Zero Knowledge

In this episode, Anna Rose and Guillermo Angeris catch up with Muthu Venkitasubramaniam, Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University and cofounder of Ligero. They discuss how Ligero’s small memory footprint makes it a good choice for client-side proving, as well as the importance of programmable compliance in blockchain. The conversation explores the differences between ‘MPC in the head’ and error-correcting code perspectives, and how well-established primitives influence the design of modern ZK systems. They also debate the challenge of adding ‘ZK’ privacy back into systems without it, why proving EVM traces may be absurd, and what kinds of guarantees might exist around the results of vibe coding. Related links: Episode 363: Bringing ZK to Google Wallet with Abhi and Matteo Episode 326: MPC & ZK in Ligero and Ligetron ZK13: Ligerito: A Small and Concretely Fast Polynomial Commitment Scheme - Kobi Gurkan ZK13: Vibe coding ZK Apps with Ligetron ZK Platform - Muthu Venkitasubramaniam