Yancey Strickler and Trent Van Epps discuss Ethereum through the lens of the commons in this Bridge Atlas episode. Trent, who coordinates protocol development for the Ethereum Foundation and leads Protocol Guild (a collective funding mechanism for 200+ core contributors), and Yancey, a writer focused on protocol governance, explore how decentralized systems function as shared resources and the coordination mechanisms required to sustain them.
Josh Stark from the Ethereum Foundation discusses the concept of 'hardness' and how blockchains create unique properties compared to other systems. He explores the relationship between atoms, institutions, and blockchains, examining what makes blockchain protocols special and how this framing applies to protocol research more broadly.
Josh Stark
Nils Gilman and Josh Stark introduce the concepts of 'hardness' and 'planetary thinking' as frameworks for understanding Ethereum and protocol design. Gilman, a historian trained in globalization theory, traces how planetary thinking evolved from modernization and globalization discourse, while the discussion positions these concepts as critical lenses for analyzing technological and governance systems.
Nils Gilman, Josh Stark
Trent Van Epps examines how capital structures impact software commons and public goods production, drawing on his experience with Protocol Guild—a collective funding mechanism for Ethereum contributors. He presents comparative case studies of Linux and Ethereum to analyze the dynamics of enclosure and capital in open-source software development.
Trent Van Epps