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Ed Felten: Arbitrum – The Layer 2 Scaling Solution Increasing Speed and Reducing Fees

Episode Summary

OG cypherpunk and ex deputy CTO of the USA, Ed Felten, is one of the creators of Arbitrum. He joined us for an in depth chat about how transactions are processed on the protocol, who validates them, what the security guarantees are, and how the economics will work in the longer term.

Episode Notes

Arbitrum is a Layer 2 scaling solution for the Ethereum blockchain which helps reduce high transaction gas fees. Arbitrum uses a multi-round optimistic rollup that regularly checks in with Ethereum’s main chain.

Topics covered in this episode:

Ed's background (including his time as deputy CTO of the USA!) and what led him to creating Arbitrum
A walk back to pre-blockchain crypto
Why Arbitrum chose to build on top of Ethereum
What are roll-ups and what's the user experience with them on Arbitrum?
A deep dive into how transactions work on Arbitrum
How nodes work on the platform
Transaction fees on Arbitrum
How is Arbitrum designed differently to Optimism?
Arbitrum and bridges to ETH and other assets
How will different scaling solutions co-exist in the future?

Episode links:

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This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/448