ZK-SNARK Implementation | Zero-Blockchain ZC-1

🎯 ZK-SNARK Overview

ZC-1 implements cutting-edge zero-knowledge SNARK technology to provide privacy-preserving consensus validation while maintaining full transparency and auditability for network participants.

91.7%

Proof Verification Rate

< 50ms

Proof Generation

256-bit

Security Level

~200B

Proof Size

⚡ ZK Circuit Design

ZC-1's zero-knowledge circuits are optimized for consensus validation, validator identity verification, and transaction privacy.

Validator Identity Proof Circuit

Secret Key

→

Hash Function

→

Public Key

→

zK Proof

circuit ValidatorProof(private_key, stake_amount) {
    // Prove knowledge of private key without revealing it
    public_key := hash(private_key);
    
    // Prove stake amount is valid
    assert stake_amount >= MIN_STAKE;
    assert stake_amount <= MAX_STAKE;
    
    // Generate commitment to validator state
    commitment := poseidon_hash(public_key, stake_amount, timestamp);
    
    return proof(commitment, nullifier);
}
                

🔨 Proof Generation Process

The ZK-SNARK proof generation process in ZC-1 follows a sophisticated multi-step approach:

1 Circuit Compilation: Convert high-level constraints into arithmetic circuits with R1CS (Rank-1 Constraint System) representation.

2 Trusted Setup: Generate proving and verification keys using ceremony-based secure multi-party computation.

3 Witness Generation: Compute private witness values satisfying all circuit constraints for the given public inputs.

4 Proof Creation: Use Groth16 proving system to generate succinct proof of constraint satisfaction.

5 Verification: Validators verify proofs using verification key and public inputs in constant time.

🎯 ZK Applications in ZC-1

Zero-knowledge proofs are integrated throughout ZC-1's architecture for enhanced privacy and security:

👤 Validator Privacy

Validators prove their eligibility and stake without revealing sensitive information about their identity or exact stake amounts.

💰 Transaction Privacy

Optional privacy-preserving transactions using zK-SNARKs to hide transaction amounts while proving validity.

🔗 State Transitions

Prove correct state transitions without revealing intermediate computational steps or private smart contract data.

📊 Consensus Participation

Demonstrate participation in consensus rounds while maintaining validator anonymity and preventing correlation attacks.

⚙️ Technical Implementation

ZC-1's zK-SNARK implementation leverages state-of-the-art cryptographic libraries and optimisations:

class ZKProof {
    constructor(circuit, witness) {
        this.circuit = circuit;
        this.witness = witness;
        this.proof = null;
        this.public_inputs = [];
    }
    
    async generate() {
        const r1cs = await compile_circuit(this.circuit);
        const witness_calc = new WitnessCalculator(r1cs);
        const witness = await witness_calc.calculate(this.witness);
        
        this.proof = await groth16.fullProve(
            witness, 
            r1cs.wasm, 
            r1cs.zkey
        );
        
        return this.proof;
    }
    
    async verify(verification_key, public_signals) {
        return await groth16.verify(
            verification_key,
            public_signals,
            this.proof
        );
    }
}
                

🏗️ Groth16 Protocol

Industry-standard zK-SNARK construction providing optimal proof size and verification time for blockchain applications.

🔧 Circom Circuits

Custom circuit implementations in Circom DSL optimized for ZC-1's specific consensus and privacy requirements.

⚡ WASM Integration

WebAssembly-compiled proof generation enabling client-side proving for enhanced decentralisation and privacy.

🔒 Trusted Setup

Multi-party ceremony-based trusted setup with full transparency and public verification of parameters.

🛡️ Security & Privacy Guarantees

ZC-1's zK-SNARK implementation provides strong security and privacy guarantees:

🔐 Zero-Knowledge

Proofs reveal no information about secret inputs beyond their validity, ensuring complete privacy preservation.

✅ Soundness

Computationally infeasible to produce false proofs, preventing invalid state transitions and consensus manipulation.

📏 Succinctness

Constant-size proofs (~200 bytes) enable efficient on-chain verification regardless of computation complexity.

🚫 Non-Interactive

Single-message proofs eliminate interactive protocols, improving efficiency and reducing network complexity.

🔐 zK-SNARK Implementation