Strange Water Podcast

Guest: Hamzah Khan (Twitter: @_khanhamzah) Host: Rex (Twitter: @LogarithmicRex) Despite the bear market, there's still significant activity in the crypto world. Builders and speculators are active, and various developments are ongoing. It's a valuable time for individuals to reflect on their experiences from the previous market cycle and learn from winners and losers. The podcast features Hamzah Khan, a key figure in De-Fi and Polygon's growth, discussing Polygon's success and the implications of ZK technology for the blockchain industry, offering valuable insights for listeners.

Guest: Trent Van Epps (Twitter: @trent_vanepps) Host: Rex (Twitter: @LogarithmicRex) I believe that Ethereum is the ultimate embodiment of the open-source software movement, allowing everyone to benefit financially from its developments. However, there is a need for real funding to support the development of Ethereum's infrastructure. Today’s episode is a conversation with Trent Van Epps, an expert in public goods funding and discuss his concept, Protocol Guild, which involves distributing tokens from successful protocols to Ethereum contributors. This podcast episode explores various mechanisms for supporting public goods in the Ethereum ecosystem, offering insights for those interested in its growth and development.

Guest: Yi Sun (Twitter: @theyisun) Host: Rex (Twitter: @LogarithmicRex) The current landscape of cryptography is exceptionally dynamic and promising. However, there is a significant hurdle to overcome: the intricate and abstract nature of cryptographic mathematics has made it difficult for application developers and those without a strong math background to utilize these powerful tools effectively. This challenge is exacerbated in fields like blockchain and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which require specialized skills and understanding. Enter Axiom, a company co-founded by Yi Sun, which is working on a ZK-coprocessor for the EVM. Axiom's approach simplifies the integration of complex Zero-Knowledge (ZK) cryptography into smart contracts by offloading the task off-chain and delivering results with ZK-proof, making it more accessible for developers.

Guest: Daniel Shorr (Twitter: @realDanielShorr) Host: Rex (Twitter: @LogarithmicRex) This episode of the Strange Water Podcast discusses the competition and convergence of two cutting-edge fields: cryptography/blockchain/distributed computing and machine learning. It highlights the uncertainty regarding how these technologies will intersect but expresses confidence that they are essential components of modern computing. The episode introduces Daniel Shorr of Modulus Labs, a startup aiming to merge cryptography with machine learning through their ZKML prover.

Guest: Omer Shlomovits (Twitter: @OmerShlomovits) Host: Rex (Twitter: @LogarithmicRex) Zero Knowledge (ZK) cryptography has become a prominent topic in the tech industry. It represents a shift from traditional cryptography, which focused on encrypting data, to using cryptographic techniques for trustless computation. However, understanding and effectively using ZK cryptography is challenging due to its complexity and novelty. Omer Shlomovits, the CEO of Ingonyama (Twitter: @Ingo_zk), is working to simplify ZK cryptography by providing tools, SDKs, and APIs that abstract the intricate mathematics and system complexities. Their goal is to enable developers to build applications on ZK cryptography efficiently and provide the performance required for enterprise-level solutions, making ZK cryptography more accessible and practical.

Guest: Ben Edgington (Twitter: @benjaminion_xyz) Host: Rex (⁠Twitter: @LogarithmicRex⁠) Upgrading Ethereum (formerly eth2book) Ben Edgington is not just a writer and educator; he's a vital figure in the Ethereum community due to his dedicated work on building Ethereum infrastructure as a leader at Consensys. His passion project, "Upgrading Ethereum," has become an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to understand the inner workings of Ethereum, making it an essential reference point for those not directly involved in coding. This conversation explores Ben's journey into Ethereum, his advocacy for following one's passion in their career, insights into deciphering the Ethereum roadmap, and much more. It's a discussion filled with valuable insights for anyone interested in Ethereum and its development.

Guest: Alex Golubitsky (Twitter: DumbApe69420) Host: Rex (⁠Twitter: LogarithmicRex⁠) The Strange Water Podcast welcomes Alex Golubitsky, an attorney turned crypto enthusiast, who once specialized in off-shore finance before immersing himself in Ethereum. He brings insight from his experience in the more enigmatic realms of global finance in the US Virgin Islands. This episode explores the concept of off-shore finance, its history, and offers initial paths for deeper understanding. Alex challenges the notion that decentralized finance (De-Fi) targets traditional finance, asserting that it poses a genuine threat to off-shore finance.

Guests: Tim Carstens (Twitter: intoverflow), Wolfgang Welz (Github: Wollac), Rami Khalil (Twitter: hashcashier) Host: Rex (Twitter: ⁠LogarithmicRex⁠) As of 2021, I believed Ethereum would revolutionize finance, drawing from my financial background. While I still hold that belief, my perspective has shifted over the past couple of years. I now see Ethereum's purpose as trustless computation, extending beyond finance to encompass various computer applications. In this episode, we're joined by Tim Carstens, Wolfgang Welz, and Rami Khalil from Risc Zero to delve into the concept of trustless compute, its readiness, and its potential to transform Ethereum, crypto, and computing as a whole. 

Guest: 0xTaiga (Twitter: @0xTaiga) Host: Rex (⁠Twitter: ⁠⁠@LogarithmicRex⁠⁠) Smart contract auditing involves specialized teams meticulously reviewing developers' code for errors, bugs, and vulnerabilities to ensure safety and readiness for production. The episode's guest, 0xTaiga from Consensys Diligence, sheds light on the intricacies of smart contract auditing, discussing the audit process, the distinctions between smart contract and traditional programming, and tips for maintaining positive auditor-developer relationships.

Guest: Sam Kazemian (Twitter: @samkazemian) Host: Rex (⁠Twitter: ⁠@LogarithmicRex⁠) More info on Frax Gov Frax Finance Founder Sam Kazemian discusses his journey to Frax and Frax's journey to v3. The episode begins with Sam's DOGE mining in college, his first startup Everpedia (now IQ.wiki) and the founding of Frax Finance. We then discuss the genesis of Frax and the design principles that not only built a huge protocol, but provided resilient and thoughtful enough to survive the regular black swans crypto/De-Fi has been experiencing. Sam also walks us through Frax v1, v2 and finally the imminent Frax v3 (for which Sam shares so brand new alpha). During this conversation you'll hear Rex and Sam discuss tokenomics, how to building in the regulatory environment and the overall purpose of Ethereum.