Expansion

 In this week's roundup, the Roundup crew discusses the launch of Unichain, Succinct’s Prover Network testnet, and the economics of being a prover. Additionally, they “A Crisis of Trust”, and how ZKPs can be applied outside of crypto. Finally, they end the episode with discussion on BOLD and fault proofs. Enjoy! Resources Succinct’s Prover Network Testnet Announcement: https://x.com/SuccinctLabs/s...

In this week's roundup, we discuss current market sentiment, Ethereum interoperability, and L2 pain points. We also cover rollup design, token value accrual, and private vs public companies. Finally, we end the episode with discussion on reducing Celestia’s inflation, and the Ethereum tariff debate. Resources Solving Ethereum Interop: https://x.com/pumatheuma/status/1886483744053452851 -- Join us...

In this week's roundup, we dive deep into the evolving dynamics between L1s and applications, exploring whether apps are truly "parasitic" to chains like Solana or if this represents a natural evolution of value capture in crypto. The conversation covers Abstract Chain's innovative approach to creator-focused L2s, Rari's strategic stack upgrades, and the latest developments in ZK tech including re...

This week's roundup Trump token phenomenon and its implications for blockchain infrastructure, including analysis of Solana's performance under stress and its competition with Ethereum's rollup ecosystem. We then explore Ethereum Foundation's cultural challenges and potential reforms, including the possibility of a second foundation. To close our we examine new Layer 1 developments emerging from t...

In today's episode Morpho CEO Paul Frambot breaks down their partnership with Coinbase that enables Bitcoin-backed loans through DeFi infrastructure. The conversation explores how Morpho's modular architecture allows seamless integration for major institutions while maintaining transparency and risk controls. Paul discusses Morpho's evolution from focusing purely on institutional clients to balanc...

In this episode, Jill Gunter and Zon join us to dive into US President Elect Trump's potential US crypto strategic reserve and what it means for US-launched tokens. We then shift gears to examine USDT0's launch with LayerZero, exploring how it could transform cross-chain liquidity and challenge USDC's dominance. We also unpack the complex dynamics between Base and Ink L2s, questioning whether inte...

In this episode, we explore the evolving landscape of Bitcoin L2s and debate the fundamental question of crypto's use case. We dive into the technical and cultural challenges facing Bitcoin L2s, examine how different L2 ecosystems might develop unique characteristics, and unpack a pivotal ideological divide between those who see blockchain as primarily asset ledgers versus those who envision unlim...

In this episode, Mike and Nick discuss three major trends they expect to shape crypto in 2025: the inevitable scaling challenges facing monolithic L1s like Solana and Ethereum, the expansion of rehypothecation across DeFi protocols and bridges, and massive growth in stablecoin adoption driven by regulatory tailwinds and institutional issuers. They explore technical constraints around L1 scaling, a...

In this episode, we dive deep into Skip Protocol's acquisition by the Cosmos Hub and what it means for the future of ecosystem. Barry and Zaki join to discuss the evolution of Cosmos, the challenges of blockchain standardization, and Skip's vision for unifying the ecosystem. They then discuss the implications of IBC Eureka, the launch of Commonware, and broader industry trends around execution env...

In this episode, we dive deep into the architecture and philosophy behind Eclipse with CTO Ben Lipschitz and Head of Strategy Terry. The conversation explores why applications need control over their own sequencing, challenging the traditional model where validators capture all the value. Learn about Eclipse's unique position bridging Ethereum and Solana ecosystems, their approach to local fee mar...

In this episode, we dive into deep into the emerging landscape of Bitcoin L2s as it crosses $100k. With Uma Roy of Succint and Jill Gunter of Espress Systems joining us, we explore ZK's impact on crypto's scaling future. To close out we debate Ethereum's strategic direction and the complex relationship between L1s and L2s as Solana continues gaining adoption. Thanks for tuning in! - - Follow Uma:h...

In this episode, Luis, founder of Gelato and Abundance, presents a compelling argument for sovereign rollups while challenging composability. We explore how traditional L2 bridge designs may be holding back scalability, diving deep into Abundance's achievement of 1 giga gas throughput through a sovereign rollup approach. Luis makes the controversial case that liquidity fragmentation is a "skill is...

