Findora has repeatedly made headlines over the last two years when it comes to zero-knowledge proofs. And it’s a well-timed rise to fame.
Interest in zero-knowledge proofs has spiked as awareness spread that “crypto” is not synonymous with anonymity. In fact, the truth is that because every transaction is visible on the blockchain, blockchains can be less private than their Web2 counterparts.
Zero-knowledge proofs used by Findora take blockchain technology to the next level because they can help make blockchain private.
Why is Privacy Important?
Privacy is a financial primitive – necessary for financial functions and institutional capital. This is reflected by the increasing interest from investors to incentivize cutting-edge research and the race to apply zero-knowledge proofs to Web3 successfully. For example:
- In April, a group of 22 leading companies and foundations focused on zero-knowledge technology launched a $7 million contest for zero-knowledge cryptography. The companies include Findora, AMD, Aleo, Anoma, the Ethereum Foundation, Matter Labs, Mina Protocol, Polkadot Pioneers Prize, and Polygon.
- Coinbase recently opted for a DeFi approach to improving its app and Wallet features. In an attempt to address concerns about user privacy, Coinbase announced that it would become a provider of know your customer (KYC) verification through third-party dApps that maintain user privacy by leveraging the power of zero-knowledge proofs.
- In May, EMURGO Ventures, the primary investment vehicle of the Cardano ecosystem, said it would partner with the Partisia Blockchain project to get more privacy tools in the hands of developers building decentralized applications on the Cardano blockchain. CoinSpeaker reported: “This is enabled through a technique known as zero-knowledge proofs and gives users a way to interact with blockchain services completely anonymously.”
While that list includes some big names in the blockchain sector, Findora ZKPs have been under constant development for many years.
As the Findora community likes to point out, blockchain is like living in a glass house – it lets all your neighbors see what you are doing. We all use envelopes, and it’s a crime to open others’ mail. We understand intuitively that privacy is important but didn’t have a practical way to achieve it digitally – until now.
Using ZKPs for Privacy
The core technology underpinning Findora’s accomplishments has been the group’s consistently innovative approach to cryptography. Some of Findora’s most significant contributions to the evolution of zero-knowledge proofs have come from its researchers. Several of them studied cryptography at top universities or institutions like Stanford, Berkeley, to name a few. These research projects turn their attention to the real-world applications of their findings.
Findora researchers realized years ago they could improve user privacy and attract institutional players with powerful new dApps – if their ZKP technology was advanced enough.
As Findora describes its research:
Key ZKP research at Findora Network revolves around enabling fully anonymous transactions. Fully anonymous transactions mean the amount, sender identity, and recipient identity are all fully hidden.
Other important ZKP research includes recursive succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge (SNARKs) which have succinct proof sizes and smaller verification times that need to be optimized to improve Findora Network network throughput.
Using ZKPs, Findora can provide private transactions to users while still making their transaction history auditable to regulatory bodies for compliance purposes. Findora’s zero-knowledge proof technology aims to let users control their data and make blockchains a safe place for business through privacy while keeping it from becoming an unaccountable environment.
The $100 Million Zk-Ecosystem Fund
Since codifying all its research, Findora has decided to attract developers with a $100 million Ecosystem Fund that has already brought new groups to build on their platform. By offering incentives from its funds, Findora hopes to turbo-charge the development of zero-knowledge privacy applications across Web3.
Conclusion
Findora is leading the way in taking zero-knowledge proof research, what has been largely academic up to this point in time, and turning it into a reality. The team has built an innovative dual-chain blockchain system that will allow other projects to leverage their technology on their own platforms.
Through zero-knowledge proofs and advanced cryptography, Findora is scaling Ethereum privacy and preparing Web3 for real-world applications. It’s partnering with other ecosystems and development teams to mature the blockchain space through privacy as quickly as possible.
Learn more about Findora ZKPs on the Findora Foundation website.