Zero Knowledge

Latest Episodes:

Move & Sui with Sam Blackshear from Mysten Labs Apr 27, 2022

Show notes

In this week’s episode, Anna chats with Sam Blackshear, co-founder and CTO at Mysten Labs. Sam has a background in programming language research and is one of the authors of the Move language, a language that can be used to implement custom transactions and smart contracts. They chat about Mysten’s concept of programmable objects and what properties are necessary to make this functional for a blockchain context. They also cover Sui, a smart contracts platform which is a generalized L1 with a new asset centric data model for parallel transaction commits being developed by Mysten, what's next in the roadmap and some of the collaborations to come.

Here are some links for this episode:

If you are looking to jump into ZK professionally, check out the ZK Jobs Board to find openings from some of the top teams working in ZK - like Aleo, Anoma and Mina. If you’re looking to hire, be sure to add your jobs as well! More at ZK Jobs Board.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Polygon Miden.

Polygon Miden is layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum. Miden relies on zk-STARKs to roll-up thousands of layer 2 transactions into a single Ethereum transaction, increasing throughput and reducing fees.

At the heart of Polygon Miden is Miden VM, a Turing-complete STARK-based virtual machine which provides a level of safety and support of advanced features currently not available on Ethereum.

Visit polygon.technology to learn more about Polygon Miden and other Polygon solutions.

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Interoperability with Sergey Gorbunov from Axelar Apr 20, 2022

Show notes

This week, Anna catches up with Sergey Gorbunov from Axelar and revisits the topic of bridges. They chat about what led Sergey to work on interoperability, the problems these solutions try to solve, how it compares to existing solutions, and what's next for the project. They also chat about some of the challenges of a multi bridge landscape and the fragmentation of liquidity.

Links for the episode:

If you are looking to jump into ZK professionally, check out the ZK Jobs board to find job posts from some of the top teams working in ZK - like Aleo, Anoma and Mina. If you’re looking to hire, be sure to add your jobs as well! More at ZK Jobs Board.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Polygon Zero.

Polygon Zero is a layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, powered by Plonky2. A groundbreaking prover system, which generates zk proofs faster than any other existing tech. Plonky2 supports efficient recursive proof generation allowing Polygon Zero to scale horizontally – meaning the throughput of the protocol is limited not by the weakest nodes on the network, but only by the total compute available.

Visit polygon.technology to learn more.

If you like what we do:

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter

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Head to the ZK Community Forum

Support our Gitcoin Grant

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Dark Forest and 0xPARC with Gubsheep Apr 13, 2022

Show notes

This week, Anna catches up with Gubsheep from 0xPARC. They chat about Dark Forest – a decentralized zk-based RTS game, built on Ethereum. They cover how it has evolved in the past 2 years and what’s upcoming in the Dark Forest’s community, governance and experiments. They recap the recent Gitcoin GR13 ZK Tech side round, review some moonshot ideas for ZK projects of the future and discuss potential avenues of funding in the ZK space. Lastly, they dive deeper into the 0xPARC ecosystem by exploring the public goods and research projects 0xPARC has in the works from their support of application level R&D on decentralized systems to experimental applications of ZK for end-user facing apps.

Here are some links for this episode:

Today’s episode is sponsored by Polygon.

Polygon is the go-to Ethereum scaling platform for developers - it is arguably the most adopted scaling protocol with more than 130+ mn unique user wallets. In simple terms, Polygon is scaling Ethereum.

Polygon's projects now include a number of fully secured EVM-compatible Zero Knowledge rollup solutions like Polygon Hermez, Polygon Miden, and Polygon Nightfall and the most recently announced acquisition of Mir Protocol, now known as Polygon Zero.

Visit polygon.technology to learn about their solutions.

If you like what we do:

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter

Join us on Telegram

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Head to the ZK Community Forum

Support our Gitcoin Grant

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Bonus: Jump into ZK Apr 07, 2022

Show notes

No full episode this week!

