Zero Knowledge

This week, we present the third installment in the Zero Knowledge Systems story. In this episode, Anna chats with Austin Hill, one of the original founders of Zero Knowledge Systems. They explore the company’s early days, Austin’s background in tech, and what this scene in Montreal was like in the late ’90s. The conversation covers fundraising during the dot-com boom, Zero Knowledge Systems’s ambitious vision for internet privacy, its flagship product Freedom, and how the company pivoted from a broad individual privacy mission to a more focused B2B approach. They cover Austin’s journey after ZKS—including how he discovered Bitcoin, co-founded Blockstream, and navigated the challenges of building a business around open-source infrastructure. He also discusses a new project he's involved in, which ventures into a completely different field—material nanotechnology. We encourage you to check out the first two episodes of the series here and here before diving into this one.   Related links: Part 1: B

This week Anna catches up with Aayush Gupta from ZK Email, covering the latest developments and real-world applications of the ZK Email protocol. They explore how the project serves as a bridge between Web2 systems and Web3 infrastructure and go on to discuss use cases like wallet-based account recovery, anonymous reputation-based communication, and digital provenance verification. This was an exploration of novel ZK use cases, which is something we love to cover - so we hope you enjoy it! Related links: ZK Email Website ZKP2P with Brian & Richard Modular Summit 3.0 Panel: ZK Applications ZK12: Future of ZK Applications with Anna & Friends ZK for web2 interop with zkLogin & ZK Email ZK Email: Making Airdrops More Human     Applications for zkSummit13 are open, spots are limited for this edition so apply soon (www.zksummit.com) if you want to join.     Missing Link are a talent team built for the Web3 era, helping projects across the ecosystem connect wit

This week Anna chats with Jeffrey Scholz, founder of RareSkills. They discuss onboarding developers into ZK and dive into RareSkills' education program via The ZK Book and their ZK bootcamps. They explore strategies for breaking down complex topics, decisions on curriculum design, tool selection, and methodologies for enabling self-sufficient learning. A great listen for the listeners who want to learn ZK and are trying to figure out how to approach the challenge. Related links: RareSkills Website ZK HACK Website ZK HACK Whiteboard Sessions RareSkills ZK Book Jeffrey Scholz on Medium Jeffrey Scholz’s course on Udemy Consensys Bootcamp in 2021 Encode Club ZK Podcast Episode 309 - ZK Jargon Decoder with Nico Mohnblatt video ZK HACK - Thaler Book Study Group Playlist on YouTube The MoonMath Manual to zk-SNARKs by Least Authority     Applications for zkSummit13 are now open, spots are limited for this edition so apply soon (www.zksummit.com) if you want to join.   &

This week Anna jumps back into the story of Zero Knowledge Systems with Jonathan Wilkins, cofounder Blockstream and Cloaked Services and previous employee of ZKS back in 2000. They explore the emergence of security culture in the 1990s, what led Jonathan to join Zero Knowledge Systems and his experience working on projects such as the Freedom Network. They discuss the office atmosphere and the research lab before catching up on the work Jonathan has focused on since then. Key concepts we see in the ZK community today were first pioneered by the Zero Knowledge Systems research team and we hope to invite more of these past members of the team in the future!  Related links: Podcast Episode: Back to the Future with Zero Knowledge iSEC Partners X.25 Networks 2600 Meetups C++ Builder Delphi ‘Zero-Knowledge: Nothing Personal’ - Wired Handbook of Applied Cryptography by Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot and Scott A. Vanstone Ian Goldberg profile Adam Schostack - Schostack + Associates A

This week Anna and Tarun chat with Mert Mumtaz. Mert is the co-founder and CEO of Helius and is known for his contributions to the Solana ecosystem. They explore Mert’s background, his entry into the space, and his experiences during the 2022 market downturn and subsequent recovery. The conversation covers Solana’s positioning within the broader blockchain landscape and includes an overview of emerging ZK projects in the ecosystem. Related links: Zero-Knowledge Proofs: Its Applications on Solana Episode 135 - Look into Solana Solana projects mentioned: Backpack, Anza, Gido, Jupiter  ZK projects mentioned: Phantom, Elusiv, Light Protocol, Dark Protocol  Solana Token Extensions --------------- Applications for zkSummit13 are now open, spots are limited for this edition so apply soon (www.zksummit.com) if you want to join. --------------- **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm *

