Ready for Merge

Christine D. Kim
  • 5.0 (1)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

A podcast about what’s ready for merge in Ethereum and Bitcoin Core— the world’s most valuable open-source protocols. christinedkim.substack.com

  1. Ready for Merge Ep. 20 👾

    5D AGO

    Ready for Merge Ep. 20 👾

    Meet Preston, a developer working for Offchain Labs on the Ethereum consensus layer (CL) client, Prysm. Preston’s biggest contribution to Ethereum development is co-founding the Prysm team. Preston, along with three other developers, formed the first dedicated team to build software for Ethereum’s proof-of-stake transition. The software they built, called Prysm, was the most widely used CL client during and in the first few years after the launch of Ethereum’s proof-of-stake blockchain, also called the Beacon Chain. In this interview, Preston recounts the story behind Prysm's founding in 2018, its acquisition by Offchain Labs in 2022, and its continued development in 2025. This interview was recorded on September 2, 2025. Timestamps: (3:26) Preston’s biggest contribution to Ethereum (5:24) How Preston found out about crypto (22:06) The early days of Prysm development (34:54) Key role models in Preston’s journey as a core developer (38:47) How Prysmatic Labs got acquired (58:02) How to get involved in Prysm development Links:  - Preston van Loon X (https://x.com/preston_vanloon) LinkedIn (http://linkedin.com/in/prestonvanloon) GitHub: (https://github.com/prestonvanloon) - Offchain Labs Official Website (https://www.offchainlabs.com/) Blog (https://medium.com/offchainlabs) - Prysm Official repository (https://github.com/OffchainLabs/prysm) Discord (https://discord.com/invite/prysm) - Ethereum Protocol Fellowship GitHub (https://github.com/eth-protocol-fellows) Wiki (https://epf.wiki/#/)  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit christinedkim.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 1m

  2. MAR 5

    Ready for Merge Ep. 19 👾

    Summary: In this bi-weekly brief, Christine D. Kim breaks down the latest developments in Bitcoin and Ethereum protocol development. She covers the upcoming Bitcoin Core v31 release and the growing debate around post-quantum cryptography. She also covers Ethereum developers’ discussions around the FRAME proposal and upgrade scoping for Hegota and beyond. This episode was recorded on March 4, 2026.  Timestamps:  (2:03) Bitcoin Core v31 feature freeze (3:35) Cluster Mempool status update (8:07) Bitcoin’s post-quantum roadmap (20:11) Ethereum’s post-quantum roadmap (23:39) The debate about FRAME (28:51) Next week’s show Links:  - BTC Before Light Issue #29 (https://christinedkim.substack.com/p/btc-before-light-issue-29)  - BTC Before Light Issue #28 (https://christinedkim.substack.com/p/btc-before-light-issue-28)  - The limitations of cryptographic agility in Bitcoin (https://groups.google.com/g/bitcoindev/c/O6l3GUvyO7A)  - Introducing strawmap, a strawman roadmap by EF Protocol (https://x.com/drakefjustin/status/2026755969540108659)  Song Credits: Special thanks to Calios for the music featured in this episode. You can listen to the full track, “Our Lives,” and other songs by Calios on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6qs62M8pLHGZuttTwgP6JK. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit christinedkim.substack.com/subscribe

    32 min

  3. FEB 26

    Ready for Merge Ep. 18 👾

    Summary: In this episode, Christine D. Kim discusses the Hegota execution layer (EL) headliner selection with two Ethereum developers: Jannik Luhn, Researcher and Engineer at Brainbot, and Justin Florentine, Besu client developer at Consensys. Both are backing LUCID, a proposal that would introduce encrypted transactions to Ethereum. Together, they unpack the motivation behind LUCID, how the design works in practice, and why they believe it should be prioritized for inclusion in Hegota. Their conversation also zooms out to cover broader questions about Ethereum’s development process, areas for improvement, and the emerging role of AI in protocol governance.  This interview was recorded on February 25, 2026. Timestamps: (2:07) Why EEM was retracted from the Hegota headliner discussions (6:02) An overview of how LUCID works (15:08) Concerns about LUCID adoption  (25:15) Concerns about LUCID implementation readiness (28:40) Why LUCID over FRAME and SSZ (32:25) Thoughts on the outsized influence of Vitalik and the EF (38:21) Areas for improvement in Ethereum governance (43:39) AI’s role in Ethereum governance Links:  Jannik’s X profile (https://x.com/AnotherJannik)   Justin’s X profile (https://x.com/robocopsgonemad)  Meet the Devs: Justin Florentine podcast episode (https://christinedkim.substack.com/p/mtd-justin-florentine)  Brainbot website (https://brainbot.com/)   Consensys website (https://consensys.io/)   Hegota Headliner: LUCID encrypted mempool (https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/hegota-headliner-lucid-encrypted-mempool/27658)    Hegotá Headliner Proposal: EIP-8105 Universal Enshrined Encrypted Mempool (https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/hegota-headliner-proposal-eip-8105-universal-enshrined-encrypted-mempool-eem/27448)   All Core Developers Execution Call #231 agenda and meeting details (https://github.com/ethereum/pm/issues/1931)  ACD After Hours: ACDE #230 🌙 post covering LUCID vs EEM (https://christinedkim.substack.com/p/acde-230)  ACD After Hours newsletter (https://christinedkim.substack.com/s/acd-after-hours)  Song Credits: Special thanks to Calios for the music featured in this episode. You can listen to the full track, “Our Lives,” and other songs by Calios on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/artist/6qs62M8pLHGZuttTwgP6JK). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit christinedkim.substack.com/subscribe

