Epicenter brings you in-depth conversations about the technical, economic and social implications of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. Every week, we interview business leaders, engineers academics and entrepreneurs, and bring you a diverse spectrum of opinions and points of view. Epicenter is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Brian Fabian Crain, Friederike Ernst, Meher Roy and Felix Lutsch. Since 2014, our episodes have been downloaded over 8 million times.
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episode 502: Eli Ben-Sasson: Starknet - zk-STARKs and Cairo 1.0 upgrade
Layer 2 zero knowledge roll-ups have initially been used for achieving private transactions on blockchains. However, past simple transfers, interacting with a public smart contract posed a serious challenge. As research and technology evolved, proof construction became much more efficient, enabling zk-powered scalability. There is a variety of pros and cons for each type of proof system, but given the impending rise of qunatum computers, we have witnessed a recent migration from SNARKs to STARKs. While the former relies on trusted setups, zk-STARKs are quantum-resistant.
We were joined by Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder of Starkware, to discuss Starknet's layer 2 architecture, as well as the upcoming update to Cairo 1.0 and how it will impact scalability performances for STARKs.
Topics covered in this episode:
- Shifting from privacy to scalability
- ZK roll-up taxonomy and main differences between SNARKs and STARKs
- Why scalability is easier to implement than privacy solutions
- Constructing proofs efficiently in Cairo
- Starknet’s layer 2 architecture
- Built-in account abstraction
- Volition, data availability and trust assumptions
- Sequencer decentralisation and crypto regulations
- Storage proofs
- Cairo upgrades & TPS
- Council-based vs. DAO governance
- Future developments
Episode links:
- Eli Ben-Sasson on Twitter
- Starknet on Twitter
This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/502