This week Anna catches up with Nico, Guillermo and Alex from Bain Capital Crypto to discuss two of their recent works; ZODA: Zero-Overhead Data Availability by the trio and The Accidental Computer by Alex & Guille. The group starts with a discussion about how papers like FRIDA and Foundations of Data Availability Sampling inspired ZODA and then cover the innovations presented in ZODA itself. They wrap up with a discussion about The Accidental Computer, and in doing so tease out some of the fundamental concepts in current ZK research.   Related links: ZK Podcast: Disclosures ZODA: Zero-Overhead Data Availability by Alex Evans, Guillermo Angeris and Nico Mohnblatt FRIDA: Data Availability Sampling from FRI by Mathias Hall-Andersen, Mark Simkin and Benedikt Wagner Foundations of Data Availability Sampling by Mathias Hall-Andersen, Mark Simkin and Benedikt Wagner The Accidental Computer: Polynomial Commitments from Data Availability by Alex Evans and Guillermo Angeris Guille's Tweet “anon,

This week, Anna and Nico chat with Andrew Lu and Vivek Bhupatiraju from Cursive.  They map out the timeline of their in-person activations and experiments using programmable cryptography, which they have been running since late 2023. By quickly developing small applications and products to test with real users, they have gathered tangible data about these innovations at various live conferences worldwide, including our own flagship events, zkSummit11 and zkSummit12. They share the challenges and insights gained from these experimental products. Additionally, they share the concepts that inspired their innovations, such as digital pheromones and narrowcasting. Related links: Zupass ZK for web2 interop with zkLogin & ZK Email  Cursive ETH Denver Building cryptographic apps for human connection - Vivek Bhupatiraju & Andrew Lu Phantom Zone GitHub Frontiers by Paradigm  --------------- Applications for zkSummit13 are now open, spots are limited for this edition so >> apply soon &

We’re back with a new look and a new jingle! In this episode, ZK Podcast returns, and host Anna Rose shares a story from her past that strangely connects to the present day and the name "Zero Knowledge." Listen in as we kick off the show once again. Applications for zkSummit13 are now open, apply for your spot here. Check out the latest jobs in ZK at the ZK Podcast jobs board. Zero Knowledge Systems on Wikipedia IF YOU LIKE WHAT WE DO: Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree Subscribe to our podcast newsletter Follow us on X @zeroknowledgefm Join us on Telegram Catch us on YouTube ZK Podcast website

A quick update from the Zero Knowledge Podcast: The show is set to resume at the beginning of February, with exciting episodes and topics we can't wait to share with you! In the meantime, the team is hiring for two roles—a Community Marketing Manager to amplify the podcast's reach authentically and a Strategic Growth Lead to strengthen the business side of operations. If you are a potential candidate, please do apply over on the ZK Jobs Board!As 2025 approaches, the podcast aims to further explore zero-knowledge technology's potential to shape the future and invites the community to join in the journey.

SummaryThis week, Anna catches up with cohosts, Tarun, Nico and Guillermo to do a look back at the zk research and applications that came out in 2024. They go on to discuss the challenges facing the ecosystem. And they wrap with a brief look forward, covering what to expect in ZK in 2025. This will be the last ep of 2024, thank you for joining us this year! Further Reading:Circle STARKs by Haböck, Levit and PapiniStarkWare Unveils New 'Stwo' Cryptographic Prover That's 'Blazingly Fast'ZK12: WHIR: Reed-Solomon Proximity Testing with Super-Fast Verification by Eylon YogevEpisode 290: Exploring, Teaching and Auditing ZK with David Wong Episode 345: Latest ZK Research with Dan Boneh LatticeFold: A Lattice-based Folding Scheme and its Applications to Succinct Proof Systems by Dan Boneh and Binyi ChenLaBRADOR: Compact Proofs for R1CS from Module-SIS? by Ward Beullens and Gregor SeilerQuantum Algorithms for Lattice Problems by Yilei ChenEpisode 325: Web Proofs with Tracy from Pluto ZODA: Zero-Overhead Data Availabil

SummaryIn this week’s episode, Anna catches up with Dan Boneh, Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Stanford University. They discuss the focus of his research today, covering new ZK research problems and themes. This includes work on lattice-based SNARKs, ZK for content provenance, ZK in the FHE context, updates on ZK in ML and more!Here’s some additional links for this episode:0:03:08.3 Episode 256: New ZK Use Cases with Dan BonehEpisode 100: Dan Boneh on the past, present & future of cryptography0:03:44.6 Episode 341: coSNARKs with Ais and Lukas from TACEO0:07:57.2 LaBRADOR: Compact Proofs for R1CS from Module-SIS? Ward Beullens and Gregor Seiler0:07:57.2 Bulletproofs: Short Proofs for Confidential Transactions and More by Bünz, Bootle, Boneh, Poelstra, Wuille, and Maxwell0:09:44.7 Greyhound: Fast Polynomial Commitments from Lattices by Nguyen and Seiler0:11:28.3 LatticeFold: A Lattice-based Folding Scheme and its Applications to Succinct Proof Systems Dan Boneh and Binyi Chen0:12:

