Recent Security Incidents in the Ethereum Ecosystem

Time:  11:00 on 8.5.2026

Abstract:  Recent months have seen a surge of high-profile exploits across the Ethereum and DeFi ecosystem. Attackers are increasingly using multi-step exploit chains that combine technical flaws with social engineering and governance attacks. This talk explores how these incidents reveal systemic risks from protocol composability and assumed trust assumptions. We will take a look at how these incidents occurred, what lessons we can learn, and point out directions for preventative research.

Bio: Jan is a co-founder of Zircuit. He is an experienced researcher in algorithm design and formal methods and is interested in all things such as rollups, plasma, and beyond. At Zircuit, Jan's research is focused on decentralized finance, zero-knowledge proofs, and security. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo in 2022.

Market Microstructure and Performance Evaluation in Prediction Markets

Time:  14:00 on 9.5.2026

Abstract:  Drawing on comparative approaches in the literature, this talk examines market microstructure and performance of prediction markets, focusing on the differences between market scoring rule (MSR) automated market makers and continuous double auction (CDA) order-book markets.  It explores how different trading mechanisms affect information aggregation, price formation, and signal responsiveness while conceptually evaluating prediction markets across multiple dimensions.

Bio: Krzysztof (a.k.a. Kris) is a researcher and entrepreneur working on cryptoeconomics, mechanism design, and decentralized market infrastructure. He is affiliated with the Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), the IEEE Blockchain Austria Group and Token Engineering Labs. His work focuses on prediction markets, market microstructure, and the design of information markets for decentralized systems.

An Arbitrary Mean-Rate Exchange Protocol 

Time:  11:00 on 9.5.2026

Abstract: This talk introduces a new mathematical framework, from which a previously unreported, generalizable, decentralized exchange (DEX) protocol emerges which ameliorates the expressive limitations of prevailing archetypes.

Bio:  Mark holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne, redirected his career from research science to DeFi in 2021, now serving as Bancor's Project Lead. Under his guidance, Bancor launched Carbon DeFi, a system that enhances user customization in decentralized exchanges by enabling strategy-specific liquidity utilization. Mark's leadership emphasizes consistent innovation while maintaining the key principles of decentralization, user safety, and operational simplicity.