Episodes

  • Credit is a widely used term, which could essentially be summarised as “more capital so you can do whatever you want”. In DeFi, there are numerous ways of getting exposure to an asset in a leveraged manner: from looping to perpetuals and margin trading, the possibilities are endless (especially when you also account for synthetic versions). Gearbox Protocol aims to create a universal, composable, on-chain ‘credit layer’, through credit account abstraction. This approach simultaneously addresses three concerns: liquidity, security and, ultimately, user experience (UX).

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Mikael’s and Ivan’s backgroundsComposable leverage explainedLeveraged stakingGearbox credit accountManaging smart contract riskQuotas and rate limitsLeveraged restakingGovernance and safety parametersScaling GearboxFee structure

    Episode links:

    Mikael Lazarev on TwitterIvan on TwitterGearbox Protocol on Twitter

    Sponsors:

    Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

    This episode is hosted by Meher Roy.

  • While large language models (LLMs) are rather passive from an economic perspective on their own, AI agents offer a preview of what truly autonomous AI applications can achieve. Fetch.ai aims to create a platform for economic interactions in the AI economy, where participants can provide many different kinds of stake, ranging from purely financial, in the form of cryptocurrency tokens, to utility based, in the form of data sets that LLMs can be trained on. It thus creates a supply chain that links different actors of the AI economy.

    We were joined by Humayun Sheikh, co-founder & CEO of Fetch.ai, to discuss AI economic models and how LLMs can be integrated by agentic systems as a foundation for autonomous AI apps.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Humayun’s backgroundFounding Fetch.aiMulti-agent systemsAutonomous economic agentBuilding a Cosmos based blockchainIntegrating ML with agent economyScalability & interoperabilityUse cases & partnershipsAI x crypto projectsIncentivising developersAI alignment problemFetch AI roadmapThe future of ML & LLMs

    Episode links:

    Humayun Sheikh on TwitterFetch.ai on Twitter

    Sponsors:

    Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

    This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/539

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  • As technology progresses, infrastructure should be commoditised, especially in Web3, in order to avoid the creation of bottlenecks and gatekeepers. Blockchains are naturally oblivious to off-chain data, so they need oracles to fetch data. However, given their past technical limitations, oracles have failed to provide a decentralised and permissionless framework for data query. SEDA seeks to change this by creating an intent-based modular data layer, which brings off-chain data on-chain, in order for it to be available to any party, regardless of who requested it first.

    We were joined by Jasper De Goojier, co-founder of SEDA Protocol, to discuss the oracle landscape and how SEDA aims to decentralise it and make data access permissionless.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Jasper’s backgroundHigh level overview of SEDAOracle use casesHow SEDA Protocol functionsIntent-based data availabilityVerifying subjective data & LLM integrationZKPs & FHE for data privacyInteroperability & bridgingRoadmap & optimistic oraclesSEDA token migrationChain abstraction

    Episode links:

    Jasper De Goojier on TwitterSEDA Protocol on Twitter

    Sponsors:

    Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

    This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/538

  • Blockchains are, by default, public ledgers containing every transaction recorded by the network. While this ensures transparency, it also violates users’ privacy once an address is linked to an entity. Apart from creating additional risk for self-custody, institutions are also limited by what they can publicly share on a blockchain. As a result, there is great demand and utility for on-chain, compliant privacy, which still requires KYC (& KYT), but protects them through cryptographic constructs. Zero knowledge proofs attest computational integrity, allowing for transactions to be bundled together and their correctness verified, without revealing each individual interaction.

