Zero Knowledge

This week, Anna chats with Justin Thaler, Associate Professor at Georgetown. They cover Justin’s academic history and discuss what led him to working on interactive proofs and SNARKs. They also take a look at several other topics such as the Thaler Book Study Group, his earlier work Spartan, comparing the security of different rollups built with SNARKs and STARKs and more.Here are some additional links for this episode:Justin Thaler Georgetown ProfileProofs, Arguments, and Zero-Knowledge Proofs by Justin Thaler, 2022 vSQL: Verifying Arbitrary SQL Queries over Dynamic Outsourced Databases Paper Hardware-friendliness of HyperPlonk by Ingonyama Proposed milestones for rollups taking off training wheelsA Graduate Course in Applied Cryptography by Boneh and Shoup, 2023 - Page 617 for elliptic curves over finite fields Quarks: Quadruple-efficient transparent zkSNARKs by Setty and Lee Brakedown: Linear-time and post-quantum SNARKs for R1CS by Golovnev, Lee, Setty, Thaler and Wahby, 2021 zkHack Website zkHack DiscordElliptic Curve Cryptography: A Gentle Introduction to A Graduate Course in Applied Cryptography By Dan Boneh and Victor ShoupNumber theory explained from first principlesThe Animated Elliptic CurveBLS12-381 For The Rest Of UsApply for zkSummit9 here: zkSummit9 Ticket Application. Check out ingonyama.com to learn more about Zero Knowledge Hardware acceleration.Aleo is a new Layer-1 blockchain that achieves the programmability of Ethereum, the privacy of Zcash, and the scalability of a rollup.Interested in building private applications? Check out Aleo’s programming language called Leo by visiting http://developer.aleo.org.You can also participate in Aleo’s incentivized testnet3 by downloading and running a snarkOS node. No sign-up is necessary to participate.For questions, join their Discord at aleo.org/discord.If you like what we do:Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree Subscribe to our podcast newsletterFollow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeHead to the ZK Community ForumSupport our Gitcoin Grant Read transcript

In this week’s episode, Anna and guest co-hosts Guillermo, Tarun and Kobi share their thoughts about the state of Zero Knowledge tech today and what it might look like going in 2023. The group discusses some exciting ZK experiments and some of the emerging topics such as: ZK ID, ZK Bridges, ZK DeFi, and more. Here are some additional links for this episode:Epicenter:State of the ZK Ecosystem with Anna Rose & Kobi Gurkan Pt 1Epicenter:State of the ZK Ecosystem with Anna Rose & Kobi Gurkan P2 Episode 246: Adversarial Machine Learning Research with Florian Tramèr Episode 247: Exploring Penumbra with Henry de Valence Apply for zkSummit9 here: zkSummit9 Ticket Application. Ever wish you could use existing rust libraries in ZK? This is a friendly reminder from the team at RISC Zero that you can! To learn more, check out the Risc Zero video tutorials from the last ZK Hack at www.youtube.com/@risczero. Follow RISC Zero on Twitter @risczero to make sure you don’t miss their upcoming 1.0 launch and the alpha launch of the Bonsai Network.Anoma’s first fractal instance, Namada, is launching soon! Namada is a proof-of-stake L1 for interchain asset-agnostic privacy. Namada natively interoperates with fast-finality chains via IBC and with Ethereum via a trustless two-way bridge. Visit namada.net for more information and join the community on Discord discord.gg/namada If you like what we do:Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree Subscribe to our podcast newsletterFollow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeHead to the ZK Community ForumSupport our Gitcoin Grant Read transcript

Apply for the zkSummit 9 ->> https://9lcje6jbgv1.typeform.com/to/FCoktPh9 Happening in Lisbon on April 4th Keep an eye on our twitter and telegram channel for more info!

