Zero Knowledge Proof And Why It Matters to Web3?
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The role of Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) in the advancement of Web3 technology and cryptography has become increasingly evident over the course of the preceding year. Obviously, Zero Knowledge Proofs have created a foundation for ZK applications to spread throughout the Bitcoin ecosystem and emerge as the defining aspect of Web3 adoption. Indeed, according to a survey of nearly 2,000 participants conducted by Mina Protocol, most crypto community members believe that ZKPs will play an integral role in the future development of DeFi, Web3, and the metaverse. They are also looking forward to new advancements of zero knowledge in the industry to offer a secure and private Web3 for everyone to use.
In this article, we will explore the importance of zero knowledge proof to the development of Web3. In case you forgot what zero knowledge proof is, check out this article, in which we provided a comprehensive overview of the zero knowledge proof technology.
Let’s get into the topic.
What is Web 3.0?
Web 3.0 is a new generation of the internet that develops beyond a centralized setting and aims to link data in a decentralized way in order to offer a rapid and customized user experience. Web 3.0 is also known as the third generation of the web or the semantic web, which leverages blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs to protect the security and privacy of user data and return ownership and authority to the consumers.
Businesses and organizations can hugely benefit from Web 3.0 since it facilitates the construction of applications by distributing functionality among several block nodes.
This not only increases the transparency of business transactions but also enables us to track every piece of data ever recorded. Consequently, users are no longer dependent on the service provider that is creating the platform.
Core features of Web 3.0
- Decentralized: The ownership of the internet is divided among its creators and users rather than being managed and owned by substantial portions of centralized organizations.
- Permissionless: No one is barred from Web3 participation and everyone has equal access to it.
- Native payments: Instead of depending on the outmoded infrastructure of banks and payment processors, it employs cryptocurrencies for online spending and sending of funds.
- Trustless: Instead of relying on reliable outside sources, it functions utilizing economic and incentive principles.
The Shift from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0
Over time, the Internet has become more sophisticated. From the first version of the web, also known as Web 1.0 (1990-2004), includes static web pages supplied content that was already present on servers’ file systems. It allowed users to access information from anywhere in the globe, but it lacked any features that would let them interact with the content on the web. This is the reason why Web 1.0 is being known as a Read-Only web.
IMG Source: https://ethereum.org/en/web3/
After that, the emergence of Web 2.0 (2004-now) enabled users to engage with online material, hence promoting the production of user-generated content, which led to it being known as the Read-Write web version. Although Web 2.0 is a sophisticated platform, it does have significant drawbacks including limited control over user data and concerns about the security of such data.
Contrarily, Web 3.0, also known as Read-Write-Own web, gives people ownership of the system and sends data through a decentralized network. Additionally, Web 3.0 education places more of an emphasis on user empowerment than community development, which makes it remarkable.
What’s the role of ZKP in Web3?
The Web3 platform will depend on a seamless and lightning-fast blockchain user experience. However, it should be noted that this kind of experience will need rollups in order to achieve a scale of mass-adoption. Thanks to the advantages that ZK-rollups provide, they are well-suited to provide this kind of user experience. In addition to offering safe, decentralized transactions with speedy verification (which translates to instant transfers and withdrawals to layer 1), validity proofs and SNARKs, which are used in ZK-rollups, also offer space savings.
Privacy
Trust and privacy are synonymous concepts. Your identity is frequently disclosed to the service provider. However, depending on your website, your identification could change. For instance, some sites connect Google or Facebook while others ask for personally identifiable information. Although the service provider owns and retains the relevant data, you are expected to have full control over your identity under Web3 development.
We are all aware that one can use zero-knowledge proofing technologies to make an argument without providing any specifics. Traditionally, the server will match the information you provided with the information it has locally stored when you input a username and password when you connect into an account. However, if you employ zero-knowledge technology, all you need to do is generate a ZK proof; otherwise, the platform will never be able to deduce your true identity.
Security
The safety of assets is considered one of the most important aspects during blockchain transactions. New players in the cryptocurrency field may think that the assets are not protected because no authority longer exists.
In reality, because the ledger is stored across multiple nodes, the blockchain technology not only ensures that we are the only ones handling our assets (non-custody), but it also lowers the risk. Zero knowledge also raises the bar for security in the following ways:
- The users alone are capable of deciphering the encrypted data. If the provers are fake, the final root that results will be different, and the verifier won’t accept it.
- Due to the accessibility of data on the blockchain, account statuses can be reversed and corrected even if all verifiers collaborate with provers;
- It is usual practice to use additional checks and reinforcement mechanisms when utilizing zero-knowledge proofs. Involving third-party monitors for further verification is one example of this.
Scalability
The majority of people are familiar with the term "zero-knowledge" thanks to ZK-Rollups, which are gaining traction in the Ethereum environment.
For Web3 development to be widely adopted, the user experience must be simple and unobtrusive. However, because of Ethereum's decentralized nature, transaction processing is slower on this platform. Additionally, the consensus procedure and the propagation of any state changes in the network may also need significant processing resources.
Scalability can be achieved by creating a Layer 2 network to carry out the computation. L1 intelligent contracts must therefore verify the impact of the calculation. As part of a ZK-Rollup solution, a batch of L2 transits that have been combined into one transaction will have a mutual validity proof. Other types of information will also be included in this transaction. Verifying the proof entails confirming every transaction in that batch. The core idea behind the ZK-Rollup is this.
In terms of technological design, there are several different scaling alternatives, including Plasma, State Channels, Validium, and Optimistic Rollups. In terms of security, finality, throughput, and decentralization, one may still contend that ZK-Rollups have unmatched overall advantages.
Final Words
Zero-knowledge proofs offer a secure method of certifying data used in Bitcoin transactions and confirming users' identities, all while hiding any sensitive data that may be impacted. Compared to other cryptographic solutions, ZKPs are more user-friendly because they use simple algorithms and don't require any kind of communication between the parties involved in a transaction.
As blockchain developers learn to recognize ZKPs for their ability to improve trust and confidentiality in the field of cryptography, it is highly possible that we will see a growth in the employment of ZKPs and that they will become a crucial component of blockchain technologies.
About Orochi Network
Orochi Network provides missing building blocks for Decentralized Gaming and Metaverse, the first infrastructure that provides Verifiable Computation.
We allow computation to be processed off-chain at zero cost without sacrificing decentralization. Using Zero-Knowledge Proof to prove and verify the computation, projects can inherit the solutions to be verified on-chain by using smart contracts efficiently.
About Orochi Network
Orochi Network is a cutting-edge zkOS (An operating system based on zero-knowledge proof) designed to tackle the challenges of computation limitation, data correctness, and data availability in the Web3 industry. With the well-rounded solutions for decentralized gaming and metaverse applications, Orochi Network omits the current performance-related barriers and makes ways for more comprehensive dApps hence, becoming the backbone of Web3's infrastructure landscape.
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