zk-SNARKs

“zk-SNARK” stands for “zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive argument of knowledge.” zk-SNARKs are a type of zero-knowledge proof.

What is a zero-knowledge proof?

It is a cryptographic technique, where one party (The Prover) can prove that a specific statement is true to the other party (The Verifier) without disclosing any additional information.

A zk-SNARK is a type of zero-knowledge proof that has 3 core characteristics.

• “Succinctness”, which means the proof is not lengthy. This property reduces the costs of storing and transmitting proofs

• “Non-interactive”, meaning that a zk-SNARK consists of a single message as opposed to an interaction.

• “Zero-knowledge”, meaning that the proof does not reveal any information beyond the statement that it proves to be true.

Leading-edge zk-SNARK theories also provide the benefit of inexpensive proof checking. Even when the proof is expensive to generate, the proof’s size and the complexity of checking the proof do not increase.