Zero-Knowledge: We can now prove something is true, without revealing the answer
ZK technology has been around for decades, but it's been moving at lightning speed these past few years, fueled by insane VC investment in crypto.
This won’t be a technical deep-dive. This is a wake-up call. I want you to open your eyes, we are talking about thousands of possibilities this tech will unlock.
Right now, I believe the next generation of billion-dollar companies will come from very specific ZK-based use cases. One of the most obvious: online identity verification. The applications founders building in this space today will be the next Mark Zuckerbergs of our era.
If I had to sum up this revolution in one sentence: we can prove something is true, without revealing the answer.
Where we are
Today, it’s mostly infrastructure players building their own ZK tech.
Many of them are open source, like Linea & zkSync.
At the same time, we’re seeing projects like Boundless and Succinct starting to Uberizing the ZK market, making it easy for any developer to use ZK as a service.
- Boundless leverages zkVMs and zero-knowledge middleware to abstract the complexity.
- Succinct provides SNARK-based proving as a service and light clients that can verify ZK proofs cheaply and quickly.
We’re now reaching a point where the ZK infrastructure is mature enough to scale: first to the regional level (think about crypto ecosystem), then continental (reach crypto + specific apps), and ultimately global world.
Like with any new technology, scaling is the big challenge.
But with ZK, decentralization and security aren’t just technical marketing words, it's at the core of the ethos of this movement.
We don’t just want scalable systems. We want systems that empower individuals, preserve privacy, and stay resilient.
What is Zero-Knowledge Proof
Zero-knowledge proofs let you prove that something is true, without showing why it’s true or how you know it.
Imagine being able to convince someone you have the answer, without ever showing them the answer. That’s what zero-knowledge proofs do. They let you prove knowledge without revealing the knowledge itself.
ZKs are like a secret handshake in math form, they confirm you’re legit, without needing to show your ID. You don’t have to undress to prove you’re human. Thanks to the mathematics genius who create it.
Some ZK use cases
Private transaction - Zcash was one of the first to use ZK to enable users to make transactions where the sender, recipient and transaction amount remain confidential.
Decentralized Identity - ZK can be used to verify identities without revealing sensitive personal information. For example, a user could prove they are over 18 without disclosing their birthdate, name or any other personal information.
Data Sharing with Privacy - ZK allow for the verification of specific attributes of data without exposing the underlying data itself. For example: researchers could verify that a patient meets certain medical criteria without accessing their full medical record.
ZK Rollups - Help L2 that bundle multiple transactions into a single proof, reducing the computational burden on the L1 and enabling faster and cheaper transactions.
Validiums - Similar to ZK Rollups, Validiums also use ZK for off-chain computation but store transaction data off-chain as well.
Passwordless Login - ZK can be used to prove knowledge of a password or secret without actually transmitting the password, mitigating the risk of password theft.
Biometric Authentification - ZK can verify biometric data like fingerprints or facial recognition without revealing the raw biometric information
Secure Authorization - ZK can be used to prove that a user has the necessary permissions to access a resource or service without disclosing the user's credentials
Secure Voting - ZK can be used to ensure the integrity and privacy of elections by allowing voters to prove their eligibility and cast their votes without revealing their choices
Supply Chain Management - ZK can enhance transparency and traceability in supply chains by verifying the authenticity and origin of products without revealing sensitive information about the production process
Financial Transactions - ZK can enable secure and confidential financial transactions, such as proving the validity of a transaction without revealing sensitive details
Credit checks - ZK can be used to verify creditworthiness without revealing the borrower's detailed credit history.
