エピソード

  • Minimmit, Multimmit and the New Consensus Frontier with Patrick O'Grady

    Minimmit, Multimmit and the New Consensus Frontier with Patrick O'Grady
    2026/08/05
    This week, Anna and Guillermo are joined by Patrick O'Grady, founder of Commonware. They discuss his journey from Coinbase and Avalanche to building Commonware, a Rust library of composable primitives for blockchain development. They explore Commonware's "anti-framework" philosophy, why it gives developers control over every layer of the stack, and how its modular approach differs from traditional blockchain SDKs. The conversation then turns to consensus research, examining how changing assumptions around Byzantine fault tolerance have unlocked faster consensus designs. Patrick explains the motivation behind Commonware's new protocols, Minimmit and Multimmit, discusses the influence of Simplex and Solana's Alpenglow, and shares how Commonware combines engineering, research, and cryptography to build the next generation of blockchain infrastructure. Related Links
    • Commonware
    • Minimmit: Fast Finality with Even Faster Blocks
    • Commonware blog post announcing Minimmit
    • Simplex Consensus: A Simple and Fast Consensus Protocol
    • Commonware docs - Simplex Consensus
    • Patrick O’Grady’s X Post on Multimmit (July 2026)
    • Multimmit: Extending Blocks for Faster Finality (draft)
    • Alpenglow GitHub Progress Updates
    • Golden: Lightweight Non-Interactive Distributed Key Generation

    **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 * Catch us on YouTube **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address Read transcript
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 12 分
  • Private Information Retrieval (PIR) with Alex Hoover

    Private Information Retrieval (PIR) with Alex Hoover
    2026/07/29
    In this episode, Anna and Kobi are joined by Alex Hoover, cryptographer and Assistant Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology. They explore Private Information Retrieval (PIR)—a cryptographic primitive that lets users query public databases without revealing what they're looking for. They trace PIR's evolution from its early theoretical foundations to modern, practical constructions, unpack key variants like batch and keyword PIR, and discuss emerging blockchain applications, from private state queries to Merkle proof generation. They also examine the latest research making PIR increasingly practical, and why it could become a core building block for privacy-preserving systems. A quick note: Alex mentioned during the interview that preprocessing in SimplePIR is independent of the database. But it is in fact independent of the queried index, and does depend on the database. He asked us to highlight this correction Related Links
    • One Server for the Price of Two: Simple and Fast Single-Server Private Information Retrieval
    • Don’t be Dense: Efficient Keyword PIR for Sparse Databases
    • The two papers that introduced client-side preprocessing:
      • PPY18
      • CK20

    • Piano: Extremely Simple, Single-Server PIR with Sublinear Server Computation
    • Simple and Practical Amortized Sublinear Private Information Retrieval using Dummy Subsets
    • Plinko: Single-Server PIR with Efficient Updates via Invertible PRFs (builds on Piano and RMS)
    • Doubly Efficient Private Information Retrieval and Fully Homomorphic RAM Computation from Ring LWE (LMW23)
    • Lower Bounds for PIR with Preprocessing from Blackbox Cryptography

    **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 * Catch us on YouTube **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address Read transcript
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 4 分
  • Alex Ozdemir on where Theorem Provers and ZK meet

    Alex Ozdemir on where Theorem Provers and ZK meet
    2026/07/15
    This week, Anna and Nico are joined by Alex Ozdemir, Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech, to explore the intersection of formal verification and zero knowledge. They begin by revisiting the evolution of the ZK DSL landscape since Alex's last appearance, discussing the rise of ZKVMs, new language tooling, and how his compiler infrastructure project, CirC, has evolved. The conversation then dives into formal verification and theorem proving, covering SMT solvers, Lean, and zkPi, the first zkSNARK for proofs expressed in Lean. They also discuss compiler correctness, the challenges of verifying cryptographic systems, and why verifiable software will become increasingly important as the industry matures. Related Links
    • zkPi: Proving Lean Theorems in Zero-Knowledge
    • CirC: Compiler infrastructure for proof systems, software verification, and more
    • Kevin Lacker on AI-Assisted Theorem Proving and Acorn
    • Building ZK-Powered AI Guardrails with Wyatt Benno
    • lean Ethereum Part 6: Formal Verification with Alex Hicks
    • Groth16, IVC and Formal Verification with Nexus
    • lean Ethereum

