The ZK Revolution
Throughout history, technology has been a catalyst for expanding personal freedoms, fostering creativity, innovation, and overall well-being. Early societies used financial tools like ledgers to improve community management and cooperation. The invention of the printing press made knowledge more accessible, paving the way for critical thought and scientific progress.
In the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution, driven by technologies like the steam engine, ushered in remarkable economic growth and societal development.
In the 20th century, computers and the invention of the Internet created a new global economy, based on the strong foundation of the World Wide Web.
In the 21th century, advancements in AI and the Internet revolutionized how we communicate and access information, benefiting billions economically.
We are now entering a new phase with emerging technologies like blockchains and Web3. These are reshaping digital ownership and value exchange in a similar way that the Internet revolutionized information sharing. They also introduce innovative ways for society to organize itself, such as through “network states.”
As we navigate through ongoing cryptographic advancements, we’re transitioning from the first two waves — public-key cryptography and blockchains — to a third wave known as the Zero Knowledge (ZK) Revolution. Together with Web3, this new wave is poised to further transform our future, underscoring the enduring capacity of technology to enhance personal freedom.
Zero Knowledge Proofs
Zero-Knowledge proofs are cryptographic methods that allow one party to prove to another that they possess a certain piece of information, without actually revealing the information itself. In other words, ZK proofs enable the verification of data’s authenticity without exposing the data. This serves multiple purposes, including enhancing privacy, security, and data integrity.
For example, imagine a scenario where you need to prove your age to enter a restricted website but don’t want to reveal your exact birthdate. A zero-knowledge proof could confirm that you are above the age threshold without disclosing your actual age.
ZK proofs are particularly impactful in blockchain technology and other decentralized systems. They are used in Smart Contracts to enable more private and efficient automated applications, such as:
- Identity verification: Proving you are who you claim to be without revealing sensitive information like your Social Security number.
- Secure transactions: Conducting a transaction where the other party can verify that you have enough funds without seeing your total account balance.
- Voting systems: Casting a vote in a way that is both anonymous and verifiable.
The ZK Revolution, as mentioned before, refers to the expanding use and impact of zero-knowledge proofs, especially in conjunction with Web3 technologies. These are set to redefine digital interactions by adding layers of privacy and security, thereby further empowering individuals.
Introducing the ZK Stack
Matter Labs, the core team behind zkSync Era, a Layer 2 zkEVM designed to scale blockchains like the Internet, introduced the ZK Stack, a modular framework for building modular, sovereign, ZK-powered hyperchains. Developed under fully permissive MIT/Apache open-source licenses, Matter Labs encourage the developer community to contribute and utilize the framework for shaping every aspect of a hyperchain, from the choice of sequencer and data availability mode to defining its own tokenomics.
Hyperchains built with the ZK Stack can seamlessly connect in a trustless network, boasting low latency and shared liquidity. If you consider that zkSync Era is the most widely adopted ZK rollup on Ethereum, with ZK Stack not only you’ll be harnessing the full potential of ZK’s superpowers, but you’re also safely betting on security and reliability.
For example, are you building a game or a social network that requires a lightweight sequencer unburdened by other dapps and use-cases? Or are you building an exchange appchain with a strong emphasis on low-latency sequencing (think dYdX)? Or even in the enterprise blockchain space, is your business seeking a closed private chain while remaining interconnected with the rest of the ecosystem?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the ZK Stack will help build a network of applications capable of interacting with each other, free from the trust assumptions inherent in x-chain bridges and at minimal cost.
And when I see minimal cost, I mean it.
- The ZK Stack boasts the only native Account Abstraction in the current L2 landscape. Its design benefits from the gas-less calldata in a ZK-enabled architecture.
- Thanks to the wise use of data compression, certain transaction types (such as oracle updates) will be thousand times cheaper on the ZK Stack compared to other rollup platforms.
- In addition to the ZK rollup mode, where hyperchain accounts fully inherit Ethereum’s security, ZK Stack can optionally enable extremely affordable zkPorter accounts for the appropriate use cases.
How to get started
Matter Labs is currently assisting several pilot projects in adopting the ZK Stack, which will allow them to gather feedback and improve the developer experience.
In the coming weeks, Matter Labs will be implementing modifications to the ZK Stack codebase to make it easier to checkout, configure, and deploy an instance of the framework.
If you are a developer interested in getting involved, I encourage you to explore the zkSync Era docs first, and then get in touch directly with the folks at Matter Labs.
I am not affiliated with Matter Labs in any form. I’m “just” an enthusiast Web3 Architect fascinated by the amazing work that Matter Labs is doing in this space :-)
