ELI BEN-SASSON is CEO and co-founder of StarkWare, an $8 billion blockchain technology company, and a pioneering cryptographer who co-invented the STARK cryptographic system—widely regarded as the gold standard solution for blockchain scalability. A co-inventor of the STARK, FRI, and Zerocash protocols and founding scientist of the Zcash Company, he previously held research positions at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard, and MIT, and served as Professor of theoretical computer science at Technion in Israel. NATHAN JEFFAY is a journalist who spent 20 years covering complex topics for mainstream audiences, including Middle East geopolitics during the Arab Spring and the coronavirus pandemic. He applies his expertise in making difficult subjects accessible to illuminate blockchain technology for general readers.