    We were joined by Anish Mohammed, co-founder & CTO of Panther Protocol, to discuss the importance of compliant privacy for on-chain transactions, powered by zero knowledge technology.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Anish’s backgroundPanther’s value propositionUX & on-chain privacyPanther’s multi-asset shielded pool architectureKYC & KYTShielded zones and transactionsZone administratorAddress mappingRoadmap & Panther mainnetTarget audience & adoptionFee model & tokenomics

    Episode links:

    Anish Mohammed on TwitterPanther Protocol on Twitter

    Sponsors:

    Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

    This episode is hosted by Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/537

  • The monolithic blockchain era appears to be sunsetting. Among the first to contribute to this paradigm shift was Cosmos, which introduced the idea of specialized sovereign blockchains (appchains), made possible by the Cosmos SDK. Nowadays, the modular thesis employs external data availability and even execution solutions, which enables the creation of countless new chains. Each new blockchains comes with its own ‘specs’, and centralised RPC and node providers have to adapt to each chain’s setting. However, the saying ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’ applies in this scenario too - we have often witnessed RPC failures during high demand periods. Lava Network aims to provide a competitive marketplace for RPC and node providers, which would compete based on their performance and user feedback.

    We were joined by Gil and Yair to discuss Lava Network’s RPC decentralisation in the modular, multi-chain landscape.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    High-level overview of Lava NetworkWhat problem Lava Network solvesDecentralised marketplace for RPC providersQuality of centralised vs. decentralised RPC providersGatewaysLava Network participantsSpecs & APIsQuality of service & provider optimizerHow services are pricedRelayersModularity & chain abstractionMagma & Lava mainnet

    Episode links:

    Yair Cleper on LinkedInGil Binder on TwitterLava Network on Twitter

    Sponsors:

    Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

    This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/536

  • Prolonged range bound markets are a hallmark of bearmarkets and they usually end up chopping inexperienced or over leveraged traders. Customised structured products offer a solution for market participants that want to limit their downside, but also the upside, by introducing knock-outs at certain levels or triggers. Such custom options, usually with lower probabilistic chances of occurring, naturally come at a discount. This allows traders to hedge their risk, while also betting on certain outcomes or market scenarios.

    We were joined by Zhiming Yang, co-founder of Orbit Markets, to discuss crypto derivatives and how TradFi expertise applies to customising structured products for crypto markets.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Zhiming’s background in investment bankingFX derivative productsExotic optionsCrypto structured productsCustom solutions for crypto minersHedging Uniswap V3 impermanent lossOptions based on prediction marketsManaging counterparty riskProtocolising structured productsDifferences between TradFi and DeFi

    Episode links:

    Zhiming Yang on LinkedInOrbit Markets on TwitterOrbit Markets website

    Sponsors:

    Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

    This episode is hosted by Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/535

  • Measuring the social impact of a charitable donation is, oftentimes, an impossible task. Founders Pledge is a non-profit organisation that aims to funnel and streamline donations from successful entrepreneurs in order to maximise their efficiency, based on data and research. Having built a network of nearly 2000 like-minded philanthropists, the vision behind Founders Pledge was to ensure transparency, unbiased assessment, ease of access and incentive alignment for its members. Despite the hurdles of running and scaling a non-profit organisation, Founders Pledge managed to stay true to its values throughout its 10 years of activity. In the end, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

    We were joined by David Goldberg, founder of Founders Pledge, to discuss the landscape of charitable non-profit organisations and how data can streamline donations and maximise their social impact.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    David’s backgroundFounding Founders PledgeHow Founders Pledge worksJoining Founders PledgeThe challenges of managing a non-profit organisationBuilding a great company culture. Hiring processMaximising impactAssessing non-profit organisations’ efficiencyEffective altruismHow philanthropy changed over timePledge VenturesFuture challenges for Founders Pledge

    Episode links:

    David Goldberg on TwitterFounders Pledge on TwitterFounders Pledge websitePledge Ventures

    Sponsors:

    Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

    This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/534

  • We are, arguably, still early in the crypto industry, but some people were really…really early. One of them is Lefteris Karapetsas, who joined EthDev in 2014 and contributed to building the Ethereum ecosystem, since before the genesis block. His crypto journey is one for the history books, as after EthDev he joined Slock.it, right around the time of The DAO raise…and hack. Lefteris remained a core supporter of decentralisation and an active member of the Ethereum community, being involved (and delegated) in multiple projects’ governance. More recently, he founded Rotki, an open source portfolio management app that aims to preserve user privacy.

