After Titania Research House #2
category
Null
date
Aug 28, 2024
slug
mev-research-house
type
Event
lang
en
status
Published
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Author: vita
From August 20th to 27th, we held an MEV research house in Shibuya. Compared to our previous house, the scale was larger, with about 10 people staying permanently and an additional 5 people accommodated flexibly.
We also hosted a private event on the 24th and organized an event called MEV TOKYO on the 25th and 26th. Overall, we were joined by a group of passionate participants, creating a comfortable space where enthusiasm and curiosity melded together, with discussions continuing under the whiteboard until the early hours of the morning.
In this post, we are organizing our reflections and learnings for those who might want to plan similar research houses in the future, as well as for those who unfortunately couldn't participate this time.
Reflection
Around June of this year, Yuki sent me a message saying, "I'm curious about what the Titania Research people will do during ETH Tokyo," so we decided to host a research house and event. In order to hold a house and event, we needed sponsors, housemates, and speakers, so we had to reach out to various people.
We aimed to provide a space for education and discussion that captured the problem solving of Ethereum, so we reached out to each candidate in line with our goal. Specifically, we wanted to solve the following. I will reuse the notes from that time as they are.
- For Japanese talent (students, engineers, researchers): Although they have research and development fields related to Ethereum, they have limited contact with Ethereum researchers, developers, and related information, making it difficult to convey the MEV industry and its challenges.
- For talent outside Japan (students, engineers, researchers): While many Ethereum-related engineers and researchers stay in Tokyo, they also have limited connections, and there are few opportunities to discuss MEV (in English).
Time passed, the house started and overall, people from Ethereum Foundation, Aestus Relay, Shtuka Research, PBS Foundation, Sorella Labs, Mycel, Nethermind and others gathered and spent the evening together (and others). various other people attended).
The house was an environment where discussions would continue under a whiteboard until the early hours of the morning, and everyone viewed it positively. I think we were able to fulfill our role as a research house. Seeing researchers and developers from various backgrounds discussing things night after night really made me realize the value of the house.
On the 24th, we held a private event, which was attended by about 20 to 30 people. In the session, Lin from Nethermind spoke about Preconfirmation, Yosui from Mycel spoke about Chain Abstraction, Tei from Titania Research spoke about how to sell block space, and Aata from Shtuka Research spoke about Physical Unclonable Functions.
Overall, there were good discussions, and it was a comfortable atmosphere where enthusiasm and curiosity blended together. I feel that the participants were satisfied.
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On August 25th, we held the first day of MEV TOKYO, featuring presentations from Tomasz of Nethermind, Barnabé from the Ethereum Foundation, and Terry from Eclipse. The main topics covered included TEEs (Trusted Execution Environments), Multiple Concurrent Block Proposers, and Solana's Fee Mechanism.
On August 26th, we held the second day of MEV TOKYO, featuring presentations from Yuki of Sorella Labs, Ugur from API3, and Markus from PropellerHeads. The main topics covered included App-specific Sequencing, Oracle Auctions, and Mechanism Design in the MEV Supply Chain. On both days, despite some minor operational hiccups, the events were fulfilling, surrounded by a highly engaged audience. The atmosphere was rich with intellectual discourse and enthusiasm from the participants.
Reflections and Learnings
Overall, we can say that this research house was a success. Through discussions with diverse participants, we were able to share high-quality information and opportunities. So, what were the factors that contributed to the success of this research house?
Actually, this was our second research house, as we had conducted a smaller-scale house six months ago. In a previous post, we detailed the reflections and learnings from that time, but the previous house could hardly be called a success. By observing the differences between the previous and current houses, we might be able to help those who wish to organize similar houses in the future.The first major difference is the increased number of people we were able to involve. The previous house was held in a small location on the outskirts of Akabane, with only Titania members staying there. Most of the costs were covered by members' own pocket money.
This time, we gathered sponsors, rented a large house in a good location, and attracted core Ethereum people to stay and participate besides ourselves. This led to a diverse house environment that promoted discussions.
The success wasn't due to any special effort on my part to gather sponsors compared to last time. Rather, the impact of the previous house played a significant role. In the previous house, due to my lack of ability, we couldn't secure corporate sponsors (I'm very grateful to Tsukumo who provided personal sponsorship).
However, the impact of holding the house despite difficulties resulted in obtaining an EF Grant, implementing FBA, inspiring other houses and organizations like Titania Research, and accumulating recognition and trust within the community.
Thanks to these efforts, I believe more people were willing to help with this house. From my perspective, I re-recognized the importance of building up small things. This is a significant learning.
Reflections
As for points of reflection, the main issue (primarily on my part) was the lack of planning in event organization and execution. We felt the negative impacts of this lack of planning, such as catering not going smoothly, spontaneously planning unscheduled events, and failing to decide on topics for the house period. I feel it would be beneficial to include someone with strong planning skills in the event organization and execution team.
Thank you to all our sponsors!
Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all our sponsors who supported MEV TOKYO, either because they resonated with our vision or because they believed in me. Thanks to our sponsors, we were able to create an incredible space. Similarly, I want to thank the team at Centrum for providing us with the event venue, and all the speakers who took the stage. Thanks to everyone's contributions, we gained deep insights. Thank you all very much!
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