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Artwork for Ready for Merge

Ready for Merge

Christine D. Kim
Ethereum
Bitcoin Core
Bitcoin
Fusaka
Fusaka Upgrade
Glamster Dam
Layer 1 Scaling
Layer 2 Scaling
Merge
M-U-Sig 2
Geth
Pectra
Blob Transactions
Utreexo
Glamsterdam
Hegota
Lucid
Adversarial Thinking
The Merge
Cluster Mempool Working Group

A podcast about what’s ready for merge in Ethereum and Bitcoin Core— the world’s most valuable open-source protocols. christinedkim.substack.com

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes27Founded8 months ago
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Artwork for Ready for Merge

Latest Episodes

In this Ready for Merge episode, Christine D. Kim interviews Philip Ngo, a developer working on the Ethereum consensus layer (CL) client, Lodestar. Phil recounts his transition from the Canadian Armed Forces to working full-time on Lodestar for Chain... more

In this Ready for Merge episode, Christine D. Kim discusses the fallout from the KelpDAO and Layer Zero exploit. For many, this incident is radically redefining what decentralised finance (DeFi) means and the true value of blockchain-based applicatio... more

Meet Tomás, one of the lead maintainers of Ethrex, a minimalist Ethereum execution layer (EL) client written in Rust.

Before working in crypto, Tomás was a software engineer working on projects related to robotics, tourism, and video games.

A few ... more

Christine D. Kim shares high-level updates on the upgrades planned for Bitcoin Core and Ethereum. She also dives into groundbreaking findings by the Google Quantum AI team on the feasibility of quantum attacks on public blockchains, and the responses... more

In this episode, Christine D. Kim discusses Bitcoin developer community-building, culture, and events with niftynei from Bitcoin++ and Charlie Spears from Blockspace Media.

This interview was recorded on April 1, 2026.

Timestamps:

(1:23) What Cha... more

In this episode of Ready for Merge, Christine D. Kim shares a biweekly brief on the latest Bitcoin and Ethereum protocol developments, covering Ethereum’s upcoming Glamsterdam and Hegota upgrades alongside the nearing release of Bitcoin Core v31. Thi... more

Meet Mark, a developer working for Sigma Prime on the Ethereum consensus layer (CL) client, Lighthouse.

In 2013, Mark first heard about Bitcoin in a rap song. Three years later, the DAO hack introduced him to Ethereum — and set him on a path that wo... more

Meet Preston, a developer working for Offchain Labs on the Ethereum consensus layer (CL) client, Prysm.

Preston’s biggest contribution to Ethereum development is co-founding the Prysm team. Preston, along with three other developers, formed the firs... more

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Recent Guests

Mark Mackey
Lighthouse Client Dev, Ethereum core developer
Lighthouse (Sigma Prime)
Episode: Ready for Merge Ep. 21 👾
Preston van Loon
Ethereum Core Developer, Prysmatic Labs founder
Prysmatic Labs / Prysm
Episode: Ready for Merge Ep. 20 👾
Jannik Luhn
Researcher and engineer at Brainbot; EIP champion for EEM
Brainbot
Episode: Ready for Merge Ep. 18 👾
Justin Florentine
Besu client developer at Consensys; Lucid EIP Champion
Consensys
Episode: Ready for Merge Ep. 18 👾
Jihoon Song
Researcher at the Ethereum Foundation; Protocol Prototyping team; Fossil EIP champion
Ethereum Foundation
Episode: Ready for Merge Ep. 17 👾
Calvin Kim
Bitcoin protocol developer working on Utreexo
Utreexo project
Episode: MTD: Calvin Kim (Utreexo)

Host

Christine D. Kim
Host of the Ready for Merge podcast series, with a focus on Ethereum and Bitcoin protocol developments, upgrades, and industry impact.

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Ready for Merge Ep. 21 👾
Q: What do you like most about being an Ethereum client developer, and what's challenging?
He loves working on something bigger than himself and seeing his contributions matter, while noting the pressure and high stakes of avoiding mistakes that could impact the network.
Ready for Merge Ep. 21 👾
Q: What advice would you give to someone wanting to get involved in Ethereum protocol development?
Passion for Ethereum is crucial, along with building programming skills in at least one client language and contributing to teams like Lighthouse, Nimbus, or Teku; humility and openness to learn help newcomers get their ideas heard and potentially influence protocol direction.
Ready for Merge Ep. 21 👾
Q: How has your governance involvement evolved over the years, especially around fork decisions?
He explains becoming more involved in decisions for what goes into forks, notably advocating for MacCB, participating in Electra discussions, and bridging researchers with client teams to align on medium- and long-term roadmap goals.
Ready for Merge Ep. 21 👾
Q: What were you doing before working on Lighthouse, before you joined Sigma Prime?
Mark describes how he moved from general programming interest to Ethereum involvement around 2018, pursued Rust, contributed on the side, and eventually joined Sigma Prime after a period of freelance contributions and networking with directors like Paul Hanner.
Ready for Merge Ep. 20 👾
Q: What year did you go full-time on Prysm, and what influenced that decision?
We went full-time in 2019 after securing substantial grants and signals from the community, including a notable ETH donation, which allowed us to quit our day jobs and focus on Prysm and Ethereum core development.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Ready for Merge

What is Ready for Merge about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The show covers the cutting edge of Bitcoin and Ethereum protocol development, with a focus on major upgrades, client readiness, and the practical implications for developers, miners, and investors. Episodes frequently dissect upcoming upgrades (such as Fusaka) and core protocol changes (Merge, EIP/BIP proposals), while also shedding light on project governance, testing, and community feedback. A notable throughline is the emphasis on release discipline, interoperability between layer1 and layer2, and the real-world impact of protocol decisions on performance, security, and economics. The format often pairs technical explanation with practitioner perspectives from core developers and ecosystem contributors, making it accessible to listeners... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Ready for Merge?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Ready for Merge:

1. The Daily Gwei - An Ethereum Podcast
2. Zero Knowledge
3. Bell Curve
4. ETH Daily - Ethereum News Briefing
5. The DeFi Report

How many episodes of Ready for Merge are there?

Ready for Merge launched 8 months ago and published 27 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Ready for Merge?

Recent guests on Ready for Merge include:

1. Mark Mackey
2. Preston van Loon
3. Jannik Luhn
4. Justin Florentine
5. Jihoon Song
6. Calvin Kim

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