ZKV presents Privacy in Cosmos - April 15 - is here: https://www.events.zkvalidator.com/
Zk Summit - April 21 - is here: https://www.zksummit.com/

_Note: Both are sold out, if you can't make it, let us know and keep an eye on our Youtube Channel, we will be streaming both events there! _

And do check out our linktree to see all the links many of our ZK Channels https://linktr.ee/zeroknowledge

Foundry with Georgios Konstantopoulous Mar 30, 2022

Show notes

This week, Anna & Tarun catch up with Georgios Konstantopoulos from Paradigm - a well-known OG crypto VC. They chat about his move to CTO at the firm, the team he has built and what they are working on. Then they dive into Foundry - a fast, portable, modular testing toolkit for Ethereum app dev written in Rust. They discuss the tooling landscape, why Foundry is making a bet on solidity, the different types of testing that developers are doing and other open questions in the field.

Here are some links for the episode:

Some of Georgios' collaborators mentioned:

On April 15th in Amsterdam, ZKValidator is hosting ‘Privacy in Cosmos’ - the 4th installation in a series of events funded by the Cosmos Hub. Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/privacy-in-cosmos-live-in-amsterdam-tickets-290329462237

zkSummit is back! Happening on April 21st in Amsterdam. Check out the program and details here: https://www.zksummit.com/. We have a handful of sponsorships left! Get in touch to learn more: sponsorships@zeroknowledge.fm

Today’s episode is sponsored by Electric Coin Company.

Electric Coin Company, the inventors of Zcash, are building the next generation of zero-knowledge tech. With its Network Upgrade 5 happening this April, Zcash will move to the Halo zero-knowledge proving system, removing the trusted setup and becoming shielded by default. They believe privacy is essential to delivering on the promise of a thriving and equitable Web3. With Zcash and Halo cryptography, ECC aims to usher in an era of self-sovereignty, and economic and creative freedom.

Visit electriccoin.co to learn more.

If you like what we do:

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter

Join us on Telegram

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Head to the ZK Community Forum

Support our Gitcoin Grant

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Connecting Cosmos and Ethereum with Gravity Bridge Mar 23, 2022

Show notes

This week, Anna chats with Deborah Simpier and Justin Kilpatrick, co-founders of Althea and the team working on Gravity Bridge. They start with the history of the Althea project and how they aim to build an open marketplace for independent entities to create their own ISPs, providing bandwidth to users in under-connected areas. They then dive into the larger topic of bridges and the work being done on Gravity Bridge – a bridge that links Ethereum with IBC and the Cosmos ecosystem. They touch on the larger bridge landscape in Cosmos, the new initiatives and challenges that come with a multichain architecture, the opportunities and hazards of the current wave of stakedrop airdrops in Cosmos, Gravity's roadmap and more!

Here are some links for the episode:

If you're looking to jump into ZK professionally, the ZK Jobs Board is where some of the top teams working in zero knowledge are posting jobs. Teams like: Anoma, Polygon Hermez, O(1) Labs and Ethereum Foundation have openings.

Check it out: https://jobsboard.zeroknowledge.fm/

ZKValidator is hosting a Privacy in Cosmos event in Amsterdam on April 15th. Free to sign up here.

zkSummit is back on April 21 for a one-day in-person event in Amsterdam! Must apply here to attend. Spots are limited.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Aleo.

Aleo is a new Layer-1 blockchain that uses cutting edge cryptography to achieve the programmability of Ethereum, the privacy of Zcash, and the scalability of a rollup.

It also features a new programming language called Leo that enables non-cryptographers to harness the power of ZKPs to build private applications. Roll up your sleeves and visit leo-lang.org to start building.

Aleo will also be participating in ZPrize – a competition accelerating the future of zero-knowledge cryptography. Visit zprize.io to learn more!

