The first ZKProof Standards Workshop was productive, with more than 70 participants from both academia and industry. “If we succeed, people will be able to prove things about their data, but without having to share that data,” QED-it CEO Jonathan Rouach said in the recap video. Rouach called zero-knowledge proofs a “whole revolution” in technical privacy capabilities.

The Zcash Foundation obviously agrees. And the value of collaboration is clear: “If we have standards that exist to help guide more of the work in zero-knowledge proofs, we’ll be able to have more efficient and hopefully fruitful research into zk-proofs in the future,” Executive Director Josh Cincinnati explained in the same video.

Alongside the cryptocurrency fundamentals first battle-tested by Bitcoin, breakthroughs like zk-SNARKs are key to guaranteeing financial liberty that doesn’t broadcast your information to the whole world.

We are also excited to see additional zero-knowledge applications continue to develop and gain adoption. Ultimately, accelerated progress relies on firming up the experimental research.

The Zcash Foundation sponsored the first ZKProof Standards Workshop, and we are sponsoring the second edition as well. The two-day workshop runs from April 10 – April 12, in Berkeley, California. We encourage you to participate! Apply to attend on the ZKProof Standards website. The project’s community forum is also open for discussion of zero-knowledge research and related topics.