    47 min

  4. FEB 19

    Ready for Merge Ep. 17 👾

    Summary: In this episode of Ready for Merge, Christine D. Kim sits down with Ethereum Foundation researcher Jihoon Song and Miga Labs founder Leonardo Bautista-Gomez to debate the two consensus-layer headliner proposals competing for inclusion in the Hegota upgrade: FOCIL and 2D PeerDAS. Jihoon makes the case for FOCIL. Leo argues for 2D PeerDAS. Each lays out the technical vision, trade-offs, and urgency behind their proposal—and why they believe it deserves priority in Ethereum’s roadmap. Beyond the upgrade itself, the conversation extends to broader questions about Ethereum governance, coordination, and the emerging role of AI in shaping the protocol’s future. This interview was recorded on February 17, 2026. Timestamps: (1:21) 2D PeerDAS overview (4:03) FOCIL overview (8:47) The urgency of 2D PeerDAS (10:41) The urgency of FOCIL (18:49) Hegota CL headliner predictions (22:18) Glamsterdam timeline predictions (29:35) Improvements to the headliner selection process (33:27) AI’s role in Ethereum governance (36:18) The vision behind Ethereum development Links:  Jihoon’s X profile (https://x.com/jih2nn)  Leo’s website (https://leobago.me/)    Ethereum Foundation Protocol Prototyping website (https://prototyping.ethereum.foundation/)  Miga Labs website (https://www.migalabs.io/)  EIP-7805: Fork-choice enforced Inclusion Lists (https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-7805)  Hegota Headliner: Partial Reconstruction and 2D PeerDAS (https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/hegota-headliner-partial-reconstruction-and-2d-peerdas/27652)  Cell-Level Deltas for Data Column Broadcast (https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/pull/11176/files)  ACD After Hours: AI and the future of Ethereum governance (https://christinedkim.substack.com/p/acdt-70)  Song Credits: Special thanks to Calios for the music featured in this episode. You can listen to the full track, “Our Lives,” and other songs by Calios on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6qs62M8pLHGZuttTwgP6JK. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit christinedkim.substack.com/subscribe

    39 min
  5. Ready for Merge Ep. 16 👾

    FEB 12

    Ready for Merge Ep. 16 👾

    Meet “Floppy”, a full-time Bitcoin developer working on a decentralized privacy solution for Bitcoin called Joinstr.  To unlock greater usability and resilience for Joinstr and other Bitcoin privacy solutions, Floppy has been championing Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 119, OP_CTV.  OP_CTV is a proposed opcode that would enable more expressive spending conditions on bitcoin. Though Floppy is not the original author of BIP 119, he has been spearheading ongoing discussions in the Bitcoin community about the proposal and next steps for its activation.  In my interview with Floppy, we discussed how he first learned about Bitcoin in 2015, his passion for on-chain privacy, and his hopes for OP_CTV activation in 2027.  This interview was recorded on January 16, 2026. Timestamps: (1:24) Joinstr overview (4:44) Joinstr development milestones in 2026 (5:50) How Floppy first learned about Bitcoin (8:26) Why Floppy contributes to Bitcoin (9:27) Why Floppy started the OP_CTV workshops (11:14) OP_CTV overview (17:22) Alternative proposals to OP_CTV (21:42) Paths forward for OP_CTV activation (29:18) The main arguments against OP_CTV (36:33) Rapid-fire questions Links:  - Floppy’s X profile (https://x.com/1440000bytes) - Joinstr donations page (https://donate.joinstr.xyz/)  - BIP-119, OP_CTV (https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0119.mediawiki)  - Discussion on OP_TEMPLATEHASH (https://groups.google.com/g/bitcoindev/c/5wLThgegha4)  - BTC Before Light Issue #00 (https://christinedkim.substack.com/p/issue-00)  - BTC Before Light Issue #05 (https://christinedkim.substack.com/p/issue-05)  - BIP-348, OP_CSFS (https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0348.md) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit christinedkim.substack.com/subscribe

    46 min

  6. FEB 5

    Ready for Merge Ep. 15 👾

    Christine D. Kim gives another bi-weekly brief on the important updates in Bitcoin and Ethereum development. On the Bitcoin side, she covers two new pull requests merged into Bitcoin Core over the past week that will support ongoing benchmarking efforts for the protocol. On the Ethereum side, she gives an overview of the four proposals being discussed for inclusion in Ethereum’s Hegota upgrade.  This episode was recorded on February 4, 2026.  Timestamps:  (1:25) Bitcoin development updates (5:18) PR #34207 overview (6:43) PR #34253 overview (10:00) Ethereum development updates (12:46) EIP 8105, Universal Enshrined Encrypted Mempool (EEM) (14:50) EIP-8141, Frame Transaction (18:01) EIP-7807, SSZ execution blocks (20:30) EIP-7805, Fork choice enforced inclusion lists (FOCIL) (31:50) Next week’s show Links:  Bitcoin PR #34207 (https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/34253) Bitcoin PR #34253 (https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/34207) Ethereum Magicians Hegota Topic (https://ethereum-magicians.org/tag/hegota) BTC Before Light Issue #26 (https://christinedkim.substack.com/p/btc-before-light-issue-26) ACD After Hours ACDE #229 (https://christinedkim.substack.com/p/acde-229) Titan Builder at 50% marketshare (https://x.com/nero_eth/status/2018989296141701605?s=20) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit christinedkim.substack.com/subscribe

    34 min

  7. JAN 29

    Ready for Merge Ep. 14 👾

    Meet Murch, a full-time Bitcoin protocol developer who co-founded his own Bitcoin development company called LocalHost Research. As part of his day job, Murch is one of six editors who oversee the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) process. He recently championed long-overdue changes to the BIP process.  In my interview with Murch, we discussed his journey as a Bitcoin developer and his most recent work updating the BIP process through BIP-3.  This interview was recorded on January 16, 2026. Timestamps: (2:38) Murch's contributions to Bitcoin (6:08) Murch's journey as a Bitcoin developer  (14:18) The vision behind Local Host Research (17:33) What it takes to become a Bitcoin developer (21:02) What it takes to become a BIP editor (25:19) A summary of BIP-3 changes (30:46) The BIP process vs Bitcoin governance process (40:02) Ongoing BIP process challenges (54:03) How BIP-3 was activated (1:01:10) Rapid-fire questions Links:  Murch's X profile (https://x.com/murchandamus) Bitcoin Optech (https://bitcoinops.org/) Local Host Research (https://lclhost.org/) BIP-3 (https://bips.dev/3/) Blockspace article about BIP-3 (https://x.com/blockspace/status/2011821673184375239) BTC Before Light issue about BIP-3 (https://christinedkim.substack.com/p/issue-17) Chaincode BOSS program (https://bosschallenge.xyz/) BIP-110 (https://bip110.org/) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit christinedkim.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 6m

  8. JAN 22

    BWB: Glamsterdam Gas Repricing EIPs & X Account Hacks

    In this bi-weekly brief, Christine D. Kim provides updates on the scoping process for the Glamsterdam upgrade. She also highlights updates to the Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) Github repositories. Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (3:23) Ethereum updates (15:06) Bitcoin updates (27:17) Outro Links: - Calvin Kim Ready for Merge Interview (https://christinedkim.substack.com/p/podcast-ep-12) - EIP 8037 (https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-8037) - Glamsterdam EIPs List (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ifXjsiFFzQW8s1gl4Gz3kVDKE2pvTMkPslHuE3U7Nqk/edit?usp=sharing) - The Charlatan Bio (https://thecharlatan.ch/about/) Song Credits: Special thanks to Calios for the music featured in this episode. You can listen to the full track, “Our Lives,” and other songs by Calios on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6qs62M8pLHGZuttTwgP6JK. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit christinedkim.substack.com/subscribe

    28 min
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About

A podcast about what’s ready for merge in Ethereum and Bitcoin Core— the world’s most valuable open-source protocols. christinedkim.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Christine D. Kim
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Christine D. Kim
  • Show Website
    Ready for Merge

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