Top Tech Topics, Explained

@tim_roughgarden @josephbonneau @skominers with @alive_eth @cdixon

A tour though top-of-mind blockchain & crypto tech topics, explained by several a16z crypto researchers, including VDFs (verifiable delay functions); zk-rollups, SNARKs, and zero knowledge in general; and others. We quickly zip up and down the stack, and across themes — such as scalability; data availability; reputation and the creator economy, also discussing applications for NFTs and more.

It is based on a conversation that took place a few months ago (on the heels of our a16z crypto research lab announcement), live on Twitter with:

• Tim Roughgarden, Head of Research at a16z crypto and professor in the computer science department at Columbia University;
• Joseph Bonneau, research partner at a16z crypto, who also wrote the textbook on cryptocurrency technologies, pioneered VDFs, and has taught cryptocurrency courses at several top universities;  and
• Scott Duke Kominers,  research partner at a16z crypto and professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, and a faculty affiliate of the Harvard Department of Economics, who also advises a variety of marketplace businesses, startups, and crypto projects, and serves as an expert on NFT-related matters.
• …with moderators and general partners Chris Dixon and Ali Yahya.

Be sure to also subscribe to our YouTube channel — as well as our newsletter at a16zcrypto.substack.com — for more related content, and videos from researchers, going deeper on the topics discussed in this episode and beyond… 

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Welcome to web3 with a16z, a show about building the next generation of the internet, from the team at a16z crypto — this show is for anyone (whether researcher, developer, engineer, artist, company leader, community manager, entrepreneur or other builder) — seeking to understand, and go deeper on all things crypto and web3:  towards a decentralized, community-owned, and creator-owned internet.