Challenges of Zero Knowledge Proof
What is Zero Knowledge Proof?
A zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) is a method of proving the validity of a statement without revealing the statement itself. It is a proof system with a prover, a verifier, and a challenge that gives users the ability to publicly share proof of knowledge or ownership without revealing the details of it
In cryptography, zero-knowledge proofs let you convince me that you know something, or have done something, without revealing to me what that secret thing was. It is one of the most powerful cryptographic tools that has ever been devised.
Zero-knowledge proofs offer numerous advantages, some of which are:
Despite some amazing functionality, ZKP is promising but it has some challenges.
Complex Calculations and Hardware Costs: Generating zero-knowledge proofs involves intricate calculations that require powerful specialized machines, resulting in high costs. This cost burden is transferred to end users, making ZKP-based applications less affordable and limiting their accessibility. Moreover, the heavy hardware requirements make it impractical to run ZKPs on mobile devices. While companies like Ingonyama are developing specialized hardware to alleviate this issue, the effectiveness of such solutions remains to be seen.
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Proof Verification Costs: In addition to the expenses associated with generating proofs, the verification process itself entails complex computations, further driving up the costs of utilizing ZKP technology in applications. Even with the most succinct zkSNARKs proofs available today, the verification process remains significantly resource-intensive. For instance, ZK-rollups on Ethereum incur substantial gas fees, with approximately 500,000 gas required to verify a single ZK-SNARK proof.
Lack of Popular Consumer-Facing Use Cases: While ZKPs are being employed for Ethereum scalability, such as in ZK rollups, there is a dearth of user-facing ZK applications that have gained widespread adoption. Although projects like Tornado Cash utilized ZK technology to enable private transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, it faced scrutiny and sanctioning by the US government due to illicit activities. This lack of widely embraced consumer-facing use cases hinders the broader adoption of ZKPs.
Trust Assumptions: The implementation of zkSNARKs involves a "trusted setup" ceremony to generate public parameters necessary for proof generation and verification. This ceremony requires participants to provide secret inputs, which are used to generate the parameters. However, participants must discard their secret inputs to prevent the generation of fraudulent proofs. Consequently, users must place trust in the participants of the trusted setup ceremony without the ability to independently verify their actions. While ongoing efforts aim to eliminate the need for trusted party setups in zkSNARKs, ensuring trustlessness remains an ongoing challenge.
Quantum Computing Threats: Currently, zk-SNARKs rely on elliptic curve cryptography (ECDSA) for encryption, which may be susceptible to future advances in quantum computing. While ECDSA is secure for the time being, the emergence of powerful quantum computers could potentially compromise its security model. In contrast, zk-STARKs employ collision-resistant hashes for encryption, rendering them resistant to quantum computing algorithms. This quantum resistance provides an advantage over zk-SNARKs in terms of long-term security.
Lack of Developer-Friendly Tools: Despite the promising future of ZKPs, the current availability of training resources and developer tools for ZKP applications is limited. Learning and developing applications using ZKPs can be challenging, particularly for developers without a background in mathematics or cryptography. This lack of developer-friendly resources hampers wider adoption and impedes the progress of ZKP-based development.
Let me know your learning and the good product you saw in the Zero Knowledge proof space.
Source: Ethereum and Preethi Kasireddy articles.