A Spreadsheet Way of Knowledge: The Potential of Zero-Knowledge Proofs

A Spreadsheet Way of Knowledge: The Potential of Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Zero Knowledge. When someone figures out how to do something with one of these technologies for the first time, but before practitioners have dealt with the hard work of actually implementing them, the field of possibilities is wide open. People love potential. Take DAOs, which are going through their own mini-Hype Cycle. ZKPs essentially let someone prove that they know or have something without giving up any information about what they know or have. Because of all the potential use cases, and because ZKPs are so hard to grasp, they are ripe for the Hype Cycle.

What’s ultimately so promising about ZKPs is that they have the potential to eliminate a major trade-off inherent in living, working, and transacting online: the convenience, speed, reach, and scale of the internet in exchange for our privacy. Identity theft, email compromise, data breaches, and other forms of fraud cost individuals and businesses tens of billions of dollars per year and orders of magnitude more than that in spending on defense and prevention. The proliferation of data and its associated vulnerability has come to be an accepted cost of doing business as a participant in the modern, interconnected world. But what if there was a way to conduct these interactions and transactions with the same levels of trust and certainty without sharing all of this data? Enter: the zero-knowledge proof.

To quote the original paper defining zero-knowledge proofs, they “convey no additional knowledge other than the correctness of the proposition in question.” Zero-knowledge proofs are not new: they were first designed and devised in the 1980s by MIT researchers Shafi Goldwasser, Silvio Micali, and Charles Rackoff. The trio was working on a problem related to a concept called an interactive proof system. In such a system, there are two parties: a prover of some information and a verifier of that information. Generally, in these systems, it is assumed that the prover cannot be trusted while the verifier can be. The verifier can be convinced of a true statement by an untrusted prover, and it is impossible for the prover to convince the verifier of an untrue statement.

One of the first applications of zero-knowledge proofs was in password security in the mid-2000s. However, there was still an issue here: you were still disclosing your password to the server in the first place! Protocols for using zero-knowledge proofs to solve this vulnerability were uncovered over the course of the 2000s, providing some of the first examples of applying ZKPs to a real-world problem. In 2013 and 2014, zero-knowledge proofs found commercial application in another system that spent many years incubating in academia before being introduced to the world: cryptocurrency.

Zcash, introduced in 2014 and launched in 2016, uses a specific type of zero-knowledge system to create a cryptocurrency that maintains the decentralized properties of something like bitcoin while introducing privacy-preserving properties much closer to those of physical cash -- which is to say near total lack of traceability. A new generation of efficient zero-knowledge proofs has been developed that solve many of the issues that previously surrounded the clunky, burdensome, expensive, and controversial setups of these systems.

But ZKPs remained a niche interest for quirky mathematicians and cryptographers until there was a way to marry the technical and the commercial. Hype and speculation attract resources that help solve hard problems, fulfill the hype, and reward some speculators. Instead of dismissing hype and speculation, it’s worth understanding the purpose they serve. They make innovation possible. Satoshi’s real innovation with Bitcoin was solving the double-spending problem. When money is basically a digital file, how do you prevent someone from just making copies to pay a bunch of different people? Bitcoin, both the technical innovation and the speculation it set off, unlocked enormous sums of financial and human capital and unleashed a financial renaissance.

Zero-knowledge proofs have the potential to eliminate the need for the trade-off between convenience and privacy. They offer a paradigm shift in the way we think about privacy. Instead of trading privacy for convenience, ZKPs allow us to conduct interactions and transactions with the same levels of trust and certainty without sharing all of our data. But how can ZKPs be applied in practical scenarios?

One major application of ZKPs is in proving credit scores among traders. By using ZKPs, individuals can prove their creditworthiness without exposing sensitive financial information. ZKPs also offer solutions to the scalability issues of blockchain technology. Novel designs of blockchains leverage ZKPs to compress the entire history of transactions into a single proof. This significantly increases the throughput and scalability of blockchain systems. Additionally, ZKPs can enhance the security of cloud infrastructure, allowing users to leverage cloud computing without exposing sensitive consumer data to the cloud providers.

The early stages of the Hype Cycle present unique design spaces and opportunities for experimentation. The possibilities of ZKPs are still being explored, and anyone can remain pseudonymous while proving their skills, qualifications, and other non-identifying pieces of information. The potential of ZKPs is vast and exciting.

In conclusion, zero-knowledge proofs have the potential to revolutionize privacy and security in the digital age. By allowing individuals to prove knowledge or possession without disclosing sensitive information, ZKPs offer a way to maintain trust and certainty while protecting privacy. Here are three actionable pieces of advice for anyone interested in exploring the potential of ZKPs:

1. Stay informed about the latest developments in zero-knowledge proofs and their applications. This technology is still evolving, and new use cases are being discovered regularly. By staying up-to-date, you can identify opportunities to leverage ZKPs in your own projects or organizations.

2. Collaborate with experts in the field. Zero-knowledge proofs can be complex and require specialized knowledge. By partnering with mathematicians, cryptographers, and other experts, you can gain insights and guidance to implement ZKPs effectively.

3. Experiment and innovate with ZKPs. The early stages of the Hype Cycle offer a unique opportunity for experimentation. Don't be afraid to explore new design spaces and push the boundaries of what is possible with zero-knowledge proofs. By embracing innovation, you can unlock the full potential of ZKPs.

Zero-knowledge proofs have the power to transform our digital interactions and transactions. By leveraging this technology, we can achieve a new level of privacy, security, and trust in the digital age.