Build first-iteration toys of the protocols that shaped Ethereum and Solana — Optimism, zkRollups, ZCash/Tornado privacy pools, EigenLayer, ERC-4337 on the EVM side; Phoenix CLOB, Bubblegum compression, Token-2022 confidential transfer, Wormhole bridges on the Solana side.
This is the course for builders who want to understand both Ethereum and Solana at the protocol layer — by *building* the protocols, not by reading about them. The course takes ten major protocols across the two chains and ships you a working first-iteration of each. Each toy is the load-bearing mechanism stripped of every feature you can cut — the version you write to falsify your mental model, not the version you ship to production. On the Ethereum side: optimistic rollups (Optimism-lite), zk-rollups (zkEVM-lite), ZCash-style privacy pools (Tornado-lite — the user-requested capstone), EigenLayer restaking, and ERC-4337 account abstraction. On the Solana side: Phoenix-style on-chain order books, Bubblegum-style state compression, Token-2022 confidential transfer (Solana's confidential balance primitive), and Wormhole-style cross-chain bridges. Module 1 is hybrid foundations covering the toolchains, mental models, and methodology that apply to both. Five capstones (you pick one) demonstrate mastery by shipping a working protocol primitive across whichever chain best fits the choice.
Built by Lakshya Kumar
We grant free access case-by-case — students, career-switchers, builders on a tight budget. Sign in to send us a note.
Sign in to applyComplete all modules, then submit the required number of capstone projects. Each must earn a passing rating from an admin reviewer.
Implement the full privacy-pool primitive: a circom circuit proving (note ∈ Merkle tree) ∧ (nullifier hash matches), a Solidity contract that accepts fixed-denomination deposits and verifies withdrawals against the Groth16 verifier, and a TypeScript client that generates proofs. Demonstrate a deposit from address A and a withdrawal to address B with no on-chain link. Document anonymity set considerations and one realistic side-channel attack. ~150 lines of circom, ~250 lines of Solidity, ~200 lines of TS.
Paste this into any AI chat. Fill in the bracketed parts with your context — you'll get back a straight answer on whether this belongs on your plate.
I am learning to build first-iteration toy versions of major Ethereum and Solana protocols — Optimism (optimistic rollups), zkSync (zk-rollups), Tornado Cash / ZCash (privacy pools), EigenLayer (restaking), ERC-4337 (account abstraction), Phoenix (on-chain CLOB), Bubblegum (state compression), Token-2022 confidential transfer, and Wormhole (guardian bridge). The goal is to build the load-bearing mechanism of each in <500 lines and understand the design space across both chains. Help me work through the mechanics with reference to real contracts, real programs, real specs, and real exploits.
Implement a minimal on-chain order book in Anchor: slab allocator for orders, limit + market order instructions, price-time priority matching, basic self-trade prevention. Support a 100-order book, demonstrate correct matching across multiple price levels, and document the CU cost per instruction. ~400 lines of Rust.
Build a minimal optimistic rollup against a forked L1: a sequencer that orders L2 transactions, a batcher that posts compressed batches to L1, a state oracle that publishes L2 state roots, and a single-round fraud-proof game. Demonstrate a successful happy-path deposit and withdrawal AND a successful challenge of a malicious state root. ~600 lines of Solidity, ~250 lines of TypeScript.
Implement a minimal confidential balance system: a Token-2022 mint with confidential transfer extension enabled, deposit/transfer/withdraw flows leveraging the SPL ZK Token program, optional auditor key for selective disclosure. Demonstrate that on-chain inspection cannot reveal balances but the auditor key can. ~400 lines of Anchor + TS client.
Implement a lock-mint bridge between Solana and EVM (Anvil): a Lock program on Solana, a Mint contract on EVM, a 3-of-5 guardian signer set, an off-chain relayer that observes Solana events and submits signed messages to the destination. Demonstrate end-to-end transfer with replay protection. ~400 lines total.
Reference implementation for the privacy-pool module.