Introduction
Welcome to the zkWeekly edition #4! As usual, we will cover the most important and exciting developments/news in the world of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) and fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) from the past week.
Researches/Prototypes/Concepts
A paper which is a joint work between Carlos (PSE), Chiro (Orochi Network), Nalin (0xPARC), Oskar (independent), and Violet (Delv).
The paper proposes using SuperNova to leverage more efficiently different opcodes of the VM (each opcode corresponds to a step in the Incrementally Verifiable Computation), parallelize the proving of each step, and using vector commitment for states update.
RiscZero's piece about difference between a zkEVM and a zkVM
https://www.risczero.comzkEVM vs zkVM: a Single Letter Can Make a Big Difference! | RISC Zero
· 7 min read As the current smart contract landscape increases in complexity, with dapps becoming more advanced and blockspace more scarce, the costs of running on-chain code are only increasing. In other words, if your DeFi logic is becoming computationally expensive or your on-chain game logic needs the extra compute power, you should be looking at using a zkVM or zkEVM to move the complex application logic off-chain.
Great piece from the RiscZero team to summarize the distinguish between a zkEVM and a zkVM.
zkOIDC
How to bring privacy-preserving logins to any web2 app with no integrations?
Welcome zkOIDC
Privacy-preserving sign-in with @Sismo_eth Connect via OpenID Connect
Enable any app to offer privacy-preserving logins to their users
github.com/emilianobonass…
A 6-thread
Proof-of-concept from Emilano to showcase how to utilizing Sismo's zkConnect for privacy-preserving logins with OpenID Connect login standard.
Users start a traditional login on a Web2 app and get redirected to Sismo Vault app to generate a proof. The proof is forwarded to zkOIDC which verifies the proof and adapts to an id token. The token is then shared back to the Web2 app.
Privacy & Scaling Explorations's Rate-Limiting Nullifier
Came across a very cool use-case for ZKPs: Spam protection for public free APIs
1/5
Nice thread which summarizes the recent advancement of Rate-Limiting Nullifier - an original proposal from Privacy & Scaling Explorations back in 2019 for spam prevention on anonymous p2p setting.
A new approach with KZG polynomial commitment scheme is proposed recently which allows proof generation in less than 1 ms per message.
ZeroSync's research of introducing Validity Proofs to Bitcoin
Excited to share a summary of our research on introducing validity proofs to #Bitcoin
We discuss our implementation of the first-ever chain state proof and present zkCoins, a client-side validation protocol combined with ZKPs, improving on RGB and Taro
zerosync.org/zerosync.pdf
59
ZeroSync - the project attempts to uses zk proofs to scale Bitcoin - has publicized their research about introducing validity proofs to Bitcoin.
Zama's blog post on how to convert Python programs to FHE using their Concrete compiler
Two weeks ago we announced the release of Concrete v1.0.0, our open-source homomorphic encryption compiler.
Today, we're releasing a blog post that shows you how to use it to convert python programs to FHE:
zama.ai/post/zama-conc…
#FHE #HomomorphicEncryption #Python #Compiler…
Zama's step-by-step guide of how to compile a Python program into FHE using their compiler Concrete - which was announced 3 weeks ago.
zkML piece from CV Labs's Bastian Wetzel
1/
Can we verify outputs from large language models like GPT-4?
Read my blog post on Zero-Knowledge Machine Learning (ZKML) around (i) use cases and (ii) projects exploring the space (non-exhaustive):bwetzel.medium.comZero-Knowledge Machine Learning (ZKML): Projects Exploring the Space
Over the previous year, there have been significant developments in zero-knowledge technology, and in 2023, we are experiencing a…
zkWASM introductory post from SevenX Venture
1/ A brief Introduction of ZKWasm:
What is ZKWasm?
Industry News
LongHashX's ZK Cohort
https://longhashventures.typeform.comLongHashX ZK Cohort Applications
Apply now to the first ZK Accelerator Cohort brought to you by LongHashX.
LongHashX - the accelerator from LongHash Ventures - has announced their latest Cohort 11 which specifically focused on zk protocols/projects.
Few infos about this cohort:
Date: End of June (application closes) - end of July (12-week)
Mentor Partners: zkSync, Scroll, Taiko, Linea, Herodotus, RISC Zero
Number of Projects Accepted: 5 for ZK Accelerator Program (invest $100k), 20-25 for ZK Builder Fellowship (for projects not ready for venture backing / public goods)
Types of projects: (a) any projects building on zkEVMs /zkVMs/zkWASM (b) any ZK projects incl. zkDID, privacy DeFi, zk-gaming, zkML etc.
