Rex sits down with Drew Van Der Werff, founder of Commit-Boost and Fabric, to talk about the future of Ethereum block production: from validator autonomy and pre-confirmations to full-slot auctions, inclusion lists, and what a more robust PBS pipeline might look like. They dig into how Commit-Boost turns the validator stack into an “app store” for block construction, why derivatives on blockspace could actually stabilize Ethereum, and where TEEs fit (or don’t) alongside ZK. The conversation zooms out to the state of the Ethereum social layer, the role of the EF and client teams, and why Drew splits his time between cutting-edge protocol work and running a very real-world American machine shop.

Referenced Links:

• Previous conversation with Drew Van Der Werff
• Opportunities and Considerations of Ethereum’s Blockspace Future
• Grounded Relay: Superpowers from Relay Coordination