If you like what we do:

Join us on Telegram

Catch us on Youtube

Read up on the r/ZKPodcast subreddit

Give us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A

Support our Gitcoin Grant

Support us on the ZKPatreon

Donate through coinbase.commerce

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Something Brewing with Jill Gunter and Ben Fisch from Espresso Systems Mar 16, 2022

Show notes

This week, Anna and Tarun chat with Jill Gunter and Ben Fisch from Espresso Systems. Espresso recently went public with their Proof-of-Stake Layer 1 blockchain, developed with flexible private applications and ZK rollups in mind. In this conversation, they explore the founding and development of the project, the Espresso chain and CAPE - a wrapped privacy smart contract application that is designed to be deployed on Espresso. They also discuss the programming model, the evolution of privacy technology, what configurable or flexible privacy means, the Espresso roadmap and more.

Here are some links for the episode:

ZKValidator and 0xPARC bring you a ZK Tech Side Round GR13 on Gitcoin from now until March 24th. Donations made during this period are matched from matching pools so your donations go a lot further. Head over to Gitcoin today!

Also check out the ZK Podcast Gitcoin while you are there! https://gitcoin.co/grants/329/zero-knowledge-podcast

ZK Jobs Board is a great place to find job openings from some of the top zk teams! https://jobsboard.zeroknowledge.fm/

Today’s episode is sponsored by Anoma.

Anoma is a suite of protocols that enable self-sovereign coordination. Their unique architecture facilitates efficiently the simplest forms of economic coordination such as two parties transferring an asset to each other. As well as more sophisticated ones like an asset agnostic bartering system involving multiple parties without direct “coincidence of wants”; or even more complex ones such as “N-party” collective commitments to solve multipolar traps – where any interaction can be performed with adjustable zero-knowledge privacy.

To learn more about Anoma visit their website at anoma.network. Anoma is also hiring visit heliax.dev/jobs to learn more about their openings.

If you like what we do:

Join us on Telegram

Catch us on Youtube

Read up on the r/ZKPodcast subreddit

Give us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A

Support our Gitcoin Grant

Support us on the ZKPatreon

Donate through coinbase.commerce

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Funding the Next Wave of Zero Knowledge Tech Mar 09, 2022

Show notes

This week Anna dives into the topic of funding in the ZK space. She chats with a number of different groups who are all funding zero knowledge technology from different angles. She kicks off the conversation with her colleague from ZKValidator Susannah Evans and Gubsheep from 0xPARC about the Gitcoin side round they are leading which is focused on funding the next wave of ZK tech projects. She then chats with Arjun Karlsy, VP of Growth at Polygon about their massive commitment of 1 billion into ZK through investments, acquisitions, and grants. Following this, she catches up with Alex Pruden, CEO at Aleo to talk about their soon to launch grant program – Zprize, an industry-wide effort to accelerate zero knowledge technology. And lastly, she speaks with Alistair Stewart from the Web3 Foundation about a newly announced ZK component of the Polkadot Pioneers Prize.

Here are some links for the episode:

ZKValidator and 0xPARC bring you another ZK Tech Side Round GR13 on Gitcoin.

This ZK Tech Side Round has a matching pool of $275K, up from $100K last time. The round starts on March 9th 2022 and runs for two weeks.

Submit your project: https://gitcoin.co/grants/

Add your grant to the “zkTech” side round to be eligible for the $275,000 in the matching pool.

Full details here: https://medium.com/zero-knowledge-validator/zk-tech-gitcoin-gr13-side-round-live-on-9th-march-7e90f44ae715

If you’re looking to jump into ZK professionally – head over to the ZK Jobs Board to find job openings from some of the top teams working in the ZK space! https://jobsboard.zeroknowledge.fm/

Today’s episode is sponsored by Penumbra.

Penumbra is a cross-chain shielded pool and decentralized exchange, allowing users to shield assets from any cosmos chain, and privately transact, stake, swap, and marketmake, without revealing your personal information or trading strategies to the world.

Penumbra Labs is also building in public, visit penumbra.zone to learn more, use the testnets and join their discord.

