A zero-knowledge proof is a technique used to demonstrate a statement’s validity without disclosing the statement itself. The person making an effort to validate a claim is known as the “verifier,” whereas the “prover” is the one making the proof.

Zero-knowledge proofs were first described in a 1985 paper titled “The knowledge complexity of interactive proof systems.

“A zero-knowledge protocol is a technique that allows one party (the prover) to demonstrate to another party (the verifier) that a particular claim is true while withholding all other information. As zero-knowledge proofs have developed over time, they are now being applied in a number of practical contexts.”

Definition zero-knowledge proofs as follows

With the help of zero-knowledge proof, you can establish the veracity of a claim without disclosing its contents or your method of discovery. Zero-knowledge protocols rely on algorithms that accept some data as input and produce “true” or “false” as output to make this feasible.

The following requirements need to be met by a zero-knowledge protocol:

Completion: The zero-knowledge protocol always returns “true” if the input is valid. Thus, the proof can be accepted if the underlying statement is true and the prover and verifier behave honourably.

Soundness: The zero-knowledge protocol cannot, in theory, be tricked into returning “true” if the input is invalid. Therefore, a dishonest prover cannot deceive a truthful verifier into thinking that a false statement is true (unless there is a very narrow margin of probability).

Zero-knowledge: The verifier has “zero knowledge” of a statement, meaning they only know whether it is true or false. Additionally, this requirement keeps the verifier from inferring from the proof the original input, or the contents of the statement.

What is zkSynk? 

A ZK rollup, ZKSync Era is a trustless protocol that offers scalable and affordable Ethereum transactions through the use of cryptographic validity proofs. Both computation and the majority of data storage occur off-chain in the zkSync Era. Users benefit from the same level of security as in Ethereum since every transaction is validated on the Ethereum main chain.

zkSync Era is designed to resemble Ethereum but with less expensive fees. Similar to Ethereum, smart contracts can be called using the same clients as other EVM-compatible chains and are written in Solidity/Vyper.

zkSync works with pre-existing Ethereum wallets right out of the box, so you don’t need to register a separate private key beforehand. zkSync is currently centralized because it is only managed by the servers of the zkSync team. That being said, a decentralized system will soon replace this one.

How does it help Ethereum in scaling?

Amongst the current L2 scaling solutions, zkSync stands out remarkably in terms of security and usability. Modern cryptography combined with on-chain data availability makes ZK rollups, the foundation of zkSync, the only L2 scaling solution that doesn’t need any operational activity to maintain the security of the funds. 

zkSync is a Layer-2 protocol that scales Ethereum. The goal is not just to speed up Ethereum’s processing but also to protect its core principles—decentralization, freedom, and self-sovereignty—at a large scale. With more features scheduled for release soon, zkSync Era will offer developers a design space to experiment with applications that are currently not possible on Ethereum.

Native support for ECDSA signatures: No additional steps are needed to register the user’s private key, in contrast to previous ZK rollups and versions of zkSync. The same private key used for L1 can be used to manage any account in L2.

Read Here: Navigating NFT: A Comprehensive User Guide

ZkSynk Bridge 

Confirming Merkle proofs of transactions occurring on other chains, the Hyperbridge will function as a collection of smart contracts. Within L1’s shared bridge contract, the original asset is locked. This implies that the ecosystem’s liquidity is consistent throughout. 

Native support for ECDSA signatures: No additional steps are needed to register the user’s private key, in contrast to previous ZK rollups and versions of zkSync. The same private key used for L1 can be used to manage any account in L2.

Seven steps are involved in hyperbridging.

• A transaction between two hyperchains is started by one of them.
• Proof of the sending Hyperchain is settled onto L1.
• This updates the Transaction Root as soon as the proof is settled. All Hyperbridge transactions taking place within the ecosystem are committed to by this Root.
• To import this Transaction Root, the receiving Hyperchain uses its consensus mechanism, just like it does with L1→L2 messages.
• The transaction is transmitted to the receiving Hyperchain by a relayer along with a Merkle Proof tying it to the Transaction Root.
• The Transaction Root is used to validate the transaction and Merkle proof. The transaction is carried out and the relayer is paid if the proof is accurate.
• The imported Transaction Root is also validated when the receiving Hyperchain settles its proof.

Businesses and organizations can take advantage of the best of both worlds by fusing the privacy-preserving zero-knowledge proof design with the intrinsic transparency of blockchain networks. This allows them to maintain the confidentiality of their internal datasets while utilizing them in the dependable execution environments of smart contract applications.