Insights from Stanford Blockchain Week: Progress in Practical Application of Theory and Industry Development Trends

The Stanford Blockchain Week will take place from August 26 to September 1, featuring a week-long series of meetings, summits, and events. In addition to the main academic conference, this year also includes the Blockchain Applications Stanford Summit, the Starknet Summit, and academic seminars focused on themes such as consensus, MEV, and DAO. This article will explore three key trends presented during this week and their impact on industry development.

Trend 1: Optimization of Theories and Practices of Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) have become one of the focal points of the conference. The optimization of existing ZKP solutions is the core theme, with one session discussing breakthroughs in efficient folding schemes, such as HyperNova and Protostar. Additionally, there were academic presentations focusing on applying zkSNARKs to more efficient batch Merkle proofs and the formal verification of ZK circuits.

Not only is the academic community highly interested in ZKP research, but many startups are also demonstrating new applications of zero-knowledge proofs in various fields. For example, some companies are using ZKPs for verifiable computation, others are proposing use cases in new development tools and infrastructure, and there are companies showcasing applications for private transactions.

The ZKP ecosystem is gradually becoming specialized, with different companies focusing on specific parts of the ZK process, such as connecting applications to provers, providing ZK proofs for specific verticals, or offering other enhanced integration tools. This specialization may indicate that the industry is gradually evolving into a modular and complex process, highlighting the increasing maturity of ZKP as a technology.

Trend 2: Achieving "plug-and-play" composability through modularization

Modularity has become a hot topic and a growing trend, with different companies focusing on specific tasks within the blockchain technology stack, such as sorting, execution, data availability, etc., rather than having a single large blockchain responsible for everything. The goal is to create a more composable technology stack, a "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 is embodied in some projects, such as the Stylus project, which aims to unify the EVM and WASM code execution environments, allowing smart contracts and WASM code to interact smoothly with each other. Other interesting developments include projects attempting to create industry-defined interoperability standards, as well as talks discussing the history and future of modular Blockchain.

It is worth noting that many of the projects driving this trend are larger and more mature companies that are already in a leading position in the industry. This is a positive move for the entire Blockchain industry, as increasing the emphasis on composability through a 'plug-and-play' approach lowers the entry barrier for new developers while also allowing for more customizable tech stacks to be applicable to a wider range of use cases.

Trend Three: Refocusing the Bitcoin Developer Ecosystem

The third interesting trend during Stanford Blockchain Week is the renewed focus on the development and future of the Bitcoin ecosystem. There was a dedicated emphasis on the Bitcoin ecosystem during the conference, explored from both developer and technical perspectives as well as cultural angles. There were several panel discussions featuring speakers from various Bitcoin-related projects discussing the innovative future of the Bitcoin ecosystem, especially after the emergence of Ordinals.

An interesting perspective is to compare Bitcoin Ordinals art to "digital jewelry," suggesting that if Bitcoin is "digital gold," then the artworks inscribed on it through Ordinals are equivalent to "digital jewelry." Furthermore, the cultural and technological changes brought by Ordinals and other new projects seem to have sparked a renewed interest among many Ethereum developers in the Bitcoin ecosystem, as they bring the design, token economics, and implementation expertise of Ethereum DApps into Bitcoin, potentially revitalizing its ecosystem.

However, it is still too early to assert whether we are truly in a "Bitcoin revival." Bitcoin is a conservative ecosystem, and its community has generally been cautious towards cultural and technological changes. Nevertheless, the potential developments within the Bitcoin ecosystem are still worth paying attention to, both in terms of trading volume and cultural recognition.

Conclusion

Stanford Blockchain Week showcased the diversity and vitality of the blockchain industry. From new research on consensus mechanisms that lay the foundation for the future of blockchain, to trading and MEV modeling techniques that may enhance analytical tools, to new cryptographic primitives, this industry is brimming with innovation and opportunity. Unlike many other industry summits or academic conferences, Stanford Blockchain Week and its affiliated events cleverly synchronize and integrate industry and research, creating a vibrant coalition composed of startups, mature protocols, and academia, all dedicated to advancing the blockchain space and building a better decentralized future.