ECH Institute Podcast

Meet the Herders is a new series where we talk to the people who make the Ethereum Cat Herders work.

Meet the Herders is a series of interviews with members of Ethereum Cat Herders (ECH).In this episode we speak to Pooja Ranjan who is the Herder-In-Chief. We discuss the history, motivations , workings of ECH & much more.

Today we're going to be talking to Octant. Octant is a decentralized governance platform that awards participation with ETH. It is a project by the Golem Foundation and Octant's mission is to streamline the funding for public goods and to ensure they receive the support that they deserve. Octant is doing this by taking a portion of their staking rewards and using that to distribute to the community, who can give it to public goods projects. We're here with James and we're going to be learning about their app today.

What can you expect from the Merge? What are the challenges and opportunities presented to smaller client developers? What impact will new technologies like Bonsai and Snapsync have for client operators? Learn about all this and more in this Merge special episode of PEEPanEIP.

Do blockchains help with privacy or hinder it? Why do we need transactional privacy? Roman Semenov, creator and builder at Tornado Cash joins us to discuss privacy on blockchains and how Tornado strives to improve it. We also discuss the differences between the original version of Tornado and Nova, the new version of Tornado which is rolling out now.

One of the pillars of the ideology around web3 is that of decentralization. Are we delivering on our promises to create decentralized ledgers, or are we falling into the same snares that gave us the highly centralized internet we see around us? Kristy Leigh Minehan, noted consultant and blockchain hardware specialist joins the podcast to talk about decentralization from a number of different potential centralization vectors.

What could be hard about building a crypto wallet? Taylor Monahan, founder of MyCryto (recently acquired by ConsenSys) and currently at MetaMask, joins the podcast to discuss the intricacies of wallets, the challenges in presenting something decentralized and yet user-friendly to a spectrum of users, and more.

We've all heard of DAOs, but what are they practically? How can you contribute to one if you wanted to? What different challenges do DAOs and those contributing to them face? Chase Chapman, a DAO researcher and contributor joins the podcast to talk about all things DAOs.

Running nodes on the Ethereum network (and other blockchain networks) can be hard. The client software can update frequently and be hard to work with. In addition, they need monitoring and maintenance. The data provided as specified can be difficult to work with too. Yet, nodes are necessary to connect applications with the blockchain. The difficulties and need have led to the rise of providers running nodes as a service and providing an API for app builders to use to connect their application to the blockchain. Alchemy is one such provider. Deric Chang and Omar Ceja of Alchemy join to discuss running node infrastructure at scale, and providing useful data to users.

Building apps that aggregate blockchain data opens up new paradigms in application development. Lefteris Karapetsas, a longtime contributor to the Ethereum ecosystem, joins the podcast to discuss his current project, Rotki, a crypto asset accounting app. We discuss the difficulties of obtaining event data from nodes, the benefits and challenges of developing in the open, and more.

Smart Contracts can hold immense amounts of value in an ecosystem that makes them accessible to anyone. As a result, exploits in smart contracts can have catastrophic results. samczsun, a researcher at Paradigm and famous white-hat hacker, joins us to talk about finding vulnerabilities in smart contracts. Among the topics, we talk about his preferred setup for analyzing contracts, how he picks what to look at, and how he goes about looking at code once he's picked something. We also talk about anonymity in the space and his work at Paradigm and previous.

Nethermind is an execution client for EVM-compatible blockchains. Tomasz Stańczak discusses what motivated him to begin working on creating a new execution client and the specific challenges (and joys) of building and maintaining one. We also discuss some of Nethermind's specific features as a client, and future directions for both the larger Nethermind company and the client specifically.

Smart contracts have opened up new opportunities, and we are still exploring what we are able to build with them. Andre Cronje is the creator of Yearn Finance, Keep3r, and more, and joins us in this episode to talk about building innovative platforms with smart contracts, and the various pressures that can come from being a recognized builder in the space.

