A zk-STARK is a zero-knowledge proof built without a trusted setup — using hash functions instead of elliptic curve pairings, at the cost of a larger proof.

A zk-SNARK is a specific type of zero-knowledge proof that's succinct and non-interactive — small enough to verify in milliseconds regardless of how large the underlying computation was.

A zero-knowledge proof lets one party prove a statement is true without revealing the underlying information. In blockchain, it's the mechanism behind private transactions and compressed validity proofs.

A Verkle tree is a cryptographic data structure designed to replace Ethereum's current state storage format. It produces far smaller proofs than Merkle trees, enabling validators to verify the network without storing full state.

Blob transactions (EIP-4844) carry temporary data chunks on Ethereum for rollup use — invisible to the EVM, priced in a separate fee market, and pruned after 18 days. The mechanism that cut L2 fees by 90% overnight.

EIP-4844 introduced blob transactions to Ethereum in March 2024, creating a separate data market for rollups. This explains what blobs are, how the fee market works, and what's actually different from full Danksharding.

Danksharding is Ethereum's full data availability sharding design — distinct from proto-danksharding (EIP-4844). Here's how data availability sampling works, what PeerDAS changes, and why proposer-builder separation is required infrastructure for the full design.

Sharding splits blockchain work across parallel groups of nodes to increase throughput. Here's how the mechanism works, why Ethereum's sharding plan changed completely, and where things actually stand today.

The CAP Theorem says distributed systems can only guarantee two of three properties — Consistency, Availability, and Partition Tolerance — simultaneously. Here's what that forces on every blockchain.

Nakamoto Consensus is Bitcoin's specific combination of proof of work, the longest chain rule, and economic incentives — the first protocol to achieve Byzantine fault tolerance in a permissionless network. This post explains each component and why the design was novel.

Byzantine fault tolerance is the ability of a distributed system to keep operating when some nodes behave arbitrarily. This post explains PBFT, how modern blockchains use BFT-derived consensus, and why the mechanism requires a bounded validator set.

The Byzantine Generals Problem asks how participants in a distributed system can agree on truth when some may act arbitrarily — and why Bitcoin's solution was the breakthrough that made open blockchains possible.