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

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 Neutron
• Practical examples
• Interchain accounts and different use cases
• Interchain security
• Atom hub vs. Polkadot relay chain. Onboarding and security models
• Offboarding Cosmos consumer chains
• Replicated security vs. Modular blockchains
• Neutron’s token utility and governance

Episode links:

• Avril Dutheil
• Neutron on Twitter

This 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 Monerium
• Regulated on-chain EUR and seamless SEPA on- and off-ramps
• How electronic money regulation differs from MiCA
• What assets back EURe
• Monerium’s business model
• EURe’s adoption compared with other stablecoins (USDC, USDT)
• Issuing other currencies on-chain
• CBDCs and the banking sector
• Challenges of building on SEPA
• IBAN discrimination
• KYC limitations
• DeFi and stablecoin backing
• Real world assets used as on-chain collateral

Episode links:

• Sveinn Valfells on Twitter
• Monerium on Twitter

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/503

Layer 2 zero knowledge roll-ups have initially been used for achieving private transactions on blockchains. However, past simple transfers, interacting with a public smart contract posed a serious challenge. As research and technology evolved, proof construction became much more efficient, enabling zk-powered scalability. There is a variety of pros and cons for each type of proof system, but given the impending rise of qunatum computers, we have witnessed a recent migration from SNARKs to STARKs. While the former relies on trusted setups, zk-STARKs are quantum-resistant.

We were joined by Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder of Starkware, to discuss Starknet's layer 2 architecture, as well as the upcoming update to Cairo 1.0 and how it will impact scalability performances for STARKs.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Shifting from privacy to scalability
• ZK roll-up taxonomy and main differences between SNARKs and STARKs
• Why scalability is easier to implement than privacy solutions
• Constructing proofs efficiently in Cairo
• Starknet’s layer 2 architecture
• Built-in account abstraction
• Volition, data availability and trust assumptions
• Sequencer decentralisation and crypto regulations
• Storage proofs
• Cairo upgrades & TPS
• Council-based vs. DAO governance
• Future developments

Episode links:

• Eli Ben-Sasson on Twitter
• Starknet on Twitter

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/502

As institutional money set their eyes on crypto, some degree of centralisation and regulation was inevitable. However, the key aspect is to limit it to access gateways and not affect protocols’ decentralisation. Recent events have shown that price manipulation is easily achieved in conditions of low liquidity, hence regulated fiat on- and off-ramps will, in the end, also benefit retail consumers. It once again all boils down to achieving these goals while maintaining privacy for users and ensuring that regulations will not stifle innovation.

We were joined by Luka Müller, co-founder of MME Legal Firm & Sygnum Bank, to discuss about crypto regulations, institutional investors, user privacy & CBDCs.

Topics covered in this episode:

• The evolution of MME Legal Firm & Sygnum Bank
• Sygnum Bank’s pro-crypto services & target clients
• The impact of FTX’ collapse. DeFi vs. CeFi
• Investor protection post-Terra Luna’s demise
• Expanding in the APAC region
• Switzerland’s pro-crypto regulations
• User privacy vs. KYC & AML
• US’ crypto policy: regulation by enforcement
• EU’s MiCA framework
• Luka’s insights on crypto’s value proposition
• CBDC vs. cash privacy
• Exciting crypto trends and innovations

Episode links:

• Sygnum Bank on Twitter
• MME Legal on LinkedIn

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/501

As Epicenter hits the 500 episode milestone, our hosts look back on almost 10 years of crypto developments, analysing the good, the bad and the ugly. What projects & narratives have surprised our hosts? Has Bitcoin failed in becoming a reliable store of value? Will ZK proofs provide the much needed solution to AI’s alignment problem? Last but not least, are we still early? Get ready for a fascinating discussion, albeit gloomy for this special occasion.

Thank you for being part of this amazing journey! We wouldn’t have made it so far without your continuous support! Looking forward to the next 500 episodes!

Topics covered in this episode:

• Brian’s health update
• Looking back on 10 years of Epicenter & crypto development
• Are we still early on Bitcoin or has that ship already sailed?
• Stores of value: Bitcoin vs. Gold vs. Market Indexes
• The need for stablecoins, including algorithmic ones!
• Projects & narratives that took a 180 degree turn
• AI vs. verifiable computation via ZK proofs
• The control & alignment AI problems
• Decentralised identity systems (DID)
• Looking forward to the next 500 episodes

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This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Brian Fabian Crain, Friederike Ernst, Meher Roy, Sunny Aggarwal & Felix Lutsch.  Show notes and listening options: [epicenter.tv/500](https://epicenter.tv/500)

In order to achieve true transaction privacy, it is not enough to encrypt or build ZK proofs for transaction bundles, as long as the underlying blockchain uses an account-based model. Aztec is building a ZKVM that superposes an UTXO model, so that balances are constantly updated as new, untraceable, log entries. The upcoming Aztec 3 aims to enable privacy-preserving smart contracts, using a hybrid, multi-layered rollup. This approach allows for both public and private smart contracts to be executed simultaneously.

We were joined by Zac Williamson & Joe Andrews, to discuss the evolution of Aztec, from ZK Money to their upcoming privacy-preserving hybrid ZK rollup.

