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Zero Knowledge

Zero Knowledge

By: Zero Knowledge Podcast
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Zero Knowledge is a podcast which goes deep into the tech that will power the emerging decentralised web and the community building this. Covering the latest in zero knowledge research and applications, the open web as well as future technologies and paradigms that promise to change the way we interact — and transact — with one another online. Zero Knowledge is hosted by Anna Rose Follow the show at @ZeroKnowledgefm (https://twitter.com/zeroknowledgefm) or @AnnaRRose (https://twitter.com/AnnaRRose) If you like the Zero Knowledge Podcast: Join us on Telegram (https://t.me/joinchat/TORo7aknkYNLHmCM) Support our Gitcoin Grant (https://gitcoin.co/grants/38/zero-knowledge-podcast) Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/zeroknowledge) Or directly here: ETH: 0x4BF66E52f3009Cd138e48f142D47661037160001 BTC: 1cafekGa3podM4fBxPSQc6RCEXQNTK8Zz ZEC: t1R2bujRF3Hzte9ALHpMJvY8t5kb9ut9SpQ DOT: 14zPzb7ihiBeaUn9jdPW9cHKGBd9qtTuJE75hhW2CvzLh6rT© 2025 Zeroknowledge Mathematics Science
Episodes
  • lean Ethereum Part 6: Formal Verification with Alex Hicks

    lean Ethereum Part 6: Formal Verification with Alex Hicks
    Mar 25 2026
    https://youtu.be/9u4fu7TiZCA In this episode, Nico Mohnblatt speaks with Alex Hicks from the Ethereum Foundation about formal verification and its role in the lean Ethereum vision. This is the 6th and final episode of the lean Ethereum mini-series. Nico and Alex explore what it means to produce machine-checked proofs across the ZK stack, from RISC-V and zkVMs to circuits, compilers, and cryptographic primitives, and how these pieces connect in practice. The conversation also covers Alex’s path from physics and math into the ZK space, how the EF effort took shape, and the community push to formally verify the entire stack using proof assistants like Lean. They discuss efforts to formalize zkVM components, the tradeoffs between proof assistants and automated solvers, and what real progress looks like after a year and a half of focused work. Related Links
    • lean Ethereum Part 1: Introduction with Justin Drake
    • lean Ethereum Part 2: PQ Signatures and Poseidon with Dmitry and Benedikt
    • lean Ethereum Part 3: Security of PQ SNARKs and an update about the Proximity Prize
    • lean Ethereum Part 4: leanVM, a Custom VM for Signature Aggregation
    • lean Ethereum Part 5: Devnets & Upgrade Coordination with Will and Raúl
    • lean Ethereum
    • Lean Consensus R&D Progress
    • Lean Proof Assistant
    • Isabelle Proof Assistant
    • Ethereum Foundation

    Applications to attend the zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome, Italy are open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early at www.zksummit.com zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report. **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript
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    58 mins
  • lean Ethereum Part 5: Devnets & Upgrade Coordination with Will and Raúl

    lean Ethereum Part 5: Devnets & Upgrade Coordination with Will and Raúl
    Mar 18 2026
    https://youtu.be/Ul2bs8INF0k In this episode Nico Mohnblatt chats with Will Corcoran and Raúl Kripalani from the Ethereum Foundation. This is part 5 in the 6-part leanEthereum miniseries, shifting focus from the cryptographic primitives and LeanVM stack to the real-world integration happening through devnets, specs, and cross-team coordination. They dive into the human coordination layer, how independent teams align on post-quantum signatures, SNARK aggregation, and protocol changes, plus the networking upgrades needed for larger payloads. Raúl explains the shift from today's libp2p stack to a purpose-built Eth P2P next-gen version optimised for Ethereum's workloads, including better broadcast layers, erasure coding, and control planes to handle bandwidth competition between execution and consensus layers. Related Links
    • lean Ethereum Part 1: Introduction with Justin Drake
    • lean Ethereum Part 2: PQ Signatures and Poseidon with Dmitry and Benedikt
    • lean Ethereum Part 3: Security of PQ SNARKs and an update about the Proximity Prize
    • lean Ethereum Part 4: leanVM, a Custom VM for Signature Aggregation
    • lean Ethereum
    • Lean Consensus R&D Progress
    • Ethereum Foundation

    Applications to attend the zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome, Italy are open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early at www.zksummit.com zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report. **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript
    Show more Show less
    39 mins
  • lean Ethereum Part 4: leanVM, a Custom VM for Signature Aggregation

    lean Ethereum Part 4: leanVM, a Custom VM for Signature Aggregation
    Mar 11 2026
    https://youtu.be/YWkyvTrwtQU

    In this episode of the lean Ethereum miniseries, Nico Mohnblatt speaks with Thomas Coratger and Emile from the Ethereum Foundation about the design and implementation of LeanVM, a minimal zkVM created to support post-quantum signature aggregation on Ethereum’s consensus layer. They explain why the team chose a VM architecture over fixed circuits and how LeanVM takes inspiration from Cairo with just 4 opcodes and 2 precompiles to keep the instruction set extremely small and make formal verification easier.

    The conversation also covers LeanVM implementation choices like using Plonky3 and WHIR for efficient proving on CPUs, benchmarks for aggregation speed, and the role of Python specs in testing client interop. They share ongoing efforts to optimize low-level primitives and invite community input on the project.

    Related Links
    • lean Ethereum Part 1: Introduction with Justin Drake
    • lean Ethereum Part 2: PQ Signatures and Poseidon with Dmitry and Benedikt
    • lean Ethereum Part 3: Security of PQ SNARKs and an update about the Proximity Prize
    • lean Ethereum
    • Lean Consensus R&D Progress
    • Cairo zkVM
    • WHIR: Reed–Solomon Proximity Testing with Super-Fast Verification
    • Minimal zkVM for Lean Ethereum by Emile

    Repos
    • leanEthereum github organization
    • leanSig repo (optimized Rust implementation of XMSS for Ethereum usage)
    • leanSpec repo (the Python spec of the lean consensus)
    • WHIR repo
    • Plonky3 repo
    • leanVM

    Applications to speak at zkSummit14 close this Sunday March 15! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early. Apply at www.zksummit.com zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report. **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript
    Show more Show less
    33 mins
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