Summary This week, Anna and Nico take a look back at some of the ZK Events produced in 2024 by the ZK Podcast, ZK Hack and other adjacent projects. Starting with the live ZK Jargon Decoder hosted in January and spanning the 10 months since, Anna and Nico share behind-the-scenes anecdotes, highlight key talks from the events and share some insight into how the programs for the zkSummit events are created. They wrapped with a summary of some of the themes in ZK that got them talking this year and are tracking going forward. Don’t forget, this is the last episode of ZK Podcast before we take a pause in weekly shows for the rest of 2024 - but don’t worry we will be back! Further Reading: ZK HACK IV - ZK Jargon Decoder Episode 309 - ZK Jargon Decoder with Nico Mohnblatt ZK Hack Montréal Under The Hood of zkID: - Nicolas Mohnblatt - Web3 Summit 2024 Berlin Panel Discussion w/ Anna Rose, Jim Posen, Nicolas Mohnblatt - Web3 Summit 2024 Berlin zkSummit Website zkSummit11 Playlist zkSummit12 Live Link Episo

SummaryThis week Anna chats with Mikerah Quintyne-Collins from HashCloak and Stoffel Labs. They discuss how Mikerah got her start in the crypto space and then dive into the work she did at ChainSafe and eventually at HashCloak. They cover Mikerah’s work on privacy preserving tech like ZK, TEE and MPC and learn about what drives her tweet game and the wisdom she has picked up over the years as a technical founder, driven by curiosity… and memes. Here’s some additional links for this episode:ZK Mesh@badcryptobitch Twitter03:24 Episode 40: Benedikt Bünz on Bulletproofs and Verifiable Delay Functions04:54 Ethereum Founder Vitalik talk 2017- What is Cryptoeconomics? 11:03 “I will quite literally drop out if we got $100k in ETH” Tweet by Mikerah 13:01 “I am being told I should brag more about co-inventing rollups” Tweet by Mikerah15:36 Building Scalable Decentralized Payment Systems by Adlerand Quintyne-CollinsCheck out the ZK Jobs Board for the latest jobs in ZK at jobsboard.zeroknowledge.fm Episode SponsorAleo is

Just sharing 2 updates: 1) the ZK Whiteboard sessions are BACK with a second season! These videos will be released every 2 weeks for the next 3 months on ZK Hack channels - See Season 1 videos here: https://zkhack.dev/whiteboard/ See Season 2 Module 1 here: https://zkhack.dev/whiteboard/s2m1/ 2) The Zero Knowledge Podcast (aka this show!) will take a pause on the weekly cadence of the show starting Oct 16th until the end of 2024. Expect last 2 episodes on Oct 9 and Oct 16 There may be some additional episodes released this year (but no plans yet) Keep an eye on our website and twitter for updates about the show (and soon an updated website!)

SummaryThis week Anna catches up with Zac Williamson & Ariel Gabizon from Aztec. They cover what each has been working on over the last year, Zac shared updates about the development of Aztec and the finalization of their underlying ZK system: MegaPlonk. Ariel discussed his latest research on IVC with his publications of the ProtoGalaxy and Stackproofs works and how properties of this systems brought him and Zac to start working together again. Here’s some additional links for this episode:Episode 273: History of Plonk, Noir, and the building of Aztec 3 Episode 274: SNARKs: A Trilogy with Ariel Gabizon5:51 * zkSummit: plookup: Speeding up the PLONK prover - Zac Williamson & Ariel Gabizon 10:49 * ProtoGalaxy: Efficient ProtoStar-style folding of multiple instances by Liam Eagen and Ariel Gabizon13:01 * HyperNova: Recursive arguments for customizable constraint systems by Kothapalli and Setty13:01 * ProtoStar: Generic Efficient Accumulation/Folding for Special Sound Protocols by Bünz and Chen27:24 * cq:

SummaryThis week Anna and Nico chat with Lukas Helminger and Ais Connolly from TACEO. They discuss Lukas & Ais’ early work in cryptography and privacy preserving technologies, the founding of TACEO and their recent work on coSNARKs - or Collaborative SNARKs - that combine MPC and ZK. They explore how these coSNARKs are created, their coCircom language, the characteristics of these systems as well as how they can be applied in the real world.Here’s some additional links for this episode:TACEO TACEO Docs TACEO GitHub Hashing it out: coSNARKs at TACEO Experimenting with Collaborative zk-SNARKs: Zero-Knowledge Proofs for Distributed Secrets by Ozdemir and BonehPrivately Connecting Mobility to Infectious Diseases via Applied Cryptography Bampoulidis, Bruni, Helminger, Kales, Rechberger, and WalchLarge-Scale MPC: Scaling Private Iris Code Uniqueness Checks to Millions of Users by Bloemen, Kales, Sippl and WalchCollaborative SNARKs by Roman WalchNotes on Collaborative zkSNARKsMPC Primer - coCircomZK Podcast clip

