A quarterly report focused on zero-knowledge (ZK) technology indicates that privacy, scaling, and identity solutions are major adoption drivers in the blockchain space.
Validation service provider ZKValidator’s report titled “The State of ZK” explores the outlook for the zero-knowledge space, highlighting major and new use cases, research, product launches, and notable investment rounds.
The key point focuses on the use cases of zero-knowledge proofs (ZK proofs). This cryptographic method allows a party to verify data or a statement without exposing all of the information. Privacy stands out as the most important adoption driver in the sector, with 12.9%. Scalability is the second most prominent use case for zero-knowledge technology, at 9.46%.
Identity solutions and new zero-knowledge use cases rank third and fourth, indicating that the blockchain ecosystem is interested in exploring how zero-knowledge technology can be applied in identity management and other novel applications. . Zero Knowledge Machine Learning (ZK-ML) was also identified as the hottest new use case in the space.
The data comes from the company’s work with industry participants including ZK Hack, zkSummit, rhino.fi, Geometry and University College London. ZKValidator also collected data and information by working with the participants in the production and management of the 9th Zero Knowledge Summit, held in Lisbon on April 4.
The release of Polygon and zkSync’s zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine’s (zkEVM) was also highlighted in the zkValidator report, featuring key data from the two Ethereum scaling protocols.
After its launch over a month ago, zkSync Era has attracted more daily active users than Polygon’s zkEVM solution. The report speculates that rumors of a possible zkSync release in 2023 may be the cause of the user gap between the two zkEVMs.
The report also covers new product development, including Geometry’s Semacaulk, a new zero-knowledge set membership protocol that offers gas savings over Merkle tree constructs, while ensuring proofs can be generated. quickly and verified with approximately the same cost of gas.
The $7 million ZPrize 2022 contest helped fuel zero-knowledge technology innovation, with Android mobile multiscalar multiplication (MSM) emerging from the developer contest to foster ZK solutions. According to the ZKValidator report, MSM improved proof generation time from 2.4 seconds to around half a second, making mobile payments on ZK easier.
The report also mentions a paper proposing a fast GPU-accelerated zero-knowledge test system that reduces ZK test generation time by taking advantage of the hardware similarities of the GPUs. Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) have become very useful hardware for cryptocurrency miners, given their ability to simultaneously process data and their use for machine learning, video editing, and gaming.
Other zero-knowledge projects in the realms of decentralized identity, interoperability, and payments within the Ethereum and Polkadot ecosystems were also identified in 2023.
This includes Telepathy, a Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-interactive Argument of Knowledge (zk-SNARK) interoperability protocol for Ethereum. The protocol allows users to read the state of Ethereum on any chain while retaining the security of the Ethereum thin client protocol.
Also mentioned was Sismo Connect, which is a privacy-preserving single sign-on method for both Web2 and Web3 applications. This technology allows developers to implement ZK technology in their applications.
Lastly, Manta Network also expanded its ZK capabilities, enabling privacy support for non-fungible tokens and soul-bound tokens.
Investments were also highlighted, with Ethereum research and development company The =nil; Foundation raising $22 million to continue development of the Proof Marketplace. The solution enables layer 1 and layer 2 blockchains to outsource the production of ZK proofs.
Zk-proof developer Proven raised $15.8 million in a seed round, while Polyhedra Network raised $10 million for its blockchain interoperability infrastructure platform.
Zero-knowledge rollups have been all the rage throughout Q1 2023. Polygon released its open source Ethereum scaling technology zkEVM to mainnet on March 27, while several Ethereum decentralized finance protocols have adopted zkSync since its alpha release in March 2023.
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information presented here should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
Investments in crypto assets are not regulated. They may not be suitable for retail investors and the entire amount invested may be lost. The services or products offered are not directed or accessible to investors in Spain.