Pushing the Limits of Proof Systems with Benedikt Bünz

In this episode, Anna and Kobi speak with Benedikt Bünz, Chief Scientist at Espresso Systems and Professor at NYU.

They start with a quick update on Espresso's architecture, its role in delivering fast finality across chains, and the challenges of building high-throughput blockchain infrastructure. The conversation then turns to Benedikt’s recent research on folding schemes, hash-based proof systems such as Arc and Warp, and Golden, a non-interactive distributed key generation protocol for threshold signatures.

The episode later explores Flock, a new proof system for standard hash functions such as Blake3 and SHA-256 that exceeds Ethereum's post-quantum proving targets without relying on specialized hash functions. They conclude by discussing proof system performance, post-quantum cryptography, and the use of AI-assisted development in cryptographic engineering. Related Links

Systems and Infrastructure

Additional Reading

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Poddgruvan

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