[DigitalToday reporter Chi-gyu Hwang (황치규)] a16z Crypto, the crypto unit of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), upgraded Jolt zkVM and said the term zero-knowledge (ZK) is being misused in the blockchain industry.
The Block reported on March 3 that a16z Crypto warned zkVM technology often does not provide true zero-knowledge. It said implementing zero-knowledge in zkVMs requires a costly “wrapping” process, which can undermine transparency and cause security issues.
A zero-knowledge proof (ZK) is a cryptographic technique that proves a given statement is true without revealing any other information. In blockchain, Zcash zk-SNARKs is a representative example, and it was later applied to layer 2 solutions such as Ethereum L2 and zk-rollups.
a16z Crypto said Jolt zkVM offers stronger privacy features. It said that while existing zkVMs used ZK for succinctness, Jolt EVM implemented true zero-knowledge that prevents information leakage.
With the update, Jolt zkVM provides a zero-knowledge proof that is only about 3 KB larger than the original.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr