Composable: Exploring Crypto’s Building Blocks (an Espresso Pod) – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, hosts Alysia and Ellie tackle Ethereum FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) head-on by rolling a special "Ethereum FUD" die—a special piece of swag that Espresso Systems produced for ETHDenver 2025—and discussing common criticisms of Ethereum. 

They cover everything from fee structures and L2 scaling solutions to fragmentation concerns and Ethereum's overall direction, diving into whether the FUD is valid or simply misconceptions and providing a balanced perspective on the challenges and design decisions facing Ethereum as it evolves.

Key topics covered:

Fees Too Low - Discussion of the criticism that low Ethereum fees indicate lack of usage and declining demand

Parasitic L2s - Debate over whether Layer 2 solutions help or harm Ethereum by potentially siphoning value from L1

Fragmentation - Analysis of liquidity and ecosystem fragmentation across multiple L2 chains

No North Star - Examination of claims that Ethereum lacks clear direction compared to competitors like Solana

Validator Economics - How fee levels impact validator profitability and network security

Product Market Fit - Challenges of finding sustainable use cases for blockchain technology

User Experience vs. Decentralization - Trade-offs between ease of use and maintaining decentralized principles

Composable is a bi-weekly podcast exploring crypto's building blocks. Hosted by Alysia and Ellie, and brought to you by Espresso.

Find us on X:
Composable — @composablepod
Alysia — @alysiatech
Ellie — @ellierdavidson

In this episode, Ellie and Alysia dive deep into intent-based bridges, specifically exploring Across Protocol and their proposed Across Prime upgrade. They examine how intent bridges work, their advantages over traditional bridges, and the capital efficiency improvements that Across Prime aims to deliver for solvers (i.e., the liquidity providers that fulfill user intents).

Key Topics Covered

• What are intents and intent bridges - Definition and distinction from traditional bridges, focusing on how users can move assets cross-chain without worrying about underlying mechanisms
• Intent bridge mechanics - How liquidity bridges work with solvers fronting funds on destination chains rather than actually moving tokens crosschain
• Benefits for users - Native tokens (no wrapped assets), no slippage concerns, fast transactions, and simplified user experience compared to canonical bridges
• Intent lifecycle walkthrough - Three-step process: initiate transaction, fill by solver, and settlement verification using UMA's optimistic oracle
• Solver risks and challenges - Blockchain reorganization risks, sequencer confirmation dependencies, and capital lock-up issues during settlement periods
• Across Prime proposal - New bonding mechanism that allows solvers to get paid immediately and reuse capital, dramatically improving capital efficiency
• Capital efficiency explained - How solvers can potentially earn 50+ transaction fees per hour on the same liquidity instead of just one fee per settlement period
• Technical implementation details - Merkle tree systems for tracking in-flight transactions and user-enforced verification mechanisms
• Solver rebalancing challenges - Why relayers need better native bridging options to move funds between chains efficiently
• ERC-7683 standard - Crosschain intent standardization for interoperability between different solver networks
• NFT bridging limitations - Why liquidity bridges cannot support NFT transfers due to uniqueness constraints
• Fair exchange problem - Distributed systems challenge of ensuring trustless exchanges and how Across addresses it theoretically and practically
• Future outlook debate - Whether intents represent the future of crosschain interactions or merely a stopgap until better native interoperability emerges

Composable is a bi-weekly podcast exploring crypto's building blocks. Hosted by Alysia and Ellie, and brought to you by Espresso.

Find us on X:
Composable — @composablepod
Alysia — @alysiatech
Ellie — @ellierdavidson

In this episode of Composable, hosts Alicia and Ellie sit down with Maria Shen from Electric Capital to discuss their latest Developer Report that's making waves in the crypto space. They dive deep into how the war for developers is shaping up — with particularly noteworthy data on Ethereum losing out to Solana for most new devs, and a migration of Ethereum devs to working L2s.

Key topics covered:

• The surprising rise of Solana as the leader in attracting new developers, while Ethereum maintains the largest overall developer ecosystem
• How Asia has become the #1 continent for crypto developers, with India rising from 10th to 2nd place since 2015
• The distinction between Ethereum ecosystem developers vs EVM developers, and how this affects developer statistics
• Why Base and other L2s are becoming crucial for Ethereum's developer ecosystem growth
• The impact of community support and DevRel efforts on attracting new developers
• How DEX activity has shifted predominantly to Solana (81% of transactions) largely due to meme coin activity
• The importance of full-time developers (35% on Ethereum vs 18% on Solana) and their impact on ecosystem development
• The correlation between crypto prices and new developer activity in the space
• The emergence of multi-chain development as a growing trend among developers

Whether you're a developer, crypto enthusiast, or just curious about where the talent in Web3 is heading, this episode offers valuable insights into the current state of blockchain development and where it might be going next.

Composable is a bi-weekly podcast exploring crypto's building blocks. Hosted by Alysia and Ellie, and brought to you by Espresso.

Find us on X:
Composable — @composablepod
Alysia — @alysiatech
Ellie — @ellierdavidson

In this episode of Composable, hosts Alicia and Ellie dive deep into the world of blockchain confirmations, exploring the nuances between preconfirmations, confirmations (like those provided by the Espresso Network), and L1 finality. They unpack how these different levels of transaction verification impact user experience and interoperability.

Key topics covered:

• The emergence and evolution of preconfirmations, particularly in relation to based sequencing, and how they differ from BFT confirmations
• The role of centralized vs. decentralized sequencers and their impact on trust assumptions
• How preconfirmations affect cross-chain interoperability
• The trade-offs between user experience and security when using different confirmation types
• The future of execution preconfirmations and shared sequencing
• The impact of MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) on preconfirmation systems
• Discussion of real-world implementations, including Arbitrum and Optimism
• The relationship between Data Availability (DA) layers and preconfirmations
• Analysis of "based rollups" and their implications for blockchain architecture

Whether you're a blockchain developer, crypto enthusiast, or simply curious about the technical foundations of web3, this episode offers valuable insights into how transaction confirmations are shaping the future of blockchain infrastructure.

Follow us on X: https://www.x.com/composablepod

Composable is an Espresso Pod, a production of Espresso Systems. All opinions expressed by Composable’s hosts and podcast guests are solely their own views. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment, legal, or technical advice.

Composable is a bi-weekly podcast exploring crypto's building blocks. Hosted by Alysia and Ellie, and brought to you by Espresso.

Find us on X:
Composable — @composablepod
Alysia — @alysiatech
Ellie — @ellierdavidson

In the debut episode of Composable, hosts Alysia and Ellie begin with a foundational discussion about composability and its role in shaping Ethereum’s future. In it, they break down:

• The difference between synchronous (transactions completed within one block) and asynchronous composability (transactions completed across multiple blocks).
• UX pain points caused by fragmentation, like "dust" left on chains after cross-chain transactions.
• The value of synchronous composability for creating seamless user experiences and enabling new financial products like flash loans.
• The challenges of achieving synchronous composability across different chains, and the need for coordination and trustless confirmation layers.
• Composability in terms of ACID properties (atomicity, isolation, consistency, durability)
• Trade-offs between synchronous and asynchronous systems, including infrastructure complexity and trust assumptions.

Plus, they explore current solutions like bridges, intent-based bridging, and message-passing while discussing what’s needed to make Ethereum composable again.

Don’t miss this foundational discussion about composability and the future of Ethereum. Tune in, share your thoughts, and join us in reimagining Web3’s interconnected potential.

Follow us on X: https://www.x.com/composablepod

Composable is an Espresso Pod, a production of Espresso Systems. All opinions expressed by Composable’s hosts and podcast guests are solely their own views. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment, legal, or technical advice.

Composable is a bi-weekly podcast exploring crypto's building blocks. Hosted by Alysia and Ellie, and brought to you by Espresso.

Find us on X:
Composable — @composablepod
Alysia — @alysiatech
Ellie — @ellierdavidson

Introducing Composable, a biweekly podcast exploring cross-chain composability in a multi-chain world. Hosted by Alysia and Ellie, and brought to you by Espresso Pods.

Composable is a bi-weekly podcast exploring crypto's building blocks. Hosted by Alysia and Ellie, and brought to you by Espresso.

Find us on X:
Composable — @composablepod
Alysia — @alysiatech
Ellie — @ellierdavidson

In this episode of Composable, hosts Alysia and Ellie speak with Orest from t1 about proof aggregation, TEEs (Trusted Execution Environments), L2 security, and how these concepts relate to finality. The conversation explores Vitalik Buterin's recent post proposing a "two out of three" proof system combining TEE proofs, ZK proofs, and Optimistic proofs to enhance blockchain security while improving finality times. Orest also shares how t1 is implementing TEEs to achieve faster finality times for L2s while maintaining strong security guarantees.

