Martin Becze: Primea – The Next-Generation Blockchain Operating System

Martin Becze is a researcher at Dfinity working on a next-generation “Blockchain Operating System” called Primea – a continuation of his work on the eWASM project from his time at the Ethereum Foundation. Primea is an actor based IPC layer intended for use with WebAssembly programs.

Martin first learned about Ethereum in 2014 and was immediately drawn into the possibilities opened by having a contracting virtual machines on a blockchain. While the EVM was impressive, Martin saw the possibility for greater usability and efficiency by using the new WebAssembly standards being created, and so led a team at the Ethereum Foundation in the creation of a new blockchain virtual machine, called eWASM. We learn about Martin’s experience on the eWASM project and how the limitations of backwards compatibility led him to begin writing a brand new execution environment from scratch, rethinking some of the core designs and mechanics of the EVM – this project became known as Primea. Martin explains many of the fundamental design shifts involved with the Primea platform, including his focus on using the actor-based model and object capabilities (and what these even mean!). He also lays out how the Primea platform fits into the larger design of the Dfinity blockchain.

Topics covered in this episode:

• eWASM – Ethereum flavored WebAssembly (eWASM) Design.
• Primea – an actor based IPC layer intended for use with WebAssembly programs.
• Webassembly
• Dfinity – blockchain-based cloud computing project. Its aim is to develop a decentralized internet computer that will become the cloud 3.0.

Episode links:

• Primea GitHub
• Communication Semantics - Edcon talk
• Primea Technical Deep Dive - EthCC talk

This episode is hosted by Meher Roy and Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/245