In this episode, Matt and Amine, co-founders of Arch, discuss how the Taproot upgrade and Ordinals have enabled programmability and DeFi on the Bitcoin base layer. They explain Arch's novel approach to bringing smart contract functionality to Bitcoin without compromising on security by using a UTXO model, a ZKVM for parallel transaction execution, and a Proof-of-Stake verifier network. Stay tuned for all of this and much more!

- -

Follow Matt: https://twitter.com/proofofmud

Follow Amine: https://twitter.com/amine_elqaraoui

Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz

Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel

Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod

Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j

Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7

Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw

Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/

- -

Arbitrum is a game-changer for daily Ethereum's users and developers, offering top applications and lower fees. As the leading scaling solution with 600+ apps, explore Arbitrum’s Portal to find your perfect fit. Interact with the home of DeFi, a flourishing NFT and creator ecosystem, and a rapidly growing Web3 gaming hub – Arbitrum has it all. 

Get started at:

portal.arbitrum.io 

- -

Monad is a fully EVM compatible Layer 1 blockchain that can support 10,000 real transactions per second. Monad aims to open up the design space for the EVM to support high fidelity defi, consumer facing applications, and more generally allow crypto to scale to the masses.

If you are interested in participating in Monad's journey, follow: https://twitter.com/monad_xyz and join: https://discord.gg/monad

- -

SKALE is a modular, AppChain network that offers zero gas fee transactions and instant finality. Tailored for ease of development and onboarding, SKALE's configurable EVM chains enable next-gen use cases in gaming, AI, DePin, and others. With over 20,000,000 users having saved over $6 Billion on gas fees, SKALE is the blockchain for mass adoption.

Bridge to SKALE at portal.skale.space and stay up to date with the gasless blockchain at @skalenetwork

- -

Timestamps:

(00:00) Bitcoin Activity Origin

(08:290 Building on Bitcoin Base Layer

(18:11) Network Security & Design

(23:13) L1 vs L2 BTC Approach

(32:21) Arbitrum Ad

(33:09) Monad Ad

(34:08) Skale Ad

(35:24) Arch GTM Strategy

(39:38) 5 Year Vision

(46:21) Why Build on Bitcoin

(49:00) Key Trust Assumptions

(55:28) Developer Experience

- -

Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.