Keone Hon: How Blockchains Work: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.63]

This is Eric Golden and today we’re going to break down the mechanics behind three major blockchains: Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. Blockchain is a term you hear a lot, both in this show and in Web3 more generally. But what do they actually mean and how do they work? That is the subject we’re going to cover today and something I’ve wanted to do for some time. My guest for this episode is Keone Hon. Keone is a Math Prodigy who spent close to a decade building systems for high-frequency trading. Today, he is the co-founder and CEO of Monad Labs and is building a blockchain alternative to Ethereum and Solana. He has that rare blend of deep technical knowledge and the ability to communicate clearly, so he is the perfect guest for this episode. Please enjoy my conversation with Keone.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here

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Show Notes

(00:02:47) - (First question) - An analogy to explain how crypto and blockchain work

(00:11:20) - Scenarios to further explore his schoolyard analogy for Bitcoin

(00:17:03) - The reality of the math and power balance surrounding blockchain technology

(00:23:28) - Expanding the analogy to explain Ethereum

(00:25:26) - The broad impact of Ethereum on smart contracting and proof of staking

(00:29:08) - Major differences between proof-of-work versus proof-of-stake models

(00:31:09) - Comparing Solana’s stateless design to the older chains

(00:34:44) - The added privacy and speed advantages enabled by Solana

(00:35:56) - The real security and risk profiles of these major chains

(00:38:09) - Explaining Solana’s parallel transactions 

(00:40:52) - Why the creation of new chains and further chain optimization still matters

(00:42:27) - Why he got interested in the problem of chain efficiency and accessibility

(00:44:54) - How crypto tech continues to build upon itself and expand to new use cases

(00:48:34) - How Monad is building their blockchain to solve inefficiencies in crypto markets

(00:50:09) - How he thinks about competition given the open-source nature of the space

(00:52:12) - The process of actually building and testing a new chain

(00:55:49) - What motivates him to continue building

(00:56:53) - Diffusing a new blockchain innovation to users and coders

(00:58:38) - What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years

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