S16 E4: John Light on ZK Tech to Scale Bitcoin & Make It Private
John Light is a researcher who specializes in bringing Zero Knowledge cryptography to supplement Bitcoin's limitations in scalability & privacy. With ZK rollups, Bitcoin stands a better chance to onboard 8 billion people onto trust-minimized layer 2s.
Time stamps:
Introducing John Light (00:00:50)
John's Work at Alpen Labs (00:01:35)
Strata: A New zk Optimistic Rollup (00:02:35)
Understanding BitVM (00:02:52)
BitVM 1 vs BitVM 2 (00:03:14)
Challenge and Response Mechanism to Prevent Cheating (00:05:03)
BitVM vs Lightning Network (00:06:19)
Security of BitVM 2 (00:07:26)
Soft Forks and BitVM (00:13:01)
Potential Improvements from Soft Forks (00:14:06)
Citrea vs. Strata ZK Rollup Tech (00:15:58)
Side Chains vs. Rollups (00:17:46)
Data Availability in Rollups (00:20:44)
Transaction Fees for Bitcoin Miners (00:23:19)
Token Requirement for Rollups (00:26:25)
Comparing Rollups to Counterparty (00:27:06)
Drivechains and Their Potential (00:29:35)
Focus on Rollups (00:30:49)
Data Availability Challenges (00:31:42)
Increasing Bitcoin Block Size (00:32:52)
Importance of Data Availability (00:33:19)
Block Size Limit Increase (00:36:02)
Layer Two Solutions (00:37:46)
Bitcoin Maximalism Defined (00:40:19)
Vitalik's Definition of Maximalism (00:41:33)
Personal Views on Altcoins (00:46:25)
Zcash vs. Monero (00:47:51)
Zcash's Privacy Advantages (00:50:36)
Temporary Nature of Altcoins (00:51:07)
Zcash as a Scientific Experiment (00:52:32)
Consolidation of Currencies (00:56:43)
Zcash's ZK Technology in Bitcoin (00:57:35)
Zcash vs. Shielded CSV (00:58:15)
Privacy in Rollups (00:59:44)
EVM’s Popularity (01:00:50)
Inspiration from Bitcoin Inscriptions (01:04:00)
Security of Bitcoin Holdings (01:17:37)
Full Node Projects and User Adoption (01:22:01)
BitSeed's Hardware Evolution (01:23:35)
Bitcoin Node Legislation (01:26:31)
Government Involvement in Bitcoin (01:27:08)
Concerns about Strategic Bitcoin Reserves (01:27:49)
Natural Evolution of Government Bitcoin Holdings (01:29:31)
Future of Bitcoin Development (01:30:28)
Incentives for Bitcoin Expansion (01:31:01)
Challenges of Bitcoin Solutions (01:32:36)
Product Management in Bitcoin Development (01:34:02)
User Enthusiasm for Layer Twos (01:36:16)
Potential for New Bitcoin Solutions (01:37:25)
Cultural Shift in Bitcoin Discussions (01:40:37)
Engagement in Technical Discussions (01:42:10)
Following John Light's Work (01:42:53)
Time stamps:
Introducing John Light (00:00:50)
John's Work at Alpen Labs (00:01:35)
Strata: A New zk Optimistic Rollup (00:02:35)
Understanding BitVM (00:02:52)
BitVM 1 vs BitVM 2 (00:03:14)
Challenge and Response Mechanism to Prevent Cheating (00:05:03)
BitVM vs Lightning Network (00:06:19)
Security of BitVM 2 (00:07:26)
Soft Forks and BitVM (00:13:01)
Potential Improvements from Soft Forks (00:14:06)
Citrea vs. Strata ZK Rollup Tech (00:15:58)
Side Chains vs. Rollups (00:17:46)
Data Availability in Rollups (00:20:44)
Transaction Fees for Bitcoin Miners (00:23:19)
Token Requirement for Rollups (00:26:25)
Comparing Rollups to Counterparty (00:27:06)
Drivechains and Their Potential (00:29:35)
Focus on Rollups (00:30:49)
Data Availability Challenges (00:31:42)
Increasing Bitcoin Block Size (00:32:52)
Importance of Data Availability (00:33:19)
Block Size Limit Increase (00:36:02)
Layer Two Solutions (00:37:46)
Bitcoin Maximalism Defined (00:40:19)
Vitalik's Definition of Maximalism (00:41:33)
Personal Views on Altcoins (00:46:25)
Zcash vs. Monero (00:47:51)
Zcash's Privacy Advantages (00:50:36)
Temporary Nature of Altcoins (00:51:07)
Zcash as a Scientific Experiment (00:52:32)
Consolidation of Currencies (00:56:43)
Zcash's ZK Technology in Bitcoin (00:57:35)
Zcash vs. Shielded CSV (00:58:15)
Privacy in Rollups (00:59:44)
EVM’s Popularity (01:00:50)
Inspiration from Bitcoin Inscriptions (01:04:00)
Security of Bitcoin Holdings (01:17:37)
Full Node Projects and User Adoption (01:22:01)
BitSeed's Hardware Evolution (01:23:35)
Bitcoin Node Legislation (01:26:31)
Government Involvement in Bitcoin (01:27:08)
Concerns about Strategic Bitcoin Reserves (01:27:49)
Natural Evolution of Government Bitcoin Holdings (01:29:31)
Future of Bitcoin Development (01:30:28)
Incentives for Bitcoin Expansion (01:31:01)
Challenges of Bitcoin Solutions (01:32:36)
Product Management in Bitcoin Development (01:34:02)
User Enthusiasm for Layer Twos (01:36:16)
Potential for New Bitcoin Solutions (01:37:25)
Cultural Shift in Bitcoin Discussions (01:40:37)
Engagement in Technical Discussions (01:42:10)
Following John Light's Work (01:42:53)
Activity