Big Questions: What did Satoshi Nakamoto think about ZK-proofs?

From privateness coins to shiny iris-scanning orbs, zero-knowledge proofs person go synonymous with crypto, scalability and privacy.

In 2022, investors gave implicit $700 cardinal successful backing to companies pushing the envelope with zero-knowledge proofs. This year, ZK-proofs has arguably go 1 of the biggest blockchain trends, with respective large Ethereum scaling protocols hitting mainnet.

ZK-proofs are a cryptographic protocol that allows 1 enactment to beryllium the information of a connection to different enactment without sharing immoderate of the statement’s contents. 

An often-cited illustration is proving to a bartender that you’re aged capable to portion without showing your ID oregon adjacent telling them your birthdate.

Well, it seems that Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, erstwhile recovered the exertion beauteous interesting.

A amended mentation of Bitcoin

In August 2010, the idiosyncratic “Red” connected the online forum Bitcointalk asked whether determination could beryllium a mode to amended the privateness of Bitcoin transactions. 

“One of the things that bugs maine astir bitcoin is that the full past of transactions is wholly public,” the forum-goer said. Another subordinate piped in, suggesting that zero-knowledge proofs could beryllium the solution. 

“This is simply a precise absorbing topic,” replied Nakamoto.

“If a solution was found, a overmuch better, easier, much convenient implementation of Bitcoin would beryllium possible.”

However, Nakamoto wasn’t convinced the tech could get astir the “double-spending” occupation — a cardinal flaw that exists successful each integer currency protocols wherever a atrocious histrion could walk the aforesaid integer tokens much than once.

“It’s the request to cheque for the lack of double-spends that requires planetary cognition of each transactions,” said Nakamoto.

Satoshi Nakamoto’s effect to users suggesting ZK-proofs to rise the privateness of Bitcoin transactions. (Bitcointalk)

“It’s hard to deliberation of however to use zero-knowledge-proofs successful this case. We’re trying to beryllium the lack of something, which seems to necessitate knowing astir each and checking that the thing isn’t included,” helium argued.

Years later, idiosyncratic cracks the code

Little did Nakamoto cognize that the cypherpunks would yet find a mode to lick the problem.

Privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash was launched successful October 2016 by Electric Coin — a steadfast made up of machine scientists from the formative years of Bitcoin. Zcash was built by modifying Bitcoin’s archetypal root code.

It was besides the archetypal clip zero-knowledge proofs were utilized successful a existent peer-to-peer cryptocurrency, allowing users to fell oregon shield the crypto wallet code sending oregon receiving funds. 

The satellite yet knows that famed whistleblower Edward Snowden was 1 of the pivotal members of the Zcash Ceremony, wherever six radical combined portions of the project’s backstage cardinal to motorboat it successful 2016. https://t.co/Lgag6bGA0n

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) April 28, 2022

The founding idiosyncratic of Zcash, Eli Ben-Sasson, would past spell connected to recovered StarkWare, a institution known contiguous for utilizing zero-knowledge proofs to standard Ethereum done rollups. 

Ben-Sasson tells Magazine that the aboriginal enthusiasm from Bitcoin halfway developers for ZK-proofs played a “pivotal role” successful his eventual co-founding of StarkWare.

“The Bitcoin 2013 league successful San Jose marked my Eureka moment.”

“Mike Hearn, a then-Bitcoin developer and 1 of the earliest Bitcoin adopters, went arsenic acold arsenic to state my speech connected ZK-proofs arsenic the astir important of the lawsuit owed to its imaginable interaction connected the aboriginal of blockchain.” 

“It was determination that I realized the transformative imaginable of the Validity Proofs I was developing,” says Ben-Sasson.

Fast guardant to today, Bitcoin itself present stands acceptable to participate the satellite of ZK-proofs.

ZeroSync, a nonprofit founded by 3 machine scientists (and sponsored by StarkWare), is processing the world’s archetypal ZK airy lawsuit for Bitcoin.

“Long-term, we anticipation to bring wide scalability to Bitcoin utilizing STARK Proofs,” said Robin Linus, co-founder of ZeroSync. 

Linus said that ZeroSync has designed and is presently implementing a layer-2 protocol that could let Bitcoin to process much than 100 transactions per 2nd portion bringing privateness properties to Bitcoin.

“This could beryllium a large feat successful bringing Bitcoin toward the scalability it needs.”

So what would Nakamoto think?

“It’s evident from Satoshi’s past remarks that helium powerfully favored the usage of ZK-proofs for privacy,” says Ben-Sasson. 

Nakamoto was a stickler for anonymity. His nationalist interactions connected Bitcointalk and his emails were each reportedly done utilizing the IP-masking browser, Tor. It’s the main crushed his nationalist IP code could ne'er beryllium traced backmost to him. 

The head for Bitcointalk says Nakamoto has ever utilized The Onion Router (Tor) to entree the forum. (Bitcointalk)

The Bitcoin creator adjacent dedicated a conception to privateness successful the Bitcoin achromatic paper, suggesting users support their nationalist keys anonymous truthful that, adjacent though the nationalist tin spot transactions occurring, they don’t cognize who is involved, similar a banal exchange.

Privacy diagram arsenic shown successful the Bitcoin achromatic paper. (Bitcoin.org)

“It’s wide that Satoshi would person been intrigued by the privateness innovations my peers and I contributed to astatine Zcash,” says Ben-Sasson.

Unfortunately, Nakamoto ne'er approached the taxable again earlier helium vanished from the nationalist oculus connected Dec. 12, 2010 — the day of his past station connected Bitcointalk. 

Ben-Sasson, however, believes if Nakamoto had continued to beryllium active, helium would person apt pushed to bring ZK-proofs to Bitcoin. 

“While they person precocious recovered their mode into Bitcoin done ZeroSync, I judge Satoshi would person been inclined to marque the indispensable adjustments to integrate them further,” helium says. 

“After all, for Bitcoin to recognize its imaginativeness arsenic a planetary currency, the imperative to standard cannot beryllium ignored, particularly considering its existent authorities of ossification.”