    ZK Podcast and Alex Ozdemir
    • ZK languages with Alex Ozdemir
    • zkSessions: Alex Ozdemir - The Taxonomy of Circuit Languages
    • zkStudyClub: Collaborative zkSNARKs (Alex Ozdemir, Stanford University)
    • zkStudyClub: Unifying Compiler Infrastructure for SNARKs, SMTs, & More w/ Alex Ozdemir (Stanford)
    • ZK HACK - Introduction to Domain Specific Languages (DSLs) - Alex Ozdemir

    **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 * Catch us on YouTube **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 2 分
  • Sergey Gorbunov on TEEs and the Arc Privacy Sector

    Sergey Gorbunov on TEEs and the Arc Privacy Sector
    2026/07/08
    This week, Anna speaks with Sergey Gorbunov, Engineer at Circle, about Arc, Circle’s new EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain, and its approach to a TEE based on-chain privacy. They begin by revisiting Sergey’s journey from Axelar to Circle, reflecting on the evolution of cross-chain infrastructure, the aftermath of the Terra collapse, and how Circle’s acquisition of Interop Labs led to the development of Arc. The conversation then turns to Arc’s architecture, including its privacy layer, known as the Privacy Sector, and the decision to build it around Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) rather than ZKPs or FHE. Sergey explains the design trade-offs, discussing privacy, composability, enterprise infrastructure, and why he believes TEEs are currently the most practical foundation for programmable private execution. Related Links
    • Axelar Network
    • Arc Privacy Sector: Keeping Blockchain State, Transactions, and Accounts Private and Quantum Safe
    • Circle’s Post-Quantum Security Roadmap
    • Arc Documentation
    • Arc: An open Layer-1 blockchain purpose-built for stablecoin finance
    • Sergey’s X Post on the Arc Privacy Sector paper
    • Ian Mier’s X Response to the Arc Privacy Sector works

    **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 * Catch us on YouTube **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 7 分
  • zkMesh+ Exclusive Clip – Benedikt Bünz on the threat of AI

    zkMesh+ Exclusive Clip – Benedikt Bünz on the threat of AI
    2026/07/01

    Last week on the show, we interviewed Benedikt Bünz, Chief Scientist at Espresso Systems and Professor at NYU.

    The conversation ran long, so we're releasing some of the extra material as an exclusive clip for zkMesh+ subscribers. We've also included the first five minutes here. In this segment, Anna, Kobi, and Benedikt discuss whether AI poses a genuine threat to the foundations of cryptography.

    They explore the 'immune system' metaphor for AI's dual role in security: it can uncover bugs and vulnerabilities, while also strengthening defenses through tools like formal verification. The conversation closes with the question of whether AI could ever break fundamental cryptographic primitives—or even invent new physics to do it.

    To hear the full discussion, head to https://zkmesh.substack.com/subscribe and become a paid subscriber.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    6 分
  • Pushing the Limits of Proof Systems with Benedikt Bünz

    Pushing the Limits of Proof Systems with Benedikt Bünz
    2026/06/24
    In this episode, Anna and Kobi speak with Benedikt Bünz, Chief Scientist at Espresso Systems and Professor at NYU. They start with a quick update on Espresso's architecture, its role in delivering fast finality across chains, and the challenges of building high-throughput blockchain infrastructure. The conversation then turns to Benedikt’s recent research on folding schemes, hash-based proof systems such as Arc and Warp, and Golden, a non-interactive distributed key generation protocol for threshold signatures. The episode later explores Flock, a new proof system for standard hash functions such as Blake3 and SHA-256 that exceeds Ethereum's post-quantum proving targets without relying on specialized hash functions. They conclude by discussing proof system performance, post-quantum cryptography, and the use of AI-assisted development in cryptographic engineering. Related Links Bulletproofs — Short Proofs for Confidential Transactions and MoreProtostar — Generic Efficient Accumulation/Folding for Special-Sound ProtocolsHyperPlonk — Plonk with Linear-Time Prover and High-Degree Custom GatesNova — Recursive Zero-Knowledge Arguments from Folding SchemesArc — Accumulation for Reed–Solomon CodesLinear-Time Accumulation SchemesGolden: Lightweight Non-Interactive Distributed Key GenerationFlock: Fast Proving for Batch Boolean ComputationsTensorSwitch — Nearly Optimal Polynomial Commitments from Tensor CodesBolt: Faster SNARKs from Sketched CodesLigero — Lightweight Sublinear Arguments Without Trusted Setup Systems and Infrastructure Espresso Systems DocumentationCAPE (Configurable Asset Privacy for Ethereum)Monero Additional Reading Vitalik Buterin — The Splurge: Post-Quantum EthereumAccumulation without HomomorphismNeo and SuperNeo: Post-Quantum Folding with Pay-Per-Bit CommitmentsEspresso’s HotShot: A Consensus Protocol Designed for Rollups **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 * Catch us on YouTube **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 9 分
  • Announcement: zkMesh+ Exclusive Clip – Vericoding and SMT

    Announcement: zkMesh+ Exclusive Clip – Vericoding and SMT
    2026/06/18

    No main episode this week, but we’ve got an exclusive bonus clip for our zkMesh+ subscribers!

    Continuing our conversation from last week, Wyatt Benno (ICME) describes the world of 'vericoding' - the next stage after the era of 'vibecoding.' Vericoding uses formal mathematics to prove that AI code is actually correct and help prevent bugs in AI-written code. We go deep on SMT (Satisfiability Modulo Theories), a decades-old verification technique originally built for cloud infrastructure, and discuss how SMT can now take a plain-English description and mathematically verify that your AI-generated code does exactly what you want it to do.

    If you want to hear this bonus clip, please head over to zkMesh and become a paid subscriber! Link to subscribe: https://zkmesh.substack.com/subscribe
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 分
  • Building ZK-Powered AI Guardrails with Wyatt Benno

    Building ZK-Powered AI Guardrails with Wyatt Benno
    2026/06/10
    In this episode, Anna and Nico chat with Wyatt Benno, technical founder of ICME Labs. They trace Wyatt’s start into ZK in the ZKHack Discord and Justin Thaler’s study group before diving into ICME’s early work on folding schemes, local proving, and NovaNet. The conversation then shifts to ICME’s work at the intersection of AI and ZK. Wyatt introduces ICMEPreflight, a ZK-based guardrail tool for AI. They then explore how succinct verification and privacy-preserving proofs can help secure agentic commerce and provide stronger guarantees than existing guardrail approaches. They also discuss Jolt Atlas, ICME’s zero-knowledge machine learning framework, the connections between ZK and AI and the challenges of scaling ZKML. Finally, Wyatt encourages future advances in ZKML that could unlock privacy and verifiability in AI systems. Related Links
    • ICME Labs
    • Nova: Recursive Zero-Knowledge Arguments from Folding Schemes (2022)
    • Jolt Atlas: Verifiable Inference via Lookup Arguments in Zero Knowledge (2026)
    • ZK Podcast:Is ZK dead? Or has it just begun? with the ZK Pod co-hosts
    • ZK Podcast:Isogenies with Luca De Feo
    • ZK Podcast:How ZK inspired AI Watermarking with Miranda Christ
    • Neo: Lattice-based folding scheme for CCS over small fields and pay-per-bit commitments (2025)
    • Awesome Folding Schemes Repo by Lurk Labs
    • Proofs, Arguments, and Zero-Knowledge by Justin Thaler

    Smart contracts have lost users billions of dollars to bugs. Zero-knowledge protocols are next. zkSecurity audits the full stack and publishes open research on ZK vulnerabilities. Head to zksecurity.xyz to learn more. **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 * Catch us on YouTube **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 7 分