Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) are a powerful tool in the world of blockchain technology. They allow one party to prove to another that they know something to be true without revealing any additional information beyond what is necessary to prove it. This makes ZKPs incredibly useful for privacy and security applications, and has led to their widespread adoption in many areas of technology.
The concept of Zero Knowledge Proofs was first introduced by computer scientists Shafi Goldwasser, Silvio Micali, and Charles Rackoff in the late 1980s, decades before blockchain was therorised. They developed a theoretical framework for Zero Knowledge Proofs, which has since been refined and expanded upon by many other researchers. Over the years ZKPs have been used for things like Authentication and Access Control, Electronic Voting, Digital Identity & Cyber Security.
One way to understand Zero Knowledge Proofs is by using the analogy of a locked diary. Imagine you have a diary that you want to share with someone else, but you don’t want them to be able to read the contents of the diary. You could use a Zero Knowledge Proof to prove to them that you have written something specific in the diary without revealing the contents of the writing itself.
Here’s how it works. You start by locking the diary with a key. You then give the key to the other person, along with a piece of paper that contains a statement you want to prove. The statement might be something like “I went to the park yesterday.” The other person then opens the diary and verifies that the statement is indeed written inside. However, they cannot read any other part of the diary, because it is locked with a key that only you have.
In this way, you have proven that you know something to be true (that you wrote the statement in the diary), without revealing any additional information beyond what is necessary to prove it. This is the essence of a Zero Knowledge Proof.
In the world of blockchain technology, Zero Knowledge Proofs are used for a variety of applications. They can be used to prove the ownership of digital assets without revealing any personal identifying information. They can also be used to prove that a particular transaction is valid without revealing any details about the transaction itself.
So now you know the basics if someone says “ZKP” this is what they are referring to and whether a blockchain-based application or not; they are just trying to keep your personal information private. Zero Knowledge Proofs are an important concept to understand.
