Blockchains are a new settlement and ownership layer, one that’s programmable, open, and global by default, unlocking new forms of entrepreneurship, creativity, and infrastructure. Growth in monthly active crypto addresses is generally tracking the
Prediction markets are a hot topic again — even cartoon characters are talking about them (cf South Park). But beyond the buzz, what is a prediction market, exactly? How do they work, how are they designed, and what makes them work?
We answer all
a16z crypto released the most performant zkVM to date: an open source implementation of Jolt. Jolt is up to 30% to 60% percent faster than the current state of the art, and poised to get much faster still with further optimization. But beyond just the improvement in speed, because Jolt is based on a new design paradigm, it is easier for developers to extend, and is also much easier to audit, leading to greater security. Here, a16z crypto Research Partner Justin Thaler explains what Jolt is and why it’s important.