# Zak Cole

Ethereum Core Developer | Founder @ ECF | CEO @ Number Group

## Quick Links

- 🌐 [Website](https://zscole.github.io)
- 🐦 [Twitter/X: @0xzak](https://twitter.com/0xzak)
- 💻 [GitHub: zscole](https://github.com/zscole)
- 📧 [Email: zak@ethcf.org](mailto:zak@ethcf.org)
- 🔗 ENS: zak.eth

## About Me

I'm Zak Cole. I develop infrastructure for Ethereum and build venture-scale companies.

### Just Shipped

- **[SafeTools](https://www.safetools.io)** - EIP-712 message signing for Gnosis Safe
  - Prove Safe ownership with EIP-1271 verification
- **[Blobkit](https://blobkit.org)** - TypeScript SDK for Ethereum blob transactions
  - [GitHub](https://github.com/ETHCF/blobkit) | 10-100x cheaper than calldata
- **[$BETH](https://etherscan.io/token/0x2cb662Ec360C34a45d7cA0126BCd53C9a1fd48F9)** - Immutable ERC-20 representing provably burned ETH
  - [GitHub](https://github.com/ETHCF/beth) | [Announcement](https://x.com/0xzak/status/1961254142464172190)
- **Founded [Ethereum Community Foundation](https://ethcf.org)** - July 2024
  - We're taking ETH to $10,000. Not a meme.

### Currently Building

- **[Ethereum Community Foundation](https://ethcf.org)** - Founder. ETH to $10K
- **[Number Group](https://numbergroup.xyz)** - CEO & Managing Partner. Venture studio
- **[0xbow](https://0xbow.io)** - Co-founder. Privacy preserving DeFi infrastructure
- **[Privacy Pools](https://privacypools.com)** - Co-founder. Compliant privacy

### Successful Exits

- **[Slingshot](https://slingshot.finance)** - Co-founded & CTO. DEX aggregator. ACQUIRED ✓
- **[Code4rena](https://code4rena.com/)** - Co-founded. $100M+ in bugs found. ACQUIRED ✓
- **[Whiteblock](https://eng.ambcrypto.com/ethereum-is-money-asserts-whiteblocks-zak-cole/)** - Founded. Proved EOS wasn't a blockchain. ACQUIRED ✓

### Also Built

- **[Corn](https://usecorn.com)** - Co-founded. BTCFi
- **[Canto](https://canto.io/)** - Former core contributor
- **[EIP-6968](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-6968)** - Authored. Contract Secured Revenue
- **EEA Testing Working Group** - Founded and led it

### Background

- **U.S. Marine Corps** - Built networks in Iraq (2007-2008)
- **Google** - Learned how to scale things that matter
- **[Ethereum Research](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GUDdAy8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao)** - Published stuff people actually read

### Investments

- Angel investor in too many projects to list
- Previously advised Cryptex, DeFi Pulse, Syscoin, and more
- Now I just build through [Number Group](https://numbergroup.xyz)

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## Media & Speaking

### Featured Documentary
- [Ethereum in Crisis: Price, Politics, and the Fight for Power](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20zFEDQdKl8) - Cointelegraph

### Recent Talks & Podcasts
- [The Decentralized Future of Ethereum](https://www.youtube.com/live/wRgvt5afm54) - Ethereum Community Conference
- [Governance and Community Building](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhA-ezQO_wI) - Austin Griffith
- [Funding Public Goods](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS4-zOfoKAE) - Green Pill
- [Web3 Policy and Regulation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRdkYgdbyIM) - Pretty Good Policy
- [ETHDenver: The Future of DeFi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_S79X7F1Cs) - Panel Discussion
- [Ethereum Protocol Development](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au1Qll-86v0) - Ethereum Foundation

### Press Coverage
- [CoinDesk: $3M Was Stolen, But The Real Steal Is These Kia Sedonas](https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2021/09/17/3m-was-stolen-but-the-real-steal-is-these-kia-sedonas-say-anonymous-developers)
- [Decrypt: Like an Esport - How OpenSea Secured Its Code](https://decrypt.co/105173/like-an-esport-how-opensea-secured-its-code-with-code4renas-audit-contest)
- [Business Insider: Rich Young Men & The Eames Chair Trend](https://www.businessinsider.com/rich-young-men-herman-miller-eames-chair-trend-2024-4)
- [Blockworks: What It Takes to Halt a Decentralized Blockchain](https://blockworks.co/news/what-it-takes-to-halt-a-decentralized-blockchain-like-binance)

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## Technical Expertise

- Ethereum protocol development
- Smart contract security
- DeFi infrastructure
- Blockchain testing and validation
- Layer 2 solutions
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- Privacy-preserving technologies
- EVM optimization
- Blob transactions

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## Press Kit

### Bio (Short)
Zak Cole is an Ethereum protocol engineer and founder of the Ethereum Community Foundation. He has three successful Web3 exits (Code4rena, Slingshot, Whiteblock) and authored EIP-6968. A Marine veteran and former Google engineer, he's building infrastructure to take ETH to $10K.

### Bio (Long)
Zak Cole is an Ethereum protocol engineer and serial entrepreneur who has founded multiple successful blockchain companies. As founder and CEO of the Ethereum Community Foundation (ECF), he leads initiatives to strengthen Ethereum's ecosystem and drive ETH to $10,000. Through Number Group, his venture studio, he builds critical infrastructure for the next generation of Web3 applications.

Cole authored EIP-6968 (Contract Secured Revenue), a groundbreaking standard for sustainable protocol funding, and created $BETH, an immutable ERC-20 token representing provably burned ETH. His latest project, Blobkit, is a TypeScript SDK that allows users to leverage Ethereum blob space for arbitrary data storage.

His companies Code4rena, Slingshot Finance, and Whiteblock were all successfully acquired after achieving significant milestones—Code4rena secured over $100M in bug bounties, Slingshot became a leading DEX aggregator, and Whiteblock's research proved fundamental flaws in competing blockchains.

A former Google software engineer and Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq (2007-2008), Cole combines deep technical expertise with operational excellence. He is also co-founder of 0xbow and Privacy Pools, focusing on privacy-preserving DeFi infrastructure.

### Headshot
Available at [zscole.github.io/headshot.jpeg](https://zscole.github.io/headshot.jpeg)

### Speaking Topics
- Ethereum's path to $10K
- Contract Secured Revenue (EIP-6968)
- Building sustainable Web3 companies
- Privacy-preserving DeFi
- Blockchain testing and validation
- From Marine to blockchain entrepreneur

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## Contact

- **Email**: zak@ethcf.org
- **Twitter/X**: [@0xzak](https://twitter.com/0xzak)
- **ENS**: zak.eth
- **Website**: [zscole.github.io](https://zscole.github.io)

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*Building ETH to $10K. Infrastructure > Applications.*