What is zk-SNARK?

The abbreviation for “Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge” is Zk-SNARK. A cryptographic proof known as a zk-SNARK enables one party to demonstrate its possession of certain information without disclosing it. A secret key that is generated before the transaction is what empowers this evidence. It is a component of the Zcash cryptocurrency’s protocol.

Understanding zk-SNARK

Many of the founding members of the cryptocurrency community, especially the Bitcoin community, took it for granted that anonymity was a goal and characteristic of cryptocurrencies. However, since cryptocurrencies had to establish a “trustless” system to ensure the integrity of digital money and transactions, privacy was always a secondary priority.

Because their offline identities were unrelated to their public keys, Bitcoin users sometimes believed that their transactions were anonymous in the early 2010s. However, concerted efforts by data scientists, hackers, and law enforcement until the end of the decade showed that re-identifying individuals who had provided pseudonymous data to various sources was not only conceivable but also quite simple.

The alleged lack of privacy in some of the first cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, prompted developers to create coins with a privacy emphasis. Zcash, which used a method known as zk-SNARKs, was the most well-known.

Zero-Skill Verification

One idea used in a zk-SNARK (“zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive argument of knowledge”) is a “zero-knowledge proof.” The original concept of these proofs was conceived in the 1980s. Simply put, a zero-knowledge guarantee is when both parties to a transaction can confirm to one another that they possess a particular piece of information without disclosing what that information is.

For most other forms of evidence, all the information must be accessible to at least one of the two parties. One way to think about conventional proof is to liken it to an internet network password. After the user enters the password, the network makes sure it’s accurate by checking its contents. The network needs access to the password’s contents to do this.

In a zero-knowledge proof scenario, the user would prove to the network—through mathematical evidence—that they are using the correct password without disclosing the password itself. In this case, the benefits of security and privacy are obvious. The password cannot be stolen if not kept elsewhere on the network for verification reasons.

Complex mathematics underlies zk-SNARKS. However, these kinds of proofs enable one party to show that a particular piece of information exists and that the person in issue is aware of it. With Zcash, zk-SNARKs may be instantaneously confirmed, and there is no need for communication between the prover and the verifier according to the protocol.

Remarks on zk-SNARKs

Naturally, there are issues with zk-SNARKs. For example, if someone had access to the private key used to generate the proof protocol’s parameters, they might fabricate bogus proofs that seemed legitimate to verifiers. This would let the individual use a counterfeiting technique to produce fresh Zcash tokens. Zcash was created in such a manner as to make the proving methods complex and dispersed among many parties to avoid this from occurring.

Although the Zcash proving method was built with the least potential for token counterfeiting via fraudulent proofs, there is still one more issue with the cryptocurrency. A 20% “tax” was imposed on all blocks produced during the first few years of Zcash’s creation. Known as the “founder’s tax,” this charge is meant to pay the cryptocurrency’s inventors.

The creators could manufacture an endless supply of Zcash tokens using this system feature, according to critics, without anyone else knowing about it. Because of this, it’s currently impossible to determine the precise quantity of Zcash tokens in circulation.

To make zk-SNARKs better, various developers have been working since 2019 to eliminate the trusted setup. A group named Suterusu has created a system known as zK-ConSNARK, which has the lowest inflation of any cryptocurrency currently in use, can ensure anonymity for popular blockchains like Bitcoin, and can be used without a trusted setup.

Conclusion

• Zk-SNARK, an abbreviation for “Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge,” is a zero-knowledge proof system used in encryption.
• Zcash, a cryptocurrency, uses this evidence, initially created and presented in the late 1980s, to address a claimed anonymity issue with blockchains similar to Bitcoin.
• Zk-SNARK proofs are predicated on a “trust system” configuration criticized for having a fundamental security weakness.