    We were joined by Lefteris Karapetsas, true Ethereum OG, to discuss his 10-year long journey through the Ethereum ecosystem, from joining EthDev (pre-Devcon 0) to founding Rotki.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Lefteris’ backgroundEthereum’s beginningsJoining Slock.itThe DAO r(a)ise and hackEthereum classic hard forkBrainbot & Raiden Network eraFounding RotkiCrypto accounting privacyThe challenges of building a local appRotki membership tiersUpcoming portfolio management on RotkiFuture roadmap for RotkiHow Ethereum’s culture evolved over timeEthereum public good funding. Optimism governanceHopes and fears regarding Ethereum’s future

    Episode links:

    Lefteris Karapetsas on TwitterRotki on Twitter

    Sponsors:

    Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

    This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/533

  • The Autonolas stack aims to address the ‘A’ in DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation), through its Open Autonomy framework, which enables the creation of autonomous, off-chain services for crypto applications. A key component for ensuring the proper operation of these off-chain autonomous economic agents, is the consensus mechanism. The protocol is overseen by the Governatooorr, the world’s first autonomous, AI-powered governor.

    We were joined by David Minarsch, co-founder of Valory, to discuss the ever-changing landscape of AI agents and how they can be used to automate crypto applications.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    David’s background and founding ValoryAgentic AI systemsMulti-agent systemsAutonolas’ agent frameworkCollaborative agent economy & composabilityDAO optimisation via autonomous agentsPotential attack vectors & AI risks

    Episode links:

    David Minarsch on TwitterAutonolas on TwitterValory on Twitter

    Sponsors:

    Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

    This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/532

  • Web2 file storage relies heavily on centralised entities, which have mostly outgrown their competitors, establishing a quasi-monopoly. The reasons for this are twofold: enormous operating costs and seamless user experience (e.g. social logins and account recovery), which, until recently, could only be solved through centralisation. Add to this the reluctance to change platforms as users need to re-upload their files, and you get an ossified user base. However, data leaks and hacks are a constant threat to users’ privacy, and indicate the disruptive potential of decentralised file storage and sharing.

    We were joined by Andreas Tsamados & Vijay Krishnavanshi, co-founders of Fileverse, to discuss their decentralised file sharing solution and how they plan to disrupt the Web2 quasi-monopoly.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Returning to the P2P roots of the InternetWeb2 vs. Web3 user experience (UX)Business models for Web2 dataDecentralising dataWeb3 data storageCosts of data storageManaging file updates and permissionsFileverse use casesThe business model of FileverseImproving UXFuture roadmap

    Episode links:

    Andreas Tsamados on TwitterVijay Krishnavanshi on TwitterFileverse on Twitter

    Sponsors:

    Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

    This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/531

  • Fully homomorphic encryption, also known as the Holy Grail of cryptography, allows for computation to be performed on encrypted data, without the need for prior decryption. Its blockchain applications would enable programmable, institutional-grade, compliant privacy. With the addition of fhEVM libraries, solidity developers don’t have to worry about the complex cryptography and only decide what layers of the UX should be private.

    We were joined by Guy Itzhaki & Guy Zyskind, to discuss fully homomorphic encryption and how Fhenix plans to leverage it to build an end-to-end encrypted Ethereum L2 with compliant privacy.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Guy(s)’ backgrounds and why they chose FHEThe differences between TEE, MPC, ZK and FHEThreshold decryptionThe challenges with FHE. Hardware acceleration. Zama’s fhEVMFhenix architecturefhEVMUse cases for FHE & composabilityCompliant privacyFhenix roadmap

    Episode links:

    Guy Zyskind on TwitterGuy Itzhaki on TwitterFhenix on TwitterEncryption Day @ ETH Denver (Feb. 28, 2024) registration

    Sponsors:

    Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

    This episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/530

  • What began as an AI company trying to seek solutions in order to pay remote (unbanked) workers, Near AI became, in 2018, Near Protocol. Its sharded design was inspired by modern database architecture and large language model (LLM) training. Near Protocol aimed to solve the scalability trilemma, through a modular approach, combining data availability sharding with stateless validation. By abstracting away archaic blockchain standards, Near basically enabled decentralised full stack development and, in terms of UX, a distributed custodial solution via chain abstraction and account aggregation.

