Evan Shapiro I ZKP’s Past, Present, and Future I Mina Foundation I Pragma Singapore 2024

Thu, Oct 2, 2025, 12:00 AM

Evan Shapiro, co-founder of Mina Protocol and CEO of the Mina Foundation, joins Pragma Singapore 2024 for a deep dive into the past, present, and future of zero knowledge proofs (ZKPs). In this fireside conversation with Kartik Talwar, Evan reflects on Mina’s journey from an experimental 20kb blockchain to a scalable, developer-friendly L1 for private apps and ZK rollups. This session covers the evolution of ZK apps, recursive proof systems, native rollups, app-chain interoperability, fungible token standards, and the development of zk-friendly tools and governance. Learn how Mina uses recursive ZKPs to keep its chain lightweight while enabling private, on-chain computation at scale — and discover how the protocol is inspiring a new wave of ZK innovation through developer grants, open standards, and future L2 designs. 00:00 Intro to Evan Shapiro & Mina Protocol 00:49 ZKP Ecosystem in 2017: Just 30 People 01:53 Early Versions of Mina: Mini Bitcoin 02:57 Recursive ZKPs and Chain Compression 04:23 Verifying Blockchain History with 20kb Proofs 05:21 Understanding Mina’s State Model 06:20 ZK Apps vs Protocol Layer 06:50 Mina’s Fungible Token Standard 07:50 ZK Apps as Native Rollups 08:50 Need for L1 Changes to Support App Chains 09:40 Reserved Block Space on L1 for App Chains 10:34 Prioritizing Core Protocol Changes 11:32 Lessons from Other ZK Chains 12:37 Moving from R&D to Shipping 13:34 Supporting ZK-EVMs and Starks on Mina 14:41 L2 Development with Inter-App Communication 15:40 Building Shared Libraries for Cross-App Messaging 16:36 Foundation Priorities: UX, Dev Tools, DEX Support 17:33 How to Get Involved: Grants, Governance, Discord 18:31 Closing Remarks: Why ZK is Worth Exploring _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇸🇬 *Pragma Singapore* Pragma Singapore 2024 was a special gathering of founders and builders that took place September 19, 2024 at the Fullerton Hotel in Singapore. Pragma Singapore 2024 was an opportunity discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. Watch the full Pragma Singapore playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh6z0saYJnVdgXWfz-vaoEYx&si=uavhkhF5Kc8XBoLv ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Evan Shapiro* X: https://x.com/evanashapiro ✅ *Follow Mina Protocol* X: https://x.com/MinaProtocol ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _