Zero Knowledge

In this discussion, Théo Madzou, a ZK engineer and ZK Hack organizer, teams up with Michael Elliot, a longtime blockchain contributor, to unveil their innovative projects, ZKPassport and Obsidion. They delve into their backgrounds, highlighting Théo's ZK Hack successes and Michael's path from Bitcoin to identity systems. The duo explains how ZKPassport serves as a neutral identity solution and how Obsidion aims to enhance privacy in fintech. They also touch on mobile proving, KYC features using machine learning, and the challenge of integrating global ID standards.

Arnaud Brousseau and Jack Kearney, co-founders of Turnkey, bring their extensive experience from Coinbase to discuss innovative key management solutions. They dive into the role of trusted execution environments (TEEs) in preventing key misuse while enhancing automation. Key topics include remote attestation, the importance of reproducible builds for trust, and strategies against downgrade attacks. The duo also explores how granular policies can secure transactions while allowing flexibility for governance and AI applications.

Ian Miers, an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland and a pioneering figure in zero-knowledge technology, covers a wealth of intriguing topics. He discusses his groundbreaking work on Zerocoin and Zcash, addressing early challenges in privacy on public ledgers. Ian shares the evolution of trusted setups, including Powers of Tau, and introduces his innovations like zk-creds for flexible anonymous credentials and zk-promises for anonymous reputation systems. The conversation also explores critical issues such as post-quantum security and the ethics of programmable privacy.

Join David Z, a seasoned ZK engineer and former Polygon contributor, alongside Oleksandr (Sasha), an expert in identity engineering and blockchain, as they delve into the evolution of ZK identity systems. They discuss their journey from iden3 to the launch of Privado ID and the ambitious Billions Network. Key points include the transformative Circom DSL, innovations in privacy-first tools, and the integration of AI agents into identity solutions. Their vision for creating accountable interactions in a decentralized world is captivating and forward-thinking.

Bobbin Threadbare, formerly of Facebook's Winterfell, and Gaylord Warner, an integral figure at ZK Hack, dive into the world of Miden and their groundbreaking zkVM. They unveil the project's journey from its roots in Polygon to its emergence as a leader in edge blockchain technology. The duo discusses innovative privacy solutions, including a custom instruction set and decentralized architecture. They also reflect on their experiences at various hackathons, emphasizing the importance of collaboration in advancing zero-knowledge education and the future of blockchain.

In this episode, Anna Rose and Tarun Chitra chat with Huijia (Rachel) Lin from the University of Washington to explore indistinguishability obfuscation (iO), often described as the 'holy grail of cryptography'. iO is a powerful primitive that, if fully realised, could have profound implications for privacy tech as a whole. Rachel helps break down the concept for listeners who may already be familiar with ZK, FHE and TEEs, clarifying how iO differs but also some of the similarities in the assumptions upon which it is based. Rachel also explains how it differs from similar concepts: garbled circuits and functional encryption.   The discussion covers the evolution of iO research in her work over the last decade, how the cryptographic assumptions have hardened since that time, and what iO can offer in terms of precise, controlled information revelation.   Related links: Indistinguishability obfuscation from well-founded assumptions Indistinguishability Obfuscation from DDH-like Assumptions on Constant-Degree Graded Encodings On Lattices, Learning with Errors, Random Linear Codes, and Cryptography How to Use Indistinguishability Obfuscation: Deniable Encryption, and More Functional Encryption for Quadratic Functions, and Applications to Predicate Encryption Garbled circuit     ZK Whiteboard Season 3 just kicked off with our first Module all about Hash Functions! In this, we have host Nico and guest JP Aumauson walk us through how to build a Hash Function. JP was also previously on the show to discuss the topic, you can see his episode here! See all Whiteboard Sessions including previous seasons here.      **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube   **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address Read transcript

In this discussion, Tarun Chitra, an investor at Robot Ventures with a focus on blockchain and perpetual DEXs, joins the hosts to explore the cutting-edge Lighter project. They dive into the origins and evolution of perpetual trading, comparing privacy and transparency in market-making. Tarun emphasizes the benefits of custom ZK circuits over existing zkVMs for system efficiency. The conversation also covers the role of quants and engineers in building robust DEXs, and the innovative ways Lighter utilizes Ethereum and zero-knowledge rollups to enhance trading experience.