Agenda: https://github.com/ethereum/pm/issues/1700

Agenda: https://github.com/ethereum/pm/issues/1687

In this episode, we discuss the importance of privacy in blockchain technology with Nathaniel Fried from Privacy Pools. They explore the challenges of maintaining privacy while ensuring compliance with regulations, the mechanics of how Privacy Pools work, and the implications for everyday users and institutions. Nathaniel shares insights on the necessity of privacy as a human right and the future of privacy protocols in the crypto ecosystem.Watch video version of this podcast: Video Version🎬 Related ContentPresentation: Google Drive Link🌐 Useful LinksPlatform: 0xbow.ioPrivacy Pools📺 Recent EPD Episodes• Deep Gov• Deep Funding• Octant V2• Open-Source Observer• Karma GAP🎙️ FeaturingGuest Speaker:Nathaniel Fried👥 ECH Institute TeamHost: Pooja RanjanCoordinator: VaelynEditor: Akash💸 Support ECH InstituteDonate Here📚 Additional Resources• Playlist 1• Playlist 2• Playlist 3• Playlist 4• Playlist 5• PEEPanEIP Playlist🌐 Official WebsitesECH Institute🕒 Chapters00:00 The Importance of Privacy in Crypto04:00 Introduction to ZeroXBow and Privacy Pools10:22 How Privacy Pools Work15:22 Validation and Compliance in Privacy Pools24:32 Enterprise Use Cases and Regulatory Engagement31:19 Future of Privacy in the Crypto Ecosystem📲 Follow ECH InstituteX/Twitter: ECH InstituteWarpcast: ECH InstituteMedium: ECH Institute BlogDiscord: Join Community#Privacy #PrivacyPools #UserSafety #DecentralizedFinance

Agenda: https://github.com/ethereum/pm/issues/1673

Sustainable Funding for Ethereum's Public Goods Sustainable Funding for Ethereum's Public Goods In this episode, Sejal & Devansh discuss the challenges and opportunities within the Ethereum ecosystem, focusing on the need for sustainable funding for public goods. They introduce a roadmap aimed at addressing these issues through a three-phase approach: broad dependency mapping, a funding dashboard, and a commitment to allocate 2% of revenue towards supporting essential infrastructure. The conversation emphasizes the importance of open-source contributions, community engagement, and innovative solutions to ensure the long-term viability of the ecosystem. 🌐 Useful Links Platform 📺 Recent EPD Episodes Deep Gov Deep Funding Octant V2 Open-Source Observer Karma GAP 🎙️ Featuring Guest Speaker: Devansh Mehta Guest Speaker: Sejal Rekhan 👥 ECH Institute Team Host: Pooja Ranjan Coordinator: Vaelyn Editor: Akash 💸 Support ECH Institute Donate 📚 Additional Resources Playlist 1 Playlist 2 Playlist 3 Playlist 4 Playlist 5 PEEPanEIP Playlist 🌐 Official Websites ECH Institute 🕒 Topics Covered 00:05 Quick Recap 00:49 EPD Intro 00:55 Introduction to the Ecosystem and Funding Challenges 07:02 The Roadmap for Sustainable Funding 12:04 Understanding the Public Goods Problem 18:04 Exploring the Three-Phase Roadmap 26:13 The 2% Revenue Commitment Proposal 37:43 Building Relationships and Incentives 43:35 The Importance of Open Source Infrastructure 50:05 Feedback and Future Direction 📲 Follow ECH Institute X/Twitter Warpcast Medium Discord #Ethereum #OpenSource #BlockchainFunding #PublicGoods #CryptoInnovation

Agenda: https://github.com/ethereum/pm/issues/1652

Agora - Governance in Web3 Agora - Governance in Web3 In this conversation, Yitong delves into the complexities of governance in the Web3 space, focusing on the Agora platform. They discuss the importance of meaningful tokens, the challenges of governance, and the innovative solutions Agora offers, including modular governance contracts and progressive decentralization. The conversation also touches on the distinction between public and private goods in governance, the role of delegation, and the future of governance in the Ethereum ecosystem. Agora helps to deploy the best end-to-end governance system without writing a single line of code. 🌐 Useful Links Agora Platform 📺 Recent EPD Episodes Deep Gov Deep Funding Octant V2 Open-Source Observer Karma GAP 🎙️ Featuring Guest Speaker: Yitong Zhang 👥 ECH Institute Team Host: Pooja Ranjan Coordinator: Vaelyn Editor: Akash 💸 Support ECH Institute Donate 📚 Additional Resources Playlist 1 Playlist 2 Playlist 3 Playlist 4 Playlist 5 PEEPanEIP Playlist 🌐 Official Websites ECH Institute Agora 🕒 Topics Covered 00:05 Quick Recap 00:40 EPD Intro 00:47 Starting Words 01:07 About Agora 02:12 Understanding Governance in Web3 06:57 Identifying Governance Issues in Web3 12:23 Agora's Unique Governance Solutions 21:23 Lessons from Major Projects 23:01 Progressive Decentralization Explained 26:07 The Role of Delegation in Governance 28:37 Public Goods vs. Private Goods in Governance 33:37 Agora's Open Source Approach 36:21 Agora's Role in Public Good Funding 37:31 Future Collaborations and Final Thoughts 📲 Follow ECH Institute X/Twitter Warpcast Medium Discord #Agora #Web3 #opensource #Governance