Meeting Summary:
The Encrypted Memo Pool number 5 meeting focused on discussing progress and next steps for implementing encrypted mempools in Ethereum. Yannick presented a draft roadmap outlining core tasks needed for the protocol change and ecosystem updates, including finalizing the EIP, developing execution and consensus specs, and client implementations. The team discussed building on frame transactions as an alternative approach, with Jannik explaining how frame transactions could enable better enforcement of encryption rules through transaction invalidity. Justin shared progress on the execution specs, which currently stand at 14,000 lines and are based on the Bogota branch. The group also discussed the Encrypted Mempool Coalition launch, with Anthony announcing plans to unveil a website and tweet campaign tomorrow featuring approximately 20 partner organizations. Loring presented funding opportunities, including $6,000 from the DAO Security Fund QF round and potential additional funding through Shutter Champions Melee 2, suggesting the use of social bounties to incentivize specific engineering milestones and gather community support. Gottfried provided critical feedback on the Lucid proposal, highlighting security concerns and suggesting caution against overselling the solution as a complete fix, while also noting the need for post-quantum security improvements.
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The meeting began with technical difficulties as participants experienced issues joining the original meeting link. After resolving the connection problems, Justin welcomed everyone to Encrypted Memo Pool number 5 and outlined the agenda, which included discussions on reaching SFI, frame transactions, and continuing support from consensus developers. Yannick was set to present draft roadmap suggestions, and Anthony was expected to discuss the encrypted mempool coalition, while Loring had news about funding.
Jannik presented a draft EIP process document outlining work tasks split into core protocol changes and ecosystem requirements, with assigned responsibilities for each task. Justin suggested adding Jannik as a collaborator to his LucidPM GitHub repository to track project artifacts and status, and proposed using the issue tracker to assign tasks. Justin also shared progress on the execution specs, which are currently in draft form and require significant review, noting that framed transactions are still pending their own execution specs.
Jannik presented an alternative approach to frame transactions using the encrypted mempool project with Primeth, which relies on beta commitments and requires two signatures from both the user and builder to enforce rules. Justin requested that Jannik document and share this design for review with Anders. Gottfried raised a technical concern about implementing this approach with frame transactions, particularly regarding the integration of sealed tickets with execution blocks and the need for customizable authentication mechanisms, especially for post-quantum security considerations.
Justin and Gottfried discussed the need for post-quantum security on transaction signatures and tickets, identifying this as necessary for security reasons. They explored the concept of anonymous paymasters as an UX improvement, particularly for using Tornado cash pools, though this remains more of a technical consideration than a strict requirement. Justin agreed to design use cases demonstrating these ideas and will consult with Anders about the implementation. The team also identified the need for additional work on execution spec tests, particularly for corner cases and use cases defined in the EIP, with a request for someone experienced in CLSpec work to partner on this effort.
Justin discussed recruiting needs for writing consensus specs and implementing an EL client in Besu. He planned to add these tasks to the Lucid PM project for recruitment purposes. The discussion touched on whether multiple implementations should be pursued in parallel, with Justin noting that while it wouldn’t be problematic, it would require additional coordination. Loring mentioned that the Aragon client had been a primary advocate for Lucid during previous discussions and expressed interest in developing the encrypted mempool EIP.
Anthony announced the launch of a Memphis Coalition campaign tomorrow featuring a website and tweet announcement to generate awareness and build momentum. The coalition currently has around 20 partner organizations including Besu, BGCS, Aragon, and Fairblocks, with plans to continue growing the list. Justin agreed to create the next issue for the working group call after the meeting so Anthony could include it on the website.
The team discussed how to allocate approximately $6,000 in funding from various sources including the DAO Security Fund and potential future funding from Shutter DAO. Loring proposed using social bounties as a way to incentivize different stakeholders in the Ethereum ecosystem to contribute to encrypting the mempool, suggesting this approach could serve both technical and marketing purposes by demonstrating community support. Gottfried raised important security concerns about the Lucid proposal, identifying specific issues and advocating for more balanced marketing that doesn’t oversell any single solution, while also suggesting alternative approaches that could address some of the current limitations.
Next Steps:
- Justin: Add Jannik as a collaborator to the LucidPM GitHub repository for tracking project status and artifacts.
- Justin: Put TBD items (execution spec tests, Hive tests, EL client implementation, CL client implementation) into the LucidPM project tracker and use it as an artifact to recruit contributors.
- Justin: Create the next working group call issue (GitHub issue) so Anthony can add it to the coalition website.
- Justin: Run the frame transactions + encrypted mempool design idea by Anders to get his feedback.
- Justin: Talk to CL/Seahill devs to figure out what should go into a blurb for recruiting a consensus spec writer.
- Justin: Design/diagram use cases that exemplify the anonymous paymaster concept using frame transactions (e.g., Railgun-based anonymous paymaster for ST ticket sender).
- Justin: Continue thinking about whether the $6,000 funding is better spent on engineering bounties or marketing.
- Justin: Ask around for opinions from people who know more about funding on how to best use the available money.
- Jannik: Write up the frame transactions + encrypted mempool design (dual-signature builder commitment protocol) and share it with the group.
- Loring: Reach out to Aragon client team about their interest in developing/implementing the encrypted mempool EIP, given their prior advocacy during Pectra discussions.
- Loring: Drop details about Octant Epoch 12 and Shutter Champions Melee 2 funding opportunities in the Telegram chat.
- Loring: Explore creating social bounties for specific engineering milestones (e.g., consensus client team writing the spec) seeded with the ~$6,000 from the Gitcoin QF round.
- Anthony: Update the coalition website to caveat Lucid as a draft/evolving proposal rather than the single definitive solution, and emphasize openness to input and revision.
- Anthony: Launch the encrypted mempool coalition website and tweet announcement tomorrow, encouraging the group to like, share, and retweet.
- Anthony: Share the coalition website link in the main chat for review and invite feedback/edits before launch.
- Gottfried: Write up a comprehensive public criticism/security analysis of Lucid, including the identified security-critical bug and concerns about the “future-proofness/agnosticism” framing.
- Gottfried: Review the coalition website before launch and suggest edits, particularly around claims of future-proofness and agnosticism.
Recording Access: