177, the latest of our impromptu Ethereum L2 series.Zk-zk-rollup & zk.money with Zac and Joe from Aztec, Zero Knowledge episode 176zkEVM & zkPorter with Matter Labs, Zero Knowledge episode 175John Adler on Optimistic vs ZK Rollup and the data availability problem, Zero Knowledge episode 151Why Sequencers are the Future - Mark Tyneway (Optimism), zkSessions from March 2021If you're looking to work in blockchain and the zk space, check out the ZK Jobs board! You'll find great opportunities to work at the forefront of blockchain tech, divided into business, engineering and cryptography positions. Also, we are hosting the second ZK Jobs Fair on May 19, right after our zkSessions on zk languages. Register for free here on Hopin: https://hopin.com/events/zksessions-the-zk-languages-showdownThanks to this episode’s sponsor, Aave Aave is an open source, decentralised non-custodial liquidity protocol on Ethereum. With Aave, users can participate as depositors meaning they provide liquidity to earn a passive income. or they can also act as borrowers to borrow in an overcollateralized way or undercollateralized way (think: one-block liquidity Flash Loan). Aave recently deployed a new market on Polygon’s sidechain to let users pay much lower gas fees. Assets can be transferred from Ethereum with the Polygon Bridge and put to use on Aave’s Polygon markets.Learn more about it here.So thanks again, Aave!If you like what we do:Follow us on Twitter - @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeRead up on the r/ZKPodcast subredditGive us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A Support our Gitcoin GrantSupport us on the ZKPatreonDonate through coinbase.commerceOr directly here:ETH: 0xC0FFEE1B5083230a5154F55f253B6b6ae8F29B1aBTC: 1cafekGa3podM4fBxPSQc6RCEXQNTK8ZzZEC: t1R2bujRF3Hzte9ALHpMJvY8t5kb9ut9SpQ Read transcript

This week, Anna chats with Alberto Garoffolo from Horizen Labs for their upcoming Zendoo protocol and Latus sidechain proposal. The episode centers around the world of sidechains for UTXO-based blockchains such as Horizen or Zcash. The Horizen team has developed Latus and Zendoo, a SNARK-powered mechanism for designing trustless sidechains. Alberto explains how Horizen’s Zendoo system works under the hood to connect a mainchain with a set of sidechains built for specific purposes, while Latus’s design diminishes reliance on bridge validators.Here are some links for this episode:Paper on Zendoo and LatusLatus incentive scheme white paperJ. Ayo Akinyele Talks Lightning Network & Building Bolt, Zero Knowledge episode 73An overview of Bitcoin sidechain designs with their benefits and drawbacks on Deribit InsightsTomorrow we’re hosting the Privacy on Polkadot event as part of our ZK Validator work. This is going to be the first of many privacy-centric meetups for Polkadot and other chains, hosting privacy projects from across the Web3 space.The event will run from 3 PM CET to 6 PM CET (9 AM-12 PM ET). Here is the link to join: https://hopin.com/events/privacy-on-polkadotThanks to this week’s sponsor, EYEY is committed to supporting integration of the world’s business ecosystems on the public Ethereum blockchain. Join their fifth annual blockchain summit and education series on May 18–21 for a deep dive into zero-knowledge privacy technologies, accounting and tax rules, as well as the future of finance. Sign up and learn more at ey.com/globalblockchainsummit or blockchain.ey.com.Thanks again, EY!If you like what we do:Follow us on Twitter - @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeRead up on the r/ZKPodcast subredditGive us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A Support our Gitcoin GrantSupport us on the ZKPatreonDonate through coinbase.commerceOr directly here:ETH: 0xC0FFEE1B5083230a5154F55f253B6b6ae8F29B1aBTC: 1cafekGa3podM4fBxPSQc6RCEXQNTK8ZzZEC: t1R2bujRF3Hzte9ALHpMJvY8t5kb9ut9SpQ Read transcript

This week, Anna and James chat with Ben Jones and Mark Tyneway from Optimism, the builders of Optimistic Ethereum.The interview continues the series of L2-focused episodes we have been airing on the Zero Knowledge Podcast and comes just as Optimism gears up for launch. Anna, James, Ben and Mark discuss the inner workings of their Optimistic Rollup, diving deep into concepts like data availability, the fraud proof, the role of the sequencer and the rollup’s complex relationship with layer-one. Ben and Mark then lay out their vision for rollup-centric Ethereum and how rollup interoperability is the next major focus area for the ecosystem.Here are some links for this episode:Handshake Protocol with Mark Tyneway, Zero Knowledge episode 132Rayonism, the sharded rollup proposal Mark mentionedZk-zk-rollup & zk.money with Zac and Joe from Aztec, Zero Knowledge episode 176zkEVM & zkPorter with Matter Labs, Zero Knowledge episode 175John Adler on Optimistic vs ZK Rollup and the data availability problem, Zero Knowledge episode 151zkSessions: Why Sequencers are the Future - Mark Tyneway (Optimism), zkSessions from March 2021The upcoming scaling Ethereum hackathon Ben mentioned.Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Least Authority. In addition to their security reviews of innovative projects such as Loopring, Mina, and Filecoin, this May, Least Authority will be releasing a whitepaper on ZKAPs – Zero-Knowledge Access Passes. ZKAPs is an anonymous, token-based authorization protocol that facilitates an online exchange of value while disconnecting the necessary payment data from the day-to-day usage service data of customers.Also coming this summer is the MoonMath Manual – a beginner’s guide to zk-SNARKS, which introduces the theory and application of zk-SNARKs from various angles.Signup for Least Authority's newsletter to stay in touch and be notified of the release of the ZKAPs Whitepaper, PrivateStorage, the MoonMath Manual, continuous security audit reports, job openings and more. Visit https://leastauthority.com/newsletter to join their mailing list.If you like what we do:Follow us on Twitter - @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeRead up on the r/ZKPodcast subredditGive us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A Support our Gitcoin GrantSupport us on the ZKPatreonDonate through coinbase.commerceOr directly here:ETH: 0xC0FFEE1B5083230a5154F55f253B6b6ae8F29B1aBTC: 1cafekGa3podM4fBxPSQc6RCEXQNTK8ZzZEC: t1R2bujRF3Hzte9ALHpMJvY8t5kb9ut9SpQ Read transcript

In this week’s episode, Anna chats with Zac Williamson and Joe Andrews, respectively CTO and Head of Product at Aztec.The episode is centered on Aztec’s latest release, zk.money, the “zk-zk-rollup” that targets privacy and scalability at the same time. zk.money allows users to shield their Ethereum-based assets while achieving a higher transaction count, a result that took months of research and development of the TurboPLONK. Zac and Joe explain how it works down to the nitty-gritty of elliptic curve arithmetic, logic gates, hashes and circuits.The conversation then shifts to topics like WebAssembly (and its limitations), Ethereum, UltraPLONK, Noir & more.Here are some links for this episode:Exploring Aztec with Zac Williamson, Zero Knowledge episode 75Dive into Plonk!, Zero Knowledge episode 112Building Private AMMs with Guillermo Angeris, Zero Knowledge episode 173Into the deep end: making sense of PLONK - Zac Williamson (CTO, Aztec Protocol), zkSummit from October 2019Plookup: Speeding up the PLONK prover - Zac Williamson & Ariel Gabizon, zkSummit from March 2020Are you a passionate crypto and zk enthusiast? Think you’ve got the skills to contribute in the blockchain space? Then make sure to check out the ZK Jobs Fair on April 22.This will be the first virtual job fair hosted by us, where leading builders in the zk community will join to connect with talented individuals who are looking to contribute to the cutting edge work on zero knowledge applications.Check out the ZK Jobs Fair application form, if you are interested in partecipating to the event.Thanks to this episode’s sponsor, Aave Aave is an open source, decentralised non-custodial liquidity protocol on Ethereum. With Aave, users can participate as depositors meaning they provide liquidity to earn a passive income. or they can also act as borrowers to borrow in an overcollateralized way or undercollateralized way (think: one-block liquidity Flash Loan). Aave recently deployed a new market on Polygon’s sidechain to let users pay much lower gas fees. Assets can be transferred from Ethereum with the Polygon Bridge and put to use on Aave’s Polygon markets.Learn more about it here.So thanks again, Aave!If you like what we do:Follow us on Twitter - @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeRead up on the r/ZKPodcast subredditGive us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A Support our Gitcoin GrantSupport us on the ZKPatreonDonate through coinbase.commerceOr directly here:ETH: 0xC0FFEE1B5083230a5154F55f253B6b6ae8F29B1aBTC: 1cafekGa3podM4fBxPSQc6RCEXQNTK8ZzZEC: t1R2bujRF3Hzte9ALHpMJvY8t5kb9ut9SpQ Read transcript