In this week’s episode, Anna and part-time Zero Knowledge co-hosts Tarun, Guillermo, Josh and Kobi, get together for a casual catch up and have a look back at 2022. They trace Jan to today in both the zk community and the larger ecosystem, discussing the highs and the lows, focusing on the major events which stood out to them.If you think the team missed anything, let us know by replying to our tweet announcing this episode of the Podcast. Find us at the Zero Knowledge FM Twitter. This is the final episode of 2022 and Anna and the Zero Knowledge Podcast team thanks you for your support this year! Happy Holidays and see you in 2023!Here are some additional links for this episode:Wormhole Hack zkSummit 7 + 8 Playlist The aftermath of Axie Infinity’s $650M Ronin Bridge hack Collapse of Luna cryptocurrency leads to $11 million exploit on Venus ProtocolThe Big Three zkEVM Announcements Three Arrows Capital to become latest casualty of crypto crash Nomad crypto bridge loses $200 million in ‘chaotic’ hackUnderstanding Tornado Cash by ChainalysisSingle Secret Leader Election by Dan Boneh, Saba Eskandarian, Lucjan Hanzlik, Nicola GrecoThe Eth Merge Celsius Crypto Meltdown: A Crypto Lender In CrisisFTX CrashZK Hack playlistArbitrum: Scalable, private smart contracts by Harry Kalodner, Steven Goldfeder, Xiaoqi Chen, S. Matthew Weinberg, and Edward W. Felten, Princeton UniversityFor the latest on Polygon’s ZK solutions, visit Polygon.technology/blog Today’s episode is sponsored by Mina Protocol The need for private, trustless solutions is clear. A new era of ZK powered decentralized applications is coming – and Mina is the place to build them.Introducing Mina’s zkIgnite Cohort 0, where developers complete tutorials and build zero knowledge apps, or zkApps, and get rewarded. There are a quarter-of-a-million MINA tokens up for grabs for zkIgnite Cohort 0 participants.If you are tuning in to this podcast later, no worries! Mina will be launching additional zkIgnite Cohorts, just head to minaprotocol.com/zkpodcast to check out the best way to get involved. If you like what we do:Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree Subscribe to our podcast newsletterFollow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefmCatch us on YoutubeSupport our Gitcoin Grant Read transcript

In this episode, Anna explores the concept of Ultrasound Money with Justin Drake from the Ethereum Foundation. They kick off with updates on his work in VDFs, MEV and censorship resistance, alongside his particular interests in ZK and how the progress VRFs have made can be applied in Ethereum’s POS architecture. They then dive into the original concept of Ultrasound Money and where Justin sees it progressing to in the future, including the current status around issuance.Here are some additional links for this episode:Episode 74: Blockchain 101: Randomness and Random Beacons with Justin DrakeEpisode 120: ZKPs in Ethereum with Vitalik Buterin & Justin DrakeEpisode 168: Flashbots with Phil Daian and Stephane GosselinZero Knowledge Episodes on zkEVMs ZK Whiteboard Sessions: Module Fourteen - Nova Crash Course with Justin Drake MevWatch.InfoDeFi Llama L2BEATUltrasound.Money WebsiteRISC Zero announce the next version of their ZKVM is now available on GitHub at github.com/risc0 Today’s episode is sponsored by Mina Protocol The need for private, trustless solutions is clear. A new era of ZK powered decentralized applications is coming – and Mina is the place to build them.Introducing Mina’s zkIgnite Cohort 0, where developers complete tutorials and build zero knowledge apps, or zkApps, and get rewarded. There are a quarter-of-a-million MINA tokens up for grabs for zkIgnite Cohort 0 participants. Cohort 0 is finishing soon so head to minaprotocol.com/zkpodcast to get involved today.If you are tuning in to this podcast later, no worries! Mina will be launching additional zkIgnite Cohorts, just head to minaprotocol.com/zkpodcast to check out the best way to get involved. If you like what we do:Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree Subscribe to our podcast newsletterFollow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeHead to the ZK Community ForumSupport our Gitcoin Grant Read transcript

