Zero-Knowledge technology is one of the key enablers for decentralised finance, or DeFi. With over $725 million in funding in 2022, ZK technology plays a critical role in privacy, scalability and interoperability.
However, its complex and technical nature makes it daunting for newcomers. To ensure its sustainable progress, developers need to prioritise improving accessibility. Is the juice worth the squeeze for this industry niche? If zero-knowledge technology is to progress and sustain itself, developers in the field need to address its accessibility.
The hype around Zero-Knowledge technology
ZK wasn’t invented for blockchain, but it could have been. A mathematical cryptographic technique that has become a scalability solution, the rise of DeFi has helped push ZK far beyond its original boundaries. It has been used in DeFi for private token transactions, solving Ethereum’s scalability and interoperability issues, to name a few.
Recent developments in Ethereum scaling projects, such as Matter Labs’ zkEVM and initiatives by Polygon and ConsenSys, have further demonstrated the potential of ZK technology to revolutionise the industry.
However, the true potential of ZK technology extends beyond blockchain applications. Industries such as gaming, machine learning and trustless data access can greatly benefit from the provable computations offered by zero-knowledge proofs. The future scope of ZK technology is vast, which is why accessibility is so important to its potential.
Without zero-knowledge proofs, blockchains such as Ethereum would struggle to scale to a mass market, as ZKPs not only help maintain privacy, but also act as a scaling solution for developers. This is because ZKPs essentially ‘condense’ a series of transactions by bundling them into a single provable computation, without the need to reveal the specific content of that proof.
In an increasingly digital world, ZKPs will be instrumental in fostering a new age of digital identities – currently, users and developers are limited in how they can interact on-chain due to the fact that everyone is under constant scrutiny.
Why ZK technology is not being adopted
Despite its potential, adoption of ZK technology remains limited. Firstly, the cost of implementing ZK-enabled applications and generating proofs is often prohibitive for many designers.
Secondly, the complex nature of ZK circuits and the manual development required make the process both time-consuming and error-prone. Finally, the lack of user-friendly tools and resources has made it difficult for developers to enter the ZK ecosystem.
What’s being done to make ZK Tech accessible?
The challenges of accessibility in ZK are being addressed, but not at the pace that is needed. One technology that is speeding up adoption is Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines (zkEVMs). This is an Ethereum state machine that is compatible with ZKP technology and executes smart contracts.
zkEVMs have been touted as the key to improving Ethereum’s performance, reducing costs and solving Ethereum’s scalability problem. But knowledge is power, and the industry needs to do a better job of explaining itself. While the technology is touted for its benefits and ability to plug holes in security and scalability issues, the hypothetical user manual is complicated and the value of how to use ZK can be lost.
The industry’s pipeline includes decentralised proof generator marketplaces, which offer the opportunity to outsource proof generation, reducing the burden of infrastructure maintenance and lowering costs.
These marketplaces connect developers with vendors that specialise in implementing proof-based computational compression, providing a transparent and efficient verification process.
But making it easier for developers to integrate CA technology into their projects without breaking the bank isn’t linear. It is necessary to create a toolchain that simplifies the implementation process. Like adding tokens to a wallet directly from a DEX, the industry needs to simplify and standardise itself to encourage adoption. This could also reduce the learning curve for developers.
Furthermore, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel – there just needs to be an established best practice for adoption. Projects could create and disseminate accessible resources such as documents, blog posts, training materials and mentoring opportunities through their websites or other public platforms. By fostering a culture of collaboration and inclusion, the industry can encourage risk-taking and facilitate the development of cutting-edge ICT technologies.
Overall, crypto technology is a bit of a stumbling block. While it’s a quantum leap in crypto technology advancement, there are areas of the industry that are far easier to adopt than others, such as those looking to expand their digital identification processes for know-your-customer (KYC) purposes. Despite the nature of this particular beast, KYC technology needs a helping hand to get to the same place of effortless adoption.
There are incredibly advanced technological developments taking place that are borderline revolutionary for the industry, but so much so that it’s almost impossible to explain in layman’s terms. The learning curve in itself is to create things and explain them in a much more user-friendly way.
Looking to the future
While ZK technology has gained recognition within the blockchain industry for its scalability benefits, its potential extends far beyond that.
Overcoming barriers to entry, including complexity, lack of understanding and high cost, is critical to the growth of the ZK technology industry. By simplifying its implementation and making it more accessible to developers, we can unlock innovation and secure interactions across different industries.
The AI industry needs to broaden its vision and look to other corners of the industry for inspiration on how to simplify the technology adoption process. Advances in AI technology aren’t commonplace, and it takes industry-wide collaboration and support to make it user-friendly.
By fostering collaboration, providing resources and creating easy-to-use tools, we can pave the way for widespread adoption and integration of AI technology.
Only then can we fully realise the transformative potential of ZK proofs in every transaction, whether on or off the blockchain.
