Ethereum's Dencun Upgrade and The Starship Launch | The Brainstorm EP 40

Summary

In episode 40 of the Brainstorm, the hosts discuss Ethereum's recent EIP 4844 upgrade, also known as Denny, which introduces Proven sharding and significantly impacts Layer Two scaling solutions. The conversation also covers the importance of the Layer Two ecosystem for Ethereum's scaling and compares Ethereum's approach with high-performance chains like Solana. Additionally, the episode delves into SpaceX's Starship test flight, highlighting its partial success and potential for future missions, including carrying payloads into orbit.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Introduction of Lorenzo Valente, a new associate on the crypto team with a background in mechanical engineering and experience in crypto investment funds and blockchain startups.
• 🔗 Discussion on Ethereum's recent technical upgrade, EIP 4844, also known as 'pro, proen sharding,' which is crucial for Layer Two scaling solutions.
• 🌐 Explanation of Layer Two solutions as the primary scaling method for Ethereum, offering inherited security and lower transaction costs.
• 📈 Highlight of the Denon update's impact on reducing transaction costs and increasing throughput for Layer Two users.
• 🛠️ Technical insight into EIP 4844, introducing a new data storage method with blobs, making storage more efficient and cost-effective.
• 🔄 Comparison of Ethereum's scaling approach with that of Solana, emphasizing the different trade-offs each blockchain makes regarding node requirements and performance.
• 🌐 Discussion on the importance of the Layer Two ecosystem for Ethereum's scaling and its significance in reducing gas fees for users.
• 🚀 Overview of SpaceX's Starship test flight, including its successful separation, fueling capabilities, and eventual disintegration upon re-entry.
• 📊 Elon Musk's tweet on Starship's payload capacity and cost-effectiveness, indicating a potential order of magnitude drop in cost to space.
• 🔄 Incremental progress in SpaceX's goals, focusing on controlled splash downs and eventual landings as part of their development strategy.
• 🚀 Anticipation for Starship's next launch and the potential for it to carry a payload into space, signifying a shift towards operational launches.

Q & A

What is the main topic of episode 40 of the brainstorm podcast?

The main topics of episode 40 of the brainstorm podcast are Ethereum's Denon update and SpaceX's Starship launch.

Who is Lorenzo Valente and what is his background?

Lorenzo Valente is the newest associate on the crypto team discussed in the podcast. He comes from a mechanical engineering background, started his own OTC desk startup, joined a crypto investment fund focused on longtail of assets and trading, and worked for two other blockchain startups, one on Ethereum and the other one on Solana.

What is the Denon update (EIP 4844) and why is it important for Ethereum?

The Denon update, also known as EIP 4844 or proto-danksharding, is a technical upgrade for the Ethereum network focused on Layer Two scaling solutions. It's important because it decreases transaction costs for users on these Layer Twos, increasing throughput and decreasing costs, which is a crucial step in Ethereum's broader scaling roadmap.

How does the Denon update benefit Layer Two solutions on Ethereum?

The Denon update benefits Layer Two solutions on Ethereum by reducing the transaction costs for users transacting on these layers. It achieves this by introducing a new type of data storage called 'blobs', which allows for more efficient and cheaper storage, thereby lowering the costs and increasing throughput.

What are the differences in scaling approaches between Ethereum and high-performance chains like Solana?

Ethereum focuses on keeping hardware requirements for nodes low and unbundling core functions of the blockchain to optimize and improve them, relying on other projects for enhancements. High-performance chains like Solana, Sui, and Aptos make different trade-offs, scaling more via Moore's Law, relying on chips getting less expensive and more performant, allowing nodes to handle more throughput and less latency.

What does the future hold for blockchain scaling solutions according to Lorenzo?

According to Lorenzo, the future of blockchain scaling solutions involves both Ethereum and high-performance chains like Solana making trade-offs and potentially borrowing elements from each other's approaches. This could lead to a mix of optimizations from both ecosystems, although there isn't a definitive answer on which approach will ultimately prevail.

