Ed Felten on Scaling Ethereum and What Institutions Want

Ed Felten, co-founder of Offchain Labs, joined Gareth Jenkinson at ETHCC Cannes to discuss the evolution of Ethereum and the growing debate around L1 vs L2. He explains Arbitrum’s approach to scaling, the transition toward ZK proofs, and why layered architecture remains critical for performance and cost efficiency.

OUTLINE
00:00 – Introduction
00:54 – White House Experience
03:09 – Discovering Bitcoin and Ethereum
04:35 – Why Ethereum Won
06:59 – Arbitrum Origins
08:33 – Rollups and ZK Shift
12:16 – Rollup Misconceptions
14:44 – L2 vs L1 Debate
22:06 – Institutions and L2 Adoption
33:39 – Market Outlook and Future

Guest links:
Ed Felten – https://x.com/EdFelten
Offchain Labs – https://x.com/Offchain

Host links:
Gareth Jenkinson – ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/gazza_jenks
The Block – https://x.com/theblockco
———————————————————————————

Subscribe to The Block’s Newsletters!
🚨 Breaking News
👨‍🔬 Expert Analysis
📈 Market Insights
Subscribe now 👉 ⁠⁠⁠https://www.theblock.co/newsletters⁠⁠⁠

——————————————————————————–

Hiring in crypto?
🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block!
✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test
⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams

Start your free trial today
👉 ⁠⁠⁠https://theblock.co/campus