Tech
The new era of ZK trials
It is becoming increasingly common to use blockchains directly as smart contracts proliferate in adoption. But in an environment where everyone uses them, people will expect unwavering performance, privacy and security – and only Zero Knowledge encryption can help achieve all three.
Zero Knowledge Proofs, or ZKP for short, are an important branch of cryptography that has been widely adopted in many blockchain applications. They allow users to prove certain claims without revealing data, which can be helpful for both scalability and privacy. A prime example of their application is ZCash, a coin where zk proofs are used to prove that a transaction is valid by revealing the sender, recipient or amount of the transaction, thus achieving maximum privacy.
As the on-chain landscape evolves, privacy and security must keep pace to foster an open and trustworthy environment.
Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum, has been highlighting the importance of advanced ZKP systems since 2016, including them as pillars of the Ethereum roadmap.
In a recent sendButerin presented potential most efficient algorithm to improve ZKPs and encouraged users and developers to explore and innovate further.
Zero Knowledge technology is a branch of fundamental science driven and funded primarily by crypto projects. Here we will discuss several innovative projects that have all contributed to the advancement of ZKPs.
Testing SQL across space and time
Transparency is critical to analyzing and using data reliably, but it is also potentially costly and dangerous, depending on the volume and sensitivity of the data.
Space and Time, a startup backed by Microsoft VC and Samsung Next, focuses on developing one of the most efficient ZK proofs specifically for data recovery.
It relies on a network of nodes to store and process data, and with its AI technology, it is able to provide very fast ZKP, relying on both on-chain and off-chain data. They developed a system called HTAP (Hybrid Transactional/Analytical Processing), which allows complex queries to be run in near real-time with data from a blockchain.
However, Space and Time’s most significant innovation lies in their implementation SQL test, a new use of zero-knowledge proofs. This approach allows users to cryptographically validate the accuracy of SQL data queries, providing cryptographic trust to the collected data.
Such technology opens up new frontiers for improving both data processing and analytics, facilitating things like off-chain order records for DeFi protocols or reliable analytics and rankings for GameFi and NFTs – and in the future, likely many more applications in the real world.
The polygon scales with zkEVM
Polygon is known as a fast and cheap network, but it will still eventually reach the limits of a basic L1 blockchain.
A multi-tiered scaling approach helps balance large transaction loads, keeping transactions accessible for users. Polygon, for its scalability journey, has chosen to bet everything on ZK, acquiring multiple research and product teams working to advance Zero Knowledge.
Polygon zkEVM, launched in March 2023, was the first EVM-capable Layer-2 that uses zk-rollup technology to save costs and improve performance.
zk-rollup improves network scalability by leveraging cryptographic techniques enabled by ZKPs to quickly verify the validity of data published on-chain. By compressing transaction data and verifying it with zk-proof, zkEVM can reduce gas rates by more than 90%.
Aztec(s): Pioneers of blockchain privacy
Aztec is one of the best-known blockchain privacy pioneers, having worked on the advancement of ZK technology for over 6 years now.
Over the years they have made significant contributions to the broader ZKP space, for example by implementing it PLONKa proof-of-concept system for ZKPs that was more powerful and decentralized than any previous product (and yet has now been replaced).
Aztec is working on both a scalable and private L2, using ZKPs at full capacity. It previously implemented zk.money, a privacy layer for asset transfers that used a proprietary UTXO system.
The vision behind the project is to offer a completely private rollup, allowing people to store data and transactions privately on an encrypted blockchain. One of the most interesting and complex challenges faced by Aztec is the creation of Noir, a private language for smart contracts that would be compatible with circuits, or the data base that can be verified with ZKPs.
The project will soon launch a testnet of its private L2, finally giving users a taste of its 6+ years of research and development.
zkSync bets on scaling Ethereum
ZkSync by Matter Labs is another “old” project that continued the development of ZKP. It specifically focuses on offering more convenient and faster transactions in the Ethereum ecosystem, such as with their flagship product zkSync Era.
zkSync Era is a zk-rollup that combines multiple transactions into a single proof processed off-chain, substantially increasing Ethereum’s transaction throughput.
Era was designed to be as EVM compatible as possible despite not being an EVM itself. However, it supports Solidity and Vyper languages, as well as tools like Hardhat and Foundry. It is also fully functional and performant without compromising ZK proof, improving the overall experience for developers and users.
It focused on a more commercial approach, implementing “Hyperchain,” a network of interconnected zkSync-based rollups that would allow developers to deploy their own high-performance chains. He also partnered with Space and Time to provide users with verifiable zkSync and hyperchain data, promoting collaboration among ZK industry peers.
The era of ZK is ever closer. After years of intense development, many projects are now ready to go fully online and take advantage of the enormous advantages of this technology. The question now is: how will dApp developers make use of it?