John Light is a researcher who specializes in bringing Zero Knowledge cryptography to supplement Bitcoin's limitations in scalability & privacy. With ZK rollups, Bitcoin stands a better chance to onboard 8 billion people onto trust-minimized layer 2s.

Time stamps:

Introducing John Light (00:00:50)

John's Work at Alpen Labs (00:01:35)

Strata: A New zk Optimistic Rollup (00:02:35)

Understanding BitVM (00:02:52)

BitVM 1 vs BitVM 2 (00:03:14)

Challenge and Response Mechanism to Prevent Cheating (00:05:03)

BitVM vs Lightning Network (00:06:19)

Security of BitVM 2 (00:07:26)

Soft Forks and BitVM (00:13:01)

Potential Improvements from Soft Forks (00:14:06)

Citrea vs. Strata ZK Rollup Tech (00:15:58)

Side Chains vs. Rollups (00:17:46)

Data Availability in Rollups (00:20:44)

Transaction Fees for Bitcoin Miners (00:23:19)

Token Requirement for Rollups (00:26:25)

Comparing Rollups to Counterparty (00:27:06)

Drivechains and Their Potential (00:29:35)

Focus on Rollups (00:30:49)

Data Availability Challenges (00:31:42)

Increasing Bitcoin Block Size (00:32:52)

Importance of Data Availability (00:33:19)

Block Size Limit Increase (00:36:02)

Layer Two Solutions (00:37:46)

Bitcoin Maximalism Defined (00:40:19)

Vitalik's Definition of Maximalism (00:41:33)

Personal Views on Altcoins (00:46:25)

Zcash vs. Monero (00:47:51)

Zcash's Privacy Advantages (00:50:36)

Temporary Nature of Altcoins (00:51:07)

Zcash as a Scientific Experiment (00:52:32)

Consolidation of Currencies (00:56:43)

Zcash's ZK Technology in Bitcoin (00:57:35)

Zcash vs. Shielded CSV (00:58:15)

Privacy in Rollups (00:59:44)

EVM’s Popularity (01:00:50)

Inspiration from Bitcoin Inscriptions (01:04:00)

Security of Bitcoin Holdings (01:17:37)

Full Node Projects and User Adoption (01:22:01)

BitSeed's Hardware Evolution (01:23:35)

Bitcoin Node Legislation (01:26:31)

Government Involvement in Bitcoin (01:27:08)

Concerns about Strategic Bitcoin Reserves (01:27:49)

Natural Evolution of Government Bitcoin Holdings (01:29:31)

Future of Bitcoin Development (01:30:28)

Incentives for Bitcoin Expansion (01:31:01)

Challenges of Bitcoin Solutions (01:32:36)

Product Management in Bitcoin Development (01:34:02)

User Enthusiasm for Layer Twos (01:36:16)

Potential for New Bitcoin Solutions (01:37:25)

Cultural Shift in Bitcoin Discussions (01:40:37)

Engagement in Technical Discussions (01:42:10)

Following John Light's Work (01:42:53)