Top Tech Topics, Explained

@tim_roughgarden @josephbonneau @skominers with @alive_eth @cdixon

A tour through 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...

---

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.