SummaryThis week Anna and Zaki Manian dive into the Cosmos ecosystem and ask the question: is Cosmos Dead? They explore key events, teams and players who worked on Cosmos during different eras before teasing out the strengths and structural flaws that made the project what it is today. The conversation wraps with a discussion around new initiatives aimed at reviving the ecosystem and aligning factions in Cosmos together towards a central goal. Here’s some additional links for this episode:03:50 * Episode 286: Paris 2023 Recap with Uma, Zaki and Tarun20:38 * Episode 263: Cosmos, Sommelier and Emerging Assets with Zaki Manian32:16 * Episode 337: Restaking Research with Naveen & Tarun 55:11 * Cosmos SDK GitHub Cosmos WebsiteCosmos SDK Documentation Privacy in Cosmos Live: Zaki Manian (Sommelier)- The Unbearable Weight of Sovereign Multichain UX Check out the ZK Jobs Board for the latest jobs in ZK at jobsboard.zeroknowledge.fm zkSummit12 is happening in Lisbon on Oct 8th! Applications to attend are now open

SummaryIn this week’s episode, Anna and Tarun catch up with Andrew Miller. They cover his early work on consensus, ZK and MPC before switching focus to the topic of his current work: TEEs. They map his evolving opinion on TEEs and explore why they could be seen as an optimal solution to many of the blockchain challenges. Here’s some additional links for this episode:3:59 * Andrew Miller works5:32 * SoK: Research Perspectives and Challenges for Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies by Bonneau, Miller, Clark, Narayanan, Kroll, Felten 11:45 * Zerocash: Decentralized Anonymous Payments from Bitcoin by Ben-Sasson, Chiesa, Garman, Green, Miers, Tromer, and Virza 21:33 * The Honey Badger of BFT Protocols by Miller, Xia, Croman, Shi, and Song28:50 * DelegaTEE: Brokered Delegation Using Trusted Execution Environments byMatetic, Schneider, Miller, Juels and Capkun33:02 * Ratel: MPC-extensions for Smart Contracts by Li, Soska, Huang, Bellemare, Quintyne-Collins, Wang, Liu, Song and Miller33:02 * Ekiden: A Platform for Confidenti

SummaryThis week Anna and Nico chat with Arnaud Schenk, one of the original co-founders of Aztec and creator of the Polaris Fellowship. They discuss Arnaud’s recent blog post ‘On Trust Infrastructure’, exploring the down sides of a trustless system, the need to make online community building more possible and how programmable cryptography may play a role in these solutions. They explore the history of computer culture, the rejection of institutions by mid-90s internet culture and how the seeds for this were set by the 60s counterculture. Here’s some additional links for this episode:05:09 * Episode 75: Exploring Aztec with Zac Williamson05:09 * Episode 176: Zk-zk-rollup & zk.money with Zac and Joe from Aztec05:09 * Episode 273: History of Plonk, Noir, and the building of Aztec 307:38 * Episode 237: Exploring ZK Research with Jens Groth 20:01 * Into the deep end: making sense of PLONK - Zac Williamson (CTO, Aztec Protocol)23:55 * Collaborative Circles: Friendship Dynamics and Creative Work by Michael P. Fa

SummaryIn this week’s episode Anna and Tarun chat with Naveen Durvasula about his recent work ‘Robust Restaking Networks’. They discuss Naveen’s early work on matching markets and how this led him to work on mechanism design before exploring how the concepts of restaking were first presented, and how both Naveen and Tarun have been working to better model the mechanisms underpinning restaking, to understand how they work and how they can be optimized. Further Reading:03:52 * Robust Restaking Networks by Naveen Durvasula and Tim Roughgarden06:00 * EigenLayer: The Restaking Collective EigenLayer TeamGeneral Bio + Previous Research of Naveen Durvasula Check out the ZK Jobs Board for the latest jobs in ZK at jobsboard.zeroknowledge.fm zkSummit12 is happening in Lisbon on Oct 8th! Applications to attend are now open at zksummit.com, apply today as early bird tickets are limited!Episode SponsorsAttention, all projects in need of server-side proving, kick start your rollup with Gevulot's ZkCloud, the first zk-optim