# Fireside Chat with Kartik Talwar & Jordi Baylina at Pragma Prague 2025

- Speakers: [Kartik Talwar](https://streameth.org/speakers/kartik-talwar), [Jordi Baylina](https://streameth.org/speakers/jordi-baylina)
- Channel: [ETHGlobal](https://streameth.org/ethglobal)
- Date: 2025-10-09
- Duration: 25:02
- Topics: Jordi Baylina, Polygon, zkEVM, zero-knowledge proofs, real-time proving, latency optimization, proof aggregation, RISK5 execution, GPU acceleration, obfuscation technology, program obfuscation, Bitcoin bridge, trustless computation, decentralization, L2 ecosystems, rollups, sequencers, censorship resistance, ZK research, hardware optimization, proof generation, blockchain scalability, Ethereum, zkISK, parallel processing, cryptographic security, multi-party computation
- Watch: https://streameth.org/watch/yt-FdgRYr7HByU
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdgRYr7HByU

## Description

In this fireside chat at Pragma Prague 2025, Kartik Talwar sits down with Jordi Baylina, co-founder of Polygon and technical lead of Polygon ZKVM, to explore cutting-edge zero-knowledge technology.

They discuss real-time proof generation, hardware optimizations, the revolutionary potential of obfuscation technology, and critical questions around decentralization in L2 ecosystems. Baylina shares insights from building zkEVM, latency optimization strategies, and his vision for maintaining crypto's core values while pushing technological boundaries.

00:00 Introduction to Jordi Baylina and Polygon ZKVM
00:54 Focus on zkISK and real-time proof generation
01:28 Optimizing ZK technology for latency vs cost
02:02 Redesigning protocols for fast block proofs
02:38 Parallelization and execution optimization strategies
03:09 Aggregation layer improvements for speed
03:40 Hardware vs software optimization breakdown
04:09 RISK5 execution optimization breakthroughs
05:21 Achieving 1.5GHz RISK5 execution speeds
05:54 Proof aggregation time optimizations
06:59 GPU utilization lessons from Polygon
07:37 When GPU acceleration becomes cost-effective
08:09 Security learnings from zkEVM deployment
08:39 Production-ready ZK implementations
09:12 Introducing obfuscation as next-gen ZK tech
09:51 Bitcoin bridge potential without forks
10:29 Concept of program obfuscation explained
11:01 Embedded keys in obfuscated programs
11:31 Bitcoin-Ethereum bridge example
12:05 Current state of obfuscation research
12:39 Interdisciplinary approaches to obfuscation
13:44 Potential for trustless private blockchains
14:16 Running L2s on Bitcoin via obfuscation
14:51 Decentralization challenges in real-time proving
15:27 Market pressures vs decentralization values
16:08 Centralized sequencers in current rollups
16:48 Importance of censorship resistance
17:24 Missing values in L2 decentralization
18:00 Need for decentralized sequencers
18:33 Universal access requirements
19:05 User demand driving decentralization
19:37 Business priorities vs security tradeoffs
20:17 Advice for new L2 founders
20:52 Web3 vs Web2 architecture decisions
21:22 Measuring decentralization levels
22:23 Application-specific decentralization needs
22:54 Ethereum's base layer decentralization
23:50 Stack decentralization inheritance

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🇨🇿 *Pragma Prague*
Pragma Prague 2025 was held on May 29th at Holešovice Market in Prague, Czech Republic and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. This event was in collaboration with ETH Prague. Watch the full Pragma Prague YouTube Playlist here: 

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. 

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✅ Follow Jordi Baylina
X: https://x.com/jbaylina

✅ Follow Polygon zkEVM
X: https://x.com/polygonzkevm

✅ Follow Kartik Talwar
X: https://x.com/TheRealKartik

✅ Follow ETHGlobal
X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​
Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal
Website: https://ethglobal.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA 

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