Zero-Knowledge Proofs


Tech

Bitcoin's 'OP_CAT' Possibilities Teased in StarkWare Test Project

StarkWare used its new STARK verifier on the Signet network, a testing environment for Bitcoin, in a proof-on-concept project designed to demonstrate what the oldest blockchain might be capable of were the pending "OP_CAT" technical proposal to get adopted.

StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson (Margaux Nijkerk)

Tech

Polygon's New ZK Proving System, 'Plonky3,' Comes as Open-Source Toolkit

Proving systems are a crucial component at the heart of blockchain ecosystems, allowing secondary "rollup" networks to confirm transactions on a base chain like Ethereum. Polygon's prior version, Plonky2, was released in 2022.

Polygon Co-founder Daniel Lubarov (Polygon Labs)

Tech

Polygon Acquires Zero-Knowledge Cryptography Firm Toposware

Sources close to the deal told CoinDesk that the company was valued at $30-50 million. The purchase means that Polygon Labs has invested over $1 billion on zero-knowledge research and acquisitions, the team shared in a press release.

Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron (Polygon Labs)

Tech

Layer-2 Network Starknet Gets Ethereum Virtual Machine With Zero-Knowledge Proofs

The zkEVM, called Kakarot, already in testing, will be available via the Starknet Stack.

StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson, speaking at ETHDenver on Thursday. (Danny Nelson)

Tech

Thiel-Backed Cryptography Startup Lagrange Raises $13M

Lagrange, which specializes in zero-knowledge cryptography, is the latest startup to ride EigenLayer's "restaking" wave.

Peter Thiel holding cash (Rachel Sun/CoinDesk)

Finance

EigenLayer-Powered Aligned Layer Raises $20M to Make ZK Proofs Faster, Cheaper on Ethereum

The fundraise was led by Hack VC and included contributions from DAO5, L2Iterative, NomadCapital_io, FinalityCap, Symbolic VC and Theta Capital

Scattered pile of $1 bills (Gerd Altmann/Pixabay)

Tech

Crypto Exchange OKX's Polygon-Powered Layer 2, 'X Layer,' Hits Public Mainnet

OKX's comes as other major cryptocurrency exchanges, like Coinbase and Kraken, have also pursued their own layer 2 networks over the last year.

OKX Chief Marketing Officer Haider Rafique (OKX)

Tech

Alpen Labs Looks to Scale Bitcoin With Zero-Knowledge Proofs Using $10.6M Funding

Alpen Labs has emerged from stealth mode following the funding round, having spent the last year developing Bitcoin rollup infrastructure to bring smart contract functionality to the network

16:9 Alps mountains (Simon Fitall/Unsplash)

Tech

Venture Firm A16z Releases Jolt, a 'Zero-Knowledge Virtual Machine'

The release is the product of a16z's first foray into deep tech research.

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, California (Haotian Zheng/Unsplash)

Tech

Ethereum Finalizes 'Dencun' Upgrade, in Landmark Move to Reduce Data Fees

A key element of the upgrade is to enable a new place for storing data on Ethereum – referred to as "proto-danksharding," which gives room for a dedicated space on the blockchain that is separate from regular transactions, and comes at a lower cost.

Screenshot from Nethermind's Dencun watch party (Nethermind/YouTube)