Author: Erik Aronesty 2023-06-05 18:59:58
Published on: 2023-06-05T18:59:58+00:00
On May 12, 2023, Robin Linus via bitcoin-dev published a summary of their research on "ZeroSync: Introducing Validity Proofs to Bitcoin". ZeroSync is the first-ever proof system that addresses Bitcoin's scalability challenges with Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge (SNARKs). It compresses the entire Bitcoin blockchain into a compact proof of validity, which enables instant verification and unlocks various innovative applications. The prototype implementation of a chain state proof utilizes the Cairo language, Utreexo, and recursive STARKs. Chain state proofs require no consensus changes, which is crucial as forks in Bitcoin are challenging to implement and achieve consensus for. Optimization strategies can be used to overcome prover performance limitations, and the practicality of generating a complete chain state proof has been demonstrated. ZeroSync enables diverse applications, including quick bootstrapping of full nodes, trustless light clients, enhanced Lightning Network privacy, and secure cross-chain bridges. In addition, ZeroSync introduces zkCoins, a client-side validation protocol combined with zero-knowledge SNARKs, which can drastically improve privacy and throughput of token transactions. In combination with future Bitcoin features, such as Simplicity, zkCoins also enables private and more scalable BTC transactions. The groundbreaking compression capabilities of SNARKs initiated a paradigm shift in cryptocurrency design, and ZeroSync is pioneering their application to Bitcoin.The sender can store redundant copies of the encrypted transaction data with multiple trust-minimized middlemen, for the recipient to download when they come back online. The full paper about ZeroSync can be found at https://zerosync.org/zerosync.pdf. The author welcomes comments and questions from the Bitcoin dev community about the paper.
Updated on: 2023-06-16T18:28:32.219301+00:00