• Three German computer scientists have formed the ZeroSync Association to bring scalability to Bitcoin using zero-knowledge proofs (zk-proofs).
• The association has received sponsorship from Geometry Research and StarkWare Industries.
• ZeroSync has already developed a working prototype that allows users to validate who owns what and the transaction history on Bitcoin without having to download the entire chain or using a third party.
The Formation of ZeroSync Association
Three German computer scientists have created a Swiss non-profit association called ZeroSync Association to help bring scalability to Bitcoin using zero-knowledge proofs (zk-proofs), a cryptographic technique whose popularity on Ethereum has surged considerably. The association has received sponsorship from Geometry Reaserch and StarkWare Industries, which are a crypto investment firm and software company behind StarkNet respectively.
What is Zero-knowledge Proofs?
Zero-knowledge Proofs, commonly referred to as zk-proofs, is a cryptographic technique that uses cryptography to prove the validity of information revealing the information to the public. By deploying kz-proofs on Bitcoin means nodes will be able to sync almost instantly compared to hours and sometimes days that it takes to download the chain’s current 500GB data.
A Working Prototype
ZeroSync has already developed a working prototype that allows users to validate who owns what and the transaction history on Bitcoin without having to download the entire chain or using a third party. The prototype can however only verify Bitcoin consensus rules but not transaction signatures. When fully deployed on Bitcoin, ZeroSync will allow verification of transactions of Bitcoin through cryptographic proof instead of trusting honest nodes as suggested by Satoshi Nakamoto, founder of Bitcoin.
Limitations of Current Prototype
The current prototype is still chunky in size and needs further optimization for security and speed before being fully deployed onto Bitcoin’s blockchain network.
Conclusion
The three computer scientists at ZeroSync are hoping their efforts will improve scalability issues encountered with PoW consensus mechanism used by both Ethereum and Bitcoin while also allowing faster syncing times for nodes with its use of zk-proof cryptography technique.