Application form: https://longhashventures.typeform.com/ZKCohort?typeform-source=t.co
Mina Protocol announces Cohort 2 of zkIgnite
Mina Protocol's Cohort 2 starts on June 14th, and will provide hands-on support and funding to those wanting to build on zero knowledge (zkApps) – from ideation, technical mentorship, to funding your proof of concept and even VC support afterwards. What will you build? Register…
Mina has announced their next cohort that focus on providing support and funding for zkApps builders. The cohort will start on June 14th.
Introducing Nocturne
what if you could send and receive funds without revealing your address, but still prove the transaction happened?
i took a look at @nocturne_xyz, a protocol that aims to just this using account abstraction and zk proofs. also, A+ on their
landing page.
some notes
Nocturne is a private transaction protocol that utilizing zk proofs and the concept of account abstraction.
Nocturne allows users to anonymously use tokens with or from existing EOAs and on-chain apps, make private payments to other addresses, and prove asset ownership & transaction history
Kakarot's modular zkEVM introduction
How @KakarotZkEvm started, where we're at right now, and our vision y'all! Long overdue tbh 
medium.com
Kakarot: an intro to the first modular zkEVM
TL;DR: Kakarot is a type 3 (soon-to-be type 2.5) zkEVM, built on top of the CairoVM. The project, which began in October 2022, has several…
Kakarot elaborates about their approach of bringing EVM compatibility to StarkNet and leverage fractal scaling to build a zkEVM rollup-as-a-service product (with a good chunk about the project's history as well!).
Aztec officially announces their encrypted zk-rollup
Today we're proud to announce the next generation of our encrypted zkRollup with the same name that started it all:
Aztec.
Aztec is the first ever hybrid zkRollup, enabling both public and private smart contract execution in one environment.
It's Ethereum, encrypted.
After sunsetting Aztec Connect and their previous privacy infrastructure as covered on zkWeekly #0, Aztec has finally announced officially their next iteration - an encrypted zk-rollup (with the same name Aztec).
Aztec's groundbreaking rollup design combines public and private execution into a single zkRollup. This enables use cases that goes beyond just "private transactions/computations" as were the already-sunset design as both public and private states can be read and updated.
Events and Conferences
Zuzalu Zero-Knowledge Week
Zuzalu Zero-Knowledge Week
Zuzalu is a pop-up community in Montenegro bringing together individuals from various communities, including Ethereum, applied cryptography, longevity research, decentralized science, public goods, and other related fields. During Zuzalu's (April 16th - 23rd), contributors from the global zero-knowledge community will be helping to run educational events and workshops.
Zuzalu - a pop-up community in Montenegro - has organized two zk-related events over the past week:
ZK Week (April 16th - 23rd) will feature talks, workshops, and discussions hosted by a variety of ZK experts and specialists.
ZK Hackathon (April 22nd - 23rd) to end the week where aspired zk devs can go heads down building with supports from experienced mentors.
Berkeley's ZKP Workshop, Hackathon Demos and Awards Ceremony
Play Video ZKP Hackathon which is hosted by Berkeley RDI and in partnership with ZKP MOOC has came onto the end on 2nd of May with the Demos and Awards Ceremony. Winners for the 4 tracks had been announced during the ceremony.
ScalingX's ZK Hackathon Demo Day
#ScalingX ZK Hackathon - The Hunt For X Demo Day is around the corner
Join us on Youtube Live to witness the amazing solutions our participants have built using #ZKP and #RNG tech!
18 May 2023, 11AM UTC +8
youtube.com/@scalingx/stre…
ScalingX's ZK Hackathon has finally coming onto the end with Demo Day scheduled for 18th of May. The Demo Day will be streamed on Youtube Live.
Jump organizes zkWeek in Chicago
Meet up with Mina at zkWeek in Chicago by @jump_
5/15: zkBridges: Trustless State Synchronization
5/16: Securing a Zero Knowledge World
5/17: Intro to zkApps on @MinaProtocol
Check out the full lineup at zkweek.com
5/15: zkBridges: Trustless State Synchronization
5/16: Securing a Zero Knowledge World
5/17: Intro to zkApps on @MinaProtocol
Check out the full lineup at zkweek.com
Jump Crypto is organizing a week full of zk-related events at the Pit and bringing together renowned zk researchers, academics and protocols to discuss and answer the most important questions/challenges of the zk space currently.
Details about the zkWeek can be found at https://jumpcrypto.com/thepit/zkweek/
nova
orochi
risczero
zkoidc
privacyscaling
zerosync
zama
zkml
zkwasm
longhashx
mina
nocturne
kakarot
aztec
zuzalu
berkeley
scalingx
jump
zkweek
