One of the key scalability challenges with public cryptocurrency blockchains is that their size grows linearly with the number of transactions. Mature blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum contain >170GB and >1 TB of historical data respectively. New nodes joining these chains need to download this data and verify it in order to become a “full node”. The number of full nodes is a key measure of decentralization, and difficulty becoming a full node translates into future centralization. In this episode, we are joined by the duo of Evan Shapiro and Izaak Meckler, CEO and CTO at O(1) Labs respectively. O(1) Labs is a pioneering company that uses zkSNARK technology in order to construct a cryptocurrency blockchain, called Coda, that solves the blockchain size scalability bottleneck. New nodes joining the Coda network will be able to trustlessly boot up in under a minute by verifying cryptographic proofs that attest to the validity of the current chain. This technology has great potential to enable decentralization, and for one blockchain to be a light client of another blockchain. Topics covered in this episode: Scalability challenges of current cryptocurrencies Background on O(1) Labs and their mission statement How Coda uses succinct computational integrity technology (zkSNARKs) to enable further decentralization of blockchains Snarky – a domain specific language for zkSNARK computations Current state of Coda and roadmap Episode links: Coda protocol website Coda Whitepaper Presentation on Snarkly by Izzak Meckler zkSNARKs in a nutshell by Christian Reitweissner zkSNARKs in a nutshell by Vitalik Buterin Coda presentation at hack.summit("blockchain") 2018 This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/243

Before founding what is now one of the most successful companies in the cryptocurrency industry, Eric Larchevêque and his co-founder opened La Maison du Bitcoin, a Bitcoin education center and co-working space in the second district of Paris. It was through chance encounters in this space that Leger was born in the basement of 35 rue du Caire, where the company also operated a Bitcoin exchange desk and a handful of crypto miners. Eric Larchevêque, CEO of Ledger, joins us again since his last appearance as a guest 200 episodes ago. We discuss the meteoric rise of Ledger from a ten-person team to now nearly 150 people across three continents. This fascinating discussion is a master class in product development, scaling at lightning speed, and staying true to your vision when everyone is pushing you to change course. Topics covered in this episode: Eric’s background and how he became involved in the Bitcoin space La Maison du Bitcoin and the early days of Ledger in Paris The meteoric growth of Ledger and how the company managed to scale without imploding The appointment of Pascal Gautier as President how to hire the right people when scaling fast Ledger’s various funding rounds and lessons learned from working with corporate investors The particularities of building products for the crypto community Ledger’s product lineup (Nano S, Blue, and Vault) and target clients The upcoming release of the revamped wallet app Ledger Vault as a security solution for institutional investors Ledger’s hardware technology and rock-solid approach to security Episode links: Ledger Wallet Website Ledger Corporate Website CoinHouse (formerly La Maison du Bitcoin) Announcing the new Ledger Wallet desktop and mobile applications Former CRITEO COO joins leading security player in Cryptocurrency space Ledger raises USD 75 million to secure cryptocurrency assets This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/241