Alexandr Vlasov

Alexandr Vlasov is a co-founder and the Head of Research & Development (R&D) at Matter Labs, a company at the forefront of scaling the Ethereum blockchain using zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs). His work at Matter Labs is instrumental in developing zkSync, a Layer 2 scaling solution designed to enhance transaction throughput and reduce gas fees on Ethereum, while maintaining its security. Matter Labs' technology, particularly zkSync, has found application within the blockchain gaming and decentralized casino sectors, offering infrastructure for next-generation crypto casinos and gambling decentralized applications (dApps) like the zkSync-based slots and dice platform, JackpotX.

Before co-founding Matter Labs, Vlasov served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of BANKEX Foundation. His academic background is robust, holding a Master of Science in Physics from Moscow State University and a PhD in Electrical Engineering, and he was also a PhD Candidate at McGill University in Montreal. He is a Russian nuclear physicist with extensive experience in plasma environments and scaling solutions, which made him a key participant in early discussions about plasma technology during the blockchain revolution.

Vlasov, alongside Alex Gluchowski, founded Matter Labs in 2018 with a vision to accelerate the mainstream adoption of public blockchains. Their collaboration at Defcon in 2018 was a pivotal moment, combining their strengths—Vlasov's ability to write efficient code rapidly and Gluchowski's meticulous approach to code development—to create zkSync. The company has secured significant funding, including a $200 million Series C round, and its technology is being adopted across various applications, including tokenization, gaming, and social use cases, with a roadmap targeting high transaction per second capabilities.

He has been involved in a high-profile lawsuit where Bankex accused him and Petr Korolev of intellectual property theft, alleging they stole technology to start Matter Labs while working on the Plasma project. Matter Labs has asserted that these claims are without merit and that zkSync is original technology.