Christopher Goes

language is the last defense of the slow game.

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

Thanks to @apriori0x for recording this lovely episode! Controllers builds on the work I did years ago with the @cosmos IBC protocol, but now benefits from the world-class heterogeneous-trust distributed-systems expertise of @IsaacSheff - it's quite a protocol.

[apriori @apriori0x]

Forbidden Controller Lore [Real]

In this episode of Deeply Intents [🎙️, 🎧] I chat with @IsaacSheff and @cwgoes about @anoma. We discuss this new idea called *Controllers*, which unlocks private bridging.

In particular we discuss:
- Consensus research
- Interop and learnings from IBC
- Unbundling ordering, execution & storage
- Trust assumptions, why you want them to be explicit
- Private Bridging
- A better system for record keeping

-----> Cross-Chain Integrity with Controller Labels and Endorsement [Controllers Research]
https://t.co/s896iMgKqX

**Timestamps**

0:00 - Consensus researchers
4:26 - What are controllers?
8:50 - Product perspective and revisiting IBC
12:52 - Why you need different trust models
19:24 - Unbundling ordering, execution & storage
24:30 - The Anoma state model is based on resources
29:03 - Controller Tags and double spends
34:34 - Shared and Causal Resource History
36:53 - Controllers are different than IBC
40:13 - You get interop for free
43:05 - Controllers love ZK
47:34 - Controllers and trust assumptions
50:45 - Emergency override condition (EOC)
56:10 - Generalization of Plasma
58:50 - Controller interop with existing EVM chains
1:03:09 - Intents in Ethereum
1:04:22 - Private bridging
1:06:33 - Affordances for application designers
1:10:17 - Blockchains can be useful for more than finance

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

I watched the talk (in person), generally I agree with the arguments although there was one slide about AI companies which mixed up market cap vs capital expenditures.

If political pressure doesn't work I don't see many overall options beyond a different operating system stack built by a more aligned organization which integrates with LLMs in a more sensible way (not an easy feat of course). Would Signal ever consider doing this? A chat app is not so far away from an operating system product-wise in some sense (WeChat being a good example).

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

@Cryptocito @coinbureau I think we agree on the open question! I'm less optimistic about that architecture/economic alignment than I used to be, that's all (but maybe just too jaded) - I certainly hope it works out! Cosmos ideas will live on one way or another, the question is only in which form.

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

Off-the-cuff opinions, not precise:
- I still think the high-level Cosmos thesis (sovereign chains + interop) is long-term correct.
- I think app-chains (chains providing different services a la smart contracts) does not work well in practice - extra latency, no sync composability, too much complexity.
- I can't comment on specifics of the ATOM-centric growth model. I think attempting to integrate the economic success of ATOM with the economic success of the wider Cosmos tech ecosystem would have better aligned the two, and my understanding is that this attempt is not being seriously made anymore (could be wrong).
- I agree with you, I don't think Cosmos "held back" Namada, or other chains in the ecosystem. My point there just concerned current economic conditions.

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

🛡️@zcash governance: it's like @cosmos governance, but with more privacy tech, more American non-profit characteristics, and no second comings of Jesus (be thankful for this).

[I have no view on the specifics, wish all involved well, and sadly only hold a small amount of ZEC]

[sudo_ml @sudo_ml]

A message from the Bootstrap/ECC board on what has transpired. We're trying to stay fact-driven and patient, as we have since November

https://t.co/c6whzhPlb8

=== excerpt

OpenAI's restructuring drew intense scrutiny from attorneys general, former employees, and public interest groups over concerns about conflicts of interest and fair valuation of charitable assets.

The proposed deal, in its last state, introduces new vulnerabilities for politically-motivated attacks on Zcash. Any of its donors could sue. The transaction could be unwound, i.e. Zashi would have to be transferred back to ECC. These factors jeopardize the entire Zcash ecosystem, not just the parties to the transaction.

Zcash's power lies in its integrity - as technology and as a movement. A restructuring done in a way that invites scrutiny, even if well-intentioned, would damage that credibility

This is not a disagreement about Zcash's mission... It is about compliance with the legal and fiduciary obligations of a 501(c)(3), and about the moral imperative of ensuring Bootstrap's assets remain dedicated to the mission they were meant to serve.

The board has no discretion on these matters.

===

If you are an employee and want to understand the situation better, my DMs are open. Your identity will not be disclosed.

If you are a stakeholder and have questions, you can also reach out.

[apriori @apriori0x]

The Institutions are Coming

In this episode of Deeply Intents (🎙️,🎧) I chat with @noah_pravecek from @zksync. Here we break down the enterprise blockchain thesis.