If you like what we do:

Join us on Telegram

Catch us on Youtube

Read up on the r/ZKPodcast subreddit

Give us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A

Support our Gitcoin Grant

Support us on the ZKPatreon

Donate through coinbase.commerce

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The Road to Plonky2 with Brendan and Daniel from Polygon Zero Mar 02, 2022

Show notes

This week, Anna chats with Brendan Farmer and Daniel Lubarov from Polygon Zero, formerly known as Mir, about their early experiments with different proving systems, their work combining PLONK and Halo called Plonky - as well as the more recent combination of PLONK plus FRI (a technique that is borrowed from STARKs) which makes up Plonky2. They discuss why these innovations matter, what the new paradigms enable within the Ethereum ecosystem, their goal to provide privacy and scalability for blockchains, their recent acquisition by Polygon and more.

Here are some links for the episode:

Polygon Zero
Introducing Plonky2
Episode 194: zkEVM with Jordi & David from Hermez
Episode 210: The Road to STARKs and Miden with Bobbin Threadbare
Episode 219: Scaling Ethereum with Polygon’s Mihailo Bjelic
Episode 179: Diving into Arbitrum’s Optimistic Rollup
Episode 32: Zero Knowledge at Zcon0!
Tweet thread about Goldilocks field
[EIP-4488: Transaction calldata gas cost reduction with total calldata limit](EIP-4488: Transaction calldata gas cost reduction with total calldata limit)

If you’re looking to jump into ZK professionally – head over to the ZK Jobs Board to find job openings from some of the top teams working in the ZK space! https://jobsboard.zeroknowledge.fm/

Today’s episode is sponsored by Aleo.

Aleo is a new Layer-1 blockchain that uses cutting edge cryptography to achieve the programmability of Ethereum, the privacy of Zcash, and the scalability of a rollup. It gives developers the tools they need to build programs that protect privacy while allowing applications to be regulatory-compliant. It also features a new domain-specific programming language called Leo that enables non-cryptographers to harness the power of ZKPs to build private applications like decentralized exchanges, hidden information games, regulated stablecoins, and more.

Go to aleo.org to learn more about the protocol, or roll up your sleeves and visit leo-lang.org to start building.

If you like what we do:

Join us on Telegram

Catch us on Youtube

Read up on the r/ZKPodcast subreddit

Give us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A

Support our Gitcoin Grant

Support us on the ZKPatreon

Donate through coinbase.commerce

Read transcript

Scaling Ethereum with Polygon’s Mihailo Bjelic Feb 23, 2022

Show notes

This week, Anna chats with Mihailo Bjelic one of the co-founders of Polygon. Mihailo takes us through the evolution of Polygon and how the promise of web3 has led them to betting big on ZK-focused technologies. We learn about their approach to the two main challenges within their mission to scaling Ethereum – security and data availability; and how their suite of products aims to tackle these. Lastly, we hear about what’s next on the Polygon roadmap to onboarding the first billion to Ethereum – for the products themselves and the ecosystem as a whole.

Here are some links for the episode:

If you’re looking to jump into ZK professionally – head over to the ZK Jobs Board to find openings from some of the top teams working in ZK: https://jobsboard.zeroknowledge.fm/

ZK Hack returns for a 2nd edition with ZK Hack Mini – kicking off on 1st March with a series of workshops and puzzle hacking competitions.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Least Authority.

Least Authority has been making advancements in the ZK space since 2013. This year, they will release the MoonMath Manual, a beginners guide to zk-SNARKs. The manual is designed to enable an audience with only minimal cryptography and programming experience to implement complex, real-world zk-building blocks.

Least Authority has also published a whitepaper on Zero Knowledge Access Passes or ZKAPs. This privacy-enhancing technology enables users to access services without revealing personal information to the service provider. They are implementing ZKAPs in PrivateStorage, their soon to be released cloud storage service.

To learn more about Least Authority and the upcoming MoonMath Manual visit leastauthority.com/moonmathmanual

If you like what we do:

Join us on Telegram

Catch us on Youtube

Read up on the r/ZKPodcast subreddit

Give us feedback! -https://forms.gle/iKMSrVtcAn6BByH6A

Support our Gitcoin Grant

Support us on the ZKPatreon

Donate through coinbase.commerce

Read transcript