This week, Anna explores the topic of proof of solvency with Kostas Chalkias, co-founder and chief of Cryptography at MystenLabs. They cover Kostas’ background in Cryptography and explore his work on Proof of Reserves, otherwise known as Proof of Solvency. They review past Proof of Solvency models using ZKPs and look at the protocols that major centralized exchanges are currently using. Then they dive into the security vulnerabilities, privacy issues, and general bugs that Kostas and his collaborators have identified in these protocols and their recommendations on how to better build Proof of Solvency systems.Here are some additional links for this episode:Episode 227: Move & Sui with Sam Blackshear from Mysten Labs Hard Questions: Update on Cambridge AnalyticaProvisions: Privacy-preserving proofs of solvency for Bitcoin exchanges By Dagher, Bünz, Bonneau, Clark and Boneh Broken Proofs of Solvency in Blockchain Custodial Wallets and Exchanges By Chalkias, Chatzigiannis and Ji Groth16 still lives: exploring tradeoffs of modern ZKProof systems - François Garillot Mysten Labs Join the ZK HACK III - final sessions here Join the ZK HACK Discord Today’s episode is sponsored by Aleo Aleo is a new Layer-1 blockchain that achieves the programmability of Ethereum, the privacy of Zcash, and the scalability of a rollup.If you’re interested in building private applications then check out Aleo’s programming language called Leo. Visit leo-lang.org to start building.You can also join Aleo’s incentivized testnet3 by downloading and running a snarkOS node. No sign-up is necessary to participate. For questions, join their Discord at aleo.org/discord.If you like what we do:Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree Subscribe to our podcast newsletterFollow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeHead to the ZK Community ForumSupport our Gitcoin Grant Read transcript

On this week’s episode, Anna and Kobi Gurkan chat with Dan Boneh, Professor of Computer Science at Stanford and Director of the Stanford Center for Blockchain Research. They cover an expanse of topics: from how strides have been made within the development of zkEVMs to how trusted set ups could be integrated into the blockchain itself. This episode covers open problems in ZK such as how to generate ZK proofs on large amounts of data such as video and what solutions could be implemented when attempting to run a DAO with a private treasury.Here are some additional links for this episode:Episode 100: Dan Boneh on the past, present & future of cryptography Experimenting with Collaborative zk-SNARKs: Zero-Knowledge Proofs for Distributed Secrets by Ozdemir and Boneh, 2021Powers-of-Tau to the People: Decentralizing Setup CeremoniesZK Whiteboard Sessions Join ZK HACK III - see the full schedule here Join the ZK HACK Discord Follow the ZK Hack Twitter Today’s episode is sponsored by Mina ProtocolThe need for private, trustless solutions has never been more clear.Introducing Mina’s zkSpark Cohort 0, where developers share tutorials and build zero knowledge apps, or zkApps, and get rewarded. There are a quarter-of-a-million Mina tokens up for grabs for zkSpark Cohort 0 participants.Mina’s zkApps are written in Typescript, so developers can easily get started without learning a custom programming language like other zk protocols.To sign up for zkSpark Cohort 0 head to minaprotocol.com/zkpodcast. Mina will be launching additional zkSpark Cohorts, just visit minaprotocol.com to check out the best way to get involved.If you like what we do:Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree Subscribe to our podcast newsletterFollow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeHead to the ZK Community ForumSupport our Gitcoin Grant Read transcript

In this week’s episode, Anna and Tarun speak with Succinct Labs. Guests Uma Roy and John Guibas discuss their interest in ZK, their work with 0xparc and the goals of Succinct Labs - that is to provide proof of consensus through SNARK-based light clients. Acting similar to IBC, but in the Ethereum context, we discuss the challenge of building ZK-based light clients on Ethereum, their first implementation linking Gnosis Chain to Ethereum, and how they imagine interacting with the larger blockchain space. Here are some additional links for this episode:0xPARC Learning Resources TrustBoost: Boosting Trust among Interoperable Blockchains by Wang, Sheng, Kannan, Nayak, Viswanath, 2022 Episode 136: Math competitions, crypto as alchemy & Gasper with Yan Zhang Past ZK HACK Events and Puzzles Join the ZK HACK III - Session #2 on 24 November Join the ZK HACK Discord Follow the ZK Hack Twitter Today's episode is sponsored by Aztec. Aztec Network is building the first privacy-enabled zkRollup on Ethereum. The team is proud to announce Noir, the world's first universal ZK language. Noir makes it safe and intuitive to write privacy-preserving ZK circuits. Aztec is now hiring engineers and cryptographers to build the execution layer supporting Noir's private smart contracts. Join the team making private Ethereum a reality. You can learn more by visiting aztec.network/careers. If you like what we do:Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree Subscribe to our podcast newsletterFollow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeHead to the ZK Community ForumSupport our Gitcoin Grant Read transcript

