Unchained

What's the Best Way for Ethereum to Grow? Justin Drake and Martin Köppelmann Debate - Ep. 740

Listen Later

Ethereum has been left behind in this bull market. As rivals like Solana gain ground in metrics such as speed, cost, and developer mindshare, questions are being raised about whether Ethereum’s reliance on Layer 2 solutions is the right path forward—or if it needs a more fundamental redesign.

In this episode, Martin Köppelmann, co-founder of Gnosis, and Justin Drake, researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, discuss the trade-offs of native and based rollups, execution capacity, and Ethereum’s ability to maintain its dominance. They debate how Ethereum should address fragmentation across rollups, whether ETH has strayed from its ultrasound money narrative, and whether its deliberate pace of innovation could make it vulnerable in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Whose ideas will lead Ethereum out of this dark forest? 

Show highlights:
  • 03:10 Why Justin is so optimistic about pre confirmations and Ethereum scaling its throughput
  • 06:15 Whether Ethereum could reach “maintenance mode” within 5 years
  • 08:20 Whether Ethereum can solve the problem of fragmentation
  • 20:21 The difference between based rollups and native rollups
  • 25:29 Why Martin believes that Ethereum is not building for developers
  • 34:21 What real-time proving is and why it is relevant
  • 37:46 How programmable native rollups could have different business models from Ethereum but the same security
  • 44:51 Why most assets on L2s might not actually be secured by Ethereum
  • 50:24 Whether Ethereum’s consensus layer might see a “clean slate” redesign with the Beam Chain
  • 58:59 Whether Ethereum’s slow pace of change could leave it vulnerable to competition
  • 01:06:55 How Ethereum's shift to rollups and blob data has reshaped its ultrasound money narrative by transforming the primary sources of fee burn

    • Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

    Thank you to our sponsors!
    • Polkadot
    • Robinhood & Arbitrum
    • iYield
      • Guests:
      • Martin Köppelmann, Co-founder and CEO of Gnosis
      • Previous appearances on Unchained:
      • Are Layer 2s Failing Ethereum? A New Proposal Advocates for Native L2s
      • Given the Sanctions on Tornado Cash, Is Ethereum Censorship Resistant?
      • Justin Drake, Researcher at the Ethereum Foundation
      • Previous appearances on Unchained:
      • Why MEV Will Always Be Controversial
      • Did the Merge Make Ethereum ‘the Most Secure Blockchain in the World’?
      • Can Bitcoin Be Secured Only by Transaction Fees? Two Researchers Sound Off
      • Is ETH on Its Way to Becoming Ultra-Sound Money? Yes, Says Justin Drake
        • Links
        • Previous coverage of Unchained on Ethereum layer 2s:
        • ETH Is Down Bad, While Layer 2s Are Ripping. Are L2s Parasitic to Ethereum?
        • Are L2s ‘Parasitic’? Analysis Shows Ethereum Only Gets a Tiny Percentage of Fees
        • Are Solana’s ‘Network Extensions’ Just Like Ethereum’s Layer 2s But by a Different Name?
        • Ethereum Has Had a Banner Year in Most Areas. Except Price.
        • Should Ethereum Layer 2s Urgently Decentralize Their Sequencers?
        • Ethereum Scaling With L2s Has Damaged Its Tokenomics. Is It Possible to Fix It

          • Beam Chain:

          • Unchained: Ethereum Researcher Justin Drake Proposes Beam Chain Redesign, but Not All OGs Are Onboard
          • Bankless: You’re Not Bullish Enough! Ethereum Roadmap & Beamchain with Justin Drake

            • Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

            ...more
            View all episodesView all episodes
            Download on the App Store
            UnchainedBy Laura Shin
            • 4.6
            • 4.6
            • 4.6
            • 4.6
            • 4.6

            4.6

            1,181 ratings

            More shows like Unchained

            View all
            Real Vision: Finance & Investing by Real Vision Podcast Network

            Real Vision: Finance & Investing

            913 Listeners

            CoinDesk Podcast Network by CoinDesk

            CoinDesk Podcast Network

            638 Listeners

            The Pomp Podcast by Anthony Pompliano

            The Pomp Podcast

            1,836 Listeners

            The Breakdown by Blockworks

            The Breakdown

            741 Listeners

            On The Brink with Castle Island by Castle Island Ventures

            On The Brink with Castle Island

            287 Listeners

            What Bitcoin Did by Danny Knowles

            What Bitcoin Did

            247 Listeners

            Markets Daily Crypto Roundup by CoinDesk

            Markets Daily Crypto Roundup

            132 Listeners

            Bankless by Bankless

            Bankless

            1,025 Listeners

            The Wolf Of All Streets by Scott Melker

            The Wolf Of All Streets

            227 Listeners

            Empire by Blockworks

            Empire

            165 Listeners

            Supply Shock by Blockworks

            Supply Shock

            112 Listeners

            Coin Stories by Natalie Brunell

            Coin Stories

            407 Listeners

            Raoul Pal: The Journey Man by Real Vision Podcast Network

            Raoul Pal: The Journey Man

            136 Listeners

            web3 with a16z crypto by a16z crypto, Sonal Chokshi, Chris Dixon

            web3 with a16z crypto

            59 Listeners

            Bell Curve by Blockworks

            Bell Curve

            37 Listeners