0xCASTLE
What is 0xCastle
During Eth London, I overheard a group talking about cryptography and heard them mention 0xCASTLE. I was intrigued because the characters “s,t,l” aren’t hex characters. After hacking for a while, I saw a pamphlet in the smoking area describing 0xCastle. It sounded like a conspiracy about a cryptography event. A weird cryptography event taking place after ETH Berlin.
After recovering from the hackathon a week later, it popped into my mind again. I went to their website and started learning more about it: 0xCASTLE. I noticed that the Cambridge Blockchain Society was sponsoring the event, so I reached out to them since I was with them at the time. After a couple of weeks of back and forth, my accommodation was covered since they were a sponsor of the event. I then arranged my flights five days before the event and flew to Berlin for the last day of ETH Berlin.
ETH Berlin
Half asleep and with no internet, I navigated Berlin to the venue. My time at ETH Berlin was limited, but I saw some familiar faces and met some anon people IRL. It was great! I also had the chance to support a friend’s submission, which was awesome. I scooped up the remaining merch, spoke with Vitalik momentarily, watched the finalists, and then met with the group at the coach. After a grueling two-hour journey trying my best to stay awake, we arrived at Crypto Castle Leipzig. I ran to my sponsored room, which looked like the peasants' corner with a ceiling so low even I had to crouch.
Overview
During the five-day retreat, I met amazing people from around the globe. I was exposed to some of the latest advancements in ZK research, such as optimization in multivariate polynomials using Binius. The castle views were amazing, and I got to understand the inner workings of key cryptography a lot more! I also presented a talk about the current and future research of FHE, giving a thorough overview of where it sits and clearly outlining the novelty it brings. Some people reached out to me afterward, and we had fruitful discussions about where we see the technology going.
As the final days were nearing, I got to learn a lot more about other people’s journeys. I found a lot more peace regarding the specific situation I was in, and I was encouraged to enjoy the journey more. I made amazing friends and got sponsored to go to another conference. I’d be happy to discuss how that happened face to face if our paths ever cross!