Karl Floersch is the co-founder of Optimism, the Ethereum rollup scaling solution, as well as one of the primary advocates in the space for public goods funding.

Through his prolific body of work—as well as a boundless well of optimism and energy—Karl is a core beating heart of Ethereum culture, as well as a schelling point for values and ethos across the ecosystem.

We say it every episode: the code we write impacts the people who use it. Few embody this declaration more than Karl, whose deepest passion is building technological infrastructure to incentivize ethical behavior.

We also explore the concept of ‘Ether’s Phoenix,’ a hypothetical being that rewards you for manifesting it—directly contrasting the concept of Roko’s Basilisk (research at your own risk).

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Topics Covered:

0:00 Intro
5:00 Inspiration and Leaders
10:10 Road to Ethereum
16:13 For the Right Reasons
21:12 Embedding Values
28:35 The School of Fish
34:38 The Future Karl Sees
42:00 The Human Body Metaphor
47:44 The Decentralized Brain
52:25 Retroactive Public Goods Funding
57:14 Distributing Funds
1:01:08 Unprecedented Opportunity
1:04:59 R*ku’s B*silisk
1:08:39 Ether’s Phoenix (caw!)
1:15:40 A Just Utopia

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Resources:

Karl Floersch:
https://twitter.com/karl_dot_tech
Optimism:
https://twitter.com/optimismPBC
Ether’s Phoenix:
https://medium.com/ethereum-optimism/ethers-phoenix-18fb7d7304bb

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Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.

Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here:
https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/bankless-disclosures

The Eternal Optimist with Karl Floersch | Layer Zero

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