Privacy

Zooko & Eli on Zcash, ZK, Privacy, and Scaling

by

Two OGs sit down for a candid, geeky, funny, occasionally spicy tour of crypto history and where zero-knowledge is headed next. Zooko (founder of Zcash) and Eli (co-founder of StarkWare) trade first-meet stories (San Jose 2013 → Cancun), and why privacy + scalability are the real superpowers of ZK.

We dig into zk-SNARKs vs zk-STARKs, how BitVM and covenants could secure BTC↔L2 bridges, and why a finality gadget matters for Zcash. We also cover STWO going live on Starknet mainnet, Blake hashes, exchange delistings, and the sudden market love for privacy.

Nothing here is investment advice. Do your own research.

Eli Ben-Sasson on Bitcoin, Starknet, and the Future of Decentralization

by

In this episode, Andy sits down with Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder and CEO of StarkWare, to discuss the evolving landscape of crypto and blockchain.

Eli shares his 12+ years of perspective in the industry—from launching Zcash in 2014 to building StarkWare and Starknet today—and explains why the future of crypto lies in a return to fundamentals.

We discuss:

  • Why crypto still lacks global product-market fit

  • The cycles of hype vs. long-term fundamentals (payments, stablecoins, credentials)

  • Why fully decentralized systems (Bitcoin, Starknet) are the true end state

  • Institutional adoption, stablecoins, and the role of corporate chains

  • The coming wave of Bitcoin staking on Starknet

  • Decentralizing the sequencer and scaling Ethereum with ZK-STARKs

  • The importance of privacy, UX, and self-custody for mainstream adoption

Eli also explains why he believes Starknet is best positioned to become the Bitcoin settlement layer, shares updates on Starknet’s decentralization milestones.