https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh8hbz1nqxQ

In this episode, Nico Mohnblatt speaks with Benedikt Wagner and Dmitry Khovratovich, cryptography researchers at the Ethereum Foundation, for the second instalment of the lean Ethereum miniseries. They explore leanSig, a hash-based multi-signature scheme designed as a post-quantum replacement for BLS in Ethereum consensus.

The conversation walks through how one-time signatures and Merkle trees can be combined to support long-lived validators, and why SNARK-based aggregation is needed in a post-quantum setting. The talk touches on key tradeoffs like signature size versus verification speed, encoding challenges behind their At the Top of the Hypercube work, and the role of Poseidon as the core hash function.

 

 

Applications to speak at zkSummit14 are now open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early. Apply at www.zksummit.com

 

zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.

 

 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dad2UonQ9Ag&feature=youtu.be

In this episode, Nico Mohnblatt sits down with Justin Drake from the Ethereum Foundation to kick off a miniseries on lean Ethereum, a bold vision to rethink Ethereum’s consensus, data, and execution layers. Justin outlines how post-quantum cryptography, faster finality, and enshrined zkEVMs fit together into a cohesive redesign. At the heart of it is leanVM, an ultra-minimal zkVM built to aggregate hash-based signatures and recursively verify proofs, potentially turning post-quantum migration into a scalability win.

They also explore formal verification efforts, the shift from conjectured to provable proximity gaps, Poseidon2 as a hash candidate, and how this work could set a post-quantum standard not just for Ethereum, but for other blockchains as well.

This episode sets the stage for deeper dives in coming episodes.

 

 

Applications to speak at zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome, Italy are now open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early. Apply at www.zksummit.com

zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.

 

 

**If you like what we do:**

* Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree

* Subscribe to our podcast newsletter

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbskOlf7oA0

In this episode, Anna Rose and Nico Mohnblatt kick-off a new six-part video miniseries exploring lean Ethereum. Lean Ethereum is a proposal initiated by the EF that weaves zero-knowledge cryptography and post-quantum upgrades throughout Ethereum’s stack. They discuss why the topic deserves a deeper series, what listeners can expect from upcoming episodes, and how this new video-first format will differ from the podcast’s usual style.

The conversation previews key themes like hash-based signatures, formal verification, proximity gaps, and the broader goal of future-proofing blockchain protocols with minimal cryptographic assumptions. They also share details about the upcoming zkSummit14 and how the community can get involved.

 

 

Applications to speak at zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome, Italy are now open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early. Apply at www.zksummit.com

 

zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.

 

 

**If you like what we do:**

* Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree

* Subscribe to our podcast newsletter

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**Support the show:**

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There’s no full-length episode this week, but we wanted to highlighting a new bonus segment available exclusively to zkMesh+ subscribers. In this, we revisit last week’s conversation with Ian Miers, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland. 

Ian dives deeper into:

Join zkMesh+ as a paid subscriber to get access to this and all our extra members-only perks. https://zkmesh.substack.com/subscribe

We return next week with a 6-part series on Lean Ethereum… stay tuned!

In this episode, Anna Rose and Nico Mohnblatt welcome back Ian Miers, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, to continue the conversation from a previous episode and dig deeper into his latest work like zk-Promises, zk-Cookies, and Cryptographic Personas. These ZK tools aim to build social networks that protect user privacy while maintaining integrity, like anonymous moderation and reputation systems without central databases. Ian explains how they differ from traditional creds but share ideas around proving attributes securely.

The conversation explores real-world applications, such as banning bad actors without de-anonymizing them, setting rules in private group chats, and creating self-sovereign identities that persist over time. Ian also touches on challenges like stolen accounts, trolling, age checks, and how these primitives could shape future online interactions.

 

 

 

zkMesh+ is live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.

 

 

**If you like what we do:**

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**Support the show:**

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No full length episode this week, but we have released an additional podcast clip with Sean Bowe to our a zkMesh+ paid subscribers.

Sean Bowe is a Zcash core developer and lead on Tachyon. In this clip, Sean shares his thoughts on the question of quantum computers and their real impact on blockchains and ZK systems.

Join zkMesh+ as a paid subscriber to get access to this and all our extra members-only perks. https://zkmesh.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Anna Rose catches up with Sean Bowe, a Zcash core developer now leading work on Tachyon, the upcoming Zcash shielded pool upgrade. They discuss the evolution of Zcash’s technical roadmap over the past five years and how it has influenced the design of Tachyon.

Sean then walks through the cryptographic ideas behind Tachyon, including its proving systems, new techniques for pruning nullifiers without disrupting other parts of the protocol, and how the upgrade aims to address Zcash’s remaining scalability bottlenecks. They also explore plans for Zcash governance, wallet UX, and the long-term outlook for privacy-focused zero-knowledge systems.

 

 

zkMesh+ launches today! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.

 

 

**If you like what we do:**

* Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree

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We share some updates about the upcoming episodes and the ZK Podcast & ZK Hack ecosystem - specifically zkMesh+ launching this Wednesday. zkMesh+ will bring together work from the Zero Knowledge Podcast, ZK Hack, and ZK Mesh. Subscribers will have access to a set of additional resources, including:

If that sounds interesting, you can subscribe ahead of launch directly on the ZK Mesh Substack https://zkmesh.substack.com/subscribe

 

 

In this end-of-year episode, Anna recaps the major ZK themes of 2025 and gives a preview of what’s coming in 2026 — new episodes, a mini-series, zkSummit14, and the rollout of ZK Mesh Plus, a unified space for newsletters, educational content, and events.

She highlights this year’s core research threads, from lattices and Ligero to quantum security, ZK-ID systems, emerging applications, and the ongoing push toward better proving benchmarks. Anna wraps with reflections on why privacy tech is becoming more urgent in the age of AI and what the community will be exploring next year.

Ecosystem

ZK Systems Story

Lattices

Ligero

Quantum

ZK-ID

More

 

 

**If you like what we do:**

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In this episode, Anna Rose and Nico Mohnblatt catch up with Pratyush Mishra, Assistant Professor of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania. They discuss the various themes in his ZK research and some of the works he has been a part of in the last few years. They explore how Garuda and Pari achieve extremely small SNARK proofs, how Arc facilitates hash-based folding, proximity proofs with FICS and FACS, his work on low-memory SNARKs, and ZK applications outside the blockchain space.

Pratyush shares how these ideas intersect with one another, from faster proving to smallest proof sizes to real-world uses. He also touches on his collaborations with other leading cryptographers like Benedikt Bünz and Alessandro Chiesa, and how ZK is finding its place in broader computer science.

 

 

 

Aztec is a privacy-first Layer 2 on Ethereum supporting smart contracts with both private and public state and execution. 

 

Details about Aztec’s technology, research, and community programmes are available at aztec.network.

 

 

ZK Whiteboard Sessions is an educational video series produced by ZK Hack in collaboration with Bain Capital Crypto. It is focused on the building blocks of zero knowledge technology. Find season 3 of the Whiteboard Sessions as well as previous seasons here.

 

Check out the latest jobs in ZK at the ZK Podcast Jobs Board. 

 

 

**If you like what we do:**

* Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree

* Subscribe to our podcast newsletter

* Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm

* Join us on Telegram

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**Support the show:**

* Patreon

* ETH - Donation address

* BTC - Donation address

* SOL - Donation address

* ZEC - Donation address

Read transcript