What was the outcome of SpaceX's Starship test flight discussed in the podcast?

The SpaceX's Starship test flight successfully separated its booster and demonstrated various capabilities in space, like a fueling capability and opening up its 'mouth' for satellite dispensation. However, it did not relight its engine in orbit and eventually disintegrated upon re-entry. Despite this, the test flight was considered super successful.

How does SpaceX's Starship contribute to reducing costs to space?

SpaceX's Starship could significantly reduce the cost to space by achieving a max payload in expendable mode of around 200 tons at a cost of $500 per kilogram to low Earth orbit, as opposed to the reusable Falcon 9's cost of just below $1,000 per kilogram. This potential for further cost declines is considered very compelling.

What are the next steps for SpaceX's Starship following the test flight?

Following the test flight, SpaceX aims to conduct more test flights, potentially up to six times within the year. They will likely focus on incremental improvements based on data from the previous flight and may attempt to use the next flights for commercial purposes, such as putting satellites into orbit.

Why did SpaceX choose a controlled splashdown for Starship's test flight?

SpaceX chose a controlled splashdown for Starship's test flight as an incremental step towards achieving a gentle splashdown as the end goal. This approach is considered safer and less risky than attempting to land on a landing pad, which could result in damaging expensive hardware if not successful.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Introduction and Ethereum Discussion with New Associate

The episode begins with a welcome note and introduces Lorenzo Valente, the newest member of the crypto team. Lorenzo shares his background in mechanical engineering, his experience with an OTC desk and a crypto investment fund, and his work with blockchain startups focused on Ethereum and Solana. The conversation then shifts to discussing Ethereum and the recent Denon update, highlighting its significance for Layer Two scaling solutions and the potential impact on transaction costs and throughput.

05:00

💡 Importance of Layer 2 Ecosystem and Comparison with Solana

Lorenzo delves into the importance of the Layer 2 ecosystem for Ethereum's scaling, explaining how it allows for cheaper and more efficient transactions while maintaining Ethereum's security. He contrasts this approach with blockchains like Solana, which prioritize high throughput and lower fees but may require more powerful and expensive hardware. Lorenzo suggests that both scaling philosophies have their communities and that the future may see a blending of these approaches.

10:00

🌐 Technical Details of the EIP 4844 Upgrade

The discussion moves into the technical aspects of the EIP 4844 upgrade, also known as the Denon upgrade, which introduces a new type of data storage called blobs. These blobs are large data packets that are transient and pruned from the blockchain after a period, making storage more efficient and cost-effective. Lorenzo explains the trade-offs involved in this approach, emphasizing the balance between scalability and the need to maintain the integrity of the blockchain.

15:01

🚀 SpaceX's Starship: Progress and Future Plans

The conversation turns to SpaceX's Starship, with a recap of its recent test flight, including the successful stage separation, the booster's return, and the disintegration of the ship upon re-entry. The hosts discuss the significance of the test, the potential for using Starship as an expendable rocket, and the cost implications for space travel. They also speculate on the timeline for future launches and the incremental steps Starship will take towards becoming a fully reusable spacecraft.

20:03

🌟 Inspiring Future of Space Exploration and Connectivity

The episode concludes with reflections on the inspiring nature of space exploration, the high-quality data collection from Starship's test flight, and the potential future of connectivity. The hosts encourage viewers to follow along with SpaceX's progress, highlighting the excitement and educational value of witnessing these historic advancements in space technology.

Keywords

💡Ethereum

Ethereum is an open-source, blockchain-based, decentralized platform that enables developers to build and deploy smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). In the video, Ethereum is discussed in the context of its scaling solutions, particularly Layer 2 technologies, which aim to improve transaction throughput and reduce costs for users.

💡Layer 2

Layer 2 refers to solutions built on top of a blockchain, like Ethereum, to increase its capacity and efficiency by handling transactions off the main blockchain. These solutions are crucial for Ethereum's ability to process more transactions at lower costs, making the network more scalable and user-friendly.