    We were joined by Illia Poloshukhin, co-founder of Near Protocol, to discuss Near’s journey, from AI company to high-throughput L1 blockchain, and how LLM training influenced the modular design choice.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Illia’s background in AI & MLScaling large language models (LLMs) and the role of attentionStochastic Parrot vs. Understanding spectrumFrom Near AI to Near Protocol and the role of LLMsHow Near abstracted the blockchain away and enabled decentralised full stack developmentDefining ecosystem standards to improve UXChain abstraction, account aggregation and interoperabilityChain threshold signatureNear’s intent layerNear’s modularity, Nightshade sharding & stateless validationEigenLayer integration

    Episode links:

    Illia Polosukhin on TwitterNear Protocol on Twitter

    Sponsors:

    Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

    This episode is hosted by Meher Roy & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/529

  • As Ethereum ‘merged’ to its current proof-of-stake consensus model, the steep (for retail) minimum stake of 32 ETH created a serious risk of centralisation through staking delegation to centralised entities. Lido DAO was envisioned to preserve staking decentralisation, while also providing additional value for staked ETH in the form of liquid staking tokens (LST). However, as its market share reached the first threshold of 33%, concerns have started to be voiced regarding Lido’s own risk of centralisation. Through its dual governance model where stakers can veto $LDO voters, and the upcoming implementation of distributed validator technology (DVT) and community staking module (CSM), the Lido DAO aims to preserve staking decentralisation.

    We were joined by Isidoros Passadis, contributor and Master of Validators at Lido DAO, to discuss Ethereum’s current liquid staking landscape, Lido’s governance model and what steps it takes to ensure staking decentralisation.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Isidoros’ background and how he started working at Lido DAOLido’s core architecture and how it ensures decentralisationTransitioning from a curated node operator set to a permisionless modelDistributed Validator Technology (DVT)Lido’s dual governance modelstETH bridging and use cases in DeFiHow Lido adapts to Ethereum forks & EIPsMaximum validator effective balance and minimal staking issuanceEthereum vs. Lido governanceLido’s approach to MEVRestaking & EigenlayerExpanding Lido to other chainsLido’s market share and other liquid staking competitors

    Episode links:

    Isidoros Passadis on TwitterLido on Twitter

    Sponsors:

    Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

    This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/528

  • 10 years ago, Adam B Levine, the host of ‘Let’s Talk Bitcoin!’, decided that it was time to encourage other voices to step onto the crypto podcast scene. Among many applicants, Sebastien and Brian were the only 2 Europeans, so Adam suggested that they teamed up in order to record the pilot episode. On December 20th 2013, Sebastien and Brian released ‘Regulation and the Future of Bitcoin’, which marked the beginning of a 10-year (and counting) long journey. The rest is history.

    On this anniversary episode, our hosts were joined by special guests and friends of Epicenter, to share their favourite moments and fun stories gathered during the 10 years of epicness.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Adam B Levine - Epicenter’s godfather & the early days of EpicenterTrent McConaghy - From Ascribe to Ocean. Ahead of the NFT and inscription hypeSebastien Buergel - How he got into crypto, early ventures and Meher’s secretGriff Green & Lefteris Karapetsas - The DAO hack and Sebastien Buergel’s alleged roleSam Jernigan & Anna Rose - From TradFi to ZKJordi Baylina & Ryan Zurrer - Standing in the Epicenter of the storm and the unsung hero of the DAO hackRichard Muirhead - The future of zk proofs, privacy and AI

    Episode links:

    Adam B Levine on TwitterTrent McConaghy on TwitterSebastian Buergel on TwitterGriff Green on TwitterLefteris Karapetsas on TwitterSam Jernigan on TwitterAnna Rose on TwitterJordi Baylina on TwitterRyan Zurrer on TwitterRichard Muirhead on Twitter

    This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Brian Fabian Crain, Friederike Ernst, Meher Roy, Felix Lutsch and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/527

  • gnosis.ioUnlike Ethereum ‘programmable money’, Bitcoin lacks native smart contracts by design. In an attempt to expand Bitcoin past its store of value narrative, wrapper contracts provided wBTC on other chains for DeFi applications. However, wBTC does not directly represent the native asset and it is, therefore, subject to potential exploits. DLC Link introduces a novel approach, by allowing entities to self-wrap dlcBTC.

