Cryptographic obfuscation of the data on layer-1 blockchains has now become affordable with Dusk Network’s new zero-knowledge proof tool called PlonKup. This tool makes privacy possible on chains that aren’t purpose built for it.
Privacy with scalability has been the technological hurdle to overcome to this day. Technically it is possible for layer-1 blockchains to have data privacy on-chain, but thus far this has not been scalable to any significant degree.
Purpose-built blockchains such as zCash use ZK-SNARKS for basic private transactions, but now many blockchains can avail themselves of data confidentiality, thanks to Dusk Network’s zero-knowledge proof advances.
Dusk Network’s solution is the first structure to bring together the PLONK zero-knowledge proof system with PLOOKUP. These are two ZK-SNARKS invented by the Aztec Protocol.
The problem with the ZK-SNARKS solutions in the past, is that they required a “trusted setup” for every single use case by employing intricate multi-party computation (MPC) procedures, which made it extremely difficult to scale.
PlonKup solves this problem by using precomputed lookup table combinations that speed up proving times dramatically, therefore allowing many layer-1 blockchains to offer privacy while also remaining competitive in their gas prices.
“By synergizing PlonKup with the Reinforced Concrete hashing algorithm, we’ve achieved a level of optimization that outperforms the regular implementation of PlonK with other hash functions, said Dusk researcher Marta Bellés-Muñoz. And this opens the blockchain up to entirely new zero-knowledge use cases that were too costly to operate before.”
“Recursion” is one of the new use cases that PlonKup will be ideal for. According to Dusk Network:
PlonKup makes it possible to include recursive proof verification, or ZK rollups, in which a proof can verify itself, another proof, and even multiple proofs, thereby reducing the amount of data that needs to be stored on the blockchain. To succeed in recursion, the company has already allocated funding from its grant program Helios towards ZK-recursion research.
Dusk Network continues to push out the frontiers of secure and scalable privacy together with the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and other industry experts. The importance of zero-knowledge proof technology for “big block chains” is voiced by Vitalik Buterin in his recent Endgame post.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