💡EIP 4844

EIP 4844, also known as Proto-sharding, is a proposed upgrade to the Ethereum network that introduces a new type of data storage called blobs, which are large data packets. This upgrade is designed to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of data management within the Ethereum network, particularly for Layer 2 scaling solutions.

💡Sharding

Sharding is a database and blockchain scaling technique that involves splitting the blockchain into smaller, more manageable pieces called 'shards'. Each shard processes a portion of the network's transactions, reducing the load on individual nodes and increasing the overall network's capacity to handle transactions.

💡Solana

Solana is a high-performance blockchain platform that offers fast transaction processing and lower fees compared to other blockchains like Ethereum. It represents an alternative approach to scaling, focusing on increasing the throughput and reducing latency by leveraging advancements in hardware and software.

💡Starship

Starship is a spacecraft being developed by SpaceX, designed for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. It is intended to be a fully reusable spacecraft capable of carrying large payloads and crew into space, significantly reducing the cost of space travel.

💡SpaceX

SpaceX, or Space Exploration Technologies Corp., is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded by Elon Musk. It aims to reduce space transportation costs and enable the colonization of Mars. The company is known for its reusable rocket technology and ambitious space exploration goals.

💡Blockchain Startups

Blockchain startups refer to new companies that are utilizing blockchain technology to develop innovative products or services. These startups often focus on solving specific problems within industries by leveraging the decentralized and secure nature of blockchain technology.

💡Digital Asset Team

A digital asset team is a group within a company or organization that specializes in managing, researching, and investing in digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and tokens. These teams are responsible for making strategic decisions regarding the acquisition, holding, and sale of digital assets.

💡Transaction Throughput

Transaction throughput refers to the number of transactions a system can process within a given time frame. In the context of blockchain networks, higher throughput means the network can handle more transactions simultaneously, leading to faster processing times and better user experience.

💡Cost Reduction

Cost reduction in the context of the video refers to the decrease in the expenses associated with conducting transactions on a blockchain network. This is achieved through technological improvements and scaling solutions that make the network more efficient, thus lowering the fees for users.

Highlights

Introduction of Ethereum and the significance of the recent Denon update.

Lorenzo Valente's background in mechanical engineering and crypto investment.

The importance of Layer Two scaling solutions for Ethereum.

Denon update's impact on reducing transaction costs for Layer Two users.

Overview of Ethereum's scaling roadmap and the future stages.

Comparison between Ethereum's and Solana's scaling approaches.

The trade-offs involved in constructing different blockchain systems.

Ethereum's commitment to keeping node hardware requirements low.

Technical explanation of EIP 4844 and the introduction of blobs for data storage.

The concept of pruning data from the blockchain after a set period.

The balance between scalability and the ability to verify transactions in blockchain systems.

SpaceX's Starship update and its potential for lunar and deep space missions.

Details of Starship's successful test flight and its features demonstrated in space.

The cost-effectiveness of Starship compared to other launch vehicles.

SpaceX's strategy for incremental testing and the next steps for Starship.

The potential for Starship to carry commercial payloads on future test flights.

Insights on the future of space travel and connectivity with Starlink technology.

The inspiring impact of SpaceX's progress on the general public and future generations.

Transcripts

[Music]