Topics covered in this episode:

• The evolution of Aztec, from ZK money to Aztec 3
• How Aztec’s ZKVM ensures privacy for Ethereum transactions
• The need for UTXO model for privacy-preserving encrypted databases
• Interacting with public smart contracts in a private manner
• Technical roadmap and challenges faced along the way
• How Aztec differs from Mina protocol
• Recursive proofs
• Estimating gas
• Main-net sequencer decentralisation
• Goblin Plonk
• The future of programmable privacy

Episode links:

• Zac Williamson on Twitter
• Joe Andrews on Twitter
• Aztec on Twitter

This episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/499

As crypto evolves, it becomes clearer that the future will be multi-chain. Presently, moving funds between different blockchains is frustrating...to say the least. The current bridging solutions are prohibitive from a UX perspective, mainly due to how finality is reached across different blockchains. This translates to long wait times and anxiety when interacting with new protocols, caused by the incertitude of funds arriving safely on the other side. Another major blockage consists of gas fees, particular to each blockchain, which often require an additional swap. But what if, users could enjoy near-instant cross-chain swaps (sub-20 second) and one-click transaction aggregators?

We were joined by Fig, co-founder of Squid Router, to discuss how they leverage Axelar's infrastructure to achieve one-click, near-instant cross-chain swaps, creating user-friendly interoperability.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Fig’s background
• How Squid tackles interoperability
• Building a better DevEx & UX on top of Axelar’s security
• Choosing what DEXes to wrap & aggregate in Squid
• Optimising gas fees, prices & MEV cross-chain
• Squid’s business model
• Integrating other messaging protocols
• Addressing finality to reduce swap times below 20 seconds
• How Squid x Axelar solve other bridging protocol issues (e.g. multichain hack)
• Squid use cases

Episode links:

• Fig on Twitter
• Squid on Twitter
• Axelar on Twitter

This episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/498

Ethereum's merge and transition to a proof-of-stake consensus implied switching from proof-of-work mining to transactions being validated by entities that have an economic stake in the network. Proof-of-stake distributed networks are subject to complex game theory models (e.g. slashing). Distributed validator technology (DVT) enables a more modular validator stack at every level: key pairs, hardware and entities. This reduces trust dependencies and increases security for validator entities.

We were joined by Collin Myers & Oisín Kyne, founders of Obol Network, to discuss Ethereum's 2.0 PoS consensus, the current validator landscape and how distributed validator technology (DVT) allows for an increased security and overall smoother UX for validator entities.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Collin’s & Oisín’s backgrounds
• Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) explained
• How DVT improves user experience for different staking models
• Reducing validator costs and increasing fault tolerance through DVT
• Obol middleware approach
• Obol v.2
• Interacting with other middleware from the Ethereum stack
• Expanding DVT to other ecosystems
• Future validator landscape
• How post-Danksharding data availability will be handled by an Obol cluster
• L2 Ethereum equivalence

Episode links:

• Collin Myers on Twitter
• Oisín Kyne on Twitter
• Obol Network on Twitter

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/497

Public transaction history in blockchains represents one of their key features which, alongside immutability, aim to provide an alternative to CeFi. However, this transparency comes at a price: privacy. As a result, different solutions have been proposed, that preserve privacy while maintaining all the other benefits of blockchain technology, but there currently isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to this problem. For example, zero knowledge proofs convey the validity of a transaction batch without sharing any other details, but the underlying arithmetic circuits are both complex as well as computational intensive. Umbra proposes a system that relies completely on elliptic curve cryptography, employing multiple private-public key pairs to achieve stealth payments.

We were joined by Ben DiFrancesco, founder & CEO of ScopeLift, to talk about Umbra's privacy preserving stealth token transfer system and if the need for privacy on blockchains outweighs any implicit UX frictions.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Ben’s background
• Umbra's mission
• How Umbra works
• Non-interactive key distribution
• Potential solutions (& trade-offs) for Umbra's computational intensity
• Generating private-public key pairs by the Umbra smart contract
• User experience (UX) for senders and receivers
• Fee structure for deterring griefing attacks
• How Umbra works for ERC20 tokens & NFTs
• Privacy preserving withdrawals from stealth addresses
• Privacy vs. UX friction
• Smart wallets & account abstraction
• Prioritising privacy

Episode links:

• Ben DiFrancesco on Twitter
• Umbra on Twitter
• ScopeLift on Twitter

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/496

As the second Avalanche summit drew to a close, Sebastien Couture and Sunny Aggarwal sat down with Emin Gün Sirer for a fascinating conversation exploring future innovation narratives in crypto. Longtime friend of Epicenter, Ava Labs' founder and CEO shared his unique insights on the industry, from both a founder, as well as a former academia perspective.
Given Avalanche's consensus & architecture, it boasts high TPS and scalability properties, incentivising founders to build better products in the AVAX ecosystem.

One of the most controversial narratives is that of LLMs (i.e. ChatGPT) powering smart contract development by bypassing programming languages and even bytecode altogether. The question arises if replacing the human third-party with an AI fixes trust issues or not, but only time will tell which piece of code we can actually consider 'law'.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Emin’s background, from academia to running a multi-billion dollar company
• Main takeaways from the 2nd Avalanche summit
• Innovation narratives in the Avalanche ecosystem. NFTs & blockchain gaming
• The Avalanche architecture, consensus & scalability
• Avalanche’s evolution
• ChatGPT smart contracts & no-code blockchains
• Auditing AI & security
• Innovation vs. Stagnation
• Bitcoin, BTC.b & ordinals
• Bridging Cosmos with Avalanche: IBC x Warp
• Best & worst products built by crypto

Episode links:

• Emin Gün Sirer on Twitter
• Avalanche on Twitter
• Ava Labs on Twitter
• Shrapnel on Twitter
• Gunzilla Games on Twitter

This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/495