Key Topics Covered:

• Introduction to TEEs and how they work
• Comparison between TEE proofs and ZK proofs
• Vitalik's proposal for combining multiple proof systems
• How t1 uses TEEs for integrity rather than confidentiality
• Remote attestation process and its importance
• Security considerations and risk models for TEEs
• t1's unique approach combining TEE proofs with periodic ZK proofs
• The challenges of vendor centralization in TEE ecosystems
• Real-world tradeoffs between security, speed, and usability

Composable is a bi-weekly podcast exploring crypto's building blocks. Hosted by Alysia and Ellie, and brought to you by Espresso.

Find us on X:
Composable — @composablepod
Alysia — @alysiatech
Ellie — @ellierdavidson

In this episode of Composable, Alysia and Ellie explore the security of crosschain messages. They examine notable bridge attacks, analyze what makes crosschain messages vulnerable, and discuss various security approaches, including multisigs and Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs). The episode breaks down the technical aspects of securing crosschain messages while considering the trade-offs between speed and usability.

• Notable bridge attacks like Ronin, Wormhole, and Orbit
• The anatomy of crosschain messages
• Security vulnerabilities in bridge systems
• Multisig security models and their limitations
• Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) and their role in securing crosschain messages
• Trust assumptions in various other security approaches

Composable is a bi-weekly podcast exploring crypto's building blocks. Hosted by Alysia and Ellie, and brought to you by Espresso.

Find us on X:
Composable — @composablepod
Alysia — @alysiatech
Ellie — @ellierdavidson

In this episode of Composable, hosts Alysia and Ellie speak with Eda Akturk, a developer advocate at Hyperlane, about intents in general and the recently released Open Intents Framework, specifically. They explore what intents are, how they're changing user experiences in web3, and dive into the collaborative effort behind the Open Intents Framework, which aims to make it easier for developers to build intent-based applications.

Key Topics Covered

• How to define intents in a blockchain context (eg, allowing users to specify their goal rather than know how to reach it themselves)
• The Open Intents Framework, a collaborative effort led by Hyperlane, Bootnode, and the Ethereum Foundation
• How the framework builds upon the ERC-7683 standard proposed by Across and Uniswap
• The framework's three main components: smart contract base, open-source solver implementation, and ready-to-use UI
• The mechanics of intent transactions and how solvers fulfill user requests
• How solvers front liquidity and manage finality risks when bridging between chains
• Target audiences for the Open Intents Framework, especially new chains and crosschain applications
• Benefits of standardization for creating composability between different intent systems
• The competitive solver market and how it leads to better UX
• The future vision for intents in the blockchain ecosystem
• The unusual level of cooperation between competing L2s and infrastructure projects

Composable is a bi-weekly podcast exploring crypto's building blocks. Hosted by Alysia and Ellie, and brought to you by Espresso.

Find us on X:
Composable — @composablepod
Alysia — @alysiatech
Ellie — @ellierdavidson

Composable is a bi-weekly podcast exploring crypto's building blocks. Hosted by Alysia and Ellie, and brought to you by Espresso.

Find us on X:
Composable — @composablepod
Alysia — @alysiatech
Ellie — @ellierdavidson

In this episode, hosts Alysia and Ellie explore the concept of wrapped tokens in the Ethereum ecosystem, discussing their purpose, benefits, and limitations.

Key Topics:

• Canonical vs. wrapped tokens
• Use cases for wrapped tokens
• Security implications of token issuance
• Limitations and challenges of wrapped tokens
• Bridging solutions and speed/security tradeoffs
• Future of wrapped tokens

Composable is a bi-weekly podcast exploring crypto's building blocks. Hosted by Alysia and Ellie, and brought to you by Espresso.

Find us on X:
Composable — @composablepod
Alysia — @alysiatech
Ellie — @ellierdavidson

Composable is a bi-weekly podcast exploring crypto's building blocks. Hosted by Alysia and Ellie, and brought to you by Espresso.

Find us on X:
Composable — @composablepod
Alysia — @alysiatech
Ellie — @ellierdavidson