welcome to episode 40 of the brainstorm

compliance tells me we're only allowed

to say that we expect one of these

things to go to the moon and that's

Starship so we'll be talking about that

later but we're excited to talk about

ethereum first with our newest associate

on the crypto team Lorenzo Valente

Lorenzo maybe maybe a quick in

uh on your background and then we can

dive into the Denon update and and what

it means yeah sure hey everyone and

happy to be uh here in my my first

episode uh so I come from a mechanical

engineering background um I started my

own OTC desk own startup uh I did that

for a year and a half more or less and

then I join a crypto investment fund uh

focus on longtail of assets uh and

trading uh I work for two other

blockchain startups uh one on ethereum

and the other one on salana and yeah

very happy to be uh one of the new

research Associates and working the

digital asset team

now well so you've got the ethereum and

salana experience I'm sure we'll dive

into that because I feel like you know

th those two two Fanatics uh user bases

on Twitter going at it it but maybe we

just start off with the Denon update and

what it was why it's so important

um just high level takeaways yeah sure

so uh it was last Wednesday uh the den

update went live or EIP 4844 also or pro

proen sharding has a few uh weird names

uh so this was a very important

technical upgrade for the E theum

network uh more than than a mon monetary

one uh and especially regarding Layer

Two um scaling Solutions so layer 2's

just to set the stage they're the main

scaling solutions for ethereum um they

are small blockchains that live on top

of ethereum they inherit most of

ethereum's security uh but they're

cheaper to use and so these projects

started four or five years ago and

they're part of the broader uh ethereum

strategy to scale the the blockchain and

so the Denon upgrade um was particularly

important for these Slayer twos because

they were going to I mean they did uh

decrease the the transaction cost uh for

users transaction on on these on these

layer twos um so yeah I don't know how

if you want me to to delve a bit into

the the the technical uh but yeah the

most important thing is a throughput

increase and uh and the cost decrease

for users on these layer toos so

hopefully um this is the state this is

the first stage of a very Broad and long

uh ethereum scaling road map so there

will be other two stages um hopefully in

the next two or three years and the

final St stage is called uh d sharding

uh which will

happen in two three four years maybe so

yeah that's that's the uh the the

overview

Lorenzo One welcome welcome to the show

Welcome to Arc it's a pleasure to have

you um when you think maybe just help

the the listeners and viewers understand

why the layer 2 ecosystem is so

important to ethereum scaling um and

then also if you can compare that to a

blockchain like Solana which is you know

already has high throughput and lower

fees associated with it if you could you

know compare and contrast the two and

then just also set up how you know why

the layer two is so important to

ethereum sure yeah it's a it's a it's a

really good question so one of the I

guess in these distributed systems um it

it really depends what trade-offs you

want to make right when you when you

construct a blockchain and so one of the

the tradeoffs that ethereum is not

willing to to make at all is um

increasing the hardware requirements for

nodes on the on the blockchain right so

nodes um they have to store and compute

every transaction on the blockchain

there are these copies of the blockchain

around the world um and so this upgrade

and the whole scaling road map of

ethereum is based on the um on the fact

that uh they want to keep the node the

hor requirements for node low right so

this is a very important fact um other

uh VMS so virtual machines and

blockchains uh such as salana you

mentioned but also sui and Aptos they're

willing to make um a different set of

tradeoffs and so if you think kind of

the two scaling approaches ethereum is

more by microservices so unbundling the

core functions of the blockchain

optimizing them and just relying on

other projects to um to improve them

right and then on the other hand on the

other hand you have um the we call them

the high performance chain so salana

suie and Aptos and they're willing to

make another set of trade-offs and scale

more via Moors law and so they rely on

chips getting uh you know less expensive

and more performant and so the nodes

will be able to use these chips and they

will be able to uh scale the base layer

by having more throughput and and less

latency so these are kind of two scaling

um approaches right now in the in the

blockchain world H that's interesting do

you think one is better than the other

or you think like n end State all of

these are kind of just competing and

users accept whatever tradeoffs or do

you think that this is more of a

Divergent path and one set of trade-offs

wins

out

yeah it's a really good question I think

um I mean there are differently

two two different communities right and

two uh two philosophies behind it I

think you're already seeing um both

scaling

Solutions um you know joining I mean

making tradeoffs for example there are a

couple of of projects uh that are raised

right now that are using some parts of

