Strange Water Podcast

Introducing Signaling Theory, a new podcast by Rex Kirshner ( LogarithmicRex ). Signaling Theory cuts through crypto’s noise to find the real signals. Host Rex Kirshner joins builders, thinkers, and researchers who are shaping the space for deep, nuanced and informed conversations. Curiosity first, signal over noise. New Episodes every Thursday Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wher...

In this final episode of the Strange Water Podcast, join us as we announce our exciting acquisition by Blockworks, the end of Strange Water, and the launch of our new podcast, Expansion. We have a fantastic interview with (Expansion cohost) nosleepjon and Blockworks cofounders Mike Ippolito and Jason Yanowitz on all things Expansion and modular blockchains. Thank you for being part of our adventur...

Guest: Will Griffiths ( Twitter: @mrwillgriffiths ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) Today's episode features Will Griffiths, General Manager of Animoca Brands' Motorverse. Learn how Animoca Brands is pioneering digital property rights for gamers with their innovative car-centric gaming ecosystem. We discuss the Motorverse's key pillars, including meaningful ownership and true in...

Guest: Alex Pruden ( Twitter: @apruden08 ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) Join us as we chat with Alex Pruden, Executive Director of the Aleo Foundation, about Aleo's innovative, privacy-focused Layer 1 blockchain. We explore the transformative power of Zero-Knowledge cryptography, which enables private interactions on the blockchain while maintaining permissionlessness and verifiabili...

Guest: Alejo Pinto Host: Rex ( Twitter: LogarithmicRex ) Today’s guest is Alejo Pinto, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Pontem Network. Based in Aptos, Pontem collaborates closely with the Aptos Foundation, developing innovative products like Liquidswap and Pontem Wallet. Gain insights into the Aptos ecosystem and explore the future of the L1 blockchain landscape, the key players in crypto,...

Guests: Harrison Hines (Twitter: @harris0nhines ) and Parsa Ghadimi (Twitter: @ParsaIsBack ) Host: Rex (Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) Dive into the world of edge networks on today's episode of Strange Water Podcast. Learn how edge networks optimize web content delivery by leveraging geographically distributed servers, reducing latency for users worldwide. Explore the evolution of CDNs into edge n...

Guest: Rushi Manche ( Twitter: @rushimanche ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) Dive into the turbulent world of cryptocurrency's first major bubble as we explore the rise and fall of Facebook's ambitious Libra project, now known as Diem. Despite its demise, it left behind a valuable legacy in the form of the Move smart contract language, heralding a new era of security in blockchain...

Guest: McDavid Stoddard (Twitter: @RobMcStodda) Host: LogarithmicRex (Twitter: @LogarithmicRex) Throughout the history of modern finance, the investment landscape has often been marked by periods of "irrational exuberance" and significant greed, with the cryptocurrency sector exemplifying these traits on a grander scale. This has led to unusually large and rapid investment bubbles and notable inst...

Guest: Prabal Banerjee ( Twitter: @prabalbanerjee ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) In this episode, we delve into the critical question of how participants in a blockchain network can ensure the availability of data in newly proposed blocks. Without this assurance, malicious transactions could go undetected, posing significant risks to the network's integrity. Our guest, Prabal Banerje...

Guest: Christine Kim ( Twitter: @christine_dkim ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) I believe that Ethereum is the pinnacle achievement of the open source movement, describing it as an intricate, globally-built, and continuously evolved system through voluntary contributions. Christine Kim plays a crucial role in this ecosystem, attending All Core Developers calls, documenting them, and makin...

Guest: Austin King ( Twitter: @0xASK ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) This episode begins with the emergence of rollups as isolated spaces that, while offering quicker and cheaper transactions, risk fragmenting this shared ecosystem, potentially diminishing Ethereum's value. The question then shifts to address concerns about the proliferation of rollups, with forecasts suggesting the d...

Guest: Spadaboom ( Twitter: @Spadaboom1 ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) The conversation aims to sift through the noise surrounding DAOs by telling the story of BadgerDAO. BadgerDAO, co-founded by Spadaboom in 2020, aims to facilitate the use of Bitcoin as collateral on other blockchains, thereby accelerating its integration into decentralized finance (DeFi). The discussion will cover Bad...

