Gav’s Ethereum ÐΞV Update II

Gav's Ethereum ðΞV Update II: A Comprehensive Look at the Latest Developments

Recruitment and Progress in Zug, Switzerland

Gavin Andresen, one of the three directors of Ethereum ðΞV, has been keeping busy with recruitment efforts in Bucharest, Romania. Alongside Mihai Alisie and Roxanna Sureanu, he has been working to build a strong team of developers and engineers. Recently, he spent a week at his home in Zug, Switzerland, where he made significant progress on the Whisper protocol, a secure identity-based communications system.

Whisper is a crucial component of the Ethereum ecosystem, enabling secure and private communication between users. Gavin's work on Whisper has resulted in a functional prototype, with a small IRC-like ÐApp demonstrating its ease of use. For those interested in learning more about Whisper, the Ethereum GitHub wiki provides detailed information, and a screenshot of the prototype can be found on Gavin's Twitter feed.

ðΞVHUB Berlin: A Hub for Innovation and Collaboration

In Berlin, Sarah has been busy preparing the ðΞVHUB, a hub for innovation and collaboration. The hub is nearing completion, with a target move-in date of mid-November. Gavin is particularly excited about the hub's 1970s-style barrista espresso machine, which will provide a unique and welcoming space for developers and engineers.

Christian Vömel has joined the team in Berlin as the Office Manager of ðΞVHUB Berlin. With years of experience in international environments and a background in office management, Christian will help take some of the load off the company secretary, Aeron Buchanan.

The Growing Team

Ethereum ðΞV has finalized several new hires in recent weeks, including:

Lefteris Karapetsas, a network engineer with experience in state-of-the-art network traffic analysis and deep-packet inspection systems. He will be working on auditing network protocols and contributing to the NatSpec project, a cornerstone of the transaction security model.
Ian Meikle, a videographer who co-authored the impressive "Koyaanis-glitchy" Ethereum brand video. He will be joining the communications team to help with strategy and coordination.
Texture, a designer with a passion for Ethereum and a keen eye for design. He will be working on the communications team to help with strategy and coordination.
Ken Kappler, who will be handling developer education direction, hackathons, Ethereum curriculum, and university partnerships.
George Hallam, who will be evangelizing Ethereum to startups and partners, boosting the reach of the formal network, and helping Stephan with the quest of having everybody know what Ethereum is and how it can help them.

Further Developments

Aside from the progress on Whisper and PoC-7, several other developments are underway:

Christoph has been continuing his great work on the tests repository, ensuring that the Ethereum codebase is thoroughly tested and reliable.
Christian has made significant progress on the Solidity language, recently placing the first Solidity-compiled program onto the testnet blockchain.
Marek has been moving C++ over to a JSON-RPC and JavaScript front-end, fundamentally unifying and binding the Go client.
Alex has been grappling with the C++ crypto back-end, reducing bloat and extraneous dependencies.

Education Partnerships and the Formation of a Network of Chapters

The communications team has been in contact with world-class education establishments regarding the possibility of education partnerships and the formation of a network of chapters both in the UK and internationally. This is an exciting development that will help spread the knowledge and adoption of Ethereum.

Polish Partners at IMAPP: A JIT-Compiled LLVM-Based EVM Implementation

The Polish partners at IMAPP have completed their first implementation of the JIT-compiled LLVM-based EVM implementation. They are reporting an average of 30x speedup (as high as 100x!) for non-external EVM instructions over the already best-in-class basic C++-based EVM implementation. This is a significant achievement that will help improve the performance and efficiency of the Ethereum network.

Conclusion

Ethereum ðΞV is making significant progress on various fronts, from the development of Whisper and PoC-7 to the growth of the team and the expansion of education partnerships. The Polish partners at IMAPP have achieved a remarkable milestone with their JIT-compiled LLVM-based EVM implementation. As the Ethereum ecosystem continues to evolve, it is exciting to think about the possibilities and opportunities that lie ahead.

Source: https://blog.ethereum.org/en/2014/11/01/gavs-ethereum-dev-update-ii