My Content
My Book: Understanding BlockDAGs and GHOSTDAG
My current flagship project is the open book Understanding BlockDAGs and GHOSTDAG (UBAG).
A mixed-level open textbook written in a light yet serious tone. The book will be comprised of several self-contained parts. The first part (which is near completion) provides an extensive yet approachable introduction to the theory, philosophy, and practices of implementing and reasoning about the security and other properties of proof-of-work protocols. The second part (which is about halfway complete, yet still not published) surveys the many theoretical and engineering challenges Kaspa devs faced when trying to implement GHOSTDAG and the innovative solutions found for these problems. Following parts will survey many other aspects of the discussion, such as the game theory of a blockDAG’s fee market, and the unique new approaches blockDAGs afford to holy-grail problems such as game-theoretic MEV resistance.
Some favorite excerpts:
New blog: Parallel Thoughts
Parallel Thoughts is a new blog intended to platform my thoughts and expositions that do not fit into other projects. This includes educational posts on topics too removed from the subject of the book (or “precursor” posts that will become parts of the book), computations I did that I want to share, and rants and opinions.
Video Content
I’m raising funds to create a Youtube channel focused on highly produced edumarketing content about Kaspa and cryptocurrencies in general.
Additionally, I am collaborating with an on-line seminar outlet to produce a short video-course about quantum cryptography, hopefully I could share more details in a few weeks.
Self-Contained Posts
A lot of opportunities for an educational moment arise from contemporary discourse. This can happen in many forms such as responding to criticism, dispelling fud, communicating innovations, or commentating on relevant global events.
A lot of my contributions started in the form of self-contained posts that attempt to seize such opportunities, an endeavor that requires availability, time, and effort (but creates some of the most engaging educational discourse one could hope for).
Most of my posts are posted to my X profile, though some appear on other platforms. Here are some of my favorites:
Articles:
Social media posts:
Online Workshops and Lectures
Online lectures and workshops are a type of content I would like to pursue further. The topics I want to pursue range from cryptocurrency to cryptography to computer science in general. This is a new avenue I would like to improve at, both in terms of production value and presentation.
A few examples:
GHOSTDAG 101, a workshop about the mechanics of GHOSTDAG. This lecture is somewhat outdated and one of my first goals is to create a better alternative.
Foundations of Quantum Cryptography, a lecture in Hebrew given to a general audience
Storage in High Throughput Systems, a talk about how Kaspa handles state and ledger pruning, a live lecture I would like to recreate online
Additionally, I have a new YouTube channel called Deshe Watches Lectures, dedicated to online watching groups for lectures and courses about cryptocurrencies and cryptography. Hopefully, by providing discussions and overviews, breaking things further, and taking questions from the audience, I could make more advanced topics like zero-knowledge, homomorphic encryption, or smart-contract design more approachable to the general public while I am learning them myself.
Online Interviews and Appearances
I have given many interviews and participated in many online discussions, mostly about Kaspa. The ability to spend my time studying and documenting Kaspa full time, and staying in touch with the development progress, are crucial for making my perspective remain fresh and relevant.
Some of my favorite appearances:
Kaspa AMA on MEXC Global, Nov. 2022 (with Yonatan Sompolinsky and Michael Sutton). My first public appearance regarding Kaspa in a non-textual format, which I retroactively described as the “most fun anxiety attack I ever had”
Live Lectures and Spokesmanship
I have made many appearances in conferences and gave many interviews regarding Kaspa and cryptocurrencies. Since I decided not to take on more sponsorships, I am hopeful public appearances could be community-funded by your contributions.
Here are some of my favorites.
Interviews:
Sin City Crypto Vegas interview, June 2024, (with Chad Ballantyne, Luke Dunshea, and Chris Wolf)
Talks and Lectures:
What Kaspa Does Differently (Invited talk for Australian Crypto Convention, Jan. 2025)
Why Should You Care About Kaspa? (Kaspa Industrial Initiative conference, Sept. 2024)
Conventional Wisdom About PoW (and How Kaspa Proves it Wrong) (Mining Disrupt, Jan. 2024, Miami)