About the episode
O(1) Labs’ Evan Shapiro joins Kevin to discuss Mina, the world’s lightest blockchain — at 22 kilobits, “the size of a couple of tweets.” Here, he explains how this works, what drove its creation, what this protocol looks like from a security perspective, and its real-world applications already being put to the test today.
About our guest

Evan Shapiro
@evanashapiro is the CEO and co-founder of software development company O(1) Labs, and board member at Mina Foundation, the world’s lightest blockchain.
Topics covered
Links from the episode
What’s Layer 1 vs. Layer 2? | The Defiant
Zero Knowledge Proof: Explain It Like I’m 5 (Halloween Edition) | Hacker Noon
Snapps: SNARK-Powered Applications | Mina Protocol
SNARK-Powered DeFi: Teller Builds Decentralized Lending Dapp Using Mina | Medium
Scalable Blockchain Infrastructure | Solana
Mina Block Explorer | Snarketplace
Show notes
How did Evan get started in the world of crypto?[02:30]
How does a zero-knowledge protocol retain pertinent data without bloating a blockchain?[09:08]
What constitutes a validator?[12:36]
From the security side of things, how might someone try to take over the network?[13:04]
What are Snapps (SNARK-powered applications), and are their transactions private by default?[15:51]
What use case does Evan see Mina fulfilling over the next year?[16:55]
How is Mina being used by Teller Finance to verify credit scores for loan applications?[17:40]
What are the short-term and long-term advantages of a 22-kilobit blockchain?[20:25]
How has a month of live mainnet been going so far?[23:06]
Is Mina being traded yet? How can people begin earning tokens?[23:44]
What other projects in the crypto space have earned Evan’s respect?[25:23]
People mentioned
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