In particular, we discuss:
- reflections on shared sequencers
- enterprise chains [Prividiums]
- RWAs present and future
- Devconnect takeaways
- onchain credit markets
- improving Ethereum's UX

Timestamps

0:00 - Working on synchronous composability
4:52 - Reflections on shared sequencers
8:56 - Network of enterprise chains
12:27 - Institutional thesis
14:16 - Onchain capital formation
18:27 - Scaling Ethereum's liquidity
24:49 - RWAs as collateral
28:48 - Different kinds of RWAs
32:35 - Devconnect takeaways
41:39 - Onchain credit markets
45:31 - infoFi applications
49:05 - L1 Premium will fade over time
54:37 - Staying ahead of the innovation curve
56:43 - It takes a village
59:04 - Ethereum should focus on improving UX
1:02:10 - Synchronous composability nerdsnipe

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

Privacy is cool, but it won't be a moat, at least not for these reasons. Private bridging is possible and compatible with heterogeneous trust security. @anoma research already solved this problem - https://t.co/OQ5BpTkZuA.

Now, privacy might be a memetic moat... h/t @zcash 😀

[Wesley— oss/acc @wslyvh]

Privacy will be the most important moat in crypto

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

@secparam @awasunyin Ah, I see. We did combine the two predicates (into a "resource logic"), but our general plan is to build higher-level object-oriented programming models "on top", which compile to this low-level state model.

Some recent work can be found at https://t.co/UXX38Akh1h, paper soon

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

@secparam @awasunyin We split record data into a "value" and a "label", where the label is used as input to a QTT/ZSA-style "quantity" calculation (and the net quantity delta in a transaction is required to be zero).

Why did Aleo ditch birth/death predicates?

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

@bajpaiharsh244 @RiscZero @boundless_xyz Not yet but we should + will look into it!

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

We've deployed the @anoma protocol adapter to @ethereum - https://t.co/b5DDlilGtN - @ethereum - developers can now run @anoma applications which benefit from native intents, native programmable privacy, and full Ethereum security! Details on https://t.co/FK14IccsdN + below 👇

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

@anoma 🫶 @aztecnetwork

[harshbajpai @bajpaiharsh244]

I think Anoma is one of the coolest projects in the space!

I agree that long term, we move to a world where L1s are just place to issue resources and escrow them.

All programming around them should be done via intents and solvers.

Although Anoma is also one of the hardest technology to take to market.

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

> Accounts model/UTXO mix

yes

> our follow-up Zexe for private contracts

we did read Zexe and VeriZexe! resources are a bit similar to records. specific differences in how balance works, what data resource logics (~ combination of birth+death predicates) see, post-ordering execution, composition of transactions (for intents / multiparty interactions), pbl. more but def. inspired by that work a lot

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

The protocol adapter is open-source software and can be deployed to any EVM chain permissionlessly - take it for a spin on your favorite local neighborhood EVM and let us know how it goes! This is the first step in deploying @anoma's distributed operating system - much more to come!

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

This RM uses @RiscZero for ZK execution proofs - thanks to the folks at @RiscZero and @boundless_xyz for amazing support! Developers can write applications in Rust, which benefit from native intents and programmable privacy (disclosure can be enforced w/verifiable encryption).

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

@ilblackdragon @zmanian I see LLMs as the outer layer translating between natural language and discrete digital intents, and used internally for more efficient solving + network topology reorganization (predicting intent flows). Is that roughly aligned with your vision?

[apriori @apriori0x]

Solving Interop with Intents

In this episode of Deeply Intents (🎤,🎧) I chat with @jimchang of @lifiprotocol. Intents will remain a big part of solving @ethereum interop.

In this episode we discuss:
- Intent bridges
- Intent value chain
- Solvers and orderflow
- Filler vaults
- Open Intents Framework
- Product distribution 101

Timestamps

0:00 - Building interop products
4:29 - Working with Alt VMs
7:26 - Why do we need interop?
14:12 - Intents
20:16 - Getting pedantic about intents
26:14 - Intent value chain
30:33 - Intent verification
33:47 - Orderflow auctions
40:00 - Cross-chain MEV
45:00 - Solvers are not market makers
47:56 - Filler vaults
52:27 - Popular routes
57:25 - Open Intents Framework
1:04:12 - OIF flywheel
1:07:34 - Ethereum upgrades that support interop
1:10:30 - EIL, OIF, and Ethereum governance
1:14:17 - Product learnings in 2025
1:19:15 - Distribution 101
1:24:05 - Twitter
1:28:00 - Thrift shopping

[Christopher Goes @cwgoes]

Amazing to see @zcash finally doing well in the markets - finally some recognition for years and years of hard, committed, principled work building the substrate for an actually freedom-preserving monetary alternative. Rarely indeed do the crypto markets deliver such justice.