In today’s episode, Anna chats with Alex Gluchowski, CEO at Matter Labs and co-creator of zkSync, to catch up on Matter Labs’s latest developments in extending Ethereum’s capabilities with zk proofs.Alex explains the recent progress in porting Solidity to a zkRollup and how that interacts with the Zinc language and zk proof circuits. They then move on to discussing Ethereum scalability with a deep dive on rollup architecture and the upcoming zkPorter, a solution for sharded zkRollups that’s being developed by Matter Labs. Here are some links for this episode:zkSNARKs for Scale with Matter Labs, Zero Knowledge episode 72 Mapping the L2 Landscape - zkPorter with Alex Gluchowski (Matter Labs), zkSessions from March 2021Zinc: porting EVM smart contracts to zkSync ZK rollup – Alex Gluchowski – Matter Labs, zkSummit from November 2020ZK languages with Alex Ozdemir, Zero Knowledge episode 172Intro to zkPorterMatter Labs’ fundraising announcement for zkEVM implementation.Curve’s testnet implementation on zkSyncAre you a passionate crypto and zk enthusiast? Think you’ve got the skills to contribute in the blockchain space? Then make sure to check out the ZK Jobs Fair on April 22!This will be the first virtual job fair hosted by us, where leading builders in the zk community will join to connect with talented individuals who are looking to contribute to the cutting edge work on zero knowledge applications. Check out the ZK Jobs Fair application form if you are interested in participating to the event.Thanks to this episode’s sponsor, Mina Protocol.Mina is the world’s lightest blockchain. It is a layer-one crypto protocol that replaces the traditional blockchain with a zero-knowledge proof, ensuring a super-light and constant sized chain that allows participants to quickly sync and verify the network.Mina's mainnet has just gone live, offering users a platform to build a private gateway between the real world and crypto. Mina also has an active demo in partnership with Teller Finance for “End-to-End Data Privacy,” showing how you can use Mina to access your credit score and prove that you meet credit threshold requirements for on-chain services— without ever disclosing your actual score.Visit minaprotocol.com to find out how you can get involved, and join the community.If you like what we do:Follow us on Twitter - @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeRead up on the r/ZKPodcast subredditGive us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A Support our Gitcoin GrantSupport us on the ZKPatreonDonate through coinbase.commerceOr directly here:ETH: 0xC0FFEE1B5083230a5154F55f253B6b6ae8F29B1aBTC: 1cafekGa3podM4fBxPSQc6RCEXQNTK8ZzZEC: t1R2bujRF3Hzte9ALHpMJvY8t5kb9ut9SpQ Read transcript

In today’s episode, Anna and James chat with three representatives of the Cosmos ecosystem — Zaki Manian, Tess Rinearson and Shahan Khatchadourian — to learn all about its recent milestone upgrade, Stargate. First up is Zaki Manian, co-founder of Iqlusion and Sommelier Finance, who sets the stage for what Stargate achieved and why the upgrade was the most comprehensive and complex yet for Cosmos. Next is Tess Rinearson, VP of Engineering at Interchain, who recounted her deep involvement in the Stargate upgrade with an almost hour-by-hour replay.Finally comes Shahan Khatchadourian, Cosmos Hub lead, who talks about his recent transition from the Ethereum ecosystem and how Stargate impacts the Hub, its users and its validators.Here are some links for this episode:Cosmos and IBC with Chris Goes, Zero Knowledge episode 115Catch up with Zaki Manian, Zero Knowledge episode 108Diving into Cosmos with Sunny, Zero Knowledge episode 78An introductory article into Stargate and Cosmos.How the Cosmos development teams collaborated to deliver Stargate.Check out the latest Feb installment of zkMesh, a monthly newsletter overviewing every important development in zk land. Subscribe now to receive timely updates by Anna and Mikerah at the beginning of every month. Thanks to this episode’s sponsor, Least Authority.Least Authority is a security consulting company known for their dedication to pushing the limits on how to build privacy-respecting solutions. Known for audits of Eth 2.0 Specification, Protocol Lab's Gossipsub Protocol, Mina Protocol, Kolibri Smart Contracts and Stably’s Tezos Stablecoin for Tezos Foundation, Blockstack's Investor Wallet, and more. They want to help teams improve the security of their protocol and use of cryptography, including zero knowledge proofs: from design to implementation.With over 50 completed public audits to-date, join the growing list of audited projects, book a free consult at leastauthority.com/consult*If you like what we do: *Follow us on Twitter - @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeRead up on the r/ZKPodcast subredditGive us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A Support our Gitcoin GrantSupport us on the ZKPatreonDonate through coinbase.commerce*Or directly here: *ETH: 0xC0FFEE1B5083230a5154F55f253B6b6ae8F29B1aBTC: 1cafekGa3podM4fBxPSQc6RCEXQNTK8ZzZEC: t1R2bujRF3Hzte9ALHpMJvY8t5kb9ut9SpQ Read transcript