In this week’s episode, Anna and Josh Cincinnati chat with Matt Green, a cryptographer and professor at Johns Hopkins University. They explore Matt’s background in security, blockchain and privacy technologies. He shares his thoughts on early ZK blockchain research, the founding of Zcash, growth in the ZK space, how the industry is ready for tangible use-cases and navigating anonymity and regulatory bodies. This episode closes with a review of Matt’s perspective on the Tornado Cash sanctions and what this means for the space. Here are some additional links for this episode:Radiant Commons Website Sealance WebsiteZerocash: Decentralized Anonymous Payments from Bitcoin by Ben-Sasson, Chiesa, Garman, Green, Miers, Tromer, and Virza, 2014An approximate introduction to how zk-SNARKs are possible by Vitalik Buterin Episode 245: Sanctions against Tornado Cash: a Legal PerspectiveJoin the ZK HACK III - kick off event here Join the ZK HACK Discord This week’s episode is sponsored by Aave.Aave Grants is a community-led grants program, focused on growing a thriving ecosystem of contributors within Aave by funding ideas, projects and events that benefit the protocol or surrounding ecosystem.Aave’s latest deployment, V3, was launched on 6 networks and introduces new features like Isolation Mode, Efficiency Mode and Portals. A decentralized, collateral-backed stablecoin native to Aave called GHO has also been announced. Look out for more details on the testnet and release coming soon. Explore the protocol at Aave.com and if you’re building in the ecosystem, apply for a grant through aavegrants.org.If you like what we do:Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree Subscribe to our podcast newsletterFollow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeHead to the ZK Community ForumSupport our Gitcoin Grant Read transcript

In this week's episode, Anna speaks with Awa Sun Yin, co-founder of Anoma & Namada. They discuss her background in crypto analytics, her shift to working on infrastructure and privacy tech, and how the Anoma project came to be. Awa introduces us to the soon to launch Namada network and then describes the various cryptographic pieces that the Anoma team has been developing. They discuss how these fit into Namada and into the future of the Anoma Protocol. Here are some additional links for this episode:Episode 115: Cosmos, IBC and ZKPs with Chris Goes Episode 184: Anoma’s Adrian Brink on Validity Predicates, Ferveo DKG & More Episode 32: Zero Knowledge at Zcon0!Sign up link for zkMesh newsletter ZK7: VampIR: universal representation for arithmetic circuits - Joshua Fitzgerald - Anoma ZK8: Namada: asset-agnostic interchain privacy - Chris Goes - AnomaFerveo: Threshold Decryption for Mempool Privacy in BFT networks by Bebel and Ojha, 2022 Metastate WebsiteCryptium Labs WebsiteHeliax WebsiteJuvix WebsiteFerveo Cryptography Overview Check out the sub0 Polkadot Developer Conference in Lisbon here Join the ZK HACK III - kick off event here Join the ZK HACK Discord Today’s episode is sponsored by Aleo Aleo is a new Layer-1 blockchain that achieves the programmability of Ethereum, the privacy of Zcash, and the scalability of a rollup.If you’re interested in building private applications then check out Aleo’s programming language called Leo. Visit leo-lang.org to start building.You can also join Aleo’s incentivized testnet3 by downloading and running a snarkOS node. No sign-up is necessary to participate. For questions, join their Discord at aleo.org/discord.If you like what we do:Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree Subscribe to our podcast newsletterFollow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefmJoin us on TelegramCatch us on YoutubeHead to the ZK Community ForumSupport our Gitcoin Grant Read transcript