    We were joined by Aki Balogh, co-founder of DLC Link, to discuss discreet log contracts, their trust assumptions and what they mean for Bitcoin’s use cases and liquidity.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Aki’s background and switching from AI to cryptoDiscrete Log Contracts (dlc)Trust assumptions in dlcBTC bridges and dlc attestersThe non-fungibility of dlcBTCPotential regulationsCurrent status and roadmapOther BTC bridges

    Episode links:

    Aki Balogh on TwitterDLC Link on TwitterEpicenter's 10-year anniversary live stream

    Sponsors:

    Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus1: Chorus1 is one of the largest node operators worldwide, supporting more than 100,000 delegators, across 45 networks. The recently launched OPUS allows staking up to 8,000 ETH in a single transaction. Enjoy the highest yields and institutional grade security at - chorus.one

    This episode is hosted by Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/526

  • When it comes to NFTs and blockchain gaming, very few companies can rival with Animoca Brands’ early conviction, investment thesis and time horizon. They understood early on that community building and network effects are the core pillars for a true paradigm shift in gaming. However, culture and narratives transcend the boundaries of gaming, becoming social phenomena. Animoca’s latest undertaking, the Mocaverse, aims to unite communities in a truly open metaverse.

    We were joined by Yat Siu, chairman of Animoca Brands, to discuss the importance of digital culture in our modern-day lives and how NFT ownership unlocks community building in the open metaverse.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Yat’s background and Animoca Brands’ interest in NFTsDigital culture & narrativesAnimoca Brands’ investment thesisBlockchain & NFT adoption by Web2 brandsFinancial inclusion & financial literacyOwnership & play-to-earn gaming: East vs. WestNFT use cases & IP rightsInteroperabilityDecentralisation & the value of ownershipMocaverse Long-term vision & the open metaverse

    Episode links:

    Yat Siu on TwitterAnimoca Brands on TwitterSandbox on TwitterAxie Infinity on Twitter

    This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/525

  • With an average block time of 5 seconds and sub-cent transaction gas fees, Celo focuses on scalability and ease of access in order to bring DeFi to those that need it the most. Celo’s vision of ensuring equal access is reflected through their mobile-first design, aiming to disrupt legacy TradFi. The upcoming transition to an L2 rollup aims to tap into Ethereum’s security, while maintaining minimal costs through Celo’s scalability and EigenLayer’s data availability solutions.

    We were joined by Marek Olszewski & Rene Reinsberg to discuss Celo's mobile-first approach to building a low-fee, high-throughput blockchain with real-world applications, and their transition to an Ethereum L2.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Rene’s and Marek’s backgroundsCelo’s design principlesCelo’s scalabilityMobile compatibility for blockchains and dAppsWallet UXStablecoins as gas token & transaction confirmation timesOptimising mobile accessibilitySocialConnect & off-chain social identifiersCelo’s transition to an Ethereum L2Single block finality in an optimistic rollupSequencer decentralisationLowering costs of settling on Ethereum via EigenDACredit Collective & Impact MarketMento DAOThe future of Celo

    Episode links:

    Marek Olszewski on TwitterRene Reinsberg on TwitterCelo on TwitterMiniPay on TwittercLabs on TwitterCredit Collective on TwitterImpact Market on TwitterMento Labs on Twitter

    Sponsors:

    dYdX Foundation: The recently launched dYdX chain features new governance and token economics, that empower stakers and promote validator decentralisation. Bridge your DYDX tokens and contribute to the evolution of dYdX chain, fully permissionless and community driven. - https://bit.ly/47kqG59

    This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/524

  • Homo- (Greek prefix meaning ‘same’); -morphic (Greek suffix meaning ‘having a specific shape/form’)
    Intuitively, one could deduct that homomorphic encryption indicates that the initial data and the encrypted result (cipher) could share the same form. Based on this property, it can be inferred that computation can be performed on the encrypted data, without prior decryption. By decrypting the result, you get the same output as the computation performed on the unencrypted data. While homomorphic encryption can be either additive or multiplicative, fully homomorphic encryption supports both types of operations. Unlike ZKPs, which are proofs of computational integrity, fully homomorphic encryption allows for encrypted data computation, without revealing additional information about the original data. This could provide the missing link for ensuring private transactions on blockchains’ public ledgers.

