UNCHAINED: Three Crypto Pioneers on Crypto’s Monolithic vs. Modular Debate

Chris Burniske and two proponents of each approach discuss their different characteristics and relative benefits, and what will drive the next crypto bull cycle.
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In this episode of Unchained, Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs, Nick White, COO at Celestia, and Chris Burniske, partner at VC firm Placeholder discuss the differences between modular and monolithic, or integrated, blockchains, with Solana epitomizing the monolithic approach and Celestia the modular one. They all agree that both approaches have their merits and will likely coexist, but argue each lends itself to specific use cases and developer preferences. They also discuss what will drive the next crypto bull cycle, and each gives their best predictions for a specific development in the crypto industry in the next few years.
Show highlights | 

Chris’s explanation of the modular vs. monolithic approach in blockchains

What drove Anatoly to prioritize speed in Solana's architecture and its impact on the network

What Celestia is and how it represents the first modular blockchain network

Whether developers and users will gravitate more towards modular or monolithic blockchains

How Solana, as one of the fastest blockchains, is gearing up to handle massive usage and scalability

Why Chris views Celestia as a frontrunner in the data availability sector

How Nick perceives the philosophical similarities and executional differences between Celestia and Solana

Whether there's potential for Solana to transition into a modular blockchain in the future

Why Chris believes that the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) might surpass the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) in user adoption

What challenges Bitcoin faces in developing actual Layer 2 solutions, especially considering its "doomers storage" issue

What could drive the next crypto bull market

Top predictions for 2024 and beyond 

Anatoly’s perspective on how a significant hack could pose a serious setback for the entire industry

Thank you to our sponsors! Arbitrum Foundation | Popcorn Network | iTrustCapital

Guests | 
Anatoly Yakovenko, cofounder of Solana Labs
Chris Burniske, partner at Placeholder
Nick White, COO at Celestia Labs

Links | 
Modular vs. monolithic
Alchemy: Modular vs. Monolithic Blockchains
Visa: Monolithic vs. modular blockchain
Chris Burniske’s tweet on modular vs monolithic
“The horrific inefficiencies of monolithic blockchains” by polynya
Blockworks: A spicy salvo launched in the monolithic vs modular debate
Unchained: What Is the Blockchain Trilemma?
Celestia
Celestia’s explanation of modular blockchains
Data availability
Data availability sampling
An introduction to sovereign rollups
Spot Bitcoin ETF:
Unchained: 
Why The Spot Bitcoin ETF Is a Big Deal
Deciding on Bitcoin: Should New Investors Jump In Now or Wait for an ETF?
Ledger ConnectKit incident
Unchained: Ledger Library Compromised, Causing Confusion and Panic in Crypto Community

Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC. Distributed by CoinDesk. Senior Producer is Michele Musso and Executive Producer is Jared Schwartz.
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