In this episode I read “DECO- Privacy Preserving Oracles” written by Kyle Santiago. Recently acquired by Chainlink, DECO is the first privacy preserving oracle solution that does not require the use of trusted hardware or onerous server-side modifications. Santiago does a great job giving real world examples of how this solution could enable users to more efficiently prove their credentials without sacrificing privacy, and how DECO could be used to strengthen key infrastructure in DeFi. Link below for the original medium article. https://medium.com/the-capital/deco-privacy-preserving-oracles-2620b80b3ffd

In this episode I read “ETH2 For Dummies” by Grant Hummer. Hummer starts this article by pointing out some of the key differences between ETH2 and ETH1. He describes ETH2’s names as misnomer as he believes ETH2 will be a completely different network with different qualities from ETH1. ETH2 will address ETH1’s biggest problem- significantly increasing transaction throughput without sacrificing decentralization. One of the biggest differences between the two networks is how transactions in the network are validated. ETH1, similarly to Bitcoin, runs on a Proof of Work-based consensus. ETH2 will transfer to Casper Proof of stake, which incentivizes ETH2 validators to be honest via economic incentives by having them post collateral in the form of Ether. ETH2 will roll out in multiple phases and in the article hummer emphasizes the importance of the first 3. I hope you enjoy the episode!

In this episode I read “The Economics of ETH2” by Nick Tomaino. In this article, Tomaino describes the economic foundation of ETH2, which is an important topic to revisit given the recent launch of ETH2’s phase 0. I hope you enjoy the episode!

In this episode I read “The Optimistic Rollup Dilemma” by StarkWare. As we covered in previous episodes, scalability is a huge impediment to the adoption of Ethereum and DeFi more broadly. Since ETH2 might be at least a couple of years away, there have been discussions of two promising solutions that can exponentially increase Ethereum’s capacity *right now*: Optimistic and ZK rollups. This article explores the trade-offs associated with each of these solutions especially as it relates to validating transactions and preventing fraud in a layer 2 environment. Hope you enjoy the episode!

In this episode I read “Curve + zkSync L2: Ethereum’s first user-defined ZK rollup smart contract!” written by the team at Matter Labs. This is an important article because, as we covered previously on this posdcast, DeFi on Ethereum is suffering from high fees, constrained capacity, and lack of privacy and these are 3 of the biggest value propositions of this collaboration between Curve and zkSync. We’ve covered zkSync in previous episodes, so if you want a high level overview, make sure to check out episode #3. This article brings some really good insight into how zkrollups will function in practice and how developers will interact with the system via Zinc, a zkRollup-centric programming language. I hope you enjoy the episode!

In this episode I read “A rollup- centric ethereum roadmap” by Vitalik Buterin- written on October 2, 2020. In this roadmap, Vitalik shares how he sees the Ethereum network advancing in both the short term and the long term. This is an important post since it describes how rollups will assist in the transition from ETH1 to ETH2. Vitalik describes a plan to focus on rollups- both in terms of advancing ETH 1 to better support this technology, and also helping applications move some of their transactional activity to upper layers. After elaborating on the economic benefits of a rollup centric Ethereum network, Vitalik talks about long term plans. He shares the idea of a “phase 1.5” approach to ETH 2 where the base layer emphasizes on facilitating consensus between layers and providing full data availability to its users. Lastly, he speculates about what ETH 2 could like in the future. Enjoy!

In this episode I read "Public blockchain fee cyclicality and negative feedback loops" by Nic Carter. This is perhaps one of the most important articles of 2020, as it explores a fundamental relationship between on-chain fees and network usage. Carter characterizes this cyclical relationship in the context of the recent DeFi bull market, where an increase in transaction fees "priced out" several retail users. Carter also provides scenarios where this cycle might broken, with solutions like zk-Rollups and/or Optimistic Rollups.

Hope you enjoy the episode!

How can Ethereum scale to thousands of transactions per second?

In this episode, I am going to be reading “Introducing zkSync: the missing link to mass adoption of Ethereum” by Alex Gluchowski.

In this article, Gluchowski and his team at Matter Labs announces their vision for zkSync: a trustless scaling and privacy solution for Ethereum that has the potential to boost Ethereum’s current throughput of 15 transactions per second to thousands per second. Gluchowski dives in deeper about the specific features for zkSync. He acknowledges the challenges of staying decentralized, enabling privacy, and meeting UX expectations.

In this episode I will be reading, “What explains the rise of AMMs?” by Haseeb Qureshi. In this piece, Qureshi lays out how Uniswap, DeFi’s biggest Decentralized Exchange, works under the hood and sheds light on the following questions:

-How Automated Market Makers (AMMs) work?

-How was Uniswap able to at times surpass centralized exchanges like Coinbase?

-How will this technology evolve?

Hope you enjoy the episode!

How does Ethereum work under the hood?

In "Ethereum, For Earthlings", I explain Ethereum from first principles. We start with a quick overview of blockchains and the so-called "smart contracts" they enable. Then, we contextualize the inner workings of Ethereum with a fun example of a decentralized application. Hope you enjoy our very first episode!