the svm so the the salana virtual

machine but also using uh parts of the

theorum virtual machine so they're um

yeah doing a bit of mix and match of

things that are you know good on one

chain and but but you know the they

could also take uh take advantage of

some some optimizations on the other

chain so I mean we don't have the the

the answer right now I do think overall

um ethereum will try to scale the base

layer also and I think within this

scaling road map there there are efforts

to do that and I think at some point

also Solana um will have to uh scale you

know with other other techniques and and

and more something more like ethereum

with with either brups or other um

scaling Solutions uh so we'll see but

for now it's definitely the two two

philosophies two communities and two uh

uh two approaches to

scaling but the the important thing for

the end user like like Nick is you won't

be paying $400 on gas fees when you're

when you're buying crypto

nfts you won't unless you're transacting

on on ethereum layer one but yeah if if

you're on layer twos which which you

should be at this point uh yeah it will

be cheaper so this is good news

terrific and then maybe just the last

you know we've I feel like that's a good

highle takeaway maybe the just the last

minute or so take us take us into the

weeds for the people who want to hear it

what's what was the technical side of

this

upgrade yeah uh so EIP 4844 or or Den um

introduces a new type of data storage I

mean they introduce blobs so basically

you can think of BL blobs as large data

P packets that uh set the stage for

different uh a different storage

technique uh so up to now um rups had to

uh post call data to to the theorum

layer one which was very expensive

because it needed to be stored and

computed but by every node on the

network and so blobs uh will be more

type of storage and transient so

after I think right now it's 18 18 days

but it's still up for discussion so

between 18 and 30 days it will be pruned

um uh of of the blockchain so that it

will be raised and and essentially that

will make you know storage more

efficient and cheaper so that's kind of

the tech technical

take isn't the I guess one of the

the reasons that blockchain is so

attractive is that everything is stored

and you can go back and verify so how

how can you help me understand when you

say delete or you know it's erased how

does that fit into the The blockchain

Narrative that at least I have in my

mind which is you can always go back and

verify a transaction took place even if

it's you know a decade

ago yeah I mean I mean

um I guess you're right uh for for brups

in particular so there are two

solutions um 20 to 30 days is enough

time for an honest actor to basically

retrieve the information and make sure

it was correct correctly computed and

stored um and so for the for the layer

two solutions this is an acceptable

tradeoff um and it gives enough

guarantees for yeah users and and in

general other

applications uh but yeah you're right I

mean Nick like the the final the final

stage of of this scaling road map which

is DK sharing will be uh to break the

blockchain into smaller pieces and so

every node won't have to compute and

store everything on the blockchain they

will they will just have to do it for a

small sub small part and then they will

give enough guarantee to the other nodes

so you you'll be able to Recon the

blockchain and and B every basically you

know guaranteeing that they that uh

they're acting um kind of truthfully so

but you're you're right I mean you're

right the question you know the question

uh is fair and uh yeah I think I think

it's just the the trade-offs that the

that the the blockchain has to do to to

scale yeah oh that's fair amazing I've

I've understood this much better the the

second time around listening to it and

and with these questions so lorenza

thank you so much uh this super super

great and insightful yeah thank you

Lorenzo yeah thanks to now thanks to you

guys was a pleasure all right I guess

that brings us to the second topic which

is spacex's Starship which could take us

to the moon and Beyond Sam I did not

watch

I'm guilty of not watching I missed

history how are you how are you not I'm

going to go back but I want you to

describe it for me did it what what

ended up happening to the ship did it

blow up where is it I know the last one

they lost for a bit um it's it was

glorious Nick but I'll I'll do my my my

demo you got Starship which is the piece

on top you've got like the heavy booster

which is the piece underneath it's

essentially a 40 story skyscraper

launching up into the

atmosphere uh so they

successfully separated so that's stage

separation the booster successfully

turned its engines on flew back when it

came to try and splash down it not all

of the engines relit and so it seems

like it uh

exp roughly I think they said like 100

50 to 100 met above the the water or

something like like that it it's

separated this piece orbital velocity

super exciting keeps going uh in space

it demonstrated the various things that

it was trying to demonstrate which was

kind of like a a

fueling capability opening up uh the

it's its quote mouth so that it could in

theory dispense satellites it was

supposed to relight its engine in orbit

which it did not and then