Justin Drake, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, dives into the fascinating world of Ethproofs and its role in enhancing zero-knowledge technology. He discusses its evolution from a meme to a pivotal benchmarking initiative. The conversation explores the shift from monolithic zkEVM designs to RISC-V-based systems and the implications for Ethereum's scalability. Additionally, the potential impact of AI on financial transactions and energy-efficient solutions in AI systems highlights the innovative spirit driving the blockchain forward.

In this episode, Anna Rose and Kobi Gurkan chat with Vikas Rushi from PSE, and Ying Tong to explore two topics at the intersection of ZK and the real-world data: zkPDF and zkID.  First they dive into zkPDF, a set of tools for proving facts on digitally signed PDFs. Vikas talks about the challenges of parsing data inside zkVMs—working with decades-old specifications that use many different encodings, and tackling practical use-cases like bank statements and ID verification. They also explain how issuers, such as India’s DigiLocker, can generate proofs in a way that protects individual privacy. Next they cover zkID and the EF’s work on building a system that would meet the EU’s Digital Identity Framework requirements ahead of its 2026 rollout. Ying Tong explains how the EF’s work on zkID differs from existing zk-based identity projects, particularly through its device-binding requirements, the cryptographic community’s feedback to the EU Commission, the trade-offs between proof systems, PSE’s work on standards and more. They wrap up with a chat about the challenges of revocation in both systems, and what’s next for the projects.  Related links: Episode 367: Local-First with grjte and Goblin Oats Episode 366: Bringing ID Onchain with Self Episode 363: Bringing ZK to Google Wallet with Abhi and Matteo Episode 362: zkTLS with Maddy from Reclaim Episode 358: Building ZK Registries Onchain with Rarimo Episode 353: Making ZK More Human with ZK Email Episode 330: Frameworks for Programmable Privacy with Ying Tong and Bryan Gillespie Community Privacy Residency Anon Aadhaar DigiLocker zkID Github zk-promises: Anonymous Moderation, Reputation, and Blocking from Anonymous Credentials with Callbacks     Check out the latest jobs in ZK at the ZK Podcast Jobs Board.      **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube   **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address Read transcript

In this episode, Anna Rose and Tarun Chitra chat with Miranda Christ, a computer science PhD student at Columbia University, about the intersection of cryptography and AI through watermarking techniques. Miranda shares her research on developing imperceptible ways to prove that content was created by AI models, covering everything from simple red-green word lists to sophisticated pseudorandom error-correcting codes.   The discussion explores the cryptographic properties of watermarks - including completeness, soundness, and undetectability - and how these parallel the properties we see in zero-knowledge proof systems. Miranda explains how watermarking differs from other cryptographic approaches like ZKML by only modifying the sampling process rather than the underlying model weights, making it computationally lightweight and practical for deployment.   Related links: Episode 206: Distilling DeFi Primitives with Guillermo, Alex and Tarun My AI Safety Lecture for UT Effective Altruism Google SynthID Amazon Public Watermark Detector How ChatGPT could embed a ‘watermark’ in the text it generates - New York Times Wall Street Journal on OpenAI not Deploying Watermarks A Watermark for Large Language Models Undetectable Watermarks for Language Models Watermarks in the Sand: Impossibility of Strong Watermarking for Generative Models Pseudorandom Error-Correcting Codes Ideal Pseudorandom Codes     Check out the latest jobs in ZK at the ZK Podcast Jobs Board.      **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube   **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address Read transcript