    We were joined by Rand Hindi, CEO of Zama, to discuss fully homomorphic encryption solutions, how they differ from ZKPs & MPC, and how they can be leveraged to ensure compliant programmable privacy.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Rand’s background and his interest in privacyMeeting Pascal and founding ZamaFully homomorphic encryption (FHE)Zero knowledge proofs vs. Multi-party computation vs. Fully homomorphic encryptionTaking fully homomorphic encryption 'mainstream'Zama’s productsfhEVMHow multi-party computation would secure fhEVMMulti-key homomorphic encryption & functional encryptionDeploying an FHE rollupFHE use casesPrivacyZama’s business model

    Episode links:

    Rand Hindi on TwitterZama on TwitterFhenix on Twitter

    Sponsors:

    dYdX Foundation: The recently launched dYdX chain features new governance and token economics, that empower stakers and promote validator decentralisation. Bridge your DYDX tokens and contribute to the evolution of dYdX chain, fully permissionless and community driven. - https://bit.ly/47kqG59

    This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/523

  • "The advancements of zero knowledge proving technology, hardware acceleration and proof recursion have significantly increased the efficiency of EVM-compatible zk provers. As a result, the former tradeoff in efficiency implied by EVM-compatibility is gradually improving. Translating Ethereum’s virtual machine bytecode ensures seamless scaling for applications, without the need for additional audits and security compromises.

    We were joined by Ye Zhang, co-founder of Scroll, to discuss the EVM-compatible zero knowledge landscape and how Scroll aims to stay true to Ethereum’s values and community.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Ye’s background in zk researchHardware limitations for zk techFounding ScrollWhy Scroll went for EVM compatibilityEfficiency of EVM- vs. non-EVM-compatible zk proversThe timeline of ideating ScrollScroll mainnet launchBuilding the Scroll communityScroll tokenSequencer decentralisationData availability, validiums and security tradeoffsL2 bridges and interoperabilityRoadmap

    Episode links:

    Ye Zhang on TwitterScroll on Twitter

    Sponsors:

    dYdX Foundation: The recently launched dYdX chain features new governance and token economics, that empower stakers and promote validator decentralisation. Bridge your DYDX tokens and contribute to the evolution of dYdX chain, fully permissionless and community driven. - https://bit.ly/47kqG59

    This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/522

  • Leading decentralised perpetual exchange, dYdX V4 recently migrated to Cosmos to build its own sovereign appchain, in order to provide its users a much better trading experience, while continuing to deliver DeFi innovations (e.g. permisionless markets). By having full control over the appchain’s parameters, the dYdX DAOs can shape the future of the protocol, starting from the very bedrock, ensuring proper distribution and incentives for the validator set. From early adopter of L2 zero knowledge proofs (STARKs), to building its own Cosmos appchain, dYdX has proven once again to be a trailblazer for new technologies.

    We were joined by Charles d’Haussy, CEO of dYdX Foundation, to discuss dYdX V4’s recent migration to a Cosmos appchain and what challenges it solves in terms of: order book decentralisation, validator distribution and user experience.

    Topics covered in this episode:

    Charles’ background, from Asia to CEO of dYdXdYdX’s history and V4’s transition to a Cosmos appchainHow perpetual futures workdYdX supported assets and permissionless marketsDeFi innovations vs. CEX UXThe current state of dYdX V4’s alpha mainnetdYdX validator dynamics & order book decentralisationdYdX’s DAOs & governanceMitigating MEV (feat. Skip Protocol)Migrating to CosmosAstropolis The intersection of crypto & AI

    Episode links:

    Charles d'Haussy on TwitterdYdX on TwitterdYdX Foundation on TwitterCharles' Astroprolis Keynote (Cosmoverse Istanbul)Cosmos on Twitter

    This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/521