eventually well actually the other cool

part as it's coming back through the

atmosphere it had starlink antennas on

it and so you could see like the plasma

building up on it as it's coming through

the atmosphere and it also uh eventually

disintegrated SL blew up upon re-entry

uh all in all I would say super super

successful test flight obviously we want

to get to the splash Downs controlled

splash down stages

um I think for us watching it this is

not a okay can Starship work it's now

when does it work right like it seems

extremely compelling uh the progress

they're making the other thing is it

seems like even with what they did this

time they could use it as an Expendable

rocket to put uh satellites into orbit

and I think that's a huge huge point

right so it's like their next test test

flight I think they're trying to fly it

six times this year they could try and

use it to put something into orbit

whether that's some giant starlink

satellites or a cyber truck you know

they they threw up the Roadster um it's

very compelling and then just on the

math side of it um I'll pull up the

numbers because Elon tweeted this out

and I thought this was pretty impressive

just alone so he said

that uh Max payload in Expendable mode

is around 200

tons and you know some people have

estimated that the cost to build a

Starship is $100 million so if you take

both of these as being correct then the

cost to space is

$500 per kilogram we'll say to low earth

orbit uh a reusable Falcon 9 we're

estimating is kind of just below $1,000

so just this magnitude of payload

capability is leading to further cost

declines here in Expendable mode so you

can imagine when they do get this to

reusable this is how you get that order

of magnitude drop in cost to space why

did they decide to do a controlled

splash down versus I think in the past

they've tried to

Land part of the ship so are they just

you know saying okay for right now let's

focus on a different part of the

progress versus trying to Reland the

booster or was what was the decision

there yeah I think this is It's

incremental steps which Mak sense if you

do a gentle splash down as your end goal

and you have a hard splash down then

you're making a Big Splash in the water

as opposed to if you're you're trying to

land it onto the landing pad and it

doesn't work out you're demolishing

extremely expensive uh Hardware on the

ground

ultimately like that I think that will

be an interesting step eventually

they're going to have to test it and you

know they've got kind of these like

Chopstick catchers on the landing it

wouldn't surprise me if they blow up one

of those by accident um but it's it's

iterative and eventually they will have

to be able to land it on that and do we

know or do we have any insights on when

the next launch will be and what you

know the incremental steps to look for

will be in the next

launch yeah so given that they want to

launch I think it is you know High

single digits this year I'd imagine in

the next few months they'll try and

launch another one they've got a number

of these built already you know they

always go through it's kind of

incredible the amount of data they

collect and are able to use to make

improve improvements so improvements on

the rocket engines probably on you know

the the various elements on the heating

and things like that

um and so they you know they work hard

they work long hours over there I'd

imagine as soon as they can get

regulatory approval they're going to try

and get back up there um what I said

before I do think I think they'll try

and put something into space with the

next one and make it like a used usable

launch right because they need to do

these test flights anyway so it's kind

of if you can use it for commercial

purpose that's like a free launch

essentially well they they ultimately

need to do a test with some sort of

payload yeah right so you might as well

throw another vehicle into space if

you're doing it it's good marketing yeah

why not the the Roadster needs company

right yeah is there a website to track

the Roadster I'm actually curious oh I

don't know I haven't I haven't checked

it in a while I do think the I maybe

wasn't underappreciated it's just really

mind-blowing is the video that was

coming off of the rocket the Starship is

just it was such high quality it's going

you know tens of thousands of miles an

hour it's going through the atmosphere

and you're still getting high quality

image it opens your eyes to what the

future of connectivity can look like and

you know if you get if you get good

service coming through the atmosphere

I'm sure you'll be fine in your remote

work from home setup yeah I agree the

video quality I think Yan posted a

picture and said I can't believe this

image is real to your point Sam about

the quality and I'm I'm committing to

watching the next one because I need to

given I hung a photo of Starship over my

bed which took a lot of convincing with

the wife so I I probably need to be more

a part of this journey or at least

follow along um otherwise it would seem

silly yeah I I recommend you know if

you've got kids you should have them

watch it too this is this is exciting

we're going to the moon and Beyond um it

it really is all

inspiring yeah definitely all right I

think that's our our show Sam thank you

Lorenzo thank you

see everyone next week