Tezos Moves Closer To zk-SNARKs Protocol Upgrade

[PRIBO247]

Implementing some form of “Zero-Knowledge” proofs,
based on the zk-SNARKs model pioneered by Zcash,
into the Tezos protocol has been on the radar of
creator Arthur Breitman since the original Tezos white
paper. With the Tezos Mainnet humming along and the
first protocol amendment vote on the horizon, it seems
that some meaningful progress has been made which
could pave the way for zk-SNARKs integration with
Tezos.

Just days ago, on Nov. 29, a commit was made to the
Tezos public Gitlab explaining a new OCaml binding
which is intended to allow easy interfacing with
Zcash’s zk-SNARKs library to bring shielded
transactions to the Tezos network.
The goal of shielding a transaction is to provide
verifiable proof that the transaction took place without
divulging any information about the transaction, such
as the associated accounts, balances, or amount of the
transaction.

This type of privacy is a key feature of the Zcash
project which can allow for “transparent” transactions,
where all transaction information is disclosed, similar
to Bitcoin, for example, or “zero-knowledge”
transactions where all related information about a
transaction is kept private except for verifiable proof
that the transaction took place.

zk-SNARKs Explained

The term zk-SNARK stands for “Zero-Knowledge
Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge.”
Sound confusing? It’s not too mindboggling once we
break it down a little further with concrete examples.
According to Zcash, a major pioneer of research into
using zero-knowledge proofs coupled with blockchain,
zk-SNARKs allows “one party (the prover) to prove to
another (the verifier) that a statement is true, without
revealing any information beyond the validity of the
statement itself.”

In relation to blockchain and cryptocurrency, this
means allowing a shielded transaction to be verified
without revealing the underlying information about the
transaction. This is achieved when the sender of the
transaction generates a proof (a zk-SNARK) which
constructs a mathematical formula to prove that the
transaction amount changed hands, the sender was
legitimately able to sign the transaction, and that the
transaction cannot be modified by an outside party who
was not part of the original transaction.

In short, when the sender originates a shielded
transaction, a zk-SNARK is created by the sender
which lives on the blockchain and can be referenced in
the future to mathematically verify, without revealing
information, that the transaction took place.
This kind of privacy, achieved on a public blockchain,
would help advance the use-cases for cryptocurrency
by opening up more institutional use thanks to
increased security.

Improving zk-SNARKs Efficiency

Originally, the zk-SNARKs algorithms developed by
Zcash was powerful, yet resource intensive. Prior
iterations of the function could take several minutes to
generate a zk-SNARK and use several Gigabytes of
memory during the process.
However, thanks to continuing research by Zcash, the
algorithm to generate a zk-SNARK has been entirely
re-written and now provides for generating a zero-
knowledge proof in a matter of seconds using just 144
bytes of memory.

Until the limitation of speed and system resource
hogging could be overcome, zk-SNARKs would remain
a promising yet still unusable privacy feature for mass
cryptocurrency adoption.

Why This Matters For Tezos

According to a document, authored by Sophia Gold,
which accompanied the Gitlab commit, a new native
OCaml library has been created to allow for the
addition of the latest iteration of Zcash’s highly efficient
zk-SNARKs algorithm, known as Sapling, into the
Tezos protocol.
This move would allow Tezos to eventually begin
offering shielded transactions which can generate
proofs in seconds. Furthermore, it would be built on
Zcash’s proven technology which has spent years in
the development pipeline.

This move would position Tezos as one of a small
handful of blockchains offering both smart contracts
and shielded transactions. Zcash does not currently
implement native smart contracts.
The document also mentions implications for
smartphone use, saying, “This allows even mobile
devices to generate zero knowledge proofs and will
hopefully bolster the prevalence of shielded
transactions, resulting in greater collective privacy.”
Tezos would be among the first major decentralized
blockchains to graft this technology into the native
protocol.

When Will zk-SNARKs Be Implemented In Tezos?

When asked by Crypto Insider for a timeframe on zk-
SNARKs integration, Breitman explained that this
decision does not rely on a single person or group of
developers.
“The beauty of on-chain governance is that ‘if’ and
‘when’ is all up to the Tezos community who manages
this type of decision,” Breitman said.
He added, “My advice is to be conservative and test
integration thoroughly before considering it for a vote.”
The real question, perhaps, is when zk-SNARKs
integration might be ready for a protocol upgrade vote,
and we don’t yet have an answer on that front.
Tezos Has Deep Zcash Connections

This isn’t the first time Tezos and Zcash have crossed
paths. Back in 2017, prior to the Tezos fundraiser,
Zooko Wilcox, creator of Zcash, disclosed he was
personally advising the Tezos project.
In a blog post dated June 29, 2017, Wilcox explained
why he found interest in Tezos:
“The core idea of Tezos — formalized and automated
governance of a decentralized protocol—is a deeply
powerful idea, and I want to see it implemented and
deployed, in the hopes that it can greatly help
humanity.”
Wilcox also expressed his agreement back in October of
last year with the way Breitman described why Tezos
should adopt methods similar to Zcash versus
Ethereum when it comes to scaling.

Source : https://cryptoinsider.com