Applications in ZKP

Explore the two major types of Zero-Knowledge Proof applications:

PrivacyConfidential transactions, identity, selective disclosure, and moreJump to Privacy

ScalabilityRollups, succinct proofs, off-chain computation, and moreJump to Scalability

Privacy Applications

Applications related to privacy and confidentiality in zero-knowledge systems.

Identity & Authentication

Prove identity, membership, or credentials without revealing sensitive details

ZK Login

Authenticate with OAuth providers (Google, Apple) without revealing identity to the chain

Constructs:JWT verification, OAuth signature check

Primitives:zk-SNARKs, RSA/ECDSA in-circuit

Sui zkLogin zkLogin on Base

Identity Proof

Prove identity attributes without revealing the full identity

Constructs:Hash preimages, Merkle proofs, selective disclosure

Primitives:Poseidon hash, Hash preimage check

ZK Credential / Anonymous Credentials

Show qualifications without revealing issuer or full credential

Constructs:Signature verification, range proof, selective disclosure

Primitives:zk-SNARKs, BBS+ signatures, Hyrax commitments

OpenAC (zkID)

Group Membership

Prove you belong to a group without revealing which member you are

Constructs:Merkle tree inclusion proof

Primitives:Poseidon hash, Merkle inclusion

Semaphore

ZK Cookies / Continuous Auth

Anonymous continuous authentication using behavior signals

Constructs:Behavior signal analysis, differential privacy

Primitives:zkSNARKs, commitment schemes

Private Transactions & Finance

Confidential transfers, proof of reserves, and private financial operations

ZK Mixer

Hide sender and receiver of transactions, breaking on-chain linkability

Constructs:Merkle proofs, nullifiers, commitments

Primitives:Poseidon, Pedersen, ElGamal

Tornado Cash Manual

Private Transactions

Confidential transfers hiding amounts and/or participants

Constructs:Pedersen commitments, range proofs, nullifiers

Primitives:Bulletproofs, zk-SNARKs

Proof of Reserves

Prove solvency without revealing individual balances

Constructs:Merkle sum trees, range proofs

Primitives:zk-SNARKs, recursive proofs

MProve-Nova

ZK Auction

Bid privately, prove winner fairly without revealing losing bids

Constructs:Commitment & reveal, range proofs

Primitives:Commit-reveal, range proof

ZK P2P Payments

Peer-to-peer payments with privacy-preserving verification

Constructs:Email verification, payment proofs

Primitives:zkEmail, zk-SNARKs

Voting & Governance

Anonymous voting, reputation systems, and accountable pseudonymity

Anonymous Voting

Cast vote without revealing identity, ensure one-person-one-vote

Constructs:Nullifier, commitment, Merkle proof

Primitives:Hash, Commitment scheme, Nullifier

Reputation System

Prove reputation score without revealing underlying actions

Constructs:Range proof, selective disclosure

Primitives:Range proof, Merkle trees

Cryptographic Personas

Responsible pseudonyms with revocable anonymity for rule violations

Constructs:zk-promises, proof folding

Primitives:Privacy Pass, zkSNARKs

Communication & Data

Prove email/web data authenticity, computation-based encryption

ZK Email

Prove email contents/sender without revealing the full email

Constructs:DKIM signature verification, regex matching

Primitives:zk-SNARKs, RSA in-circuit

zkEmail

ZK TLS

Prove web data authenticity without revealing full content

Constructs:TLS handshake verification, selective disclosure

Primitives:zk-SNARKs, MPC

DiStefano Protocol

Witness Encryption

Encrypt to computation statements, decrypt with valid witness

Constructs:Circuit-based decryption conditions

Primitives:R1CS, Circom circuits

zkEnc

Games & Entertainment

Hidden state games with provable fairness

Private Games

Play hidden state games (poker, battleship) with provable fairness

Constructs:Commitment, reveal, proof of action

Primitives:Commitments, ZK verifications

Fog of War Games

Games with hidden map exploration and private moves

Constructs:Location commitments, move proofs

Primitives:Poseidon hash, zk-SNARKs

Dark Forest

ML & Computation

Private ML inference, image processing, and database queries

ZK ML Inference

Prove ML model inference without revealing input, model, or both

Constructs:Arithmetic circuit of ML model

Primitives:zkML, polynomial constraints

EZKL

Private Image Processing

Prove image manipulation without revealing original

Constructs:Matrix calculation, Transformation proofs

Primitives:zk-SNARKs, Commitment

ZK Database Queries

Prove SQL query results without revealing full database

Constructs:Query verification, result proofs

Primitives:NIZKs, Merkle trees

PoneglyphDB

Private L1 Blockchains

Native privacy with built-in proving systems

Zcash

Privacy-focused cryptocurrency with shielded transactions

Constructs:Sapling/Orchard circuits, nullifiers

Primitives:Groth16, Halo 2

Zcash

Mina Protocol

Succinct blockchain with constant-size state proof

Constructs:Recursive proofs, Pickles

Primitives:Kimchi, Pasta curves

Mina

Aleo

Privacy-by-default smart contract platform

Constructs:Leo language, Marlin proofs

Primitives:zk-SNARKs, record model

Aleo

Aztec

Private smart contracts on Ethereum

Constructs:Noir circuits, private state

Primitives:Plonk, UltraPlonk

Aztec Noir

Scalability Applications

Applications related to scalability and performance in zero-knowledge systems.

L2 Rollups

Batch transactions and prove state transitions for Ethereum scalability

ZK Rollup

Batch and prove L2 state transitions for Ethereum scalability

Constructs:State diff proof, Merkle root updates

Primitives:zk-SNARKs/zk-STARKs

zkSync Scroll Linea

ZK Virtual Machine

General-purpose computation with validity proofs

Constructs:RISC-V/custom ISA circuits, memory checks

Primitives:Lasso lookups, sum-check, folding

SP1 RISC Zero Awesome zkVM

ZK EVM

EVM-compatible execution with ZK validity proofs

Constructs:EVM opcode circuits, state proofs

Primitives:zk-SNARKs, Plonkish arithmetization

Cross-chain & Interoperability

Trustless cross-chain messaging and lightweight state verification

ZK Bridge

Prove state/receipt across chains without trusted intermediaries

Constructs:SNARK-verifiable state, light client proofs

Primitives:zk-SNARKs, consensus verification

Polymer Hub

ZK Light Client

Verify blockchain state with minimal data and computation

Constructs:Header chain proofs, consensus verification

Primitives:Recursive SNARKs, BLS aggregation

Proof Compression & Aggregation

Aggregate proofs, reduce verification costs, offload computation

Recursive Proofs

Aggregate multiple proofs into one for constant verification

Constructs:Proof composition, folding schemes

Primitives:Nova, Hypernova, proof folding

Nova

Proof Aggregation

Combine multiple proofs for batch verification

Constructs:Proof batching, aggregation circuits

Primitives:Recursive SNARKs, accumulation

ZK Coprocessor

Offload heavy computation off-chain with validity proofs

Constructs:Computation proofs, state access

Primitives:zkVM, storage proofs

Axiom