Guest: Kevin Simback ( Twitter: @KSimback ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) Kevin Simback, COO of Delphi Labs, shared insights on the diverse range of professional services crucial for web3 companies, including law firms, accounting, and marketing agencies. Joining an accelerator program can streamline the process of identifying and accessing these services, saving time and resources for fo...

Guest: Kubi Mensah ( Twitter: @kubimensah ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) Ethereum was not built to address the value extraction that quickly became rampant. Flashbots, introduced in 2020, addressed issues of front-running and value extraction in Ethereum transactions by redirecting value towards network participants. This sparked a crisis within the Ethereum community, leading to a trans...

Guest: Ismael Hishon-Rezaizadeh (Twitter:@Ismael_H_R) Host: Rex (Twitter: @LogarithmicRex) I am a strong advocate of the modular blockchain thesis, recognizes the power of scaling blockchains by removing the non-critical parts of blockchain computing out of the scare space that is the blockchain’s virtual machine. Up until today, modular blockchain basically refers to rollups and data availability...

Guest: Gil Binder ( Twitter: @xgilxgil ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) A blockchain computer is a network of physical computers running the same virtual machine, ensuring synchronization through constant communication and a crypto-economic system like proof of stake. Users interact with the blockchain by accessing their local copy of the virtual machine, making changes that are synced acr...

Guest: Bobafetador ( Twitter: @Bobafetador ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) Imagine: two founders of a decentralized exchange (DEX) experience a successful launch with over $1 billion in deposited assets, only to later discover a major security breach where 60% of their Total Value Locked (TVL) is withdrawn in a single transaction. Reflecting on their oversight, they realize the necessity...

Guest: Jason Zhao ( Twitter: @jasonjzhao ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) Today's conversation delves into the intersection of intellectual property law and the digital age, highlighting the challenges of enforcing outdated regulations in an online and international context. While existing legal frameworks struggle to adapt to modern mediums and platforms, there's a glimmer of hope...

Guest: Brendan Farmer ( Twitter: @_bfarmer ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) In 2022, Vitalik discussed the transformative impact of zkEVMs on crypto, highlighting their evolution from theoretical concepts to tangible scaling solutions for Ethereum. A year later, multiple zkEVM implementations had reached mainnet, rendering zkEVMs less of a novelty and shifting the focus of discussions to p...

Guest: Amrit Kumar ( Twitter: @maqstik ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) In the crypto community, "modular blockchain" has become a common buzzword, but its precise definition is often overlooked. Unlike traditional monolithic blockchains like Ethereum, which rely on a decentralized network for computation, modular blockchains aim to scale by distributing tasks to specialized envi...

Guests: Anna George ( Twitter: @AnnaMSGeorge ) and Andrea Canidio ( Twitter: @AndreaCanidio ) Host: Rex (Twitter: @LogarithmicRex) Today’s guests are Anna George, CEO and Co-Founder and Senior Research Economist Andrea Canidio of CoW Swap. CoW Swap is a platform addressing the challenge of coordinating complex exchanges among individuals with diverse needs. Using an acronym for "coincidence o...

Guest: Brett Li ( Twitter: @composeus ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) To run Ethereum effectively, you need a dedicated computer with sufficient capabilities, an always-on power supply, and an internet connection. Additionally, you require a substantial amount of Ethereum at least 32 ETH (currently valued at around $75k), which presents a significant barrier to entry. The future looks eve...

Guest: Danno Ferrin ( Twitter: @shemnon ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) In today's podcast, the discussion delves into the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), the computational environment where smart contracts reside and transactions are processed. Danno Ferrin, an EVM expert with 5 years of experience, talks about the upcoming major upgrade to the EVM called EVM Object Format (EOF). The...

Guest: Steve Pack ( Twitter: @zk_sjp ) Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) The podcast discusses the significance of ZK cryptography in the blockchain ecosystem, particularly its transformative impact in 2024. ZK cryptography enables the verification of specific computer program outputs through proofs generated during program execution, offering a computationally efficient way to validate resul...

Host: Rex ( Twitter: @LogarithmicRex ) Hey, it's Rex, host of the Strange Water Podcast. I want to express my gratitude for the incredible support over the past year. The conversations with Ethereum and ZK project contributors have been enlightening, and I've learned something new from every episode. As a thank you to the audience, I'm thrilled to announce that throughout February, we&...