In this episode, Nico Mohnblatt sits down with Justin Drake from the Ethereum Foundation to kick off a miniseries on lean Ethereum, a bold vision to rethink Ethereum’s consensus, data, and execution layers. Justin outlines how post-quantum cryptography, faster finality, and enshrined zkEVMs fit together into a cohesive redesign. At the heart of it is leanVM, an ultra-minimal zkVM built to aggregate hash-based signatures and recursively verify proofs, potentially turning post-quantum migration into a scalability win.
They also explore formal verification efforts, the shift from conjectured to provable proximity gaps, Poseidon2 as a hash candidate, and how this work could set a post-quantum standard not just for Ethereum, but for other blockchains as well.
This episode sets the stage for deeper dives in coming episodes.
Related Links
- Ethproofs
- lean Ethereum
- Lean Consensus R&D Progress
- Poseidon2: A Faster Version of the Poseidon Hash Function
- github.com/leanEthereum/leanSpec
- github.com/leanEthereum/leanMultisig
Applications to speak at zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome, Italy are now open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early. Apply at www.zksummit.com
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