By: PAUL VERADITTAKIT

Compiled by: Xiaobai Navigation Coderworld

August 26 to September 1 is StanfordBlockchainStanford Blockchain Week is a week-long series of conferences, summits, and events. In addition to this major academic conference, there are many other summits this year, including StanfordBlockchainClubBlockchainThe Blockchain Application Stanford Summit (BASS), the Starknet Summit in San Francisco, and the 2019 Summit focused on consensus, MEV, and DAO In this article, we’ll explore three key trends from the week and what they mean for the industry as a whole.

Trend 1:Zero knowledge proofOptimization in theory and practice

Not surprisingly, a large part of the meeting focused onZero knowledge proofThe optimization of existing ZKP solutions was a core theme of the SBC itself, with one session discussing breakthroughs in efficient folding schemes such as HyperNova and Protostar. In addition to these, there were other academic talks focused on applying zkSNARKs to more efficient batch Merkle proofs and formal verification of ZK circuits.

Moreover, the interest in advancing ZKP research is not limited to Stanford’s academic community.Blockchain加速器的几家初创公司展示了零知识证明在各个领域的新应用。例如，Nexus Labs 和 Modulus Labs 在可验证计算方面使用了 ZKPs，Ironmill 和 Succinct 在新的开发工具和基础设施方面提出了用例，Nocturne 和 Hinkal 则展示了私密交易的应用。

The ZKP ecosystem is gradually professionalizing, with different companies focusing on specific parts of the ZK process, whether it's connecting applications to provers, providing ZK proofs for specific verticals (such as AI in Modulus), or providing other enhanced integration tools. This specialization may indicate that the industry is gradually evolving into a modular and sophisticated process, highlighting the increasing maturity of ZKP as a technology. Of course, all of this is happening at a steady pace of academic breakthroughs (such as the new folding scheme proposed on SBC), which are opening up new use cases for the technology and creating a symbiotic relationship between ZKP theory and practice.

Trend 2: Achieving “plug and play” composability through increased modularity

在过去几个月中，模块化已成为一个热门话题和增长趋势，不同的公司专注于区块链技术堆栈中的特定任务（如排序、执行、数据可用性等），而不是让一个庞大的区块链负责一切。然而，模Xiaobai NavigationBlockchain itself is not necessarily the end goal; rather, the goal is to create a more composable technology stack, a kind of “plug and play” design space that allows developers to experiment and fine-tune the blockchain stack for any set of requirements.

This “plug and play” spirit was reflected in Professor Ed Felton’s talk at BASS about Arbitrum’s Stylus, a project that aims to unify the execution environment of EVM and WASM code to enable smart contracts.contractand WASM code can interact smoothly with each other. This makes it possible to create WASM "libraries", EVM contractFunctions can be called from it, allowing for a more composable development experience. Some other interesting developments in improving composability through modularity include Chainlink’s CCIP, an attempt to create industry-defined interoperability standards, and Celestia’s talk discussing the history and future of modular blockchains.

It’s worth noting that many of the projects at Stanford driving this trend are larger and more established companies (e.g. Arbitrum, Chainlink, Celestia, Starkware) that are already at the forefront of the industry. While there are smaller companies like Stanford startup Caldera working on this trend, composability seems to be more about projects looking to establish or consolidate a leading edge in the ecosystem, trying to attract developers to their technology stack. This is a positive move for the blockchain industry as a whole, as the increased emphasis on composability through a “plug and play” approach lowers the barrier to entry for new developers, while also allowing for more customizable technology stacks for a wider range of use cases.

Trend 3: Renewed focus on the Bitcoin developer ecosystem

The third interesting trend during Stanford Blockchain Week was the renewed focus on the development and future of the world’s oldest blockchain. On Saturday afternoon during BASS, there was a dedicated emphasis on the Bitcoin ecosystem, both from a developer and technical perspective, as well as from a cultural perspective. In addition to a presentation by Stanford professor David Tse on the Babylon Bitcoin Staking Protocol, there were multiple panels, including speakers from Ordinals, Taproot Wizards, Bitcoin Startup Labs, Bitcoin Magazine, and more, discussing the future of innovation in the Bitcoin ecosystem, especially after Ordinals.

Perhaps one of the most interesting and unique perspectives is Ordinals COO Erin Redwing’s defense of Bitcoin Ordinals art (like Raresats), arguing that if Bitcoin is “digital gold,” then the art inscribed on it through Ordinals is the equivalent of “digital jewelry.” Just as most ordinary people interact with gold indirectly through “art and jewelry,” the same can be said for Bitcoin. In addition, the cultural and technological changes brought about by Ordinals and other new projects have led to a renewed interest in the Bitcoin ecosystem by many Ethereum developers after Ordinals, and Ethereum has become a digital gold platform. DApps’ design, token economics, and implementation expertise to Bitcoin to potentially revive Bitcoin’s ancient ecosystem.

However, it is too early to tell whether we are in the midst of a true “Bitcoin Renaissance.” Bitcoin is a well-known conservative ecosystem.CommunityAttitudes toward cultural and technological change are indifferent at best, or even hostile. However, the potential development of the Bitcoin ecosystem is still worth paying attention to, even if only from the perspective of transaction volume and cultural acceptance.

in conclusion

The above three trends about ZK progress, composability through modularity, and the development of the Bitcoin ecosystem are far from an exhaustive description of all the research and innovation going on at Stanford. L2 From new research in consensus mechanisms that lay the foundation, to transaction and MEV modeling techniques that may enhance analytical tools, to new cryptographic primitives, Stanford Blockchain Week showcases the diversity and vitality of the industry. Unlike many other industry summits or academic conferences, SBC and its affiliated conferences cleverly synchronize and combine industry with research, creating a vibrant alliance of startups, mature protocols, and academia, all of whom are committed to pushing the blockchain field forward and building a better decentralized future.

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The ZKP ecosystem is becoming increasingly professionalized, with different companies focusing on specific parts of the ZK process. Written by: PAUL VERADITTAKIT Compiled by: Xiaobai Navigation Coderworld August 26th to September 1st is Stanford Blockchain Week, which…