Introduction

The successful integration of zkSNARKs (opens in a new tab) into the ICON blockchain, which was achieved through a pull request (PR) adding support for the bls12-381 curve (opens in a new tab), marks a significant achievement. It has ensured that the ICON blockchain remains at the forefront of blockchain technology and remains competitive in the future. As the use of blockchain technology continues to increase, the need for privacy in transactions has become increasingly important, and cutting-edge privacy and security measures need to be implemented.

zkSNARKs, which is a type of Zero-knowledge Proof (ZKP), have been integrated into the ICON blockchain to provide a secure and private way of conducting transactions on the blockchain. With this technology, the authenticity of a transaction can be proved by users without revealing any additional information, thereby enhancing the privacy and security of transactions on the ICON blockchain.

The commitment of ICON to staying at the forefront of blockchain technology and providing its users with the best possible experience is demonstrated by the integration of zkSNARKs into the ICON blockchain.

Benefits to the ICON Network

Numerous benefits would be brought to the ICON network by the integration of zkSNARKs, with the ability to support a wider range of decentralized applications and financial services that require privacy. With the addition of ZKPs, a completely new dimension could be added to what can be built on the public blockchain, such as ICON. Existing applications could be empowered as well as help to bring completely new applications. Icon-snarkjs (opens in a new tab) npm package has also been published.

Consider the ICONBet (opens in a new tab) platform. Right now, it is impossible to implement a multiplayer game such as poker. Poker requires players to keep their cards secret from each other until the end of the game, making it impossible to implement them on a public blockchain. This is because, on a public blockchain, all transactions and data are transparent and visible to all network participants. However, with ZKPs, games like poker could be implemented fully on-chain.

Also, consider the voting scenarios on DAOs. Each vote cast by each member of the DAO is publicly stored on-chain and thus visible to everyone. DAO members could feel suppressed to vote for a side or direction with which they truly align. With ZKPs, anonymous voting could be made possible without compromising on fairness.

Similarly, on applications like Balanced (opens in a new tab) and OMM (opens in a new tab), ZKPs could be used to provide a privacy layer for lending and borrowing activities on the platform. Users could transact on the platform without revealing their identities or the amounts they are transacting.

The way is paved for the implementation of zk-Rollup in the future by adding ZKP support on ICON. Zk-Rollup is a layer-2 scaling solution for blockchain networks that uses Zero-knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) to increase the scalability and efficiency of transactions. Many transactions could be executed off-chain, while still maintaining the security and transparency of the underlying blockchain.

Testnet Node Details:

The zkSNARK on ICON platform is currently available on a separate testnet node, which can be accessed via the following details:

Sudoku game using ZKP (Zero Knowledge Proof):

https://v23-zkp-examples-sudoku.vercel.app/ (opens in a new tab)

GitHub repo for the Sudoku game:

https://github.com/venture23-zkp/zkp-examples (opens in a new tab)

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