Zero Knowledge Proofs and Aleo
What is a Zero Knowledge Proof?
A zero-knowledge proof is a cryptographic method that allows one party (the prover) to prove to another party (the verifier) that they possess certain information or knowledge, without revealing the actual information. In a zero-knowledge proof, the prover convinces the verifier of the truth of a statement without disclosing any details about the statement itself. This concept is essential for maintaining privacy and security in various applications, as it allows authentication and verification without unnecessary information disclosure.
What’s an example of Zero Knowledge?
We find that the easiest and most simple form of a zero knowledge proof is the example of the two colored balls. Basically it goes that there are 2 people, one is colorblind and one is not. The not colorblind person has to prove to the colorblind person that the balls in the colorblind person’s hand are a different color.
How is the non colorblind person going to prove they are different?
He will do this buy telling the colourblind man to show him the balls and the person will tell him which is red and which is blue. The colourblind person will then switch them behind his back. If the balls are really of different colours then the person seeing well will know they have been switched . If they repeat this many times eventually the colourblind person will know they are different because the good vision person will be right every time about weather the person switched the balls or not. In this way the good vision person prooved the balls are different without the other party seeing the colours.
Alice has two balls, labeled “X” and “Y,” with different colors that she wants to prove to Bob, who is colorblind, without revealing the colors. In multiple rounds, Bob randomly selects a ball from Alice’s pocket, and Alice tells him whether it’s “X” or “Y” without revealing the actual colors. Bob, initially guessing randomly, gradually begins to guess the actual colors more often due to the consistent pattern, thereby convincing Alice that the balls are indeed of different colors without disclosing their actual color information. This way, they achieve a zero-knowledge proof, where the claim is proven without revealing sensitive details.
Zero Knowledge and Blockchains
A major problem with blockchain technology is the fact that 99% of blockchains are public such as Bitcoin, Etherium and Solana. This means anyones finances can be viewed by everyone on these blockchains. This makes blockchains not fit to be adopted by everyone because people don’t want their transactions to be public. For example if I bought something, I wouldn’t want my friends to see that I sent money out of my wallet. This is the huge issue zkP will solve. Projects such as Aleo are blockchains that make use of Zero Knowledge Proofs to make transactions private and secure. Avail is a wallet built on the Aleo blockchain. Moreover Avail is a private self custodial wallet that will allow you to store your money in a decentralized way allowing only you to have access to it and only you can see transactions made by you making Avail a powerful tool for people who want to fully own what happens to their data and funds in a private way.
Zero knowledge from the ground up
Aleo’s purpose-built zero-knowledge architecture allows developers to leverage the power of zero-knowledge in their applications without dealing with the tedious and time-consuming complexities of cryptography.