# The current state of blockchains --- ## Growing success in applications! * DeFi * NFTs * Gaming * ENS * DAOs * Institutional use On the horizon: social media? --- ## DeFi * Stablecoins * DEXes * Lending, interest --- ## NFTs <img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bouCIhEhMramGHZAiQGaa3q43vo=/1400x1400/filters:format(png)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22341171/Screen_Shot_2021_03_02_at_3.21.50_PM.png" style="width:300px" /> * Art * Games * Items with real-world value (eg. conference tickets) --- ## ENS <img src="https://i.imgur.com/8XFfuaB.png" style="width:600px" /> eg. `0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045` -> `vitalik.eth` --- ## Decentralized orgs * Defi projects (Uniswap, Compound...) managing funds allocation and protocol upgrades * General Ethereum ecosystem focused (MolochDAO) * Charity (eg. VitaDAO for medical research) --- ## Challenge 1: improving security and energy efficiency (with PoS)  --- The PoS beacon chain has successfully run for over nine months...  --- So now it's time to retire PoW and let the PoS beacon chain run all of Ethereum.  --- ## What will the merge look like? * Existing ethereum users (Geth, Besu, Nethermind, Erigon) will need to download a beacon chain client (Lighthouse, Nimbus, Prysm, Teku) * Instead of the ethereum chain following PoW, after the merge the ethereum chain will be embedded inside beacon chain blocks * Users should barely notice the transition --- ## Challenge 2: Scaling --- ## Why scaling?  We need lower fees! --- * Increasing gas limits on the base layer risks centralization * Solution: layer-2 rollup protocols  --- ## Currently available EVM-capable layer 2s <br><br> * **Arbitrum**: optimistic rollup project, available now * **Optimism**: optimistic rollup project, available for some apps now and for all apps soon * **Polygon**: currently a sidechain, but with plans to become a ZK rollup --- <img src="https://i.imgur.com/7hD1Dnj.png" style="height:500px" /> _These numbers will decrease in the future, as all rollups add better data compression_ --- ## Sharding <img src="https://vitalik.ca/images/sharding-files/beacon_chain.jpg" style="height:300px" /> <div style="font-size:90%"> * Nodes no longer need to process the whole chain * Each node only touches a small portion * Much higher scalability (~20-100x) for rollups, leading to much lower fees </div> --- ## Challenge 3: user experience * Before: wait 1-5 min for transaction to get included * Post EIP 1559: most txs included in < 20 sec * Rollups: instant pre-confirmations --- ## Challenge 4: user-side security  * Smart contract wallets * Social recovery --- ## Takeaways * Blockchains are getting broader adoption, and from newer communities * But technical problems still stand in the way? * They are quickly being solved; solutions that have been worked on for years are finally on the horizon