In this episode, Celestia co-founder Mustafa Al-Bassam dives deep into how lazy bridging and data availability sampling are rethinking crypto's scalability. Starting with the historical context of Bitcoin's block size wars, Mustafa explains how Celestia's architecture finally resolves the tension between bigger blocks and decentralization. The conversation explores the trade-offs between modular a...

In this episode, Mike and Nick explore two critical challenges facing crypto as we enter the bull market: the looming stress test of crypto infrastructure and the psychological challenge of maintaining builder conviction. They dive deep into how Celestia's lazy bridging and Gelato's sovereign rollup are preparing for the scaling challenges ahead, while discussing staying true to your vision when c...

In today's episode Josh Bowen, founder of Astria, and Jon Charbonneau join Mike to discuss the recent launch of Astria and its role in the Celestia ecosystem. The conversation explores how different blockchain architectures are converging toward similar designs. They examine the economics of L1 tokens, the challenges of achieving true decentralization, and debate the future of blockchain L1 differ...

In this episode, Mike and Nick are joined by special guest Zon from Initia to discuss the implications of Trump's victory on the crypto industry. Shifting gears they explore Polymarket's remarkable accuracy in predicting the election outcome and what it means for decentralized prediction markets. They also dive deep into Eclipse's groundbreaking launch, examining the future of SVM rollups and alte...

In this episode, Chris Burniske and Ryan Watkins join us to explore the evolving relationship between applications and infrastructure in crypto's value accrual balance. They dissect the current state of infrastructure premiums, examine how ETFs are reshaping market dynamics, and discuss the emerging opportunities in DeFi and AI integration. Thanks for tuning in! - - Follow Chris: https://x.com/cbu...

In this episode of Expansion, Mike is joined by Nick White of Celestia to explore the fundamental challenges of blockchain scaling. They dive deep into Celestia's approach to abundant blockspace, recent protocol upgrades including Shwab and Ginger, and the engineering tradeoffs between modular and monolithic blockchain designs. The conversation covers everything from fee market dynamics across dif...

In today's episode John Adler and Evan Forbes reveal how three major breakthroughs at blockchain's data layer may enable truly unstoppable applications. They explain why previous attempts at unstoppable apps have fallen short, and how Big Blocks, Vacuum, and Big Blocks, Slow Squares will finally make internet-scale decentralized applications possible. Thanks for tuning in! - - Follow John: https:/...

Today's episode with Matt from Caldera explores how Rollup-as-a-Service providers are dramatically reducing the cost and complexity of launching L2s, from $15M down to just thousands. Learn about Caldera's strategy for standardizing blockchain infrastructure, their perspective on different rollup stacks (Arbitrum, Optimism, zkSync), and their vision for connecting multiple blockchain clusters thro...

In this episode, we explore the concept of sovereignty in crypto with Nick White, examining how it enables users to opt out of oppressive systems and retain control of their assets. We discuss the tension between user and developer sovereignty, diving into how modular blockchain architecture creates new possibilities for both. The conversation then shifts to the intersection of crypto with the inc...

In this episode, we dive deep into the creation of Superlane, crypto's first major move into rollup interoperability. We discuss the evolving landscape of rollup costs and solutions, examining the challenges and opportunities in launching sovereign rollups. The conversation then shifts to Celestia's recent performance upgrades and its implications for data availability. We also explore Avalanche's...

In this episode, Sid Gandhi, co-founder and CEO of Polybase Labs, discusses the payment network, Payy. The conversation delves into the challenges of crypto payments, Payy's approach to solving these issues, and the architectural decisions behind their technology stack. Sid unpacks the future of onchain banking, the importance of self-custody, and the potential for Payy to become a modular platfor...

In this episode, we dive deep into Uniswap's surprise Unichain announcement and its potential impact on DeFi. We also explore the emergence of Exchange OS and its promise of provable exchanges using ZK proofs. The conversation then shifts to the challenges of accurate metrics in crypto, particularly addressing inflated user numbers. We then discuss Binance's controversial pre-market trading featur...

In this episode, we’re joined by Jon Charbonneau, Co-Founder of DBA to discuss L1 & L2 token value capture! We discussed measuring profitability of tokens, PoS vs PoW value accrual, and whether or not issuance is a cost. Additionally, we unpacked the economics of L2s, and compared them to L1 economics. Finally, we asked ourselves - can anything flip BTC as money? Thanks for tuning in! -- Resources...